Shuozhou City.
Huge grief and anger covered the entire city like a dark cloud!
The moment the news was officially confirmed, Han Zhong vomited blood and fell unconscious on the spot. He was rushed back to the clinic for emergency treatment.
Wang Tiezhu, Lin Feng and others had red eyes and roared that they wanted to mobilize troops to march to the capital to demand an explanation!
Zhong Dahu was relatively calm, but his eyes were filled with tears as he held down his impulsive colleague.
"No one is allowed to move without the order from Zhao Tou!"
Han Zhong's first words after waking up were weak but carried an unquestionable determination. "Without my order, no one is allowed to mobilize a single soldier! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"
He knows Zhao Muyun better than anyone else.
He absolutely could not believe that this man who fought his way up from a soldier to a captain would die so easily!
There must be a shocking conspiracy behind this!
Shuozhou must not be in chaos before we get accurate information!
The soldiers suppressed their anger and patrolled day and night, and the city defenses were as tight as an iron barrel.
The people spontaneously hung white banners in front of their doors and cried continuously.
The entire Shuozhou was immersed in a tragic and vigilant atmosphere.
At this moment, the prince's special envoy to reward the troops, Minister of Rites Pan Ren, arrived outside Shuozhou City with a grand procession and a list of rewards.
His mission was clear: announce the imperial decree, reward the troops, and appease the people.
Then he gradually took over the defense, checked the accounts, replaced the generals, and gradually disintegrated Zhao Muyun's influence in Shuozhou.
......
In a secret mountain villa somewhere in the lower reaches of the Black Wind Gorge underground river.
Zhao Muyun changed into a clean set of coarse linen clothes. Although his face was pale, he looked full of energy.
He stood at the window, looking at the mountains outside.
Fan Bingbing stood behind him like a shadow, reporting in a low voice the developments of all parties after he was attacked and fell into the river.
"The imperial court sent Minister of Rites Pan Ren as an imperial envoy to Shuozhou, ostensibly to pacify the army, but in reality to seize power."
"Han Zhong stabilized the situation, closed the four gates tightly, and defended the city with all his might. He has not yet clashed with the imperial envoy."
"The Crown Prince, acting as Regent, has begun mobilizing the capital's defenses, replacing generals, and purging officials from the court who are not members of the Crown Prince's faction."
"Prince Jin's side is unusually quiet, but our people discovered that a mysterious caravan is heading in our direction, under the banner of delivering funeral gifts."
"Your Majesty is seriously ill, sometimes lucid and sometimes confused. Concubine Xiao controls the communication channels inside and outside the courtyard."
Zhao Muyun listened quietly, with no expression on his face, only a cold light flashed deep in his eyes.
"Pan Ren is nothing but a clown."
He snorted coldly, "She reported Han Zhong, played along, and provided the imperial envoy with good food and drink. She showed him insignificant things whenever he wanted to see something."
"When he asks questions, he either doesn't know the answer or puts the blame on me."
"In a word, drag!"
"We will not surrender a single soldier, a single grain of food, or a single straw! If necessary, we can have the soldiers make some noise to scare him."
"yes."
"Let the capital city be in chaos. The more ruthless the prince is, the more people he will offend, and the bigger his flaws will be."
"clear."
"Accept the funeral gift from the Prince of Jin. Return a thank-you gift on my behalf, saying, 'Though Yun is dead, his spirit lives on. Remembering the Prince's kindness, I will repay him handsomely one day.'"
A sneer appeared on Zhao Muyun's lips.
Fan Bingbing's eyes flashed with surprise, and then she understood: "I'll do it right away! I'll make sure that Prince Jin receives your thank you gift."
"Your Majesty!"
Zhao Muyun paused, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, "He has been completely bewitched by Concubine Xiao. Now he won't listen to any advice and can only leave it to fate."
His Majesty has now resolved the issue of being obsessed with women and will not listen to anyone's advice.
When Xiao Wuying, the chief commander of the Longcha Division, passed the secret letter from Emperor Yongchang to Zhao Muyun, Zhao Muyun could only shake his head and sigh.
"As for Princess Qinghe, she can't know anything for now. I want to see how she reacts."
A woman who truly loves you will put you first at all times, regardless of her own safety.
Zhao Muyun hoped that Princess Qinghe truly loved him, and was not forced to succumb to reality due to the imperial power and the political marriage of Prince Jin.
Fan Bingbing nodded thoughtfully, feeling quite envious of the Princess Qinghe.
I don’t know when Zhao Muyun will treat me like this.
.......
The posthouse in Shuozhou City was heavily guarded, as if an important figure had arrived.
At this moment, Pan Ren, the Minister of Rites, was not having a good time.
He brought the prince's reward and imperial decree, but the Shuozhou army, from top to bottom, treated him coldly.
Han Zhong claimed to be ill and could not go out, so only Zhong Dahu received him indifferently.
He wanted to inspect the city defenses, but was politely refused on the grounds that it was a military sensitive area and there might be Tartar spies.
He wanted to take inventory of the food, fodder and military equipment, and although the account books were brought in, they were piled up like a mountain with the entries in a mess. It was obvious that they were old accounts and he couldn't make any sense of them at all.
He wanted to summon the generals to give them a lecture, and they all came in an orderly manner.
But they were all wearing armor and holding blades, with stern faces, and their eyes swept over him like knives, making him feel very uncomfortable and unable to utter a word of the sermon he had prepared.
He even hinted at taking over some defense responsibilities.
Zhong Dahu directly stated, "Han Sima has given an order. Without Lord Zhao's original order or your majesty's tiger talisman, no one is allowed to mobilize troops." He firmly resisted.
When he was rewarding the troops at the parade ground outside the city, the soldiers below the stage had numb eyes and showed no gratitude at all when he read out the imperial edict.
When he took out the wine and meat rewarded by the prince, even a few young and inexperienced soldiers vomited on the spot, shouting, "I have a stomachache after eating food from the capital," causing the situation to almost get out of control.
Pan Ren was both angry and scared. He finally understood that Shuozhou was a solid block of iron that could not be penetrated by a needle or poured out by water!
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