The prefect of Qingzhou turned ashen-faced instantly, his eyes wide with terror and disbelief.
"Who...who are you? How could all the guards in my manor have been killed?"
Chen Zhennan looked at him coldly, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "Sir, you really have a bad memory. I am Lian'er."
The prefect gritted his teeth, suddenly reached under the bed and pulled out a sword, pointing it at Chen Zhennan in a fit of rage.
"Let me tell you, I'm not a civil official, I'm a military general. Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"
"Oh!" Chen Zhennan smiled slightly. "So you're a military general. Listen to my voice again. How could a military general from the Great Wu not have heard my voice before?"
The prefect of Qingzhou tried hard to recall, when suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply, his arm went limp, and his long sword fell directly to the ground.
"You...you are...Chen Zhennan?"
“Indeed, it is I.” Chen Zhennan’s voice carried a hint of amusement. “Prefect, Qingzhou is located on the border and is a place of war. How dare you have your troops disguise themselves as bandits!”
With Chen Zhennan's shout, the prefect's legs went weak and he knelt down with a thud.
"General, General, I was confused for a moment. I had no other choice. The imperial court has ordered the collection of taxes, but where would the people of Qingzhou get so much money? I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure. I hope..."
"Shut up!"
With a roar, Chen Zhennan snatched the long sword from Song Yunyang's hand and stepped forward, placing it directly against the prefect's neck.
“A mistake is a mistake. What imperial decree? Since you knew the people of Qingzhou didn’t have that much money, you still ordered your soldiers to impersonate bandits! Wu Yunyin is a scourge to the country and its people, and you, as the prefect, are aiding and abetting her!”
"General! This is the least damaging method I've ever used. If someone else had done it, I'm afraid the 300,000 people of Qingzhou would have starved to death!"
Chen Zhennan admitted that he was right. If it were a different prefect acting on imperial orders, Qingzhou would definitely be an endless desolation.
However, this cannot be a reason to exonerate him. As long as Chen Zhennan sees it, he cannot be let off the hook.
"They say it's better to mend the fence after the sheep are lost, but your sins are too grave and unforgivable!"
As soon as Chen Zhennan finished speaking, the prefect suddenly realized something was wrong, dodged backward, picked up his sword, and thrust it fiercely at Chen Zhennan's chest.
"snort!"
Chen Zhennan had long anticipated that he would fight to the death. Watching the sword tip getting closer and closer to his chest, Chen Zhennan still stood calmly in place.
Just when the prefect thought he was about to succeed, a loud bang rang out, and a blood flower exploded on the prefect's chest, leaving him standing stiffly in place.
Song Yunyang was stunned, completely bewildered by what had happened. The prefect had clearly been hit by some kind of hidden weapon, but she had never seen such a fast hidden weapon before, and the sound was incredibly loud.
The prefect's body slowly leaned backward. Feng Zirou stepped forward and gracefully handed the 1911 in her hand to Chen Zhennan.
Song Yunyang looked at the 'hidden weapon' in Chen Zhennan's hand with great curiosity. It had a peculiar shape and emitted a strange, cold light.
"Chen Zhennan, what is this? Why have I never seen it before?"
Chen Zhennan smiled slightly and explained, "This is called a pistol. It's a new type of firearm. There's only one of these for now, but in three months, I'll be able to equip a team of thousands of people with it."
Three months?
A team of thousands?
Song Yunyang suddenly realized why Chen Zhennan had ordered Zhou Xiang to surround Beijing for three months and cut off Song Xuan's escape route.
"I see. I'm becoming more and more curious about you. Your thinking and actions far surpass those of ordinary people. Why didn't you ascend the throne yourself before?"
This is the same question again. Now, Chen Zhennan finds it laughable when he thinks about it.
"There's nothing else to it, it's just because of the promise I made to Wu Yunyin back then. A promise is a promise, and I will never break it, even if it means my death."
After saying that, Chen Zhennan returned the sword to Song Yunyang and led the others out of the courtyard. Only then did they realize that Zhang Hu was already dead.
...
As the sun rose in the east, many of the people of Qingzhou City were still asleep, and there were only a few pedestrians on the streets.
However, government troops had already begun a tense martial law and search operation, breaking the tranquility of the early morning.
"Quickly, search every corner! We can't let the assassin escape!"
The officers and soldiers split into small teams, knocking on doors one by one, rudely breaking into people's homes, ransacking their houses, and searching for traces of the assassin.
The people were terrified by the sudden search, and the cries of children and the screams of women rose and fell.
"Find out this thoroughly! How dare they massacre the prefect's office! Search it, search it for me!"
Inside the Datong Escort Agency, Chen Zhennan sat quietly in the pavilion, his face expressionless, as if the noise outside had nothing to do with him.
"Commander, the soldiers' search is getting more and more intense. What should we do?"
Feng Zirou looked somewhat nervous. It wasn't uncommon for officials to be assassinated in Qingzhou City before, but this time, all the officers and soldiers of the Qingzhou City government had been mobilized.
"What are you afraid of? Open the gates of the security company and let the officers in to search."
As he spoke, Chen Zhennan put the mask he had just taken off back onto his face.
Even with this safeguard, Feng Zirou still felt it was too risky. What if her identity was discovered? Besides the government officials and soldiers, there would also be Song Xuan's 100,000 troops outside.
"General, I think you'd better hide. What if..."
"Go open the door, what are you afraid of?"
Although Feng Zirou was still somewhat hesitant, she had no choice but to obey orders. She took a deep breath, strode towards the door, and opened the latch.
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