The empress disliked my achievements for overshadowing her own, so she turned her attention to the N

Qin Qingmin felt Chen Nan's terrifying gaze and involuntarily took a step back, trembling as she said, "Chen Nan, what...what do you want to do!"

Chen Nan strode up to Qin Qingmin, grabbed him, and said viciously, "If you want to live, you'd better stay quietly to the side."

After making the threat, he threw him away.

Chen Nan hasn't made a move against Qin Qingmin yet, entirely because of the unknown forces behind him.

He always felt that the unknown forces behind him would cause trouble in the future.

Leaving them behind would also allow them to gain a better understanding of that force.

When Chen Nan returned to Hong Ze's side, Changsun Du was followed by two eunuchs, each carrying a tray containing the silver bar items he had requested.

However, all those silver items were very thick and could not be easily transformed into something like a silver needle in a short period of time.

Helpless, everyone could only watch as Chen Nan stretched out his hands and quickly tapped various parts of Hong Ze's body.

Changsun Du asked in confusion, "What is Your Highness doing?"

Chen Nan sighed: "What you brought is completely different from what I expected. I can only seal General Hongze's bloodline for now, and then treat him after it is burned."

Changsun Du nodded thoughtfully.

"Eunuch Wang," Chen Nan spoke again.

As soon as he finished speaking, Eunuch Wang quickly came up behind Chen Nan: "Your Highness, what are your orders?"

"Go and fetch paper and pen. I will draw out what you need."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Wang turned around and threw the person out of the main hall.

Watching him walk out of the main hall, Chen Nan rubbed his forehead wearily.

The current situation has far exceeded his expectations.

The Empress Dowager fell into a coma, Hongze was seriously injured, and the only civil official who could be relied upon was Changsun Du.

Among the military officers, none of them listened to him at all.

Then there's Qingyu, who remained unmoved despite Chen Nan's repeated probing.

At this moment, Chen Nan remembered that Wu Xu had also been injured by Liu Ban Gua.

Turning around, he saw Wu Xu lying next to the general, with no one helping him up.

Chen Nan quickly came to his side and breathed a sigh of relief after carefully sensing his condition.

Wu Xu was in much better condition than Hong Ze; he was only injured and his breathing was somewhat uneven.

Chen Nan snorted coldly: "You really are good ministers of my Northern Wei, watching your comrades lie on the ground and doing nothing."

Upon hearing this, most of the military officers lowered their heads, not daring to look at Chen Nan.

Instead, Qingyu coldly replied, "What are you saying, Prince Zhennan?"

"Nowadays, if Wu Xu is the Empress Dowager's man, we will naturally lend him a hand."

"But isn't Wu Xu one of your men, Prince Zhennan? Do you, Prince Zhennan, such a powerful and outstanding figure, really need the help of insignificant people like us?"

"If we really take action, wouldn't that embarrass you, Prince Zhennan?"

"That's right. You, Prince Zhennan, are such a powerful figure, wantonly slaughtering civil and military officials in the court. If we really take action, wouldn't that be telling everyone that you, Prince Zhennan, are incompetent?"

"I'll wait for the second opinion!"

Because of Qingyu's words, the civil and military officials did not view Chen Nan with a friendly expression.

"Do you really think I did all this for my own benefit?"

Chen Nan raised his head and glanced at everyone, his face cold as he said in a chilling voice, "As I just said."

"The delegation from Western Shu consisted of three generations of a grandfather and grandson, with the grandson being an extraordinary talent cultivated by Eastern Qin."

"That makes two countries, plus the Great Qian in the south."

"As everyone knows, the Daqian Dynasty has always been at odds with our Northern Wei Dynasty."

"If this really triggers a war between several countries, do you think the Great Qian Dynasty will stand idly by?"

"Don't forget, there is still a barbarian tribe in the territory of my Northern Wei."

"This tribe was forced to sue for peace by the late emperor, but were they truly sincere in their desire for peace?"

"They only submitted to the jurisdiction of Northern Wei because they coveted the power of the late emperor and had no other choice!"

"There's another great literary nation, the Southern Tang, in the southwest. Do you really think that just because someone is a great literary nation, they won't go out to fight?"

The next second, Chen Nan suddenly stood up: "I'm going to tell you the truth today."

"If anyone does not wish to continue serving as an official of my Northern Wei, they may leave now. I will later instruct the Imperial Guards in the palace to make way for you to depart."

"If you still want to do your part for my Northern Wei, then put aside your wariness of me and temporarily set aside your personal grudges."

"Now that I've said this much, I'll give you ten breaths to consider. Those who wish to leave, leave now; I will not stop you!"

After speaking, both Wen and Wu fell into deep thought.

No one standing here is a fool.

They all knew that Chen Nan's words weren't very pleasant to hear, but the reasoning behind them was sound.

With the Northern Wei in a weak position, other countries certainly wouldn't just stand by and watch. Even the Southern Tang, which had the weakest overall national strength, would try to get involved and share some of the benefits.

Chen Nan ignored everyone else and focused on treating Wu Xu. Fortunately, Wu Xu's injuries were not serious, and under Chen Nan's care, he quickly stood up again. Although he was not as energetic as before, he still had basic execution abilities.

After Wu Xu stood up, he said with a flushed face, "Your Highness, I have embarrassed you."

Chen Nan patted him on the shoulder: "It's alright, I saw it. You are very brave and a qualified general."

He then said in a cold voice, "Gentlemen, have you made up your minds?"

Several civil officials exchanged glances and then stepped forward at the same time, saying, "Your Highness, after careful consideration, we believe that the current Northern Wei is not suitable for our governing philosophy. We would be grateful if Your Highness would keep your word and allow us to leave."

Chen Nan chuckled coldly a few times and said repeatedly, "Very well, I will keep my word."

After speaking, he turned to the side of the military officers and asked, "What? Doesn't anyone want to leave?"

Just as the military general was pondering, Liu Banggua, who was slumped on the ground, suddenly burst into laughter: "Are you all so stupid? You believe whatever Chen Nan says? Do you really think he'll let you leave safely?"

Chen Nan raised an eyebrow. Indeed, he did not intend to let this group of people leave.

In times of chaos, harsh measures are necessary. Now that the Northern Wei Dynasty has entered a period of chaos, he will naturally not show any mercy.

For a moment, the civil officials who had already stepped forward looked at Chen Nan with uncertain eyes.

One of them asked in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, is what Liu Bangua said true? Your Highness really won't let us leave?"

Chen Nan chuckled twice: "Don't worry, everyone. I always keep my word. If I say I'll let you leave, I definitely won't go back on my word."

Only after receiving his assurance did the group of civil officials breathe a sigh of relief.

"Qingyu, you are considered a pillar of our Northern Wei military force. Do you have any thoughts of leaving?"

Chen Nan spoke expressionlessly.

Qingyu was taken aback; he hadn't expected that Chen Nan would ask him the first question.