Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 148 The Last Disguise, Before the Sweep

"Foster father, His Majesty wouldn't really want to attack Hulong Villa, would he?"

"Yes, foster father, you have worked tirelessly to eliminate those corrupt officials and traitors who colluded with foreign enemies within the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commandery. Your Majesty, simply out of fear, has taken away the Red Book of Iron and the Imperial Sword. This is truly excessive."

Duan Tianya and Shangguan Haitang were talking to each other, expressing their worries about Zhu Wusi and their dissatisfaction with the emperor.

Zhu Wusi sighed deeply, "As the Son of Heaven, he must balance the forces of all parties and not let any one side become too strong or too weak. Only in this way can his position be secure."

"So, His Majesty is so eager to take back the military power, the imperial seal, and the imperial sword because he feels that you, my foster father, and the power of Hulong Villa have completely surpassed that of other court institutions and have become the greatest threat to the imperial power?"

"Ah."

"You speak well."

Zhu Wusi turned around, his face still looking worried, yet he looked like he had to comfort Duan Tianya and Shangguan Haitang. "This is also the most difficult part of being a minister. We have to be loyal and protect ourselves at the same time, and we can't let His Majesty see us as a threat."

"Otherwise, you will be reduced from a chess piece to a discarded piece."

"Am I not the best example now?"

"But godfather, you haven't done anything wrong. Your Majesty has taken back the imperial edict and the imperial sword bestowed by the late emperor without any basis and just based on suspicion. Aren't you afraid that the ministers will be disappointed?" Shangguan Haitang still had an indignant look on her face, and she almost scolded the emperor for being too suspicious.

Duan Tianya also frowned.

No more privileges of the imperial seal and the imperial sword.

Huolong Villa is like a tiger without teeth and claws.

Not to mention confronting Cao Zhengchun of the East Factory, they couldn't even carry out many tasks and intelligence.

Zhu Wusi pretended not to hear and smiled bitterly, "I don't know what your Majesty is thinking either. The emperor's mind is hard to predict. The only thing I can do now is to hope that your Majesty will not be deceived and that Cao Zhengchun will not control the government. Otherwise, our Ming Dynasty... will be in danger!"

"if……"

A ferocious look flashed in Zhu Wusi's eyes. He looked at the three adopted sons and daughters in front of him whom he had personally raised, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Shangguan Haitang caught the change in Zhu Wusi's expression and asked cautiously, "Godfather, what did you want to say just now?"

"nothing."

Zhu Wusi shook his head and said, "You guys go back first."

"Although I have been stripped of my Imperial Sword and Red Book of Iron Certificate, I am still here, and Hulong Villa will not fall. Even if it costs me my life, I will never sit idly by and watch Cao Zhengchun disrupt the government!"

In the end, Zhu Wusi did not express his ambition in a tactful way.

Even though Duan Tianya, Shangguan Haitang and Gui Hai Yidao were all raised by him since childhood and were loyal to him, Zhu Wusi still couldn't trust them 100%.

"Yes, foster father."

Duan Tianya and Shangguan Haitang looked at each other, and although they were worried, they still bowed and left.

After leaving Hulong Villa, Duan Tianya and Shangguan Haitang looked at the familiar scenery, feeling a little bewildered for a moment. "Brother, Yidao, do you think our foster father and we can survive this?"

"can."

Duan Tianya said firmly, "My adoptive father was demoted without fault. Your Majesty is simply wary of me, or perhaps he believed certain slanderous words. I believe Your Majesty will eventually wake up."

"Yidao, what about you?" Shangguan Haitang looked at Gui Hai Yidao.

"I don't know." Gui Hai Yidao left these four words and turned to leave. Duan Tianya and Shangguan Haitang looked at his back and could only smile helplessly.

However, he had not noticed the difference in Gui Hai Yi Dao today.

……

When the capital was in turmoil.

Jiayuguan was also busy preparing for Zhu Jinzhen's plan.

Tiance Mansion, underground secret room.

One after another, the disheveled figures were thrown into the martial arts self-cultivation furnace. It lasted for less than half a cup of tea before the furnace opened again and "spitted" the people inside out like garbage.

"Martial arts cultivate the body, martial arts cultivate the body."

"In addition to synchronizing martial arts cultivation and innate physique, improvement is also a major function of martial arts self-cultivation!" Zhu Jinzhen's eyes swept over Pang Ban, Hongri Dharma King, Li Chimei and others who had their five senses blocked and looked as miserable as beggars.

It was discovered that both their Dantian were destroyed and their scapulae were pierced.

Even the hidden injuries he had suffered in the past have been repaired by the martial arts self-cultivation furnace.

Especially Pang Ban, the aura he exudes is more round and perfect, yin and yang are integrated, and there is a tendency for him to break through from the celestial realm and become a terrestrial immortal.

"This is really a pleasant surprise!" Zhu Jinzhen raised the corners of his lips and smiled slightly. The martial arts self-cultivation furnace can make up for the shortcomings. For him and his soldiers, it is definitely the best news.

"Wangqing, Cheng'en, and Yimei, please inform everyone that the damaged bodies can be repaired. From now on, you should set aside two to three days of martial arts cultivation time every month to make up for the soldiers' deficiencies."

"Yes." Changsun Wangqing and the other two smiled at the same time.

"As for them..."

Zhu Jinzhen glanced at Pang Ban and the others who had recovered but still couldn't break through their five senses and their Qi Sea was sealed, and were still in a coma. He slowly looked at Li Chengen and said, "I leave it to you."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I guarantee that everything will be foolproof." Li Chengen nodded heavily. The gap between celestial beings and celestial phenomena is like a chasm, even greater than the gap between celestial phenomena and mortals. It was just a matter of controlling Pang Ban and the others with the mind-control technique. For him, who had synchronized Yin Zhong's peak power, it was easy.

"Ok!"

Zhu Jinzhen nodded.

Then, he looked at Changsun Wangqing who was standing beside him and asked, "Wangqing, Yimei, what are the results of the Jiaolong Tonic Soup test? Can it be rolled out to the entire army?"

"Your Highness, we have conducted repeated tests many times and have not found any problems so far."

Changsun Wangqing submitted a record to Zhu Jinzhen, in which more than fifty tests were randomly selected and inspected by Changsun Wangqing, Yan Yimei, Li Chengen and others.

With their almost celestial powers, it would be easy for them to determine whether the Dragon Tonic Soup would cause any harm to humans.

Seeing Zhu Jinzhen take the record, Changsun Wangqing continued to explain: "My female guard battalion and Commander Cheng'en's military guard battalion, a total of 1,400 people, have all consumed a portion of Jiaolong Tonic Soup. Among them, 1,260 soldiers who were originally in the Vajra Realm knocked on the threshold of Zhixuan, reaching the peak of Zhixuan realm of perfect perfection and complete perfection in one step."

"Among the other 140 Zhixuan soldiers, 91 have broken through to the celestial realm. The remaining 50 or so also said that the medicinal power is sufficient. They only lack an opportunity to comprehend and then they can directly break through to the next level."

In two days, Tian Ce and Cang Yun had nearly a hundred celestial grandmasters and more than a thousand Zhi Xuan grandmasters.

If it gets out it's enough to scare people to death.

But Zhu Jinzhen, Changsun Wangqing and others all knew that this was just the beginning of a preliminary attempt. The real terror would come when it was spread throughout the entire army and all 300,000 Tian Ce and 200,000 Cang Yun were mobilized.

(End of this chapter)