Aunt Chen is back from the world of cultivation

Yesterday, after Yan Qingzhi arranged for someone to deliver the message, he immediately ordered people to prepare delicious food and bathing water for the imperial envoy's team.

He also quietly ordered his confidant to find a colorless and odorless incense.

Then, he stepped forward and said to the leading eunuch who was announcing the decree with a not-so-obvious flattering attitude:

"Eunuch Zhu, you've been very tired from traveling all the way. How about you just have some hot food, take a hot bath to get rid of the cold, and change your clothes before you get back to work?"

"Otherwise, if you exhaust yourself or catch a cold, it will cause problems."

The imperial envoy's team was led by a eunuch named Zhu Shan, who was in charge of the imperial eunuch department of the imperial palace in the capital.

He has always been ambitious and dares to seize every opportunity to climb up.

Therefore, even though he knew that this trip to Nandu was very risky and no one wanted to come, he still volunteered to come.

The purpose is to complete this mission well, gain His Majesty's attention, and allow him to sit in a higher position in the future.

However, no matter how big the ambition is, it cannot withstand the limit of what the body can endure.

As a eunuch with a disabled body, his physical condition is not as good as that of a normal person.

He had traveled for six or seven days at full speed in the wind and snow together with the imperial guards. His body was already exhausted and he felt cold all over. He felt so drowsy even when standing that he could close his eyes at any time.

If he doesn't rest and eat well, he might not be able to hold on and collapse, and then he would really miss out on everything.

Therefore, he had no choice but to accept Yan Qingzhi's flattery.

"Master Yan also has a point."

"Then please have a cup of tea in the government office first. I will fix my house for an hour and then listen to your explanation."

He came to Nandu this time, betting that the God of Du'e would go to provide relief for the snow disaster and would not return to Nandu so soon (or the God of Du'e would die directly during the disaster relief), and that the powerful people in Nandu would not dare to follow her in rebellion.

In this way, he only needed to mobilize the imperial guards from the palace to force some of the peripheral believers to hand over the core believers, and then quickly capture and kill these core believers.

It was enough to create a rift between these Southern Capital dignitaries and the Lord of Du'e.

In this way, even if the God of Du'e returns to Nandu safely, he will definitely have a rift with the powerful people in Nandu.

However, the powerful people in Southern Capital were so intertwined with those in the capital that he could not let one go rather than kill a thousand by mistake.

Otherwise, when he returns to the capital, he will face the revenge of many of the capital's powerful families, and he, a eunuch with no roots and no foundation, will not be able to bear it.

But he had just found out that among the core believers of Cihang Temple, there was a businessman named Qin.

Even when dealing with the powerful and wealthy, one needs to be cautious, but this is not the case with merchants.

He was thinking in his mind that he would send people to the palace to mobilize the imperial guards. When the people arrived, he would order the arrest of the wealthy businessman surnamed Qin and his family and kill them directly.

By then, when the most beloved followers of Lord Du'e were killed because of the betrayal of these powerful people, how could he not vent his tremendous anger on them!

There are only 5,000 imperial guards in the Nando Palace, who are mainly used to guard the Nando Palace on weekdays. Both in size and combat effectiveness, they are far inferior to the garrison battalion.

But this imperial guard was dispatched directly by imperial order.

"Come here, take our token and go to the palace to gather two thousand imperial guards to come to the government office to listen to my orders."

"Yes!"

The two imperial guards took the order and left.

Since someone was sent to mobilize the imperial guards, he no longer had to worry about any conspiracies or intrigues of local officials or dignitaries.

The meal that Yan Qingzhi had prepared was served quickly and it was indeed very simple.

It was just a hot pot, steaming hot and filled with the strong aroma of chili oil, which was particularly attractive to the imperial envoys who had been riding horses all the way in the cold wind.

After asking someone to test whether the food was poisonous, these people began to eat it with relish.

They didn't notice at all that amidst the spicy aroma that filled the room, someone had put odorless incense in the stove and was quietly lighting it.

Before long, these people could no longer withstand the fatigue that permeated their bodies and fell into a deep sleep.

Yan Qingzhi pushed the door open with his trusted yamen runners and tied up all the people tightly.

In addition, all the dignitaries who were invited by Yan Qingzhi to the flower hall and were waiting and drinking tea, all fainted on the ground from the incense.

"Tie them all up, too!"

Yan Qing ordered several yamen runners who were absolutely loyal to him.

Yan Qingzhi himself walked towards Duke Dingguo, who was also drugged, and quickly tied him up with an iron chain.

(I haven’t finished writing yet. I’ll add another 2,000 around 2 o’clock.)

He knew that Duke Dingguo, like himself, had received the teachings from the temple master.

Not only does he have tremendous strength, but his speed is also two to three times that of an ordinary person.

Similarly, their physique is stronger than that of ordinary people.

Before he could be sure that Duke Dingguo was reliable, he had to tie him up as well.

Sure enough, his concerns were correct. As soon as he tied the man up, Duke Dingguo regained consciousness.

When he found himself tied up with iron chains, he tried to struggle first. However, when he realized that they were iron chains and he could not get them free at all, he stared at Yan Qingzhi with a gloomy expression.

"Yan Qingzhi, what do you mean?"

Yan Qingzhi bowed to him politely:

"I am trying to survive, please forgive me, Duke!"

Duke Dingguo's face, with its gray hair and ruddy skin, calmed down a little, and his tone became more moderate:

"We are all devout believers of Cihang Temple. Lord Yan, there is no need to be so wary of me."

Having said that, the gloomy and sharp look in his eyes still did not dissipate.

Yan Qingzhi was also not moved by this:

"Pious? Maybe not?"

"The Duke commands a large army and is a first-class duke. He is a top figure in Wei in terms of power and wealth. Even if His Majesty finds out that you have a connection with Cihang Temple, His Majesty will not touch you."

"In this case, I cannot guarantee whether the Duke will consider redeeming himself for meritorious service."

Duke Dingguo's eyes were as sharp as a knife, almost staring a hole in Yan Qingzhi's body.

"What do you want?"

Yan Qing's way:

"Don't worry, I dare not offend the Duke. But before I can prove that the Duke is trustworthy, I have to ask the Duke to stay in the government office first."

Duke Dingguo stared at Yan Qingzhi with a gloomy look as he left.

He actually underestimated Yan Qingzhi.

Unexpectedly, when the abbot's life and death were unknown, Yan Qingzhi, a scholar, could be so loyal and decisive.

Right now, the lives of both the imperial envoy and the dignitaries in Southern Capital are all in his hands.

In any case, it is enough to make the devout believers in Nandu City withdraw from Nandu City.

In fact, if handled properly, even if the disciples of Cihang Temple were captured, the hostages in his hands would allow them to escape safely.

Not long after, Yan Qingzhi brought people to the flower hall twice.

For the first time, he had the unconscious imperial envoy and the imperial guards moved into the flower hall.

The entire hall was packed with nearly fifty people, making it very crowded.

The second time, he had people carry a dozen Cuju-sized thunder bombs and place them in the few spaces between the crowd.

"Connect these thunder bombs with cotton thread."

Yan Qing gave the order.

The government office is neither a garrison nor an imperial guard, so it does not have many firearms in stock. These dozen or so thunder bombs are all they have.

Although Yan Qingzhi was a civil servant, he had heard that the power of the thunder bomb was not that great.

To be on the safe side, he ordered the yamen runners:

"Go get a few more barrels of kerosene for backup."

Soon, several large barrels of kerosene were delivered to the outside of the flower hall.

Duke Dingguo watched all this with a frown, knowing that his life was completely in the hands of this civil servant who he had thought was mediocre.

After everything was ready, Yan Qingzhi walked up to Duke Dingguo again and took the military token that he never left from his arms.

"Yan Qingzhi, what are you going to do! Stealing the military token is a capital crime punishable by the death of nine generations of your clan!"

Duke Dingguo shouted sternly as if he was facing a formidable enemy.

There was a desperate determination in Yan Qingzhi's eyes, but a gentle and elegant smile was on his face:

"What the Duke said, doesn't that mean that I won't be punished for what I did before?"

"As for what to do, of course, we will use the military order to ask General Zheng of Yangzhou to lead 10,000 naval forces of Yangzhou to come and help Cihang Temple to resolve the crisis in Nandu."

Duke Dingguo gritted his teeth.

Zheng Baizhan is originally a believer of Cihang Temple. When he sees the military order, he will definitely think that it is his intention and will definitely send troops to attack Nandu.

By then, he would not be able to wash away the crime of treason even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

Yan Qingzhi was forcing him to rebel for Cihang Temple!

"Yan Qingzhi, no matter how powerful the temple master is, he cannot defeat the imperial power and will most likely not be able to return safely. Why do you have to take such a risk and gamble your entire fortune and life!"

Yan Qingzhi did not argue with him and directly sent someone to Yangzhou at full speed.

Given Duke Dingguo's power and position, there is really no need to take such a risk.

But Yan Qingzhi did not have such a wide escape route. Now that things had come to this, he needed to gamble everything and give it his all.

Yangzhou is two hundred miles away from Nandu. Even if you travel day and night, it will take a day and a night to go back and forth.

Zheng Baizhan is bringing a large number of troops to support, so it will take even longer. He has to cheer up and get through this most dangerous time.

Two hours later, the imperial guards who were dispatched arrived outside the government office with two thousand imperial guards to report to Zhu Shan.

"After dinner, Eunuch Zhu said he was too tired and went to bed. If there is anything, we can talk tomorrow morning."

The imperial guards had no suspicion of his doing.

After all, the bodies of eunuchs are not as healthy as those of normal people, so it is normal for Eunuch Zhu to rest first because he can't bear it anymore.

However, by noon the next day, Zhu Shan had not shown up, and the imperial guards became suspicious.

Seeing that he could no longer hide the truth, Yan Qingzhi simply broke off relations with them.

Using the lives of Zhu Shan and dozens of dignitaries in Nandu as bargaining chips, he confronted these imperial guards.

Chen Qingzhu was somewhat surprised to see the palace hall filled with dignitaries from Southern Capital and the imperial envoys.

I never expected that Yan Qingzhi, who usually looks inconspicuous, would have such quick wit and courage.

Based on this talent and achievement, she had to change her original arrangement for the Yan family.

After making sure that Yan Qingzhi was safe and sound, Chen Qingzhu went to the Nandu Garrison Camp again.

When she saw the bound Duke Dingguo, she guessed that Yan Qingzhi would mobilize the navy from Yangzhou to rescue the Southern Capital from danger.

Even so, Chen Qingzhu was still determined to seize the troops of the Nandu Garrison Camp.

Zheng Baizhan's loyalty to her is not as pure as Zheng Yuannai's.

Adding the 10,000 soldiers that Zheng Yuannai had gathered from various sources, the Zheng father and son now had a total of 20,000 troops under their control.

She is a cultivator and spends most of her time practicing.

Then, what she passed on to Rong Niang could only be an ordinary mortal dynasty.

As a ruler, she inevitably has to consider the word "balance" in advance.

She needed additional military forces to check and balance the Zheng family.

Therefore, whether it was the Nando Garrison Camp or the Imperial Palace Guards, she had to keep them under control.

She had to go and look after Zhang Liu in person in case he was incompetent and delayed her plans.