It was getting late. Most of the people were asleep, but there were always some who were troubled and couldn't sleep.
Xiao Ruxun couldn't sleep. Her mind was preoccupied, so she got up and lit a candle in her tent to write a letter to her family.
He hadn't been home for more than half a year. Although he had written many letters, he couldn't help but worry about his wife and children.
Picking up the brush, Xiao Ruxun wrote her thoughts and worries onto the paper. She also constantly recalled the good times she had with her family. Suddenly, a light breeze blew past. Xiao Ruxun raised her eyes and saw a man dressed in black kneeling not too far away from her.
"Governor-General Xiao, His Majesty invites you."
Xiao Ruxun frowned.
"Where are the guards outside my tent?"
"Their lives are not in danger. They just went to sleep. Please forgive me, Governor-General Xiao. His Majesty specially ordered that this matter is of great importance. No outsider can know about it, including Governor-General Xiao's personal guards."
Xiao Ruxun took a deep breath.
"You are different from the person I saw before. Why should I believe you?"
The man took out a token and slowly stood up. He took two steps forward and presented it to Xiao Ruxun with both hands. Xiao Ruxun looked at it. It was indeed the token. He looked at the man in black who showed his true appearance and nodded slowly.
"I understand. How should I go? Does His Majesty have any arrangements? "
"His Majesty has already made arrangements. He will ensure that Governor-General Xiao will return within four hours. Please follow me."
The man in black extended his hand. Xiao Ruxun stood up, changed his clothes, blew out the candle, and walked out of the tent. He saw two soldiers in Zhennan Army uniforms standing outside the tent. They saluted Xiao Ruxun.
"This is specially arranged to ensure that no one enters the tent when Governor-General Xiao is not around. The rest of the matters will be arranged by Governor-General Xiao when he returns." The man in black explained.
"You are really well-prepared."
Xiao Ruxun looked at the man in black with an unfriendly expression.
"We are working for His Majesty. Please forgive us, Governor-General Xiao."
Xiao Ruxun did not say anything else.
It had been more than half a year since he last saw Zhu Yijun. Back then, he had left with the latter's request, and now he had returned with a glorious victory. It could be said that he had not let him down. Xiao Ruxun's heart was magnanimous. As for Zhu Yijun's secret summon in the middle of the night, with such meticulous planning, it must be something big.
Xiao Ruxun did not make any wild guesses.
However, he seemed to have realized something.
Soon, he saw Zhu Yijun again at the place where he had met Zhu Yijun twice.
"Subject Xiao Ruxun greets Your Majesty!"
"My beloved subject, please rise!"
Zhu Yijun was very happy to be able to see Xiao Ruxun again. Towards this general who dared to risk universal condemnation and speak the truth to him, Zhu Yijun's trust in him was naturally unparalleled. This kind of trust could be compared to Zhang Cheng's. Even though Xiao Ruxun was leading troops outside, Zhu Yijun had never worried that Xiao Ruxun would control his troops.
Or rather, it could be said that he did not have the time to care about these things. Just facing the officials alone was enough to make him anxious.
"My beloved subject, after not seeing each other for half a year, you have lost weight."
Zhu Yijun held Xiao Ruxun's hand, his eyes filled with sincerity.
Xiao Ruxun said with a faint smile: "Being able to do something practical for the Daming is this subject's wish. Now that I can fulfill Your Majesty's trust and completely annihilate the Northern Barbarians, this subject can return to see Your Majesty."
"Among all the civil and military officials in the court, only my beloved subject can truly share my worries. The rest of them are immaculately dressed, but they are not even as good as a eunuch. They hide the truth from me, making me think that the Daming is at peace. If not for my beloved subject Xiao telling me the truth, I'm afraid that I will never know the truth for the rest of my life."
Zhu Yijun held Xiao Ruxun's hand tighter, then lowered his throat and said softly to Xiao Ruxun: "Does Xiao Ruxun know why I called Xiao Ruxun to come here in the night?"
Xiao Ruxun shook his head: "This subject does not know. Is there anything else Your Majesty needs to tell this subject?"
Zhu Yijun nodded: "Haven't you noticed that something is missing from my side?"
Xiao Ruxun looked around and felt a little out of place.
"This … that's right! Why is Your Majesty's personal attendant not here? "
Logically speaking, even if it was a secret summons, the emperor's most trusted eunuch should be present, but the eunuch Zhang Cheng, who Xiao Ruxun had dealings with before, was nowhere to be seen.
"My beloved subject is intelligent. Zhang Cheng is now the supervisor of the East Faction Guards that I have arranged."
Xiao Ruxun was stunned for a moment, then he understood the emperor's meaning.
"Your Majesty means to say …"
"The former supervisor of the East Faction Guards, Zhang Jing, deceived me and has been taken down by me. Zhang Cheng is loyal to me, so I have put Zhang Cheng in an important position. In addition, the commander of the Imperial Bodyguard, Luo Sigong, also deceived me. I plan to find a suitable candidate to replace him after the prisoner offering ceremony and take him down."
Zhu Yijun's words were filled with murderous intent.
"Is it because of … the matter in Shanxi?"
Xiao Ruxun suddenly understood.
"Yes, the matter in Shanxi is too big. I don't believe that the Imperial Bodyguard and the East Faction Guards did not hear anything about such a big matter, but they have never told me and deceived me. As my eyes and ears, their actions are a betrayal of me. I will not tolerate them."
Zhu Yijun nodded and said: "This time, I contacted you using a secret agent that I arranged, different from the Imperial Bodyguard. Only Zhang Cheng and I know about this secret agent, and the Imperial Bodyguard does not. Luo Sigong is also being monitored by me, and the Empress Dowager's palace is also full of my people. Now the entire inner palace is under my control."
The more Xiao Ruxun listened, the more he felt that something was wrong.
What did the emperor mean by this?
And it involved the Empress Dowager?
Seeing Xiao Ruxun's confused expression, Zhu Yijun said: "It is time to explain some things to you, my dear minister. I didn't say it before because I was worried that it would disturb your mind and make you unable to fight against the Northern Barbarians with all your strength. Now that the crisis of the Northern Barbarians has been postponed, I can say it."
"Your Majesty … what do you mean?"
Xiao Ruxun was confused.
"Three years ago, after the war in Korea ended, my dear minister led troops from Nihon to Tianjin and then came to the capital to offer prisoners of war to me. It was during this period that I did something."
Xiao Ruxun hurriedly asked: "Dare I ask, Your Majesty, what is it?"
"At that time, the Vice Minister of the Cabinet, Zhang Wei, led a group of officials to force me to abdicate and appoint a crown prince. As long as I didn't appoint a crown prince, they wouldn't rest. They treated the laws of the Daming as nothing and my dignity as nothing. They made me lose all face and made me a joke of the people. I couldn't take it anymore and secretly ordered my people to leave the capital with a secret letter. I was prepared to summon my dear minister to lead troops into the capital to rescue the Emperor."
"Lead troops … into the capital to rescue the Emperor?"
Xiao Ruxun was shocked.
It had to be said that for Xiao Ruxun, who had spent six years in the Daming and had become more and more accustomed to the life in the Daming, the meaning of these words was quite large.
The meaning of leading troops into the capital to rescue the Emperor was for Xiao Ruxun to help the emperor launch a mutiny.
Launch a mutiny, control the capital, have the emperor use his military power to launch a counterattack against the officials, control them, and even … kill them.
A mutiny personally led by the emperor …
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