Dimension Paradise, I am a summoning apostle

Chapter 601 Remaining inactive, the imperial court strikes first.
"You're too hasty," Chu Danqing said.

The next morning, Chai Jungui explained the matter between him and Zhou Wenzhong to Chu Danqing in detail.

“We have to hurry. If we go, we might never be able to come back,” Chai Jungui said helplessly. “I only became an adopted son yesterday, and my prestige is simply not enough to keep them in check.”

“If something happens to my father, such a powerful force will surely be divided, which will be very bad for all of us.”

When Chu Danqing heard Chai Jungui say this, he realized that he had not considered everything.

“You’re right, but this is a difficult matter.” Chu Danqing noticed that Chai Jungui had clearly undergone a complete transformation after these days of experience.

Compared to before, she is completely different.

Both his actions and his demeanor have undergone a complete transformation.

In the past, if Zhou Wenzhong had come to him for advice, his first thought would have been to stall and then ask Chu Danqing what to do.

Now he is able to think and make decisions on his own, and even has such bold ideas.

"You've acted as a go-between in this matter, but it will be extremely difficult for you to persuade the various factions in Shanzhou City."

"Just as you said, you don't have enough prestige to mobilize them at all."

“Therefore, if you want to start a rebellion, you can only rely on your father,” Chu Danqing said immediately.

“That’s what I think too,” Chai Jungui echoed, then added, “But I can’t convince my father.”

"Although the world is in chaos now, warlords like my father are all keeping their troops at bay."

"Nobody wants to be the first to stick their neck out."

Given the situation, there's really nothing we can do.

That's why he came to Chu Danqing to discuss and see if Chu Danqing had any solutions.

Chu Danqing had no solution either, so he decided to find an external brain to handle it.

That's right, it's Yang Qianyuan.

However, before he could even summon them, someone interrupted their conversation.

"Young Master, something has happened." A steward knocked on the door and called out.

"Go see what's going on," Chu Danqing said, while Chai Jungui got up first to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, the steward hurriedly said, "A man who calls himself Shi Zhongyan has arrived. He says he is the son of the Governor of Qiongzhou and the Military Governor of Tianyuan Army."

"He has come to seek refuge with his family, but the master has gone to inspect the military camp again today. Please ask the young master to go and receive him."

Upon hearing this, Chai Jungui's pupils contracted, and he immediately said, "Lead the way."

"Big brother, let's go!"

For something this important, Chu Danqing definitely needs to be included.

If I can't handle the situation, there's always Chu Danqing there.

Chu Danqing did not refuse and followed Chai Jungui to the reception room.

Only the young man named Shi Zhongyan was present. As for his family, they had already been taken away and settled by Zhou Chaishi.

Such a big matter must have alarmed the matriarch, and she has already sent someone to the military camp to inform Zhou Wenzhong.

"Brother Shi, has something happened?" Chai Jungui asked after bowing upon arrival.

After returning the greeting, Shi Zhongyan said with a weary and angry expression, "That foolish emperor listened to slander and tricked my father into coming to the capital with an imperial edict."

“During the banquet, assassins were hidden, and they used the breaking of cups as a signal to kill my father.”

"If I hadn't seen the situation was bad and escaped in time with my elderly mother, wife and children, my entire Shi family would have been wiped out."

At this point, Shi Zhongyan, a burly man, burst into tears.

"We have no choice but to seek refuge with Uncle Zhou. Please help us!" Shi Zhongyan stood up to perform a grand salute.

Chai Jungui reacted quickly and caught Shi Zhongyan, saying, "Brother Shi, what are you doing?"

"It is only right that I thank Brother Shi for coming from afar to save my life."

"To be honest, Brother Shi, an imperial envoy came yesterday to announce that my father is to come to the capital."

There are reasons why only Zhou Wenzhong was allowed to go to Beijing.

Because Chai Jungui was just an adopted son with little prestige, someone would take care of him without having to eliminate him completely.

At the same time, it would be better for him to live. Once Zhou Wenzhong died, some people would support Chai Jungui, while others would dislike him and want to establish themselves independently.

This effectively turned the various factions in Shanzhou into independent powers, significantly reducing their threat to the imperial court.

But Shi Zhongyan was different. His father was dead, and his prestige and ability were enough to stabilize the situation and even enable him to raise an army.

The reasons given were different, and he, the eldest son, was also tricked into going to the capital.

As for his elderly mother, wife, and children, he discovered that both members of the Shi family had died after he returned, leading to a power struggle among the higher-ups in Qiongzhou.

He had already lost the upper hand; if he were to intervene, he would surely die.

After much deliberation, he realized he had no choice but to seek refuge with another military governor.

The reason Zhou Wenzhong was chosen was because he had no children.

As a result, his news was delayed, and he only learned that Zhou Wenzhong had actually adopted a son when he arrived.

But since he was already there, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and join. Hearing this, Shi Zhongyan felt a chill run down his spine.

He thought that only his family, the Shi family, had suffered this injustice, but he didn't expect that Zhou Wenzhong was also wronged.

"Oh no! Who has instigated this tyrant to kill such loyal and virtuous officials so wantonly!" Shi Zhongyan was furious.

Hearing this, Chu Danqing silently complained to himself, thinking that how many of these governors and military commanders were truly loyal ministers? They were all treacherous individuals with ulterior motives.

It's just that they were the ones who struck first.

"I don't know about this matter either. Brother Shi, please rest for now and we'll discuss it when my father returns." Chai Jungui couldn't make the decision yet, so he could only offer temporary reassurance.

As he spoke, he got up and went to have some food and wine prepared.

The family members need not worry, as Zhou Chaishi had already made arrangements and the food was already served.

As for Shi Zhongyan's portion, it was also arranged, just waiting for Chai Jungui to speak, and the servants immediately brought it up.

They had fled here and were starving, so they immediately began to wolf down their food.

About half an hour later, Zhou Wenzhong also rushed back.

"Father, you're back. The matter is..." When Chai Jungui saw Zhou Wenzhong enter the reception room, he immediately got up to greet him and repeated what Shi Zhongyan had said without embellishing it.

Zhou Wenzhong's heart sank immediately, and he said, "Nephew, do you know of any other military governors who have suffered such injustice?"

Shi Zhongyan immediately replied with a bitter face, "Uncle, I escaped here by the skin of my teeth, how would I know these things?"

He was running so fast he was afraid of being arrested by the imperial court.

You should know that after he broke out, the imperial court immediately issued a warrant for his arrest and also accused the Shi family of assassinating the emperor.

Now that I'm a criminal, I dare not delay anything on the road.

The news just didn't travel as fast as they did, otherwise it would have reached Shanzhou long ago.

“However, this must have been planned in advance. According to what you said, my brother, an envoy came yesterday to deliver a decree.” Shi Zhongyan immediately said, “Uncle, you must not go, or you will surely die!”

“Nephew, you’re very thoughtful. I’ve already made up my mind about this.” Zhou Wenzhong was cursing inwardly.

As expected, the imperial court struck first, but he couldn't quite understand why they did it.

If you want to reduce their power, why use such a cruel method?
Aren't you afraid of pushing them to rebel?

Others may not know, but Zhou Wenzhong will definitely rebel after learning this news.

If you're about to die, what's the point of talking about loyalty to the emperor and serving the country?
However, he did not completely believe Shi Zhongyan's statement. What if there were some unknown facts and truths involved?
If he makes such a rash decision, wouldn't it be incredibly foolish to be used as a weapon?

“Now that treacherous officials are in power in the court, my nephew, please stay at my residence for the time being.” Zhou Wenzhong temporarily kept him there.

Once the situation is confirmed, Shi Zhongyan will be very useful.

He could easily serve as a pretext for 'purging the court of corrupt officials,' since his father was killed by treacherous ministers in the court, which was a perfectly valid reason.

However, he did not make any promises to Shi Zhongyan, leaving himself a way out in case there were problems later that he could not solve.

Shi Zhongyan knew what Zhou Wenzhong was thinking, but now that he was living under someone else's roof, he naturally couldn't say much.

"Thank you for taking me in, Uncle. If you have any instructions, please feel free to speak." Shi Zhongyan knew that the other party was not making any promises, but he could not remain silent, so he continued, "No matter what, I will never forget your kindness in taking me in."

“Nephew, you’ve encountered such a great calamity. What are you talking about, going through fire and water? Please rest well at my residence.” Zhou Wenzhong also offered a few words of comfort.

Then, someone was sent to take Shi Zhongyan back to rest.

Even after a good meal, he needs to wash up and get a good night's sleep, otherwise he'll be severely weakened and fall ill.

After seeing the man off, Zhou Wenzhong looked at Chai Jungui and Chu Danqing and asked, "How much of what he said do you think is true?"

“It’s all true, but we probably understated some things,” Chu Danqing said first.

He can distinguish between truth and falsehood, but he can't tell whether someone has said less or less.

Once you upgrade the basic skill of Command to the Expert level, you should be able to acquire this ability.

“That’s right, but what’s been said is probably nothing important. It just involves some secrets of the historians and won’t affect the overall situation,” Chai Jungui added.

Zhou Wenzhong shared the same thought and then said, "My son, although we do not yet understand why the court is resorting to such cruel and incompetent methods, since it has fallen on us, we cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom."

"You go first."

Zhou Wenzhong quickly assigned Chai Jungui a lot of work.

This is a good thing, as it gives him more power.

"If the imperial court really intends to harm you and my son, then we should strike first."

"However, we should wait for confirmation before taking action. You should first reorganize the army to avoid any haste," Zhou Wenzhong instructed.

As for going to the capital? I definitely won't go.

If he really goes, his Zhou family will become just another Shi family.

"Go on with your business. I still need to continue inspecting the military camp. Come to the camp to see me as soon as you're done." Zhou Wenzhong said, then got up and left.

He didn't instruct Chu Danqing to do anything; this was Chai Jungui's responsibility.

It's like he wouldn't care which powers Chai Jungui wanted to delegate to Chu Danqing.

(End of this chapter)