The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

After a cup of tea.

Taiji Palace, Taiji Hall.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

Chu Xiu entered the main hall and bowed to Murong Si.

"Minister Chu, there's no need for such formalities. Someone, bring a seat."

Murong Si waved her hand and said to Chu Xiu.

A palace maid carried a chair and placed it opposite Murong Si's desk before quietly leaving.

Soon, only Chu Xiu, Murong Si, Pei Guanyin, and Jiang Wan'er remained in the main hall.

All the palace maids withdrew and closed the main hall doors.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After expressing his gratitude, Chu Xiu sat down in the chair.

"Minister Chu, I have summoned you to the palace today because of the matter of Yang Xuance."

"Yang Xuance will surely rebel. I have already ordered the Commander of the Shadow Guards to dispatch Shadow Guards to Yuzhou, Yanzhou, and Qingzhou to inform the governors of these three prefectures to be on guard against Yang Xuance."

"Only Yangzhou, because Minister Chu just quelled the rebellion of Xiao Yu, the leader of the Maitreya Sect."

“The Yangzhou garrison and state troops are still being recruited. Even if enough garrison and state troops have been recruited, they will not be able to withstand Yang Xuance without training.”

"If I were Yang Xuance, I would definitely choose to attack Yangzhou and completely take over the land of Yangzhou."

"After all, Yangzhou is wealthy and suitable for raising troops."

"Therefore, it is necessary to send someone to Yangzhou to oversee the situation."

"The only person I can use right now who has the ability to suppress Yang Xuance's rebellion is Minister Chu."

Murong Si pondered for a moment, then said to Chu Xiu, "Minister Chu, would you be willing to go to Yangzhou to oversee and suppress Yang Xuance's rebellion?"

"Your Majesty, I am willing."

Chu Xiu stood up, clasped his hands together, and said in a resounding voice.

"Very well, with Minister Chu's words, I am relieved!"

Murong Si said with a satisfied look on her face.

"Your Majesty, I will go ahead to Yangzhou."

"My Jinyiwei, with over nine thousand elite troops, followed closely behind. After suppressing Yang Xuance's rebellion, I also wanted to see if we could suppress the Huangtian Sect in Ji Province in one fell swoop and recover Ji Province for Your Majesty."

Chu Xiu considered for a moment, then spoke solemnly.

To be honest, when Murong Si summoned him to the palace, he had already guessed that it must be related to Yang Xuance.

only.

He did not intend to simply suppress Yang Xuance's rebellion, but rather to suppress the Yellow Heaven Sect in Ji Province as well.

He also wanted to see if his current strength was enough to accomplish this.

Of course, he cannot guarantee that he will be able to complete it.

After all, the Yellow Heaven Sect is not comparable to the Maitreya Sect.

The Yellow Heaven Warrior of the Yellow Heaven Sect has been completed. He had already seen the Yellow Heaven Warrior of the Yellow Heaven Sect before.

The exact number of Yellow Heaven Warriors possessed by the Yellow Heaven Sect was a secret, likely known only to its leader, Xiao Zhenting.

Besides the Yellow Heaven Warriors, the Yellow Heaven Sect also has the Yellow Heaven Divine General as its trump card.

Even if he couldn't suppress the Maitreya Sect, he could at least get a sense of the true strength of the Yellow Heaven Sect.

"Minister Chu, you can act according to the circumstances."

"The Yellow Heaven Sect and the Maitreya Sect are all different from Yang Xuance."

"The Yellow Heaven Sect has an extremely powerful foundation, so Minister Chu must remember not to be careless."

Upon hearing this, Murong Si frowned slightly and said...

"Wei Chen understands."

Chu Xiu said with a serious expression.

"In addition, I have some documents here that you may take a look at, Minister Chu."

"Even if it is Yang Xuance, Minister Chu should still be careful in dealing with him."

Murong Si picked up a document from the table and handed it to Chu Xiu.

Chu Xiu took the document and read it carefully and meticulously.

This document concerns a private army of the Yang family of Hongnong.

This private army numbered as many as 50,000.

It was with this private army that Yang Yan became a renowned military genius of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

This private army did not possess military formations, but rather a specific battle formation.

Zhoutian star formation!

This is the true foundation that enabled the Yang family of Hongnong to become the head of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans!

It is said that the formation diagram of the Zhou Tian Star Array was obtained along with the two world-shaking martial arts of the Yang family of Hongnong.

With this Zhou Tian Star Array, the power of the Zhou Tian stars can be drawn in, amplifying the strength of the entire army and causing their power to surge to an incredibly terrifying level.

After reading the document, Chu Xiu's face turned serious. The strength of the Hongnong Yang Clan was far greater than he had imagined.

This private army of 50,000 men was not in Yang Yan's residence, nor in the ancestral homeland of the Yang clan in Hongnong, so it must be in Xuzhou.

"Has Minister Chu finished reading this document?"

Murong Si saw Chu Xiu put down the document and asked him a question.

"Your Majesty, I have finished reading it all."

Chu Xiu said with a solemn expression.

"After reading this document, Minister Chu should have a certain understanding of the Hongnong Yang Clan, or rather, the power currently under Yang Xuance's control."

"However, I must point out that this document is actually from several decades ago."

"Since Yang Yan entered the imperial court, the private army of the Hongnong Yang clan, known as the Star Guard, has been completely hidden in the ancestral land of the Hongnong Yang clan."

"This time, when Minister Chu wiped out the ancestral land of the Yang family in Hongnong, he did not see any trace of the Star Guard, which means that this Star Guard must have been in Xuzhou for a long time."

Murong Si nodded slightly and said to Chu Xiu, "Because this information is from decades ago."

I am not entirely sure about the overall strength of this Star Guard force.

Even the Shadow Guards couldn't find out in a short time.

The exact number of Star Guardians—whether it's 50,000, 100,000, or even more—is currently unknown.

All of this requires Minister Chu to understand personally.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will be careful and cautious and will not let my guard down."

Chu Xiu said solemnly.

"Shadow Taotie".

Murong Si nodded slightly and said in a deep and powerful voice.

Swish!

Ying Taotie appeared out of thin air in the main hall of Taiji Palace and bowed respectfully to Murong Si, saying, "Ying Taotie greets Your Majesty."

"Ying Taotie, you will continue to follow Minister Chu and provide him with intelligence support."

Murong Si looked at Ying Taotie and said in a deep voice.

"Yes, Wei Chen obeys your order."

Ying Taotie said without hesitation.

"Minister Chu, the matter of Yangzhou is of utmost importance, so I will not keep you any longer."

Murong Si nodded slightly, looked at Chu Xiu, and said to him.

"Wei Chen retire."

Chu Xiu bowed and turned to leave.

Ying Taotie also bowed to Murong Si, and then disappeared into the main hall of Taiji Palace.

Jiang Wan'er personally escorted Chu Xiu out of the Taiji Palace main hall.

"Pei Guanyin, go to the Imperial Observatory to see your teacher and tell him about Chu Aiqing's trip to Yangzhou to take charge. Ask your teacher to come out of seclusion."

Watching Chu Xiu's figure disappear from sight, Murong Si pondered for a moment and said, "Although Minister Chu is already very strong, we must still make all preparations to avoid any accidents happening to him."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Pei Guanyin said respectfully.