When Cao Yanming was attacked at the Six Gate Inspection Department of Shendu, the entire city of Luoyang fell into chaos almost instantly.
The east, west, and south sides of Luoyang City were on fire almost at the same time. It was not an ordinary arson, but someone prepared a large amount of tung oil.
And every few hundred steps, a large amount of dry firewood or even charcoal and other fire starters were filled in specific houses.
It was early winter, the weather was dry, the north wind was blowing, and a large number of houses in Luoyang used wooden structures. Under the manipulation of thoughtful people, the fire became difficult to control from the beginning.
Under the emergency, Henan from Luoyang City, Wuhou from Liangfukuo County of Luoyang, guards from major chambers of commerce, and men from various neighborhoods were immediately mobilized.
Of course they didn't know something big was going to happen tonight, so they all went out to put out the fire.
For a while, people were fetching water, and people were pulling water dragons. Frightened women and children were running around on the road. Some of their relatives were trapped in the sea of fire, and they were crying loudly.
The people of Luoyang were completely unprepared for such a large-scale fire. What was even more frightening was that Luoyang had experienced repeated wars since the end of the Tang Dynasty.
Especially since the end of the Liang Dynasty in the Later Tang Dynasty, four large-scale wars have occurred in the past twenty years, and each time Luoyang was almost beaten to a pulp.
It can be said that in today's Luoyang City, even teenagers have experienced at least two horrific wars. After Zhang Zhou Dingding Central Plains, they only lived a peaceful life for less than three years.
At this moment, flames soaring into the sky were ignited everywhere, and the chaos on the streets was like hell. Many Luoyang people were immediately struck by the fear of the past.
In the chaos, many people did not want to put out the fire, but a large number of people supported the old and the young, led the animals and carried their bags, and actually wanted to run out of the city under the cover of night.
Along the way, various rumors began to spread like a plague, including that Emperor Shaoming had been killed just like Emperor Zhuangmiao, that the Hebei vassal town had raised troops again and went south, and that the Khitan even said that the Turks had invaded again and wanted to continue to support an emperor, etc.
wait.
Li Renshu and three hundred people lurked in a house not far from Ziwei Palace, only two to three hundred steps away from the imperial city.
And those who can own a house here are naturally not ordinary people.
Shi Chongmin, the uncle of Rouyuan, put on the cotton armor that he rarely wore. He held a long horizontal knife in his hand and looked at the imperial city with eyes full of hatred.
He is the owner of this house, and of course he is not an ordinary person. Strictly speaking, Shi Chongmin can even be classified as a member of the Yuancong sect.
In the past, when Zhang Hao first arrived in Khotan, in order to demonstrate the power of gunpowder to Li Shengtian, he asked Li Shengtian to allocate a team of miners who were good at digging to him.
Shi Chongmin was the leader of these miners. He even followed Zhang Yan before Liu Zaisheng and others.
Later, Zhang Zhang used these miners to form Fenjindu. Fenjindu made great contributions in both the Battle of Shule and the capture of the Ningyuan (Fergana Basin) Fortress Jiuzhanti.
At that time, Shi Chongmin could even be regarded as one of the only core members under Zhang Gao who could independently lead the team.
However, the first battle was Shi Chongmin's highlight moment. Since then, Zhang Gao rarely relied on blasting to capture the city. Of course, the more important reason was that Shi Chongmin's abilities were limited, and his talent was not high, and he could not be cultivated.
Therefore, after more and more talents joined Zhang Yan's team, Shi Chongmin's status showed a free-fall decline.
However, as the earliest elder of the Yuan Cong sect, although Shi Chongmin did not have much credit and was not regarded as one of his own by other members of the Yuan Cong sect, his qualifications were there.
After Zhang Yan established the Zhou Dynasty, Shi Chongmin was also named an earl for his past merits. He was named Rouyuan Bo after his hometown of Rouyuan County in Yizhou.
Although his Earl cannot be hereditary, he still has a title based on his hometown, which can be transferred to descendants for three generations.
But today, Shi Chongmin still stood on the opposite side of the emperor he once looked up to.
During these years, he believed that he should belong to the Yuancong sect, but the Yuancong sect did not look down on him at all, and he did not bother to be compared with the East Return sects like Guo Guangsheng and Pei Tongyuan.
In his heart, he hoped that the emperor would re-appoint him, but at the same time he was filled with resentment that the emperor was unwilling to even give him a hereditary title.
Last year, Shi Chongmin's second son was reselling pig iron in Dunhuang that was strictly prohibited for sale on the grasslands. He was caught by the Hexi Provincial Inspector General Si Yamen during his patrol at the border, and was directly sentenced to exile by Pei Yuan, who held the military and political power in Hexi.
Shi Chongmin asked for help in many places but could not find him, and his beloved second son finally died in Huangcaoyi (Alataw Pass) in Beiting Province.
This completely knocked Shi Chongmin down, and he quickly joined a small group headed by Cao Renzun who hoped to use the Hexi Chamber of Commerce to dominate trade routes, and he was even the most radical among these people.
As time passed by, Huaibei thief Li Renshu became a little out of breath.
"How long do I have to wait? If I wait any longer, it will be completely dark. Where will I find Concubine Cao then?"
Shi Chongmin glanced at the hourglass on the table and hummed softly, "Do you think Ziwei Palace is a rich village in Huaibei? Let me tell you, even at night, the main hall where the imperial concubine and the prince live is brightly lit."
After that, Shi Chongmin glanced at the fire rising into the sky in the distance again, "Don't worry, Concubine Cao is well known to a certain family. If the gods are in such chaos, she will definitely not be able to bear to destroy the palace guards and fire prevention team."
Send them out to help put out the fire. At that time, it will be the best time for us to attack."
As soon as he finished speaking, as if to confirm Shi Chongmin's words, the closed door of Ziwei Palace in the imperial city opened for the first time.
Groups of palace guards, fire prevention teams, and even chamberlains dressed in various colors pulled fire-extinguishing water dragons and rumbled from the Ziwei Palace to the various fire locations.
When they had gone no further than a cup of tea, the torch on the Yingtian Gate at the main entrance of Ziwei Palace swayed three times up and down three times, which was the agreed upon secret signal.
Li Renshu was overjoyed. Before Shi Chongmin could act like a commander, he immediately ordered someone to carry him to Yingtianmen.
....
Lady Cao Sanni was sitting on a water dragon, holding a sleeping baby over one year old in her arms. It was Zhang Xianzai, the eighth son of the emperor.
Not long after, the water dragon cart reached the corner of a high-walled compound, and more than ten soldiers immediately poured out. The leader was none other than Zhao Kuangyin's father, Zhao Hongyin.
Old Man Zhao's son can fight all over the world, but he is only in his forties. He has been practicing martial arts all year round. Although he leads troops in battles, serves as an official, and has average abilities as a person, his martial arts value is quite high.
The dozen or so soldiers around him were all old Imperial Guardsmen of the Tang Dynasty who came from the Jiama Camp in Luoyang, including Zhao Kuangyin's father-in-law He Jingsi and others. Zhao Hongyin knew them well and was very reliable.
Nine-year-old Zhao Kuangyi followed his father in a sneaky manner. This kid had been practicing martial arts since he was a child, cheating and slipping. He refused to work hard on his writing unless his mother was watching him. However, he was a social cow and was very lovable in his words.
Not to mention people, even the wild dogs in Jiama camp that bite people when they see them didn't bite Zhao Kuangyi.
At this time, he saw Mrs. Cao Sanniang coming in with Zhang Xianzai in her arms. Although Brother Zhao didn't know who Mrs. Cao Sanniang was, he had a keen sense that she was a big shot.
The boy's eyes rolled, and he was actually wearing the toy paper armor usually used by his friends to ride horses and fight, holding a small wooden sword in his hand, and pretending to stick to Cao Yannai's side, looking like a brave warrior.
Zhao Hongyin was originally timid and an honest man. When he saw Zhao Er sneaking in, he immediately wanted to drive him away.
How could my second brother Zhao let go of this opportunity? He pushed out his belly and said, "Yeah, don't underestimate Erlang. Erlang can also protect noble people!"
Cao Yannai was a little nervous at first, but when he saw Brother Zhao's appearance, he couldn't help but smile.
"This Erlang, how do you know that someone is a noble person and needs protection?"
Brother Zhao pretended to be innocent and said, "As for my wife, servant Yeye is a high-ranking official, so the person who can be welcomed by him must be a noble person!
Yeye wears armor at home, isn't it just because noble people need protection?"
The word "big official" made the thin-skinned Zhao Hong feel ashamed. How could he, a Forbidden Army general named Yuhou, be considered a big official?
Mrs. Cao Sanniang found this boy more and more interesting, "Now that so-and-so has arrived, how will Xiao Erlang protect him?"
Brother Zhao took out his small wooden sword and gestured twice, "Of course I use the sword in my hand!"
"What if I can't protect it?"
Brother Zhao pointed out, "A certain person is good at driving a donkey. The green tiger in the courtyard can run faster than a galloping horse. As long as we hitch a cart, we can carry the nobleman to Jinyong City. There are many powerful soldiers there who will definitely protect the nobleman's safety."
.”
Zhao Hongyin opened his mouth wide and looked at Zhao Er dumbfounded. Suddenly he knelt down on one knee and said to Cao Yannai: "Madam, I have never mentioned this matter to him."
It turned out that Cao Yannai's plan was that if Zhao Hongyin's family was also in danger, they would escort them and retreat to Jinyong City.
Cao Yannai smiled and waved his hand. Since he wanted to choose Zhao Hongyin as his internal agent, he knew that this person was reliable.
Besides, even if Zhao Hongyin spilled the beans to his children, for Zhao Kuangyin's sake, it would be impossible to blame him.
At this moment, the little prince Zhang Xianzai was suddenly awakened. The little baby came to a strange environment and immediately started crying.
Brother Zhao had just been glared at by his father with a murderous look. He who had been shrinking at first perked up immediately when he heard the cry.
He pointed at Zhang Xianzai who was crying loudly and said: "He must be hungry. My mother just gave birth to her third brother, and she cries like this when she is hungry."
Zhao Er then looked at Cao Yannai and said, "Your Majesty, please come with me. I have a lot of milk. I guarantee that I can feed him to the fullest. He will definitely stop crying when he is full."
Cao Yannai thought about it, and it seemed possible. Zhang Xianzai had been feeling a little uncomfortable being away from his mother these days. Maybe the smell of breast milk and breast milk would make him feel more at ease.
"Marquis Zhao Yu is really well-educated! Uncle Zhongzhou is the pillar of the country. The future of this second son will be unlimited tomorrow."
Cao Yannai sighed sincerely, with a brother like Zhao Kuangyin, the Zhao family could be saved tonight. This Zhao Er is even more of a ghost. He looks very promising no matter what.