Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 954 One Day to Fight
The explosion that occurred on the morning of October 16th only caused great chaos in the surrounding area. In the context of the entire Lin'an, it was merely a minor incident, like urinating into West Lake.

In fact, many people heard the rumbling sound but had no idea what was happening. They thought that the thunder in winter must be a sign of evil spirits and prayed to the gods and Buddhas.

But for anyone with even a slight connection to politics or a basic understanding of military affairs, the explosion was nothing short of a thunderclap.

Logically speaking, even if the Song court was incompetent, it should have firmly controlled Lin'an, the core of its rule.

Even if they are powerless in the face of external enemies, they should be able to easily suppress internal threats.

It's impossible for the Embroidered Uniform Guards to swagger around distributing leaflets and then drop a bomb at Deshou Palace to wish Zhao Gou a happy birthday.

The key issue is that a dramatic change occurred just yesterday, and unrest has begun to spread throughout Lin'an City, causing widespread panic among the people from top to bottom.

The bigwigs are all busy with their own things, the middle-level officials are at a loss, and the lower-level officials are walking on thin ice.

Everyone knew a political upheaval was coming, and no one dared to take sides recklessly, fearing that taking initiative today would become evidence of their crimes that could get them executed tomorrow.

The officer who was ordered to confiscate the property in front of the Yu residence is the best proof of this.

This is also why Long Dayuan was able to easily slip out of the Imperial City Guard.

Long Dayuan dared not linger in the Imperial City Guard Office at this moment, because he did not know who to trust. After thinking for a long time, he decided to go east for two market towns to find Zhang Shuo at the Privy Council's personal guard camp.

Zhang Yue was also a close advisor to Zhao Shen. He was the son of Zhang Gongyu, the defense commissioner of Hezhou. His current position was Director of Wanshou Temple and Signatory of the Privy Council.

The former was one thing, but the latter, who was appointed as the Vice Privy Councilor, was in charge of matters such as the appointment and removal of officials and diplomatic decisions, which was enough to make him a person of high position and great power.

After walking through the somewhat chaotic streets, Long Dayuan found Zhang Shuo's old servant at the main gate of the Privy Council's personal guard camp.

"Don't speak, come with me!"

The two entered the military camp through a side gate and found Zhang Yue, who was completely disoriented, in the main camp.

"You... Old Long? How did you know I was here? You..."

Zhang Yue wasn't exactly a renowned minister or a brilliant talent, and the sudden upheaval left him in a state of utter confusion. However, he did know one thing: as the Director of the Imperial City Guard, given that Zhao Shen had abdicated and Zhao Gou had been restored to the throne, Long Dayuan's fate was naturally not good.

Even if he wasn't killed on the spot, his legs should at least have been broken.

Long Dayuan said anxiously, "Of course I know you are a coward with a little cleverness, but no great wisdom at all. Where else can you go if you don't come to the personal guard camp?"

Zhang said that when Long Dayuan insulted him to his face, he was not angry at all. Instead, he suddenly burst into tears: "I am a piece of trash, but what can I do when the sky collapses and the earth cracks?"

Long Dayuan naturally felt the same way. If Zeng Di were here, the three brothers might have hugged each other and cried their hearts out.

Zhao Shen naturally had many talented confidants, but the key was that those talented individuals would seek legitimate fame and fortune.

The most useful people were either those who participated in the Northern Expedition under Yu Yunwen's command, or those who were allowed to serve as local officials to gain seniority.

The next step was to go to Jiankang to serve as the vanguard for the king.

Only these few good-for-nothings, who are neither good at literature nor martial arts, would hang around Zhao Shen, just like when they were hangers-on in the Prince's mansion.

This cannot be blamed on Zhao Shen. After all, Lin'an is located in Jiangnan, and unless external enemies break through the Huai River and the Yangtze River, they cannot pose a threat. As for internal enemies...

Who would have thought that Zhao Gou would pull such a stunt!

This is no longer the era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, where whoever had a sword could become king.

Long Dayuan suppressed his panic and stepped forward to grasp Zhang Shuo's hands: "That's why I said you only have petty cleverness, but no great wisdom."

We are all dependent on the government; our fortunes rise and fall with theirs. Now that even Prime Minister Yu is dead, who will let us go?
What good will it do you to hide in the military camp? Once the situation calms down, the new Privy Councilor will be holding the royal decree. Will anyone dare to protect you then?

Zhang said with tears streaming down his face, and grasped Long Dayuan's hands in return: "Old Long, you have the most ideas, do you have any plans now?"

Long Dayuan shook his head with a wry smile: "If Prime Minister Yu were here, he might have a complete plan, but what can a fool like me do?"

However, I must first ask you one question: are you still loyal to the Emperor?

Zhang Shuo pointed to his heart and said, "My loyalty to Your Majesty is as clear as day!"

Long Dayuan naturally didn't have time to verify whether Zhang was telling the truth or not, he just nodded randomly and told him the way he had been thinking about to turn the tables.

"Go and gather as many people as possible, the more trustworthy ones, and then we'll storm the palace together, rescue the Emperor, and restore him to the throne!"

Zhang nodded repeatedly, and after waiting for a long time, he wiped the tears from his face and asked, "That's it?"

Long Dayuan said frankly, "Of course not. What brilliant plan could a piece of trash like me possibly have? Besides, if such a plan were delayed by even a day or two, there would be absolutely no chance."

Just because Yang Yizhong hasn't yet considered controlling the Privy Council's personal guard doesn't mean he's foolish enough not to consolidate military power in Lin'an!

No sooner had Long Dayuan finished speaking than another muffled boom came from the south.

Zhang Shuo shuddered and was about to lean out to look when Long Dayuan grabbed his hands and continued, "Moreover... there are still spies from the Jingnan Army active today. Although they've caused such a commotion, they can't possibly move tens of thousands of troops here. In two days, all of these people will be wiped out! By then, we won't even have a chance to fish in troubled waters."

"Old Zhang! The Emperor's throne, even his life, and the fate of the Song Dynasty all rest in your hands!"

Zhang said his hands were ice-cold and his whole body was trembling involuntarily, but he still managed to ask, "Old Long, how confident are you?"

Long Dayuan's face was contorted with rage as he gritted his teeth: "I have absolutely no chance of winning. But putting aside the fact that a subject should be loyal to his duty and repay His Majesty's kindness, with a knife to my throat, how can I not fight back if I still have that ability in my pants?!"

Zhang had originally considered asking if he could use his connections to mediate, but when he thought of Yu Yunwen, who was still hanging in the West Market, he immediately gritted his teeth.

The saying goes that anger arises from fear; after extreme fear comes anger from the bottom of one's heart.

“You’re right! Justice is on our side now, there’s no reason not to take a gamble!” With that, Zhang Shuo went behind the table, scribbled a few lines of orders, and stamped the seal: “Go to the Golden Spear Squad and the Silver Spear Squad and find Tao Zhu. He has received great favors from the government, so he will naturally send troops to accompany you.”

I'm going to find Zhang Qi at the Right Army's cavalry and infantry camp. Remember, whoever gets the troops must immediately raise the banner of "Purge the Emperor's inner circle and save the Emperor!" and attack the capital! Delay will only lead to unforeseen consequences!

Long Dayuan glanced at the documents and immediately nodded emphatically.

Two usually incompetent officials showed extraordinary responsibility today and took action.

And just as Long Dayuan had thought, yesterday's coup needed to be kept secret, so it was a bit too hasty, to the point that no one came to take over the military camps in the city.

The Golden Spear Squad was a cavalry unit within the Imperial Guard, with a strength of approximately eight hundred men at this time. They were under the dual jurisdiction of the Palace Guard and the Privy Council.

After Zhao Gou abdicated, although he could still influence the Imperial City Guard and the Palace Guard through Yang Yizhong, as Zhao Shen achieved successive victories on the Northern Expedition battlefield, the pro-war faction filled the court, and Zhao Gou gradually lost control of the Privy Council.

Therefore, Yang Yizhong did not immediately recruit the Golden Spear Squad, or in other words, Yang Yizhong would not have recruited the Golden Spear Squad in advance in order to keep the secret.

Tao Zhu, worthy of being a military general who had received great favors from Zhao Shen, immediately led his troops into the palace to rescue the emperor after seeing the document written by Zhang Shuo.

However, the Golden Spear Squad was also in a state of panic. Many officers hesitated, after all, this was going to be a fight in the capital, and whoever lost would be a big deal for the rebels. If they were not truly loyal and courageous, who could make up their minds so quickly?

Knowing he couldn't wait any longer, after another unsuccessful attempt to persuade him, Long Dayuan immediately led the two hundred cavalrymen that Tao Zhu had brought along and headed towards the palace.

Meanwhile, Zhang Shuo caused a major disturbance among the right-wing cavalry and infantry.

Because the right wing infantry camp was located north of the Youyi Army's main camp, and the Youyi Army was Yang Yizhong's old guard, which Yang Yizhong had sent people to control early on.

Therefore, when Zhang Shuo attempted to mobilize troops, Youyi Army also dispatched troops to intercept him.

Seeing this, Zhang Qi, the commander of the Right Army, said nothing more and directly raised the banner of "Purge the court of corrupt officials and save the emperor" and led his personal guards to fight against the Youyi Army.

"Forget about this place!" Zhang Qi shouted to Zhang Shuo while hacking and slashing, "I'll hold these traitors off here. You quickly take your men to the palace to protect the Emperor!"

Zhang said through gritted teeth, "Take care!"

After saying this, he immediately set off with the five hundred soldiers he had gathered.

As the slogan "Purge the court of corrupt officials and save the emperor" was shouted out, Lin'an, which had been silent in the wind and snow, finally began to stir.

Some minor officials led the way, while the foreign military commanders who blocked the road at the intersection remained indifferent, allowing Zhang Shuo and his men to pass by. Some soldiers even took up their weapons and followed the chaotic army noisily.

Zhao Shen had been emperor for several years after all. Even if he was weak-willed, how could he not have loyal followers who would fight to the death for him?

Even though they couldn't form a united force, even though they were just a motley crew, they still mobilized all their resources and began to fight desperately.

The first to arrive at the palace gate was Long Dayuan, who brought more than two hundred soldiers from the Golden Spear Squad. Before he could reprimand the generals on the palace walls, a group of about twenty armored cavalrymen came charging menacingly towards them.

These knights were all dressed in black armor, their faces covered with ghost masks, riding tall horses, and equipped with bows, swords, and spears. Although there were only twenty of them, they had the imposing presence of a thousand troops.

"Who is coming?"

The officers on the palace walls and the commander of the Golden Spear Squad simultaneously asked loudly.

The knights did not stop and galloped toward the palace gate. The leaders lit the cloth bags they carried with torches, picked them up with spears, and threw them into the gate.

"Fire the arrow! Fire the arrow!"

The Song soldiers on the city wall shouted loudly, but the ensuing thunderous roar drowned out all other sounds from the vicinity of the palace.

The Song soldiers on the city wall were shaken and staggered, and the warhorses of the Golden Spear Squad were startled and ran around in all directions.

Amidst the chaos, the lead black-armored knight raised his spear and pointed it forward: "Kill Zhao Gou!"

"Execute the traitor Zhao Gou!"

Tao Zhu was the first to react, immediately realizing that regardless of the purpose of these twenty-odd riders, they were now an asset. He immediately reined in his horse and pointed at the crooked palace gate, shouting, "Purge the court of corrupt officials! Save the Emperor!"

(End of this chapter)