Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Cao Shaoqing thought for a moment, then continued:
"The peak combat power of the top experts from the Eastern aristocratic families is no weaker than that of our Great Qian."

"Especially in recent years, the Japanese have infiltrated Daqian and seized many of our martial arts techniques."

"The leader of the Japanese Black Dragon Society's Daqian branch is Yokoyama Sora, but the leader of the Black Dragon Society's headquarters is Miyamoto Musashi."

"We have investigated and found out that Shinobu Nakajima is Miyamoto Musashi's adopted daughter, and she currently serves as the Chief of Staff in the Tohoku Eastern Army."

"According to our latest information, the Black Dragon Society may launch a series of assassination attempts against you in the near future in order to seek revenge."

"Prince Qian, please be careful!"

For a long time, Eunuch Cao had referred to Chen Jie as "Young Master Chen".

but,

As Chen Jie's status and position changed, he now held the "command token" and was in charge of the inner palace.

Therefore,
All the chief stewards in the palace addressed Chen Jie as the Prince of Qian.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie nodded slightly.

Yokoyama Sora's peak combat power is terrifying; he is the first expert with the Qi Refining Realm that Chen Jie has killed so far.

The opponent's "Yokozan Ittō-ryū" is one of the top sword techniques.

not to mention,
Like Chen Jie, his Refining Spirit Realm also possesses an extremely strong sixth sense of danger.

If it weren't for Chen Jie's "Limitless Sword Technique" possessing cross-border killing power, and his breakthrough in the Refining Spirit Realm to the "Mid-Stage of the Heart Fasting Stage,"

The outcome of this life-or-death battle is unpredictable.

to be frank,
Chen Jie's eventual influence on Yokoyama Sora's state of mind through 'hypnosis' involved an element of luck.

If he were to encounter Nanzo Mitsuko, whose strength was similar to Yokoyama Sora's, next time, Chen Jie couldn't guarantee whether he could defeat her.

Looking at Chen Jie's calm expression, Cao Shaoqing felt a deep sense of emotion.

He recalled that when Chen Jie bought some jade stones that had been circulating in the palace back in the capital, his martial arts skills had only just entered the initial stage of the Meridian Cleansing realm.

In less than two years, Chen Jie was already able to kill Yokoyama Sora, and his peak combat power surpassed his own.

Such terrifying talent overturned his understanding of martial arts; he had never even heard of it before.

"I have never heard of a martial artist with the Blood Pill Force being able to kill a martial artist with the Meridian Opening Force across borders."

"The higher the level of martial arts mastery, the greater the gap in combat power."

"Since I met you, I've found it increasingly difficult to understand you. I never expected that standing in front of you this time would make me feel a sense of crisis."

“You possess a powerful force of heaven and earth that I have never seen even in the previous generation of ‘Sword Master Jingyun’.”

Cao Shaoqing sighed.

Chen Jie smiled and said in a deep voice, "My martial arts are different from yours!"

His martial arts lineage is the [Martial Saint Sect] in his mind.

Whether it's the level of martial arts power exertion or the level of spirit refinement, both are improved through the inheritance of the [Martial Saint Sect].

Especially after he obtained the martial arts inheritance of the [Yan Kong Martial Saint] and the [Wu Ji Sword Saint].

He possesses the will of a Martial Saint!
Therefore,
Only then did Cao Shaoqing feel a strong sense of oppression.

“I’m serious. You possess a powerful force that can unleash combat power far exceeding your current level.”

"This great trend can also be called the will of heaven and earth, which is the highest realm of martial arts."

"I have fought Yokoyama Sora many times. We are evenly matched and neither of us can do anything to the other."

"Experts in the Meridian Opening Qi Realm all have their own trump cards and possess an extremely strong sixth sense of danger. Once they sense that something is wrong, they will retreat quickly."

"However, Yokoyama Sora didn't even have a chance to escape under your sword. You were able to kill him because of your willpower."

"This is not the martial will that a Blood Refining Pill expert could possess!"

In the time that followed, Cao Shaoqing and Chen Jie continued to discuss the true meaning of martial arts.

Although Chen Jie killed Yokoyama Sora, his peak combat power had surpassed that of Eunuch Cao.

but,

Cao Shaoqing was the Grand Eunuch, a man of great knowledge and experience, whose understanding of martial arts was far more profound than Chen Jie's.

The two stood atop the bell tower, gazing at the entire imperial city. After discussing martial arts, they quickly lost track of time.

It continued until the east began to lighten.

Chen Jie suddenly realized that the two of them had spent the whole night talking.

"It's dawn! Go and arrange matters at court. Princess Lingyue has returned to the capital from Jinling!"

"In a few days, it will be the auspicious day of the Crown Prince's ascension to the throne. The capital needs to remain under martial law to prevent any mishaps."

Chen Jie gave an instruction, telling Cao Shaoqing to arrange the next steps.

"Yes! I'll arrange it right away." Cao Shaoqing nodded and left.

-

Two days later, around noon.

Tianjin Port.

Ximentang's fleet departed from Nanjing and finally arrived at the port of Tianjin.

Li Lingyue, along with the Crown Prince Li Heng, high-ranking officials, and the concubines and royal family members who had left the capital last time, disembarked from the ship.

Chen Jie, Zeng Xuanhuai, and all the civil and military officials of the Daqian Dynasty went to the Tianjin port to welcome them.

At the same time, sedan chairs and horse-drawn carriages were also prepared.

Princess Lingyue held the Imperial Seal of the Great Qian Dynasty in her hands, accompanied by Crown Prince Li Heng and Chen Jie, and boarded the carriage.

Huang Zhidao, Guan Shanyue, Kou Yin, Cao Shaoqing and other chief eunuchs, along with some managing eunuchs, imperial guards, and even officials of the Great Qian Dynasty, including the Grand Preceptor Feng Guoxuan, all came to Tianjin Port.

The accommodations within the imperial city have all been arranged.

Therefore,
After disembarking, the group returned to the capital without stopping.

The Crown Prince and members of the royal family, under the heavy protection of Ximen Tang's elite guards, went to their former palace in the capital to rest.

Eunuch Huang, Zeng Xuanhuai, and Imperial Advisor Feng Guoxuan began arranging accommodations for the other people.

Chen Jie then directed the weapons and ammunition delivered by the supply corps to be inventoried, stored, and sent to the armory.

in addition,

In order to stabilize the situation in the capital and to appease the civil and military officials, Chen Jie specially arranged for a large ship of silver dollars to be transported from Qingzhou, Shandong to the capital.

These were all seized from Westerners. At the same time, Chen Jie looted all the silver dollars when he captured the island.

Watching box after box of silver coins being delivered to the national treasury in the capital.

All the civil and military officials breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

For more than a decade, the Great Qian Dynasty has suffered defeats in every battle, which is inextricably linked to its financial constraints.

Especially after paying reparations to the Westerners and spending a lot of money to buy Western weapons, the Qianlong treasury was already empty, and there was no money left for anything.

The Ministry of Revenue had to carefully consider every expenditure of the Great Qian Dynasty before daring to report it.

The national treasury is truly out of money!

therefore,

The combat effectiveness of the Imperial Guards and local armies of the Great Qian Dynasty has been declining, which is directly related to the inability to pay their military salaries.

How can soldiers be effective if they can't even get enough to eat?
With Ximentang sending so many silver dollars to the Ministry of Revenue, they no longer need to worry about money for a while.

More than 30 million silver dollars cannot be moved in a short time.

To put people at ease, the transport was carried out with great fanfare, taking a whole day to deliver this batch of silver dollars to the national treasury.

As for the people who manage the Ministry of Revenue's treasury, they are naturally arranged by Zeng Xuanhuai, with elite troops from Ximen Hall stationed there.

Chen Jie arranged everything and put Zeng Xuanhuai in charge of the next steps.

He himself went to Princess Lingyue's 'Bright Moon Palace'.

Although Princess Lingyue has married, she still has her own residence in the imperial city, which has not been taken back.

While the First Fleet of the Ximentang was stationed in Tianjin, Chen Jie had already notified the Second Fleet of the Ximentang to move to Nanjing for defense.

for the rest of the time.

Ximentang's main focus was on defending against surprise attacks from the sea, and he had to keep a close eye on the movements of the eight major fleets of the East.

According to Chen Jie's plan, once the situation in Beijing stabilizes, the first thing to do is to target the Eight Fleets of the Eastern Ocean. Furthermore,

He has already contacted a Dutch trading company and plans to discuss a big deal with the Dutch in the coming days.

When Chen Jie arrived at Princess Lingyue's 'Bright Moon Palace', Li Lingyue had already arranged for the royal family members to be in place.

at this time,

Lingyue and Aunt Thirteen were chatting.

Li Lingyue said, "I never expected that my husband would actually obtain the imperial command token. The Great Qian Hidden Guards belong to the Imperial Household Department. I never thought that I would become my husband's subordinate now."

Aunt Thirteen smiled and said:
“My junior brother has no ambition for imperial power. He has many things to do and does not want to waste time in the court.”

"Eighth Sister is pregnant, we must work hard."

"It is our shared responsibility to produce offspring for the Chen family."

Princess Lingyue nodded upon hearing this: "Sister is right. It's a pity that my husband is too busy. It's difficult to see him now."

Aunt Thirteen said with a smile:
"Isn't there a secret recipe in the palace? You are a princess of the Great Qian Dynasty. If you can give birth to a son, he will inherit your junior brother's family business in the future."

"The princess's marriage to my junior brother is the foundation for his establishment in the Great Qian Dynasty. From now on, my eighth sister and I will put the princess first in everything."

"Only when the family lives in harmony can Chen Jia's family business become even more prosperous."

Princess Lingyue was taken aback upon hearing this, and sighed, saying:

"It is a blessing for my husband to have such a remarkable woman as my sister."

"I am all alone now, and I am very grateful to my elder sister and eighth sister for being able to take me in."

“Once we’ve entered the Chen family, we are all husbands’ wives. From now on, sister, you don’t need to treat me like a princess anymore. We are all sisters.”

"You're right, Eighth Sister is already one step ahead of us. We'd better work harder to add a son to the Chen family!"

When Chen Jie married Li Lingyue last time, she got along very well with Aunt Thirteen.

Thirteenth Aunt knew very well that although she and Eighth Sister had been with Chen Jie the longest.

but,

Li Lingyue was Chen Jie's first wife, his legal wife, whom he married in a formal ceremony.

not to mention,
Chen Jie has always held Li Lingyue in high esteem and affection.

Perhaps due to the influence of the hierarchical thinking she had been raised with, she and her eighth sister both considered themselves to be of very low status.

Therefore, she wanted to maintain a good relationship with Li Lingyue to avoid disharmony in the family.

Thirteen Aunt was very pleased with Li Lingyue's attitude; she could sense Li Lingyue's sincerity.

However, from any perspective, Li Lingyue must have offspring, otherwise her family will easily run into problems in the future.

At this time,

Maids Chunlan and Xiahe led Chen Jie into Mingyue Palace, then tactfully withdrew from the room.

The four maids were part of Princess Lingyue's dowry; strictly speaking, they were all Chen Jie's concubines.

If Li Lingyue is unwell, or during her period, they are required to serve the prince consort in her place.

However, Chen Jie has been too busy lately, and even Li Lingyue doesn't have much time to see him, let alone Chunlan and Xiahe.

He is now the 'King Qian,' holding a high position and wielding great power, with far greater responsibilities than before.

Inside the Bright Moon Palace,

Princess Lingyue and Aunt Thirteen stood up and said with smiles when they saw Chen Jie, "My husband is here!" "My junior brother is here!"

The two addressed each other slightly differently.

Thirteenth Aunt and Eighth Sister have always called Chen Jie "Junior Brother," as they've gotten used to it.

Princess Lingyue addressed Chen Jie as her 'husband'.

Chen Jie smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Ling Yue, you've worked hard these past few days. You'll be even busier in the next few days."

"I have already made arrangements with the imperial court and all civil and military officials, and plan to have the Crown Prince formally ascend the throne in five days."

"A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day; this matter must be handled swiftly."

"In addition, we will face even greater challenges in the coming period, so you need to take good care of your health and not overwork yourself."

Princess Lingyue was also aware that the current situation was extremely serious.

Today is different from the past!
Chen Jie now needs to take charge of the overall situation, stabilize the situation in Daqian, and also face the assassination attempt by top Japanese experts.

She nodded and said with a smile, "My husband has important matters to attend to, so don't worry about me. I know what to do."

finished,

A complex emotion flickered in her eyes.

She originally wanted to spend the night with Chen Jie, hoping to give the Chen family a son as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, she was unavailable these past few days.

Seeing Li Lingyue's expression, Aunt Thirteen quickly understood what was going on.

She turned to look at Chen Jie and gestured to her junior brother with her eyes, asking him to comfort Princess Lingyue.

After all, Emperor Li Zheng had just died, and Li Lingyue was still depressed and had not yet recovered.

At this moment, Chen Jie's comfort was more valuable than anything else.

Chen Jie stepped forward, came to Li Lingyue, and pulled her into his arms.

"Lingyue, don't worry, with me here, the situation in Daqian won't fall into chaos!"

"Since the late emperor has bestowed upon me the title of 'Prince Qian,' I will not let him down."

Li Lingyue took a deep breath, feeling a warmth in her heart.

"My husband, I understand!"

Next, she turned to her thirteenth aunt and said, "Sister, come visit Mingyue Palace often when you have time."

After chatting for a while...

Chen Jie and Aunt Thirteen then bid farewell to Princess Lingyue and left.

The next few days will be the day the Crown Prince ascends the throne, and Li Lingyue is now a key figure in the royal family.

Therefore, Li Lingyue will be very busy in the short term.

After Chen Jie and Aunt Thirteen left Mingyue Palace, Aunt Thirteen teased:

"Judging from my junior brother's affectionate gaze, he seems quite attached to the princess, not wanting to be apart for even a moment!"

Chen Jie was taken aback upon hearing this, and seemed to sense a hint of jealousy in Aunt Thirteen's tone.

He laughed and said, "Thirteenth Aunt, didn't you tell me to comfort the princess?"

Thirteen Aunt deliberately feigned indifference and said, "That's right. The princess is beautiful, young, and has a great figure. It's normal for my junior brother to be so infatuated with her."

finished,

She ignored Chen Jie and boarded the carriage directly.

Chen Jie hadn't originally intended to ride in the carriage, but seeing that Aunt Thirteen looked a bit angry, he reluctantly crawled inside.

He shouted to the guards outside, "Let's go back to the Qian Prince's Mansion!"

Bang!
Next, he closed the carriage door.

but,

Then Chen Jie asked in surprise, "Thirteenth Aunt, what are you going to do?"

From inside the carriage, Aunt Thirteen's soft voice could be heard:

"Eighth Sister is pregnant, and I want to be pregnant too! I want it now—!"

finished,

The sound of clothes being torn off came from inside the carriage.

Chen Jie said awkwardly, "We're on the street right now, Aunt Thirteen, can we wait until we get back—um!"

Before he could finish speaking, he was rendered speechless; his mouth was completely blocked.

have to say,

Riding in a horse-drawn carriage through the streets is quite thrilling! (End of Chapter)