Fenghou

Zhao Gou was taken aback, and quickly took the letter. The envelope was complete, sealed with wax paint, and there was no sign of it being opened.

Quickly took the bamboo knife to open the envelope, took out the letter inside, read it hastily, his face gradually became very ugly, he slapped the table and said angrily: "How dare you threaten me!"

After finally reading the letter, Zhao Gou sat weakly behind the case, staring at the letter in a daze.

Xu Xiantu also guessed the content of the letter. He must use the late emperor to threaten the emperor. If the emperor dared to form an alliance with Jin, he would push the late emperor to the throne and establish a new Song Dynasty.

In fact, Xu Xiantu had a simple idea. Chen Qing not only threatened the emperor with the throne, but also threatened to seize the entire Jingnan South Road and Jiangnan West Road.

Among them, the rise of the first emperor is Zhao Gou's Achilles' heel, and it is the scene he is most afraid of appearing.

At this moment, Xu Xiantu faintly heard someone shouting, and Zhao Gou heard it too, and asked strangely, "Did Xu Aiqing hear anything?"

"It looks like someone is yelling!"

"I heard it too."

Zhao Gou went to the window and listened carefully. The voice came from the north, like someone shouting slogans.

He hurriedly said to the eunuch: "Go and see, what happened?"

Before the eunuch could go out, a guard hurried over to report, "His Majesty, a large-scale parade broke out among Tai students. More than 1 Tai students gathered outside Donghua Gate, shouting slogans, and the crowd was furious."

Zhao Gou was stunned, too student parade?He asked anxiously, "Why the parade!"

"They firmly oppose Song and Jin's joint attack on the Western Army!"

"Ah!" Zhao Gou was stunned for a moment.

……

The report on the front page of the "Lin'an Beijing News" quickly fermented. In fact, the folks have been circulating this matter, but there is no evidence, and it is just rumors.

But the article published in the newspaper is indeed very reliable. It confirms the existence of this incident and it is true.

This news undoubtedly caused an uproar in Lin'an, the government and the public were outraged by it, and the students of Tai Tai broke out in blood, and quickly formed a team to carry out demonstrations.

"The shame of Jingkang is still there, and we will never agree to the alliance between Song and Jin!"

"Oppose internal strife and demand a joint fight against gold!"

"Against peace talks!"

Tens of thousands of Tai students shouted together, with great momentum.

More and more people came from all directions to participate in the demonstrations of Tai students. The number of people reached 10,000+, blocking the two main gates of Donghuamen and Heningmen. There were also discussions in the court. Especially the middle and low-level officials, almost all sided with the Tai students and the common people, and opposed the alliance between the imperial court and the Kingdom of Jin to attack the Western Army.

This is the power of public opinion. Under the pressure of public opinion, in the afternoon, Zhao Gou held a temporary small meeting in the side hall of Daqing Hall. More than forty civil and military officials attended the meeting.

A vote was held at the court meeting. Except for Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei who abstained, the other 42 officials voted unanimously and raised their hands to oppose the joint attack of the imperial court and Jin Guo on the Sichuan-Shaanxi army.

Under the pressure of strong public opinion from the ruling and opposition parties, Zhao Gou had no choice but to publicly promise that he would only accept the Song-Jin truce, and opposed the Song-Jin joint attack on the Sichuan-Shaanxi Army.

Zhao Gou immediately sent Li Guang and Xu Xiantu to appease the Tai students and the common people. The imperial court had accepted their appeal and would never form an alliance with Jin Guo, let alone attack the Sichuan-Shanxi Army with Jin Guo, and persuaded them to disperse.

In the evening, the half-day parade was a complete victory, and the Tai students and common people began to disperse one after another.

Due to the relatively short time for the parade and gathering, the Tai students and the common people had not had time to attack the Jin Guoguan, so that the Jin Guoguan escaped the catastrophe. If the rally continued until tomorrow morning, then tonight the Jin Guoguan will be destroyed by angry Tai students. shock.

However, although the Jin Guoguan was safe and sound, Wan Yanchang was so angry that he was about to go crazy. He persisted for half a month and kept increasing his chips to seduce the emperor Zhao Gou. Seeing that Zhao Gou was about to compromise, he was caught by a newspaper and a parade. Completely intercepted.

In the lobby, Wan Yanchang sat on the main seat with a gloomy face. Just now, Qin Hui and Wei Liangchen, the deputy negotiator, came to inform the Song Emperor Zhao Gou of his final decision, that he would not accept the proposal of joining forces with the Kingdom of Jin to destroy the Sichuan-Shaanxi Army. It is recommended that only long-term armistice agreements be accepted.

As for the above decision, the emperor has officially decreed that it is impossible to change it.

Xiao Yi, Deputy Negotiator of the Kingdom of Jin, said in a low voice: "Mr. Qin told me alone just now that Emperor Zhao Gou received a letter written by Chen Qing this morning, and he was stunned on the spot."

Wan Yanchang was taken aback, "Is the news true?"

"It must be true. It is Kang Shun, the eunuch of the imperial study, Mr. Qin, and Xu Xiantu handed over Chen Qing's personal letter to the emperor."

"boom!"

Wan Yanchang slammed his fist on the table, gritted his teeth and said, "I see. I said that Zhao Gou was about to be persuaded, why did he suddenly change his mind? Chen Qing's letter is the key."

At this time, Wan Yanchang's eyes fell on the "Lin'an Beijing News" on the table, and he said angrily: "There is also this newspaper that contributes to the flames. If it weren't for it, how could there be large-scale demonstrations? A sharp sword!"

"Marshal, I heard that this newspaper is located in Sanqiao, using Chen Qing's former residence."

Wan Yanchang had nothing to do with the Song court, nor could he have anything to do with Chen Qing. All his anger was concentrated on this newspaper.

"Let Li Qingzhou come to see me!"

Li Qingzhou was originally the commander of the palace guards of Liu Yu, the emperor of the puppet state of Qi. A Han internal guard of more than [-] people was appointed to inspect the intelligence points of the Western Army and the Han officials who wanted to betray the Kingdom of Jin. They ran rampant in the states of Hebei and had great power.

This time Wan Yanchang came to An, in addition to bringing [-] Jurchen cavalry guards, he also brought more than [-] internal guards, led by Li Qingzhou.

Not long after, a tall man about 30 years old walked into the lobby, knelt down on one knee and cupped his fists and said, "Marshal please give me instructions!"

Wan Yanchang said coldly: "I entrust you with a task. Tonight, give me a bloodbath of the "Lin'an Beijing News" newspaper office, and leave no bones behind!"

Chapter 876 Retaliation

At two o’clock, the surrounding area of ​​Sanqiao was very quiet, only the lights in the newspaper building were still on, and more than [-] skilled typesetting craftsmen were typesetting wooden type overnight. Movable type is used, so typesetting is one of the most important processes.

Generally, typesetting is carried out at night, printing starts at dawn the next day, and the printed newspapers are distributed around noon.

In the entire newspaper, except for the chief writer, chief judge, news spies and others who are not at the newspaper when they go home at night, other artisans and stewards such as typesetting, proofreading, printing, etc. are busy in the newspaper.

At this time, neither the printing craftsmen nor the proofreading craftsmen were at the newspaper office. Tonight was a special situation. They all rested in a nearby inn and could return to the newspaper office at any time.

In the entire newspaper, there are only 35 typesetting craftsmen who are busy. After reading a passage, they quickly take out the corresponding movable type, quickly arrange it, and then continue to read. Because many words are repeated, a large amount of movable type is needed, so it is not easy to open a newspaper. Skilled workers need a lot of movable type.

So much so that the "Southeast Times", which is going to compete with them, has not yet been established. It has enough manpower, but not enough movable type.

In addition to the typesetting craftsmen, there are fifty inner guard soldiers led by Zhong Huan, and ten intelligence station warriors led by Wei Yanwu.

This was an order given to them by Chen Qing. Once the court was forced to cancel the alliance between Song and Jin, Wan Yanchang would most likely vent his anger on the newspaper. They had to protect the newspaper to prevent it from being attacked by Jin people at night.

At this time, Wei Yanzong ran to Zhong Huan and said in a low voice, "Suspicious people appeared outside. They are tall and they are all martial arts practitioners. They are monitoring the newspaper office."

This was a sign that the other party was going to attack the newspaper office, and Zhong Huan immediately ordered: "Order all craftsmen to evacuate immediately!"

The order was passed on, and the craftsmen made preparations in advance. They immediately put the spelled type into the type folder, and then put it into the big box for storing the type. Everyone picked up their big box and hurriedly evacuated to the backyard pier.

A pre-arranged large painting boat was moored on the wharf in Xiaohe Nei outside the backyard. There were internal guards monitoring it, and no suspicious situation was found.

The craftsmen got into the boat one by one, and after a while, 35 people filled the boat. The boatman propped up the bamboo pole, and the boat dangled away to the distance.

The newspaper was still brightly lit, but everyone had evacuated. In fact, except for this house, all newspaper materials and machines were evacuated in the afternoon. Of course, many materials in the warehouse were too late to evacuate, such as paper, ink, and spare parts. printing machines and more.

Sixty inner guard soldiers and warriors held crossbow arrows, short spears and shields, and lay in ambush in the newspaper office, patiently waiting for the enemy to come to the door.

Zhong Huan hid on the side of the roof of the main hall. There happened to be a hiding place here, and the terrain was also the highest, so he could see the situation of the entire mansion. The marksmanship is nothing. Chen Qing has commented on his archery skills. Except that his experience is slightly inferior to Liu Qiong's, but his archery skills are already comparable to Liu Qiong's. More importantly, he is both civil and military, and he was born as a scholar. The grandson of a teacher.

His eyesight is different from that of ordinary people, he can shoot incense and fire from a hundred steps away, so he is very clear about the surrounding situation.

He has seen countless black shadows rushing on the street, there are 30 people, he immediately learned to sing the cicadas, three times in a row, his companions understood the meaning of his three cicadas, and there were about 30 enemies, they couldn't help but Tighten the crossbow, two against one, they should be able to win.

It was almost three o'clock, and Li Qingzhou led his subordinates to the front of the house, and the subordinates sent to monitor in advance reported: "Report to Commander, no abnormalities were found!"

"Are you all asleep now?"

"It should be that the typesetting craftsmen are still busy. They are sitting in the middle hall. There are about 30 people. They are all very quiet and there is no sound. The other printing craftsmen should be asleep. The dormitory is in the side yard."

Li Qingzhou waved his hand, and said to everyone: "Go in from three directions, concentrate on killing the people in the middle hall, and then go to the side, the marshal has ordered that no chicken or dog will be left behind!"

"Follow the order!"

Thirty-five men entered the courtyard from both sides of the main entrance and the side wall, and rushed towards the courtyard from all directions.

The light in the atrium lobby was bright, and it was full of craftsmen. The warriors were overjoyed and rushed to the lobby. Li Qingzhou suddenly realized that something was wrong, all of them were straw men wearing clothes.

"There is an ambush!"

He yelled, but it was already too late. Strong arrows shot from all directions, all of which were powerful crossbows, even ordinary leather armor couldn't stop them.

"Break out!"

Li Qingzhou yelled again, and he also revealed his identity.

An arrow 'whoosh! Shooting from the roof, the speed was extremely fast. In the chaos, Li Qingzhou didn't hear the sound of the wind, "Puff!" The arrow hit his neck, Li Qingzhou covered his neck and screamed, his body strength disappeared quickly, and he staggered and fell to the ground .

The inner guard soldiers and warriors came out from both sides one after another. They held steel short spears and shields. They were decisive and experienced in killing. The two sides fought fiercely in the wide atrium.

Zhong Huan shot arrows on the roof, and his arrows never missed. Every time an arrow was shot, one person would fall to the ground. In just a moment, 13 people were shot down, which accounted for half of the surviving enemies.

It took only two sticks of incense time before the last warrior was pierced by three short steel spears and died screaming.

Li Qingzhou was lying on the flower bed, an arrow in his neck made him lose his combat power, and then he was stabbed by a spear, the sharp steel spear pierced his left chest, nailing him to death on the flower bed, he stared at the sky with wide eyes, Do not rest in peace.

"search!"

Chong Huan stood on the roof and shouted. Wei Yanzong waved his hand and ran outside with his men.

After searching around, no one escaped was found. At this time, two subordinates on the periphery reported that no one had escaped.

Everyone looked at Zhong Huan, and Zhong Huan said slowly: "We are here to ambush the enemy tonight. This was arranged by His Royal Highness Yong Wang. He knew that the other party would come to attack the newspaper at night. He asked us to resolutely fight back. Everyone, carry oilskin bags on your back!"

Everyone rushed to the warehouse one after another, carrying a leather bag of kerosene on their backs. They boarded two boats and traveled by water to the Jin Guoguan, two miles away. At the fourth watch, sixty men arrived about [-] meters away from the Jin Guoguan. Under the bridge, everyone went ashore one after another and rushed to the Jin Guo Pavilion.

Soon, everyone surrounded the Jin Guo Pavilion and sprayed kerosene into the hall together. Wei Yanzong and several of his men fired gunpowder arrows into the hall, and several corners of the Jin Guo Pavilion began to burn.

"withdraw!"

Zhong Huan gave an order and rushed down the bridge with his men. The boat had already turned around. Sixty warriors boarded the boat, and the two boats left quickly and disappeared into the night.

At this time, the fire in the Jin Guo Pavilion was getting bigger and bigger. The entire Jin Guo Pavilion covers an area of ​​[-] acres, and there is a small military camp inside. The soldiers are used to living in large tents. , thick smoke billowed.

Wan Yanchang was so choked that he couldn't open his eyes, and was helped out of the room by two soldiers.

"Help the Marshal through the east door!"

A commander yelled anxiously, "Everyone, go through the east door, the fire at the east door is small!"

A group of golden soldiers and the guards in the hall clutched their noses and fled towards the east side door.

The Jin Kingdom Pavilion does not allow Han people to stay overnight in the pavilion. All the Jurchens are in the pavilion, and even the maids are Jin Guo women who were found in Liaodong.

Everyone fled out of the Jin Guo Pavilion in a panic, but no one around came to put out the fire, and the two-foot-high courtyard wall also blocked the fire from spreading outside. Wan Yanchang flew into the air with raging flames, and thick smoke filled the air. He knew it well, Li Qingzhou and his men must be finished.

Xi Jun's revenge is really fast, this is Chen Qing's style!Not at all ambiguous.

Chapter 877 Tracing the Origin

Five thousand Jinwu Guards patrolling the city came from all directions. They beat gongs and used wooden barrels and basins to draw water from the river to put out the fire.

The people are unwilling to put out the fire for the Jin Guoguan, but the soldiers must save it.

But the fire was too big, even if the soldiers tried their best to put out the fire, they could only stop the fire from spreading outwards, but they couldn't extinguish the fire in the mansion.

At this time, Wan Yanchang suddenly discovered a novelty. A dozen ox carts each carried a large cabinet. A soldier stood on the cabinet and sprayed water into the mansion with copper pipes.

"This is……"

Wan Yanchang suddenly remembered the fire attack weapon of the Western Army, isn't that the one?

He stepped forward and asked, "What is this?"

A general bowed and replied: "This was originally a fierce oil fire cabinet for the army, but there is no fire oil in the south of the Yangtze River, so it was made to spray water to put out the fire."

"So this is the oil fire cabinet!"

Wan Yanchang caressed the wooden cabinet, feeling really emotional in his heart, if the Kingdom of Jin had obtained it earlier, at that time occupying northern Shaanxi and there was fire oil, why worry about Chen Qing not being destroyed?

In fact, Wan Yanchang forgot that although they did not have fierce oil fire cabinets at the beginning, they all sprayed fire oil on the top of the city with leather bags, and they could spray more than ten feet away, but they still could not capture Ganquan Fort and later Chengji County .

At this time, one of his subordinates whispered: "Marshal, the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty is here."

When Wan Yanchang turned his head, he saw Li Guang and more than a dozen officials coming on horseback.

The Jin Guoguan is very close to Da Nei. Walking through the Royal Street is the Jin Guo Guan. The raging fire in the Jin Guo Guan has also alarmed the Da Nei government office. The chief official on duty tonight is Li Guang. This is the court practice. Every night There must be a prime minister or a scholar on duty in the palace to deal with emergencies that occur at night.

Li Guang was also alarmed by the fire. He heard that the Jin Guo Pavilion was on fire, so he rushed here with a dozen officials.

"Is Wanyan Xiangguo okay!" Li Guang waved his hands and shouted.

Wanyanchang still holds the title of Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Jin, but has no real power. He succeeded Wanyan Nianhan and controlled Hebei, south of Yanshan Mountain, north of the Yellow River, east of Taihang Mountain, and all the way to the Yellow Sea. A large area of ​​land is controlled by Wanyanchang , His official official position is Hebei Road Shangshu Xingtaifu Jinglue, Marshal of the Left Army Capital, and his status in the Kingdom of Jin is still quite lofty.

Li Guang stepped forward and said, "I was worried all the way, seeing that Wanyan Xiangguo is safe and sound, I finally let go of my heart."

Wan Yanchang nodded, "It actually alarmed Mr. Li, thank you Mr. Li for your concern."

Li Guang looked at the fire and asked, "Why did it suddenly catch fire?"