In the end, the army that broke into the palace scared away the group of concubines who were chanting scriptures with gunfire, and then captured the emperor who had not yet escaped in the secret passage of the palace.
At this point, the emperor was captured, all the ministers surrendered, and the fictional dynasty in the world of A Chinese Ghost Story completely changed.
But this is far from over. Outside the capital, there is still a thousand-year-old monster parading under the name of the national teacher...
Zhao Lihe handed over the imperial palace and all the court officials to the Nie father and son, and ordered the five armies of the "City Occupation Division" to take over the city defense. Then, he took Nie's father and Nie Changchuan and demonstrated once again what it meant to have a divine army descend from the sky in front of everyone.
Looking at the mighty iron army that appeared out of nowhere on the plain outside the city, Nie Changchuan was shocked beyond words.
He thought it was already very powerful that Zhao Lihe's army was equipped with modern thermal weapons.
But who would have thought that he actually had a powerful mechanized armored division hidden!
Nie Changchuan was stunned and asked, "Is this the surprise you mentioned?"
Zhao Lihe chuckled and said, "That's right. Do you think Pudu Cihang will like it?"
Nie Changchuan nodded repeatedly, feeling emotional as he looked at the black-painted tanks.
As a flower-growing family with the fear of insufficient firepower engraved in their DNA, nothing is more reassuring than these thick gun barrels.
Zhao Lihe smiled slightly and ordered the First Armored Division of Daxia to set up camp outside the city and wait for Pu Du Ci Hang to return to Beijing.
…
The next morning, Nie's father and the diplomatic officials sent by Zhao Lihe had "persuaded" the former emperor and officials of all ranks, and decided to hold a ceremony of abdication three days later to abdicate the throne to Nie's father.
When the news came out, there was an uproar throughout the dynasty.
Officials from all over the country sent messengers to inquire about the news.
Messengers could be seen galloping everywhere on the official roads, and letters were delivered between the capital and other places like snowflakes.
As expected, some local officials took advantage of the situation and pledged allegiance to the new emperor as quickly as possible in the hope of gaining a prosperous and promising future.
Some saw this as a risk and an opportunity, and decided to either raise an army to support the king or to establish their own territory.
For a time, the mountains and rivers of China were shaking, and the winds and clouds were surging.
The country's fortunes changed, and Pu Du Ci Hang, who practiced by devouring the dynasty's fortunes, realized that something was wrong, and immediately returned to Beijing to find out what was going on.
At the same time, in a dark alley outside the Nie Mansion in the capital, Nie Changchuan appeared alone.
Seeing the ground in the dark alley bulge, Nie Changchuan coughed lightly and whispered, "Brother Zhiqiu, are you there?"
“Bang!”
The mound of earth broke open, and a figure emerged from it. He pouted a few times and said disdainfully, "Didn't your manure always get picked up by others before? When did you dig a manure pit? Why didn't you tell me in advance?!"
Smelling the foul odor on the other person, Nie Changchuan held his breath and took a step back calmly.
"It happened two years ago... Let's not talk about that, let's get down to business first!"
"Don't worry, let me take a shower first!"
As he spoke, the Taoist priest cast a spell, summoned a water ball, and cleaned it from top to bottom.
There is no doubt that this person is Zhiqiu Yiye, the Taoist priest of Kunlun Sect in the second part of A Chinese Ghost Story.
The last time Nie Changchuan went down the mountain, when he was helping the villagers at the foot of the mountain to get rid of a weasel spirit, he happened to meet Zhiqiu Yiye who was also there to slay demons.
The two met, introduced themselves to each other, and then hit it off and became good friends.
When he met Zhao Lihe this time, Nie Changchuan was on guard at first, so he sent a message to his master in Maoshan and the traveling Zhiqiu Yiye, wanting them to come to the capital to help.
Now Zhiqiu Yiye has come, but his master is still nowhere to be seen, he just sent a message.
The general meaning is that Zhao Lihe has a very impressive background, so the Maoshan ancestral temple is not in a position to intervene and let him act according to circumstances.
Bah, what do you mean by acting according to circumstances? If you don’t dare to provoke, then just say so. It’s not like Nie Changchuan can’t understand.
However, the more his master and Maoshan were like this, the more he found Zhiqiu Yiye pleasing to the eye.
...What is a close friend?
Nie Changchuan looked at Zhiqiu Yiye with a smile on his face. After Zhiqiu Yiye washed off the stench on his body, he spoke, "Did you see the army outside the city?"
"nonsense!"
Zhiqiu Yiye replied unhappily, then wrung the moisture out of his hair and said with lingering fear: "I, Zhiqiu Yiye, have been in the business for a while, and have seen a lot in the court and the arena, but I have never seen an army with such exaggerated military might!"
"I was performing the Earth Escape Technique when I passed by the camp. I became curious and opened my Dharma Eyes to see what was going on."
"My goodness! That golden light and the might of the army made me dizzy. I wandered around outside the city for a while before I found the direction to enter the city..."
Nie Changchuan was so annoyed: "No wonder you came so late!"
Zhiqiu Yiye laughed awkwardly, and then seemed to suddenly think of something, and said incredulously: "You don't want me to deal with them, do you?"
"How is that possible!" Nie Changchuan said unhappily, and then said seriously, "When I sent you a message before, I did have similar thoughts, but now we are in the same camp - you should have heard about the abdication ceremony, right?"
"I heard about it." Zhiqiu Yiye nodded and said, "It is said that the new emperor's surname is Nie - wait, it can't be you, Nie?"
Seeing Nie Changchuan nodded, Zhiqiu Yiye's eyes widened immediately. After a long while, he swallowed his saliva and said in disbelief.
"You...you want to be the emperor?"
"It's my dad!"
"It's all the same. You are the only son in your family. There's no way the throne can fall on anyone else, right?"
Looking at the grinning Zhiqiu Yiye, Nie Changchuan curled his lips and said, "You seem to want to see me become the emperor!"
Zhiqiu Yiye said sternly: "Of course, I have long been fed up with this old emperor and the treacherous ministers in the court. You are my best friend, and I know your character. With you as the emperor, I and the people of the world will feel much more at ease!"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Nie Changchuan said unhappily, "Let's get down to business. I need your help with something!"
Zhiqiu Yiye said with a smile: "Go ahead, Your Highness!"
Nie Changchuan pulled the corner of his mouth and said patiently: "I would like to ask you to go to Guobei County and visit a deserted temple called Lanruo Temple outside the county to see if there is still a hermit bearded swordsman there."
"If not, then don't bother with it and just leave on your own."
"But if there is, invite him to the capital and tell him that there is a demon causing chaos in the court and he is needed to save the world..."
Although Zhao Lihe has proved his identity, it is only one person's opinion after all. Nie Changchuan is cautious and plans to let Zhiqiu Yiye, an outsider, go to Lanruo Temple to verify it for him.
Guobei County, Lanruo Temple, bearded swordsman...
Zhiqiu Yiye thought for a moment, then nodded decisively and said, "Okay, don't worry, I promise to be back soon!"
After saying that, Zhiqiu Yiye laughed and hugged Nie Changchuan, then he made some hand gestures and disappeared underground.
Nie Changchuan was frowning, sniffing the faint stench on his body, and quickly turned back home to change his clothes.
…
The abdication ceremony is approaching, but those local officials who have threatened to raise an army to support the king are still hesitating.
It was obvious that they did not really want to raise troops to support the king, they just wanted to replace the person sitting on the dragon throne with themselves.
In comparison, Pu Du Ci Hang, who was a demon monk, was more concerned and rushed back to the capital as quickly as possible.
"Namo Amitabha~"
On the official road, the sound of Sanskrit lingered and echoed for a long time.
More than a dozen monks in strange clothes were protecting a lotus platform. They seemed to be moving slowly but were actually moving quickly towards the capital.
At that time, the sky was dark, the moonlight was obscured by dark clouds, the lotus platform was covered with banners, and there was a faint golden light inside. A tall figure sitting cross-legged could be vaguely seen.
Combined with the lingering sound of Sanskrit Buddhist chants, it gives people a sense of solemnity.
But for some reason, beneath this solemn appearance, there is a faint sense of weirdness.
Just like "Kangshoufu Beef Noodles" and "Bai Shi Cola", you may not notice anything at first glance, but if you look closely, the counterfeit and shoddy feeling will instantly emerge.
Zhao Lihe's feeling is more obvious than that of ordinary people.
The evil monk was only close to the capital city when the Xuanyuan sword on his waist began to tremble.
Zhao Lihe frowned, drew out the Xuanyuan Sword, and the sword body shone with golden light, pointing outside the city.
"That evil monk is coming!"
Zhao Lihe's eyes turned cold, and he immediately walked out of the tent with a sword in hand, woke up Nie Changchuan next door, and dragged him out of the barracks.
"Brother, you are really my brother. Where are you taking me in the middle of the night?!"
Nie Changchuan buttoned his shirt while looking at Zhao Lihe's back with helplessness on his face.
Suddenly, a golden light appeared on the official road ahead, and a group of monks appeared in his sight.
Nie Changchuan woke up instantly, his face immediately became serious, he took out the talisman and prepared for battle.
Seeing someone blocking the official road ahead, the monks carrying the sedan chair stopped immediately. One of the nuns walked up to the sedan chair and shouted loudly.
"Who is in front of us? How dare you stop the Imperial Master from using his magic frame!"
Zhao Lihe sneered without saying a word. The Xuanyuan Sword in his hand shone with golden light and he swung it forward violently.
In an instant, a golden streak broke away from the sword and slashed towards the nun in front of the sedan with a whistling airflow.
The nun was frightened when she saw the golden light brushing her face, and quickly dodged to the side.
"Amitabha!"
Just as the golden light was about to approach the lotus platform, the figure in the sedan chair chanted the Buddha's name, and the golden light shone brightly from the banner, forming a golden Buddha phantom, which completely shattered the golden light.
Seeing this, Nie Changchuan couldn't help but widen his eyes and said in amazement: "You're going to do it now? Aren't you going to say a few words first?"
Zhao Lihe sneered and said, "What's there to say about this evil heretic? It's a waste of words!"
Before he finished speaking, a cold wind blew up, and the lotus banner was blown away, revealing Pu Du Ci Hang with his hands clasped together and a body full of Buddha's light.
"Amitabha, you are too violent and have committed murder in vain. Why don't you put down your butcher knife quickly and recite the Buddha's teachings with me to escape from the sea of suffering..."