After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

This means that Cai Hou paper circulated throughout the world, benefiting all people.

After spending ten years, this penicillin will be passed down through the ages, like Cai Hou paper, and will eventually reach ordinary people's homes.

At that time, not to mention one person, a hundred people, a thousand people, or even ten thousand people, even ten million people will be able to use this kind of miraculous medicine.

With a flick of her whisk, the female Taoist priest dispelled all the barriers in her heart.

"Your subordinates believe in the religious leader."

Her expression calmed, and she bowed respectfully, saying:

"The old leader's choice was correct. The leader is the reincarnation of the White Sun, and will surely destroy the calamity of the Red Sun, saving all people from endless suffering!"

The female Taoist priest said:

"As far as I am concerned, the Xiangshan Conference is no longer necessary. The leader is Xu Xiyin, and even the leader recognized by my Nanxun Fengtan."

"Even if the old leader reneges, this altar will not change its mind; we will only obey the leader's name."

"If the leader does not covet the empty title, this sect is willing to follow him until the Red Sun Calamity dissipates and the White Sun descends!"

"Nanxun Fengtan does not obey the orders of others."

"Xu Xiyin... bows deeply."

…………

Thump, thump, thump.

Chen San, wearing two cloth shoes, walked slowly across the dark corridor carrying a lantern.

Not long after.

A burst of laughter and applause came from ahead.

Upon arriving at the cells where the forty-odd servants of the western courtyard were located, everyone sat on the floor, gathered around a young, burly man, listening to him boast and tell some amusing stories.

Chen San called out, summoning the boy named Li Sanzhuang: "Brother Sanzhuang, your eldest brother wants you and Brother Erlai to come over."

Sanzhuang, who had been happily bragging to these village rascals, was momentarily stunned, then stood up with a grin and said, "Okay."

He got up and woke up Erlai, who was sleeping nearby and preparing to keep watch for the rest of the night. The two of them went to Qingfeng Xiaozhu together.

Most of these servants were skilled members of the Heavenly Principle Sect in Huainan.

That night, after defeating the Tartar soldiers and Green Standard Army soldiers at Tiger Crouching Mountain, thirty men joined the leader's personal guards and followed the leader northward on Li Erlai's orders.

After a while, Chen San summoned four more people. These four were the leaders of the thirty servants.

"Altar Master!"

"Altar Master!"

After following Chen San out, the four of them clasped their hands in a fist salute.

"Don't speak," Chen San said calmly, carrying a lantern. "Bring me all the tools."

The four of them clasped their hands in a respectful gesture.

The two men took knives, one took a stick, and the other took an axe.

"Come with me."

Chen San turned around and headed towards Qingfeng Xiaozhu.

The four of them didn't know what the altar master's instructions were, but they followed closely, afraid of being a step too slow.

After passing through two covered walkways, we soon arrived at the outside of Ningnan Study.

Chen San placed the lantern outside the door and pushed it open to enter.

The four men, armed with weapons, followed one by one into the room.

The room was dimly lit, and there were only two people inside.

Young Master Ning sat behind his desk writing, with a beautiful maid in pink standing beside him, grinding ink for him.

The four of them stood behind Chen San and looked at each other for a moment.

Holding a long stick, Chen Hao led the way, bowing to Young Master Ning at the head of the table:

"Greetings, young master..."

He hadn't even finished saying the word "sir".

Chen San raised his hand to stop the other person. Chen Hao was stunned, and the others who were about to follow suit were also taken aback.

At this moment, Ning Nan raised his head, slightly puzzled: "Chen San... what is it?"

Chen San sighed, waved his hand, his eyes becoming sharp and solemn, and said:

"Chen Hao, You Zhong, Pang Sanqi, Zhou Wang."

He pointed to the four names, then gestured towards Ning Nan behind the desk:

"Capture him for me, the sect leader!"

Ning Nan's expression changed.

The temperature in the study suddenly dropped, startling the other four people.

Chen Hao, leaning on his long staff, was momentarily stunned: "Altar Master? Young Master Ning, isn't he... isn't he... isn't he the Sect Leader?"

You Zhong and the others immediately gripped their weapons tightly.

As the leader of the incense, Chen San naturally told them that this Young Master Ning was the new leader, so that they could manage the crowd and be loyal to him to the death.

Seeing their new leader so valiant, daring to lead them in battle against the Tartars, and holding such a high position in the Southern Dynasty, they felt that the Northern Expedition was within reach, and they were filled with joy and excitement along the way.

However, since they had never formally met, they all behaved as servants and addressed him as "Young Master" throughout the journey.

You Zhong's hand trembled as he exclaimed in surprise, "Master, what's going on?"

Chen San coldly replied, "The old leader has arrived in Beijing and appointed a new leader. This person is no longer our leader. Following secret orders from the old leader and the Left Protector, we must capture this person tonight and bring him to the Left Protector!"

He shouted in a deep voice, "I deliberately transferred Li Erlai and Li Sanzhuang away, so why aren't you making your move?!"

Chen Sanji's prestige was immense, and the four of them immediately tensed up!

The first to act was You Zhong. Clang! He drew his sword and looked at Ning Nan behind the desk.

Ning Nan smiled sarcastically, took out the token symbolizing the position of sect leader from his pocket, and held it up, saying:

"You four, Chen San has committed treason. If you acknowledge me as your leader, then quickly seize this traitor!"

Chen Hao and the others were stunned for a moment.

Chen San shouted, "You've received orders from the Old Master and the Left Protector! Why aren't you making your move yet!"

You Zhong, Pang Sanqi, Zhou Wang and the others paused, their expressions filled with extreme complexity and confusion. In the end, they all drew their weapons and stepped forward, approaching Ning Nan.

Ning Nan held up the token symbolizing the position of sect leader, squinted, and said:

"What? Does my word have no effect?"

Chen Hao, holding the stick, asked anxiously, "Master! Third Brother! What happened?"

You Zhong and the other two were also somewhat confused. Why did the altar master suddenly fall out with the sect leader?

Chen San's eyes were grave as he continued to shout, "Attack! Aren't you going to attack? The Embroidered Uniform Guard is coming!"

Chen Hao, leaning on his cane, anxiously pulled Chen San back.

You Zhong and his companions could only approach Ning Nan with complicated expressions, weapons in hand.

You Zhong gripped the knife tightly, his voice trembling as he said, "Master, don't worry. The old master, the left protector, and Third Brother were just confused for a moment... Master, come with us and we'll clear up some misunderstandings, and everything will be clear."

Pang Sanqi and Zhou Wang, one holding a knife and the other an axe, stood silently on either side of You Zhong.

The three men, their weapons gleaming with a dim yellow light, approached Ning Nan step by step.

At this time.

Bang!

A sandalwood bookcase behind Ning Nan suddenly opened.

Li Sanzhuang, holding a golden melon, stepped forward with a cold expression and stood behind Ning Nan.

Upon seeing this burly man with a youthful appearance, You Zhong and his two companions froze, their palms sweating, and they unconsciously took a half-step back.

Li Sanzhuang was a head taller than them and incredibly muscular. If he struck with his golden mace, even the four of them combined would likely be no match for him.

Chen San looked desperate.

Bang!

With another tremendous force, the study door was kicked open.

Qian Sijin held a large spear, and Erlai carried a musket. Both of them had cold expressions, while Xu Xiyin had a look of emotion on her face as she entered with a whisk in her hand.

Chen Hao paused for a moment.

You Zhong and the other two turned deathly pale instantly, their legs began to tremble, and they looked at the silent Chen San.

"Bang!"

Ning Nan smashed the iron plaque in his hand onto Chen San's head, causing him to bleed from his forehead.

"I already said that,"

Ning Nan gave him a cold laugh.

"What good is a piece of metal?"

…………

"True power does not come from above, but from below. True power comes from those below who are willing to listen to you..."

Ning Nan couldn't remember where she had seen this quote before.

He told Erlaizi these words.

You Zhong and the other three have been tied up, including Chen Hao, who hadn't even made a move.

"You rascal, go on..."

Ning Nan solemnly said,

"We don't have much time... You only have half an hour. Go now and select three new leaders for those thirty servants, and mix the others under their command."

"Make sure those three incense masters are people who listen to you. Chen San will come over later to explain that the four old incense masters have been transferred."

After more than a month of getting to know each other, Ning Nan believed that Er Lai Zi had figured out who was reliable and who wasn't.

Erlaizi exhaled, his face hardening, and said, "The men I choose will absolutely obey Big Brother's orders! Anyone who disobeys them will be killed on their own!"

Time was of the essence, so he hurriedly led the three excited men back.

Ning Nan ordered Qian Sijin to take the four incense masters away and lock them up. After they left, Chen San came to pick them up.

Ning Nan sat on the sandalwood chair. Zhen Susu snorted at Chen San and stood to Ning Nan's right, while Xu Xiyin remained silent and stood to Ning Nan's left.

Ning Nan looked at him and sighed, "Master Chen, you said before that you and they were all loyal to the leader, and that I should never doubt you. You have seen the facts."

With a thud, Chen San knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I failed to manage my subordinates properly; I deserve to die."

Ning Nan shook his head and denied it, saying, "It's not that you're not strict with your subordinates. On the contrary, you're a very good leader."

Ning Nan's eyes darkened:

"But...you are not my altar master. You are the altar master of your old leader, and you always mention the Left Protector. You could even say...you are the altar master of the Left Protector. If my orders contradict that Left Protector's, Altar Master Chen will probably believe him far more than I do."

Hearing these incredibly honest words, Chen San remained silent.

Before the trial began, he made a bet that the four incense masters would only listen to the cult leader.

The cult leader said that the four of them would only listen to him.

He also made a bet with the cult leader. If the cult leader lost, he would have to trust them from then on. If he lost, the cult leader would ask him to do a few things.

The saying "a new emperor, a new court" applies everywhere. Ning Nan didn't really care about the choice of the four incense masters, and was even somewhat relieved.

He chuckled and said, "Since Master Chen lost the bet, you won't go back on the promises you made to me, will you?"

"Chen San wouldn't dare."

Ning Nan ordered Chen San, who was bewildered, ashamed, and even somewhat at a loss, to stand up and said:

"Master Chen, since you are so familiar with the Fourth Prince, this first task is naturally not difficult."

He handed the other person a piece of paper that he had just written:

"This is something Ning just wrote. Ning hopes that Master Chen can find a way to get this article published in the Beijing Daily. It can't be the day after tomorrow, it can't be the day after that. It has to be tomorrow."

Chen San was about to flip open the paper to see what was inside, but his finger twitched, and he immediately stopped. He neither looked at the contents nor asked any questions, but simply clasped his hands in a respectful gesture:

"Your subordinate...will obey the leader's orders!"

…………

Hai hour (9-11 PM).

Deep night.

Ning Nan, wearing a moon-colored cloak, led about ten people and mounted their horses.

We left the embassy in the South.

The group had just exited through the side door and stepped into Dongjiang Rice Alley.

Then they heard a series of footsteps approaching and the clanging of armor.

"stop!"

A cold voice shouted.

"To move is to die."