See Jiangshan

The new army of Gu Qi's iron cavalry arrived for the first time, and they were in full swing. In just two months, they even fought back to Baixue Pass in one go.

On the day when the good news came to the imperial capital, the sky was covered with leaden clouds, but the heat did not dissipate. Swallows flew low before the heavy rain, and the air was dull and hot.

"General Gu's military order is to guard Chaoguang City. Who gave him the right to send troops? He is lawless and should be held accountable. Your Highness, please call him back to Beijing immediately!"

"This statement is wrong. General Gu is already the supreme commander of the Zhendong Army, so of course he has the power. Once he misses the opportunity, who will be responsible? He snatched back Baixueguan from the demons. Please reward him for his achievements."

"I don't agree with Mr. Li's statement. When General Gu was in the Shenwu Army, he had the largest military expenditure in his account. After he was transferred to the Zhendong Army, he doubled it. Otherwise, call him back first and let him Explain clearly the whereabouts of each military expenditure. As for rewards and punishments, it is not too late to discuss."

"My minister seconded the proposal. We follow the prince's edict, cut expenses, cut down on food and clothing, not to make him militaristic. What's more, the world has been fighting hard for a long time. Why should our army provoke war again? We should rest and recuperate..."

"It's nonsense. Could it be that the peace of the human race depends only on the charity of the demons? We have such a powerful general and a powerful army, so we should show it to the world. We have the guts to kill the demons once, so that they don't dare to commit another crime!"

The courtiers were red-faced and arguing, and one of them knelt down to petition, and immediately fell to his knees.

"Your Highness, please enlighten me!"

Cheng Qianren put down the teacup, and said in a deep voice, "Except for Gu Xuejiang, is there nothing else in the world?"

As Wen Le said, during the Shoufu regency period, everything was arbitrary, and after the open-minded and lenient prince came to power, the atmosphere of the ruling and opposition parties became more lively and open.But this is bound to be a double-edged sword.

Cheng Qianren's shelving did not quell the controversy. Gu Xuejiang was not an ordinary person, and the good news from Baixueguan was finally spread all over the streets and alleys by the prince's desk.

The wind of controversy first started in the mansions of scholars and scribes.After tea and dinner, the educated people gathered for discussion and impromptu debate.

"Losing Baixueguan is a great shame. Without Huajian Xuejiang leading the army, when will the human race be ashamed? Without Huajian Xuejiang to calm the chaos, the dynasty would have been torn apart."

"No, the desire for victory cannot override human nature. If we lose our humanity, we are no longer human. What is the difference between us and the demons? As we all know, Huajian Xuejiang has no bottom line at all. Military power in the hands of such people is equal to Give the sword to the devil!"

At this stage, many articles with beautiful rhetoric, sincere emotion and strict rhythm were produced, which were widely circulated among literati and even entered the palace.

This is an unresolved matter for the prince, which means a chance to reach the sky: the prince has not long been in charge of the government alone, and he treats courtiers equally. Whoever can solve this matter for him will most likely become the prince's confidant.

Ordinary people can't understand Jinxiu articles, but they care about all the news about Gu Xuejiang.The killing god marched into the city with soldiers, and the scene of the long street was engraved in their hearts. Gu Xuejiang was the embodiment of devoid of human nature, cruelty and evil.When people knew that he might be convicted this time, they rushed to tell everyone excitedly.

But Gu Xuejiang also has supporters, the number is not dominant, but the mood is even more fanatical.They gathered together every day, denounced the generals of the empire as useless trash, and shouted that only General Gu can win back the dignity of the human race and bring victory.

At last, all debates are reduced to simple slogans.

"Gu Xuejiang demon reincarnation!"

"Gu Xuejiang's god descends!"

Both factions firmly believe that they are a sober and correct wise man, and the other is a blinded idiot, and they are bound to fight to the end.They set up high platforms at street corners, held sit-in demonstrations, and made impassioned speeches in restaurants and teahouses.People who have never met each other call each other brothers because they have the same views, or yell at each other because they have different views.

Every person in Huangdu, starting from opening his eyes in the morning, even if he stays at home, those three words will come in from the window.Sometimes there are four—the snow crimson among the flowers.

There are street speeches, and the crowds gather more and more. In the heavy, hot, and difficult to breathe air in midsummer, the atmosphere is like a tight bowstring.

Cheng Qianren had already smelled a certain familiar smell at this time, and his heart became alert.

Back then, almost all Nanyuan students voted, making him the head of the academy—no one knows better than him how terrifying the power of ordinary people gathers together.

However, the inexperienced prince made a wrong decision again: he ordered the imperial guards to strengthen the patrols and guards of the imperial capital, be alert to the leaders who gather crowds to make trouble and disturb public order, and if necessary, arrest and imprison them.

The duty of the imperial guards is to maintain order and protect the safety of the people, which is understandable.But he forgot that Gu Xuejiang had served as the deputy commander of the imperial guards, and there was still an old unit in the army who was loyal to him.Infected by public sentiment for a long time, they are also divided into two factions.

Those patrols in sharp clothes and on wartime alert made the atmosphere even more tense and added a handful of firewood.

Until one late night, a flash of lightning tore through the sky, and thunder rolled like a wheel of a god.

The heavy rain clouds that had been pressing over the imperial capital for many days finally brought a downpour.

The wind blew across the ground, and the icy rain poured down from the sky, as if it was going to tear through the roof.The child was frightened by the thunder outside the window and cried loudly.The mother scolded: "Don't cry, if you cry again, Huajian Xuejiang will eat you."

In the largest restaurant in the south of the city, the drunk guests were trapped by the heavy rain and cursed the weather while drinking.

The summer thunderstorm season in the imperial capital is like this every year, it seems that only this year is particularly hated.

"Whoa, Taiping is originally determined by the general, and the general is not allowed to see Taiping!"

"Oh my god, it's raining again, okay, let's strike the bastard to death with lightning! Without General Gu, let those wine bags and food bags go to defend the country! Expand the territory? Even Baixueguan can't hold it..."

A few tables near the window slapped and cursed. The other drinkers were afraid of having swords at their waists, so they had to hold back their anger.

A veteran soldier who had recently retired from the Dongchuan battlefield threw his wine bowl angrily, and suddenly drew his sword: "Where is the dog bastard, dare to insult the name of Princess An!"

"Do you have the guts to draw a knife?! Do you have the guts to kill me? Come on, do you dare—"

Blood splashes!

The noisy tavern was suddenly dead silent.

The veteran killed three people in a row, shouted 'Marshal is invincible', and killed himself with a knife.

"Ah! Murder!"

People fled everywhere, knocking over tables and benches. At this moment, someone on the second floor raised his arms and shouted:

"The crown prince was deceived by the villain, and the empire is at the moment of life and death. Loyal and patriotic people with lofty ideals will follow me to kill the demon Gu Xuejiang and save the dynasty!"

It is impossible to verify who yelled this sentence first, and whether it was instigated by others.

Because when this sentence came out, cheers erupted, and people took iron swords, daggers, kitchen knives, and even smashed tables and chairs, picked up wooden bars, and rushed to the drunkards who were talking nonsense by the window.

The stairs were trampled down, and the "spirited men" who chanted slogans fell down, and were trampled into meat by countless people, and became the first sacrifice of the "killing Gu Xuejiang" campaign.

Another earth-shattering cry from the block across the street:

"For General Gu, for the crown prince, we don't regret dying! Unite and resolutely fight them to the end, come with me!"

"Protect the crown prince! Protect General Gu!"

The area in the south of the city is full of restaurants, restaurants and shops, and the crowds are dense, and they quickly gather into groups.The crowd rushed into the pouring rain with crude weapons.

The long-suppressed anger finally broke out, and the blood surged up, and he couldn't feel the cold.

The originally spacious long street was crowded with crazy people who were wrestling and slashing. The cavalry of the Janissary patrol came roaring, and the hooves of the horses were like thunder, splashing water.

"Put down your arms! The rebels are arrested and imprisoned!"

The two guards met on a narrow road, and accused each other of being sidelined during law enforcement.

"Who doesn't know that you are Gu Xuejiang's former subordinate, and my heart is toward him!"

"Fucking old man, follow General Gu forever!"

The Janissaries beat the Janissaries, the Janissaries beat the masses, and the masses beat the masses.

A scuffle broke out and spread rapidly from the city south of the city.Hooligans from the slums in the east of the city got involved, shouting 'Kill Gu Xuejiang, save the dynasty', 'Long live Your Highness the Prince', took advantage of the chaos to loot the shop, and set fire to it before leaving.

In the heavy rain, the kerosene was burning, and the angry crowd flocked to the north of the city, gathering more and more like a snowball.The cold of the rainy night and the fear of practitioners are all left behind.All emotions were ignited, shouting slogans and charging.

"Die for General Gu, for His Highness the Crown Prince, a worthy death!"

"Everyone, don't want to be born in the same year, the same month, and the same day, but to die in the same year, the same month, and the same day!"

To the north of the city is the residence of the nobles in the imperial capital, and the house protection formations are lit up one after another, and golden lights rise up one after another, illuminating half of the sky in the imperial capital.

Nursing homes, private soldiers, and domestic slaves from various prefectures were mobilized to drive out the mob.Many officials who disagreed with each other in political opinion and were not pleasing to the eye, but lived in the same street and had to greet each other, took this opportunity to finally take revenge.

'It has become such a mess, who can prove that it was my soldiers who smashed your formation?Just consider yourself unlucky. '

That night, all order, laws, and rules disappeared, and nearly 20 people were involved in the scuffle.

However, Gu Xuejiang is far away in Dongchuan, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sleeps in the East Palace. No matter who they want to kill or protect, their goals and consequences of actions are far from each other.

In the rainy night, Princess An was ordered to enter the East Palace.

Cheng Qianren had no expression on his face, he was wearing the prince's court clothes, a beaded crown on his head, and holding the ghost Piyi in his hand.He ordered all the cavalry of the Zhendong Army in the suburbs of Beijing to sweep from the south gate all the way to the outside of the palace gate.The rioting crowd was dispersed, and the rebels were killed on the spot.

"There are still six battalions of the imperial guards in the west of the city. My soldiers have been fighting against the demons for many years. Not long after they left the battlefield, their murderous intent has not dissipated. Once this order is issued, I'm afraid..."

Cheng Qianren looked at her.

Princess An suddenly felt that the person in front of her was very strange: "Deling."

Cheng Qianren waved away the attendants and walked to the window.

The East Palace is on a higher terrain, and the halls are higher than the higher level, with a wide view.Under the curtain of rain, the light of fire and smoke, formations and magic weapons filled the sky above the imperial capital.

The people who once greeted him enthusiastically and lined the streets turned into vicious thugs overnight.

For the first time since Cheng Qianren came to power, the real and dangerous storm he faced was the unprecedented struggle between various factions, triggered by his close friend Gu Xuejiang.

Civil servants are dissatisfied with military officials, upstarts are dissatisfied with veteran officials' pedantry, and old nobles are dissatisfied with frugality.

Zhu Liu came out from behind the screen: "Brother."

"Those scholars who wrote the article in the first place are not big villains. It is my weakness that gives people with ulterior motives an opportunity to make them think that they can put pressure on me by inciting people's hearts."

Cheng Qianren still looked out of the window, "Go to sleep, I will stay by myself for a while."

Zhuliu stood with him and didn't speak.

When the sky was getting brighter, the heavy rain gradually stopped.

Anguo returned to the palace, all the thugs in the imperial capital were dispersed, and the basic order was restored.All the generals of the Imperial Guard who participated in the melee, except those who had died, were arrested and imprisoned.

Cheng Qianren asked, "How many people died last night?"

"The minister reported eight thousand to the historian."

"Actually?"

"fifty thousand."

"Then write fifty thousand."

"It's bad for the holy name, and you shouldn't have given the order last night, you should let Mr. Shoufu..."

She didn't go on.

Cheng Qianren patted her on the shoulder: "Sister Huang, you have worked hard."

An Guo knelt down and clasped his fists, and said in a deep voice, "Please order the prince to recall Huajian Xuejiang immediately."