Aunt Chen is back from the world of cultivation

I originally thought that Qingzhou was not too far from Xuzhou, and perhaps it wouldn’t be long before the God’s army would march directly north.

At that time, they would naturally open the city and surrender.

Who would have thought that the Du'e Army did not go directly north, but went northwest to Henan Province.

They waited for more than two months, and were extremely worried that something might happen.

After much difficulty, the Du'e Army came out of Henan Province, returned to Qi and Lu, and accepted the surrender of Yanzhou.

The two were overjoyed as they were finally approaching their Qingzhou.

They got news that the Du'e Army had leaked the news that the next stop would be Qingzhou.

They quickly sent people to investigate the whereabouts of the Du'e Army, intending to prepare a banquet and go out of the city to welcome them when the Du'e Army was about seventy or eighty miles away.

The long-awaited event was finally about to arrive, and the two of them couldn't help but feel uneasy.

They were worried that they could not surrender like other surrendered officials, and even that the God of Du'e would not accept their surrender at all.

He was also worried that his own men would betray him, so he handed over these two superiors as a token of his allegiance.

The more anxious you are, the longer time seems.

Finally, at the beginning of the afternoon, the spies they sent out came back.

The two stood up at the same time and asked impatiently:

"The Du'e Army is coming?"

The spy was an ordinary garrison soldier in Qingzhou, and he was very sorry about the information he had obtained.

He said with a sad face:

"Reporting to the Lord, no. The Du'e Army went to Jeju Prefecture."

The Qingzhou prefect and the lieutenant general immediately looked unacceptable:

"impossible!"

"Didn't there was a rumor earlier that the Du'e Army was heading to Qingzhou? Why did they suddenly go to Jeju Prefecture?"

They were all ready to host the Du'e Army in Qingzhou to celebrate the New Year.

"Yes, who knows how long it will take them to go to Jeju Prefecture!"

The spy said:

"Because the governor and lieutenant general of Jeju led their men two hundred miles out of the city to welcome the Du'e Army."

"General Hui'an thought that the governor and the lieutenant general of Jeju were sincere and commendable, so he went to Jeju Prefecture!"

The Qingzhou prefect and the lieutenant general first looked as if they were struck by lightning, and then they gritted their teeth.

The Qingzhou lieutenant general spat fiercely with anger on his face:

"Bah! I didn't expect that the governor of Jizhou and the lieutenant general were so shameless! General Hui'an had clearly leaked the news long ago and said he would come to our Qingzhou first, but they actually intercepted him halfway!"

The Qingzhou prefect was also so angry that his chest heaved up and down:

"I have never seen such flattering and shameless people! These people are really reading the books of sages in vain!"

The two men angrily scolded the governor of Jeju and the lieutenant general of Jeju, and then they remembered the important matter:

Jeju Prefecture is much closer to the capital than Qingzhou.

Moreover, the Du'e Army has already occupied many places in Henan Province, so it is not impossible for them to go directly north from Jeju Prefecture.

Then wouldn’t their Qingzhou Prefecture be left behind?

Thinking of this, the two of them could no longer sit still.

He quickly took a group of people to Jeju Prefecture to meet General Hui'an and express his sincerity in submitting to the God.

*

Hui'an led his troops northward, and the journey was incredibly smooth.

She had followed her father and brothers around before, and had read various history books and military books, but she had never seen such a strange sight:

Officials from state and county towns encountered along the way almost all rushed to surrender.

Although she suspected every city was a trap set by the Wei court, she only entered the city after careful investigation.

But the final results of each city proved that she was overthinking.

These officials of the Great Wei really want to submit to the God sincerely.

They do whatever they are told to do and are as obedient as a group of little sheep.

Along the way, apart from suppressing the long-entrenched bandits and killing some bullies, she hardly ever fought a serious battle.

Every time she left a prefecture, she would be greeted by the political or military chief of the next prefecture, each one more heartfelt than the last.

All of these people were vying to surrender to the God.

*

Capital

Imperial Study Room in the Palace of Heavenly Purity

Pei Xuan held a scroll of articles and politely stuffed some silver into the eunuch at the gate of the Qianqing Palace, asking him to go and pass on the message.

"Eunuch, please inform His Majesty that I have written a new article and would like to ask His Majesty to review and give me some advice!"

He had just turned thirteen and had grown a lot taller.

Dressed in a scarlet cloak with a white fur collar and a golden and jade crown, with delicate features and a heroic air, he was truly captivating as he stood under the clear sky after the snow.

The eunuch received the reward and thought that Pei Xuan was always favored, so he immediately ran to report to Emperor Yong'an.

However, as soon as he entered the imperial study, he was hit by an inkstone flying towards him.

Blood immediately oozed from his forehead, but he didn't care at all and quickly knelt down and begged for mercy.

Emperor Yong'an, who was sitting at the top of the table, stared at him gloomily, and squeezed out two words from between his teeth:

"What's the matter?"

The eunuch said tremblingly:

"Your Majesty, Mr. Pei II wants to see you. He said he has a new article and would like your advice..."

He thought that since the Second Master Pei was so favored by His Majesty and behaved so ambitiously, His Majesty's gloomy mood would definitely improve.

But then there was a shocking silence in the room.

After a long while, the voice of Emperor Yong'an, which could almost turn water into ice, reached my ears:

"Tell him to get lost!"

The eunuch who delivered the message left quickly as if he had been pardoned.

Considering that Pei Xuan had always been favored, he did not convey the Emperor Yong'an's words, but said tactfully:

"Second Master Pei, His Majesty is in a bad mood. You should come back another day."

Pei Xuan was shocked when he saw that the eunuch who delivered the message had a bloody hole the size of a red date on his forehead and his body was covered in ink.

Knowing that the other party had suffered this misfortune because he helped him pass on a message, he quickly comforted him with a gentle voice, gave him some silver, and personally took him to find the palace physician who specialized in treating eunuchs.

Although this eunuch was only a eunuch who delivered messages in the Qianqing Palace, he was not someone he could easily offend.

Pei Xuan has always been considerate towards people he cannot afford to offend.

Of course, he was so attentive because he was trying to get some information.

"Eunuch, His Majesty has always been gentle, why is he so furious?"

He never missed any opportunity to please Emperor Yong'an.

Although an angry Majesty is very dangerous, if he knew the whole story and could help, His Majesty would definitely value him more.

The eunuch was moved by Pei Xuan's "courtesy to the wise and humble" and lowered his voice and said:

"This will cost you your life, so I will only tell you, Master Pei. Please don't tell anyone else."

Pei Xuan nodded quickly.

The eunuch continued:

"It should be that the war is not going well. The Jinyiwei just sent in the military situation report."

Pei Xuan frowned and lowered his voice to ask:

"My Lord, do you know what the current situation of the war in Wei is?"

Emperor Yong'an issued an order that no one in the capital, whether officials or civilians, was allowed to talk about the war and rebellion, and anyone who violated the order would be executed immediately.

What’s even more cruel is that everyone can monitor and expose each other, and those who expose others can be rewarded.

Although the reward each time was only ten taels of silver.

But ten taels of silver was already a huge sum of money for many servants and ordinary people.

This is equivalent to giving Emperor Yong'an many spies and eyes that can penetrate everywhere.

Under such a strict order, everyone was in danger and no one dared to talk about war and rebellion.

Many ordinary people and officials in the capital were unaware of the situation outside the capital.

The same is true for people like Pei Xuan who have no roots in the palace.

The eunuch also didn't know, or even if he knew he didn't dare to say it. He just shook his head when he heard it.

Pei Xuan felt that it was common to have winners and losers on the battlefield. It was impossible for a country as big as Wei to be unable to suppress a few makeshift peasant uprisings.

However, it is time for him to take out his most valuable bargaining chip.

He presented an improved version of the gunpowder formula, which made the Wei army seem to have divine help. How could Your Majesty not respect and be grateful to him!

Who knows, he might just grant him a title out of sheer pleasure.