Chapter 243 Overturning the table
Chapter 243 Overturning the table
After entering April, the weather becomes hotter.
The water levels of streams and pools in Hualin Park dropped significantly, with some even exposing the riverbeds, leaving only a few pools of residual water in the center.
Several years ago, Shao Xun once stood in waist-deep pond water, digging toads for the late emperor.
Now, in the same place, you can see the exposed silt on the bottom of the pool.
The severity of the drought has reached this point.
As the emperor, Sima Chi still had to put on some pretense.
During these days, he issued an edict to reduce one meal to show that he shared the suffering of the people.
As to whether he really shared the sufferings of the people, I don’t know.
Anyway, after Nanyang and other five counties were unwilling to send laborers to build Guangcheng Garden, the emperor issued an edict to send more than 50,000 laborers from Runan, Ruyin, Liangguo and Chenliu counties to Guangcheng Lake to build Suyu Palace.
The person in charge of the construction of Guangcheng Garden was replaced. The emperor originally planned to send a prince to take charge because he was very afraid of the Duke of Luyang. After Sima Yue entered the capital, he sent his staff Dai Yuan and Cheng Shou to the south to supervise Guangcheng Garden, which was meaningful.
The emperor had no time to care about these trivial matters as he had more pressing crises to deal with.
On that day, Miao Bo, Miao Yin, Wang Yan, He Sui, Gao Tangchong, Gao Tao and more than ten people gathered in Hualin Garden. Each of them looked panicked, as if they had lost their parents.
Sima Chi also felt a little uncomfortable and even hungrier.
Just at this time, Queen Liang Lanbi led the palace servants to bring some snacks for the emperor and his ministers to share.
Sima Chi ate a Hu pancake and felt much better.
The queen felt extremely satisfied and smiled happily like a little woman who was immersed in love.
The emperor is planning big things with his loyal ministers, which is what a manly person does.
As a woman, she could only continue to encourage and comfort the emperor so that he would have no worries and concentrate on his work.
"Jiang Ze and Du Gai were killed." Gao Tao seemed to have completely ignored the arrival of the queen and the palace maids, and said with a pale face.
After he finished speaking, he choked up in his throat and his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Gao Tao is the son of Shangshu Ling Gao Guang. His father died of illness at the end of last year and was posthumously awarded the titles of Sikong and Shizhong.
Jiang Ze was a military officer of the former Taifu Shogunate and the current Situ Shogunate, and was from Tianshui.
Du Gai's identity is the same as Jiang Ze's, he is from Jingzhao.
After Sima Yue entered the capital, he was appointed Minister of Education and controlled the government. He did not meet with the emperor, but instead carried out a large-scale purge of dissidents.
After much discussion, everyone felt that they could not continue to be so passive and that they had to do something.
So, Gao Tao volunteered to collude with Jiang Ze and Du Gai, intending to assassinate Sima Yue. Gao Tao was still in mourning, and he should have closed the door and ignored worldly affairs, but perhaps he was blinded by greed, or perhaps he was full of loyalty, so he did it anyway.
Of course, the plan did not succeed as it was leaked halfway through, leading to the murders of Jiang Ze and Du Gai.
If they both died, could Gao Tao escape?
Gao Tao's current expression tells everyone that he thinks he cannot escape, and he is looking for the emperor to protect him.
"Gao Qing..." Sima Chi consoled him, "You are from a famous family, you won't have to go to this extent."
Liang Lanbi glanced at the emperor in surprise, slightly surprised.
"Your Majesty..." Gao Tao trembled even more violently, with a dead look in his eyes.
The emperor seemed to be comforting him, but his words and deeds did not show any intention of actively protecting him. He asked him to "fight hard" with his family background. Isn't this a joke? When it comes to this kind of power struggle at the highest level, what kind of family background can protect him?
This is not a fight for a county or a prefecture, this is a fight for the whole world!
Sima Chi turned his head away and didn't look at him.
When others saw this, they felt a chill in their hearts.
Gao Tao was certainly doomed to die because he directly planned and organized the assassination of Sima Yue. But did they not fight against Sima Yue less often?
During the time of the previous emperor, the present emperor was wise and decisive, courteous to the wise and humble, and graceful. When he privately discussed the affairs of the world with others, he was passionate and had many insights.
When the emperor ascended the throne, everyone secretly rejoiced that a wise and enlightened ruler had finally arrived and that the Jin Dynasty would have a chance to revive. As a result, everyone worked hard and competed to be the first, constantly planning one thing after another and slowly taking back power.
With all these things happening, wouldn't Sima Yue be angry with them? Wouldn't he settle the score later?
Everyone's faces looked a little ugly.
At this moment, the gates of Hualin Garden were burst open, and a large group of soldiers rushed in and occupied every corner.
"This……"
"How dare you! Are you planning a rebellion?"
"Where did the chaotic soldiers come from in such a grand and magnificent palace?"
"Where are the guards?"
The ministers, who were frowning, were startled and, as if in a stress response, they subconsciously rebuked the emperor. But if you look closely at their faces, you will conclude that they are just outwardly aggressive but inwardly weak.
Wang Bing walked in, first looked at the court officials who were usually high and mighty but now panicked to death, then prostrated himself before the emperor and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Wang Bing has received reports that someone is plotting rebellion, so I am leading the troops to guard the city. Your Majesty, don't worry. Once the rebels are captured, everything will be fine."
Sima Chi's face was very pale, with traces of sweat on his forehead. He wanted to say something, but couldn't say anything.
At this moment, he even suspected whether Sima Yue was going to kill the king.
Empress Liang Lanbi gently held the emperor's hand to comfort him, then calmly looked at Wang Bing, opened her red lips and asked, "My Lord, where are the rebels?"
Wang Bing stood up, put his hand on the hilt of his sword, glanced at them, and began to call out their names one by one: "Emperor of the Imperial Household Miao Bo, Minister of the Imperial Household Miao Yin, Imperial Attendant Wang Yan, Imperial Historian Gao Tangchong, Duke of Yanling Gao Tao, and Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat He Sui..."
Wang Bing said the names of more than a dozen people in one breath, and the expressions of those who were called out were different.
Some people saw that Situ was unwilling to let them go, but when the time came, they let it go. Their panicked faces gradually returned to normal, and they stood up to bid farewell to the emperor. Some people burst into tears and were speechless.
There were also people who kept pleading with the emperor, such as Gao Tao——
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Gao Tao knelt on the ground, hugged Sima Chi's thighs, and cried, "I am in mourning for my father and cannot go out. If I were not full of sincerity to Your Majesty and the court, why would I run around like this? I am following Your Majesty's orders. Your Majesty! Please save me!"
Sima Chi covered his face with his sleeves and did not look at Gao Tao.
Liang Lanbi hesitated to speak.
"Your Majesty, save me!" Gao Tao was still crying.
Wang Bing saw that it was really not appropriate and ordered the soldiers to arrest people.
Several soldiers rushed forward and dragged Gao Tao away like a dead dog.
Others would not be let off either. Under Wang Bing's command, several people worked together and quickly captured all the people around Sima Chi.
From beginning to end, Sima Chi said nothing, just sighed.
Queen Liang Lanbi felt as if she was falling into an icy cave.
She now finally understood why her father (General Liang Fen) had always been unwilling to get involved in state affairs, but he collected his salary and kept silent on all important matters, which was the ultimate in self-preservation.
It turns out that the struggle for power is so terrifying.
All the schemes they had been planning were so insignificant in the face of absolute force.
As long as Sima Yue is willing to lose face and no longer want to abide by the rules, all political schemes will be just a joke.
After capturing all the people, Wang Bing did not leave. He just waved his hand and someone came over to deliver the message.
Soon, more than 20 people came in. After seeing the emperor, they all bowed to the ground and cried, "Your Majesty."
Sima Chi finally shed tears when he saw it.
These people came from the Left and Right Guards, the Left and Right Army, and the Cavalry Army, and took turns guarding the palace. The lowest of them were the Palace Sima and the Supervisor of the Three Departments, all of whom were generals of the imperial guards who had been deliberately won over in the past two years.
At the end of last year, after the news that Sima Yue wanted to return to Beijing spread, he became even more ruthless and made all the military officers in the palace marquises, which was a huge investment.
Sima Yue had been in Beijing for some time, but he had never dared to enter the palace to meet the emperor because he was taboo about these people.
Could it be that they also...
"Your Majesty, take care. I am going back home." Someone sighed.
"Your Majesty..." Someone burst into tears, but was just crying.
Some people kowtowed heavily and looked at the emperor carefully, as if they were seeing him for the last time.
"Take them out!" Wang Bing waved his hand and gave the order.
The soldiers stepped forward to urge them on.
The military officers in the hall saluted again and left slowly.
Wang Bing watched them leave.
In fact, he was a little confused. Why should they come to see the emperor again if they were just driven away? In the end, he couldn't figure it out and could only attribute it to Situ showing off to the emperor...
What a pity!
These people are all middle-level military officers of the imperial guards camps. Once they are dispersed, there will be great chaos and it will take a lot of time to recover.
What's more, they didn't just leave alone. Often their trusted junior officers were also implicated, and there were far more than just these twenty or so generals who were driven away.
If someone attacked at this time, Wang Bing was not sure whether the imperial guards would scatter.
Next, we must seize the time to promote new people and improve the morale of the troops.
Thinking of this, he didn't want to stay any longer, so he turned around and glanced at the emperor and empress, then saluted and said, "Your Majesty, from today onwards, the palace guard will no longer be in charge of the palace general. The Minister of the Interior has ordered that eight hundred brave men be selected from the East Sea Kingdom to guard the imperial residence. They will come to relieve the guard in a while, so don't be alarmed, Your Majesty."
After finishing his report, he raised his head, looked at the emperor, and said with a bow, "I will take my leave."
After saying this, he turned and left with his soldiers.
How should I put it? I felt a bit sighed and excited at the same time.
This was the first time for Wang Bing to be so domineering in front of the emperor.
All the guards around the emperor were replaced, which was the first time for Situ.
This is not giving any face at all, it's completely turning the table over.
Wang Bing suddenly thought of Shao Xun who was far away in Liang County. For some reason, he, who was so full of vigor just now, suddenly became deflated.
But he quickly comforted himself: there was no soldier or general from the East Sea Kingdom who was not afraid of him.
There was no one among the tens of thousands of imperial guards who didn't know him.
Fortunately, he didn't have to confront him directly, otherwise Wang Bing didn't know if he had the courage to speak harshly or use violence against him.
At the same time, he couldn't help but speculate maliciously, if Shao Xun was still the general in the palace, and Situ drove him away with an order, would he end up in tears?
What a pity, there is no way to test it.
After Wang Bing left, Hualin Garden was empty.
Sima Chi was stunned for a while, then suddenly shouted.
"Your Majesty." Liang Lanbi came back to her senses, tightly grasped the emperor's hand, and comforted him softly: "Your Majesty, Situ still has some dignity and won't do anything reckless. Your Majesty, please relax, there will be a turnaround in time."
"What do you know!" Sima Chi shook off Liang Lanbi's hand and ran away.
(End of this chapter)