The Red Mansions

Chapter 1635 Please ask the Queen Mother to abdicate with the young emperor and return power to the

Chapter 1635 Please ask the Queen Mother to abdicate with the young emperor and return power to the Chen family!

Palace Gate, Anshun Gate

Jia Fang was wearing a black iron armor and a fiery red cloak. He stood in front of the city gate tower, holding a shiny goose-feather steel knife in his hand. He looked around with disdain at the generals below.

"The Queen Mother is here."

Just then, a lieutenant came hurriedly and spoke to Jia Fang who was standing on the city gate tower.

Upon hearing this, Jia Fang handed over the guarding to his deputy general and hurried to the horse path. He clasped his fists and said, "General Jia Fang greets the Queen Mother."

"Stand up." Zhen Qing's face showed worry, and she asked, "What's the situation now?"

Jia Fang straightened his face and said, "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, the people from the Beijing camp have besieged the city gate."

There was a hint of coldness in Zhen Qing's phoenix eyes. She said, "I want to say a few words to the soldiers below."

At this moment, Zhen Qing was wearing a wide-sleeved scarlet dress, with a beautiful bun on her head. She stood on the city gate tower, her eyes flickering as she shouted, "Where is Shanhai Hou Cao Bianjiao?"

Cao Bianjiao pulled the reins of the horse under his crotch, came closer, clasped his fists and said, "This humble general greets the Queen Mother."

In fact, even at this time, the intensity of the coup was still relatively mild. It was just a mutiny in the Beijing camp to force the emperor to abdicate.

Firstly, Cao Bianjiao intended to control casualties, and Jia Heng asked his confidants such as Cai Quan in the Beijing Camp to cooperate secretly. Secondly, Li Zan and other civil officials were compromising and weak, and they had instructed Cao Bianjiao in advance to mainly exert psychological pressure on Empress Zhen.

Zhen Qing's jade-like face was as white as frost, and she slightly opened her red lips and said, "Cao Bianjiao, you are also a veteran who served two previous emperors and have received the emperor's grace. Why did you lead troops to besiege the palace gate and plot treason?"

Without waiting for Cao Bianjiao to speak, Yan Ye grabbed the reins, stiffened his neck, and shouted: "The young emperor is not of Chen's bloodline. We are obeying the order to serve the king and support the country!"

Zhen Qing's eyes darkened when she heard this. She was inexplicably angry and said, "What nonsense!"

Yan Ye raised his gray-haired head and shouted, "Everyone in the world knows that Prince Wei slept on the dragon bed and defiled the palace. The young emperor is Prince Wei's son!"

This remark was extremely vulgar, but it made the surrounding officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp burst into laughter.

It can be said that the officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp regarded Prince Wei as a god. In addition to his outstanding military achievements and wisdom and courage, his good fortune also played a big role.

Princesses and county ladies are all his wives, and now he has an unclear relationship with the young widowed empress dowager. Even the young emperor may be his illegitimate son.

When Zhen Qing heard this, her snow-white face changed constantly, turning blue and white, and she almost trembled with anger.

She must skin Yan Ye alive!

No woman can bear such ridicule.

Li Zan and Xu Lu looked at each other and felt relieved.

Cao Bianjiao held the reins in his hands and said, "Please ask the Queen Mother to abdicate with the young emperor and return the power to the Chen family!"

At this point, the so-called return of power to the Chen family has not yet specifically pointed out who the so-called Chen is.

Yan Ye also said loudly: "Please ask the Queen Mother to abdicate with the young emperor and return power to the Chen family!"

At this moment, soldiers from all directions of the Beijing camp shouted in unison. For a moment, their voices shook the sky, carrying an overwhelming force.

Zhen Qing's expression changed, and she said angrily: "If the late emperor were still alive, I would never allow you to bully my orphan and widow."

"All troops, prepare to attack the city!" Cao Bianjiao waved his hand, and immediately, the soldiers of the Beijing camp behind him drew their swords, strung their bows, and rushed towards the city wall.

In addition, soldiers from the Beijing camp carried wooden ladders and approached the palace gates.

When Zhen Qing saw this scene of siege, her heart skipped a beat and her hands and feet felt cold.

Didn’t that bastard say that the Beijing Camp would never go wrong?

How come it looks like they are serious about this?

“Dong dong!!!”

Accompanied by the sound of drums as dense as raindrops, which was deafening for a moment, the soldiers of the Beijing camp began to attack the city.

Li Zan calmed down, and approached Zhen Qing, whose face was as pale as paper, and said, "Empress Dowager, the swords and spears on the city wall are blind, so we should retreat to the palace first."

Once the Beijing troops attack the palace, he will be able to force Empress Zhen and her son to abdicate in favor of the eighth prince Chen Ze.

In fact, this is also the core idea of ​​a civilian coup - forcing the emperor to abdicate.

Otherwise, will there really be a river of blood? At that time, no one will be able to end it.

Zhen Qing's expression changed constantly. She snorted coldly and, accompanied by the eunuchs and female officials, she went down the palace gate and city wall where the battle was about to break out and returned to Wuying Palace.

At this moment, the Beijing Camp and the Jinyifu Guards began to fight around the city wall. The shouts and screams were deafening, which made the people in the Shenjing City terrified.

It can be said that since the 20th year of Chongping, there have been waves of such unrest in the city of Shenjing.

Palace Garden, Wuying Hall

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became extremely stiff and dull. Cabinet ministers such as Li Zan, Qi Kun, Liu Zheng, Zhao Yi and others had stern faces and said nothing.

As for Lin Ruhai, he was not in the capital because he was on a business trip to help Jia Heng raise money and food to help the victims.

In other words, avoid this wave of turmoil.

Li Zan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the situation is urgent. Once the officers from the Beijing camp enter the palace, the consequences will be disastrous."

At this moment, Li Zan still tried to use the powerful situation to force Zhen Qing to abdicate with her son.

Xu Lu also stepped out of the class at this moment, staring at her fiercely, and said, "My queen, do you really want to cause bloodshed on the throne and chaos in the world?"

Zhen Qing sat on the pearwood chair on the other side. Her beautiful face was changing constantly. She shouted, "Lord Li, I have finally understood. Cao Bianjiao was recommended by you. Now he is leading the troops to besiege the city gate. It must be you who is secretly instructing him and colluding with the officers of the Beijing camp to rebel!"

At this point, Zhen Qing no longer tried to hide it and asked directly.

Li Zan said, "Your Majesty, Cao Bianjiao and Yan Ye have both received great favors from Emperor Shizong Xian. Seeing that the imperial relatives are now in power and the government is corrupt, they have the idea of ​​helping them, but no one has initiated it."

To put it bluntly, everyone's indignation was spontaneous.

"Traitors bring disaster to the country and disrupt the government. Anyone can punish them. Why do they need collusion?" Xu Lu said angrily.

Zhen Qing said sternly: "If Emperor Shizong Xian were still alive, you would never bully us orphans and widows!"

At this moment, Qi Kun's eyes were deep, and there was no doubt that he had some understanding in his heart.

Today's "forcing the emperor to abdicate" was indeed planned by the Yuan Fu.

Zhao Yi lowered his head slightly, and a thick haze covered his heart.

But at this moment, a big incident happened in the capital, and Prince Wei left the capital. What should we do?

From the beginning, cabinet ministers Qi Kun and Zhao Yi have been in a dazed state.

Because, for the sake of confidentiality, Li Zan only planned the plan with Xu Lu and did not discuss it with Qi Kun and others.

But by now, everyone present understood that Li Zan was the mastermind behind the scenes.

The purpose is naturally to force Empress Zhen to abdicate with the young emperor, strip Prince Wei of his title, and protect the Han Dynasty!

Li Zan said: "If your Majesty can declare the greater good and abdicate with the young master, you can keep your wealth and splendor."

Zhen Qing sneered and said, "Abdicate? Abdicate to whom?"

Do you really think she doesn't know what the person in front of her is planning?

Li Zan said, "Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince is extremely intelligent and is the direct descendant of Emperor Shizong Xian. It is most appropriate for him to succeed the throne."

Zhen Qing's face was as cold as ice, and she said firmly, "Impossible!"

Li Zan threatened: "My queen, do you want to cause a commotion in the palace, with swords and weapons everywhere and blood flowing like a river?"

If he had any choice, Li Zan would not want to go that step, because it would seriously undermine Chen Han's central authority.

Don't forget that Jia Heng is still eyeing the city of Shenjing. The result of the fighting in Shenjing is that Jia Heng will mobilize troops from the border towns, enter the city forcefully, and reap the benefits.

Therefore, this is just the first round of negotiations, which is to force Zhen Qing and the young master to abdicate.

And there is another heavyweight negotiation to come.

That was to negotiate with Jia Heng, support Jia Heng's brother-in-law Chen Ze to ascend the throne, and by the way, strip Jia Heng of his title of prince.

Because the eighth prince Chen Ze will be able to rule the country in a few years, and then he will be able to suppress Jia Heng's ambitions.

In the final analysis, we are all family and we are all trying to be cautious.

The same was true for Jia Heng and Zhen Qing, and for Concubine Xianning and Imperial Concubine Duanrong.

This is politics, full of struggle and compromise, full of deception and performance.

Otherwise, Jia Heng, with the military power in his hands and the butcher's knife, could have already implemented the policy of "those who obey me prosper, and those who oppose me perish". Why would he need to do this?

But the result was that Zhen Qing became resentful, father and son turned against each other, and all the civil officials and scholars in the world were resentful and regarded him as a member of the same group as Cao Mang.

Xu Lu said: "Your Majesty, please consider the overall situation and abdicate with the young emperor!"

Zhen Qing's narrow and clear phoenix eyes were filled with fierce murderous intent, and she said in a cold voice: "Li Zan, Xu Lu, do you think I dare not kill all your clans?"

Upon hearing this, Li Zan took off his black hat, knelt down, and said with determination in his eyes: "Zan, I have received great favors from Emperor Shizong Xian, and I will not hesitate to die for the country."

Xu Lu said: "Your Majesty, many civil officials in the capital miss the virtue of Emperor Shizong Xian. Now that Prince Wei is in power and causing chaos, the world has long been angry but dared not speak out."

Zhen Qing's snow-white face kept changing. She said in a deep voice, "Come here, arrest these two traitors, Li Zan and Xu Lu!"

Then, no Jinyi Guards approached outside the palace, or in other words, all the Jinyi Guards in the palace were also "dealt with" by Li Zan.

Li Zan bowed and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I respectfully request that you abdicate with the young emperor, return power to the Chen family, and invite the eighth prince to ascend the throne."

Qi Kun, Liu Zheng, Zhao Yi, Shi Jie and others all looked surprised and were confused.

Zhen Qing looked at the civil officials around her at this moment, and suddenly felt a little panicked.

What is going on?

Didn't that bastard say it was just a show? What's going on now...

Zhen Qing felt a sense of uneasiness in her heart.

At this moment, an eunuch from the outer room came running in hurriedly and said, "Your Majesty, it's bad. The rebels from the Beijing camp have entered the palace."

Zhen Qing: "..."

At this moment, Zhen Qing suddenly felt a huge panic, and things seemed to be out of her control.

……

……

Ningguo Mansion, in the study room——

Chen Xiao stood in front of the window, his clear eyes flickering as he looked at Naqu Lang and said, "Have you greeted the Jinyifu Guards and the guards of Anshun Gate?"

Qu Lang said, "My lord, Li Zan has sent people to contact the Jinyifu Guards before. I have already instructed Jinyifu Qianhu to cooperate with me."

Chen Xiao looked out the window at the sky that was gradually becoming overcast, and said, "After today, Zhen Qing and her son can be destroyed."

At that time, he would not have to be a bad person.

Wuying Hall

The atmosphere has become somewhat tense.

Zhen Qing looked at Li and Xu, the people who were forcing her, in shock, and an unspeakable fear surged in her heart.

In fact, most people can't stand this kind of momentum.

Zhen Qing is just a woman after all.

After a while, as time passed, the soldiers of the Beijing camp had poured into the palace and occupied several palace gates in front and behind.

Yan Ye was full of vigor and vitality at this moment, and his old face with some bloodstains was filled with an unconcealable smile.

As the soldiers gradually approached the Wuying Palace, Cao Bianjiao and Yan Ye led a large number of soldiers to the front of the Wuying Palace. During this period, they encountered almost no decent resistance and were almost unstoppable.

Upon hearing that the soldiers of the Beijing Camp had rushed into the palace, Zhen Qing also panicked and said, "Li Zan, I am the widow of Emperor Guangzong and the daughter-in-law of Emperor Shizongxian. Emperor Guangzong was appointed as the Crown Prince by Emperor Shizongxian. You are the ministers who have received great favor from Emperor Shizongxian, and you are actually forcing him with weapons?"

This is to prove the legal rights of his own son based on the legitimacy of Guangzong's accession to the throne.

Xu Lu said: "My queen, Chen Jie is not of Emperor Guangzong's bloodline, so he cannot rule the world. Now he has usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, which is hard for people to accept."

"You are talking nonsense!" Zhen Qing said angrily.

Li Zan stood up, looked at a cabinet clerk, and said, "Go to Changle Palace to invite Empress Dowager Zeng."

The so-called Empress Dowager Zeng was Empress Dowager Feng.

Because of Queen Song's "forcing the emperor to abdicate", it was difficult to deal with. After the young emperor ascended the throne, he neither stripped her of her title nor gave her a higher title. Therefore, there was no Grand Empress Dowager at this moment.

The young emperor gave Empress Dowager Feng the title of Grand Empress Dowager.

At this time, Li Zan, as the chief minister of the cabinet, had to rely on the imperial decree of Empress Dowager Feng if he wanted to depose Zhen Qing's son.

It does not mean that the chief minister of the cabinet can depose the young emperor by drafting an imperial edict. People in the world will not be convinced either.

But it is possible through Empress Dowager Feng.

Empress Dowager Feng was the mother of Emperor Shizong Xian and the empress of Emperor Longzhi. She was highly respected and virtuous, and no one had a more noble status than her.

At this moment, several eunuchs went to Changle Palace to invite Empress Dowager Feng.

Empress Dowager Feng came out from outside, supported by several old maids, and the surrounding soldiers from the Beijing camp made way for her.

In other words, Empress Dowager Feng herself was a heavyweight figure.

Li Zan and Xu Lu came forward, straightened their faces, bowed respectfully, and said, "Your humble servant greets the Empress Dowager Zeng."

When Zhen Qing saw Empress Dowager Feng, her heart inevitably skipped a beat. She quickly stepped forward and said respectfully, "Granddaughter-in-law Zhen greets grandmother."

Although Empress Dowager Feng's hair was as white as silver at this moment, she was sharp-eyed and alert, and in high spirits. She asked, "Mr. Li, why did you raise an army to cause chaos in the palace?"

Li Zan said, "My queen, the young emperor is now in power, the ruler is young and the country is in doubt, the imperial relatives are in power, and the power has been taken over by the emperor. The common people and scholars all say that the young emperor is not the son of Emperor Guangzong. For this reason, there are turmoil in Bashu and continuous wars. The day before yesterday, the sky sent an earthquake to warn Jinzhong. The officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp entered the palace to ask Empress Zhen to abdicate with the young emperor and return power to the Chen family."

He explained the whole thing in a few words, and even used the theory of the connection between heaven and man.

Empress Dowager Feng frowned, her eyes showing doubt and uncertainty. She asked, "The young master is not of Emperor Guangzong's bloodline? Isn't this a rumor spread outside to slander and defame the royal family?"

In fact, although Empress Dowager Feng was in the deep palace, she was not completely unaware of the rumors from the outside world.

After all, the issue of whether the young emperor was of Emperor Guangzong's bloodline forced an old minister of Chongping to rebel, leading to a rebellion throughout Bashu. Although the court quickly put down the rebellion, the cause was still the issue of royal bloodline.

Li Zan said, "There is no smoke without fire. The world is now in doubt about the young emperor's bloodline. There must be a reason. The young emperor was conceived by Empress Zhen when she went to Jiangnan to return home. Although Emperor Guangzong was in Jiangnan at the time, there was no record of him in the relevant diary. There are many doubts. Previously, the chaos in Bashu was caused by this."

In other words, the legitimacy of Zhen Qing's son aroused suspicion among people all over the world. Coupled with the fact that he was a young emperor, Prince Wei came to power.

Xu Lu held an ivory jade tablet in his hand and said loudly, "Your humble servant, please report to the Empress Dowager Zeng that the Eighth Prince Chen Ze is honest and upright, peaceful and pure, very much like his father and grandfather, with a rich bloodline, and there is no one in the royal family who can match him. Your humble servant requests that the Eighth Prince Chen Ze be enthroned as the Prince of the Imperial Clan."

Empress Dowager Feng paused for a moment, thinking deeply.

Li Zan said: "Nowadays, outsiders often say that the young emperor is the son of Prince Wei."

Zhen Qing's expression changed, and she angrily said, "Li Zan! How can I allow you to slander my innocence?"

If that bastard hadn't insisted on mixing up truth and falsehood, how could the legality of her son Jie'er have caused suspicion among the world?

And what about today's so-called acting, does that bastard really know nothing about it?

Empress Dowager Feng turned her head to glance at Zhen Qing, who was wearing gorgeous makeup, and a hint of suspicion appeared in her sunken and old eyes.

I'm afraid that the rumors outside are not groundless.

Others may not know what's going on with Prince Wei, but how could she not know?

Li'er gave birth to a son for him. Li'er was Xianning's aunt, so it was obvious that the man was a person who did not care about food or meat.

Looking at Zhen, she is dressed seductively and flirtatiously. She doesn't look like a widow at all. I'm afraid there is something really going on.

Now both the Cabinet and the Beijing Army do not recognize Zhen and her son. For the continuation of the Han Dynasty, they can only agree to Li Zan's request.

In other words, if both the civil officials and the military believed that Zhen Qing and the young emperor were not suitable to be emperor and were willing to support the eighth prince, then Empress Dowager Feng would not be too persistent.

This is based on the overall situation, and everything is based on the continuation of the bloodline of the Chen Han royal family.

At this moment, Li Zan took in the expression on Empress Dowager Feng's face and knew that he had made the right bet.

The Empress Dowager Zeng originally had no feelings for Zhen and the young emperor.

Empress Dowager Zeng must have seen a lot of ups and downs and was well aware of the shady dealings in the harem.

There is a problem with the young emperor's bloodline, but there is no problem with the bloodline of the eighth prince Chen Ze. He is the son of the imperial concubine of Emperor Shizong Xian, and can be said to be a royal family.

In fact, under the ancient patriarchal inheritance system, the distance of bloodline was an important basis for inheritance.

Regardless of whether it was Gao Zhongping, Li Zan, Xu Lu and other family officials, the reason why they could not tolerate Jia Heng being in power and the successive turmoil was because the bloodline of the young emperor was indeed in doubt.

Empress Dowager Feng sighed and ordered, "Go and ask Concubine Rong and the Eighth Prince Chen Ze to come over."

When Li Zan heard this, his eyes flickered and he was overjoyed.

Great thing accomplished!

Xu Lu was also relieved. With the Empress Dowager Zeng drafting the decree and the cabinet signing it, the eighth prince's throne was legitimate.

When the time comes, Prince Wei will return to the capital and will have to acquiesce to this matter.

If he were to depose or enthrone another emperor, Consort Duanrong and Princess Xianning would also hinder him.