The current leader is Wan Sheng, who was the deputy leader back then.
The Imperial Guards were nominally under the jurisdiction of the city patrol office, but in reality, they only obeyed the emperor's orders.
But now that the emperor is gone, the empress still has the power to command. Especially since the emperor has given orders.
"The fighting on the front lines should be nearing its end. However, something must have happened to His Majesty. I order you to guard the palace at all costs and to impose martial law everywhere. No one is to move about without my orders."
"Yes! But Your Majesty, His Majesty..." Zuo Zhizhen was a loyal minister, so he naturally had to ask.
"Now, I don't know either, but you have served His Majesty for many years, so you should know that even if His Majesty wants to establish a crown prince, he won't suddenly do so on the battlefield. For many years, he hasn't established one because he couldn't be sure of the prince's qualifications. Even if the eldest prince seems to be doing well now, the war isn't over yet, so why would he establish one on the battlefield?"
The saying "geese fly south" is a mix of truth and falsehood.
In fact, she knew very well that it was simply because the emperor was no longer capable that the eldest prince was appointed.
"Your Majesty, I understand. Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will guard the palace until His Majesty returns to the capital," said Zuo Zhizhen.
"Very well, I have already issued an imperial decree, ordering my second brother to escort the Seventh Princess and the others back to the capital. If anything happens, he can lead the troops to keep things under control. It would be best if His Majesty is unharmed. Otherwise, I will not spare those treacherous officials," Yan Nangui said.
Zuo Zhizhen had no doubts whatsoever.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, His Majesty is the Son of Heaven, how could anything happen to him? Your subject will certainly protect you and everyone in the palace."
"Alright, go ahead. I still have many things to do." Yan Nangui sighed.
Zuo Zhizhen agreed and went to redeploy.
Within two hours, martial law was in effect everywhere.
Just two hours ago, news of the establishment of a crown prince had been received everywhere, and now martial law has been imposed. Everyone is shocked.
Consort Ning, in particular, was overjoyed at first, but was now greatly alarmed.
With all the necessary arrangements made, Yan Nangui waited quietly. The first step was to wait for Zhang Shaoyang to obtain all the military power in the capital.
She sat alone in the Beichen Palace, silent.
Four days ago, Meng Haijiang.
Shu Chengfeng is probably incompatible with Meng Haijiang.
When he was the crown prince, he almost lost his life here.
This time, the situation was surprisingly similar. He was the emperor, so naturally he didn't need to go to the battlefield personally.
However, the terrain in Menghai was complex, and Prince Xianli and his men were reckless. It was clear that defeat was imminent.
They frantically tried to find a solution.
Although Prince Daya has enjoyed great prestige in recent years, there are still some who are not convinced that he has a bloodline that is not Meng Haijiang's.
There are also people around me who lack willpower, and even more people lying in wait.
This is the man who sent out a small team, dressed in white, to blend into the snow. Their camp was close to His Majesty's, and under the cover of night, they were difficult to spot.
If the camp is set on fire, His Majesty will undoubtedly be protected by countless people.
But it was nighttime, and chaos ensued, with arrows being shot from afar. When the arrows came flying, some people noticed, and Eunuch Liu rushed forward to shield the emperor from one of them.
But it was no use; there were more to come.
Before the imperial guards could react, Shu Chengfeng was struck in the chest by an arrow.
Although the traitors were captured quickly, the arrow pierced Shu Chengfeng's lung.
In this day and age, such injuries would almost certainly be fatal.
He didn't even have the energy to say anything more.
The eldest prince held onto his hand tightly and cried out.
Shu Chengfeng had difficulty speaking; his mouth was filled with bloody spittle.
She still stared intently at the eldest prince: "Empress! Empress! Seven...seven..."
"Father, Father, I know you want me to take care of Mother and Seventh Sister, right? Don't worry, Father, I will definitely take care of them, I definitely will!"
"If you... if you... dare..." He said it with great difficulty.
The eldest prince knelt down: "If I dare to disobey the Emperor's decree, may I die a horrible death, my soul and body annihilated."
"Your Majesty!" The ministers before him knelt down, weeping.
Everyone knows that His Majesty is dying.
Shu Chengfeng watched the clouds.
Yun Ji wiped away his tears: "Your Majesty, as long as I live, I will protect the Empress and the Seventh Princess for you. Please rest assured."
"Establish...Establish...The First Prince..." Shu Chengfeng could only utter these few words.
Yun Ji understood, wiping away tears and sobbing, "His Majesty's decree is to establish the eldest prince as the crown prince."
The eldest prince both cried and breathed a sigh of relief.
The imperial physician arrived, but it was too late.
With injuries like that and with that amount of bleeding, there's no hope.
No matter how the ministers wept or called for the Crown Prince.
Shu Chengfeng could no longer hear.
He felt cold.
Thinking of his beautiful little daughter, he thought, "Now that your father is gone, he won't know which rascal you like in the future."
She longs for the wild geese to return south; this woman is very strong, but she will be heartbroken if he leaves.
What could he do? He didn't want to abandon the mother and daughter.
Then, he thought of the day he was leaving.
He thought about many things and suddenly realized that the woman had already foreseen it, right?
She didn't want him to leave, that's why she did that.
The words she spoke to herself on the day she left were a farewell...
He laughed, "Actually... everyone has to die. Even emperors are no exception."
He has at least said goodbye to the person he loves most.
Finally, Shu Chengfeng relaxed his entire body, unable to speak. Only his lips moved.
Yunji understood; His Majesty meant: With you here, I feel at ease. You will take good care of them.
Yunji immediately understood that this was not referring to the Crown Prince, but... the Empress.
With the war in Menghaijiang nearing its end, it was impossible to announce His Majesty's death; it was only appropriate to say that His Majesty was injured.
This further fueled the soldiers' anger.
It seems they're just keeping the fight going; the battle should be over in a few more days.
Meanwhile, much bloodshed also took place in the capital.
Although Xu Chong could not completely win over the masses, he did have some supporters.
Zhang Shaoyang was referring to the Empress's decree, but faced with life and death, Xu Zhong was unwilling to obey easily.
And his close associates were all eventually killed by Zhang Shaoyang.
Whether he didn't want to leave any future problems is another matter.
This happened on the night of the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month.
Entering the palace overnight, Young Master Zhang naturally could not bring weapons.
The wild geese, returning south, are still in the Beichen Palace.
"Your subject has fortunately fulfilled his mission."
"Okay." Yan Nangui's throat was dry.
“Your Majesty, don’t worry, His Majesty will be alright,” Zhang Shaoyang said.
"Good. Since you've done a good job, there's one more thing. Martial law is to be declared over the entire capital. People can enter, but no one can leave. Also, all members of the Ning family, as well as their disciples, are to be confined to the palace. They are not allowed to leave the residence," Yan Nangui said.
"Yes." Zhang Shaoyang replied without hesitation.
Since Xu Chong has already been killed, there's no choice but to follow the Empress to the bitter end.
Moreover, the reason he sided with the Empress was simply because he had long believed that even the eldest prince might not succeed.
Now that things have come to this, he knew very well that the Empress was going to replace the Crown Prince.
As for His Majesty, he also knew that he must be... gone.
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