Fenghou

"And then? What's the second rumor?"

"The second rumor is that someone saw Xiang Kui, Xiang Desheng's nephew, in Jingzhao."

Zhao Gou frowned. This was exactly what Xu Xiantu said. It was obvious that someone was deliberately spreading the news.

"What else, you continue?"

"There is also the fact that they are constantly gathering in secret, as if they are discussing some important matter, only this news is more definite!"

Zhao Gou nodded and said, "I came to you to tell you to use elite Plum Blossom Guards to closely monitor the words and deeds of these dignitaries and report to me at any time!"

The first thousand and 440 chapters and five secret meetings

Zhong Huan's new mission is to rush to Lin'an to support the special envoy Lu Gang. He brought 120 elite internal guards.

They used the method of constantly changing horses, rushed to Lin'an day and night, and arrived in Lin'an in only ten days.

Zhong Huan arranged 120 of his men to rest in an inn outside the city, while he himself went to the city to go to Changfeng Teahouse.

Soon, Lu Gang and Wang Mu rushed to the teahouse one after another. Together with Zhong Huan, Dong An and Wei Yanzong, the five of them had an urgent discussion in the back hall of the teahouse.

Chong Huan hadn't closed his eyes for two days, so he forced himself to say to everyone: "Before I left, Your Highness had a lot to say to me, first of all, he asked us to move the Cao family, Huyan family, Yang family, Liu family, and Gao family to other places as soon as possible. Quanzhou, His Highness infers that there will be a bloody struggle within the Song Dynasty, and it is not far away, we have to transfer the relevant stakeholders away, this is the first step."

Lu Gang said slowly: "I also received a pigeon letter from King Yong before, and I have already started preliminary preparations. First of all, the Yang family and the Gao family are not in Lin'an, but in Jiangning County. I have arranged for people to transfer their two families to Jiangbei. There are only three families in Lin'an, the Cao family, the Huyan family and the Liu family. They also received Cao De's letter and cooperated with us very much. Transfer their main tribe."

Zhong Huan said: "The second step is to participate in their internal struggle. I handed King Yong's letter to Special Envoy Lu. I have brought 120 elite internal guards, and I will fully cooperate with Special Envoy Lu's arrangements."

Lu Gang nodded, "I also just read His Highness King Yong's letter, which asked us to evacuate Lin'an City temporarily after we evacuated the three families!"

Wang Mu asked anxiously, "Is the newspaper office going to be evacuated too?"

"Retreat too!"

Lu Gang affirmed: "Your Highness has made it very clear that once internal strife breaks out, we will all be targeted. We must plan ahead and retreat as soon as possible!"

Dong An laughed and said, "The teahouse can be closed tomorrow, and we will assist the newspaper to evacuate!"

Wang Mu nodded, "I have to go back and discuss with everyone how to retreat without affecting the issuance. We had an emergency plan before, and now we can implement it."

"We still have the most important task!"

Lu Gang dipped his hand into the tea and wrote two words on the table. Everyone could see clearly, and their expressions became serious.

……

It was already midnight, but the lobby of Xiang's house was still brightly lit. More than [-] powerful families were urgently discussing countermeasures. They were agitated and arguing fiercely.

There are hundreds of warriors standing guard on the outside. They paced back and forth, paying attention to the movement around them. Two patrolling warriors were deployed outside the southwest corner. One of the warriors was called Sun Jin. .

It was almost the fourth watch, and he was eager to report to Plum Blossom Guard, but he couldn't find an excuse to leave, which made him very anxious.

It happened that his other was so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes, so he said to Sun Jin: "I'm really sleepy, brother, I'll go and squint for a while, it's over there in the corridor, if there is something urgent, please let me know!"

"Go ahead!"

The companion sneaked away to sleep, Sun Jin finally found the opportunity, and immediately ran to the back wall, climbed over the wall, and ran to the nearby Plum Blossom Guard to report.

In less than half an hour, he came back again, his companion was still sleeping, and he was still pretending to be on guard.

At this time, the discussion ended, the back door opened, and one carriage after another drove out, and each carriage was followed by several warriors on horseback. These were their own guards, not the same as the warriors standing guard.

Not long after, all the twenty or so representatives of the dignitaries disappeared. In fact, they were all the dignitaries living in Lin'an City, and there were ten other dignitaries living in other places.

The warriors all disbanded and went back to their dormitories to rest. Sun Jin found a companion and went back to the dormitory to sleep together.

In the back house, Xiang Desheng was still discussing with his two sons Xiang Jun, Xiang Wen, and his nephew Xiang Kui about the arrangements for the Xiang family. Xiang Kui rushed back to Lin'an yesterday, which is why today's gathering was attracted.

Everyone at today's gathering reached two important consensuses. First, they rejected King Yong's land order. They would never give up their land, even if they exchanged overseas land.

Second, they unanimously agreed to support Zhao Bocong, the seventh grandson of Taizu, as the new emperor, replacing the current emperor Zhao Gou.

Of course, this decision is actually a coup d'état. If it is leaked, the consequences will be unimaginable. Everyone signed a confidentiality commitment on the spot and will never leak the contents of the discussion, even within the family.

The reason why these dignitaries dared to compete with the emperor Zhao Gou was because they also had a certain amount of confidence. They controlled 15 of the [-] army of the imperial court, accounting for [-]%.

Moreover, [-] of the court's [-] armies were deployed along the Yangtze River and along the western Zhejiang line.

In addition, of the [-] troops distributed around Lin'an, [-] troops were controlled by these dignitaries, including [-] Wenzhou troops and [-] Lin'an garrisons, and the only army loyal to the emperor was Yang Xizhong leading the other [-] Lin'an garrisons. In Wanmeihuawei, the dignitaries had the upper hand five to three.

As long as the Wenzhou Army arrives in Lin'an in time, the dignitaries will have hope of victory.

……

"What does Wenzhou say?" Xiang Desheng asked his eldest son, Xiang Jun.

Xiang Jun served as the commander of the Wenzhou Army and commanded [-] Taizhou Army. He also just rushed back to Lin'an.

Xiang Jun said in a deep voice: "Wang Dutong means that if you decide to take action, you must be decisive and not delay. Once the officials find out, you will be in big trouble."

Xiang Desheng nodded, "You rush back to Wenzhou immediately. Since everyone has made a unanimous decision, then you can act. Ask him to enter Beijing immediately, and we will open the city gate to cooperate."

Xiang Jun nodded, "The boy will leave first, if there is anything wrong, send someone to contact the boy immediately!"

"Go! Be careful all the way."

Xiang Jun left first, and Xiang Desheng said to his second son Xiang Wen, "Have all the property in the treasury been transferred?"

Xiang Wen nodded, "Everything that can be transferred has been transferred to Yangzhou, but the food cannot be transferred."

"Don't worry about the food, you rush to Yangzhou to sit in the town immediately, our Xiang family's wealth is all in Yangzhou, you have to protect me!"

"Let's go at dawn, baby!"

Xiang Desheng glanced at his nephew Xiang Kui again, "The third son is very silent today!"

Xiang Kui sighed and said: "Actually, we are at great risk. King Yong has promised not to confiscate our wealth, but also promised to guarantee our safety. We can welcome the Western Army. This is the best choice. My nephew will not Understood, why not choose the best option?"

Xiang Desheng explained: "You have also seen today, except that we, the Xiang family, the Cao family and the Huyan family agreed to hand over the land, others did not agree. We are all one. If we insist, our alliance will be divided, so We must obey everyone’s opinions, I communicated with the Cao family and the Huyan family, and they also mean the same, obey the overall situation.”

Xiang Kui shook his head, "Even if the Son of Heaven is overthrown and the new Emperor ascends the throne, so what if the Western Army comes and sweeps across the south of the Yangtze River, we still can't keep our land or even our property. His Royal Highness King Yong said very clearly that if soldiers come to the city, The most you can do is save your life, don't count on property and land."

Xiang Desheng said indifferently: "When it comes to land interests, don't expect everyone to see the long-term and see the overall situation, otherwise there will be no regrets in the world."

"All right!"

Xiang Kui said helplessly, "What is my nephew responsible for?"

Xiang Desheng said slowly: "You are responsible for organizing a thousand family members, arming them, and protecting Xiang's family's retreat at critical moments!"

The first thousand and 440 chapters and six drum secrets

In the middle of the night, Emperor Zhao Gou was woken up by the eunuch, "Your Majesty, Yan Dutong said that there is an emergency to report!"

Zhao Gou was shocked, and immediately woke up, and quickly ordered: "Let him wait in the outer hall!"

Zhao Gou put on a robe and walked quickly to the outer hall, Yan Xin quickly stepped forward to salute, "See Your Majesty!"

Zhao Gou waved his hand, "What's urgent?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, 25 dignitaries are gathering in Xiangfu in the middle of the night to discuss important matters!"

"Is it now?"

"Exactly, they have been discussing from night to midnight, and it just ended. The low-ranking insider should say that everyone signed and pledged, and it seemed that some major event had been decided."

Zhao Gou also realized that the matter was serious. These bastards had already controlled the Wenzhou army, and there was also an army controlled by them in Lin'an. Once they rebelled, the consequences would be disastrous.

He pondered for a moment, then immediately wrote a secret decree and handed it to Yan Xin: "You immediately send people to Zhenjiang Mansion, and hand over my secret decree to Han Shizhong, those dignitaries, continue to monitor!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

Yan Xin saluted and left in a hurry.

Zhao Gou then wrote two more secret decrees, one of which was exactly the same as the one just now, and sent his confidant guards to Han Shizhong in Zhenjiang Mansion and Liu Kai in West Zhejiang respectively, ordering them to lead their troops back to King Qin of Lin'an immediately.

The reason why he wanted to write another letter to Han Shizhong was that he still didn't trust Yan Xin. Although Yan Xin was his trusted confidant, who knew if he would change?Bought by the rich and powerful.

……

The situation became more and more tense, Cao Ju returned to the mansion and immediately summoned his brothers, nephews and nephews.

"The second batch of you go, go here tomorrow morning!"

Cao Ju handed a note to his elder brother Cao Mang, "You go here tomorrow, Special Envoy Lu will arrange for you to leave."

"Brother, are you leaving?"

Cao Ju shook his head, "Cao's mansion has to keep one person. I signed the covenant just now, and the person ran away. It's too immoral. Don't worry! I'll be fine. If the situation is not right, I will slip away through the secret path. "

Cao Ju's youngest son, Cao Yidao: "Father, I'll stay with you! If we escape together, there is someone to take care of us."

Cao Meng also persuaded: "Brother, let Wulang stay! He is very skilled in martial arts, so we can rest assured that he will take care of you."

Everyone also persuaded, and Cao Meng finally agreed, "Okay! The fifth one stays, and the others must go!"

Before dawn, a group of more than a dozen members of the Cao family left the mansion in three carriages and drove out of the city. This was the second group of people from the Cao family. The first group consisted of family members, women and children, and they had already left by boat five days ago. Xiaoshan County will take a boat to Quanzhou after the second batch converges.

Half an hour later, they arrived at a mansion by the Qiantang River. This was the Temporary Special Envoy's Mansion. Behind it was the Qiantang River. There was a private pier with four or five thousand-stone black shed boats tied to it. They could retreat in case of danger.

When Cao Meng and his party came to the mansion, Dong An welcomed them in, only to find that not only them, but also the Huyan family and Liu family, totaling 60 to [-] people.

Dong An said with a smile: "They arrived last night, and they will take a boat to Xiaoshan County together later, the boat is ready, you came just in time!"

Cao Meng asked again: "How many days shall we stay in Xiaoshan County?"

Dong An shook his head, "Let's take the Wanshi sea boat to Quanzhou tonight."

……

In the morning, Zou Shuan finished last night's duty, came out of the palace, and went directly to the Tianxiang Teahouse near Jiangjun Bridge, where he and Wei Yanzong made an appointment to meet. He has arrived, so every time he comes out on duty, he has to come to the teahouse to sit and see if Wei Yanzong has anything to look for him.

Sure enough, I met Wei Yanzong today, and this time there was another person beside him. Wei Yanzong smiled and introduced him: "This is your colleague, General Xiaozhong, the internal guard of the Western Army!"

Zou Shuan was in awe, clasped his fists and said, "It turns out that your Excellency is the famous General Xiaozhong. I have admired him for a long time!"

Zhong Huan laughed and said, "Am I so famous?"

"You are very famous, at least in our Plum Blossom Guard. You cleared up private salt on Sichuan Road and Jinghu South Road, killing people like hemp. We, Yan Dutong, always take you as an example and scold us for being incompetent in suppressing private salt, so We all know General Xiaozhong!"

Zhong Huan smiled wryly, killing people like hemp, he actually has such a reputation.

Wei Yanzong waved his hand and said, "Let's cut the long story short and get straight to the point. General Xiaozhong wants to bring four brothers into the palace as errands. Can you arrange it?"

Zou Shuan was taken aback. Six people were sent to the palace as errands. How should this be arranged?

Wei Yanzong saw his expression of embarrassment, and said: "Don't you have twenty subordinates? How about pretending to be your subordinates?"

"The problem is that my subordinates all know each other. If five strangers suddenly appear, they will definitely inform."

Zhong Huan asked, "Where are you on duty at night?"

Zou Shuan thought for a while and said with a smile: "If you are on duty at night, it's really okay!"

"How to say?"

"We have five people on duty every night, and I arrange them all. I can give a group of soldiers a holiday, and then General Xiaozhong pretends to be them. But the time can't be too long, five or six days at most."

Zhong Huan nodded, "Five or six days is enough."

Wei Yanzong was a little worried and asked: "Will they be seen through when they enter the palace on duty?"

Zou Shuan laughed and said: "We are not guards, we are the supervisors of the inner palace. All the maids, eunuchs and guards hide away when they see us. Basically, we don't meet anyone. We were a little interested at first, but then we got bored. , when on duty, they hide in the room drinking and gambling, or sleep, but there is a principle that women in the palace cannot touch it, and if they touch it, they will lose their heads. As long as you grasp this principle, there will be no problem."

Zhong Huan asked again, "Will you meet the Son of Heaven?"

"Generally we avoid them. If we really want to meet them, we can meet them. Every day, eunuchs give us the schedule of the emperor, and then we go to supervise, mainly to supervise the guards to prevent them from slacking off. Of course , we are just going through the motions, everyone is eating, there is no need to be so serious."

Zhong Huan nodded, "That's the decision, starting tonight, we will be on duty every night!"

……

During this period, Xiangguo Qin Hui also began to suffer from insomnia. Since Wan Qixie was assassinated, Qin Hui clearly felt that the emperor was indifferent to him.

Especially in the last few days when the situation was tense, the Son of Heaven always called Xu Xiantu to discuss secretly, instead of looking for himself, which made Qin Hui really nervous and full of a sense of crisis in his heart.

This sense of crisis not only comes from the emperor's neglect, but also from the escalation of internal struggles in the Song Dynasty.

"Master, is there someone who wants to establish a new emperor and replace the current emperor?" Wang asked directly.

"How do you know?" Qin Hui looked at his wife puzzled.

"I am entering the palace today, the queen mother told me."

Qin Hui was startled, even the Empress Dowager Wei knew about it, so he asked again, "What did the Empress Dowager Wei say?"