In the first year of the reign of Emperor Sisheng of the Tang Dynasty, on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, at nightfall.
It was winter now, and the howling north wind swept through the dark clouds, shrouding the entire city of Luoyang, making it almost invisible. And in this cold and dark night, an army of horses quietly approached Luoyang City.
A burst of gentle clapping was heard, and Zhou Gaode, the general guarding the Upper East Gate in the east of the city, immediately ordered the city gate to be opened. Then he saw a general leading thousands of light cavalry pouring in from outside the city.
"General Cheng!" Zhou Gaode quickly saluted the leading general. He knew that the man in front of him was General Cheng Wuting, whom Prime Minister Pei Yan relied on most, so he naturally did not dare to neglect him.
But he saw Cheng Wuting wearing black armor with a cold expression. He nodded lightly, and then asked softly: "When is it now?"
"Hai Shi has just passed." Zhou Gaode spoke softly. Although the other party's words were very cold, he was even more respectful because he knew that after tonight, the general's status would be further improved and he would definitely not be able to offend him easily.
of.
A faint smile appeared on Cheng Wuting's cold face, and he said softly: "Not only is it not late, it is also half an hour early. That's right. Send the order and enter the city."
After saying that, Cheng Wuting no longer looked at Zhou Gaode and led thousands of soldiers into Luoyang City like a black tide. Then Cheng Wuting led the army along the street and quickly approached the palace city. Along the way, he also passed through several cities.
However, all the guards were in vain, and no one stopped them for a moment. Many of them even kept their doors ajar, and when they arrived, they walked right through the door.
The winter night is silent, and the whistling wind muffles the sound of the army's march even more wonderfully. Therefore, almost all the soldiers who know about it believe that God intends for them to succeed. Therefore, although it is very cold tonight, everyone
All of them had a fiery heart, and all of them, whether they knew it or not, were all sure of one thing. If they entered Luoyang City in the middle of the night, something big must have happened.
"It's not like our general wants to kill officials and rebel and become emperor, right?" Some soldiers even thought this way.
Cheng Wuting didn't care what these people were thinking. He only knew that the soldiers under his command were extremely loyal to him. Under his strict orders, these soldiers were unstoppable and soon arrived outside the palace.
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At this time, almost everyone guessed Cheng Wuting's idea, which was to enter the palace city from here and then do that big thing. This was indeed the case. Cheng Wuting was really eager to lead his army from Mingde Gate on the east side of Zetian Gate.
Enter, then go to Zhongshu Province.
But as soon as Cheng Wuting's army arrived outside the Mingde Gate, they heard a loud shout from in front: "Who broke into the palace late at night? Is it because he is impatient with life?"
Cheng Wuting couldn't help but frowned when he heard this, because according to the prior plan, his army should pass through Mingde Gate quietly and go to Zhongshu Province to lurk. They would be all their own people along the way and no one would stop them. However,
As soon as I arrived outside Mingde Gate, I was stopped by someone. I'm afraid something is wrong.
How did Cheng Wuting know? This place was indeed guarded by Empress Wu's people, but half an hour ago, the guard general here was temporarily transferred by their superiors, and then the next wave of people came to guard this place.
Lin Zhonglang general Huan Yanfan of Zuo Yu in the post.
After Huan Yanfan arrived here, he pretended to be responsible for taking over the defense of Mingde Gate under the secret order of the Queen Mother, and asked the original defenders to go back to rest. The defenders were happy to have someone on duty for them in the middle of the night, so they all left quickly
.
However, now that the matter has reached this point, Cheng Wuting has no way out, so he can only shout in a deep voice: "This general is Cheng Wuting, the general of Zuowuwei. On the order of the Queen Mother, he led his troops into the palace to perform urgent official duties. Please let me go!"
"Oh? It turns out to be General Cheng. I'm being disrespectful. However, General Cheng should know that entering the palace late at night is taboo. You will not be allowed to enter the palace without your Majesty's order. I have received the emperor's order. I have no choice but to invite General Cheng.
Forgive me, since General Cheng is here under orders, he will naturally have the order with him. Please also ask General Cheng to hand over the order to the last general. After the last general reads it, he will let him go immediately, and the general's time will not be wasted.
"Although the gatekeeper general said he was polite on the surface, he actually had an attitude of rejecting people thousands of miles away.
Cheng Wuting originally came under the secret order of Empress Wu. How could there be any order? So now whether he surrenders or not, he has been exposed. Cheng Wuting raised his head and looked up at the tower. He saw that there were not many people there. He thought about it for a moment.
, immediately decided to order the army to start attacking the city.
Although he came in a hurry this time, he still brought the basic siege tools, so Cheng Wu calmly took out his bow and arrow and fired an arrow at the place where the general was on the tower.
A scream was heard from the city tower, and then the general just now said loudly: "Cheng Wuting led his army to attack Mingde Gate, and quickly reported to His Majesty, and lit the signaling beacon, and ordered all gates to be on guard, and must not let go
The thief has taken half a step forward!"
Then the sound of breaking through the air was heard continuously, and a large number of crossbows were shot from the tower and the walls on both sides.
Although the soldiers under Cheng Wuting were brave, they were all wearing light armor and could not block the dense rain of arrows. In an instant, hundreds of soldiers were shot off their horses, and the screams could not be heard.
When Cheng Wuting saw this scene, how could he not know that the other party was already on guard? Otherwise, how could the Forbidden Army soldiers on the palace wall directly load the bows and arrows on the crossbows?
"General, what should we do now?" Zhang Songru, a general under Cheng Wuting's command, saw that things had developed to this point and couldn't help but stepped forward and asked loudly.
But Cheng Wuting snorted and said calmly: "Intensify the attack on the city. I believe that Zhang Qianxu's army has also arrived outside Lijing Gate at this time. If he also encounters this situation, he will definitely choose to attack the city, but I
I believe that we just had an accident this time, and it is impossible for him to be discovered, so as long as we persist, Zhang Qianxu's army will definitely come to meet us and capture Mingde Gate. Also, since the plan has been exposed
, we should attack quickly, and then take action in advance to end this matter completely tonight, otherwise, things will change later, and we cannot afford the consequences."
"Yes." After hearing what Cheng Wuting said, Zhang Songru immediately agreed, and then issued an order to step up the attack and make sure to capture Mingde Gate in the shortest possible time. (To be continued.) This chapter has been completed!
