Chapter 92 Chapter 92 The white gauze fluttered like a hairband, reaching to the waist...
On the day the army arrived at the city, Su Shang was so shocked by the scene outside the city that he stood there in a daze for a long time.
It was not because of the number of troops, nor because of the presence of the Shen Ce Army in the army, nor because of the flags of King Zhao and King Feng, but because of the flag of the central army commander with only the two words "Xining" on it that was prominently held up on the central army platform!
He looked at the man who was walking up to the central military platform step by step, surrounded by soldiers.
He held the raised part of the city wall with his hands and watched the man stop and turn around.
It's him!
The moment his gaze fell upon him, Su Shang's pupils trembled, and his eyes widened in shock.
Xining...Xu Qing'an...
How could it be him? How could it be him!
He slammed his hand on the city wall, and from that moment on, answers to many of the previous questions seemed to emerge in Su Shang's mind.
But he still didn't believe it, or rather, he couldn't believe it.
How can a dead person be resurrected?
But Xining...
What was written on their flags was not their posthumous titles or temple names, but their reign titles!
The flags of King Zhao and King Feng were placed on both sides, and even King Feng was under the central military platform!
Things are already very clear.
Su Shang's trembling pupils were filled with scarlet bloodshot, but after the fear, a bone-chilling coldness gradually settled in his eyes.
Outside the city, the moment Zhou Jingzhi stepped onto the Central Army Platform, Prince Feng shouted, "Welcome, Your Majesty!"
The whole army shouted again: "Long live His Majesty!"
Zhou Jingzhi stood on the central military platform, wearing armor, with his hair tied up high, his cloak fluttering in the wind, and the word "Xining" on the general's flag was right behind him.
He stood, sword in hand, his gaze fixed on the figures on the wall. His voice echoed through the entire army: "I am the descendant of Emperor Zhuang. At the age of four, I was granted the throne and appointed Crown Prince. At the age of thirteen, I inherited the throne and changed the reign to Xining. For seven years on the throne, I have never forgotten the late emperor's teachings, working day and night to strive for peace and prosperity for the country and the people. However, in the seventh year of Xining, during the Shangsi Water Festival, I was assassinated by treacherous officials. Several times, I was on the verge of death. Fortunately, loyal and righteous people saved me, allowing me to live in anonymity for three years. Now, I return with my loyal ministers and former subordinates. It is imperative that I vindicate the wronged ministers, punish the traitors, and restore order to the court!"
A whistling arrow exploded in the air, and King Zhou Yu of Feng issued another decree: "Here today, before all the people, I declare the five major crimes of the traitor Su Wang..."
Zhou Yu read out the five major crimes of assassinating the monarch, excluding dissidents, replacing the heir, arbitrary power, corruption and harming the people to the ears of the people on the city wall, and there was an uproar on the city wall as soon as he finished speaking.
Su Shang squinted his eyes at the spot where the flare arrow had exploded, chuckled softly, and then spoke coldly to the people below the city: "Do you think that whatever you say is true? What happened back then is crystal clear. Evidence has been found at every level, top to bottom, and there is no room for criticism. The late emperor is buried in Pingling. How can you, a traitor, arbitrarily find someone completely unrelated to the emperor to impersonate him?"
"Prince Feng, you haven't been to the capital in years, and during that time you ignored orders and announcements. Why are you leading your troops here now? Where were you when the previous emperor passed away? The rumors spread in the city recently were also spread by you, right? You're paving the way for your son!"
Zhou Yu said calmly, "My son is still in his infancy. I only wish him a peaceful life. How could I, like you, Su, have such dirty thoughts? Su Xubai, are you judging others by your own standards?"
"I have come to the capital today to escort His Majesty Xining's royal carriage, following his orders. Furthermore, I also want to seek justice for my brother, the Third Prince. Prince Zhao's former subordinates are also here today. They wish to ask Prime Minister Su what exactly caused Prince Zhao's illness."
——
In the Taiji Palace, Shangguan Xu, who was wearing military uniform, also saw the signal arrows exploding in the sky.
"They're outside the city."
Gu Chou: "We must order a counterattack and cooperate with them from inside and outside."
Shangguan Xu looked at the motionless army formation below and shook his head: "No rush. Logically speaking, they should be the first to get restless."
——
On the city wall, Su Shang laughed even more wantonly: "It's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime. What's more, what you mentioned are all old stories. You are using old things that have been settled for years to accuse my father. How can this be justified? You are traitors and rebels with ulterior motives! Not only did you premeditated the murder of my father, you also slandered the background of the current emperor!"
"Zhou Yu!" He pointed down at the city walls. "My father was appointed by His Majesty Emperor Zhuang as his regent, and my Su family is a long-standing, loyal and righteous family that has served four dynasties. With my Su family here, your scheme will never succeed!"
"Don't worry, soldiers on the city walls. They've bypassed many other cities to attack the capital, so they're surrounded by loyal troops ready to protect the emperor. Once reinforcements arrive, the capital will be freed."
Zhou Yu sneered, "Su Xubai, you yourself would find what you said amusing, right? If I were to orchestrate rebellion for my son, then it would be my son I should be supporting. Wouldn't what I'm doing now contradict that?"
Su Shang said: "Because you are not the only one who planned this, because you are not the only beneficiary of this, because you are also colluding with other people in the capital!"
Su Shang closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He listened to his uncontrollable trembling breath. He clenched his fists and struggled, gritted his teeth and spoke with difficulty: "You and the Queen Mother had already planned today's event. So the person you welcomed was chosen by you together. And this puppet you chose has also been secretly colluding with the Queen Mother for a long time, causing chaos in the palace... You are the scoundrels of the country."
Zhou Jingzhi listened to Su Shang calmly, "Did you know that Prince Zhao was born with an eye problem? He can't paint colorful landscapes, flowers, and birds."
"Do you know how many scratches were on the face of the corpse you found by Qujiang Lake? Did you know that corpse originally had six toes on its feet? I chopped off the extra one myself?"
A soldier walked up from the central military platform, and Zhou Jingzhi took a scroll from him.
Zhou Jingzhi unrolled the scroll with one hand. "This painting was created in the sixth year of Xining by the Crown Prince of Zhao. It bears the signature and the seal of the King of Zhao. The King of Zhao even wrote a message at the end of the scroll, hoping his son's eye disease would heal. Do you have any objections?"
"As for the corpse, it was covered in wounds. Two broken toes would have been covered by other wounds, and it would have been considered a scratch, so it's normal that no one noticed it at the time. However, now that time has passed, the corpse has decayed and the broken bones beneath can be easily seen. Do you dare to open the coffin and conduct an autopsy?"
Su Shang chuckled. "Ridiculous! How can you disturb the emperor's mausoleum so recklessly? You just open it up like that? You don't need to say anything more. You're just trying to confuse the people with this nonsense. Let me ask you, if the defenders in Chang'an City were determined to stop you and the other bandits from entering the city today, would you give the order to attack the city?"
Zhou Jingzhi's eyes suddenly turned cold.
——
Under the Taiji Palace, the military formation gradually changed. From the middle position and from the back to the front, the soldiers moved a step to the side. Su Wang walked to the front row along the path they had moved out.
"I hope your Majesty the Queen Mother is well."
This was the first time Shangguan Xu had met Su Wang since the day she was placed under house arrest by Su Shang.
Su Wang's eyebrows were smiling, and his expression was relaxed. Shangguan Xuzi was no less impressed and responded calmly, "Mr. Su."
Su Wang folded his hands in front of him and asked, "Is the Empress Dowager surprised to see me?"
Shangguan Xu smiled, "It's true that I haven't seen Mr. Su for a long time."
Seeing that Shangguan Xu didn't respond directly, Su Wang stopped playing cryptic games with her. "The traitors Your Majesty the Queen Mother wants to see are now outside the city. They're marching their troops straight towards the capital. First, they spread rumors about the current emperor, and then they slandered my loyalty during my tenure as an official. Your Majesty, what agreement have you reached with them? You're already the Queen Mother, yet you're still not satisfied and want to establish a new emperor. Do you feel that my position as Prime Minister has blocked your path to the regent?"
Shangguan Xu was amused. "Mr. Su's words are always so eloquent and impeccable." She suppressed her smile and gazed gravely, "But what you're saying now is nothing but self-deception. You want the soldiers around you to still believe in you, you want the people you've cultivated over the years to still be loyal to you, you want the title of sage minister you've always dreamed of to be bestowed upon you. But these are just extravagant hopes for you now. You're just struggling to survive."
"You know, the evidence of everything you've done over the years is already compiled. Whether you delegated it to others or did it yourself, every single one of them is irrefutable and ready to be made public. Then all your fantasies will be shattered."
The corners of Su Wang's lips twitched slightly, and he continued, "How could the Empress Dowager be like the traitors outside the city, fabricating charges out of thin air? If all crimes in the world could be determined by a single word, then I wonder how many wrongful convictions there would be in the government office."
Shangguan Xu: "Why bother arguing with me? Do you dare to let them into the city and confront those witnesses and evidence face to face?"
"Your Majesty, are you kidding? If I let those traitors in instead of strangling them to death, wouldn't that mean they'd harm the people and endanger the country?" Su Wang smiled. "Or, Your Majesty, do you want to use this as an excuse to let them in so you can control the entire capital and achieve your ultimate goal? No wonder they were so impatient to attack the city soon after arriving."
Shangguan Xu frowned: "They started to attack the city?"
Su Wang's eyes were as deep as a pool. "Otherwise, with the food reserves of Taiji Palace, how long can Your Majesty wait for them? Your Majesty, the Taiji Palace has run out of food, right?"
Shangguan Xu lowered his eyelids slightly, met the probing gaze, and said nothing more.
——
Zhou Jingzhi's initial team was composed of the former subordinates of King Zhao and King Feng, but he had set a trap long before he left Beijing, making Huo Gan willingly lead the troops to war. He also used Huo Gan's arrogance to arouse Su Wang's suspicion of him, thus greatly reducing the number of troops Huo Gan led. However, this also gave him the opportunity to subdue the Shen Ce Army.
When Huo Gan led his troops to Pingying and two states, Zhou Jingzhi's troops had already been ambushed by various forces. Before that, he had also met King Feng and recognized him. Therefore, taking advantage of the terrain and Huo Gan's arrogant character, it did not take much effort to subdue the Shen Ce Army brought by Huo Gan. At the same time, because the Shen Ce Army was actually an army directly under the command of the emperor, many soldiers in it were also loyal to the emperor. Therefore, when Zhou Jingzhi produced a lot of evidence to prove his identity and prove that Su Wang was not a good minister, the morale of the Shen Ce Army quickly rallied under his command.
After entering the capital, they mostly used this kind of method when encountering other Shen Ce troops, trying to appease them first, and only taking tough measures when they encountered those who were really stubborn and unyielding.
This is because Zhou Jingzhi felt that the power of the army should be directed outward, to protect the country, and not to be used in internal struggles, to oppress and kill each other.
So when Su Shang on the Chang'an city wall said, "You are going to give the order to attack the city," Zhou Jingzhi's eyes darkened and he remained indifferent.
Sieges have always been brutal. Not only will both the attackers and defenders suffer huge losses, but the people in the city will also be greatly affected. Therefore, at this point, Zhou Jingzhi knew that he could not attack by force.
In addition to this, another important point is that from what Su Shang said just now, as long as he ordered an attack on the city, he would be an undoubted bandit, a traitor who was blocked outside the city and was furious.
So he couldn't attack either.
However, Su Shang grasped his concerns and forced him into a dilemma, because Su Shang also knew that he could not just stay outside the city in peace.
Because the people in Taiji Palace can't hold on for long.
He could either protect the people of the capital and his righteousness, or protect the person in the palace.
Su Shang believed that he would definitely choose the latter, so Su Shang only needed to wait quietly on the city wall, wait for him to attack the city, wait for him to destroy his orthodoxy with his own hands.
Time passed little by little, the sun had set in the west, and the two people inside and outside Chang'an City had been facing each other silently for nearly two hours.
Su Shang shifted his gaze away from the man and turned to look at the crimson sunset on the side.
Haven't made a decision yet? Will the stalemate continue like this? But how much longer can Taiji Palace hold out?
It seems that it is so difficult to choose between morality and her.
Su Shang smiled slightly, then turned his gaze to the deputy general beside him and asked, "How is the person who was sent to deliver the letter?"
The deputy general replied, "We have successfully broken through. We just need to deliver the letter and wait for reinforcements to arrive."
Su Shang cast his gaze towards the city again and said softly, "I don't have much time left."
In the distance, Zhou Jingzhi stood on the central military platform. Because the distance was too far, he could not see every change in Su Shang's expression in detail.
However, he raised his eyes and did not look at the man's movements. He was looking at the sky above Chang'an City behind the city wall, watching it gradually lose the sunlight and become darker and blacker.
Finally, when the night was completely shrouded, a sudden noise came from the city.
"Welcome the Royal Master!"
Su Shang, who had just reacted while standing on the city wall, was shocked by the scene below when he turned back to the side of the city wall facing the city. A large number of people dressed as civilians came out from the streets, some holding swords, some holding rakes, and rushed straight to the city gate. The people were aggressive and dressed as civilians. The archers didn't know whether they should shoot or not.
However, during this period of hesitation, the group of people came closer.
Su Shang: "What are you waiting for! Shoot!"
In an instant, arrows flew down. Under the city wall, those who were defending themselves were still rushing forward. Perhaps because they saw that the people on the city wall had taken action first, arrows began to be shot from below the city wall.
Among them was a figure with a strong and agile body.
Su Shang was shocked: "A Zheng..."
The city gate slowly opened from the inside, and Zhou Jingzhi jumped on his horse: "Enter the city!"
——
In the Taiji Palace, Shangguan Xujing, who was also restrained from giving the order to take action because of his "orthodoxy", stood on the city wall, looking intently at Su Wang who was guarding the city tower.
She knew that the phrase "people outside the city are impatiently preparing to attack the city" that he had just mentioned was a hint that she should work together with the people outside to provoke her to take action.
But how could he know that she and Zhou Jingzhi had already planned what would happen today a month ago?
After years of contact, Shangguan Xu already knew what kind of person Su Wang was. He was cunning and hypocritical, and he would often find a "reasonable" excuse for himself before doing evil things. So she was sure that as long as he was not nailed to the pillar of shame, even if rumors were rampant, the first thing he would think of would definitely be to find the mistakes of others, so as to give himself a "just" reason to clear his name.
Therefore, Zhou Jingzhi's army outside the city and Shangguan Xu's imperial guards of Taiji Palace were not the protagonists of this battle to capture the city. The real key figures were the people who had been lurking in the capital earlier. What Shangguan Xu and Zhou Jingzhi had to do was to delay Su Wang and Su Shang and prevent them from noticing the movements of the lurkers in the city.
Looking at the person who hurriedly ran over from the city wall and whispered something in Su Wang's ear, Shangguan Xu curled his lips and smiled.
Su Wang looked up at her in shock. It was a look she had never seen in his eyes before: horror, anger, fear, unwillingness, and many other emotions mixed together. He looked like he wanted to strangle her to death, but no matter how angry he was, it was useless.
From the moment his eyes appeared, Shangguan Xu felt relieved, and what she had wanted was finally going to come true.
It was undoubtedly a chaotic night, but it was also a night when everything moved extremely quickly.
When the curfew ended again, everything in Chang'an City was almost settled. The people only heard that the royal army had returned last night, and the young emperor who had once been placed with high hopes had also returned.
As for what he looked like before, not many people have actually seen it, and what he looks like now... perhaps the people will be able to see him on the day he ascends the throne again or when there are other grand events in the city that require his personal presence.
Everything was going well and everything was developing almost perfectly, except that the Su father and son were able to escape from Chang'an City under the escort of their personal guards during the chaos.
Last night, due to various factors, Shangguan Xu did not meet him the first time he came back. It was not until the early morning, when things had basically settled down, that Xun Yang took her to him.
Because he had traveled a long distance, Xun Yang went to him last night and took his pulse.
Along the way, Xun Yang also relayed the news he had just received to Shangguan Xu.
"Have you really pulled out all the weeds? There won't be any more problems in the future, right?" Shangguan Xu asked after hearing this.
Xun Yang had already told her about Zhou Jingzhi's encounter with Xu Fengyi on his way north and the successful completion of his fourth detoxification. Knowing her joy and fear, he reassured her, "It's truly all done, and there won't be any more problems. Although he felt a little unwell for a while after the detoxification due to the medication, it was only a temporary reaction. When I examined him last night, he also told me that those symptoms hadn't reappeared."
Shangguan Xu smiled with relief: "That's good."
After the two finished talking, they walked for a while until they came to a palace. Xun Yang pushed the door open and walked in with Shangguan Xu: "Look who's here."
However, as soon as Xun Yangfang raised his eyes, the smile on the corner of his lips suddenly disappeared.
It was because he saw the person's eyes covered by a long veil by the window in the hall, and the white veil behind her was flying like a hairband, reaching below her waist.
Xun Yang was stunned for a moment: Ah?
He immediately turned his eyes to look at Shangguan Xu behind him.
Shangguan Xu was also puzzled and worried: "Didn't you say..."
Xun Yang raised his hand and said quickly: "Maybe there is still some place that needs to be recuperated. Um, you guys chat first, I'm leaving first."
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