After assigning the tasks outside, the most important task was to find Xiao Ruxun, who was still hiding in the inner city, and kill him.
Although he managed to escape for a while, the city gates of the inner and outer city were still under the control of the troops led by the trusted subordinates of the nobles. Basically, no troops or individuals were allowed to enter but not leave. Unless they had a warrant personally signed by Shen Yi, only those who were on a special mission could leave.
Under such circumstances, unless Xiao Ruxun knew how to burrow into the ground or fly, he definitely couldn't leave the inner city.
In this case, he must be hiding somewhere.
"Good, then the next step is to capture that thief Xiao. He escaped from the east peace gate, but he must still be hiding in the inner city. All the gates are guarded by our people, so he can't leave the inner city. Next, we just need to guard the inner city and speed up the search. That thief Xiao will definitely be captured!"
Shen Yicheng pointed at the map of the inner city and ordered Wen Chun and Xu Zuo: "Wen Butang, Xu Butang, I'll leave the search in the inner city to you. Wen Butang will be in charge of the east city, and Xu Butang will be in charge of the west city. No matter what, you must capture that thief Xiao within three days and kill him to calm the people."
Wen Chun and Xu Zuo had just joined Shen Yicheng and were given such a task. This was a good proof of allegiance. They could use this opportunity to join Shen Yicheng's core team. Wen Chun and Xu Zuo wouldn't let go of this opportunity.
The two of them urgently needed a chance to show off and show their loyalty.
When Shen Yicheng was about to make further arrangements, a subordinate suddenly came to report.
"Grand Secretary, the old Grand Secretary has passed away due to his heavy injuries."
Shen Yicheng and his trusted aides were stunned. Then, they all looked at Shen Yicheng.
"… Got it. Wait for three days before releasing the news. Tell the public that the old Grand Secretary has fallen ill from overwork and has been recuperating. Unfortunately, he couldn't be cured and passed away. Then, we'll prepare to hold a funeral for the old Grand Secretary."
Shen Yicheng looked around at everyone and then locked his eyes on Shi Xing.
"Shi Butang, I'll leave this matter to you, how about it?"
Shi Xing was stunned. He didn't expect Shen Yicheng to mention him.
Obviously, Shi Xing was the most suitable person to handle this matter.
Shi Xing did not object.
"This lowly official obeys."
Shi Xing accepted the mission.
Shen Yicheng nodded in satisfaction. He pursed his lips, and then said, "I'll go see the old Grand Secretary, as well as Song Butang. After all … they died because of me!"
After saying that, Shen Yicheng wiped his tears, got up, and left.
Everyone tried to persuade him with kind words and left together.
With the passage of time and the ascension of the new Emperor, the dark clouds of the coup gradually dispersed. After one day had passed, the next day, the residents of the capital began to quietly poke their heads out of their doors, carefully communicating with their neighbors and inquiring about information. Those who were braver even dared to go out of their doors and hide in a corner to quietly discuss some things that they knew.
The new Emperor's ascension to the throne was undoubtedly explosive news. The entire capital was in an uproar. If Shen Yicheng didn't allow the residents to go out and blocked them in their houses, the capital would have long been in an uproar.
The current Emperor, Zhu Yijun, felt very guilty because he trusted the wrong people and caused the rebellion. As a result, he fell ill and was unable to govern, so he decided to abdicate and pass the throne to his eldest son, Zhu Changluo.
The old Emperor abdicated.
The new Emperor ascended to the throne.
This news had shocked the people of the capital for a long time, and their minds went blank.
Along with this news was the news that the Daming Hero, Duke of Qin, Xiao Ruxun, had rebelled and tried to usurp the throne. It was said that the previous night's commotion was caused by Xiao Ruxun, but because the Deputy Minister of the Cabinet, Shen Yicheng, tried his best to stop it, the rebellion was quelled, and Xiao Ruxun's plot failed.
This news and the news of the old Emperor's abdication and the new Emperor's ascension seemed to be a perfect explanation.
However, the people were not fools, and they knew how many twists and turns were involved. After their minds went blank, everyone had some idea of what was going on. It was just that they were locked in their houses and were not allowed to go out, so they couldn't share their guesses with outsiders.
When such a thing happened, it wasn't just the scholars who were skeptical, even the common people couldn't accept it. They were all extremely shocked and suspicious about this matter.
They were also panicking about the old Emperor's abdication and the new Emperor's ascension.
Moreover, the imperial court also announced that the traitor Xiao Ruxun was still hiding in the city. The new Emperor issued an edict, asking the common people who had clues to report the news to the army patrolling the city. If the information was true, they would be rewarded with 500 taels of silver.
Therefore, the common people and scholars in the capital all felt the real danger, and closed their houses more tightly, and dared not to go out, in case they were caught in an undeserved disaster.
This was also Shen Yicheng's goal, to strengthen the defense and clear the field, so that Xiao Ruxun would have nowhere to go, and he would give himself away.
Moreover, the reward of 500 taels of silver was too tempting, and some lazy people who lacked money couldn't help thinking about it.
Shen Yicheng, who understood the thoughts of the common people, was determined to let Xiao Ruxun fall into the sea of people's war.
All in all, for the residents of the capital, the scholars, and even the low-level officials, the influence of this matter was far from over.
Of course, Shen Yicheng didn't expect the sea of people's war to be so effective.
At noon on the second day after the announcement, which was two days after the coup, in the eastern district that Xu Zuo was in charge of, Xu Zuo received a tip from an idle scoundrel who made a living near Chaoyang Gate. He learned that the scoundrel had seen several sneaky figures near Chaoyang Gate.
Xu Zuo attached great importance to this matter, and he immediately went to the streets near Chaoyang Gate. Under the guidance of the disheveled and wretched scoundrel, he locked onto a small area and immediately mobilized a large group of people to carry out a raid on the houses in this area.
He found it.
At sunset, the two sides engaged in a small-scale confrontation inside and outside a small courtyard in a corner. The resistance of the people in the courtyard was stronger, and they even had bows and crossbows in hand. They used various methods to block the courtyard door, trying to fight to the death with the large group of people besieging outside.
Xu Zuo gathered several hundred soldiers and surrounded the small courtyard, shouting for the people inside to surrender, but before they could surrender, they were set on fire.
The people inside seemed to know that there was no chance of survival, so they very straightforwardly set themselves on fire.
In the end, Xu Zuo didn't see whether the people inside were Xiao Ruxun or his remaining followers. Xu Zuo had never seen Xiao Ruxun before, and he didn't know what he looked like, but there was no doubt that the people inside were dead.
There were four bodies in total, and all of them were severely burned. When Xu Zuo ordered people to put out the fire and clear the area, they only found four burned and incomplete corpses.
There was also a jade pendant.
A jade pendant that symbolized status, and a jade pendant that not everyone could wear.
Xu Zuo, who was anxious to gain merit and obtain better political resources from Shen Yicheng before Wen Chun, was overjoyed. He immediately went to report the good news to Shen Yicheng.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
