Learning that Zhong Yanhu hadn’t dared attack the Ministry of State Affairs, Yang Zhitang, Zhang Chao and the others assumed the traitor faction had ultimately grown fearful and timid. They breathed a sigh of relief and immediately sent people everywhere with even more confidence to proclaim Lu Qingxia’s collusion with assassins to kill His Majesty and hold the Empress Dowager hostage, while also summoning Guo Liang, Huang Lu, Zhang Han and other generals who had been slow to appear to quickly come to the Ministry of State Affairs to receive orders.

If Guo Liang, Huang Lu, Zhang Han and their subordinate deputy commanders dared come to the Ministry of State Affairs now, and given that during the earlier confrontation they weren’t even at Chongwen Hall and hadn’t been mixed up with the Empress Dowager, Lu Qingxia, Chen De, Zhou Yuan and those people, it would prove they had no problems.

That Guo Liang, Huang Lu, Zhang Han and other generals had been hiding and hadn’t come to the Ministry of State Affairs earlier—they believed these men were merely choosing to be fence-sitters at a critical moment, unwilling to become involved in the chaos before the situation became clear.

This point couldn’t really be considered a stain. Earlier, hadn’t the vast majority of people in the Ministry of State Affairs courtyard also wanted to be fence-sitters? This matter wouldn’t be mentioned again going forward. Everyone was a loyal subject of the Great Chu—whether there were distinctions would depend on what each person believed in their heart.

Someone suggested sending troops to pursue Zhong Yanhu’s forces, but most people just laughed it off and paid no attention.

Within the Ministry of State Affairs, there currently wasn’t even a deputy commander-level general present—only a few battalion commander-level mid-ranking officers whom Shen Yang and Yang Zhitang had appointed as temporary commanders. Looking at them, one could tell they all preferred not to act rashly.

If they protected the Ministry of State Affairs and the many high ministers from being breached by rebel troops, that would already be meritorious service in protecting the sovereign and restoring order.

Now in the pitch darkness and complete chaos, they didn’t even know how many Imperial Guard troops had secretly turned to Cishou Palace. Taking small forces to pursue and kill the enemy—wasn’t that seeking death?

Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang and others said nothing. After the other officials discussed for a while, they all felt they couldn’t act recklessly at this moment. Stabilizing the situation and distinguishing friend from foe was most important. They didn’t even advocate directly sending troops to attack Chongwen Hall—for now they need only order all units to guard the gates of the Palace City and Imperial City tightly.

Even though they believed the vast majority of Imperial Guard officers and soldiers were still reliable and loyal to the Great Chu—otherwise the situation couldn’t have reversed so easily—they could also confirm that most people didn’t know what had happened. In the darkness where one couldn’t see one’s own hand, most soldiers had weak ability to distinguish right from wrong and assess the situation. If edicts from both the Hall of State Affairs and the Empress Dowager at Chongwen Hall were transmitted simultaneously, chaos would inevitably result.

In fact, it came down to one point: which general at this moment had the capability to lead a force through the chaos to attack through Chongyang Gate first and control the situation?

At the end of the day, good generals were hard to find!

Yang En glanced at Li Xiu, who was pressed to his knees before the corridor by two soldiers and bound hand and foot, and said in a low voice to Shen Yang, “We could give him a chance to redeem himself through meritorious service…”

Shen Yang started, looking toward Han Daoming and Yang Zhitang.

Han Daoming naturally also knew Li Xiu was merely a chess piece manipulated by Lu Qingxia, but looking at Yang Zhitang, he didn’t want to take a position on this matter.

“Let’s wait until we capture Li Changfeng and the others before discussing this. Otherwise tonight’s situation is too chaotic,” Yang Zhitang said.

Li Changfeng had either been forced by circumstances to completely cast his lot with Lu Qingxia, or had been taken hostage by Lu Qingxia and could no longer extricate himself. Setting aside other considerations, based on this point alone, Yang Zhitang didn’t want to release Li Xiu to take risks.

Yang En looked toward Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, Zhang Chao and others. The others all avoided his gaze, unwilling to speak for the Li family at this time.

No matter what, Shen Yang wouldn’t create divisions with Yang Zhitang over such minor details. He nodded and said gravely, “Prince Shou is right.”

Guo Liang and Zhang Han, receiving notification, quickly arrived at the Ministry of State Affairs.

Though Huang Lu usually seemed unreliable, in reality he wasn’t stupid—or perhaps he had strategists assisting him. At this moment he directly escorted his sister Huang E and Third Imperial Prince Yang Ye to the Ministry of State Affairs to rendezvous with Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang and the other high ministers.

After the assassination occurred, Huang Lu had immediately sent his most trusted men to guard Mingcheng Palace where Huang E and Third Imperial Prince Yang Ye resided. Learning that Li Xiu had barged into the Ministry of State Affairs with men on the Empress Dowager’s edict to seize people, he personally rushed directly to Mingcheng Palace to join Huang E and Third Imperial Prince Yang Ye.

Though in just a short while, he had assembled over a thousand elite officers and armored soldiers loyal to the Huang family from the Left Martial Soaring Army of the Imperial Guard, waiting in Mingcheng Palace to watch tigers fight from the mountain.

He now directly led these thousand-some elite armored soldiers to escort Huang E and Third Imperial Prince Yang Ye to the Ministry of State Affairs.

Seeing this scene, Han Daoming and Qin Wen would laugh themselves awake in their dreams. Huang Lu might not be stupid, but he or his subordinate strategists were ultimately too timid.

Without Qin Wen or Han Daoming even needing to fan the flames from the side, Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, Yang En and others unanimously decided to have Huang Lu station these thousand-some troops in the Privy Council across the way on standby, only allowing him to bring a dozen or so people to escort Huang E and Third Imperial Prince into the Ministry of State Affairs courtyard for deliberations.

All three Grand Commanders of the Imperial Guard had arrived at the Ministry of State Affairs. Apart from Li Xiu being detained and Zhong Yanhu confirmed as problematic, the participating high ministers also unanimously decided to temporarily relieve Zhang Xiang’s son Zhang Feng and seven other deputy commanders who had been near Chongyang Gate and Chongwen Hall during the Ministry of State Affairs standoff of their military authority, placing them under house arrest for now.

The other eleven deputy commanders would each lead three hundred armored soldiers to the Ministry of State Affairs to await deployment, while the assistant deputy commanders would continue at their respective posts, sealing off the many vital points and gates throughout the Imperial City and palace precincts.

The situation was too chaotic. It was hard to say who could be completely trusted. Everything prioritized stabilizing the situation and controlling the circumstances. Only after nearly midnight did they decide to begin deploying troops through Chongyang Gate to arrest Lu Qingxia and the others.

At this moment, however, soldiers rushed over to report:

“Zhong Yanhu led his forces in a surprise attack on Jingjiang Gate on the north side of the palace and has just captured it. Lu Qingxia and the others are holding the Empress Dowager hostage, fleeing from Yinhua Path toward Jingjiang Gate. They should be heading for Jinghai Gate to escape to the Imperial Textile Bureau’s official boat docks…”

Shen Yang and Yang En’s expressions turned grave. Yang Zhitang, Han Daoming and Zhang Chao exchanged glances. Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, Du Chongtao and Zhou Bingwu all shook their heads slightly.

Within the Imperial City and Palace City, several government offices, granaries and palace halls had been set ablaze by people in the chaos, lighting the night sky a brilliant red.

They had finally managed to assemble over four thousand soldiers confirmed to be under control around the Ministry of State Affairs. Other soldiers were difficult to distinguish as loyal or traitorous in the haste, so they could only strictly order all units to guard the many vital points and gates of the Imperial City and Palace City without moving rashly.

To prevent uncontrollable turmoil from spreading, they had even decided to watch several palace halls fall to roaring flames without organizing personnel to extinguish them.

Fundamentally, darkness was the easiest cover for creating riots and camp mutinies. They couldn’t fully control the situation—how could they dare act rashly?

And among the four thousand elite soldiers assembled near the Ministry of State Affairs, Huang Lu’s forces that had assembled first numbered over a thousand elites, making the situation even more delicate.

Never mind the Second Imperial Prince—by rights, Huang E’s son Yang Ye had the most legitimate claim to ascend the throne. But looking at Huang Lu’s performance today, was the Huang family truly so harmless?

Could it not be the Huang family behind the scenes who had someone tip off Zhang Ping and Jiang Huo at the critical moment to rescue Li Yao?

Without Qin Wen or Han Daoming even needing to step forward to sow discord, everyone couldn’t help but wonder in their hearts: if they dispatched too many troops to pursue the traitors, and Huang Lu rallied some officials and incited soldiers to enthrone Third Imperial Prince Yang Ye that very night, how would the court’s situation develop afterward?

Everyone had become shrewd. Li Zhigao was in Xiangbei—for now their reach couldn’t extend there. Even if they decided to send punitive forces, organizing the troops wasn’t something that could be completed in ten days or half a month. But letting two or three thousand rebel troops escape now clearly wouldn’t affect the overall situation.

Seeking the Empress Dowager and the Second Imperial Prince of uncertain authenticity? That didn’t exist.

No matter what, stabilizing the situation came first. No one expected Huang Lu to lead his forces to Jinghai Gate to fight the enemy.

“In these turbulent times, it’s better to establish a new emperor early and stabilize people’s hearts,” Yang Zhitang said unhurriedly.

Huang Lu’s expression changed somewhat. No matter how stupid he was, he could guess what Yang Zhitang meant by discussing the new emperor at this critical juncture instead of urgently dispatching troops to pursue the traitors.

“The Empress Dowager has been taken hostage by traitors, and the real Second Imperial Prince may still be in the criminals’ hands. Shouldn’t we rescue them first?” Someone in the hall couldn’t restrain themselves and stood up to speak for Huang Lu.

However, the Huang family and Jiangdong aristocratic clans currently had no one of sufficient weight sitting in the Hall of State Affairs. Empress Huang E, Li Yao and Princess Qing Yang had all been invited to rest in the government offices at the rear, with over a dozen old eunuchs close to Zhang Ping and Jiang Huo attending them personally, temporarily not participating in deliberations. Even though someone mustered courage to represent the Huang family and speak up for Huang Lu, their tone seemed somewhat hesitant.

“Indeed, Minister Shen, we should make a decision early. Once the new emperor is established and the hearts and minds of the capital region’s subjects and people are settled, everything can be planned calmly. With the new emperor enthroned, the matter of pursuing traitors can also be decreed to Tangyi for assistance,” Zhang Chao even ignored that person’s words, directly urging Shen Yang.

The Zhang Chao and Zhang Han brothers, as surrendered forces, had pledged service under Yang Yuanpu’s command in the later stages of the vassal suppression wars.

After Emperor Yanyou’s enthronement, the Zhang clan should originally have been the weakest faction among Jinling’s various power groups, but in reality the Great Chu had too many proud soldiers and fierce generals, which conversely made the Zhang clan more heavily relied upon.

Zhang Chao controlled the Salt, Iron and Transport Commission. Zhang Han was the Grand Commander of the Left Martial Guard Army—both civil and military positions of importance. The scions of aristocratic families from Yue, Lang, Tan and Shao provinces all took these two brothers as their mentors, recommending them to enter court as officials and generals.

If they enthroned Third Imperial Prince Yang Ye as emperor, one could figure out even counting on one’s toes that the Zhang clan’s power in the capital would inevitably be suppressed by the Huang family and Jiangdong aristocratic clans afterward.

At this moment Huang Lu’s face turned green, but seeing Guo Liang and Zhang Han sitting to the side, carefully observing the rule that guard generals didn’t discuss political matters, his forehead veins jumped several times before he finally restrained himself from making a sound.

“Minister Han, what is your opinion?” Zheng Yu looked toward Han Daoming and asked.

Zheng Hui leading troops to attack the Qingyuan Military Commissioner—though the grain and provisions were mostly requisitioned from the Hunan Branch Ministry of State Affairs, this was regular deployment in accordance with court regulations.

But truly considering the interests of the Zheng clan, Zheng Chang and Zheng Yu couldn’t help but consider that with the Huang clan as imperial relatives, especially with the Third Imperial Prince only four or five years old, Empress Huang would inevitably rely heavily on her father and brothers to handle military and state affairs. The court might truly become the Huang family’s one-voice hall.

Of course, in Zheng Yu’s eyes, Huang Lu was still rather green, but he had to consider Han Daoming’s opinion.

Whether others spoke or discussed in low voices, they were all secretly observing Han Daoming’s expression. Whether this storm could ultimately pass smoothly—Tangyi’s subsequent reaction would be an extremely critical element.

“Lu Qingxia colluded with the Mongols to assassinate His Majesty and hold hostage the Empress Dowager and Second Imperial Prince. I request all you ministers to quickly stabilize the situation and avenge His Majesty,” Han Daoming said from his seat without hurry or urgency.

His daughter Han Shuhui ordinarily didn’t receive Emperor Yanyou Yang Yuanpu’s favor, had no sons or daughters. In outsiders’ eyes, whether enthroning the First Imperial Prince or the Third Imperial Prince, this matter had no direct relationship with the Han Mansion or Tangyi. What he needed to insist on now was first nailing Lu Qingxia to the crime of colluding with the Mongols to assassinate Emperor Yanyou.

Only by nailing down Lu Qingxia’s crime of colluding with the Mongols in the assassination could Tangyi’s subsequent deployment of troops to the Huai River region become even more justified and proper, and the court would inevitably provide clear support in terms of funds, provisions and troop recruitment.

Everyone could understand Han Daoming’s attitude. After all, the Han Mansion and Tangyi had consistently advocated deploying troops to the Huai River region during this period.