The emperor faked his death? Never mind, I will ascend the throne directly!

The entire imperial city is now loose on the outside but tight on the inside, and the deployment of a large number of soldiers has attracted the attention of the old emperor.

In the secret room, he ordered the shadow guard to secretly investigate the reasons behind Song Weiyu's actions.

The shadow guard soon found out the truth and reported it to the old emperor immediately.

"Your Majesty, Lord Wei and Lord Zheng of Jiangnan Prefecture are actually raising private soldiers. Lord Song is preparing for the worst."

The old emperor clenched his fists with his hands behind his back. He had investigated their corruption during his reign, but he had no idea that they were so bold as to raise private soldiers!

But he couldn't deal with them now, so he could only pin his hopes on the little brat.

Thinking of this, he gave orders to Wei Wuji and Shangguan Yun, asking them to quickly go and support Li Chengfeng.

As for Jiang Long, after escorting the treasure into the capital, he rushed to Li Chengfeng again.

Jiangnan Province

In the Zezhou government office, after Li Chengfeng and Tiezhu planned the route back to Beijing, they began to discuss how to sneak back to Beijing without being noticed by Zheng Yingtong and Wei Du.

Although this is a cowardly approach, it minimizes casualties.

"Your Majesty, why don't we try to escape again?" Tiezhu suggested.

"No, these two old foxes are too shrewd, and the substitutes will be easily discovered." Li Chengfeng disagreed.

"Then let's fight them!"

"The current situation is not favorable to us. We must not advance rashly."

"Let me secretly kill those two bastard officials, and then we can go home."

"They are surrounded by many experts. You can't get close to them at all."

"This won't work, and that won't work either. What should we do then?" Tie Zhu was at his wit's end. "If only Lord Chen were here. He's so smart, he'd definitely be able to help Your Majesty."

Chen Tingshu? Yes, you can use this method!

Looking at the suddenly excited Li Chengfeng, Tie Zhu asked in confusion: "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

"Tiezhu, you've helped me a lot."

After saying this, he immediately wrote a letter to Chen Tingshu, saying, "I have discovered that Zheng Yingtong and Wei Du have raised private soldiers. In order to avoid being exposed, I have decided to return to the capital first."

"Unfortunately, Zheng and Wei are keeping a close watch on me. If I want to return to the capital safely, I need a major incident to hold them back."

"I'm certain that the Qingshan Weapon Foundry was founded by Zheng Yingtong and his men. Exposing the foundry now will attract their attention."

"At that time, I will leave Jiangnan Prefecture by water and then take a detour back to the capital."

Put the letter in an envelope and have the secret guard deliver it to Chen Tingshu.

Then there's the waiting.

"Your Majesty, if you expose the matter of weapon casting now, aren't you afraid that those two old guys will do something desperate?" Tiezhu asked worriedly.

"Once they learn the news over there, they'll just try to keep it secret and not let me know." Li Chengfeng took a sip of tea and continued, "While they're busy, let's return to the capital immediately."

After receiving Li Chengfeng's secret letter, Chen Tingshu directly changed his strategy to deal with the enemy.

He ordered his men to detain those members of the Changsheng Sect and not allow them to show up.

Then he discussed with Xiong Haikuo how to expose the cave naturally.

"This is easy. Let's say that some villagers went up the mountain to collect herbs and accidentally discovered a cave. When they went in, they found weapons." Xiong Haikuo waved his hand and thought this method was great.

"Ordinary villagers would not go deep into the dense forest to collect herbs. This method is not feasible." Chen Tingshu felt that it was not rigorous.

"Then let's use hunters. Hunters hunt all year round and can go anywhere. That should be okay, right?" Xiong Haikuo said.

"The hunter is okay, but time is running out, so let's give it a try." Chen Tingshu made the decision.

Then they found a loud-voiced soldier and asked him to pretend to be a hunter.

"This mission isn't difficult, but it's very dangerous. Hide first. Don't start shouting until you see the weapons carriers coming up the mountain."

"Run towards them while shouting, but don't let them catch you." Chen Tingshu instructed carefully.

"Once you've gotten rid of them, sneak back and see if they start to lose their composure."

"Yes, I understand." The loud-voiced soldier took his leave.

On the day when the weapons were delivered, the fake hunter went up the mountain and hid early in the morning.

When he saw a group of people pushing carts, he immediately ran out and shouted: "Oh no! The cave ahead has collapsed!"

He shouted and ran, his voice floating in the dense forest.

After those people heard clearly what the hunter shouted, they immediately ran towards the cave.

After discovering that the cave had not collapsed, they exclaimed, "Oh no, we've been cheated."

"Check to see if the weapons are still there," said the team leader.

The faster runner in front replied, "The weapons are still there, but there's no one inside!"

The team leader felt a buzzing in his head and instantly realized that he had been exposed.

He hurriedly sent people to chase the hunter who had just run down the mountain, and the rest of the people hurried back to report to their master.

If what happens here gets out, they will all lose their heads!

The fake hunter was lying on a big tree in the distance, watching them run back in a panic without even taking the cart.

After waiting for a while, he climbed down the tree, changed out of his hunter's clothes, and went back to report.

"Well done!" Xiong Haikuo praised the soldier.

"It's all thanks to the general's education." The soldier grinned at Xiong Haikuo.

"Good boy, go ahead." Xiong Haikuo slapped the soldier on the back of the head.

Chen Tingshu passed the news to Li Chengfeng and said to Xiong Haikuo, "We have to go find His Majesty. One more person means a better chance of victory. We must accompany His Majesty through this difficult time!"

"I, Old Xiong, had the same idea. Let's go!" Xiong Haikuo said and went out to call the troops.

After explaining his work to County Magistrate Gao, Chen Tingshu followed the main force.

By the time we hurried to Zezhou Prefecture, the sun had already set.

At this time, Li Chengfeng, Lu Wen and Zhao Sheng were all there. After they greeted each other, Li Chengfeng asked them to rest first.

After they rested for a while, Lu Wen had already instructed the kitchen to prepare the meal.

After everyone sat down around the table, Chen Tingshu toasted Lu Wen: "I've heard of Mr. Lu for a long time, and seeing him today, I can see that he's truly extraordinary."

"I am ashamed." After saying this, Lu Wen clinked his wine glass with Chen Tingshu's, and they both drank it in one gulp.

After a few rounds of toasts, the atmosphere gradually became warmer.

Li Chengfeng said to Lu Wen, "Lord Lu, you've suffered a lot of grievances in this Jiangnan Prefecture. I remember them all and will avenge them all for you in the future!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Tears glistened in Lu Wen's eyes.

Fortunately, he persevered and waited for someone to help him redress his grievances!

"Don't worry, Lord Lu, we will definitely rescue your mother." Zhao Sheng clinked glasses with Lu Wen and drank from them.

Chen Tingshu, who was standing by, also had a drink to show his support.

Lu Wen was so moved that he was speechless and could only raise his glass again and again.

"I feel your kindness. Once this matter is resolved, I will thank Your Majesty and all my colleagues."

It had been a long time since he had drunk so much.

The heavy stone in his heart finally showed signs of loosening, which gave him new life!