Chapter 378: Dragon Pattern Pendant, Dragon Jade Token
The atmosphere in the room was heavy with emotion because of Di Shuangcheng's words. Xiao Yan looked at his bloodshot eyes and said, "I know the general is angry and resentful. I hate him too, but Emperor An has been on the throne for over ten years now. There are not many of the old people in the court anymore. The aristocratic families are rampant, and the Lu family is even more different now."
"Of course, I can use the blood letter to uncover the old case from twenty years ago and expose their burning of Rongjiang. However, if Emperor An and the aristocratic families put aside their past grudges and join forces to suppress this matter, I'm afraid it will be forcibly suppressed before it becomes a big deal, and this blood letter will be erased without ever seeing the light of day."
Xiao Yan said seriously, "I'm not afraid of death. If I can help clear the name of the He family and the Crown Prince, I'm willing to die. But if I just rush forward like this, I'll only die in vain."
Di Shuangcheng frowned: "What do you mean?"
"General, do you know what's going on in the capital recently?"
Seeing Di Shuangcheng shaking his head, it was obvious that he was not clear about what had happened in the capital in the past few months.
Xiao Yan said in a deep voice, "The relationship between Emperor An and the aristocratic families is no longer what it used to be. The rift between them is deepening. The Lu family was deliberately suppressed by Emperor An due to some things. Not only is it no longer the head of the aristocratic families, but even Lu Chongyuan lost his position as the Minister of the Central Secretariat."
"If you want to overturn the He family's case, you can't just expose the past. Otherwise, it will only help the Lu family get out of trouble and force Emperor An to reconcile with them in order to cover up the past."
Di Shuangcheng narrowed his eyes slightly: "You mean, divide and conquer them one by one, and deal with the Lu family first?"
Xiao Yan nodded: "The aristocratic families have dominated the imperial court, and Emperor An has long intended to eliminate them."
Di Shuangcheng: "But since the Lu family colluded with Emperor An in the early years, they must have something on him. How could Emperor An really take action?"
Xiao Yan: "Then force him to take action."
Seeing Di Shuangcheng's stunned expression, Xiao Yan said, "If it was just a common incident, or if someone unimportant brought up the past, Emperor An would naturally not take action against the Lu family. But what if the person whose past was brought up was someone Emperor An dared not ignore, or even someone who could threaten the safety of his imperial power?"
Di Shuangcheng was no fool; he instantly understood what Xiao Yan meant. "You mean, you want me to be the one to draw the bow?"
Xiao Yan shook his head. "No, the general is stationed in the northwest and cannot leave without permission. Moreover, with the new ruler of Beiling ascending the throne, the border is unstable. The general cannot leave at this time. Otherwise, if something happens at Luoyan Pass, it will threaten the entire Wei Dynasty. I'm talking about the Dragon Court Guards."
Di Shuangcheng frowned: "Dragon Court Guards? I can't command them."
As if afraid that Xiao Yan didn't understand, he explained, "Although the Dragon Court Guards are based in the northwest like the Zhen'an Army, they only receive orders from the emperor. Moreover, the Dragon Court Guards' presence in the northwest is primarily to oversee the army and conduct inspections, and their authority is greater than that of the governors of prefectures and counties."
"The current leader of the Dragon Court Guard is named Shang Qin. He is the grandson of Shang Zhonglin, a close guard to Emperor Taizu. The Shang family has controlled the Dragon Court Guard for many years. When the Crown Prince was still alive, the Dragon Court Guard and the Zhen'an Army were relatively harmonious. But after the Crown Prince passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne, the Dragon Court Guard began to seize power and changed their original style."
"Shang Qin and the Dragon Court Guards have been entrenched in Linping. He's not even dedicated enough to defending Beiling, let alone forcing him to act for us."
Xiao Yan frowned. "I remember the Crown Prince's uncle once said that the Dragon Court Guard and the Zhen'an Army are from the same lineage and are under the control of the royal family?"
Di Shuangcheng paused for a moment after hearing this. After all, he felt that this matter was not a secret. Moreover, Prince Li had even told the He family about the Zhen'an Army and the Longting Guards. It didn't matter if he said a little more.
"It's not driven by the royal family, but by the Dragon Jade Order, which is usually in the hands of the emperor."
"Dragon Jade Order?"
Di Shuangcheng explained, "This is a royal secret, passed down orally only by successive emperors. Also, only those who held military power in the Zhen'an Army and the Dragon Court Guard knew about it."
Xiao Yan's eyes flickered slightly. This was not much different from what the Queen had said. He asked, "Is this token in Emperor An's hands?"
"Of course." Di Shuangcheng said without hesitation, "Back then, the Zhen'an Army was powerful, and Taizu once used the Dragon Jade Order to dispatch the Longting Guard to the northwest. His original intention was to contain the Zhen'an Army and jointly resist Beiling. Moreover, Taizu was too brutal, so keeping the Longting Guard in the northwest also provided a retreat for the Xie family."
"After Taizu passed away and the late emperor ascended the throne, although the palace never mobilized the Zhen'an Army and the Dragon Court Guard, the token must have been passed to the late emperor and the new emperor..."
As he spoke, Xiao Yan just looked at him indifferently. Di Shuangcheng's voice gradually cut off: "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Xiao Yan said calmly, "The general also said that Emperor An's throne may not have been legitimate."
Di Shuangcheng's eyes suddenly widened: "You mean, the Dragon Jade Order is not in Emperor An's hands?!"
Xiao Yan laughed: "General, you should know that it was not easy for Emperor An to ascend the throne, right?"
"At that time, the Crown Prince had just died, and Prince Cheng was extremely powerful. If the aristocratic families had not chosen Emperor An, he would never have been able to defeat Prince Cheng. If he really had the token in his hand, how could he choose to be coerced by the aristocratic families? Moreover, after ascending the throne, even though he hated the aristocratic families, he was cautious and took his time, not daring to turn against them."
"Does this look like an emperor who holds military power and doesn't need to be afraid of his courtiers?"
Di Shuangcheng's expression changed, but Xiao Yan didn't stop. Instead, he continued:
"Moreover, when the Crown Prince plotted rebellion and the capital was massacred, the late Emperor originally favored Prince Cheng, but was ultimately forced by the aristocratic families to establish Emperor An. The late Emperor even died of illness not long after passing on the throne, but I remember that the late Emperor was always in good health at the time."
"The aristocratic families overshadowed the imperial power, and even the throne could be assigned at will. Under such circumstances, the late emperor did not mobilize the Dragon Court Guards. Do you think this is normal, General?"
Di Shuangcheng stood up suddenly: "You mean, the Dragon Jade Order is not in their hands?"
Xiao Yan didn't answer Di Shuangcheng's question, but simply asked in a deep voice, "General, do you know what the Dragon Jade Order looks like?"
Di Shuangcheng frowned: "I haven't seen it, but General Tu gave me something before he died."
He reached into his collar and pulled out a knot in a moment. There was a small iron box hanging on it. After opening it, there was a very strange-shaped object that looked like a jade comb.
Di Shuangcheng held it in his hand carefully. "General Tu said that the Dragon Jade Token has two pieces, one yin and one yang, and both are compatible. The Dragon Court Guard also has one of this thing in my hand. Only when it is compatible with the holder of the Dragon Jade Token can it obey orders. But no one has come to see me in all these years."
Xiao Yan took the "jade comb" and looked at it for a moment, and suddenly remembered the hollowed-out area on the dragon-patterned pendant.
He did not take out the dragon-patterned pendant, but simply looked up at Di Shuangcheng: "General, can you give me this?"
Di Shuangcheng looked at him and said, "What do you want this for? Without the Dragon Jade Token, this thing is useless."
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