Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

After hearing Na Laishun's explanation, Seng Qinlin really wanted to slap him.

But after seeing that Lai Shun's hands were broken, he suppressed the urge to slap him and continued to ask, "Where do those foreigners come from, and what are their purposes? Do you know?"

Na Lai Shun quickly gestured to his chest with his mouth: "The foreign chieftain gave me a letter, saying it was some kind of official document, and asked me to present it to you, and then pass it on to the Emperor."

Seng Qinlin tore open Na Laishun's breastplate, took out the letter of state that Shen Lang had handed over, and glanced at it.

Upon seeing this, his eyes widened in shock, and he couldn't bear it any longer, so he kicked Na Lai Shun over.

Lai Shun accidentally fell to the ground, looking puzzled, and asked, "Master Monk, what happened?"

"what happened?"

Seng Qinlin grabbed Na Laishun from the ground and glared at him fiercely: "Do you know who the foreign barbarians you're talking about are? They're from the State of Chu!"

His Majesty repeatedly warned you not to have any contact with the State of Chu, yet you still dared to accept their official letter?

"Damn it, if you want to die, don't drag me down with you! You piece of trash!"

Na Lai Shun stared in disbelief, muttering to himself, "The State of Chu? Why would they come here?"

"You bastard, stop pretending!"

Monk Qinlin swung his iron palm directly at Na Laishun's cheeks, slapping him left and right, making him spin like a top.

"Fuck you, you're going to kill me!"

After kicking Na Laishun to the ground with his last kick, Seng Qinlin sat back down at the main table, picked up the teapot on the table, and gulped down the tea.

Lai Shun, like a frightened bird, knelt on the ground, his face full of bewilderment.

He knew he had gotten himself into trouble, and if things went wrong, his whole family might be exiled to the frontier as soldiers.

Thinking of this, Na Laishun, with snot and tears streaming down his face, hugged Seng Qinlin's leg and said, "Master Seng, you must save me! I don't want my whole family to go to the Northeast to farm!"

Monk Qinlin gritted his teeth as he stared at Na Laishun. Now that he had also accepted the letter from the State of Chu, he knew that if Li Hong investigated, he would also face certain death.

Thinking of this, he suddenly asked, "Are you saying that the Chu army has occupied Huizhou?"

Na Laishun nodded and replied, "Not only Huizhou, but even Haizhou has been occupied."

Even Nie Shitu, the prefect of Haizhou, personally came to request assistance, which finally prompted Lord Suo to mobilize his elite troops to recapture Huizhou.

But who would have thought that this barbarian army was protected by demons? A burst of demonic magic caused the heavens and earth to tremble, and we were utterly powerless to resist.

"What kind of sorcery is this? It must be some kind of profound cultivation!"

Upon hearing this, Seng Qinlin fell into deep thought: "Could it be that there are experts in the Chu army who have surpassed the Immortal Realm? If so, that would explain the reason."

Na Laishun: "Master Monk, what do you suggest we do now? Huizhou has fallen, and the news will soon reach the capital. What if the Emperor blames us..."

Monk Qinlin raised his hand to stop him: "It's no use talking about this now. The most urgent task is to recapture Huizhou. I will organize the garrison troops from various places to march towards Huizhou."

Na Laishun: "But what if the imperial court investigates without a transfer order?"

Seng Qinlin: "You don't need to worry about that. As long as Huizhou can be recovered, it will be easier to talk to His Majesty."

After saying this, he immediately ordered his deputy, Tu Hai, to gather the garrison troops from various locations and head towards Huizhou...

Seng Qinlin was quite organized. In just one night, he gathered 3,000 elite cavalry from the military camp and 1,000 cavalry from the outer vassal states stationed in the south of the pass, and combined them with 5,000 garrison troops from various places, for a total of 9,000 people who marched towards Huizhou in a grand procession.

As a result, when they arrived at the city of Huizhou after a three-day march, they learned that the Chu army had already left Huizhou by boat. At this time, the outer city of Huizhou was deserted, and the people had fled to Haizhou. Only the families of the military camp in the inner city remained.

Thus, without losing a single soldier, the monk Qinlin successfully "recaptured" Huizhou.

He had thought that a bloody battle would be needed to achieve this feat, but the process was unexpectedly easy. Naturally, Seng Qinlin had to report his achievements to the court.

His memorial to the throne, praising his achievements, reads: "His Majesty is in good health. On the southern coast, foreign barbarians invaded our palace. The barbarians were powerful, and before the local troops in Huizhou could react, their defenses were breached."

Prefect Zhao Qingshan of Huizhou, Governor-General Suo Yin of the three prefectures, and the remnants of the military camp were surrounded by the main force and died heroically. Fortunately, your servant was ordered to send troops to their aid.

They concentrated their forces at one point, routing the foreign invaders and annihilating over a thousand of them, burning four warships, and finally driving them back into the sea, thus recapturing Huizhou.

Huizhou is now at peace, Your Majesty, please rest assured. Furthermore, this humble servant wishes Your Majesty a long and healthy life, as enduring as the Southern Mountains and as enduring as the heavens.

After finishing writing it, he ordered it to be sent directly to the capital by express courier.

It wasn't that Seng Qinlin was being modest and didn't dare to write too many numbers, but rather that writing too many would easily arouse Li Hong's suspicion.

Having done all this, in accordance with the Wu Zhao Army's custom that they could plunder for three days on the day the city was breached, they immediately began to implement it.

However, the people of the outer city of Huizhou had already fled without a trace, thanks to Shen Lang's propaganda.

Seeing that tradition cannot be followed, it is hard to accept.

But soon, Seng Qinlin turned his attention to the families of the dead military officers and soldiers in the inner city.

"I almost forgot, before Wu Zhao entered the pass, the tradition was that as long as you could collect the bodies of your dead comrades, you could get half of their property. Those women and houses were also property."

Since Huizhou City is already empty, no one will say anything if we take these military camp families and wealth for ourselves. At worst, we can just blame it on the Chu army.

Seng Qinlin's words immediately ignited the deep-seated flaws in the bones of these military officers and soldiers.

"Warriors, go and have some fun!"

"roar~"

The next moment, four thousand soldiers from the military camp and the outer vassal states rushed towards the inner city.

The five thousand local garrison troops, however, were not qualified to participate in this grand feast and could only watch helplessly from within Huizhou City.

Little did they know that while Seng Qinlin was rewarding the army for "recapturing" an empty city and reporting the victory to the court, Shen Lang had already led his fleet in a fierce attack on the navy and coastal fortresses in the Minzhou sea area.

The barrage of artillery fire, as deafening as the sun, instantly sank all the ships of the Minzhou Navy.

As for the coastal defense fortresses, they had already been reduced to ruins in the first salvo from the two battleships of Jinling and Chang'an.

Seeing the beach filled with Chu soldiers who had landed, Yan Yinglong, the commander of the Minzhou garrison, realized that the situation was hopeless and immediately drew his sword and committed suicide.

After his death, the more than 1,000 coastal defense officers and soldiers who had lost their organization immediately scattered and fled.

From the start of the battle to the capture of the coastal fortress, it only took two hours in total.

After the coastal fortress was captured, Lü Meng personally led a battalion of troops to launch a fierce attack on Minzhou City.

After suffering 93 casualties in a round of artillery fire, the defenders of Minzhou abandoned the city and fled.

Upon learning of the arrival of the Chu army, Fang Boqian, the prefect of Minzhou, abandoned the city overnight and fled to the neighboring Lingzhou. He then promptly submitted a memorial to Shengjing, requesting the court to send troops to his aid immediately.

Meanwhile, in Shengjing City, Li Hong's birthday was approaching, and the entire imperial city was filled with a joyous atmosphere.

To ensure that Li Hong could enjoy his birthday without any worries, Fu Chang'an suppressed all unfavorable memorials from various regions, intending to submit them all after the birthday celebration.