Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 399: Reverse Scale (Additional chapter for JJM leader)

After Yang Yuan changed into a scarlet robe, he and Liu Shangqiu walked out of the palace under the guidance of the eunuch.

When they were about to reach "Little West Lake", the two men in red robes ran into a man in purple robe head-on.

The man in purple robe was walking quickly towards them, led by a young eunuch.

Wearing a purple robe, he is at least at the third rank.

Yang Yuan and Liu Shangqiu quickly stepped to the side of the road and bowed.

The purple-robed official was tall and slender, with sharp features, three tufts of hair under his chin, and had a dignified appearance.

He didn't stop, but just glanced at them when he walked in front of them.

After recognizing Liu Shangqiu, the man in purple robe nodded slightly to Liu Shangqiu and walked straight over.

Yang Yuan... was ignored by him.

After all, among men, only a face-obsessed person like Liu Guojiu would care about Yang Yuan's appearance.

Anyone who is not as handsome as Liu Guojiu is not worthy of being his friend.

But a third-rank official won’t care about your appearance.

Liu Guojiu straightened up and whispered to Yang Yuan, "The person just now was Shen Xuzhong, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War and the acting academician."

After hearing this, Yang Yuan secretly memorized this man's appearance, name, and identity.

From then on, he worked in the Yulong Division and often had to meet ministers from various departments, so he had to get to know people.

Liu Guojiu also knew that as his position changed, some things that he did not need to understand before now required him to master.

So, as they walked, Uncle Liu introduced him in a low voice: "Mr. Shen is a Jinshi in the Xuanhe period. He has outstanding literary talent and has published many works. He is quite famous in the literary world..."

……

In the Funing Palace, Liu Wanrong suddenly said in surprise: "Madam, the emperor has woken up."

After hearing this, Queen Wu hurried to the couch.

Liu Wanrong quickly stood up and made room for her.

Zhao Gou woke up slowly and groaned. He felt a burning pain in his abdomen, but the pain from his flesh wounds was not so obvious at this time.

Seeing Empress Wu approaching, Zhao Gou asked, "Empress, what time is it now?"

Empress Wu replied, "It is past the middle of the afternoon. How is your Majesty?"

Zhao Gou sighed and said, "I feel a burning sensation in my stomach, which makes me uncomfortable. However, it should be fine, so you don't have to worry."

Queen Wu sat down beside the couch, took Zhao Gou's hand, gently clasped it in her palm, and said softly:

"The imperial physician said that the emperor is feeling unwell because there is some residual poison in his body. The emperor does not need to worry. He will be fine after a few more days of rest."

Zhao Gou hummed and said, "Has the assassin been caught?"

Empress Wu said, "I was just about to tell the emperor."

Zhao Gou waved his hand and asked Liu Wanrong to help him sit up, put two cushions behind him, and closed his eyes again.

Empress Wu then told Zhao Gou that she had discovered that the Japanese delegation was suspicious, but when she sent people to investigate, the Japanese were intercepted and immediately fought back to the death.

After hearing this, Zhao Gou's face became a little gloomy.

Wanqi Xie reported that it was the remnants of Yue Fei who were responsible, but how could Yue Fei have any remnants? Even if he did, would they be able to convince foreign countries to send killers in the name of an envoy?
Preparations for the visit of the Japanese delegation began several months ago.

The Ministry of Rites had always been the one in contact and communication with him, and the Minister of Rites Qu Mo was a person promoted and cultivated by Qin Hui.

But the problem is, Qin Hui was killed last night!

There's no reason for him to hire a killer to kill him, right?
Did you fail in your acting too well?
This... is too ridiculous, it's impossible!
Zhao Gou was now a little distracted. Although he realized that things were confusing and strange, he did not have the energy to delve into it.

It was just that he had exerted his mind a little too much, and he began to feel annoyed and uncomfortable in his heart.

After a moment's silence, Zhao Gou said slowly, "So the Japanese are indeed suspicious. Let's wait until Mu En interrogates them before we speak."

Zhao Gou opened his eyes and saw that Queen Wu looked haggard, and he couldn't help feeling a little pity.

Queen Wu had been with him since she was thirteen years old.

During the days when the Jin people were searching the mountains and seas, making him live in constant fear, Wu, who was only fourteen or fifteen years old at the time, wore military uniform and carried a sword every day, and followed him by his side. She was the woman who had shared the hardships with him.

Although the two have not had sex for many years.

But in Zhao Gou's heart, Wu was one of his most important relatives, far more than those toys on the couch.

Zhao Gou said gently: "Queen, you are still ill, so don't stay by my side all the time.

Liu Wanrong will be there to take care of you, you should take good care of yourself."

In the midst of the chaos, the emperor abandoned Liu Wanrong in Xiangji Temple and ignored her.

If Prince Pu'an Zhao Yuan had not sent her back to the palace, the emperor would probably still have forgotten about her.

But how could Liu Wanrong have the qualifications to complain about the emperor?

After hearing what Zhao Gou said, Liu Wanrong forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty is right, Madam, you should also take a good rest.

The emperor is in bed recovering from his injuries. If the queen becomes seriously ill again, the sky of the Song Dynasty will fall. "

When Queen Wu saw that Zhao Gou's complexion had gradually improved after talking for a while, and she was really exhausted, she agreed.

She turned around and reminded Liu Wanrong, "If the emperor has any instructions, you must report it to me in time." Liu Wanrong knew that the queen was saying that if the emperor fell asleep again, she must be informed, so she quickly agreed and respectfully saw the queen off.

Zhao Gou thought about the matter of the Japanese over and over again, but because Qin Hui himself died in Xiangji Temple, he could not blame Qin Hui.

If it wasn't Qin Hui, then who was plotting against me?
Not only did he plot against me, he also wanted to eat up Qin Hui in one gulp. With such a big appetite..., who can benefit from it?

After thinking about it, I still can't come up with an answer.

At this moment, the eunuch reported that Shen Xuzhong, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War and acting academician, had an urgent report.

Zhao Gou's heart moved, and he ordered: "Pass it on!"

Shen Xuzhong entered the bedroom, and Zhao Gou ordered people to roll up the pearl curtain and asked him to come closer to talk.

Shen Xuzhong was delighted to see that Zhao Gou was able to sit up and looked in good spirits.

Zhao Gou knew that Shen Xuzhong had come to the palace in a hurry to see him, and that there must be something important, so he asked, "What does Mr. Shen have to report to me?"

Shen Xuzhong's expression straightened up, and he hurriedly saluted and said, "Your Majesty, I have received some news. Just before and after the attack on Your Majesty on the night of the Lantern Festival, there were unusual movements at the important passes leading to the secondary capital Jiankang..."

Zhao Gou suddenly coughed, stopping Shen Xuzhong from speaking.

Zhao Gou waved his hand and said, "You all leave."

Liu Wanrong agreed and left with the palace maids and eunuchs.

Zhao Gou stared at Shen Xuzhong and said, "Speak!"

Shen Xuzhong said: "Yes! Your Majesty, on the Lantern Festival, the Ministry of War issued an order that during the Lantern Festival, people will watch lanterns everywhere, and there will be a large flow of people, which is prone to fires and stampedes.

Therefore, I order all the soldiers, conscripts, and local soldiers in Lin'an and its nine counties to assemble and wait for orders..."

In previous years, there had never been a situation where the army was mobilized to deal with unexpected holiday events, but it seemed reasonable to single this out.

But considering that something happened at Xiangji Temple that day, it was a little unusual.

Zhao Gou stared at Shen Xuzhong with a sharp gaze and said, "Why didn't you report this to me earlier?"

Shen Xuzhong showed a strange look on his face and said, "The Minister of War gave the order directly, bypassing the left and right assistant ministers. I know nothing about this matter.

The time for the various garrison troops, conscripted soldiers, and local militia to assemble and be on standby was only on the night of the Lantern Festival, and they would be withdrawn the next day.

If the generals of the garrison and the military had not complained about this, and had not complained when I went to the Ministry of War today, I would still have been kept in the dark."

The Imperial Guards were the regular army of the Song Dynasty and also the most powerful army. Zhao Gou always kept the Imperial Guards firmly in his own hands.

Previously, Qin Hui had tried to send a letter into the palace on behalf of the Queen Mother's evildoer in this country, and deliberately exposed the matter in order to anger Zhao Gou.

He purged the imperial guards who had failed in their duties, and promoted him to a key position as a hidden man in the imperial guards.

Unfortunately, because of the variable Yang Yuan, the emperor was able to remove the spy he had planted in the imperial guards.

Zhao Gou also became more powerful because Qin Hui tried to get involved in the imperial guards, which touched his bottom line.

He conspired with Yang Cun Zhong to paralyze Qin Hui by demoting Yang Cun Zhong, and then used a sledgehammer to crack down on the Song and Jin smuggling groups using the Imperial City Division, taking the opportunity to mix an important military weapon into the cargo.

He then made a big fuss about this and eliminated some of Qin Hui's followers, making Zhao Gou's control over the imperial guards even stronger.

However, the garrison troops, conscripted soldiers and local militia have always been the traditional sphere of influence of the prime minister.

Zhao Gou never thought of depriving the prime minister of his control over it, and Zhao Gou was not a person who did not know military affairs, and he also looked down on the combat effectiveness of the garrison troops, conscripted soldiers and local militia.

The main function of the garrison soldiers is to maintain local public security in each city. The conscripted soldiers are transport and escort troops such as the grain transport soldiers, and the township troops are the militia and civilian forces in various places, which belong to the militia sequence.

Their fighting power was really limited, so Zhao Gou never took it seriously.

But what if the emperor was assassinated?
If the emperor was assassinated, the prime minister would come out to preside over the situation.

Although the prime minister could not command the imperial guards, he could mobilize the garrison troops, conscripted soldiers and local militia.

Although the fighting power of the garrison troops, conscripted soldiers and local soldiers was not enough to compete with the imperial guards,
But the problem is that, in that situation, the Imperial Guards would not come out to fight against the Xiang Army!

Although the generals of the imperial guards had the power to lead troops, they did not have the power to dispatch them.

The power to dispatch troops must be granted by the emperor through an imperial edict, which in turn requires the Privy Council to issue military orders and grant military tokens.

The Privy Council was in the hands of Qin Hui.

So, in that situation, Qin Hui could not mobilize the imperial guards, and the problem was that no one else could mobilize them either.

Unless Qin Hui openly raised the flag of rebellion, it would be reasonable and legal for him to mobilize the garrison troops, conscripted soldiers and local militia to maintain public order and stabilize the situation in his capacity as the prime minister of the Song Dynasty.

In that case, Qin Hui could do many things, such as controlling the passes, sealing off the Lin'an Palace, and confining the important officials to their official residences...

The imperial guards could only watch and do nothing.

But... the question arises again, Qin Hui is dead!
No one else died, but the person who seemed most like the mastermind of the conspiracy died. This...

Zhao Gou's head began to hurt again. He gently pinched his brow and asked slowly, "Anything else?"

Shen Xuzhong said: "From Lin'an to the Yangtze River waterway, and from the Yangtze River waterway to Jiankang, there are checkpoints along the way. There will be movement on the night of the Lantern Festival. Some will prepare light carriages and fast horses, and some will prepare fast flying boats, ready at any time."

He paused, then emphasized, "Moreover, just like the situation where the Ministry of War ordered the garrison troops, conscripted soldiers, and local soldiers to assemble, all of these were orders directly issued by a certain official at these checkpoints, bypassing other officials."

Zhao Gou suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze as fierce as a sword.

His reverse scale was touched again!

(End of this chapter)