Chapter 128: Your Majesty, the leader of the rebel party has been executed this morning
Chapter 128: Your Majesty, the leader of the rebel party has been executed this morning
"Your Majesty, the Shadow Guards' spies are scattered all over the Jianghu, delivering news to the capital, and it is inevitable that they will be delayed on the way. I am afraid that Gao Li has already sneaked into the city."
Mo Chou said with a serious expression.
Xu Zhenguan moved his green jade fingers, threw the secret letter on the table, nodded slightly, and said:
"Do you think they will cause trouble in the near future?"
The first female official said "yes" and pondered:
"The new helmsman has taken office, so he is bound to take some actions. Gao Li... was arrogant back then, but was defeated by Ma Yan. This time he returned, and the two men at Tiechiguan were arrested. I'm afraid..."
Xu Zhenguan frowned:
"You are worried that Kuangfu Shehui will be against Ma Yan... No, with Ma Yan's cultivation, he is difficult to deal with. Then, he will cause trouble for the entire imperial court, or target Zhao Duan."
Thinking of this, Queen Dayu felt something in her heart.
She secretly decided that when Ma Yan summoned the young imperial guard into the palace later, she would give him some advice in person.
But just reminding him is not enough. To be on the safe side, maybe we should give him a "talisman"...
Things are different now. The pretty boy back then is not worth being targeted by the rebels.
But after the "insider" incident, Zhao Duan was inevitably targeted by someone with ulterior motives.
At this moment, a eunuch came running in from outside:
"Your Majesty, Envoy Zhao is outside requesting to see you."
He is so fast?
Xu Zhenguan was slightly surprised, and nodded happily:
"Call him in."
……
A few moments.
Led by the eunuch, Zhao Duan came to the imperial study again.
The first time is strange, the second time is familiar, the third and fifth times are like a warm bed... Zhao Duan is still far from climbing onto the dragon bed, but he is no longer nervous about meeting the emperor.
"My lord, see your majesty."
Zhao Duan stepped over the threshold calmly.
Looking up, he saw the empress in white sitting behind a large desk, her thick black hair hanging down behind her waist, and a large lump of ice that looked like a "light bulb" standing next to her.
Xu Zhenguan looked at him with a smile and said jokingly:
"I ordered Ma Yan to look for you, and you arrived right after I did. When did you learn this skill?"
No...you have no idea what I've been through...Zhao Duan seemed calm and composed, but he had actually been through the gates of hell, so it would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid.
From Changjie to Wumen, I held on with one breath.
Until this moment, when he saw the White-robed Empress, one of the "Four Celestial Beings" of today, his tense heartstrings finally relaxed.
He took a deep breath and said with a smile:
"The Governor explained to me yesterday that Your Majesty had already made arrangements. I just realized that Your Majesty's favor is so deep that I have no way to repay you. So I came to the palace early in the morning to thank you for your grace."
Well...it's impossible to tell the truth.
You can't just answer honestly and say that you're worried and want to see how that bastard Xia Jianghou dies, so you came here early in the morning to join in the fun, right?
Secretary Zhao’s EQ can’t be that low!
After hearing this, Xu Zhenguan felt happy.
No one in this world really likes to "give silently".
It is human nature to hope that the good things we do for others can be seen and receive positive feedback.
This will shake your head and laugh:
"Mo Zhaorong said that you are good at sweet talk, and it seems to be true."
You are saying bad things about me again... Zhao Duan glanced at the light bulb and found that Big Ice Tuozi was looking at his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose, pretending not to hear.
After the pleasantries, we got down to business.
Xu Zhenguan did not mention Princess Yunyang first, but threw the secret letter on the table to him:
"You came just in time. I just happened to have something to tell you. Look, the Kuangfu Society has infiltrated the capital with a new leader. You have to be careful."
Zhao Duan took it subconsciously, opened it and glanced at it, his expression became very strange.
Xu Zhenguan said in a serious tone:
"You must have heard of Gao Li. He was quite famous in the past. The late emperor also praised him when he was alive. Although he retired to the martial arts world after his defeat, he should not be underestimated..."
Zhao Duan's expression became more and more strange. Seeing that the empress hadn't finished speaking, he didn't want to interrupt her and could only stop talking.
Xu Zhenguan pondered and said:
"Now that he has sneaked into the capital, you have become famous these days and have repeatedly thwarted his plans. I am afraid he will target you."
It’s not that I’m afraid, it’s that I’ve already… Zhao Duan opened his mouth and wanted to speak:
"I don't think it's that..."
next to.
Mo Chou, who had been standing there in silence, suddenly spoke. The "First Female Official", who had a rather neutral beauty and always gave people the feeling of a woman dressed as a man, said faintly:
"Nothing? Lord Zhao, don't underestimate the enemy. Don't be carried away by the victories of the past few days. You must know that there are always people who are better than you.
The lesson that the traitor Zhuang Xiaocheng taught you that day must have been profound enough. Anyone who can serve as the leader of the Kuangfu Society, even if it is just a branch, is definitely not an ordinary person. "
No... Can you two let me finish my sentence one by one...
Zhao Duan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said with his hands clasped:
"Your Majesty, I am here to report something related to this new helmsman."
Xu Zhenguan and Mochou were both stunned, wondering if he already knew about this?
Well, it is possible.
The shadow guard's message was limited by the distance and was a bit slow after all. It was not surprising that Lihuatang noticed it.
However, Zhao Duan's next words made the two women completely unable to sit still.
He just cupped his hands and said:
“In fact, this morning, when I was rushing from home to the palace, I happened to be ambushed by Gao Li. Fortunately, I was prepared and managed to save my life and kill him.
The swordsman Gao Li has also been executed, and his body has been sent to the imperial court. The confiscated Frost sword has also been brought into the palace as evidence.
It is now stored at the main entrance of the palace. If Your Majesty wants to see it, you can have someone bring it here to examine it."
Quiet.
At this moment, one could almost hear a pin drop in the imperial study.
Mo Chou looked up in astonishment, her eyes widened, staring at Zhao Duan, wondering if she had heard it wrong. Gao Li ambushed him, but was killed in return?
The new helmsman who just took office burned himself to death with the first fire he started?
However, Zhao Duan, the "assassination target", was standing there unharmed, without any wounds or even a scratch on his body.
How dare I believe it?
Behind the desk was a layer of bright yellow silk, a pen holder and an inkstone were placed, and memorials were piled up like a mountain.
Xu Zhenguan was also stunned and stared at Zhao Duan quietly.
The stunning empress, with eyebrows as dark as distant mountains and eyes as rippling as autumn water, had a moment of confusion in her beautiful eyes as black as ink above her snow-white skin.
What did she hear?
Zhao Duan, a mere mortal of average caliber, actually killed the genius swordsman who was once famous in the capital?
She had reason to doubt that the very existence of this thing challenged common sense.
If we say that the previous few times when Zhao Duan went to the palace to report on the progress of the case, the empress's impression of him was repeatedly refreshed because she underestimated him.
This time, it’s a bit outrageous.
Xu Zhenguan's gaze fell uncontrollably on the secret memorial on the table, which had been rushed from a distant place overnight, costing manpower and material resources.
It was clearly a steaming hot, freshly prepared memorial, how come it was expired in the blink of an eye...
"Say it again." Xu Zhenguan asked expressionlessly.
"Yes……"
Zhao Duan had no choice but to describe the whole process in detail without missing any details.
In addition to the origin of the "Divine Talisman"
——He only said that Jin Jian gave him the talisman and provided help in order to repay the favor he owed last time.
……
Russian qing.
After hearing the whole story, the two women slowly came to their senses.
It turns out that it is so.
Even though we knew the whole story, the whole incident still seemed unreal. However, the tone of voice was so certain, and there were witnesses and evidence, so it was obviously not false.
"So, Gao Li is dead. The Kuangfu Society in the capital has lost its leader once again." Xu Zhen seemed to be talking to himself.
Then, without waiting for Zhao Duan to answer, she said in an unclear tone:
"Have the rebels of the Kuangfu Society dared to assassinate an official of the imperial court right under my nose?"
After the empress's initial astonishment, the expression on her fair face was replaced by anger.
In fact, although the rebels had been fighting the empress for two years, they did not often use assassination methods before that.
This is especially true in the capital.
Firstly, assassination would easily expose oneself. There were many hidden talents in the capital city, and those who had reached a certain level of practice and fighting would be easily detected.
It's a style of play where you kill one thousand enemies but lose eight hundred of your own.
Secondly, it would not be very meaningful to assassinate ordinary officials, but important officials like Yuan Li either had powerful bodyguards or means to protect their lives, so it would be quite difficult.
Of course, there is a more important reason.
This is what the Kuangfu Society wants. It is not to overthrow Dayu, but just to seize power.
If the capable ministers were assassinated, the ruling system of Dayu would collapse, which would do more harm than good to the Kuangfu Society.
Moreover, the act of assassination is bound to make all officials feel insecure and hostile to the Kuang Fu Society... Therefore, the rebel party mainly uses the "infiltration strategy" to corrupt and win over the court step by step.
With the aim of shaking the empress's authority, he stirred up various forces in the court to become enemies of the "imperial party".
Perhaps it was because in the past two years, the empress had not fallen, but her position had become increasingly secure, which led to the increasingly radical behavior of the Kuangfu Society.
This is why a few days ago, Zhuang Xiaocheng intervened himself and tried to deal with Ma Yan's "game".
But that time, they also lured people outside the city to take action, just like today, they ambushed and killed the empress's favorites inside the city.
It is undoubtedly a huge provocation.
"Don't worry." Xu Zhenguan's tone suddenly turned cold.
"I'm here." Mo Zhaorong responded.
Xu Zhenguan said in a cold tone:
"First, send a message to the Beijing camp to strictly check the recent entry records of the city and investigate all suspicious persons. Don't let go of any suspicious points. Don't make excuses for me by saying that there are too many people entering the city and that it is difficult to distinguish them. I just want the results."
"Second, send a message to the Yulin Guard, Jinwu Guard, Qianniu Guard... including the six major imperial guards, to dig the capital three feet deep from now on. Gao Li brought more than one person in. Can the rest of them really leave no trace at all?"
"Third, tell Ma Yan to hang Gao Li's body on the city gate tower. I want to see if those self-proclaimed righteous and heroic people in the Kuangfu Society have the courage to jump out and retrieve their leader's body."
"Fourth, send out orders to disperse the shadow guards of the Nine Daos and Eighteen Prefectures to behead the rebels who have been captured. No one should be spared!"
Murderous! !
Each of the four decrees was more ferocious and murderous than the last.
Zhao Duan was stunned.
At this moment, he seemed to see the Third Princess, who swept through thousands of troops with a sword, killing people so that blood flowed like a river and heads rolled like rolling during the Xuanmen coup.
"Your Majesty, this..."
Mo Chou's face also changed, and she hurriedly advised:
"Screening and searching are fine, but the bodies can be hung at the city gates...Won't this method give the rebels something to criticize?
Those traitors have been spreading rumors, trying to portray Your Majesty as a tyrant. Wouldn't this be fulfilling their wishes? It's bad for your reputation.
As for beheading... aren't you planning to win over and incite those rebels to defect?
You also said that not all the rebels are hopeless. Zhuang Xiaocheng bribed and corrupted the court officials, and we can also bribe and support the members... If we behead them now, wouldn’t all our previous efforts be in vain..."
She was worried that the empress was being swayed by her emotions and making an irrational decision.
Zhao Duan also advised:
"Your Majesty, calm down. You need to think twice before you act on this matter."
However, Xu Zhenguan shook his head.
She stood up and walked to the window, letting the wind from the lake blow her long hair. Her eyes were clear and she said calmly:
"I am not blinded by anger, I just want to understand some things.
In the past, I was concerned about my reputation, so I was restrained. But in fact, some people will really push their limits, just like those fake teachers who talk about morality but are full of thieves and prostitutes.
They concocted a list of rules that a benevolent ruler should follow, but they themselves never followed them.
Since they don't follow the rules, there's no need for me to follow them."
After a pause, Empress Dayu suddenly smiled, looked at the two of them dimly, and said softly:
"Do you think that Zhuang Xiaocheng and his gang really think that I...can't wield a knife?"
(End of this chapter)