HLnovel Chapter 318 Palace Coup
Chapter 318 Palace Coup
After clearing out the remaining enemies in the city, Yang Yanzhao and his father joined forces, and the 6,000-strong Volcano Army rested in the city for a night.
The father and son of the Yang family continued to divide their troops into two groups. Yang Ye, the Golden Sword Commander, led an army of 10,000 to cooperate with Meng Liang and Jiao Zan to capture Xinzhou City, while Yang Yanzhao rushed to Wuzhou to cooperate with His Royal Highness the Regent to fight an ambush.
Yelu Xiu Ge waited for a day at Gubeikou, but instead of the Liao army that retreated from the four states to gather, he saw another 10,000-strong army from the north of Gubeikou blocking the gate. He almost spat out blood again!
We can't wait any longer. The defenders of Guizhou, Xinzhou and Wuzhou will probably face a tragic fate of annihilation.
There were only about 4,000 soldiers left in Yelu Xiu'ge's army, plus the 3,000 defenders who escaped from Guizhou City and the 2,000 soldiers guarding Gubeikou. Together, they numbered less than 10,000. They could only fight to the death through the pass and charge north. Every one who escaped would be counted.
After Gao Yingxiong captured Shanhaiguan with an army of 10,000, he came to Gubeikou to join Cao Wei. Cao Wei had captured Xifengkou and came to Gubeikou first, trying to carry out the prince's mission of closing the gate and beating the dog.
Although there were 20,000 troops, they lost thousands of men each when they captured Shanhaiguan and Xifengkou. But with only 18,000 men, Cao Wei and Gao Yingxiong were confident that they could close this gate.
At this moment, they did not know that there were less than 10,000 Liao soldiers left inside the door and they were trying to break in and escape. Otherwise, their confidence would have gone to waste.
With their men well fed and their horses well fed, there was no need for a mobilization order, and these 9,000-plus Liao troops would fight to the death and charge northward. With Yelu Xiu'ge's order, the northern gate was opened, and the Liao troops bravely charged forward!
Gao Yingxiong shouted, "Here they come! Archers, call them!"
The 6,000 archers in ambush shot arrows one after another from both sides of the gate. The Liao army had no desire to fight, they just dodged the arrows and rushed forward! ...
Cao Wei and Gao Yingxiong led the cavalry, blocked the road and charged head-on at the Liao army that was charging at them with a rain of arrows.
This was a crushing victory without any suspense. The Liao army that broke through the Song cavalry square was only three or four hundred people. Yelu Xiu was protected by hundreds of personal soldiers and rode his horse to the long-desired grassland. Xiao Yan and Lu Ping, the cowardly guy, were killed by Gao Yingxiong with a single blow and could only return to their hometown.
Seeing that no Liao army rushed out of the pass, Cao Wei and Gao Yingxiong looked at each other with wide eyes.
"Gone? Only these few out of 80,000 or 90,000 Liao troops escaped?" Gao Yingxiong couldn't help but ask.
"Your Highness and General Yang are brave and courageous. It seems that this is all the Liao army has escaped!" Cao Wei concluded.
"Then! Let's lead the troops into the gate, shall we?" Gao Yingxiong was still a little dumbfounded and couldn't believe it.
"Go! Go in and close the door." Cao Wei helped him make the final decision. ...
This is an exciting and joyous victory!
All the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were recovered, and more than 100,000 main forces of the Liao Kingdom were destroyed.
The army celebrated the victory, and the Han people in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun also rejoiced. The Khitan nobles who did not have time to escape were in grief, and the ordinary Khitan people were terrified and no longer dared to boss the Han people around or show off their military power.
After Regent Zhao Defang rewarded the three armies, he arranged for Cheng Yu, Cao Wei and Gao Yingxiong to lead 20,000 troops each to guard the border. Sima Qingyun took over all the government affairs of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. The King of Chu and the King of Xiang also willingly stayed here to cooperate with Mr. Sima in implementing the new policy reform and trial implementation points in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.
Regent Zhao Defang decided to let the army rest for a few days. After all military and political affairs of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were on track, he would return to the capital.
He missed the princess and Lin'er so much that he was so anxious that he had no idea that the princess and her youngest son were in danger in the capital. ...
In the imperial study of the Beijing Imperial Palace, the young emperor Zhao Wuji looked at the more than 30 court officials in front of him with a stubborn and tense face. The person in the lead was his uncle, Cheng Haodong.
"Uncle, you keep saying you're doing this for me, but I want to ask you, after my father passed away, have you ever been to the Prince of Wei's mansion to show your concern for me and my mother, the poor mother and son? If I remember correctly, you never visited the Prince of Wei's mansion once, and you wish you had severed all ties with your own sister and nephew.
After I ascended the throne, you went to the palace every few days to ask to see the queen mother. Out of consideration for our family relationship, my queen mother begged me to promote you and make you an official of the second rank, and appoint you as the assistant minister of the Ministry of War.
My second uncle Cheng Haonan was also promoted to the position of Palace Guard Commander, holding military power. I have shown great favor to your Cheng family, right?
The Regent Prince agreed to all of this. He must have been very kind to your Cheng family, right?
Now, you are taking advantage of the opportunity when the emperor's uncle is leading his army out of the capital to fight, and you want me to remove him from his position as regent and take away his military power. You have ulterior motives and have lost all conscience!"
Cheng Haodong's face turned red and white when he was scolded by the little emperor, and he was angry with shame, "Your Majesty, I am loyal to you, and the world can bear witness to it!
However, the emperor is the supreme son of destiny. He should hold the imperial power in his own hands and not be held hostage by any ministers. He should not be a plaything in the hands of any ministers.
Regent Zhao Defang uses the emperor to control the princes, is domineering and overbearing, and never takes the emperor and the empress dowager seriously. If this continues, the ministers will be strong and the emperor will be weak. If he has wolfish ambitions, how can you still sit firmly on the throne?
I beg your Majesty to take advantage of the fact that Prince Regent Zhao Defang is not in the capital to deprive him of his title of Prince Regent, strip him of his military power and his authority to govern the country, arrest him and bring him back to the capital to place him under house arrest!"
"I beg the emperor to make a wise decision! ..."
"Your Majesty, this is a rare opportunity, and it will never come again. I beg Your Majesty to make a wise decision and take back the imperial power!"
More than thirty ministers shouted in unison and risked their lives to make their remonstrances.
The little emperor Zhao Wuji clenched his fists in anger and bit his lower lip, but he tried his best to suppress his impulsive thoughts and calm himself down!
These guys have joined forces to fool and threaten a seven-year-old child like me. Now that my uncle is not in the capital, they have planned it out long ago. Most of the imperial guards in the capital are in their hands. Wei Jiutong, the chief of the palace guards, is also their accomplice. I must remain calm.
Thinking of this, the young emperor Zhao Wuji laughed instead of getting angry. "Uncle, I am only a seven-year-old child, and I can't even recognize all the characters! If the power of the regent uncle is taken back, I will not deal with those headache-inducing government affairs. Wouldn't the Song Dynasty court become a decoration that misleads the country and the people?"
Cheng Haodong raised his head with a fiery look on his face, "Your Majesty, I can help you handle government affairs! There are so many loyal and good officials to share your worries, you don't have to worry about this."
Zhao Wuji really couldn't help it, his face turned cold with anger!
"Uncle, do you want to take over the position of the Regent Prince and govern the country?"
Why not? Cheng Haodong hurriedly used flowery words to coax him, "Your Majesty, we are close relatives, connected by blood, and we will prosper together and suffer together. I will never let your majesty down!"
You are such sinister, shameless, and ambitious people who have joined forces to try to seize the kingdom of my Zhao family!
The young emperor Zhao Wuji suppressed his anger and stood up, "I am sleepy and it is time for a nap. You can leave now!"
"Your Majesty!..." Cheng Haodong, who was in charge of state affairs and wished he could immediately trick the little emperor into making him a king, anxiously grabbed the little emperor's sleeve.
The little emperor's face turned cold!
"Cheng Haodong, do you want to kill the king and seize the throne?"
"I dare not!" Cheng Haodong was so scared that he quickly let go of his hand, "I am loyal to the emperor, and the world can bear witness to it!"
The little emperor flicked his sleeves with a gloomy face and walked out!
The more than 30 ministers kneeling in the imperial study looked at each other, and no one dared to step forward to stop it.