Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

As soon as Zhao Yuanyan uttered those words, the warm pavilion fell silent for two seconds.

Zhao Heng slowly raised his head to look at him, his pupils contracting slightly, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

Such framing tactics are generally disdained by officials scheming against each other in the imperial court.

If they, as royalty, resorted to such low-level tactics, it meant that the last shred of dignity of the Song Dynasty had been trampled underfoot.

Seeing Zhao Heng's hesitation, Zhao Yuanyan strode to the table and lowered his voice: "Your Majesty, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. The Heavenly Master's Mansion is so large, how much trouble could it cause to put some things in? When the time comes, our Imperial Guards will ambush outside the city, and the evidence inside will be irrefutable. No matter how cunning he is, he won't be able to prove anything!"

"The fighting strength of the Imperial Guards..."

Zhao Heng frowned. It wasn't that he didn't want to deal with Zhou Feng, but he had a clear understanding of the strength of his Imperial Guards, which were no match for Zhou Feng's elite troops.

"By taking advantage of their predicament and waiting for them to tire themselves out, the outcome is uncertain! Besides, the men we've sent are the Imperial Guards, and the subordinates Zhou Feng has recruited are all citizens of our Great Song Dynasty. They can fight alongside him, but if it comes to rebellion, some might even switch sides at the last minute!"

"Your Majesty!" Seeing Zhao Heng still hesitating, Zhao Yuanyan's gaze immediately darkened: "Zhou Feng commands a thousand soldiers, has won over Xiao Qinyan's faction in the court, and the entire city treats him like a living god. Do you still have any naive ideas? This is no small matter; this is war!"

Zhao Heng remained silent, staring intently at the military report on the shore for a long time before finally closing his eyes and nodding gently: "The Imperial Guard's tiger tally is right here. Go and make the arrangements. As for the Imperial City Guard, I will personally oversee the arrangements. This time, we must ensure everything goes perfectly."

Zhao Yuanyan bowed and then turned and left.

He had barely left when Lin Yin's voice rang in Chen Xiao's Bluetooth earpiece.

"Captain Chen! We've intercepted an important piece of information. The Eighth Prince, Zhao Yuanran, suggested that Zhao Heng plant a frame-up at the Celestial Master's Mansion, fabricate evidence, and even sent the Imperial Guards out of the city to ambush them. Zhao Heng has agreed and has begun to implement it."

Chen Xiao, who was sitting in the main hall of the Celestial Master's Mansion looking at documents, paused for a moment upon hearing this, and then the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

The fact that Zhao Heng made such a decision means only one thing: they have driven the other side into a corner.

From a mission perspective, this is actually a good thing.

But Zhou Feng's safety is also of paramount importance!

Thinking of this, Chen Xiao went straight out to the door of a large room in the backyard and knocked: "Old Zhao, Yuanzi, Lu Ming, the three of you take 20 special forces soldiers, with full equipment, and set off now. Head north along the official road to meet the leader. This Song emperor is getting impatient."

"yes!"

Three burly men who had been called out came out of the room. They were the three of the ten special forces soldiers who had originally come to this world with Zhou Feng.

Zhao Meng, codenamed Heavy Artillery, is an expert in calculating and launching individual rocket launchers and mortars.

Zhou Yuan, codenamed Steel Cable, is a survival expert, proficient in everything from rapid mine clearance and extreme bridge construction to demolition.

Lu Ming, codenamed Ghost, excels in long-distance infiltration, sabotage behind enemy lines, and intelligence interception.

These three elite soldiers, along with 20 special forces soldiers, already constituted an extremely powerful force in the Song Dynasty.

The group quickly put on their tactical vests and checked their weapons and magazines.

Zhao Meng carried a single-soldier rocket launcher, Zhou Yuan carried several bundles of explosives, and the rest of them carried standard Type 95 automatic rifles.

After quickly getting ready, the group boarded several carriages through the back door and headed out of the city.

After all, all means of transportation were placed outside the city, and they couldn't go to support Zhou Feng by carriage.

After seeing these people off, Chen Xiao watched the carriage disappear into the alleyway, then turned around and closed the back door, his expression having changed slightly.

Around the back gate of the Celestial Master's Mansion, many more vendors have appeared, their eyes subtly fixed on the area.

For others, it might be difficult to notice. But for these elite soldiers, the methods these vendors used to monitor them were incredibly naive; they could tell something was wrong at a glance.

Moreover, when Zhao Meng and the others left, Chen Xiao noticed that someone on the street had followed them.

However, he wasn't worried about what the three of them might do.

With their ammunition and firepower, if anyone were to try and catch up with them, it would be detrimental to them...

It's already quite obvious who will be unlucky!

However, these people outside the courtyard are most likely those guys from the Imperial City Guard. For some reason, they didn't attack the Celestial Master's Mansion or prevent people inside from entering or leaving. They were probably waiting for Zhao Heng's orders.

"Everyone, get ready, organize your equipment, a battle could break out at any moment."

Chen Xiao, who was in the hall, gave a few instructions to the captains who were still there.

The group's expressions immediately hardened, and they turned to make arrangements.

Although most of the subordinates who remained in the manor were recruited from the local area, they had been trained for so long and still had the necessary tactical awareness!

Seeing that they had taken up their respective combat positions, gun barrels were set up on the high points of the main hall, side hall, and backyard, and boxes of ammunition were moved out of the warehouse and neatly stacked behind cover. There were even two individual rocket launchers set up on the windowsills on both sides of the main hall, with their targets aimed at the long street outside the mansion. Only then did Chen Xiao nod in satisfaction.

Although these special forces soldiers and the natives trained by them are certainly not as good as Chen Xiao and the other 10 elite soldiers, they are more than enough to deal with the natives of the Song Dynasty.

"Lin Yin, keep a close eye on the situation on the entire street, as well as the arrangements within the palace."

Chen Xiao lowered his voice and said something into the earpiece.

"receive!"

Just then, the gatekeeper of the Celestial Master's Mansion rushed in to announce, "Lord Chen, Lord Xiao Qinyan has arrived!"

Xiao Qinyan arrived dressed in casual clothes. His expression was slightly anxious when he entered, but his expression changed slightly when he noticed the figures of people standing at attention with guns in the yard and the ammunition boxes stacked in the corner. He quickly regained his composure.

"Lord Chen, I've heard some news. It seems that the one in the palace is about to make some moves."

Chen Xiao glanced at him, took out an earphone from his pocket and handed it to him, then selected play.

The content is very simple; it's all from Lin Yin's recording of Zhao Heng and Zhao Yuanyan's discussion.

After Xiao Qinyan put on the headphones under Chen Xiao's guidance, his expression changed instantly.

Although the sound was slightly distorted after being transmitted through radio waves, he could still tell at a glance that the two people speaking inside were the Emperor and the Eighth Prince!

His expression became so out of control only because he knew the other person's identity.

It's astonishing that a high-ranking official and the Eighth Prince would resort to fabricating evidence to frame Zhou Feng. It seems they were truly driven to desperation!

"Lord Chen, I've truly been amazed by the intelligence capabilities of the Celestial Master's Mansion today. They even managed to obtain information about this kind of conversation. Ha..."

A smile appeared on his face: "It seems I didn't choose the wrong path back then!"