Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

"I've been practicing hard qigong lately, and my internal heat is too strong, so my throat is itchy. I'm biting on some hot coals to moisten my throat."

Li Runzhe smiled calmly.

Swish!
The next moment, he picked up a piece of ember from the fire with his fingers, put it in his mouth, and began to chew it.

Like chewing an ice pop, he breathed on it while biting into the embers and swallowed it whole.

hiss--!
Situ Diewu couldn't help but gasp; she was genuinely worried that the charcoal fire would burn through his throat and stomach.

"Your internal heat is too strong; you need to fight fire with fire. Use charcoal to draw out the internal fire. Don't worry, I'll be fine!"

"I will spit it out after the charcoal fire goes out."

Li Runzhe didn't let Situ Diewu remain puzzled for long, and explained with a smile.

It turns out that swallowing live coals was just a training method, not that he had pica or liked to eat coals.

To put it simply,
It is a cultivation method that uses the power of fire poison to draw the heart fire of practicing "Hard Qigong" out of the body and condense the external Dharma form.

It's similar to stimulating the body and unleashing its own life potential.

"So, to cultivate the 'Divine Strike' hard qigong, one has to swallow burning coals!" Situ Diewu exclaimed in surprise.

Li Runzhe burst into wild laughter and said:

"Haha—if you want to become invulnerable to swords and spears, what's swallowing burning coals? As long as you can become stronger, even mountains of knives and seas of fire are nothing."

His aura at this moment was extremely violent, completely different from his previous imposing presence.

"Since you want to challenge Prince Qian, Chen Jie, I will accompany you to Jinling!"

"Although my godfather Situ Wushang is dead, the foundation of the Hongmen is still there. We still have Hongmen intelligence agencies in Shandong, Tianjin, Beijing, Nanjing, Songjiang Prefecture, Hangzhou Prefecture and other places."

Situ Diewu was silent for a moment, then looked up and said:

"After entering Jinling, you'd better not show any hostility, otherwise if someone senses your aura, you won't even have a chance to get close to Prince Qian."

"I can let you meet him from a distance, and then you can decide for yourself whether you want to challenge him."

"Challenging the Qian King is an extremely dangerous undertaking, and no one has ever succeeded!"

She had already abandoned the blood feud with the Hongmen. If she continued to be hostile to Ximentang, then the Hongmen would truly be doomed.

but,

When I saw Li Runzhe's "Divine Strike" hard qigong, I realized that he had actually reached the ninth level.

For a while,
She changed her mind.

Regardless of whether Li Runzhe can defeat Qian Wang Chen Jie, it won't do her any harm.

What if it succeeds?

So, taking him to Nanjing was a way of giving myself closure.

"Haha—Alright! I'll go to Jinling with you and witness the style of the number one expert in the Great Qian Dynasty."

boom--!
After saying that, Li Runzhe stomped his foot.

A powerful shockwave spread outwards.

next moment,
Suddenly, a meat cleaver next to the roasted whole lamb flew into the air and landed steadily in Li Runzhe's hand.

He cut off a piece of mutton with a meat cleaver and handed it to Situ Diewu, a meaningful smile on his face.

Situ Diewu seemed completely unconcerned about Li Runzhe's gaze and expression.

She has seen all kinds of men and has been with many men.

Any man who sees her exotic appearance will exhibit a different psychological state and will want to possess her.

She took the roasted lamb, smiled sweetly, and exuded charm!
-

Although Chen Jie managed to thwart this assassination attempt.

Furthermore, security was strengthened throughout Nanjing in the following period.

but,

A purely defensive approach is extremely passive, waiting for the enemy to launch a sneak attack or assassination attempt, which is definitely not Chen Jie's style.

Only by taking the initiative can we eliminate future troubles forever.

Just like in the Hanzhong region last time, Ximen Tang took the initiative and directly and completely defeated the 300,000 Kwantung Army troops who had infiltrated the Hanzhong region.

Only then did the situation in Hanzhong, southern Hunan, Sichuan and other places finally stabilize.

If we hadn't taken the initiative, who knows what kind of trouble the 300,000 Kwantung Army troops in the Hanzhong area would have caused.

therefore,

After Miyamoto Musashi, the greatest swordsman in the Orient, accepted Chen Jie's challenge, Chen Jie began to consider whether he should give the Kwantung Army in Northeast China a decisive blow during these three months.

The three months that Miyamoto Musashi gave was very important.

Chen Jie had a premonition that the Kwantung Army might launch an attack ahead of schedule, which would not only catch Ximentang off guard, but also disrupt Chen Jie's fighting condition.

Therefore, Ximen Tang's early action not only disrupted the Kwantung Army's plans but also deterred the Russian Allied Forces and Guan Qilin's million-strong army on the steppe from making any rash moves.

but,

Either don't take action at all, or if you do, you have to be ruthless.

Chen Jie understood the Japanese character very well. If he didn't beat them hard enough to make them afraid and cripple them, they wouldn't learn their lesson or know fear.

of course,

How exactly to begin the operation still needs to be determined by Zeng Xuanhuai, Xu Shichang, and others, who will provide a comprehensive plan.

this day,
As the sun set, it grew dark.

After finishing his martial arts practice, Chen Jie packed his things and headed to the inner quarters of the Qianwang Mansion.

He is now the Prince of Qian, and the Prince of Qian's residence has been expanded, although it is not as magnificent as the imperial palace in the capital.

but,

It is several times larger than the previous Prince Qian's residence.

Every wife and concubine is now a 'princess', how could they still be like before?

Whether it's Aunt Thirteen, Li Lingyue, or Eighth Sister and her four maids, they all have their own courtyards now, instead of just having one room as before.

As the "King of the First Rank" of the Great Qian Dynasty, and also nominally the chief minister, he had to have some prestige.

of course,

To avoid suspicion and concerns within the royal family, Chen Jie specifically moved his usual residence out of the capital and arranged for it to be in Nanjing.

The capital city remained under his control, while his focus shifted to the south.

One in the south, one in the north, looking out for each other from head to tail.

This will not only make the Great Qian Dynasty more stable, but also allow Chen Jie to smoothly become a hands-off manager.

After leaving the training ground and returning to the inner palace, Chen Jie would usually go to Aunt Thirteen's room to see if there was any particularly valuable intelligence recently.

then,

Back in the main hall of the Prince's mansion, they dined with the others and chatted together.

of course,

He would also go to the courtyards of Eighth Sister or Chunlan to see them and spend some time with them.

Eighth Sister was about to give birth, so for safety reasons, Chen Jie brought her back to the Prince's Mansion from Yuhuatai.

There are imperial physicians waiting in the Prince's mansion, ready to deliver babies at any time.

but,

When Chen Jie arrived at Aunt Thirteen's courtyard, he found that she was not there.

After asking the maid, I learned that Aunt Thirteen had gone to Princess Lingyue's courtyard.

The princesses had a very harmonious relationship and there was no infighting.

Perhaps it's because Li Lingyue was a princess in the past, and her status is special.

Therefore, Chen Jie's wife often visits him, chats, and discusses various matters.

Chen Jie had never really been involved in the affairs of the Prince's Mansion; most of the management was handled by Li Lingyue and Aunt Thirteen.

then,

He turned a corner and headed towards Chunlan's courtyard.

but,

To his surprise, Chunlan was not in her own courtyard either, but had gone to Li Lingyue's place.

"Huh? What's going on? Why are they all going to Lingyue's place?"

Chen Jie made two empty trips in a row, and suddenly felt something was strange.

Did the palace send over some treasures again? Did Li Lingyue invite her sisters to go and choose some jewelry?
before this,

Li Lingyue often invited Aunt Thirteen, Eighth Sister, and several maids to her courtyard for gatherings.

Although she was not in the capital, many matters within the imperial palace required her approval.

The royal concubines in the palace would often send her rare and precious items in order to please her.

Some overseas tributes would be sent to Li Lingyue, who would then decide on the specific allocation of resources within the palace. With this in mind, Chen Jie headed to Li Lingyue's residence.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I stepped through the screen in the courtyard, I saw that not only were Aunt Thirteen and Chunlan there, but even Qiuju, Xiahe, and Dongmei were there.

Only Eighth Sister was about to give birth and couldn't come; everyone else was in Li Lingyue's room.

at this time,

Li Lingyue sat on the bed, leaning against the blankets, her body completely covered.

"Is Lingyue sick? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Upon witnessing this scene, Chen Jie's heart skipped a beat.

He hurried into Li Lingyue's room and saw Aunt Thirteen comforting her. He said:
"It's okay! Don't be nervous. The most important thing for you right now is to get better and not do anything else."

at this time,

Everyone in the room saw Chen Jie walk in and stood up to greet him.

Chen Jie glanced at Li Lingyue and, seeing that she was unharmed, immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He asked with concern, "Lingyue, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Didn't the Prince's residence arrange for an imperial physician? Has he come to check on you?"

Since Chen Jie went to Hanzhong to suppress the Kwantung Army, Li Lingyue left the capital and returned to Jinling.

She knew very well that Ximen Tang was the real backer of the royal family.

Therefore, if the royal family wants to continue to stabilize the situation of the Great Qian Dynasty, he must stay by Chen Jie's side.

Never lose the big picture for the sake of small gains.

Before Li Lingyue could speak, Aunt Thirteen pinched Chen Jie's hand and whispered:
"Look how anxious you are! The princess isn't sick, she's just pregnant!"

what! ?

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie was stunned for a moment. He quickly stepped forward, took Li Lingyue's slender hand, and asked in surprise, "Lingyue, is this... really true?"

Li Lingyue blushed, nodded slightly, a happy expression on her face, and whispered:

"The imperial physician just examined her and said it's been almost two months!"

"Great! Haha—that's fantastic!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie burst into laughter.

Although Li Lingyue, Chen Jie's legal wife, was the third of his wives to become pregnant, his joy of becoming a father diminished somewhat.

but,

Upon hearing this news, Chen Jie was overjoyed.

Because of Li Lingyue's special status, she is a princess of the Great Qian Dynasty, and her status is equivalent to that of the mistress of the Qian Prince's Mansion.

Although in Chen Jie's heart, there was no distinction between his wives in terms of status or rank.

However, the concept of hierarchy that has been passed down for thousands of years is difficult to change in the minds of others.

If Li Lingyue doesn't get pregnant, the other wives will feel a lot of pressure.

Chunlan, in particular, was worried that Li Lingyue would harbor resentment after she found out she was pregnant, and she was preoccupied with her own concerns.

Now that Li Lingyue is pregnant, everything will be fine.

in addition,

As the situation in the Great Qian Dynasty stabilized, the power of Ximentang grew increasingly immense.

Chen Jie was well aware that every one of his wives desperately wanted to conceive a child for the Chen family.

therefore,

To enable every wife to conceive is to fulfill their wish.

Aunt Thirteen teased:

"First it was Eighth Sister, then Chunlan, and now the princess is pregnant too."

"Now it's just me and Qiuju and a few others left. For the sake of the Chen family's prosperity, shouldn't we, junior brother, work even harder in the coming days?"

"While martial arts training is important, a balance between work and rest is even more important."

"Anyway, I'm not going anywhere for the next few months. Junior brother, you can decide what to do. If I still can't get pregnant, I'll stay with you forever."

Aunt Thirteen was the oldest and the most anxious.

Especially after seeing that Li Lingyue was already pregnant, how could she not be anxious?

For women of this era, once they entered the Chen family, their primary task was to produce offspring for the family.

If she doesn't continue the Chen family bloodline, then she's not a qualified wife.

not to mention,
The greater Chen Jie's power, the more descendants he needed to inherit it.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie gave a wry smile.

He does have some knowledge about having children.

Especially after his eighth sister became pregnant, he made a special effort to brush up on his knowledge in this area.

It's not true that the longer two people are together, the more likely they are to get pregnant.

A person's lifestyle, mood, and the amount of time they spend together are all factors that can influence the chances of getting pregnant.

of course,

A very important point is the woman's fertility.

Some women have a very strong fertility; they can easily get pregnant as long as they are together.

Just like Chunlan, one of the four maids, Chen Jie had only spent a few days with her, but unexpectedly she got pregnant.

In addition, using medication to regulate the body can also increase the chances of getting pregnant.

In order to conceive as soon as possible, Li Lingyue had been receiving treatment from the imperial physicians.

However, according to modern medical research, whether or not one can conceive successfully is highly random.

It's not that the more often two people are together, the more likely things will go smoothly.

In fact, Chen Jie spent the most time with Aunt Thirteen.

But she remained silent, which was perhaps the main reason why Aunt Thirteen was anxious.

-

After the news of Li Lingyue's pregnancy reached the capital.

For a while,
The entire imperial palace in the capital was filled with jubilation.

After all, Chen Jie's identity was too special; he held great power and stood at the pinnacle of power in the Great Qian Dynasty.

If a direct descendant of a prince is born, it means that the Chen family will have a successor.

For the Qianwang Mansion, this represents a continuation of power and holds extraordinary significance.

Although Chen Jie is very young, he still has decades to go before he can have children.

but,

For the Qianwang Mansion, the civil and military officials of the Great Qian Dynasty, as well as the Ximen Hall and various forces in the martial arts world.

The successor to the next generation of the Qianwang family is of paramount importance.

Especially since both Eighth Sister and Chunlan were pregnant, the civil and military officials and the royal family of the Great Qian Dynasty were all secretly speculating and watching.

but,

After the news of Li Lingyue's pregnancy spread, everyone began to look forward to the possibility of Princess Lingyue giving birth to a little prince.

Firstly, Li Lingyue is a princess of the Great Qian Dynasty and the mistress of the Qian Prince's Mansion, holding the highest status.

If she can give birth to a boy, as long as he doesn't have a mental problem, he will absolutely be qualified to inherit the power and career of the 'King Qian'.

Even if Li Lingyue is pregnant with a girl this time, given the recent spate of several princesses from the Qianwang Mansion becoming pregnant, this is definitely a good omen of 'many children, many blessings'.

It is obvious that the Qian Prince's body was extremely abnormal, and his fertility was superhuman.

If Princess Lingyue can continue to conceive, she will eventually give birth to a 'little prince' who will inherit the family business.

The Prince Qian's mansion was filled with joyous occasions and celebrations.

However, Chen Jie still had to do what he had planned a few months ago.

Change currency!

Throughout history, changing currencies has always been a very complicated and troublesome matter.

Especially since the new monetary system is not yet perfect, trying to replace the old currency can easily lead to the collapse of the monetary system.

At best, it could cause social unrest, panic, widespread poverty, and chaotic pricing.

In severe cases, the Great Qian Dynasty completely collapsed, and chaos ensued!
Therefore,
Chen Jie had been preparing extensively for the currency change of the Great Qian Dynasty.
Originally, the finances and other matters of Ximentang were managed by Ba Mei.

However, since Eighth Sister was too young and pregnant, this task was handled by Li Lingyue.

The Finance Department is not only the most important agency under Ximentang, but also controls the economic lifeline of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Li Lingyue was naturally involved in the issuance of the new currency of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Even though Princess Lingyue was pregnant, she continued to closely monitor the issuance of the new currency and its replacement of the old currency in the Great Qian Dynasty. (End of Chapter)