Before the house is confiscated, the enemy's warehouse is emptied and exiled

Zhang De immediately became uneasy after hearing this question. His face turned pale and his body trembled slightly.

Then, he knelt on his knees and shouted with a hint of panic in his voice:

"Forgive my incompetence, but I have not yet received any information about their exact location.

And...and it seems that all the secret guards we sent to spy on their whereabouts have disappeared inexplicably!"

Hearing this, Xiao Mo, who was sitting on the stone bench, suddenly burst into a sinister laugh, "Hahahaha!"

The laughter drifted in the empty garden, making people shudder.

Zhang De's heart tightened. He clearly heard the fury hidden behind the laughter. So he quickly buried his head deep into the ground, not daring to raise his head even once.

After a long while, Xiao Mo finally spoke again and asked:

"When fires broke out all over Jiangdu County, where were Xiao Heng and his gang?"

Zhang De frowned and thought hard, then answered uncertainly:

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, they seem to have just passed through Jiangdu County not long ago, but there is currently no information indicating that they have stopped there."

At this point, Zhang De suddenly seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly realized it. He added with a look of astonishment:

"Your Majesty, do you suspect that this matter is related to them? This... this shouldn't be possible, right?

Although it is possible for them to destroy one of our secret villages with their abilities, if they want to uproot all of them overnight, it would probably take some kind of evil magic to do that!

But... then again, under normal circumstances, the poison in the Fifth Prince's body shouldn't have lasted as long as Jiangdu County! Could it be... could it be that they have truly mastered some mysterious and unfathomable evil technique?"

Xiao Mo fell into silence at this moment, his eyes were fierce and his brows were furrowed.

He inexplicably felt as if there was an invisible thread that closely connected everything that happened with Shen Qingge.

This woman was truly amazing. She had led everyone to escape his carefully planned hunts many times, and each time she was able to launch a counterattack at just the right moment and hit his sore spot.

Thinking of this, Xiao Mo couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. Since strangulation failed, was he just going to let it go and let the situation continue to develop?

Perhaps we can consider removing the fiefdom of the fifth brother and making him lose power, which may make it easier to suppress him.

However, this thought only flashed through his mind for a moment, as he had just ascended the throne and, in order to smoothly take the throne, he had already killed a large number of opponents in order to make his succession appear reasonable and legitimate.

Today, there are still constant rumors in the outside world, accusing him of killing his father and usurping the throne to become emperor. If he is now burdened with the notoriety of being intolerant of his own brother and harming his siblings, he will probably lose the support of the people.

What's more, if they really mastered some strange and unpredictable evil magic, once they were forced into a desperate situation and rebelled, the consequences would be unimaginable and would surely bring him endless troubles and worries.

To make matters worse, the treasury was empty and the troops in the imperial city were severely understaffed, leaving them completely unable to cope with a possible large-scale rebellion. After weighing the pros and cons, Xiao Mo knew that for now, he had no choice but to endure.

Then, he broke the silence and said, "Go and handle two important tasks for me. This is your last chance. If you fail, come back to me with your head!"

"Your Majesty, please give me your orders. Even if it costs me my life, I will definitely fulfill your trust!"

Zhang De was still kneeling beside him, and spoke with a hint of panic in his voice.

"Well, let me start with the first thing. I will draft an imperial edict ordering the majority of the Northern Guard Army to return to the capital immediately, leaving only 100,000 soldiers to continue guarding the northern border, ready to be dispatched by me at any time.

Although the Tiger Tally has fallen into my hands, I am worried that those guys are only obedient on the surface, but secretly harboring ulterior motives and pretending to obey! "

Xiao Mo frowned, a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Yes! I will definitely get this done!" Zhang De responded quickly.

"And the second thing is, you must quickly contact our insider in Nanhai County and make sure to closely monitor the actions of the Fifth Prince Xiao Heng and the Shen family.

"Remember not to act rashly, lest you alert the enemy. If there are any unusual circumstances, you must report them to me immediately!"

Xiao Mo put his hands behind his back and continued to give instructions in a serious tone.

"Yes, Your Majesty, don't worry. I understand the interests involved and will arrange it right away!" After Zhang De answered respectfully, he stood up and was about to leave.

"Wait!" Xiao Mo suddenly shouted.

Zhang De was startled and hurriedly stopped. He turned around and asked, "I wonder if Your Majesty has any other instructions?"

"I'm in a very depressed mood right now..." Xiao said slowly, his face full of gloom.

"Oh... forgive my stupidity, Your Majesty, please explain clearly." Zhang De responded cautiously.

"Hmph! You idiot! Hurry up and ask Consort Shu to come and keep me company. Oh, and call Consort Zhang Zhaoyi, Consort Wu, and the others as well. Have them wash up and serve me well!"

Xiao Heng waved his hand impatiently.

Hearing this, Zhang Deru nodded repeatedly as if he had been pardoned:

"Yes, yes, I will do it right away! I will ensure that all the ladies come to serve Your Majesty as quickly as possible."

After saying this, he left in a hurry.

Xiao Mo's expression finally eased a little, and he stood up and walked towards the inner hall.

Before long, bursts of laughter and the coquettish voices of women could be heard from the inner hall. Xiao Heng was surrounded by women on both sides, feeling very happy.

The concubines tried their best to please the emperor, and the entire inner hall was filled with a lewd atmosphere. They indulged themselves in broad daylight without any hesitation.

……

Meanwhile, on the long southbound road, Xiao Heng led the entire team towards Lingnan. They always maintained a pre-set pace, neither fast nor slow, but without any slackness.

Along the way, from time to time, there would appear in groups of three or two, with mysterious whereabouts, as well as secret guards who were spying and gathering intelligence.

However, these ill-intentioned individuals posed no real threat to the team. Yun Yi and his team of experts eliminated the assassins and secret guards one by one, leaving no hidden dangers.

At the same time, the situation on the exile team's side gradually improved.

Thanks to Xiao Heng's conciliatory policy, the lives of the exiles were improved to a certain extent.

Everyone took advantage of this rare opportunity to purchase various items to withstand the severe cold, and also stored a lot of food along the way.