I do research in ancient times

Chapter 140

What Feng Kai said was correct, Xue Yiluan did indeed die in the imperial palace in the capital.

Originally, he was summoned by Emperor Zhengming to come to the palace to discuss the matter of making knives in Longquan Sword Workshop.As a result, just as Shangshu ordered Yu Dingkang to have a secret talk with the emperor, Xue Yiluan waited in the side hall.

A little eunuch brought snacks and tea soup, Xue Yiluan happened to be hungry, so he ate a piece with the tea without thinking too much, thinking that he would not lose his dignity in front of the emperor later.

Unexpectedly, it was this piece of snack that directly resulted in Xue Yiluan's life.When Emperor Zhengming remembered Xue Yiluan who was waiting in the side hall and sent someone to call him into the hall, he found that the newly promoted Minister of the Household Department, Mr. Xue, had already bled from his seven orifices and died of poison.

Emperor Zhengming was shocked and angry.

This is the imperial palace, and it is his Sima Liang's territory!Dare to poison and kill his cronies under his nose, this is no different from rebellion! ?

Emperor Zhengming kicked over a desk on the spot, walked around the side hall several times, and three or four possible culprits flashed through his mind.

The first one was Sima Ye, that bastard was the capital city that he stepped into first, and even set fire to the original Zhengyang Palace, leaving some wedges in the palace.

If it wasn't for Sima Ye, he wouldn't have to rush to the throne, he didn't even have a decent palace, and he lived in the former emperor's palace!

Thinking that it might really be the hand of King Dongshan, Emperor Zhengming felt terrified in his heart.Fortunately, today is the dead Xue Yiluan, if it were him, Emperor Zhengming, it would be impossible to guard against!

But thinking of this, he felt that it was unlikely that Sima Ye did it.

Sima Ye and Xue Yiluan had no enmity, at most it was a newly recruited concubine Xue who provoked them, but based on his understanding of Sima Ye, this kid seemed arrogant, but in fact he was very scheming and would not be easily swayed by a woman.

If Sima Ye really had this ability, he would be targeting Sima Liang. What's the use of killing Xue Yiluan? !

But if it wasn't for Sima Ye, then this matter would be even more troublesome.

Xue Yiluan didn't have any enmity with Sima Ye, but he had many enemies in the court, and if they weren't all, some people secretly plotted against them.

You know, he had asked Xue Yiluan about Mo Dao in the court before, but Xue Shangshu denied it at the time, insisting that it was the work of Hengshou's house.

But everyone knows that the Hengshou family is not popular at all, and the real hard goods are all in Changzhou.

Could it be that Hengshou sent people to infiltrate the palace, poisoned Xue Yiluan to occupy Changzhou Square, and planted him as the emperor by the way? !

The more Emperor Zhengming thought about it, the more reasonable he felt.

If Xue Yiluan dies, the only one who can benefit from him is the emperor, and only Hengshou will be left.

If the court knew that he poisoned Xue Yiluan to death, who would dare to sacrifice his life for Sima Liang?His court was about to collapse in turmoil.

If Hengshou took it to Longquan Jianfang again, hehe, that would really kill two birds with one stone, killing two birds with one stone.

Thinking of this, Emperor Zhengming consciously found the answer, and immediately asked his servants to pick up Xue Yiluan's body.

Restraining is restraining, but it is not mourning, only saying that Xue Yiluan was sent out of the city to deal with it urgently, and he will be able to return to the city in a few days.

Xue Yiluan's body was stuffed into a large wooden box and locked in an abandoned yard. There were guards outside the yard and no one could approach it.The servants who knew about this matter were not allowed to confide a word, and those who violated it would be beheaded and punish the nine clans directly, and they would be killed.

While the corpse was being settled, Emperor Zhengming called in the commander of the imperial guards, secretly sealed off the palace, and tried his best to investigate the cause of Xue Yiluan's death.

The scale of the palace is not large, and the commander of the forbidden army is a capable subordinate who has followed King Xihe for many years, so his ability to act is first-class and swift.

But even so, it was still a step too late.

On the night of the incident, someone found a corpse in a well near Xibianmen, still wearing the clothes of a servant. It was the young eunuch on duty today.

No one had seen this person since the afternoon, and when he was fished out, he was already swollen with soaking water, apparently dead for some time.

Emperor Zhengming was shocked, and felt more and more suspicious of the servants and maids around him.

The dead body must have been dead for more than half a day, so who exactly delivered poison to Xue Yiluan this morning?Is that person still in the palace? !

As a result, a silent storm broke out in the palace.From the small-scale search limited to the Imperial Dining Room, Imperial Study Room, and Cheng Yu Palace to the entire Forbidden Palace, people were dragged down every day crying and screaming, and the mournful wailing in the prison never stopped for a moment.

Within two days, the commander of the Forbidden Army dug out more than a dozen questionable servants and more than 20 maids of unknown origin.Some of them confessed that they were instructed by the former queen to stay behind to monitor the new king's every move.

Whether it is true or not is unknown, anyway, the final confession presented to Emperor Zhengming was written in this way, which made him furious and violent.

"Xue Yiwei! Xue Yiwei! Why is she?! Where does she have the guts!"

He swept away the confession on the table, and immediately ordered Xie Ze, the Yangzi general who is the closest to Changzhou, to lead the troops to Changzhou City immediately, and make sure to control Longquan Jianfang and Changzhou Iron Mine before Hengshou takes action. live.

Xie Ze didn't dare to delay after receiving the imperial decree, and immediately gathered five thousand soldiers and horses, and marched towards the city of Changzhou during the starry night.

It's not that Xie Ze is slack, but that there are only 8000 Yangzi defenders in total, and some of them will be left to take care of their hometown.

It's just that when there are too many people, the speed will inevitably slow down.

All the way from Yangzi to Changzhou is mountainous. The most dangerous place is to cross the Huhou Gorge. The road here is rugged, with steep cliffs on both sides. The narrowest place can only accommodate a carriage.

Huhou Gorge is always windy. When the wind is strong, it roars like a tiger. It not only makes people tremble with fear, but also blows rolling stones down. Many people were killed or injured.

Xie Ze was a cautious person. Seeing that he had reached the pass of Huhou Gorge, he immediately stopped the team and sent scouts to investigate.

This investigation really found the situation.On the cliffs on both sides of the Huhou Gorge, about [-] barbarian people gathered here, and there were still brightly placed thunder stones and rolling logs, waiting for Xie Ze to lead the army to enter the Huhou Gorge.

Two hundred versus five thousand, General Yangzi was not afraid of it.

But it happened that the opponent was above and below, taking advantage of the convenient location, his bow and arrow could not stare at the strong wind of Huhou Gorge and shoot at the top of the cliff, but the opponent's stones and logs could be directly smashed down, and the Yangzi soldiers could hardly avoid it. avoidable.

Huhou Gorge, it's hard to get through!

In an instant, Xie Ze suddenly understood the other party's intentions.

It may not be necessary to make a move, as long as Zi puts on this posture, he will not dare to move forward.

This Hu Qi appeared strangely, originally the Huhou Gorge fortress pass was guarded by Changzhou, Xue Yiluan was an official in the capital, and the people in Changzhou were also his confidantes, so it is impossible for a Huhou to show up!

Moreover, simple-minded barbarians would not be able to use such strategies and tricks. They usually rush and fight, using force to control force, so how could they be willing to use such brains!

I heard that Hengshou Xueyan and his three sons died outside the city of Yinzhou, their bodies were full of arrows from the barbarians, and the barbarians disappeared afterwards. Could it be this group of people? !

But if it doesn't pass through the gorge, I can't explain it to His Majesty.Your Majesty attaches great importance to Changzhou Mine and Jianfang. If you don't even try it, you may be hit with anger when you go back, and you will be accused and sent to prison.

Gritting his teeth, Xie Ze ordered the front team to head towards Huhou Gorge.

The Yangzi soldiers couldn't believe their ears. The barbarians were staring at them on the cliff. The rolling logs and stones were all ready. Why did the general let them go to die? !

"What are you afraid of with just a few logs? Don't you know how to run away if you have legs! Run quickly, their rocks and logs are limited, smash them down and they will be gone!"

Xie Ze said coldly.

"The wind in Huhou Gorge is so strong, our arrows can't shoot it up, and they can't shoot it down either. They are all blown away by the wind. There is no evidence without heavy objects. Those barbarians can't jump down by themselves?!"

"Rush! Let me rush! There will be rewards for those who rush through the tiger's mouth! You are a dignified man, if you want to prosper, you must fight for your life!"

With a heavy reward, there must be a brave man. Xie Ze offered a generous reward, and soon there were brave warriors running towards the wind.

The rolling wood and falling rocks arrived as promised, but as Xie Ze said, it is impossible to hit everyone, and those with dexterity can still avoid it.

But most people were not so lucky. The stones and wood thrown by the barbarians were very dense, and if they got a little bit of it, the bones would break and the blood would flow all over the ground. If they were hit directly, they would lose their lives directly.

In general, the front team suffered heavy losses, half of the soldiers died on the spot, and those who survived were also wounded, and more than half lost their combat power.

But Xie Ze didn't care about these.

Seeing that the heavy objects on the cliff were almost thrown, the corners of his lips turned up, and he ordered the squadron and the rear team to set off collectively, heading towards Huhou Gorge.

His strategy is to use the front team to attract the enemy's attack, consume the barbarian's material reserves, and exchange a small part of the sacrifice for most of the safety. This loss is worthwhile.

If the Hu people hold back and let the front team pass, then he will send a small wave of soldiers to test.Anyway, as long as he doesn't mess up his position and cause the soldiers to trample on each other, the barbarian can only hurt a small part, it depends on how they decide.

He didn't believe it anymore, those simple-minded barbarians could still beat him, a gentry gentleman who was well versed in military literature! ?How can it be!

Therefore, Xie Ze led the rest of the army into the Huhou Gorge calmly.

Sitting on his horse, he looked around and saw those barbarians were all looking in his direction, but they didn't take out their bows and arrows to attack.

Have you run out of tricks?Qian donkey is at the end of his game, where did his aura just now go?These stupid barbarians, today General Xie will teach you a good...

Just as he was thinking, he saw one of the barbarians wearing a wolf-tailed cap raised an arm.

After that, the barbarians entrenched on both sides of the cliff also picked up something from the ground.

Is it a rock?

Xie Ze narrowed his eyes, trying hard to see exactly what they were holding in their hands.

It's just that the Hu people didn't give him a chance.Hearing a strange cry from the wolf-tailed hat, all the barbarians threw the objects in their hands down.

The next moment, a loud noise more terrifying than the sound of the wind in the Huhou Gorge burst out in his ears, and the huge air wave rushed Xie Ze off his horse, and was beaten to death by the flying stones.

Before he could struggle to get up, the horses, startled by loud noises, began to run around. Xie Ze's chest was trampled by a few horseshoes, and his sternum and internal organs instantly turned into bloody mud, which remained forever in this roaring area. In the gorge.

The earth trembled from the loud noise, and the barbarians on the cliff knelt down one after another, raising their hands to the sky.Laughing and reciting the magical power bestowed by the Son of God.

Sky fire thunder!Thunder from the sky!