Since no one came up from downstairs, they continued to burn the fire, not believing that no one would be smoked out.
Although this method is good, progress is very slow.
After burning for several hours, no one came out. Chu Zhinan knew that they were planning to wait until dark before coming out.
That's right. It's dark now. If more of them come out, maybe a few of them can escape and give the news.
But will he let them succeed?
Definitely not.
Everyone took turns guarding it, and more and more firewood was thrown in.
The Palace of the Duke of Protectorate.
Yang waited until Chu Xiaoxiao had enough sleep, gave her milk and complementary food, and then took her to the old lady's yard.
The old Duke was also there, and Chu Zhixi and Chu Zhibei both went to help Chu Zhinan.
There were three brothers, each guarding the entrance to a cellar.
The Emperor assigned a task to the Duke of Huguo's Mansion, but his sons were all at home, so the old duke sent them all out.
Prince Duan is the mortal enemy of their Chu family. Confiscating his armory is equivalent to cutting off his arm, and the Chu family is very happy to do so.
The old Duke looked at his granddaughter and said sadly, "I don't know if the eldest, second, and third brothers can successfully complete the task entrusted by the emperor by going to the haunted manor in the western suburbs of Chengguogong Mansion."
The old lady sighed, "I hope it goes smoothly. We don't know how many soldiers and weapons are there underground. There are only 3,000 people in the camp outside the capital. If the number is too different, I'm afraid the boss and his men will be in danger."
Chu Xiaoxiao was held in the old lady's arms as she played with the new toy given by the emperor, a golden toad.
It is made to be very lifelike, with its mouth open and a bug inside.
Chu Xiaoxiao's favorite thing to do is to reach in and pick the bugs out of the toad's mouth. However, she is small and her hands are chubby, so she can never get her hand in.
But she just loved to reach in and dig out the little bug with a grunt, her expression was conflicted, hardworking and serious, which made people want to laugh.
After the old lady finished speaking, she saw that her granddaughter had no reaction and was concentrating on picking the worms out of the toad's mouth. She signaled to Yang with her eyes.
Yang understood immediately, and seemed to be teasing Chu Xiaoxiao, but also seemed to be asking her seriously: "Xiaoxiao! Do you think it would be dangerous for your father, second uncle, third uncle, and eldest brother to go to the haunted manor in the western suburbs of Chengguogong Mansion to catch someone?"
Chu Xiaoxiao was stunned. She held the toad in her chubby hands, stared at Yang with her big eyes, and frowned slightly.
[There is definitely danger. There are thousands of people under the village, and there are many weapons.]
I heard there was danger, old Duke! The old lady was very worried.
The old lady blurted out: "If there is danger, how to solve it?"
The old Duke was afraid that his little granddaughter didn't understand the situation, so he said casually: "The eldest brother and his men are already using fire attack. It's daytime now, and those people haven't been smoked out yet."
Yang was even more worried: "What if they come out at night? We don't have many people, so won't we suffer if we can't stop them?"
Chu Xiaoxiao frowned and looked at the toad in her hand. The chubby little hand let go of the bug, and the golden toad fell to the ground with a "clang" and a dent was formed.
Yang felt a little sad when she picked it up. Such a good toy was broken.
[Aha! Got it. Let Dad add some herbs to the fire. The kind that can make people dizzy and numb their hands and feet.]
The old lady's eyes lit up, and she immediately signaled the old Duke to do it.
The old Duke came to his senses and thought that his granddaughter had so many ideas. He stood up and told someone to deliver the message.
By the way, a cart of medicinal herbs was also prepared and covered with cloth so that no one could see them.
Chu Zhinan received the herbs and immediately smiled. His daughter was really capable. She actually thought of this. To be honest, he hadn't even thought of it.
I am really ashamed.
This place is haunted, so no one comes here.
In addition, Chu Zhinan calculated that they would only come out to escape at night, so the fire was not burned very severely during the day.
When night fell, they increased the fire and put medicinal herbs in to burn together.
Less than half an hour after the fire started, some people came out. They all held weapons in their hands and wore armor, looking like regular soldiers of Dongsheng.
Chu Zhinan was no pushover either, and ordered his men to capture him immediately.
While arresting, he shouted: "Put down your weapons, no lives will be lost."
These words were often used in previous wars with the northerners, and the soldiers found them particularly easy to shout out now.
The people underground were so suffocated that they could not breathe. Not only was the air filled with smoke, but many people also experienced symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath, chest tightness, dizziness, and weakness in the limbs.
They were too weak to bear it and several of them had fainted. If they didn't come out, they would be suffocated to death in there.
As soon as the people inside came out, they were immediately suppressed and beaten, and they couldn't resist even if they wanted to.
The entrance to the cellar is not big, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. If there are more people, they won’t be able to get out.
There were quite a few people surrounding outside, three layers inside and three layers outside. As soon as you showed your head, you would be hit like a whack-a-mole and then captured.
What's more, they were fumigated with herbs, which made them top-heavy and light-footed, and they had little resistance at all.
No matter how good the weapon is or how new the armor is, it is useless and you will be destroyed.
People kept coming out of the three cellar entrances and were constantly being arrested.
The commotion lasted until the middle of the night, when all the people were captured and taken to a large camp outside Beijing for detention.
After the people were cleared away, Chu Zhinan led his men into the cellar.
Before entering, everyone covered their mouths and noses with wet towels and held torches.
There were steps in the cellar that extended to the ground, about two meters high. The fire had stopped burning above, but there was still smoke below.
This is where weapons are made. Furnaces and pig iron blocks can be seen everywhere.
At the other end is the armory, which contains thousands of various weapons, all brand new.
Chu Zhinan had all the finished weapons transported to the camp outside the capital by cart overnight. The remaining semi-finished products, furnaces, pig iron, and craftsmen were guarded, awaiting the emperor's decision.
He did this very secretly and not many people knew about it.
One reason is that this place is too remote, and the other is that he ordered his men to act at night and only left people to guard it during the day.
Prince Duan has been running this place for so many years and has always believed that it is safe.
No one noticed it at all.
The emperor was also very cunning. Concubine Li was put under house arrest when something happened, and Duke Cheng's mansion was raided. The reasons used were corruption and witchcraft, nothing else.
Prince Duan's people did not think that Duke Cheng would dare to expose what happened at the farm outside the western suburbs.
As long as the money embezzled was turned over to the state treasury, there would be no need to worry about one's life. But it was different with Zhuangzi. If Duke Chengguo dared to expose his crime, the emperor would kill all nine generations of his clan.
Forging weapons privately is treason.
The things were found on his farm, and he couldn't even blame Prince Duan for it.
No one would believe that Prince Duan would set up an armory on Duke Chengguo's farm, so it would be a sophistry for him to tell the truth.
The emperor also thought of this, and asked Eunuch Yuanbao with a smile: "Why is Prince Duan so charming? He actually let Duke Chengguo take the blame for him?
This brother of mine is really cunning. Even I was fooled by him. I have no choice but to accept it! His armory is not set up on his own farm, but on the farm of Duke Chengguo. This is a very clever plan. "
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