Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Based on the principle of anticipating the enemy's moves, Lu Chen made ample preparations.

The first step is to anticipate the timing of the opponent's actions.

There are only three possible times for an assassination: on the way from the Southern Palace to the Marquis of Wuding's residence, during a banquet at the Marquis of Wuding's residence, or on the way back to the Southern Palace after the banquet.

When I set off from the south, it was still early, and there were still many civilians on the road. Compared to the night when the curfew was in effect, the assassination and evacuation were much more difficult.

More importantly, he only brought a small number of guards and traveled incognito in the capital quite often during the day, but he never stayed out overnight.

This matter is hardly a secret in the South.

Given the methods the other party used to infiltrate the emperor's inner circle by coercing Duke Guo Xun, Lu Chen would be the first to disbelieve that there were no spies in the palace.

It wouldn't be difficult to find out when he left the Southern Palace incognito.

If the other party intended to assassinate him during the day, they could have chosen to travel incognito themselves. There was absolutely no need for Duan Chaoyong to arrange for Guo Xun to host a banquet at the Marquis of Wuding's residence.

Moreover, when he goes out incognito, he usually only brings a dozen or so guards. But when he goes to a banquet at the Marquis of Wuding's residence, he has to make a grand entrance like a prince.

Not only were there as many as fifty or sixty guards, but also more than ten eunuchs and palace maids accompanying them.

This makes assassination more difficult; no one would do something so stupid.

The possibility that the other party would make a move on my way to the Marquis of Wuding's residence can be basically ruled out.

What happened at the banquet at the Marquis of Wuding's residence?

Although there were many people at the banquet, not many were qualified to get close to the prince.

It mainly consisted of Guo Xun and Duan Chaoyong, with perhaps a few of Guo Xun's sons added.

Moreover, the Marquis of Wuding's mansion is no pushover; it has its own private armed forces.

Although nobles such as dukes, marquises, and earls did not have their own ceremonial guards and private armies like vassal kings, they could still spend their own money to maintain their own guards.

As long as the quantity wasn't too outrageous, the imperial court tacitly approved.

A noble mansion typically has between seventy or eighty and one or two hundred guards.

Of course, these guards were only equipped with swords and spears, without armor, so they could only be considered unarmored soldiers.

Duke Guo Xun was no ordinary nobleman; he also served as the governor-general of the three major military camps, concurrently in charge of training the five military camps, and was in charge of the affairs of the Rear Army Commandery.

According to the "Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty", a noble who was in charge of a regimental camp or the three major camps could have twenty personal guards with regular ranks.

These twenty personal guards were elite soldiers clad in iron armor.

For assassins, only a swift victory offers a chance of success.

If the operation goes wrong or is delayed, a steady stream of Ming troops will arrive to the rescue.

Tonight at the Marquis of Wuding's residence, there are not only fifty or sixty people from the Prince of Ying's ceremonial guard, but also the Marquis's personal guards and bodyguards.

The total number of people was no less than two hundred, including seventy or eighty armored soldiers.

The chances of the other party succeeding by making a move inside the Marquis of Wuding's residence are definitely much lower than if they make a move on my way back to the Southern Palace after the banquet.

By the time the banquet ended, a citywide curfew had been imposed, and there were no pedestrians on the streets.

The assassin could take advantage of the darkness to ambush someone somewhere on the way back.

After the operation, they can also quickly evacuate under the cover of night.

Lu Chen judged that the most likely time for the other party to make a move would be after he left the Wuding Marquis's residence.

Who knows what cards the other side has up their sleeve?

If it were just a simple assassination attempt using cold weapons, Lu Chen was confident that he could easily handle it with his mental power.

But what if the other side is using a musket?

Can I intercept bullets in time?

There's no need to take the risk of being ambushed from the shadows on a dark road at night.

Since that mysterious time traveler had gone to such lengths to have Duan Chaoyong set up this trap, Lu Chen didn't believe that the other party didn't have a contingency plan!

After all, no one can accurately predict another person's behavior!

Did he intend to take advantage of the darkness on his way back to attack me?

Then we'll make sure they don't get their way!

This home ground is a choice we must make ourselves!

Lu Chen activated his telekinetic power, scanning the area around the elephant carriage.

When the telekinetic energy passed over several people dressed in the armor of the Imperial Guard, it seemed to encounter an invisible barrier, unable to penetrate their bodies.

Tonight, let this mysterious time traveler witness the strength of the native masters of this world!

. . .

The Marquis of Wuding's residence.

"Third Young Master, although I, Wang, have stayed at your residence with my master for some time, I have been refining pills every day and have never had a proper chance to explore."

Wang Ziyan picked up his wine glass and walked up to Guo Shoulu.

"Since we have this rare opportunity today, does the Third Young Master have the leisure to show me around the manor?"

"Brother Wang and Guo are close friends."

Guo Shoulu downed the wine in front of him in one gulp, then stood up.

"Since you are in such a good mood, I, Guo, will certainly accompany you."

. . .

Several hundred meters away from the Marquis's residence, in a courtyard.

This is a secret stronghold of the Maitreya sect in the capital.

"Elder Pan is back."

Li Dali personally stood up and asked the middle-aged man who had just entered,

"How did the operation go?"

"This is Zhu Houyu's 'Mountain-Slaying Blade'!"

Elder Pan tore open the strip of cloth wrapping the long object in his hand, revealing a two-handed longsword resembling a Miao sword, but with a much thicker scabbard.

"That apprentice of Duan Chaoyong was quite capable. He deliberately took Guo Xun's son to the vicinity of the Prince of Ying's carriage and used a little trick to make the third young master of the Guo family trip and fall into the pond."

When the son of the Marquis of Wuding fell into the water, those guarding the imperial carriage naturally did not stand idly by and all went to rescue him.

I easily infiltrated the elephant carriage and switched the knife.

"This is the weapon that made 'Devil's Bane' famous back then."

Elder Pang, a middle-aged man with a bushy beard, reached for the long sword, forcefully pulled it from its sheath, and swung it a few times while gripping the hilt with both hands.

"The 27-pound longsword felt so heavy in my hands. If I didn't channel my inner strength into my arms, I wouldn't be able to wield it at all."

If Pang were to use it against an enemy, he would exhaust his internal energy in less than a hundred moves.

Although the internal energy cultivated through external martial arts techniques is used in extremely crude methods, it is indeed extraordinary.

However, relying too much on external resources is ultimately a huge weakness.

Without this long sword, Zhu Houyu probably wouldn't even be able to unleash half of his fighting power.

"I'd really like to see his expression when he discovers his treasured sword has been switched during the attack."

. . .

Two hours later.

"I hereby inform the Left Protector that the situation has changed."

Wang Ziyan spoke urgently.

"At the banquet, Master and Guo Xun repeatedly toasted Zhu Houyu. He was in high spirits today and drank quite a lot of wine."

Not only is his daily alcohol consumption several times higher than what we secretly discovered, but it's even higher than the combined consumption of Master and Guo Xun.

His master was very close to him and saw with his own eyes that his face was flushed red from drinking, and even his palms were completely red.

Later, he even started shaking his head and talking incoherently, clearly very drunk.

"That's a good thing."

Standing to the side, Wu Nian slammed his hand on the table.

"When someone is this drunk, no matter how skilled he is in external martial arts, he wouldn't be able to react correctly in the first moment of being attacked."

"However, Zhu Houyu drank far too much and ended up falling asleep on the table."

Wang Ziyan quickly continued,

"Guo Xun had a best guest room prepared. Zhu Houyu will stay at the Marquis of Wuding's residence tonight and will not return to the Southern Palace!"