The Yongdingmen city gate slowly opened, and the heavy city gate made a harsh creaking sound. When the suspension bridge was lowered, the sky was splashed with dust flying in the sun. In the gray sky, Yang Tinghe was in the Cabinet Bachelor and the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. Surrounded by Zhang Wei and Tan You, the governors of the Chinese Army Governor's Mansion, they stepped out of the shadow of the city gate into the bright sunshine. ¡Ê¨JThere were smiles on their faces. The smiles were warm and amiable, and they looked as bright as the spring sun. Song Nan sat quietly on the horse and watched them approaching slowly. Wang Yong reminded him in a low voice: "Sir, it's time to dismount." Song Nan remained silent, sitting high on the horse and motionless. Yang Tinghe came to Song Nan's horse and Seeing Song Nan sitting motionless on the horse, he frowned a little, but he still cupped his hands and said, "It's really gratifying that Duke Zhen Guo has returned triumphantly. I originally thought he would arrive in Beijing a few days later, why didn't he arrive in Beijing in advance? "You are notified that you are returning to Beijing so soon?" Song Nan said lightly: "Does Yang Shoufu hope that I will never come back?" Yang Tinghe was stunned and said with a smile: "What are you talking about? What I mean is that the Duke of Zhen will return to Beijing early." The officials in the capital had no time to convene to welcome you in triumph, which was a big loss in terms of etiquette." Song Nan sighed and said, "What about etiquette? I couldn't eat or sleep at night when I heard the news that the emperor was seriously ill. Sleeping, why are you talking about the etiquette of greeting me? As a minister, I wish I could do it for you, but I am still in the mood to care about etiquette. Yang Shoufu, I thank you for your kindness, but please get out of the way. I am in a hurry to visit. Your Majesty, I would like to thank the Chief Minister and all the gentlemen for their hospitality." Yang Tinghe was stunned for a moment, but when he saw Song Nan lifting the reins of his horse, he shouted: "Enter the city." Wang Yong promised in a loud voice, waving his whip and riding forward, Yang Tinghe was so frightened that he quickly ducked. As they passed by, Wang Yong's horse body brushed against his clothes, making him turn pale with fright. After a moment of hesitation, the guards were already in action, the horses' hooves were rising and falling, and they had already stepped onto the suspension bridge in an instant. Yang Tinghe was stunned for a moment, and Liang Chu supported him and said anxiously in a low voice: "The imperial edict, the imperial edict." Yang Tinghe hurriedly shouted: "The Duke of Zhenguo stayed, there is an imperial edict." The clattering of hoofs all around was noisy, Song Nan's back was mixed with the guards in front, but he didn't seem to hear it and rushed straight into the city. The soldiers at the gate of the city were unable to react for a moment. They stared blankly at the large group of cavalry coming towards them, not knowing how to deal with it. Zhang Wei from behind shouted loudly: "You are not stopping us yet? Why are you standing there in such a daze?" A thousand households guarding the city suddenly woke up. He yelled at the top of his lungs: "Block the city gate, stop the Duke." Although the soldiers at the city gate couldn't hear the roaring words clearly, they could see the gesture of closing the city gate and immediately took action to close the city gate. The nearby Juma wooden railing was raised across the city gate, trying to block the passage of the large group of cavalry. Song Nan saw all this, reined in his horse and shouted loudly: "Why are you blocking the city gate?" Yang Tinghe and others rushed from the rear panting and said loudly: "Mr. Zhenguo, the emperor has a decree, please accept it." "I will go to the capital after the decree." Song Nan frowned and said coldly: "What decree?" Yang Tinghe said: "It's the emperor's edict." Song Nan's expression changed and he sneered: "Is the emperor still confused?" , what is the imperial edict?" Yang Tinghe was shocked and said hurriedly: "I was anxious and said something wrong. It was the emperor's imperial edict. Please dismount and accept the edict." Song Nan said coldly: "I am going to enter. The emperor will tell you what he wants in person, so why bother with it? "Song Nan, do you dare to refuse to accept the order?" Liang Chu shouted. Song Nan frowned and squinted at Liang Chu, pointed at Liang Chu with the riding whip in his hand and said: "It's strange that you are still standing here and showing off your authority. I will come back to you to settle the score. I advise you to be calm. This time it's your business. I checked clearly." Liang Chu shrank back and said harshly: "Now I want you to dismount and accept the order. I will make my own decision on the matter." Yang Tinghe also said sternly: "Master Zheng, please dismount and receive the order. After receiving the order, it is not too late to enter the palace to meet the saint." Song Nan laughed, but there was no smile on his face. When the laughter stopped, he shouted in a low voice: "Wang Yong listened to the order and immediately removed the obstacles in the way, but someone dares. Block the way into the city and kill them without mercy." Wang Yong promised loudly, spurring his horse hard, rushing to the front of the team, shouting: "Brothers from the Jinyi Guard Battalion, listen to the order and blast away everything that blocks the road, even if it is blocked. He was blocking the way and was beaten to a pulp by me." Yang Tinghe shouted loudly: "Song Nan, you refused to accept the order and forced your way into the city. What are you doing?" Song Nan sneered: "What are you talking about? What are you going to do? I will admit the crime of forcibly entering the city without obeying the imperial edict. After meeting the emperor, I will let the emperor do whatever he wants. You don¡¯t need me.Don't worry. But you, Yang Shoufu, stopped me on the road to prevent me from seeing the critically ill emperor, fearing that he had some other agenda. In the name of the Duke of Daming Town, I request that everyone meet with the emperor before discussing matters. Yang Shoufu should know Song's temper. If you insist on blocking the road, you, Yang Shoufu, will bear the consequences. " Wang Yong shouted, and the guards immediately shouted loudly, firing out their firecrackers in unison, and the sound of ammunition being loaded was endless. Hundreds of firecrackers were aimed at the road ahead, with several behind them. Hundreds of fire cannons were aimed at Yang Tinghe and others. Yang Tinghe was shocked and shouted angrily: "Song Nan, are you going to rebel? " Song Nan spat: "Don't accuse me of any crime. I won't fall for your tricks. I have urgent military affairs to meet with the emperor. Whoever wants to stop me wants to rebel. Wang Yong, why are you still standing there? " Wang Yong promised in a loud voice. Canglang pulled out the embroidered spring knife from his waist with a sound. The sharp thin blade shone with dazzling light in the sun. He shouted in a deep voice: "After five breaths, the fire gun will be launched. Five, four, three" Wang Yong's countdown shocked the defenders standing behind the Juma wooden fence. But when they saw the black firecrackers aimed at them, the countdowns sounded in their ears, and they were already in their hearts. Hui'an Hou Zhang Wei shouted in a cold voice: "No one is allowed to leave without permission, let's see if they dare to take action. " "Twoone" Wang Yong's countdown ended, followed by a harsh shout: "Fire. " "Boom, boom, boom. "The deafening sound of fire cannons resounded up and down the city gate. The iron sand and iron eggs launched by hundreds of fire cannons hit the ground within twenty steps in front of the city gate like a storm. Dust suddenly flew up and mud and rocks flew everywhere. , the scene suddenly became chaotic. The soldiers and horses who defended the city were all stunned. They never expected that Song Nan actually opened fire. There were screams of horror in their ears, and no one knew how many people were hit in the smoke. His body was actually intact, and he immediately shouted lucky. In his ears, he heard Wang Yong counting down again: "Tenninethree" At this time, how could the defenders in the smoke dare to stand still and hide away? In the first round, there was already smoke coming out of the ancestral grave. Do you really want to die here if you stand here again? Fortunately, this time Wang Yongshi counted down from ten, and he had enough time to escape. He shouted: "Run away quickly. "All the garrison soldiers responded immediately. Although they couldn't see anything, they had already planned the direction and distance of their escape. They accurately and vigorously flew to both sides of the city gate to avoid the next firecracker attack. ! The second round of fire cannon shooting was even more powerful. The wooden fence blocking the city gate was riddled with holes and exploded from the powerful iron sand and iron balls. As the sawdust flew, the sound of galloping horses could be heard. There was a rumbling sound, and the faint figures of the Jinyi Guards cavalry flew past in the smoke and rushed into the city on the ground full of gravel and sawdust. When the firecrackers sounded, Yang Tinghe was pressed to the ground by the attendants around him to protect him. , he had never seen such a formation before. Even though he had seen many big scenes, he was still frightened when faced with Song Nan's desperado-like behavior. While crawling on the ground, he was still thinking: "What if Song Nan It would be a big joke to shoot him dead here. He even sent him from the cabinet office to him to kill him. How could he be so cowardly as to think about this? "The roaring sound of firecrackers and rumbling horseshoes slowly disappeared, and the smoke slowly dispersed. Only then did everyone get up from the dust, spitting out the dirt in their mouths, and looking around in shock. Only then did Yang Tinghe realize what a heinous act Song Nan had done. "What a treacherous thing Song Nan did. He shot the city gate guard. This is a blatant rebellion. Mr. Zhang and Mr. Tan, please mobilize your troops to arrest him immediately. Song Nan, we must not allow him to rush into the palace and threaten the safety of the emperor and the queen mother. "Yang Tinghe shouted loudly, completely losing his usual calm demeanor, with a bit of hysteria in his voice. "But Sir, the soldiers and horses at the gate of the city have no casualties. "Zhang Wei stared in the direction of the city gate and said blankly. "What? Yang Tinghe said in astonishment: "How is that possible?" " "You see, their first round of fire cannons was fired on the ground about ten feet away in front of Juma, and it was still more than ten steps away from the defenders. "Zhang Wei pointed at a row of blasted grooves on the hard ground and said blankly. Yang Tinghe looked carefully and saw that the ground was mottled with large holes and small holes. The first round of bombardment by the fire gun guards did hit the ground. It didn't hit the soldiers blocking the city gate at all. Looking at the hundreds of shocked soldiers hiding in the open space on both sides of the city gate, they were all standing and none of them were lying on the ground. "This is even more surprising. They were very cunning. In the first round, they deliberately fired at the ground to raise smoke and cover up the people. When the soldiers guarding the city were panicked, they would inevitably flee. Then Wang Yong deliberately counted down to force the soldiers to flee. In the second round, they shot at the wooden horse. and wooden fences, smash these things blocking the road, and then you can rush awayEntered. Liang Chu said bitterly. When everyone thought about it, they all felt that this was what happened. Tan You was so angry that he pointed at the soldiers at the city gate and cursed: "A bunch of trash, dare to disobey orders and escape, I'll deal with you later." " Yang Tinghe sighed and waved his hands: "That's all, now is not the time to curse. After all, he actually refused to accept the imperial edict. He should have known the content of the edict and knew that if he accepted the edict, he would have no choice but to do so. He did it in compliance with the order, so he simply resisted the order and refused to accept it. He was going to ask the emperor for confirmation. " Fei Hong whispered: "What should we do? Isn't this troublesome? " Yang Tinghe said in a hurry: "Why are you panicking? I just went to visit the emperor early this morning. The emperor was still unconscious. I called for a long time, but the emperor didn't wake up. So what can Song Nan do if he goes to see him? But just in case, we must immediately order the Zhengyang Gate guards to delay Song Nan's entry into the palace. We will act according to the plan. Mr. Liang, you immediately summon all the officials to gather at Fengtian Palace. We must immediately announce the edict and finalize the important matter. The two marquises please immediately mobilize all the troops and prepare for emergency response. If some people take the opportunity to cause trouble, they must be suppressed immediately and ruthlessly. No mercy will be tolerated, even if it means rivers of blood. " Zhang Wei and Tan You both nodded in agreement. When things have reached this point, everyone is just a grasshopper on a rope. Although they are very worried, there is still a Beijing camp stationed in the city. I'm afraid it's not their Fifth Army Commander's Mansion. The Bingma family made the decision, but they had no time to say such words at this time. "Yes, mobilize people to prepare and seal the palace immediately after he enters the palace. He can't find anything interesting from the emperor. As soon as his audience is over, He immediately announced the decree. If he refused to accept the decree again, he would be directly arrested for resisting the decree. After taking him, his men will be easier to deal with. "Liang Chu whispered. Yang Tinghe nodded slightly, sighed and said: "After all, he is the Duke of Daming Town, and he has a high reputation and merits. Try to be polite to him to avoid criticism. Hey, I didn¡¯t expect it to come to this point. This is not what I wanted, but there is nothing I can do about it. Fei Hong said: "Mr. Yang, there is no need to blame yourself. We are also thinking about the Ming Dynasty and the Zhu family. Everything we have done is approved by the Queen Mother, and we are fulfilling our duties as ministers." " Yang Tinghe thought for a moment, raised his chest and waved his hands and said: "It's not too late, let's go make arrangements individually. I will immediately go to the Queen Mother's palace and ask the Queen Mother to go to Fengtian Palace to witness the announcement of the edict in person. The Queen Mother must be in charge of this matter, so the officials will have nothing to say. "" On the long street, thousands of murderous Jin Yiwei cavalry rushed towards the Zhengyang Gate of the inner city like a whirlwind. At the same time, foreign troops and horses from all over the capital received military orders to move, one by one approaching. The foreign troops at Zhengyang Gate quickly gathered, and the number of defenders at Zhengyang Gate quickly increased to more than 6,000. By the time Song Nan and others arrived outside Zhengyang Gate, Zhengyang Gate was already full of heavily armed defenders. Soldiers, the city gate was also tightly closed. Wang Yongce immediately stepped forward and shouted: "Song Nan, the Duke of Zhenguo, has returned to Beijing to see the emperor. Please open the city gate as soon as possible." " Yingzhou guards and horses were stationed at the top of the city. Commander Yang Zhen stood at the top of the city and said: "It turns out that the Duke of Zhen is returning home in triumph. Duke of Zhen, please forgive me for being disrespectful in my humble position. The inner city has been completely taken over by the people of our Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. No other soldiers or horses are allowed to enter. This is the Queen Mother's decree. The Duke of Zhen can naturally pass through, but his brothers must stay outside the city gate. Wang Yong shouted angrily: "What's the point? We are the personal guards of the Jinyiwei General Office. The General Office is in the inner city, but we are not allowed to go back to the office?" " Yang Zhen spread his hands and said: "I don't know about this humble position. I only know how to do things according to orders, and I hope I will forgive myself if I offend. " Before Wang Yong could yell, Song Nan coughed and said: "In that case, I will leave my troops in the outer city. I will only bring a few personal followers. Is this feasible? Yang Zhen cupped his hands and said, "Of course it's okay." " Wang Yong hurriedly whispered: "Sir, the inner city is full of their people, how can we rest assured if we don't follow them? What if someone is harmful to you? Song Nan said: "I know, but it is just a waste of time to continue like this. I must see the emperor immediately." In this case, you accompany me into the palace, and Li Daniu and a few brothers immediately pass on my order to summon the people from all the government offices in the outer city to stand by. Also, immediately send someone to the Ying Gongfu Courtyard in Zhengnanfang to inform Zhang Lun and tell him the current situation. Daniel, tell the British public exactly what I said, and tell him that I don¡¯t blame him if he wants to protect himself wisely. If he wants to help me, it¡¯s now. Let him mobilize the regiment into the inner city to take action. " Li Daniu nodded and said: "Don't worry, the message will definitely reach us. Mr. Zhang will not sit idly by and ignore it. " Song Nan breathed a sigh of relief and said: "I hope so. I just don't want to place my fate in the hands of others. It is reasonable for him to hesitate. " Li Daniu took the order and galloped away. Zhao Dapeng said: "?Sir, shall I just wait here? " Song Nan said: "Send two hundred people to my house to inform me of my return to Beijing. Inform my people to wait behind closed doors and wait peacefully. Well you can arrange some people to guard the surroundings to prevent harassment. What should I do? You don¡¯t need me to teach you, you know it yourself. The remaining manpower, together with the brothers from the outer cities who are about to arrive, are waiting here. If you need to forcefully enter the inner city, there will be a signal to notify you. Otherwise, you must not act rashly or conflict with the city gate defenders. " Zhao Dapeng accepted the order. Song Nan turned back to Wang Yong and said: "Let's go. " Wang Yong nodded, and the two of them rode their horses and slowly approached the Zhengyang Gate. The rest of the guards slowly retreated under the command of Hou Dabiao to show that they had no intention of attacking the city gate. Yang Zhen shook his hands at the top of the city and ordered The city gate was half opened, and Song Nan rode his horse in slowly, entering the inner city under the gaze of thousands of soldiers and horses above and below the city gate. There was no one on the street leading to Daming Gate, and the long and wide street seemed lonely and empty. The big trees with green branches on both sides swayed slightly in the spring breeze, making a gentle rustling sound. The sunlight cast their shadows on the ground, mottled the decoration on the ground. Wang Yong looked around vigilantly and whispered. : "Hou Dabiao and Sun Xuan don't know what they are doing for a living. They are in the inner city at the Yamen. They should know the news of your return to Beijing, but they are nowhere to be seen. Moreover, the situation in the city has changed drastically. Even if they don't know the inside story, they should be aware of it. " Song Nan smiled and said: "According to my estimation, all the arrangements in the city are orders issued by them under the guise of the emperor, and no one can object; my uncle and brother all obey orders obediently, not to mention Hou Dabiao and Sun Xuan. Zhang Yongyong said that all the Han generals in the palace were transferred to Xiyuan and no longer shouldered the responsibility of guarding the palace. All this was the result of careful planning. But I believe that they are just waiting for me to come back, and they must have arrangements. " Wang Yong nodded and said: "I hope so. No matter what, we must be more careful. People's hearts are separated from each other. Who knows how things will develop? To be honest, I regret not dissuading you from returning to Beijing directly. I thought the situation in Beijing was not so dangerous, but now it seems that it is full of crises. Sir, I ask you to agree to the next thing. "