Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

West Garden, outside Renshou Palace.

Yesterday morning, Xiaotang didn't collect enough dew and, fearing punishment, secretly added some water to it.

However, His Majesty still saw through it, and after a beating, his skin was torn and bleeding.

When they carried her back to her room last night, she was already on the verge of death, and by dawn her body was stiff.

In a side room, a palace maid of about twenty-five or twenty-six years old knelt before Chen Furong.

"It hasn't been long, and six of our sisters in Yikun Palace have already died tragically. If this continues, we will all die at the hands of the Emperor sooner or later."

Consort Ning was whipped several times. She was a concubine, yet she was treated so badly.

Aunt Chen, I know this matter is extremely serious, but besides you, we really can't think of anyone else we can ask for help.

"Consort Yang, stand up and speak."

Chen Furong reached out to help the other person up.

"I don't recall ever mentioning to you that I had connections outside the palace. How did you find out?"

"Jinlian told me that she had asked you, Aunt Chen, to move her family to another place."

Yang Changzai did not get up, but instead kowtowed deeply to Chen Furong.

"Aunt Chen, please help us one last time, considering how much our sisters have always respected you over the years!"

The sisters have already discussed it. Since they're going to die sooner or later anyway, they might as well fight it out rather than be beaten to death and thrown into a mass grave!

As the play goes, tearing the dragon robe means death, and beating the crown prince to death also means death!

They'd risk their lives to pull the emperor off his horse!

If we can drag the emperor down with us before we die, even if we're torn to pieces, it's worth it!

Such a spectacular event, it's worth the journey we've taken in this world!

The only thing he couldn't let go of was his family who were still outside the palace.

Assassinating the emperor is a heinous crime that could implicate nine generations of one's family. We may die, but we cannot bring our families down with us.

If our aunt can move our family to a safe place, we sisters will repay her kindness in our next life.

The sisters all swore a solemn oath that even if they were subjected to torture, they would never reveal their aunt's identity.

"Jin Ying, since you've made up your minds, I won't try to persuade you anymore."

Chen Furong sighed softly.

"You've been with me for so many years, and even if I can't save you, I can at least do this for you."

Ask the sisters to give me their family's addresses and information, and I will find someone to move them as soon as possible.

They will change their names and settle down elsewhere, and will never be implicated by you.

Also, put away the silver hairpin you're hiding.

This thing is too soft; it wouldn't be easy to kill someone with it!

"If you want to kill someone, you might as well sharpen the wooden hairpin and harden it with fire; that would be much more effective!"

. . .

Inside a private residence in the capital city.

"I have met the Left Protector."

Elder Wu Nian of the Maitreya sect bowed to Li Dali in greeting.

After receiving 30,000 followers of the Maitreya sect in Pingding Prefecture, Altan Khan's Mongol army began to move towards Taiyuan, preparing to join forces with the Jinang tribe.

Zhang Yin also joined forces with Anda, leading his troops to follow behind. The two sides clashed several times, resulting in casualties on both sides.

Envoys from the Taiyuan Left Guard kept arriving in Shuozhou, the residence of Fan Jizu, the Governor-General of Xuanda and Shanxi, carrying battle reports and "captured" heads.

While reporting his achievements with the severed heads, he also repeatedly requested Fan Jizu to replenish the military equipment and provisions for the Taiyuan Left Guard.

At the same time, Li Dali, along with five elders of the Maitreya Sect, rushed to the capital at full speed.

After Anda and the Jinang tribe joined forces, they would soon return to the grasslands to the north with the looted supplies and people.

The fighting in Shanxi will soon end, and the time will come for the Maitreya Sect to launch its long-planned uprising!

"Elder Wu, there's no need for such formalities."

Li Dali gestured for Wu Nian to sit down, and at the same time, the five elders who had come to the capital with him also took their seats.

"While waiting for you all, I activated several of my palace informants to investigate Zhu Houyu's usual movements."

Wu Nian spread a hand-drawn map on the table.

"As expected, this Prince Regent sometimes goes out incognito, and he doesn't have many guards around him!"

He was confident in his martial arts skills and didn't think he could encounter any danger traveling light.

"That's natural."

A middle-aged man with a bushy beard laughed.

"Among all the elders present, who is not like this?"

We have already mastered our internal skills, so why would we take ordinary martial artists seriously?

According to Elder Wu's intelligence, Zhu Houyu is different from us; he practices external martial arts.

But he can wield a long sword weighing twenty-seven pounds and can fire dozens of arrows with a bow weighing a hundred pounds without changing his expression. I'm afraid his combat strength is no less than any of ours!

If it were a fair one-on-one duel, it would be difficult to even determine a winner in a short time, let alone quickly defeat him and take his life!

He was the emperor's own brother, a prince who would oversee the country. If he were attacked, a large contingent of soldiers would come to his rescue very quickly, and he would only need to hold out for a short while.

With his martial arts skills, he certainly didn't think he would encounter any real danger in the capital.

"Elder Pang is right."

Wu Nian nodded.

"Unfortunately, he didn't expect that my church would send out six top martial arts masters whose skills were comparable to his!"

Moreover, we won't talk to him about morality; as long as we can take his life before the soldiers coming to rescue the emperor arrive, we'll use any means necessary.

"Masters of external martial arts are not so easy to kill. We must be cautious in our assessment of the enemy and create conditions that are as favorable to us as possible before taking action."

Li Dali spoke up.

Before setting off from Pingding Prefecture, my father told me a lot about the martial arts masters he had met in the past.

The internal energy cultivated through external martial arts is completely different from that cultivated through internal martial arts. Although it also originates from the dantian, its circulation is very rough and does not even pay attention to the meridians.

Wherever it is needed, the internal energy is sent directly there.

Wherever internal energy reaches, it can greatly increase strength, and it is also particularly long-lasting, with amazing endurance.

But their methods of application are limited to this.

Aside from having strength and stamina far exceeding that of ordinary martial artists, their methods of fighting enemies are actually no different from those of ordinary martial artists.

They'll either use their fists and feet, or they'll use weapons.

They simply cannot do what internal martial arts techniques like using palm and finger strikes to project power from a distance, or using body movements above the legs, or using internal energy to wrap around the fingers, palms, and fists to split stones without harming themselves.

The so-called masters of external martial arts are actually ordinary martial artists with amazing brute strength. Although their strength is no weaker than ours, their methods of injuring enemies with bare hands are far inferior.

The truly terrifying masters of external martial arts are those who are clad in heavy armor and wield a suitable heavy weapon!

If faced with this situation, even a father would have no choice but to avoid confrontation.

Just like the unparalleled warriors in the Three Kingdoms stories, such as Lü Bu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, Xu Chu, Dian Wei, and so on.

Even if you haven't read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, you've probably heard storytellers tell it.

The double halberds used by Dian Wei weighed 39 jin in the left hand and 41 jin in the right, each heavier than Zhu Houyu's 27-jin longsword.

If Zhu Houyu were placed in a Three Kingdoms folk tale, he would probably be on par with Pan Feng, far inferior to Dian Wei.

"You all probably know how Dian Wei died, right?"