The Counterattack of the Villains

Chapter 355 Qing Jun’s Side

Zheng Zha hurriedly introduced to Fu Tianchou: "Sir, this is my senior sister. Her surname is Zhang Mingqin. She is also the Taoist couple of the head senior brother."

Fu Tianchou understood that she was the wife of the head of the Emei Sect, and took a few steps forward to meet her.

Zheng Zha introduced Zhang Qin: "Sister, this is Master Fu."

Zhang Qin cupped his fist and saluted Fu Tianchou, and said, "I have met Mr. Fu."

Fu Tianchou stretched out his hand to support her and said, "Mrs. Li, there is no need to be polite."

This was the first time Zhang Qin heard someone call her "Mrs. Li", and she couldn't help but feel quite amused.

After the two parties had seen each other, Zheng Zha asked: "Why is Senior Sister here?"

Zhang Qin said to Zheng Zha: "We have found Hero Yan. It turns out that Hero Yan was inherited by our Emei sect at the ruins of Shushan Mountain. He is the reincarnation of our Emei sect."

"Now that the head brother has made him the great elder of the Emei Sect, we will come to meet you soon to discuss the important matter of eliminating demons for the country."

"I also ask Mr. Fu to summon all the officials of the Southern Zhili Guard Station and explain the matter to them. If things are not harmonious, we may need to launch a war on the side of the Qing Dynasty."

Fu Tianchou's expression changed greatly when he heard this. Since ancient times, all wars launched in the name of Qing Junzi are basically rebellions.

Let’s not go too far, let’s just say that Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty usurped the throne of Emperor Jianwen in this name.

Therefore, regarding Zhang Qin's request, he was quite confused for a while, frowning and said: "Is it necessary to do this? How is this different from rebellion?"

Zhang Qin said seriously: "Sir, this is not rebellion, but saving the country. All the civil and military officials in the capital have been swallowed up by Pudu Cihang, and the entire imperial court has become a 'demon court'."

"The civil and military officials whose bodies have been possessed by Pudu Cihang's demons are all our enemies. Do you think they will just sit back and wait to be killed?"

"There are two hundred thousand troops in the three major battalions of the capital and the North Zhili Commandery Division. The middle and lower-level officers and soldiers just don't know the truth and are deceived by demons. How can we still kill them all?"

"Besides, preparations are just in case, and there is no guarantee that war will actually start. As long as we operate well in the early stage, we may be able to avoid conflicts."

After listening to Zhang Qin's words, Fu Tianchou also felt that it was reasonable, but his deep-rooted loyalty to the emperor made him undecided.

Chu Xuan, who was on the side, instantly saw through his thoughts and said calmly: "I dare to ask your Excellency a question, and please answer it truthfully."

Fu Tianchou frowned and said, "Master Chu, please tell me."

Chu Xuan said: "Is your loyalty to Ming Dynasty or to Zhu Youxiao?"

Facing Chu Xuan's soul torture, Fu Tianchou was shocked, his eyes flickered, and he seemed to be asking himself this question in his heart.

As a true loyal minister and righteous man, Fu Tianchou soon had the answer.

He raised his head and looked at Chu Xuan, and said firmly: "My loyalty is to the Ming Dynasty."

Chu Xuan said: "Then the matter is simple. Zhu Youxiao is uneducated and favors treacherous officials, causing the demons in the court to dance wildly, causing chaos in the world and making the people miserable."

"How does such an emperor have the qualifications to sit on the ninety-five throne? Only when a wise king comes to power can the Ming Dynasty have a chance of survival."

Fu Tianchou's eyes flashed again, and some doubts arose in his heart. He then said tentatively: "What Mr. Chu said is absolutely true. I wonder who you think can be called a wise king?"

Chu Xuan shook his head and said: "This is Mr. Fu's business. We will not say much about who should succeed. In short, it is not Zhu Youxiao."

After hearing what he said, the doubts that had just arisen in Fu Tianchou's heart dissipated.

He suddenly had an idea just now, Zheng Zha and his group were not sent by someone who coveted the throne to trick him, right?

If this idea is true, then there is no doubt that what they said before is completely fabricated.

But Chu Xuan made it clear that they would ignore the change of imperial power, and Fu Tianchou felt relieved.

However, he still tried further and said: "I believe that King Xin Zhu Youjian is erudite, good at riding and shooting, can be said to be both civil and military, and also has a benevolent heart, so he should be a wise king."

Chu Xuan said nonchalantly: "Since your lord said that King Xin can be a wise king, then we will secretly go to the capital and invite King Xin to Nandu to take charge of the overall situation."

"When the time comes, King Xin will make the decision, our Qingjun side will be justified, and you won't have to bear the reputation of being a rebellious minister. What do you think, sir?"

Fu Tianqiu breathed a long sigh of relief and said happily: "That's very good. I'll leave everything to you."

…

Nanling County, Wumenju.

After Zhang Jie taught all the Nanming Lihuo Jue and Tongtianlu to Yan Chixia's master and apprentice, the two of them practiced on the second floor of the main room to refine their spiritual power.

Zhang Qin returned from Changzhou Mansion and informed Li Mu of the results of their discussion.

After listening to her words, Li Mu said happily: "Very good, since Fu Tianchou agrees, when he is ready, I will personally go to the capital secretly and bring King Xin back."

Zhang Qin warned: "You must be more careful."

Li Mu smiled and said: "Don't worry, although my level of cultivation is not as good as Zheng Zha's, my combat power is no weaker than his. Even if Pudu Cihang discovers it, it can't do anything to me."

"Besides, I'm just going to pick up someone. I'll go back quietly so I won't disturb him."

Zhang Jie, who was lighting a cigarette and puffing away at the side, suddenly said, "The King Xin you are talking about is the later Emperor Chongzhen, right?"

Li Mu shrugged and said, "It's not him."

Zhang Jie shook his head with a dumbfounded smile and said: "That fool is blind, even if we help him toil for three years in order to complete the task, we will still be destroyed by Hou Jin in the end."

Xiao Honglu smiled and said: "Not necessarily, this is the world of Liaozhai, and it is not the same thing as official history."

"Official history is now at a time when the Eunuch Party is taking power and the Donglin Party is excluding dissidents and quarreling with each other. The whole country is completely rotten, the politics is extremely dark, and there is basically no salvation."

"But in this world, all civil and military officials are evildoers. As long as they are all eliminated, it will be equivalent to a thorough cleansing of the imperial court."

"Then let Fu Tianchou urgently recruit officials and select a new group of young officials who can do practical things and are motivated. With the help of experts like Yan Chixia, the Ming Dynasty may not be able to come back to life and defeat Hou Jin."

After listening to what he said, everyone felt that it made sense. Without the eunuchs' chaos in government and the strife between the parties, the entire court would be united, and politics would soon be restored to clarity.

In addition, Xuanmen masters controlled the country, wiped out the demons that were causing trouble in the world, and fought against the Little Glacier climate to ensure smooth weather in the Ming Dynasty.

Adding up these many favorable conditions, if Zhu Youjian can still defeat Ming Dynasty, then his death will be truly unjust.

Although Zhu Youjian is not outstanding in ability and is a bit stubborn, he is not an unscrupulous man. It's just that what he got from the beginning was a bad hand.

If you give him a good hand, he won't be beaten to pieces. There is still no problem in being a conservative king.

In the evening, Yan Chixia was still meditating and practicing, but Shi'er had already taken the lead in refining her spiritual power, and finally achieved the mid-level cultivation level of Foundation Establishment.

Seeing that his master was still practicing, he didn't bother him and went straight downstairs to the west wing. He happened to meet Li Mu and his party having dinner.

Seeing such a large table of delicious food in front of them, Shi'er, who usually only served steamed buns and vegetable soup, couldn't help but gulp down his saliva.

"Hey, nephew, you are out of seclusion so quickly. Congratulations, come and sit down to eat." Zhang Jie was the first to see Shi'er and greeted him warmly.

Shi'er was not polite and sat down next to Xiao Honglu.

Zhan Lan got him bowls and chopsticks, while Li Mu put an open bottle of Maotai in front of him and said with a smile: "Drink some?"

Shi'er said happily: "Drink some. Thank you, Uncle Master."

He picked up the wine bottle and poured himself a glass, secretly exclaiming that he was indeed an authentic Taoist sect, even drinking from a glass cup.

Then he was attracted by the rich aroma of the wine. He took a deep breath and praised with intoxication: "What a fragrant wine."

"It smells good. It's authentic Maotai Chun. It's not easy to drink in Jiangnan. Try it."

"Thank you so much, Uncle Master. My nephew respects you."

Li Mu smiled and picked up the wine glasses, clinked them with him, and then each took a sip.

Yan Chixia is a good drinker, so Shier naturally drinks a lot.

The alcohol content of liquor in the Ming Dynasty was similar to that of later generations, so he was not at all uncomfortable with the 53-proof Moutai.

"Ha... good wine."

"Haha, drink more if you like."

Just when the wine was flowing in the side room and people were changing glasses, a young scholar wearing a shabby Confucian shirt and carrying a burden walked through the atrium and entered the back house.

Smelling the aroma of wine and food coming from the wing, and hearing the chatter and laughter in the room, the scholar hurriedly put down his burden, walked to the door of the wing and looked inside.

The scholar was surprised to see so many people in the wing and asked Shi'er, "Brother Shi'er, are there guests at home?"

Shi'er turned around and saw that he was a scholar. He quickly stood up and greeted, "Brother Cui, come on, let me introduce you. These are the elders of my sect. They are all real Taoist masters."

After speaking, he said to Li Mu: "Uncle Master, this is Brother Cui Hongjian. He is very talented in literature. It's a pity that he has not met a noble person who can appreciate him."

Li Mu smiled and said, "Meeting is fate. Mr. Cui, why don't you sit down and have a drink."

Cui Hongjian happily walked into the side room, cupped his hands to Li Mu and said, "Thank you, senior, but this is so disrespectful to me."

He discussed friendship with Shi'er as a peer, and when he heard that he was called Uncle Li Mu, he also assumed that he was his senior.

Xiao Honglu got up sensibly, took his bowl, walked to another table and sat next to Zelan, and Cui Hongjian sat down next to Shi'er.

He casually asked Shi'er, "Why don't you see Taoist Master Yan?"

Shi'er said: "Master is practicing in seclusion, so you can't disturb him for the time being."

"I see."

Zhan Lan waved his hand, and there was a pair of bowls, chopsticks and a wine glass in front of him. Cui Hongjian was stunned for a moment, and he was thinking about the magic trick in his heart.

Shi'er poured him a glass of wine, and after everyone followed him, Li Mu asked, "Does Mr. Cui have any fame?"

Cui Hongjian nodded and said, "I obtained the title of scholar in last year's college examination."

Li Muqi said: "Even so, in three months it will be the autumn period. How can the young master come here to live if he is not studying hard at home?"

Shi'er said with shame, "This is my nephew's fault. When he was out exterminating evil spirits two days ago, he accidentally burned down Brother Cui's house."

Cui Hongjian quickly waved his hand and said: "Don't say that. If you hadn't saved me that day, I would have died in the hands of evil spirits."

Li Mu asked Shi'er: "Why are there so many evil spirits around here?"

Shi'er nodded and sighed: "There is an entrance to the ghost cave in the northern suburbs of Heifengya. There is a ghost king entrenched in the ghost cave. She has a group of evil ghosts under her command who often cause chaos in the surrounding towns of Nanling County."

"Master has repeatedly attacked her with no success. We have nothing to do with her for the time being, so we have to patrol the surrounding areas more often. If we encounter evil spirits causing trouble, we will get rid of them easily."

Li Mu nodded and said: "I see. Now that we are here, we should eradicate this evil monster for the people of Nanling County and avoid future troubles forever."

Shi'er asked sternly: "Uncle Master, are you sure? No one knows what's going on inside the Guixiao. Master is just wary and doesn't dare to rush into the Guixiao."

Li Mu smiled, patted Mao Xiong on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, with your uncle Mao Xiong here, you won't be afraid of mere ghosts."

At this time, Shi'er also remembered that Li Mu had said that Uncle Mao Xiong's identity was equivalent to the Celestial Master Zhong Kui of the Rakshasa Kingdom, and he was the nemesis of ghosts, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.

Shi'er immediately picked up the wine glass, smiled at Mao Xiong and said, "My nephew, here's a toast to my uncle. I rely on him to destroy ghosts and monsters."

Mao Xiong also picked up the wine glass and laughed loudly: "I can't deal with monsters and demons, it depends on your master and the others. But when it comes to dealing with ghosts, your uncle, I will do my part."

After saying that, they clinked glasses with him and drank half the glass of vodka in one gulp. Seeing this, Shier had no choice but to hold his breath and drank most of the glass of white wine.

Seeing this, Li Mu said amusedly: "Silly boy, your Uncle Mao Xiong is just a wine barrel. Don't compete with him, otherwise you will have to get down sooner or later."

Shi'er scratched his head and giggled, and said: "It doesn't matter, my nephew can drink well. My uncle is so generous, and my nephew will always have fun with him."

"Hahahaha... What a good boy, you have a bad temper with me."

Mao Xiong laughed heartily, and the others were also smiling. From the plot of the movie, they already knew that Shi'er's personality seemed to be out of character, and he seemed immature.

In fact, this boy was extremely loyal and extremely affectionate, and would risk his life for his friends. On the contrary, Yan Chixia lost some of her passion because she had seen through the world.

In order not to neglect Cui Hongjian, Li Mu took the initiative to talk to him: "Master Cui, are you sure about Qiu Wei?"

Cui Hongjian smiled bitterly and said: "If today's imperial examination is still a test of knowledge, a junior student would be somewhat sure of passing the exam."

"But in today's imperial examinations, the chances of a poor scholar like me are very slim. I'm afraid the limit is for being a scholar."

Li Mu asked: "Where is Brother Cui's examination room?"

Cui Hongjian said: "Gongyuan of Ningguo Mansion."

Li Mu nodded and said: "We will leave here soon and go to Nandu to meet Mr. Fu, the Minister of the Ministry of War. He also serves as the envoy of Jiangnan Chengxuan."

"When the time comes, we will mention your name to him. Although we can't guarantee that you will win the election, we can at least guarantee that you will get a fair verdict."

Cui Hongjian was overjoyed when he heard this. He stood up and bowed deeply to Li Mu, saying, "Thank you for your care, senior. If Cui achieves anything in the future, he will never forget your great kindness and virtue."

Li Mu waved his hand and said, "I'm just giving you a fair chance. Whether you can grasp it or not depends on you. Sit down, you don't have to be so polite."

Cui Hongjian sat back on the stool calmly, held up the wine glass with both hands and said: "For people like me, a fair opportunity is a great opportunity. I respect my seniors."

…

The dinner ended in a cheerful atmosphere. Shi'er was a little drunk. As soon as it was over, she went back to her room and fell asleep.

On the contrary, Cui Hongjian was more measured and did not get drunk. After dinner, he and Li Mu took a walk in the house to eat while discussing the most important "policy questions" part of the imperial examination.

The so-called policy questions are to propose some solutions to current affairs.

The current affairs in the examination questions often involve real national problems, which can make readers get up from the pile of old papers, face the society, observe, think about problems, and then solve problems.

Cui Hongjian benefited a lot from this small chat with Li Mu, and was even more amazed by him.

As the night got darker, everyone went back to their rooms. Li Mu and the others still practiced cultivation instead of sleeping.

Cui Hongjian returned to the room, still thinking about the conversation with Li Mu.

It wasn't until I sat down at the desk that I suddenly remembered something and took out a piece of white gauze from my arms.

After being intoxicated with the white gauze for a while, he unfolded the rice paper and drew a portrait of a woman on it with a pen.

Just when he finished the painting and was admiring it, a strange wind blew and blew the painting away. Coincidentally, it flew out of the broken window.

Cui Hongjian quickly got up and chased him out. In the side room, Li Mu and other senior members of the Zhongzhou Team opened their eyes one after another.

(End of chapter)