Wude Hall.
The snow was falling quietly outside, and it was just as peaceful inside.
Today, he sits on the throne wearing a dragon robe, displaying both civil and military prowess.
Although the He family is not yet at peace, and the world is not yet at peace, the situation is still very good, and it is appropriate to offer sacrifices to Heaven.
This year's sacrificial ceremony will not only be grand, but also include the presence of the Crown Princess.
There were no women before the Heaven sacrifice, but the Empress could be present during the Earth sacrifice.
The Crown Prince was sometimes present during the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven, or he was sometimes asked to remain in the palace, while the Emperor was the true Son of Heaven.
This year, the Emperor decided to invite the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess to the ceremony; the whole family is doing well.
According to ancient practice, the Circular Mound Altar was located in the southern suburbs, while the Earth Worship Ceremony was held on the square mound in the waters of the northern suburbs on the summer solstice.
It speaks of a round heaven and a square earth. Nowadays, we think the earth might not be square, but that's okay, let's just do it this way for now.
Because offering sacrifices to Heaven doesn't necessarily have to be done in Heaven; it could also be for the world to see.
None of the cabinet ministers intended to stop the Crown Princess, because she might be able to help if something happened.
As for the Crown Princess being carried, it is said that she was very unhappy about it.
Even the Dong family in the past would have been overjoyed, wouldn't they?
Of the nine generations of the Dong family, some were scattered and others were in the He family.
An imperial official has delivered an urgent message, traveling 800 li in total!
The ministers were all awed!
Things are very stable now; the timeframe is about right.
The eunuch knelt down and loudly reported: "The Huan Ting family's party, while traveling to Guangping County, was surrounded by mutinous soldiers."
Grand Secretary Xu thought to himself, "It's not the dealer who's in a hurry."
Gao Yasun, a scholar of the Zhaowen Hall, was chewing on the words "Guangping County".
The eunuch said urgently, "There are seven or eight rebel armies, totaling forty or fifty thousand men."
Grand Secretary Xu frowned. It seemed that a large number of rebel soldiers had gathered in Guangping County.
There may be some who take advantage of the chaos, but as long as people's hearts are in turmoil, it will cause problems.
Gao Yasun thought to himself, Guangping County is not far from the capital, it's very dangerous! We must settle down here, otherwise something terrible might happen during the sacrificial ceremony!
Especially if the emperor and the crown prince leave the city together, there won't be enough time to react if something happens in the palace.
This kind of thing has happened before, so keeping the crown prince is the right thing to do.
The eunuch promptly reported: "The Zhuang family has a force of five thousand men, including two thousand brave warriors and five hundred elite soldiers."
Wait!
How could Deng Wang not know that the dealer had five thousand people? Why didn't he just report ten thousand?
As for whether Tiger Warriors or Valiant Warriors are more ferocious, let's not even talk about it. Two thousand men—that's enough to constitute treason!
Even if things are a bit chaotic now, 300 people are enough to escort 500 vehicles.
The total number of coachmen is less than two thousand.
The eunuch was unambiguous: "Zhuang Fan, clad in heavy armor, wielding a precious spear, carrying a bow and arrows, and riding a carved saddle, was a peerless warrior who could take on a hundred men single-handedly. His five hundred elite warriors slaughtered fifty thousand chaotic soldiers, who fled in all directions, their faces drained of color."
Deng Wang was also pale!
Zhuang Fan has clearly rebelled, even more so than the He family.
Where did the heavy armor come from? It's probably transported by 500 carts along the way, right?
Deng Wang also realized that besides the convoy, there was another convoy following behind.
Just like those who come to cause trouble, some are at the door, and others are not far away, ready to provide reinforcements at any time?
Is the bookmaker sending reinforcements?
The Prince of Deng felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he thought of Princess Yicheng.
The eunuch read the urgent message as if it were a storyteller: "More mutinous soldiers have entangled Zhuang Fan and Huben, and a group of mutinous soldiers are taking advantage of the chaos to loot."
What's the point of the mutinous soldiers taking advantage of the chaos? It's all their doing that they created the chaos.
The details and urgent reports were missing; the eunuch reported the result: "Zhuang Fan fought fiercely for half a day, sustaining several arrow wounds, but fortunately Gao Chu arrived in time."
Deng Wang wanted to roll his eyes, and he did just in time.
The palace official then added a twist: "Zhuang Fan mistook him for a mutinous soldier and fought with Gao Chu, but was mistakenly killed by his subordinates."
Grand Secretary Xu thought to himself, although it was an urgent report, some things needed to be written clearly, otherwise it could lead to a fight.
But was Zhuang Fan mistakenly killed by the Zhuang family or Gao Chu's subordinates?
Such a fierce general, probably on par with Lian Qing, honestly, it's a relief he died.
Otherwise, if he were to suddenly attack the sage, even those who came to his rescue might be killed or injured.
Lian Qing might not be able to meet the emperor.
But Zhuang Fan is the grandson of the Princess of Yicheng, and thus the Emperor's cousin, so they should be closer.
If the sage doesn't approach him, it would appear weak. Besides, he's come with five hundred cartloads of treasures.
The palace official reported: "Gao Chu pursued the rebel soldiers, but more than half of them were killed or wounded, and the rest fled. Of the group that rescued the Zhuang family, only Zhuang Wuji and a little over two hundred people survived. There were four hundred carts, but less than half of the goods were left. In addition, there were five hundred heavily armed soldiers, more than half of whom were destroyed."
The eunuch concluded, "Gao Chu's forces suffered five thousand casualties."
Everyone was awestruck!
Gao Chu was just trying to get something for nothing, and yet he suffered so many casualties!
Those chaotic soldiers were actually crippled by the bookmaker; this was a fight against the bookmaker.
Even though the dealer is crippled, he still managed to injure Gao Chu so much.
If this happened in Sheng'an, I wouldn't even dare to imagine it!
The phrase "strong army and sharp armor" is no easy description!
This actually indicates that the dealer is going against the market!
Why would the Zhuang family dare to come all the way to the capital? They dare, because there's the He family too.
The bookmaker is an outsider, while the He family is very well-connected in Sheng'an. Could this be considered collusion between insiders and outsiders?
This is just what the market maker did; so what's the situation in Huanting?
Xie Zhou was very solemn.
The dealer must have been casting iron illegally; his crimes go without saying.
Huanting is not far from Sheng'an, and there is also the Chan Sect.
Xie Zhou thought about it and wondered if the dealer hadn't rebelled yet because they weren't prepared enough.
After all, there's no such thing as doing something blatantly; everyone knowing about it and doing it openly are two different things.
The need to conceal it affects the speed. Perhaps another twenty years will be enough.
Xie Zhou broke out in a cold sweat! Wouldn't the Great Zhao be finished then?
Why am I suddenly so afraid when I look at him now?
Xie Zhou felt ashamed and fearful, but thankfully he had another chance!
He hasn't lost his composure yet, probably because he's still young. However, this cancer must be removed!
If the He family's 300,000 men were all equipped with strong weapons and armor, then there would likely be widespread suffering and death.
The attitude towards the He family is much harsher now; compared to Dong Xu, the He family deserves to be executed along with their entire clan!
So what if I'm a tyrant and kill countless people? As long as it's for the good of the world, someone will understand!
Xie Zhou clenched his fist. Although he had killed Zhuang Fan, there were still many things to do.
Zhuang Wuji must be kept alive. He needs to be kept in Sheng'an so that he can meet the emperor again and then choose a way to die.
If the Zhuang family dares to confront the He family like they have, even if it's inconvenient for Huan Ting to confront them in Sheng'an, Xie Zhou will still have to teach them a lesson.
They say women are even scarier when they go crazy.
They also had to guard against Princess Yicheng going mad, who might not be as elegant as the Li family.
Xie Zhou pondered that since Gao Chu hadn't mentioned the beauties, he must have killed them all.
Now is not the time to enjoy yourself; perhaps you can relax later.
But even military generals must be human.
The Emperor has issued an edict.
Zhuang Wuji, You Chengzong, and You Chengye must all be brought to Sheng'an.
As for the Chen family, let them off the hook for now.
Chen Kuang is probably connected to the dealer, but as long as he is still sensible, he probably won't dare to act recklessly in the future.
New hires may not even know them well. People change.
We can still keep them under control for now, so there's no need to panic.
The hall was lit up.
It was still snowing outside, and the Grand Secretaries were all busy.
Deng Wang thought to himself, the Princess of Yicheng only has one fate; the Crown Prince is no less than the Emperor. This is actually a good thing for the Xie family.
Xie Zhou is working like crazy now, as if trying to make himself feel better.
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