Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 654: Zong Yang's News
Zhao Chen suddenly realized that he could make sounds, so as soon as he was brought into the city wall, he couldn't wait to loudly state his identity.

He was afraid that this terrible and hateful general would stop him from speaking again.

When he revealed his identity, everyone in the room was shocked.

When Zhao Chen confessed his identity, Yang Yuan's eyes quickly swept across the faces of everyone in the room.

Then he felt relieved.

From the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, Yang Yuan knew that none of the people in the room were involved in the Jin people's conspiracy.

Zhao Yuan was so shocked that she almost sat up from the couch.

The year the Jingkang Incident occurred was the year Zhao Yuan was born.

He knew about the disaster that had befallen the royal family of Zhao Song, and he knew many of the details.

But he never thought that today, he would be able to see the characters in the story standing in front of him alive.

In the second year of the Jing Kang period, Emperor Qinzong was tricked by the Jin people into going to Qingcheng, and he ordered Crown Prince Zhao Chen to be regent.

This Qingcheng is not Qingcheng Mountain, but a palace for offering sacrifices to heaven and earth outside the city of Tokyo Bianliang. It was the palace where the emperor fasted and rested when he went out of the city to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.

Soon, the Jin people forced Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong to issue an edict to allow the crown prince to go as well.

At that time, the people around Crown Prince Zhao Chen were divided. Some wanted to protect the crown prince and escape south across the river. Some wanted to find someone who looked like the crown prince among the people, kill him, and send the body to the Jin people to hide it from them. Some were timid and wanted to send the crown prince to the Jin camp.

We discussed it for five days but still couldn't come to a conclusion.

The threats from the Jin troops grew stronger day by day, and finally the people around him sent the prince and the queen to the Jin camp in the same car, and never heard from them again.

I never thought today...

Shen Gai suddenly bowed to Zhao Chen and said calmly, "We are still unsure whether you are the Crown Prince of the Song Dynasty. You said that it was the Jin envoy who sent you back?"

Zhao Chen had a broken leg and was sitting on the ground, looking very miserable.

"good."

"The Jin Kingdom sent an envoy, why did the Song Dynasty know nothing about it?"

"Well... because the Jin Kingdom was eager to seek peace, they sent me back. But... when Minister Zhang of the Ministry of War learned the news, he didn't dare to intercept me. We were fast, so Lin'an didn't get the news in advance."

When he said this, Yang Cunzhong's eyes became sharp: "Minister Zhang didn't even send anyone to escort you here?"

Zhao Chen's face changed.

Several ministers in the room exchanged glances with each other. It was obvious that there was a big problem with Minister Zhang, who was now commanding an army of more than 100,000 in Lianghuai.

Wei Liangchen immediately said, "Your Majesty, I think you should immediately order Li Xianzhong and Shao Hongyuan to return to Lianghuai to take charge of the situation."

"allow!"

Zhao Yuan also knew the seriousness of the situation, and immediately ordered people to summon Li Xianzhong and Shao Hongyuan. At the same time, he ordered people to draft an edict on the spot, and wrote a secret edict to each of Li Xianzhong and Shao Hongyuan, and stamped it with his seal.

In this way, the two of them returned to the front line, took back the military power, and immediately issued an imperial edict to capture Minister Zhang.

Originally, this decree only needed to be given to Li Xianzhong, but no one knew the current situation in Lianghuai. What if Zhang Shuning had already gone to Huaixi?

Li Xianzhong and Shao Hongyuan were originally outside the palace. They hurried up upon hearing the summons. After listening to the emperor's explanation of the situation, they were terrified and did not dare to delay. They took the imperial edict and left in a hurry.

Zhao Chen felt a pang of sadness in his heart. Minister Zhang was finished. He would have even less help in the Song Dynasty. It was simply wishful thinking for him to take back the throne just by relying on his status as a crown prince.

However, in the current situation, he no longer dared to have any extravagant hopes. He would be satisfied as long as he could survive and be well-fed.

Zhao Yuan hurriedly sent Li Xianzhong and Shao Hongyuan away, and only then did he have the mind to continue dealing with Zhao Chen's affairs.

"You said you are my brother, do you have any proof?"

"Yes, yes!"

Zhao Chen hurriedly took out the imperial edict and some letters he had exchanged with his father when he was in the Jin Kingdom.

Xiao Luo took it and brought it to the bedside. Zhao Yuan examined it carefully and said slowly, "The seal of the imperial edict is real."

Zhao Chen's face lit up with joy.

Zhao Yuan added: "But, even if the seal is real, it doesn't necessarily prove that you are real."

Zhao Chen was shocked and shouted excitedly: "Are you afraid that I will take your throne, so you dare not acknowledge me? Do you want to kill me to silence me?"

Jin Wang Zhao Yu said angrily: "Shut up! If the emperor wanted to kill you, he could have just insisted that the seal was fake. Who dares to say it is real? Why bother with all this?"

He strode over and grabbed the imperial seal from the edge of the couch: "Look, it's on me now. Could it be that I am the former Crown Prince Chen?"

Zhao Chen's face flushed and he was speechless, but what Zhao Yu said made sense. It seemed that the emperor really wanted to find out the truth instead of plotting against him, which made him feel more relieved.

Zhao Yuan waved his hand and said, "Brother Qu, step back and don't be rude."

He looked at Zhao Chen again and said, "Although it has been some time since the Jingkang period, some of the old ministers are still alive.

The Empress Dowager is also in good health. Whether you are my brother, I will ask the Empress Dowager and the old ministers to confront you."

Zhao Chen heard what he said. He called himself "I" and addressed him as "Royal Brother", and never mentioned the word "Crown Prince". It was obvious that he did not want to give up the throne.

However, he was willing to go to the trouble of confronting the old minister, which showed that his life was obviously not in danger.

Because once the Empress Dowager Wei and many old ministers knew of his existence, his safety would be better guaranteed.

Zhao Chen said happily: "Okay, real gold is not afraid of fire. I am willing to confront them."

At this time, Councillor Chen Junqing looked at Zhao Chen and suddenly shouted, "What are you talking about!"

Zhao Chen had been using this name for more than half a year. When someone suddenly called him that, Zhao Chen subconsciously turned his head and asked, "What's the matter?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Chen's face turned pale.

Chen Junqing said coldly: "It's you!" Chen Junqing was originally a professor in the palace when Zhao Yuan was the Prince of Pu'an. He was Zhao Yuan's teacher and of course his close confidant.

Chen Junqing immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I once visited the government of Tang Can and met this person by chance.

Tang Canzheng introduced this person's surname and name, and he was from a noble family in southern Fujian who fled to sea during the Five Dynasties. I didn't expect..."

After Chen Junqing finished speaking, Zhao Yuan's expression changed. He didn't expect that such a high-ranking official was involved.

Zhao Yuan slowly looked at Zhao Chen and said grimly, "You said you were just sent back from the Kingdom of Jin?"

Zhao Chen was so scared that he was shaking all over.

He did not have an easy life during those years in the Jin Dynasty.

He lived in fear every day and was detained in one place for a long time. His thinking became dull due to the long time, and his character and courage were no longer what they used to be.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so foolish as to make up such an easily debunked lie that Minister Zhang let him go, thus harming an important teammate.

At this moment, the emperor's face suddenly darkened, which frightened Zhao Chen so much that he hurriedly explained: "I...I am really the crown prince. The Jin people sent me back to Song with bad intentions, but I am not a fake. They conspired together, and I had no choice..."

Zhao Chen gave an incoherent explanation, revealing the Jin people's conspiracy in its entirety.

He sold out everyone except himself.

However, it doesn't matter if he doesn't say it, it's easy to prove that he is talking.

The Jin people's original plan did not even consider the possibility that anyone would recognize him as Yan Shen.

According to the Jin people's plan, Zhao Yuan would be murdered, and the perpetrator would be someone from the Ministry of Rites, which easily made people suspect Prince Jin.

At that time, Minister Tang would lead people to accuse Prince Jin of being the mastermind, and Prince Jin would commit suicide by taking poison that night. This would be suicide out of fear of punishment.

Even if there are ministers who are not accomplices and later recognize that the crown prince is the cousin of Tang Canzheng, so what?

He didn't dare to point it out, and even if he dared to point it out, it would be fine as long as he didn't admit it. Who would dare to force the new emperor to prove his innocence then?
But now the plan has failed, and the former crown prince has been detained in the Northern Kingdom for nearly thirty years. He has become a useless person and confessed everything out of fear.

Is there anything else to say?

Zhao Yu sneered: "Sir, I think there is no need to investigate this conspiracy to kill the king today. All we need to do is arrest all the ministers who have had contact with him."

"Nonsense, cough!"

Zhao Yuan coughed a few times and said, "Those who have had contact with him may not necessarily be traitors to the emperor and the country. We still need to examine them one by one. How can we arbitrarily accuse people of crimes?"

Wei Liangchen said, "Your Majesty, although the officials who have had contact with Yan Shen may not be guilty, it is still necessary to detain them first and then investigate them."

Zhao Yuan nodded slightly, glanced at the ministers in front of him, and said, "Zhu Zhuo, this matter will be handled by your Censorate, together with the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice."

The matter is too big to be handled by the Censorate alone, so the three judicial departments must jointly handle the case.

"Old minister, I obey the order!"

Zhu Zhuo bowed and received the order. The Grand Secretary and the Minister of Justice were not in the room at that moment, so he was the only one who could receive the order.

Zhu Zhuo turned around and walked out. Yang Yuan, who was standing beside him, raised his eyebrows slightly.

He thought the government would hand the case over to him.

Oh, by the way, I am now a censor and will be leaving the Censorate.

Zhao Yuan seemed to notice Yang Yuan's raised eyebrows, after all, he was standing behind Zhao Chen.

Zhao Yuan glanced at him with a hint of smile in her eyes.

Even if Yang Yuan was still in the Censorate, Zhao Yuan had no intention of handing the case over to Yang Yuan.

If you are too deeply involved in the legal field, it will be difficult for you to walk the path of governing.

When he was bandaging his wounds and treating him just now, Xiao Luo had already apologized to him for his negligence in defense.

At that time, Xiao Luo said that it was Yang Yuan who issued a warning in advance, so he doubled the guards.

Unexpectedly, the perpetrators were the master of ceremonies and ministers in the court, which made it really hard to guard against.

But if it weren't for Yang Yuan's warning, the emperor would have been dead.

When Zhu Zhuo walked outside, he saw that the imperial officials were everywhere, standing by with their swords drawn.

Zhu Zhuo asked in a low voice: "Where are all the ministers?"

At this time, the ministers had been taken down from the city wall and led to a side hall to rest, which was temporarily used as a waiting room.

After hearing this, Zhu Zhuo led his men down the city wall and went to the side hall.

As soon as Zhu Zhuo showed up, the ministers who had been waiting silently in the hall came forward to greet him.

"Du Yu Shi, how is His Majesty?"

"Brother Hanzhang, does His Majesty have any order?"

Zhu Zhuo pressed his hands down, cleared his throat, and said in a deep voice: "Anyone who has had any contact with Yan Shen, please stand up."

There was a sudden silence in the hall, and Minister Tang's face had turned as pale as a piece of paper.

Zhu Zhuo said slowly: "We are all people of status, so why don't we be polite to each other.

Don't worry, those who have contact with him are not necessarily guilty, this is what His Majesty specifically told you."

As soon as Zhu Zhuo finished speaking, Bin Zhong from the Honglu Temple jumped out with a loud shout.
He threw away his black hat, took a running start forward, ran more than ten steps, lowered his head, and hit a beam with a "bang".

Dust fell from the caisson in the side hall and sprinkled on his white brain.

(End of this chapter)