I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

At the city gates of Jinan, all passersby were subject to strict checks.

A caravan slowly approached, consisting of about a dozen carriages, but it looked rather strange.

These carriages were all covered tightly with tarpaulins, and the ruts left by the wheels were exceptionally deep.

"Halt! What's in the truck?"

With a wave of his hand, the junior officer Wu Zhen summoned more than a dozen soldiers to surround him.

The caravan manager, a lean middle-aged man with a goatee, quickly stepped forward and bowed: "My lord, you are wise. I am the manager of Jishetang in the capital. These are all medicinal herbs for treating illnesses and saving lives."

"Medicinal herbs?" Wu Zhen circled the carriage suspiciously. "What kind of medicinal herbs require so many carriages? Open them and take a look!"

The shopkeeper wiped the sweat from his brow and said with a forced smile, "Sir, it's a newly developed medicine for treating bruises and sprains, called nitroglycerin. This medicine is very precious and spoils easily when exposed to air..."

"Enough with the nonsense!"

Wu Zhen ripped off the oilcloth, revealing the ceramic jar inside.

The arrangement of these jars is strange. Normally, the more goods you transport, the better. For example, when transporting wine, all the jars are squeezed together, even stacked in two layers. However, a horse-drawn cart only carries four jars, with a large amount of straw and wheat stalks filling the spaces between them, as if afraid that two jars would be placed next to each other.

He frowned and tapped the jar: "Is that medicine in the jar? I've lived for over thirty years, and this is the first time I've ever seen medicine packaged like this!"

The shopkeeper quickly explained, "Sir, you may not know this, but this is a newly developed miracle medicine from the Imperial Medical Academy in the capital. One ounce of this medicine is worth as much as one ounce of gold, and it's specifically for treating external injuries and bruises..."

"What did you say?"

Wu Zhen's eyes lit up, and he asked, "You're saying this medicine is more expensive than gold?"

"Yes, yes..."

The shopkeeper stammered, "This cartload alone is worth over a thousand taels of silver..."

Wu Zhen's eyes darted around, and he suddenly shouted sharply, "Such a large quantity of wound medicine is suspicious! Men, take them all back to the camp for thorough questioning!"

"Please have mercy, sir!"

The shopkeeper quickly tried to dissuade them: "This batch of medicine is our entire fortune. If we lose it, our whole family, dozens of people, will have to jump into the river!"

Wu Zhen kicked him away, sneering, "Stop wailing! Jinan Prefecture is under martial law now. Who knows if you're supplying medicine to the rebels?"

After saying that, he turned to the soldiers and yelled, "What are you all standing there for? Get all the carts back!"

The soldiers hurriedly led the horses away, while the innkeeper slumped to the ground, watching helplessly as the carriage was stolen, a barely perceptible sneer appearing on his lips.

Wu Zhen ignored him and said, "Get out of here, don't block the doorway!"

The shopkeeper quickly put on a wronged expression and left crying.

Once they reached a secluded spot, he forcefully ripped off the fake beard stuck to his face, revealing his true identity: Wang Dalong from the Warriors Camp.

The groom and his assistant were both elites from the Warriors' Camp. The group dispersed and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

That night, two drunkards staggered past the entrance of the inn.

"Huh? Why...why are there guards standing guard in this run-down place?"

The soldiers guarding the gate waved impatiently, "Get out of the way! Don't cause trouble here!"

"What...what are you so arrogant about?"

A drunkard staggered forward, slurring, "Do you know... my brother-in-law is the head constable of the county government? Believe me or not, I'll throw you in jail!"

The guard laughed angrily, "If you don't leave, I'll break your legs first, then break your brother-in-law's legs!"

The two drunkards seemed to sober up from the fright and hurriedly helped each other away.

In the instant the guards' attention was diverted, a dark figure silently slipped into the inn and nimbly vaulted over the inner wall.

"who?"

The Imperial Guards inside the courtyard gripped their sword hilts alertly.

"It's me, Wang Dalong!"

A moment later, Wang Dalong was brought before Luo Yangxing.

Luo Yangxing was both surprised and delighted: "Why are you here?"

Wang Dalong first paid his respects, then said, "Liu Zeqing's rebellion against the imperial court is treasonous. His Majesty has ordered us to come and assist in suppressing the rebellion!"

Luo Yangxing hurriedly asked, "How many weapons did you bring? Is there artillery support?"

Wang Dalong shook his head and said, "His Majesty considered that the people of Jinan were innocent, so he issued an edict strictly ordering that only the rebels be executed. To avoid harming innocent people, we did not bring cannons."

"What?" Luo Yangxing's expression changed. "How can we besiege a city with just muskets?"

"The muskets...were also hidden before entering the city."

Luo Yangxing wrung his hands anxiously: "Then how do you plan to quell the rebellion?"

Wang Dalong smiled mysteriously and said, "Commander Luo, don't worry, we've brought something new, called nitroglycerin!"

"What oil? No, I asked what weapons you brought. Are you planning to cook here?"

"Commander Luo has misunderstood. This glycerin is a type of incredibly powerful explosive."

"Explosives? Glycerin?"

Luo Yangxing was completely baffled; no matter what he did, he couldn't connect the two concepts.

Wang Dalong said, "Today we deliberately let the rebels intercept more than a dozen truckloads, which should have already been transported into their warehouses."

Luo Yangxing still didn't understand and asked, "What's the use?"

A glint of light flashed in Wang Dalong's eyes: "This thing is incredibly powerful. Commander Luo, just observe and see what happens!"

At the Provincial Administration Office, Zhang Bingwen, Liu Zeqing, and Zeng Hualong were studying a map.

There is no turning back now. If we are to start an uprising, we must act quickly and not give the court time to react.

"This battle must be won quickly!"

Liu Zeqing pointed heavily at the location of Jinan Prefecture and said, "At dawn tomorrow, I will personally lead 30,000 elite troops to seize Dezhou and control the vital waterway."

Zeng Hualong frowned and said, "The garrison in Dezhou numbers no more than five thousand; they are not a cause for concern. What I am worried about now is the imperial navy. What if they encircle us from the sea..."

"The navy is truly nothing to fear!"

Liu Zeqing shook his head and continued, "The imperial navy is currently at Lushun Port. By the time they react, we will have already taken control of the entire Shandong province."

Zhang Bingwen stroked his beard, looking worried: "Gentlemen, are we really going to raise an army? Is there really no way out?"

Liu Zeqing frowned and said, "Things have come to this point, what's the point of looking for a way out? If we don't resist, we'll only be slaughtered by the imperial court!"

Zhang Bingwen sighed and said, "Actually, he only embezzled some silver. If he had handed it over voluntarily, there would still be room for negotiation..."

Zeng Hualong said coldly, "Provincial Governor Zhang, do you know the consequences of saying such discouraging things on the battlefield?"

Zhang Bingwen realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly shut up.

Liu Zeqing continued, "Dengzhou Guard will take the northern route, and Weihai Guard will take the southern route, quickly controlling the roads leading from the capital to Jinan and building a defensive line..."

The two discussed for a long time and made a lot of tactical arrangements.

Zhang Bingwen couldn't help but say, "Gentlemen, have we forgotten something important?"

Liu Zeqing frowned and asked, "What is it?"

Zhang Bingwen said, "What will happen after it's done? Surely neither of you wants to shut your doors and become emperors yourselves?"

Liu Zeqing stared coldly at him and asked, "What do you mean by that?"