Chapter 49: On night shift, someone came to mess up the place

"We Confucians are not the only ones who submit to the will of heaven. Aren't there also people who respect heaven within Xuanzong? If Tiansi came here today to question our goals, then please go back."

Yuan Wei was on full alert, and when he looked at Tian Si, thoughts surged in his eyes, and he did not dare to be careless at all.

"Haha, don't worry, I'm not here to stop you, but to help you succeed."

Tian Si changed the subject and stopped provoking.

Yuan Kui, a political veteran who was used to intrigue and deception, naturally would not believe this: "I wonder how Tian Si plans to help the Yuan family?"

"If the Confucian world wants to succeed, there is still one thing missing. Your original idea should be to use He Jin's death to create chaos, and then fish in troubled waters, open the royal secret vault, and steal Wang Mang's head, right?"

Tian Si’s words made Yuan Wei tremble with fear.

The opponent had even figured this out, which really frightened Yuan Wei. He suspected that there might be a traitor among the senior members of the family. Otherwise, how could such a confidential matter be known to outsiders?
Since the secret had been exposed, Yuan Wei simply stopped pretending and looked at Tian Si coldly: "Everything has a price. I just don't know what price Tian Si wants my Yuan family to pay for this?"

Now, what the Runan Yuan family desires has been seen through by Tian Si, so Yuan Wei also urgently needs to know what the other party wants. Otherwise, if the intelligence is not equal, he will be the only one who suffers.

But how could Yuan Wei's schemes and plans escape Tian Si's keen eyes?

Tian Si directly put forward the conditions: "The Yuan family of Runan has been secretly trading with the Wuhuan people in recent years. I heard that a batch of ancient artifacts were unearthed in Bailang Mountain in recent years, and these artifacts have flowed into the hands of the Grand Tutor. Give me the things, and I will get Wang Mang's head for you."

"Ancient artifact?"

Yuan Wei frowned, and then asked tentatively: "Although these artifacts are magical instruments refined by ancient masters, they have gone through a long time and have long been broken and damaged. Most of them are fragments. They can only be disassembled and used as ordinary magical instrument refining materials. They are not of much value. Even if they can be appreciated as antique artifacts, they are just ordinary toys. How can they catch the eye of Tiansi?"

However, Tian Si did not intend to give Yuan Wei too much time to consider: "This matter has nothing to do with the Grand Tutor. Whether to trade or not is up to you."

Yuan Wei hesitated for a while, but finally decided to make the deal. After all, no matter what the Tiangong and Longju Tiansi were planning, it had nothing to do with the Yuan family of Runan.

As long as it does not hinder the Yuan family's plan to rule the world with Confucianism, any compromise and deal can be accepted.

"can."

"Get your things ready. I will come to trade with Wang Mang's head tonight."

"Then I will wait for good news from Tiansi in the mansion."

…………

At the Tunqi Battalion, Liu Biao, who was still the Northern Army Lieutenant, came to read out the order: "Captain of the Tunqi Battalion, it is the Tunqi Battalion's turn to guard the Nangong Zhuque Gate tonight. This is related to the safety of the Queen Mother and Your Majesty, so please act with caution."

"Yes."

After receiving the order, Wang Jing immediately dispatched the cavalry camp to station in Nangong.

In the early years of the Yanhan Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu established Chang'an as the capital, which was the Western Han Dynasty.

The Southern and Northern Armies were the imperial guards set up in Chang'an City in the early Western Han Dynasty.

The Southern Army was under the command of the Weiwei, and the Northern Army was under the command of the Zhongwei. The two armies were not subordinate to each other. They were stationed under the city walls of the Weiyang and Changle Palaces respectively, responsible for guarding the two palaces.

Emperor Guangwu overthrew the Xin Dynasty, continued the Yanhan Dynasty, and established his capital in Luoyang, which was the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The Eastern Han Dynasty also continued the system of the Southern and Northern armies, but the power between the court and the local areas was unbalanced, the imperial power declined, and the aristocratic families gradually became stronger. The imperial family could no longer maintain the original strong military organization, and had to reduce the Northern Army from eight battalions to five battalions, and the Southern Army disappeared from then on, lost in the long river of history.

Unfortunately, it’s still a financial issue.

It was not until Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, ascended the throne that the finances of the Yanhan Dynasty, which had experienced a century of Qiang rebellion, almost collapsed, and it was basically difficult to collect taxes from all over the country.

Compared with Chongzhen, who only knew how to make the people suffer, Emperor Lingdi Liu Hong's governance methods were obviously much more sophisticated. He first released the Ten Eunuchs, a group of vicious dogs, and allowed them to bite the aristocratic families, thus launching the Factional Persecution Disaster and weakening the power of the aristocratic families.

After that, they openly sold official positions and titles. After all, the Han Dynasty implemented the system of recommendation, and if you want to be an official, you must first be recommended. No one would believe that there is no trick involved.

So Liu Hong’s method was very simple. Instead of letting the state’s official positions be sold by the powerful people below, it would be better for him, the emperor, to sell them himself. At least the money could go into his own pocket.

This led to the fact that it cost 100 million yuan for the three ministers to take office, and the effect was immediate.

During Liu Hong's reign, he pacified the mountain barbarians in the south, defeated the Xianbei in the north, and put down the Qiang rebellion in the west. During this period, he also found time to engage in cultural undertakings. By establishing the Hongdumen School, he appointed a large number of scholars from humble families as officials. Even when he was fiercely criticized by the aristocratic families, he ignored it and even cursed officials from aristocratic families as "dog officials" in the court.

Compared with the high-minded but incompetent Emperor Chongzhen, Liu Hong's level was obviously several levels higher, and he was able to put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the same time.

It can be seen that only when you have money in your hands can you get things done. Otherwise, all this talk of being close to virtuous ministers and staying away from villains will be of no use.

If it weren't for his bad luck, Liu Hong's ability would have made him more than qualified to be a wise ruler.

Unfortunately, there is no "if" in history. He ended up bearing the infamy and died at the age of 32.

At the hour of Xu, the sun sets and darkness gradually covers the earth.

Yellow is the color of the earth.

Dusk is the darkness of the sun.

As the sun sets, everything becomes hazy and the sky and earth become dim.

Nangong, Suzaku Gate.

After Wang Jing finished his shift, he couldn't help but complain: "What I hate most is working overtime, especially the night shift."

But it is his duty, even if it is just for show, he has to stick to his post, so as to avoid being reported by others, which would be a troublesome matter.

The South and North Palace Cities of Luoyang both have four gates with the same direction and name. The one with watchtowers on both sides of the gate is the Suzaku Gate, the one in the east is the Canglong Gate, the one in the north is the Xuanwu Gate, and the one in the west is the Baihu Gate.

The Xuanwu Gate of the Nangong Palace is connected to the Zhuque Gate of the Beigong Palace via a corridor. The Zhuque Gate of the Nangong Palace, as the south main gate of the imperial palace, is connected to the Pingcheng Gate and leads directly to the outside of the city.

Since the emperor often passed through the Suzaku Gate when traveling, this gate was the most honorable and the building was exceptionally majestic and spectacular. People in Yanshi, 45 miles away, looked at the Suzaku Gate from afar and it seemed as if it was connected to the sky. It was a wonder of Luoyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

After entering the Suzaku Gate, there is a small urn city and three palace gates blocking the way, namely Sima Gate, Duan Gate and Quefei Gate.

These three palace gates were guarded by three independent imperial guards, which together formed the second line of defense to prevent foreign enemies from invading the imperial city.

Before foreign troops entered Luoyang on a large scale, the imperial palace would basically be safe. At least that was what Wang Jing thought.

However, things always turn out to be unexpected.

At one o'clock in the morning, Wang Jing was happily eating his midnight snack when suddenly a cold wind blew past his ears and there was a person beside him.

Without thinking, he drew out the Chunjun sword and pointed it directly at the person who came.

"Is it really okay to use the sword I gave you against me?"

What came into view was Tiansi's face, which was covered by a mask and whose features could not be seen clearly. However, from his eyes emitting a faint blue light and his unique temperament, Wang Jing still recognized his identity.

"Damn it, it's the dead of night, the servants will scare people to death!"

"Haha, I'm a ghost, not a human."

"It's not okay to scare people with ghosts!"

Wang Jing quickly sheathed his sword, and then suddenly had a bad feeling: "Tian Si broke into the imperial city at night, could he be here to have supper with me?"

"No."

"Sigh~"

Wang Jing sucked in a breath of cold air, gnashing his teeth, with a look of pain on his face: "As expected, good things don't work, but bad things do. Tell me, is Tiansi here to steal people or treasures?"

"Theft." Tian Si's answer was concise, while Wang Jing looked helpless: "Can't we change the time? I am the one guarding the Suzaku Gate tonight. If a theft occurs in the palace, I will be held accountable at the least, or lose my job at the worst."

"Haha, I can wait, but I don't know if Master Tai can. I heard that you went to the Yuan family before. Although I don't know what you talked about with Yuan Wei, you are lazy. If there is no benefit, you won't even step out of the house. So I judge that you and Yuan Wei must have some hidden deal."

Facing Tian Si's eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts, Wang Jing pretended to be calm: "Ahem, Tian Si is joking. As a junior, it is reasonable for Jing to pay a visit to the Grand Tutor."

"Haha, then why don't you go visit Sikong Liu Hong? We are both three ministers, why do you favor one over the other?"

Seeing that he could no longer hide it, Wang Jing simply started to speak directly: "So, Tian Si's entry into the palace this time was the intention of Yuan Taifu? Do you know what kind of treasure it is that makes a master like you personally take action?"

"It's okay to tell you, but are you sure you want to know? The last time you were able to leave the Taifu Mansion alive, it was because Yuan Wei had no reason to kill you. But if you knew this secret, then Yuan Wei would kill you in order to silence you, even if a conflict broke out with the Taiyuan Wang family."

Depend on!
Do you want to kill people to silence them at every turn?
Wang Jing was speechless and quickly shook his head, saying, "Forget it. Since it's a secret, the fewer people who know about it, the better."

Seeing Wang Jing's cautious appearance, Tian Si chuckled and nodded, then revealed some key information: "I will go to the Jiade Hall later to open the royal secret vault, and then I will fight with Wang Yue. If you want to stay alive, don't get too close."

As the "security captain", Wang Jing didn't know how to face the big guy who was coming to mess things up. He couldn't just say "Uncle, come and play often", right?

"Then... Jing wishes Tiansi good luck in martial arts and a safe journey?"

Tian Si ignored Wang Jing. His body turned into a gust of wind and floated away without alarming anyone. He passed directly through the first and second lines of defense.

The Nangong Suzaku Gate, as well as the three palace gates behind it, Sima Gate, Duan Gate and Quefei Gate, and the many early warning formations and dragon energy prohibitions on them were all useless in front of Tiansi.

Wang Jing was filled with envy: "He can actually cast a spell in the imperial palace! Who is this big shot? What is his cultivation level?"

The imperial palace was suppressed by the Emperor Qi, and the power of Yuan Qi and thinking energy were suppressed. If the Qi and spirit refining masters dared to come, their strength would be reduced to one tenth. Only the warriors who focused on strengthening their physiques were the least suppressed and could barely exert about 70% of their strength.

Therefore, even if they were as strong as the Five Elephants of Emperor Xuanzong and the Three Lords of Confucianism, anyone who dared to break into the palace alone would be beaten to death by the soldiers of the Five Battalions of the Northern Army.

Moreover, in order to prevent those masters who come and go without a trace from using the palace as a public toilet, there are a large number of early warning arrays inside the South and North Palaces of Luoyang.

These arrays were all driven by the dragon energy of humanity, so even if the four masters of martial arts came in person, they would not be able to break in quietly. However, at this moment, not a single warning array was triggered, which was simply unbelievable.

Tian Si breaks into the imperial palace at night and sneaks into the Jiade Hall where Chenliu Prince Liu Xie lives to steal treasures from the royal secret treasury. A battle with the Sword Saint Wang Yue is inevitable.

Wang Jing, who had witnessed the actions of Tian Si and Wang Yue, knew that with his small body, he would surely be killed if he was involved, so he immediately summoned everyone from the Cavalry Camp.

Soon, Wang Ling and Xun You, who were on duty at Suzaku Gate tonight, came to Wang Jing.

"Second brother, what happened?"

"My lord, you have summoned me late at night, but what are your instructions?"

Both Wang Ling and Xun You realized that something was wrong and their expressions became serious.

Wang Jing knew that the matter was serious, so he did not hide it and whispered the truth to the two of them: "A strong man broke into the palace. He might fight with the Sword Saint later. We should guard the palace gate and do not get involved."

Wang Ling was shocked: "Is someone trying to assassinate your Majesty or the Queen Mother?"

"No."

Wang Jing shook his head: "This man is called Longju Tiansi, his origin is mysterious, and his strength is extremely powerful. I have some friendship with him because of some things. In short, your majesty, the queen mother and the Prince of Chenliu will be fine, but if we are involved, we will definitely be in trouble."

Xun You was also a smart man. He immediately understood Wang Jing's intention and made a suggestion: "In addition to the Nangong Suzaku Gate guarded by my Tunqi Battalion, there is also the City Gate Battalion responsible for guarding the Quefei Gate tonight. I have some friendship with the City Gate Captain Wu Qiong. When the time comes, I will come forward to negotiate with him. The responsibility for the loss of this palace gate will never fall on you, my lord."

"Okay, then everything depends on you, Gongda."

Wang Jing was overjoyed after hearing this. What he feared most now was taking the blame. After all, there were enemies in the palace, and if he did not go to support them, he would inevitably be held accountable afterwards.

While Wang Jing and Xun You were discussing countermeasures, Tian Si had already arrived outside the Jiade Hall.

The towering palace wall became the last line of defense blocking him.

This place was originally the sleeping palace of Empress Dowager Dong. Prince of Chenliu Liu Xie grew up here, and Liu Hong himself died in Jiade Hall. This is a well-known fact.

But only a few people know that the royal secret treasury had long been secretly moved here by Liu Hong.

Fortunately, Fang Xiandao had been silent for many years and had already arranged an insider among the Ten Attendants. Therefore, many of Liu Hong's secrets were no longer secrets to the Heavenly Palace.

In front of the Nine Dragon Gate, Tian Si just took a step forward.

The nine red dragon shadows carved on the door suddenly pounced out, nine earth-shaking dragon roars were heard in the void, and the dragon energy of Yanhan Fire Virtue surged in.

In the face of this powerful dragon energy of humanity, any spells and holy words are useless. The wave of thought energy gathered from countless people is enough to drown everything.

Even a powerful warrior who has entered the sixth realm of martial arts will collapse and die in the face of this great power.

But Tian Si was fearless. He just raised his hand slightly, and a pure white decree flew into the air and turned into a white horse. The white horse's four hooves seemed to trample through the stars, drawing an invisible barrier in the void, blocking the dragon's shadow.

Boom~
The fire dragon energy bombarded the barrier, but the barrier remained motionless.

This decree emitting white light is exactly the White Horse Oath made by Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang after he became emperor.

At that time, the Yanhan Dynasty had just been established. In order to consolidate the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang used various excuses to eliminate kings of different surnames. At the same time, he enfeoffed the sons and nephews of the Liu family as kings of the same surname. He also killed a white horse, swore an oath of blood, and made the White Horse Alliance with his ministers, swearing an oath that "if anyone other than a member of the Liu family becomes king, the whole world will attack him together."

As a participant and drafter of the oath, Zhang Liang had secretly left a secret door for himself.

As long as he does not directly endanger the safety of the royal family members, the fire dragon energy of the Yanhan Dynasty cannot hurt him in the slightest, because he himself is also protected by the oath.

And now, the protective effect of this oath falls on Tiansi.

After breaking the last dragon energy ban, Tian Si walked into the Jiade Hall as if he was strolling in a garden. After opening his Dharma Eyes, he quickly found the location of the royal secret library set up by Liu Hong.

"Mohist mechanical technique?"

Tian Si was a scholar and he easily cracked the mechanism in front of him. Then he saw the floor sink and the door to the secret vault suddenly appeared.

Tian Si took a step forward and walked into the secret vault without hesitation. He ignored the dazzling array of rare collections inside, and glanced at them one by one, finally pausing only on two treasures.

One of them is a pair of wooden-soled shoes, with brilliant writing on them, and the power of thought transformed into colorful light, brilliant and colorful.

"Confucius clogs? It's a good treasure."

However, Tian Si only paused for a moment to look at such a precious treasure of Confucianism, and did not take it away. His eyes soon fell on another treasure.

There was a cubic wooden box placed next to Confucius' clogs. After it was opened, what appeared in front of Tiansi was a human head that had been pickled with white salt and refined with magic.

The owner of this head was none other than Wang Mang, the Emperor of the Xin Dynasty, who, as a Confucian scholar, eventually usurped the sacred artifacts of the country and ascended the throne.

The Snake-Slaying Sword, Confucius' Clogs, and Wang Mang's Head are the three most valuable treasures in the royal secret treasury of the Yanhan Empire and have always been carefully preserved by the emperor.

"The spirit of literature gathers at the top, and the spirit of dragon is hidden. It looks like it must be the real thing without a doubt."

Under Tiansi's eyes, the secrets of Wang Mang's head were revealed to him one by one: "Sure enough, the essence of dragon energy is supremacy. Once you become an emperor, as long as you are recognized by the way of heaven, no matter how long it takes, you can automatically improve your status and authority. As long as you have this item, any Confucian master can unscrupulously activate the Confucian holy words within the palace's legal restrictions and compete with the dragon energy of the Yanhan Dynasty."

Although I had known this secret from Fang Xiandao's records a long time ago, seeing it with my own eyes still gave me a sense of eye-opening.

With such a treasure, it is no wonder that the Yuan family of Runan was willing to cooperate with the rebels to get it.

Wang Mang was not only a great master of spirit refining in Confucianism, he was also a Confucian emperor. His skull had been permeated with dragon energy and had undergone a transformation long ago. The material of his skull was far superior to many natural treasures and possessed all kinds of magical powers and wonderful uses.

This was originally a secret known only to the top brass of the Chenwei School. It was not until the first Party Persecution that a famous Confucian scholar, unable to endure the torture of the eunuchs, finally leaked the secret, which then fell into Fang Xiandao's hands.

(End of this chapter)