Unparalleled Concubine

"Eunuch Chen, what is the purpose of His Majesty calling the old man back from the north in such a hurry?"

Chen Ju smiled bitterly and said, "The commander-in-chief thinks too highly of me. How can a servant like me know what your majesty thinks, but your majesty ordered me to wait for the commander-in-chief here, saying that he will go directly to the palace after he enters the capital. Zhong Shuai will know it when he sees His Majesty."

Chong Xuantong nodded, and said: "Since His Majesty has ordered, this old man will go to the palace with Eunuch Chen to face the saint, but the journey is full of dust and dust, and the saint will inevitably collide."

"It's okay to be okay."

Chen Ju laughed and said, "Shuai Zhong and I will go to the palace."

Chong Xuantong turned his head and told his grandson: "Go home and report to grandma and aunts that they are safe, and the old man will go to the palace to meet the saint."

Most of the young and strong members of the Chong family are from Yunzhou City, so the Zhong mansion in the capital is full of women, that is, Zhong Heng's grandmothers and aunts.

Zhong Heng nodded respectfully.

Chong Xuantong got into the carriage that Chen Ju had prepared early in the morning, and headed towards the palace.

When it was almost noon, the carriage entered the capital city, with Chen Ju on the carriage, and the Yongan Gate let the carriage pass, and the carriage went all the way to the gate of Changle Palace in the inner palace without hindrance. Chen Ju lifted the curtain and welcomed Zhong Xuantong down .

At this time, Zhong Xuantong had already changed into a suit of clothes on the carriage. Although it was not a court dress, it was also a common dress that could be used to meet the saint. The old handsome Zhong sorted out his clothes carefully, and walked into the Changle Palace with his hands down.

In fact, this commander-in-chief has been stationed in Yunzhou City all year round, and he has not visited Beijing many times. Counting the entire Chengde Dynasty, he has not seen the Emperor Chengde more than ten times. However, the head of the Zhong family is The most respectful of many courtiers.

Under Chen Ju's guidance, Zhong Xuantong met the Chengde Emperor wrapped in fur in Nuandian.

I don't know why, after the last assassination, Emperor Chengde became more and more afraid of the cold, and stayed in this warm hall to keep warm almost every day.

Zhong Xuantong knelt on the ground respectfully, palms up, kowtowed and said: "Minister Zhong Xuantong, kowtow to Your Majesty."

Emperor Chengde hadn't seen the sun for a month, and now his face was even paler. He looked up at Zhong Xuantong who was kneeling on the ground, and waved his hand: "Chen Ju, set up a seat for the general."

Chong Xuantong knelt on the ground, respectful: "Your Majesty, although the old minister is old, he is still in good health, and he dare not sit in front of His Majesty."

The Son of Heaven coughed and said, "If you are told to sit, you can sit."

Zhong Xuantong bowed his head and said: "The old minister obeys the order."

He carefully sat on the wooden pier brought by Chen Ju, only sitting on the small half of his buttocks, and then lowered his head in a polite manner, not daring to look up at the king.

Although it is a rule not to look up at the emperor, even Li Xin dared to raise his head to look at the emperor when he saw the emperor, but this general Zhong did not even raise his head to look at the emperor.

With the support of Chen Ju, Emperor Chengde sat on the dragon couch, and then looked at the head of the family in front of him indifferently.

"General, do you know why I called you back to the capital?"

Chong Xuantong shook his head and said, "The veteran dare not speculate on the Holy Will."

A smile appeared on the emperor's face.

"Since I came to the throne, I have greeted and sent off countless courtiers in the past ten years. There are all kinds of people among these people, but you are the most cautious when counting the generals."

Having said that, the emperor paused, and then added.

"It's also the most slippery."

Zhong Xuantong bowed his head deeply: "Your Majesty, the ancestral precept of the Zhong family is to abide by the four words of duty. The veteran has been following the precepts of the ancestors all his life, and dare not go beyond the rules."

The emperor closed his eyes: "You raise your head and take a look at me."

Chong Xuantong first bowed his head to say yes, and then slowly raised his head. The Chengde Emperor in front of him was pale and almost lifeless, and he looked as if he was dying at first sight.

Zhong Xuantong was startled and immediately lowered his head.

The old official almost climbed from the wooden pier to the ground, knelt down and wept: "Your Majesty, when the old official came to Beijing, your majesty was still as fierce as a dragon, why is it like this now..."

The Son of Heaven couldn't help laughing: "Get up, don't pretend to be old. It's been more than a month since I was assassinated. No matter how bad the news about the Chong family is, I should know about it."

Zhong Xuantong bowed his head and said: "The old minister knew that His Majesty was assassinated, but only knew that His Majesty was slightly injured, and absolutely didn't know what he looked like..."

The Son of Heaven shook his head and smiled, then his smile subsided, and he said silently: "General, I won't live long."

"The imperial physicians have taken turns to diagnose and treat many times, and they all say that they can only be supported by medicine, and no one can say how long it will last."

"That's why I asked Chen Ju to call you back to the capital."

Chong Xuantong kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty has orders, the old minister is so heartbroken!"

The emperor squinted his eyes and chuckled: "In the past few days, the forbidden army will move closer to the capital."

"I want you to control half of the forbidden army for me."

Chapter 259 Holding the Sword for the Son of Heaven

The power in the capital city is Habayashi Guard and Nei Guard, but the total number of the two guards is about 500 people. The biggest responsibility of the two guards is to protect the royal family, and they are not even responsible for the security of the capital.

The public security in the capital is in the charge of the Inspection Department, Jingzhao Mansion and Jinwu Guard.

In other words, these people are only in charge of the interior of the capital, but for such a big dynasty, only these people are far from enough. It is the forbidden army near the capital that really guards the capital and protects the emperor!

Both Habayashi Guard and Neiwei belong to the category of the Forbidden Army, but they are only a small part of the Forbidden Army. The entire Forbidden Army together exceeds 30 people!

Not all of these forbidden troops are stationed near the capital, some will be sent by the emperor to various places in the Jin Dynasty, either to garrison, or to perform tasks, or to change defenses with the frontier troops, etc.

In the entire Jin Dynasty, there were only three armies: the Zhong Family Army, the Zhenbei Army of Jimen Pass, and the Pingnan Army of the Pingnan Houfu. inside.

Half of the more than 30 forbidden troops are stationed in the Gyeonggi area.

These forbidden troops are the emperor Chengde's confidence in the court, and they are also the foundation for him to secure the world.

The imperial army is generally stationed in the capital area, and it takes only a day or two to get there from the capital. This army is different from the frontier army, which is far away from the emperor. They are at the feet of the emperor. hand.

The two guards in the capital are just the emperor's armor. These guards in the capital are the swords in the hands of the emperor, and the reason why the emperor is the emperor.

Zhong Xuantong knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty, the Zhong family has always been in charge of the frontier army, and never dared to get involved in the forbidden army..."

"Even if you want to get involved, I won't agree."

The emperor smiled faintly: "I just let you lead it temporarily, the capital is about to undergo major changes, and the imperial army is still under the control of Pei Sanlang alone, so I don't feel at ease."

The Pei Sanlang mentioned by the emperor is Pei Jin, the general of the Forbidden Army. This general Pei was born as a craftsman in the Ministry of Industry in his early years. Later, he was appreciated by the emperor and promoted into the army. Chen Guogong, Ye Cheng's disciples, studied military art and battle formation. After nearly ten years of training in the Beijiang Zhenbei Army, he was transferred back to Beijing by the emperor. In the 13th year of Chengde, he became the general of the forbidden army and officially held the sword for the emperor.

Pei Jin became the current general from a lowly status, and he was almost single-handedly promoted by the emperor of Chengde, so he became the diehard loyalist of the emperor as it should be.

If you are not loyal to the emperor, you cannot hold the sword for the emperor.

Now, Emperor Chengde can't trust his own loyalty.

Zhong Xuantong prostrated himself on the ground and said in a choked voice, "Your Majesty's dragon body, has it come to this?"