The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Lingling Gong said in a deep voice, then focused his energy into his dantian. The next second, he snatched the knife from the guard next to him and slashed at himself. There was a clang, as if the knife had struck a hard iron stone.

Lingling Gong then slashed himself four or five more times, making clanging sounds, until the last blade was dulled, but Lingling Gong remained unharmed.

"Not bad, not bad."

Zhu Houzhao laughed heartily, then looked at the next person.

"His name is Ling Lingxi. He has a stone-breaking kick, and he can kick a stone to pieces with one kick."

As soon as Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, the man immediately leaped onto the artificial hill and began to demonstrate his kung fu. With a series of loud bangs, one huge rock after another was kicked to pieces.

"Not bad, not bad."

Zhu Houzhao laughed and clapped, then pointed to another person and introduced him:

"He is a 'zero-zero fortune' man who knows the Five Elements Fist."

Linglingcai clasped his hands in greeting to Jiang Ning and Zhu Houzhao, and then immediately demonstrated his Five Elements Fist.

Compared to the defensive and destructive power displayed by Ling Ling Gong and Ling Ling Xi, Ling Ling Cai's Five Elements Fist seemed somewhat mediocre since no one had fought against him. However, Zhu Houzhao was already quite pleased and nodded before looking at the last person.

Jiang Ning looked at the person and found that the person's face seemed somewhat familiar, very much like someone else.

"Hmm... his name is Ling Ling Fa, his kung fu..."

Just as Zhu Houzhao was wondering how to introduce them, Ling Lingfa spoke first.

"Compared to the three masters, Gong Xicai, I am but a novice. I am not as good as the three of you. I only know some unorthodox skills and invent some gadgets that have caught Your Majesty's eye."

"Yes, yes."

Zhu Houzhao nodded repeatedly and laughed, "Ling Ling Fa has a lot of ideas. His little inventions are quite interesting, hahaha, I like them very much."

"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."

Linglingfa quickly replied.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Jiang Ning and smiled, "Brother Jiang, what do you think of these four?"

"good."

Jiang Ning nodded and asked, "Where did you find these talented people?"

Zhu Houzhao was also very satisfied and said with a smile, "This was brought to me by Wang Zhi."

"Wang Zhi?"

Seeing Jiang Ning's somewhat puzzled expression, Zhu Houzhao suddenly remembered and quickly said, "I forgot to tell you, Wang Zhi is..."

Zhu Houzhao then told Jiang Ning about Wang Zhi and the Baolong clan.

Jiang Ning looked surprised.

He didn't expect that Zhu Houzhao's father had left him a backup plan.

But Jiang Ning immediately realized that the eunuch he had just encountered was Wang Zhi.

"I named those four people myself. Congratulations on your fortune, hahaha."

Zhu Houzhao looked at the four people and said:

“They were carefully trained by Wang Zhi. Although there are other members in the Baolong clan, these four are the best in martial arts. Well… Afa is an exception.”

Ling Lingfa smiled shyly when he heard this, but for some reason, his smile looked a little sly.

"Other members of the Baolong clan include those skilled in poisoning, those skilled in medicine, and those skilled in disguise."

Zhu Houzhao laughed.

Apart from Gong Xicai and the other two, the other members of the Baolong clan were all of average martial arts skills, but each had their own area of ​​expertise and were all talented individuals who could protect Zhu Houzhao's safety from various aspects.

Jiang Ning nodded. Zhu Houzhao's father had left him a backup plan, which greatly ensured Zhu Houzhao's safety. This also meant that Jiang Ning no longer had to keep an eye on Zhu Houzhao all the time. However, when Jiang Ning looked at Ling Ling Gong and Ling Ling Xi, his brows furrowed slightly.

One of them practiced Iron Shirt Kung Fu, and the other practiced Stone-Shattering Kick. One trained his defense to the point of being impervious to swords and spears, while the other trained his destructive power to the point of shattering stones with a single kick. However, both of them practiced external martial arts, and their lifespans were not long.

Chapter 665: Why is he everywhere?

"With Congratulations on your fortune and other members of the Dragon Guard protecting me, I don't believe they can harm me."

The contingency plan left to him by Zhu Youcheng gave Zhu Houzhao a lot of confidence. In addition, with Wang Zhi around, Zhu Houzhao was determined to challenge the entire court.

"Now that someone can protect you, I will leave in a few days."

Jiang Ning said.

These members of the Dragon Protector Clan are all highly skilled, and as long as they don't encounter a top expert, they are more than capable of protecting Zhu Houzhao. Jiang Ning plans to stay a while longer to see if Zhu Houzhao is safe before leaving.

"it is good."

This time, Zhu Houzhao readily agreed. With such a group of skilled guards, his desire for more experts diminished slightly. However, Zhu Houzhao still said, "Brother Jiang, when you return, remember to ask your sect if anyone is willing to come to the capital. I will never break my promise."

Jiang Ning nodded.

……

The next day.

The civil officials in Beijing received a shocking message.

Because yesterday Zhu Houzhao suddenly announced that he would reopen the Western Depot.

This news was like a stone thrown into water, causing a huge splash. It shocked and astonished all the civil officials in the court. But what shocked them even more was that the eunuch in charge of the Western Depot was named Wang Zhi.

what did you say?

Wang Zhi?

Which Wang Zhi?

Upon hearing the name, the officials' first reaction was that it was Wang Zhi, but then they realized that Wang Zhi had made his move.

On his second day as the head of the Western Depot, Wang Zhi imprisoned the Minister of Personnel. Moreover, he led his men to the Minister of Personnel's residence early in the morning to arrest him, causing a stir in the capital.

The matter of the Eastern Depot arresting Minister Liu of the Ministry of War had not yet subsided when the Western Depot suddenly reopened and imprisoned the Minister of Personnel. This news was like a heavy hammer blow to the hearts of officials.

And they finally found out which Wang Zhi was now in charge of the Western Depot.

It was Wang Zhi, the one who stirred up a bloody storm during the Chenghua era!

The officials were astonished when they heard the news. They never expected that this person was still alive and had been reinstated by the emperor.

Most of the officials in the Zhengde reign had not experienced the events of the Xianzong reign, but they had all heard of Wang Zhi's notorious reputation. Now that this man had regained control of the Western Depot and was targeting them, the civil officials were outraged and submitted petitions to Zhu Houzhao, demanding that he abolish the Western Depot and punish Wang Zhi. Many officials even wanted to go to the palace to meet the emperor.

However, Zhu Houzhao kept the matter under wraps and refused to see the officials, using the excuse of illness and inconvenience to meet with court officials. But these past few days, Zhu Houzhao had been excitedly telling Jiang Ning about what Wang Zhi had done.

Wang Zhi didn't stop there after imprisoning the Minister of Personnel. On the third day, the Vice Minister of Justice was imprisoned for riding in a carriage that exceeded the permitted size. Then, he imprisoned the Vice Minister of Rites, the Censor, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the Principal of the Ministry of Revenue, and the Chief Physician of the Imperial Medical Academy. The reasons for the arrests were varied.

In just a few days, Wang Zhi arrested many well-known officials of high rank and threw them into prison. Now, the prisons of the Western Depot are filled with cries of agony.

Judging from Wang Zhi's actions over the past few days, it's clear to everyone that Zhu Houzhao is very dissatisfied with the civil service group and has sent Wang Zhi to deal with them. The officials in the court are all aware of this.

But Wang Zhi's attacks on them were even more ruthless than during the Chenghua reign, which they simply couldn't bear. On the morning of the fifth day, when Zhu Houzhao was supposed to attend the morning court session but instead claimed to be ill and didn't, all the civil officials gathered at Zuoshun Gate to kneel and remonstrate. The number of people was even larger than the last time, and even the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet were present.

"Your Majesty, we demand to see you!!!"

The officials of the court shouted themselves hoarse at Zuoshun Gate, calling out for Zhu Houzhao.

"Humph."

Although Zhu Houzhao, who was on a high point in the distance, remained expressionless, he was still somewhat startled by the scene.

He didn't expect this incident to escalate to such a huge extent, with almost all the officials in the court present. It could be said that Wang Zhi had provoked public outrage.

"Brother Jiang, this scene is rarely seen since the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said to Jiang Ning, who was standing beside him.

Jiang Ning, who originally didn't want to come but was persuaded by Zhu Houzhao, asked after hearing what the other party said.

Has this happened before?

Zhu Houzhao said, "Yes, but not many, and the scale is not as large as this time."

Jiang Ning looked at him.

Aren't you afraid of losing control of the situation?

Zhu Houzhao smiled upon hearing this.

"If it doesn't break, it won't stand."

The situation was already bad enough; Zhu Houzhao himself almost lost his life. He was determined to govern the country with an iron fist, and this was just the beginning.

Zhu Houzhao was not worried about the situation getting out of control; he was only worried that Wang Zhi would not be able to withstand the pressure and, like Gu Dayong, would not dare to confront the civil officials directly. That would be the most difficult situation for him.

He has already notified Wang Zhi to handle it, and he just wants to see how Wang Zhi resolves it, and whether it will be like what Gu Dayong did before.

At that moment, a figure strode over from not far from Zuoshun Gate. It was Wang Zhi, followed by a number of eunuchs from the Western Depot.

Upon seeing Wang Zhi arrive, the noisy Zuoshun Gate fell silent for a moment, and all the officials looked at Wang Zhi.

"Today is neither the day of the morning court nor your day off. You are all here instead of on duty. Are you trying to force me to abdicate?"

Wang Zhi looked down at them with a cold expression, his lips moving slightly as he uttered these words.

Upon hearing his words, the young official's face turned angry and he was about to stand up and start arguing, but he was stopped by three elderly men kneeling in front of all the officials. One of them stood up and looked at Wang Zhi with a calm expression.

"Eunuch Wang, it's been a long time."

Wang Zhi also looked at him and smiled.

"Who is this Governor? It's you."

Wang Zhi chuckled softly, his expression one of utter disdain.

"During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, Grand Secretary Liu was merely a lecturer in the Eastern Palace. Now he is the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. This is truly a cause for celebration."

Grand Secretary Liu's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, and he smiled and said, "It is my good fortune that Eunuch Wang still remembers me. I also congratulate Eunuch Wang on his return to the capital. However, is it inappropriate for Eunuch Wang to target officials of our Great Ming Dynasty in this way?"

"inappropriate?"

Wang Zhi laughed.

……