Chapter 236 Meeting the Former Members of the Qi Family Army

As the sound of horse hooves approached, Aunt Jiang looked anxiously.

But when the horse got closer, she found that the person coming was Sun Chu.

Sun Chu tied the two horses together.

He walked quickly to Ye Chutang and said, "The arsonist has been found."

Ye Chutang winked at Sun Chu and deliberately asked, "Did the dog emperor send someone to set the fire?"

Sun Chu understood Ye Chutang's look and nodded affirmatively.

"Except for that bastard, there is no one else!"

After saying that, he looked around and asked, "Is there anything to eat? I'm starving."

Aunt Xu quickly took some meat patties and fruits and handed them to Sun Chu.

"Mr. Sun, there is still a lot of food, please feel free."

After expressing his gratitude, Sun Chu took the food handed to him by Aunt Xu and gobbled it up.

"Is there any water?"

Ye Chutang handed the water bag filled with river water to Sun Chu.

In case he says that the river water is not as delicious as the spring water before, he will be exposed.

She immediately asked, "Can the fire be controlled?"

Sun Chu's throat was so dry that it was smoking. He couldn't even taste the taste of water. He felt that he would not be more energetic if he drank it.

But now is not the time to pursue this.

He returned the empty water bag to Ye Chutang.

"It can definitely be controlled. As long as the wind direction doesn't change, the wildfire will not spread in less than two hours."

Although the wildfire covered a large area, there were many people in Dayang Town and a large number of troops stationed there.

It is not difficult to work together to control wildfires.

Ye Chutang was completely relieved.

"As long as it can be controlled, are there any casualties among the people?"

"There were no casualties. The wildfire started in one village. The weather was dry and there was a lack of water. The villagers knew they couldn't put out the fire, so they ran away immediately."

After Sun Chu finished speaking, he took out the map from his arms and returned it to Ye Chutang.

"How did Madam Qi calculate the location of the isolation zone?"

So accurate!

It is necessary to use modern mathematics, physics and geographical algorithms to calculate with exact accuracy.

The ancients who did not have this knowledge could not calculate it at all.

Ye Chutang knew that his identity as a time traveler would be revealed sooner or later.

After all, the poems she wrote, which have been passed down through the ages, all come from modern times.

As long as Sun Chu was willing to inquire, he would know that they were "fellow villagers".

But she didn't plan to confess just yet. She would wait until Sun Chu found evidence and confronted her.

"Things are urgent, I don't have time to calculate, I just drew it casually."

No one believes this explanation.

Although Sun Chu didn't get anything out of his question, he became more and more suspicious that Ye Chutang was also from the modern era.

He thought that there would be news about Ye Chutang soon, so he didn't ask any more questions.

"Besides me, who else is back?"

Ye Chutang glanced at the horse curled up on the ground exhausted and said, "Azhou, he went to the puddle upstream to wash. Do you want to go and wash too?"

Sun Chu's body was not very dirty, but he smelled strongly of sweat.

He couldn't stand the smell, rubbed his nose and said, "Okay, I'll go after I finish eating."

"By the way, bring back a bucket of water for the horse."

"OK."

After eating, Sun Chu took his clothes and went upstream.

After walking a few steps, I saw Qi Yanzhou who had just finished rushing back.

"Master Qi, give me the bucket. I'm going to take a shower."

Qi Yanzhou picked up a full bucket of water and prepared to save it for cooking.

"Wait a moment, I'll go pour the water."

He propped up the iron pot and filled it with water.

Collect the remaining water in a basin and use it with flour later.

"Han Chong and the others will be back soon. They are all hungry. Let's make some noodle dumpling soup."

Aunt Xu quickly agreed, "Okay, I'll do it right away."

After Sun Chu left with the bucket, Qi Hean and Old Man Qi went to pick up dead branches.

Old Madam Qi and Aunt Xu were preparing the ingredients for noodle dumpling soup.

In addition to kneading the noodles into small lumps, you can also put some vegetables and diced meat into the pot to enhance the flavor of the soup.

Ye Chutang hasn't cooked for a long time. It was basically Aunt Xu and Qi Hean who cooked, with the two elders of the Qi family helping out, and Qi Jingyao doing the rough work.

The dumpling soup is easy to make, so Qi Jingyao was not asked to help.

Seeing that Qi Yanzhou looked unwell, Ye Chutang pulled him to sit not far away and took his pulse.

"The pulse is urgent and feels hot. What did you do to almost trigger the fire poison?"

Qi Yanzhou turned his wrist, palm facing up.

The palms of my hands are covered with blisters, which is heartbreaking to see.

"At the time, I was just thinking about cutting down trees quickly, otherwise I wouldn't be able to stop the wildfire, and I overused my internal energy."

He realized that something was wrong with his body, so he would take a rest even if Han Chong couldn't come.

"Atang, don't worry, I'll be fine after a rest."

"Wait, I'll go get some medicine for the trauma."

Ye Chutang brought the bag containing medicine and took out a bottle of golden medicine and a roll of silk from it.

She poured brown medicine powder on the wound on Qi Yanzhou's palm, spread it evenly and bandaged it.

"Don't touch water. It will heal in two or three days."

Qi Yanzhou said "hmm" and asked, "Did Sun Chu bring any news about the person who set the fire?"

He didn't think it was the dog emperor who did it.

After all, the gift he gave to the emperor had just arrived in the capital. Even if the emperor wanted to retaliate, the news would not be delivered so quickly.

Moreover, the emperor, having suffered two great losses, did not have the courage to do anything that would harm the people and himself.

Although Ye Chutang did not know the result from Sun Chu's mouth, he thought the same as Qi Yanzhou.

She approached Qi Yanzhou and lowered her voice and said, "It should be the villagers who accidentally set the fire. Let's wait for Sun Chu to come back and ask him."

After that, she asked, "Are you going to rest here tonight?"

Qi Yanzhou nodded, "Well, Han Chong and the others are tired and need to rest for a night."

Just as he finished speaking, the sound of messy horse hooves was heard.

It was Han Chong who came down to the river first with his men on horseback.

Everyone was dusty and exhausted.

The horse was also extremely tired. It lay on the ground, panting heavily, with white foam coming out of the corners of its mouth.

Qi Yanzhou stood up and walked towards Han Chong.

"There's a big puddle upstream. You can go there and wash yourself. Then come back and drink the noodle soup."

The noodle soup is too hot. It needs to be cooled down a little.

Han Chong's dirty face was washed by sweat, leaving several white, curved lines.

He wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve, but it became dirtier.

"Okay, have the other fires been stopped?"

Seeing that Han Chong's lips were cracked, Qi Yanzhou handed him his father's water bag.

"The fire has been brought under control. It has burned seven hills in total. There are no casualties."

"It's not all in vain."

Han Chong took the water bag, moistened his throat a little, and then handed it to his subordinate.

He suddenly smelled a scent of blood, frowned and asked, "Is anyone injured?"

Ye Chutang interjected, "Ye Siyin had a miscarriage."

Han Chong was not interested in irrelevant matters and changed the subject.

"Master Qi, how do you plan to take advantage of this wildfire?"

"Of course, the truth is made public."

Qi Yanzhou finished speaking with a smile, and silently uttered two words: "Emperor."

Doesn’t the emperor always let this person take the blame and that person take the responsibility?

Then let him have a taste of this too!

Han Chong thought Qi Yanzhou's approach was good, but he was a little worried about the situation in Beichen Kingdom.

Today, the royal family has completely lost its prestige.

Faced with tyranny, many people will develop thoughts of resistance, which will lead to chaos.

Take the price of food, which is related to people’s livelihood.

If the government does not recognize the imperial edict to control grain prices, and the merchants ignore the government's restrictions, Beichen Kingdom will be in chaos.

In the end, it is the people who suffer.

Han Chong told Qi Yanzhou about his concerns.

"Master Qi, do we need to push someone out to challenge the royal family?"

Although it is not appropriate to overthrow the imperial power now, it would be a good thing for the people if someone could emerge as a force to contend with the emperor.

Qi Yanzhou had also thought about this, but he had not yet found someone suitable for the task.

The selection of the new emperor must be made with great care. If the wrong choice is made, it may have a counterproductive effect.

He did not refute Han Chong, but asked: "Do you have a candidate?"

Han Chong said nothing, staring at Qi Yanzhou intently.

Qi Yanzhou understood what he meant and shook his head, "Wait a little longer, the right person will appear."

Han Chong had already expected this answer.

After all, Qi Yanzhou had clearly stated before that he had no interest in the throne.

He looked at Ye Chutang under the tree, hoping that she could speak up and persuade Qi Yanzhou.

But Ye Chutang had even less interest in the palace wall and simply ignored Han Chong.

Han Chong sighed in his heart and asked Qi Yanzhou again.

"What will you do if the emperor ignores your threats and continues to attack the Qi family?"

After the emperor's "substitute plan" in Liangzhou failed, Qi Yanzhou threatened the emperor with rebellion.

As a result, the emperor did not change his bad habits and came up with the "burning city plan" in Dayang Town.

After Qi Yanzhou broke the impasse, he fought back, but would the emperor really be afraid?

The answer is definitely: No!

Qi Yanzhou knew very well that the emperor would not let the Qi family go.

But after receiving the prince's head, he will definitely stay quiet for a while, enough time for them to reach Tianshan County.

By then, even if the emperor wanted to deal with the Qi family, he would be powerless.

"If the emperor refuses to change his ways, then we will push a prince to the throne."

Han Chong raised his eyebrows, "Who will Master Qi choose?"

Qi Yanzhou said without hesitation: "Second Prince."

This answer was beyond Han Chong's expectations.

The second prince Zhao Cheng'an is even more vicious than the late deposed crown prince.

Not only did he form cliques for personal gain, he also manipulated the imperial examinations to cheat, and even went so far as to collect boys' blood to make elixirs for the emperor in order to consolidate his favor.

They also took advantage of the fact that the emperor liked to practice Taoism and seek immortality, and joined forces with the evil Taoist priests to do evil!

Han Chong asked in confusion: "Why him?"

Qi Yanzhou smiled and said, "Because he knows how to pretend."

Although Zhao Cheng'an does not have a heart for the people, after he comes to power, he will pretend to be a benevolent monarch in order to reverse the reputation of the royal family.

At least for three years, the people will not be oppressed.

This also gave him enough time to plan secretly and achieve the best of both worlds.

Although Han Chong didn't understand what Qi Yanzhou meant, he believed in his decision.

At this time, Sun Chu, who had finished washing, came back with a bucket of water.

He looked around and asked, "This bucket is too small for the horse. How do I feed it water?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the National Protection Army came to the river with the things left in the valley.

Qi Qingyu took out her washing basin and gave water to the horse.

Han Chong took the hay off the cart and threw it beside the basin, then took the clothes and bucket and went to the puddle upstream to wash them.

As soon as the National Protection Army left, the doctor prescribed medicine for Ye Siyin to prevent her from dying from miscarriage.

After a while, the men Wu Chenggang sent to find the water source came back.

There is also a large puddle half a mile downstream.

However, this location is close to the wildfire, and there are no trees above the puddle to block the view, causing the ash from the burnt grass to fall into it.

Ye Chutang thought it was no big deal.

Wood ash is not dirty and can purify water and disinfect.

"Just bring the water back and let it sit for a while."

After saying that, she took out two rainproof sheets from the cart and handed them to Qi Hean.

"Go find two places to rest for the night and put up the tarpaulin to block the falling ash."

It’s okay to be a little dirty, but if you accidentally inhale dust into your nose, it will be very uncomfortable.

Qi Hean took the rainproof cloth and said, "Okay, second sister-in-law."

He had just taken two steps when he saw a rabbit darting out from the woods.

With some basic kung fu skills, he quickly grabbed the old rabbit's long ears and lifted it up.

"Hahaha, we'll have roasted rabbit for dinner!"

Sun Chu looked at the rabbit struggling to escape and said, "There must be a lot of animals running out of those seven burning mountains. Now is a good time to hunt. I'll go take a look."

Having said that, he disappeared.

When the Chen family heard this, they thought they could go to the mountains and give it a try, maybe they could get lucky.

Ye Jingchuan was about to vomit after eating the black-faced steamed buns, and wanted to try his luck in the mountains.

After saying something to Wu Chenggang, the two of them walked away together.

The result was empty-handed.

The Qi family and the National Protection Army were already barbecuing.

Sun Chu is a martial arts expert, and catching wild game is just like playing for him.

He tied more than ten rabbits with vines and caught two deer and brought them back.

Soon, the aroma of barbecued meat filled the air.

Except for the Zhao, Ye and Chen families, everyone else ate barbecue and drank thick noodle dumpling soup.

The next day.

Qi Yanzhou woke up before dawn.

The air was filled with the smell of burning wood, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of black ash.

Fortunately, Ye Chutang had the foresight to pull up a rainproof cloth above the resting area.

The air was a little hot, the residual heat left by the wildfire.

He went to take a look at the nearest isolation zone.

The wildfire has been extinguished, leaving behind a charred ground and some tall trees that have not been burned.

When Qi Yanzhou returned to the river, everyone had packed up and was ready to go.

He washed himself briefly with the water that was specially left for him.

Wu Chenggang looked at the moon hanging in the sky and shouted, "Let's go!"

The road was also covered with ash. When a group of people walked by, they raised a cloud of black ash that was very choking.

It was almost noon when the exile team walked out of the area affected by the wildfire.

Four days later, the group arrived in Dingzhou.

The news that Qi Yanzhou led the crowd to stop the wildfire had already spread to Dingzhou City.

Many people were at the city gate to greet them and expressed their gratitude.

Even Zhu Hong, the governor of Dingzhou, appeared at the city gate and personally escorted the Qi family to the post station.

"Master Qi, if you need anything, please let me know. The postmaster will do his best to satisfy you."

Although he is the emperor's man, he has to leave a way out for himself.

Qi Yanzhou didn't like Zhu Hong and waved his hand.

"Master Zhu, please go and do your work. We will leave early tomorrow morning."

The implication is that as long as Zhu Hong doesn't make trouble, he won't take the initiative to cause trouble.

This is exactly what Zhu Hong wanted to hear.

He didn't want to be implicated by Qi Yanzhou just because he was the emperor's man!

"Okay, you guys take a rest, I'll leave first."

After Zhu Hong left, Qi Yanzhou made sure that the post station was not under surveillance, so he went out to look for the former members of the Qi family army.