You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

The following day, in the morning, in Nanxu.

The smoke of battle seemed not to have dissipated yet, and the air still faintly carried the smell of burnt and bloody odors.

The once bustling streets now appear exceptionally desolate and deserted.

Most shops were closed, with only a few daring vendors setting up stalls on street corners. Pedestrians were sparse, and most of them walked hurriedly with anxious expressions.

Several people gathered at the corner of a narrow alley, hunching their shoulders and talking in hushed tones.

An elderly man with gray hair shook his head and sighed, "Alas, it's only been a few days... and it's already broken."

"I used to hear the masters in the temple say that the Sui Dynasty was strong and powerful and was destined by Heaven, but I didn't believe it."

"Now that we see it, there's no way we can't believe it."

A middle-aged man next to him nodded and said, "The Sui soldiers are all incredibly brave and fierce. Now look at our side..."

"Sigh, it's a long story."

An old woman carrying an empty basket murmured, "Amitabha..."

"Master Huiming of the temple in the west of the city said a month ago that the royal aura in the south was dimming and the Buddha's light was shining in the north."

"This...this really came true."

"It seems even Buddha isn't protecting the Chen Kingdom anymore..."

Another woman said, "I heard from the worshippers at Baoguang Temple that the high monks there said during a sermon that the Sui Emperor's reverence for Buddha was because he was the reincarnation of a Dharma protector king."

"On the other hand, look at that guy in Jiankang... sigh, he destroyed temples and Buddhist statues, offending the Bodhisattva. How could he not suffer retribution?"

"I heard that Abbess Jingxuan of Ciyun Nunnery told several benefactors earlier that the Chen ruler is immoral, disrespectful to the Three Jewels, and has lost the Mandate of Heaven."

"The Sui army's southward advance is now a matter of cause and effect, beyond human control."

The old woman nodded repeatedly, clasping her hands together: "I'm so sorry... Destroying Buddhism will send you to Avici Hell."

"Now it seems that what the masters said made sense."

"We only hope that the new dynasty will treat us ordinary people well, so that we can worship Buddha in peace. That would be a blessing."

tread, tread, tread...

Just then, a series of heavy and disorderly footsteps approached from afar, breaking the hushed conversation at the alley entrance.

Everyone looked up and saw a group of Sui soldiers in full armor blocking the alley entrance.

The officer at the head of the group, who looked like a squad leader, held his sword at his waist and swept his cold gaze over the group of people gathered together.

"By order of Grand Tutor Jun!"

"The army is temporarily stationed in Nanxu and needs to procure provisions for military use."

"Each of you shall contribute one hundred shi of grain, to be delivered to the drill ground west of the city within three days, without fail!"

Everyone was stunned, and then erupted in uproar.

"Sir! One hundred bushels?"

"Even if my whole family sold everything we owned, we still couldn't scrape together ten bushels of grain!"

"How...how are we supposed to live like this?!"

The old woman, carrying an empty basket, pleaded, "Sir, please have mercy! We're just a poor family, where would we get so much food..."

The middle-aged man also said, "Sir, Nanxu has just experienced war, and every household doesn't have much grain stored up. This hundred bushels..."

"I really can't come up with that!"

"This...this...isn't this trying to kill us?"

The Sui army officer frowned and asked sternly, "No food?"

"Then pay with forced labor!"

"All able-bodied men must be registered and await orders to build fortifications and transport supplies!"

"We'll go home when we've paid our grain rations!"

Ignoring the people's pleas, he abruptly waved his hand and shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Search every house thoroughly! Anyone found hiding grain will be punished according to military law!"

"yes!"

The soldiers responded in unison, scattered like wolves and tigers, and began violently banging on the doors of the neighboring houses.

Shouts, cries, and the sounds of rummaging through drawers and cabinets filled the air.

Similar scenes were occurring not only here, but throughout Nanxu.

More than a month earlier, Zhang Zhongjian had ordered the people to relocate to Dongyang and Nantong. Those who were willing to relocate would be given grain and silver, and would also be given land upon arrival.

In addition, there are opportunities to study, learn martial arts, and so on.

Given these conditions, who wouldn't want to move?

Most of them in Nanxu did not own their own land and could only become tenants for wealthy people!

Those who remained were almost all Buddhist believers.

Although not all of them are, they account for at least 70-80%.

After all, the number of Buddhist believers in the Southern Chen Dynasty was even greater than that in the Sui Dynasty!

.......

Three days later, at dawn, outside Nanxu City.

The thin mist had not yet dissipated, and the first rays of dawn painted the world with a cold, bluish hue.

"Waaaaah..."

The deep sound of bugles broke the silence, and the Sui army camp, like a giant beast awakening, began to stir.

Banners fluttered like a forest in the morning breeze, and the sounds of armor clashing with weapons coalesced into a deep rumble of thunder, growing louder as they approached.

Squads of elite cavalry charged out of the camp, their iron hooves thundering as they pounded the ground. The knights, fully armored and clad, had stern faces and sharp eyes scanning the area ahead.

Following closely behind was an endless array of infantry, their long spears like a forest, reflecting a cold gleam, their heavy footsteps causing the earth to tremble slightly.

The military formation was imposing and its momentum was overwhelming, exuding an aura of absolute power that could crush everything.

However, behind this torrent of steel lies a different scene.

Countless ragged civilians from Nanxu, linked together by ropes, staggered forward, pushing wooden carts laden with grain or carrying heavy military equipment boxes on their shoulders and in their hands, under the shouts and whips of Sui soldiers.

In the distance, atop a mountain peak.

Two women dressed in plain white dresses stood there, looking down at the Sui army below, as well as the laborers mixed in with the flood.

One of the women held a scroll in one hand and a fine pen in the other, writing calmly and swiftly:

"The vanguard cavalry numbered about 50,000, well-armored and fierce in spirit."

"The central army's infantry formation was well-organized, numbering no less than 300,000, with spears and halberds like a forest, and their morale was high."

"also......"

The pen scratched softly until the very end of the massive procession gradually disappeared into the dust in the distance, at which point the woman holding the pen slowly put away her book.

The other woman turned her gaze away from the direction where the laborers had disappeared and sneered, "They believe those monks but not the imperial court."

"He only has himself to blame!"

Immediately, the two turned around, used their lightness skills, and flew away into the distance like startled swans.

.......

At this moment, Jiankang City is in complete chaos!

The normally wide streets were now completely congested with all kinds of vehicles.

Ornately decorated horse-drawn carriages, oxcarts laden with crates, and even hand-pushed wheelbarrows collided and jostled each other.

The men's angry curses, the women's screams, the children's cries, and the livestock's neighing mingled together.

People dragged their families along, carrying everything they could to their carts, and those that couldn't fit on their backs, all as they surged toward the city gate.

"Get out of the way!"

"Get out of the way!"

"Are you blind? Do you think you can take responsibility for hitting my wife's car?"

A steward in brocade robes stood on the carriage shaft, angrily waving his whip, trying to disperse the refugees blocking the way.

.....

At the city gate.

"Nanxu collapsed in just ten days!"

"Zhang Zhongjian is a complete incompetent!"

"The Sui army is like tigers and wolves; we can't stop them! Let's go!"

A middle-aged man, carrying a heavy wooden box, struggled forward while shouting to his equally disheveled companion beside him.

Beside him, a man dressed as a scholar, carrying a book box, squeezed his way out, thinking to himself, "This Jiankang City is hopeless..."

Incited by the six powerful families, panic spread like a plague throughout Jiankang City.

Meanwhile, the last remaining members of the six great families in the capital also began to leave one after another.

.......

Inside a palace in the royal palace.

Fan Qinghui looked out the window: "Senior sister, the death knell for Nan Chen has been sounded for good."

Bi Xiuxin stood quietly to the side, nodding: "Chen Shubao destroyed temples and suppressed Buddhism, cutting himself off from Heaven. Today's consequences are all the result of yesterday's causes."

Fan Qinghui turned her gaze away from the window and towards Bi Xiuxin: "Senior Sister, the time has come."

"Tonight we will carry out our sect's orders, retrieve that item, and leave Jiankang."

Bi Xiuxin nodded, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Junior Sister, do you know what's so special about this Imperial Seal of the State?"

Fan Qinghui: "Master once said that the Imperial Seal of the State, although seen as the symbol of destiny by mortals, has in fact carried too much bloodlust, lust for power, greed, and resentment of emperors and generals over the years."

"It is no longer an auspicious object; instead, it has become an evil entity that gathers the world's filth and obsessions!"

"Such ominous things cannot be resolved without the pure and compassionate power of Buddhism."

"Only by placing it under the blessing of the Buddha's teachings, cleansing it day and night with the peaceful vows of countless believers, and subduing it constantly with the supreme scriptures, can the violence within it be gradually transformed and its malevolence guided back to peace."

"Our master ordered us to retrieve it, truly to perform a purifying act for this corrupt world."

After a pause, Fan Qinghui added, "Just like this filthy and corrupt Central Plains of China..."

"Things that are not the true Dharma of our Buddhist school cannot be purified."

.......

As night fell, in the Imperial Study.

"call......"

Zhang Lihua gently placed the Imperial Seal of the State into the brocade box, clicked the clasp shut, and then straightened up and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Finally, it's all taken care of..."

The weariness etched on her face from days of toil was palpable. She rubbed her aching wrists, got up, pushed open the palace door, and headed towards her own chambers.

About an incense stick later...

Two faint white figures, like nimble cats scurrying in the night, silently slipped in through the window of the Imperial Study.

Fan Qinghui and Bi Xiuxin's eyes were fixed on the conspicuous brocade box on the imperial desk.

He then stepped forward, lifted the lid of the box, and revealed the jade seal lying quietly inside.

Bi Xiuxin reached out and took it out. After exchanging a glance with Fan Qinghui, she put it into a soft cloth bag that she had prepared beforehand.

Then, the two of them didn't linger. With a flicker of their figures, they drifted out like two wisps of green smoke and left the Imperial Study.

However…..

The two women froze on the spot as soon as their toes touched the ground.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

Not far away, Lu Zuo stood under the moonlight, looking at them with a cold smile: "I knew you would do this..."

He was unaware of the two women's motives.

But Lu Zuo knew that the Imperial Seal of the State in the original novel had fallen into the hands of the Buddhist sect.

Therefore, it can be inferred that Bi Xiuxin and Fan Qinghui's true goal in sacrificing themselves to feed the demon was to steal the Imperial Seal of the State amidst the chaos.

He had been on guard against them all along!

Upon hearing this, Fan Qinghui and Bi Xiuxin's expressions changed drastically!

Before the two women could think further, they retreated hastily, their inner energy surging as they prepared to use Cihang Jingzhai's ultimate movement technique to escape.

However, Lu Zuo was even faster!

He simply took a step, and his figure had already approached the two women like a ghost.

Immediately afterwards, a vast and powerful invisible force, as turbulent as the sea and as condensed as a mountain, suddenly erupted, like an invisible cage, instantly locking up the space within several feet around it!

The two women felt a tightness all over their bodies, as if they were sinking into a sticky swamp. The pure Cihang Sword Manual's true energy within their bodies became sluggish, like a stream encountering the sea.

Bang bang!

Immediately, Lu Zuo used both hands simultaneously, his fingers flying like lightning, to strike the vital points on the chests of the two women.

With two soft sounds, Fan Qinghui and Bi Xiuxin's bodies trembled violently. Their acupoints were sealed, and their internal energy was instantly imprisoned. They fell softly backward and crashed heavily to the ground.

ta ta ta ......

At this moment, a large number of imperial guards rushed to the scene with weapons in hand and quickly surrounded the area. The glint of their blades reflected in the moonlight, and the air was thick with murderous intent.

Zhang Lihua rushed over and, seeing the two women on the ground with their acupoints sealed and their faces pale, smiled and said, "Two idiots..."

Lu Zuo didn't even look at the two women on the ground. He turned to Zhang Lihua and instructed her, "Lihua, they're yours now. Find out how many people from Cihang Jingzhai are still lurking in the capital."

"Your Majesty, I obey!"

Zhang Lihua bowed and accepted the order, then waved her hand lightly: "Take them away!"

Having resolved the matter, Lu Zuo looked up at the night sky and muttered to himself, "From now on, I just need to do what I'm supposed to do."

Over the past few days, he has gradually calmed down and given his own judgment.

The battlefield is ever-changing; how could victory or defeat be predicted from the depths of the palace?

Having chosen Zhang Zhongjian in the first place, entrusting the safety of the southern defenses and even half of the country to him, there is no way out but to trust him now.

Right now, I shouldn't worry or have doubts, but rather follow the original plan and do what I can and should do!

Because he didn't have time to change generals on the spot!

The Sui army will not give him time!

If you doubt, everything will come to an end!

There is hope, or perhaps a glimmer of hope.

You chose this path yourself, you made this move yourself, and once you've made a move, there's no going back. The tide of events is irreversible; how can you turn back time and again?

……

At this moment, somewhere.

Under the moonlight, in the wilderness.

Zhang Zhongjian sat on a cool blue stone, his face calm and serene, his knuckles unconsciously tapping his knees.

Yue Qing stood to the side, his hand on his sword, hesitating for a moment before finally stepping forward and asking the question that had been nagging at him: "General, this humble general... truly does not understand."

"Nanxu City is high and deeply fortified, a strategic point for both land and water transport. Our army has been fortifying it for months, why...?"

Why give up so easily?

"If we hold the city and defend it to the death, even if we cannot hold it for long, we should be able to wear down the Sui army's morale for a month or two."

"Sigh..." Zhang Zhongjian sighed softly, "That's what I initially thought too..."

"Only when the Sui army was preparing to invade the south did they realize that Nanxu was already indefensible!"

Yue Qing asked, puzzled, "Why?"

"Because of the six great families."

Zhang Zhongjian said in a deep voice, "I have been focused on reorganizing the five major camps until the Sui army was preparing to invade, at which point I went to Nanxu."

"Upon arriving, I discovered something that sent chills down my spine!"

"In the Southern Xu Army, from the generals in command to the captains of each battalion, and even many key positions such as clerks and grain officials, they have long been infiltrated by the six powerful families."

"In recent years, His Majesty has suppressed aristocratic families and promoted those from humble backgrounds and commoners, making them his sworn enemies."

"Whether these people are in the military or not, it is still unknown."

"I can reorganize the five major camps, but it's too late and impossible to thoroughly cleanse every joint of the entire Nanxu defense line."

"If the Sui army attacks, even if these people do not defect on the spot, a little delay, spreading false information, or being negligent at a critical moment will be enough to cause the entire defense line to collapse."

"not to mention……"

"Long before the Sui invasion, the details of our army's deployment in Nanxu, including troop strength, had already been copied into a book and lay on Yang Su's desk."

"Defend?"

"What will we use to defend it?"

"Using a city that's already riddled with holes from the inside to defend against the Sui army?"

"This will only drag down the five major battalions as well!"

At this point, Zhang Zhongjian sighed again, his expression full of worry.

The situation on the battlefield is constantly changing. This situation is far beyond what he had expected. He also doesn't know how the person in the palace will view him.