Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"This matter does sound appalling, but I naturally believe what the two elders say."

Li Dali frowned.

"Elder Wu, did the spies who sent out the intelligence find out anything about Zhu Houyu's situation at Renshou Palace?"

"According to the scout, Zhu Houyu's abdomen was bandaged and he moved somewhat slowly."

Wu Nian thought for a moment,

"Now that I think about it, he was just faking his injury!"

Zhu Houyu sat by the emperor's bedside for several hours, showing no signs of the weakness one would expect from someone seriously injured.

"Do you think the real Zhu Houyu might have died long ago, or been possessed by some demon or vengeful ghost?"

After a moment of silence, Li Dali finally spoke again.

Since Duan Chaoyong's plan was exposed by Guo Xun, who secretly reported it to Zhu Houyu, it wouldn't be difficult for him, as the Prince Regent, to find several masters of internal martial arts to set up an ambush.

Zhu Houyu himself could easily fake being drunk and put on a show.

According to the descriptions of the two elders who escaped from the Marquis of Wuding's residence, there were actually only five internal martial arts masters lying in ambush. One of them was impersonating Zhu Houyu on the bed in the guest room, while the other four were hiding outside the house.

Of these five, only two were of equal skill level to them; the other three were still lacking in experience.

With the enemy on guard, the possibility of the assassin walking into their trap is extremely low.

However, after discovering they had been ambushed, it wasn't difficult for the six elders to abandon the assassination attempt and retreat.

Even if Zhu Houyu himself, who was originally thought to be a master of external martial arts, were added, he still wouldn't have the ability to kill the four elders.

The personal guards of the Marquis of Wuding's residence and the ceremonial guards of the Prince of Ying's residence brought by Zhu Houyu were even less capable of intercepting the six top masters of internal martial arts!

Elder Zheng was killed by a musket, which could be attributed to the fact that he had never seen a musket that did not require firing and was caught off guard.

But how could the three elders, Zhou, Wang, and Pang, possibly repeat the same mistakes?

Although Elder Pan's speculation is bizarre, it is the best explanation that can be thought of at present.

Otherwise, how could the four elders have perished at the Marquis of Wuding's residence?

Zhu Houyu suffered a penetrating abdominal wound!

Although Elder Pan saw that the sword had pierced the liver, this was not entirely reliable. He had heard his father say that there were people in this world whose internal organs were in reversed positions.

If Zhu Houyu happened to be this kind of person, then his liver would be on the other side of his body, and this sword might not have hit a vital spot.

Even a top-tier expert like my father, with a long sword piercing his abdomen but not hitting a vital spot, could only suppress his injuries and maintain his mobility by using his internal energy to do so. He could only hold on until the assassin left before he had to treat his wounds immediately.

If the liver had actually been stabbed, the person would have died on the spot long ago!

But what was Zhu Houyu doing?

Just two or three hours after the assassination attempt, he rushed to the West Garden!

When the emperor was assassinated and his life was hanging by a thread, it would be inappropriate for him, as the emperor's only younger brother, not to go. Unless he was truly dying, he should have been carried there by someone else.

At Renshou Palace, although Zhu Houyu pretended to be seriously injured, his long-lasting vigor betrayed him!

That's not how someone who's seriously injured should look!

However, the fact that his abdomen was pierced by a long sword was witnessed by the two elders.

In any case, this is not something a living, breathing person could do!

"If that's true, then a demon has possessed the body of a member of the Ming Dynasty's royal family!"

Elder Pan glanced at Li Dali.

"But this is a matter for the Zhu family, and has nothing to do with my teaching."

Throughout history, legends about demons and monsters, especially those involving the central government, have always been seen as harbingers of chaos and impending national ruin.

The operation has now failed, and the emperor's side is heavily guarded, so there will be no further opportunity for assassination.

To attempt to assassinate Zhu Houyu would be tantamount to courting death!

There's no point in us staying in the capital any longer. We should hurry back to Taiyuan and report this to the sect leader!

"Elder Pan is right!"

Li Dali nodded.

"Although we failed to kill the emperor and the Prince of Ying this time, the emperor is seriously injured and will certainly be unable to attend to state affairs for a short period of time."

With the emperor's regent prince assassinated at the same time, the court's focus will undoubtedly shift to investigating this major case.

In the event of an emergency, the court's response speed will certainly be affected.

The Mongol heads obtained through the trade with Altan Khan enabled my father to achieve the greatest military merit among the various Ming armies in Shanxi since the Mongol invasion.

It shouldn't be difficult to trick Fan Jizu, the governor of Xuanda and Shanxi, into coming to Taiyuan by asking the governor to personally reward the soldiers of the Taiyuan Left Guard.

At that time, we will either coerce or kill Fan Jizu, and then use his governor's seal to issue chaotic orders to the various Ming armies in Shanxi.

"Our sect will seize the opportunity to rise up, take control of Taiyuan City, raise our banners, gather our followers, and quickly sweep across the entire Shanxi province, catching the imperial court completely off guard!"

. . .

At the same time.

In Pingding Prefecture, near Xingxing Beach, a military camp located on a small hill.

"The casualty statistics have come in. Today, during the assault on Blackwood Cliff, we suffered over a hundred dead and nearly three hundred wounded."

Dingzhou Guard Commander Dong Zhou handed the casualty report to his two colleagues.

"Blackwood Cliff has a treacherous terrain, giving the bandits an advantage. Their losses are far less than ours, so we can no longer launch a frontal assault."

When they arrived at Xingxingtan yesterday, it was already evening. The five thousand garrison soldiers from Zhen Dingwei, Dingzhouwei, and Baoding Youwei were not capable of fighting at night, so they could only find three small hills nearby to set up camp.

These Ming soldiers were completely unaware that two earth-shattering cases had occurred simultaneously in the capital that very night!

This morning, the three commanders finally assembled their forces and began their attack on the Black Cliff stronghold.

Meanwhile, the bandits who had discovered the approaching army from the foot of the mountain the night before were well prepared and engaged in fierce fighting with the Ming army at the gate of the stronghold.

It wasn't until the afternoon that the Ming army breached the first gate of the stockade.

Ascending hundreds of winding, uneven steps to reach the second gate of the village, the real nightmare begins.

This place is far from the foot of the mountain, with only a single road winding upwards. The army has no room to maneuver at all. There are also enemy arrow towers in several dangerous flank positions nearby.

Most of the Ming army's casualties occurred here.

As evening fell, a group of heavily armored bandits rushed out from the second gate and launched a counterattack against the Ming army. They advanced down the mountain and recaptured the first gate.

As darkness fell, the Ming army, unable to launch another attack, had no choice but to sound the retreat and withdraw to their camp on a nearby hill.

"A strong attack today is still necessary."

Pan Bingyi, the commander of the Zhen Ding Guard, picked up the report and looked at it.

"In our first battle, we should test the mettle of these bandits!"

Although the day's fighting resulted in significant losses, it also helped them figure out the methods and tactics of the bandits in the village!

I never expected this place to be a stronghold of the White Lotus Sect!

The thieves shouted slogans like "Maitreya is born, the King of Light is born" and "Homeland of Emptiness, Mother of No Birth" during the battle, which were clearly the slogans of the White Lotus Sect!

Judging from the scale of Blackwood Cliff, it must undoubtedly be the headquarters of a large branch of the White Lotus Sect!