Drive a RV and go farming in ancient times.

Although Xu Huaiyi was concerned, he could not reach out to the Prince of Min's Palace. At most, he could do his best in the military camp to prevent the Japanese pirates from attacking and fail to respond in time.

However, he still hinted to Sun Yu tactfully that the changes in the capital had not yet spread to the south. He did not dare to speak too bluntly and only spoke based on his intuition, reminding Sun Yu that it would be best to keep a close eye on the Palace of the Prince of Min, because he felt that the Palace of the Prince of Min was not honest and who knows what kind of trouble it might do.

It is best to make some preparations. It is better to be safe than sorry. If something really happens to you, you will not be powerless to fight back. Even if you cannot win, if you make arrangements properly, you will be less punished when you are held accountable in the future.

Sun Yu actually listened to it. He was actually feeling uneasy, but Shi Zhuo was not there and his words did not carry as much weight in the Jinyiwei. He could not do anything about whether others listened or not after he mentioned it. He could only hope that the Prince of Min's Mansion would not cause trouble.

Otherwise, no one will benefit.

What's scary, what's coming.

Under the surveillance of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the people in the Prince of Min's Mansion disappeared.

When the imperial guards from the capital arrived to investigate, they only captured some unimportant servants. All the masters were gone, along with their belongings. All the valuables were packed up and taken away.

When the guards rushed in like wolves and tigers, all that was left to them was an empty mansion. This was a great irony and humiliation for them.

They were carrying the emperor's orders, and they had been riding non-stop all the way, braving the severe cold and snow, without even having a hot meal, just to launch a surprise attack and catch the Prince of Min's mansion off guard. If they had completed the mission successfully, they would have been able to return to the capital to report and receive their reward, but now...

It looked like a catastrophic disaster, and everyone was struck by lightning.

"Search! Search every inch! Don't miss any place!"

"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly and pry open the mouths of those servants, regardless of whether they live or die!"

"Chase! There are more than a hundred people in the Prince of Min's Mansion, including men, women, old and young. Such a large number of people would not disappear out of thin air. They will definitely leave traces when they escape!"

Orders were issued one after another, and all the imperial guards and Jinyiwei became busy in a hurry.

At the same time, what happened in the capital finally reached the military camp.

After hearing this, Xu Huaiyi hurried to Sun Yu's tent. As expected, he saw that Sun Yu had a grim expression and looked as if he had suffered a great blow.

He asked a nonsensical question out of concern, "Master, are you okay?"

Sun Yu put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth. Hearing this, he smiled bitterly, "Is your master feeling better now? Your fourth uncle has been arrested, and all the men in the Marquisate have been imprisoned. The Marquisate of Zhenguo is the Empress Dowager's maiden home. The Emperor doesn't even care about this, which shows that he is determined to deal with the Liu family..."

Xu Huaiyi poured him a cup of hot tea and handed it to him, advising, "Perhaps things are not that bad. I heard that the women in the Marquis's mansion were not affected, and the boys under the age of seven are all living well in the mansion, eating and drinking as usual. The emperor still took into account the dignity of the Empress Dowager..."

As long as you take it into consideration, you won’t go too far.

Sun Yu was not optimistic. He held the cup of hot tea, but it couldn't warm him up. He whispered, "This time, the Japanese pirates are involved. That's treason. This is a crime that no one can afford. Even if the emperor wants to let him off, the civil and military officials will not agree, unless they can find out that the Marquis's mansion was framed..."

Xu Huaiyi said confidently, "It's probably not a frame-up. Everyone in the Prince of Min's Palace has fled!"

Hearing this, Sun Yu's face became even uglier, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Their escape has confirmed the crime of colluding with the Japanese pirates. It will be difficult for the Liu family to recover."

Xu Huaiyi reminded, "There is also the Chu Palace, which may not be clean either."

Sun Yu was silent for a moment, then sighed in a complicated tone, "Yes, the Chu Palace is probably also involved, otherwise...how could the Min Palace escape before the imperial guards? Someone in the capital must have tipped off the palace. Apart from the Chu Palace, who else would dare to get involved?"

Xu Huaiyi frowned and said, "If only we had the right to monitor..."

Even though Sun Yu reminded them and the Jinyiwei kept a close eye on them, they were not vigilant enough and let the people from the Prince of Min's Mansion escape right under their noses. How could they not feel regretful and sigh?

Not only will you lose the credit that you have earned, but you may even be punished!

When mentioning this, Sun Yu snorted, "They are too arrogant. When I reminded them, they were so confident that everything would be foolproof, but what happened? They were severely slapped in the face. They didn't even think about it. The Prince of Min's Palace has been stationed here for decades. How could they not have some ability to escape? What's the point of them just surrounding the palace? There must be more than one secret passage in the palace. It's not easy to escape? What a bunch of idiots!"

Xu Huaiyi muttered, "Maybe they didn't expect that the Prince of Min would dare to run away? Once they run away, there will be no turning back..."

"It can be seen that they are indeed colluding with the Japanese pirates, and their relationship is very close. Once they are caught, they will be executed immediately. What else can they do but run away? If they run away, at least they may have a chance to survive..."

After a pause, he asked Xu Huaiyi, "Where do you think they will go?"

Xu Huaiyi thought for a moment, "The whole world belongs to the king. They won't be safe anywhere, unless... they surrender to the Japanese pirates?"

Sun Yu's expression changed, "That's a shame for Dayong!"

Xu Huaiyi speculated again, "It is also possible that they are hiding on an island. The Prince of Fujian has been operating in the area for decades, so they must be very familiar with the sea. Since they have long been planning to rebel, they must have left a way out for themselves. Occupying an island and being their own master would be more comfortable than living under the protection of the Japanese pirates, right?"

Hearing this, Sun Yu thought for a moment, "That's also a hidden danger..."

Xu Huaiyi did not respond, thinking that even if it was a hidden danger, he could not do anything about it. He just wanted to quickly repel the Japanese pirates and return to the capital. The other messy things should be left to the garrison and the guards here to worry about.

After leaving Sun Yu, he went to meet Li Yunting and other classmates, "Get ready for battle. I'm afraid there will be several fierce battles before the New Year."

Of course, they had also heard about what happened in the capital and the escape of the Prince of Min's mansion. They were not too shocked but just felt annoyed and uneasy.

The war itself was brutal enough, and when the internal strife was added, no one would feel comfortable.

Meng Ping's wounds have healed now. Since he missed several opportunities to go to the battlefield, he has made the least contribution, but he is eager to try. "Third Brother Xu, the Japanese pirates have been quiet recently. Will they really take action?"

Xu Huaiyi nodded, "It is very likely that the people from the Prince of Min's Palace went to them..."

The Palace of the Prince of Min is now being hunted by the imperial court like a stray dog, it is impossible not to feel hatred in their hearts. In this case, how could they not instigate the Japanese pirates to attack?

Furthermore, they also wanted to take revenge on Emperor Jianxing and cause him some trouble.

His guess soon came true, and it came true with great force and in multiple ways.

First, the Japanese pirates broke the truce and started a new round of attacks. The momentum of the attacks was more fierce than before, as if new blood was injected and they were full of confidence.

As a result, the war in the south became difficult. Even the imperial guards who were chasing the Prince of Min's Palace had no time to capture people and helped fight against the Japanese pirates.

Then the Tatars in the north seemed to smell an opportunity and stopped making small-scale attempts, and began to invade on a large scale.

The border guards were defeated and suffered heavy losses.

Besides this, the territory of Dayong was no longer peaceful. A large number of bandits suddenly appeared in several prefectures, causing chaos everywhere and making life miserable for the people.

The local government was unable to suppress the rebellion and was even counterattacked. Officials in the yamen were brutally killed, property was looted, and even the granary was robbed to the last grain left.

Later, many people from the disaster area joined in, just to have something to eat.

With such chaos, the people in the capital became uneasy, and the court was like facing a powerful enemy. The atmosphere in the daily court meetings was tense and depressing.

Everyone has a guess as to how these chaos were caused, but without evidence, they dare not speak out and can only pretend to be deaf and dumb.

However, things still need to be resolved, especially the banditry in various places, which has caused civil unrest. If it is not quelled as soon as possible, it will be tantamount to rebellion. The lower-class people have a herd mentality and are too easily brainwashed. Once it forms a scale, it will be a force that cannot be underestimated. Its harm is no less than that of the Japanese pirates and the Tatars.

Therefore, the court immediately decided to send the imperial guards to settle the case. Everyone thought that compared with the regular army, those bandits and rioters were just a mob and could not be their opponents at all. It would not take long to wipe them out and return to the capital in triumph.

However, reality gave everyone a heavy blow.

When the news of the defeat of the Imperial Guards reached back to the capital, everyone was in disbelief and questioned the truth of the news. No matter how you think about it, they shouldn't have lost.

In the court, civil and military officials were even more confused. The Imperial Guards guarded the imperial city and their strength was unquestionable. When the Imperial Guards were first sent to settle the case, some people felt that it was a waste of talent and even joked that it was like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken. If the court did not want to end the chaos in various places as soon as possible, it would not have sent the Imperial Guards.

Who knew... I got slapped in the face!

The fight was so loud and fierce, which made everyone realize something. Those bandits might not be a mob, but well-trained soldiers.

Only in this way can the failure of the Imperial Guard be explained. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a joke if the regular army could not defeat the unofficial troops?

Then, the question arises again, where do those well-trained soldiers come from? Who are the people behind them? How many are there?

The more I think about it, the more frightened I become, and the answer is obvious.

For this reason, Emperor Jianxing flew into a rage at the morning court and dealt with several people in succession. Those people were usually close to the Chu Palace. He found a random excuse and put them all in jail.

Everyone was silent, knowing that the emperor was venting his anger, and no one dared to plead for mercy.

Afterwards, Emperor Jianxing once again sent a troop of imperial guards to assist in the settlement of the case. Before they arrived at the place, rumors began to spread. To sum up, the rumor was that the current emperor was unkind, which led to rampant bandits, people's miserable lives, frequent disasters and civil unrest in various places, and even the border was unstable.

Rumors spread extremely quickly. With the instigation of someone with ulterior motives, it didn't take long for the people in the capital to hear about it. This caused an uproar.

The court was no longer peaceful, and some people suggested that the emperor issue an edict of repentance to quell the rumors.

Emperor Jianxing ignored it and instead ordered the conscription of soldiers. Anyone who stood in his way would be punished. He was like an enraged, old lion, unwilling to be restrained and struggling in his death throes.

At the same time, the Prince of Chu's Palace was also surrounded by the Imperial Guards, and they were almost at war. The city gates were also controlled, and entry and exit were strictly checked.

Even the most insensitive people could feel the tension in the capital, the urgency and heaviness that seemed to be about to explode, yet they were powerless to do anything about the current situation.

The struggle for imperial power has been like this since ancient times, and it has always been won with countless bones and blood.

For a while, the streets were much quieter, and the wealthy families all kept a low profile, restraining the people in their houses and telling them not to go out unless necessary, to avoid becoming targets of anger.

The same was true for the Gu family. Gu Huanxi even closed several shops, leaving only the bookstore open, but he also had people keep an eye on it at all times to prevent those scholars from discussing current affairs to avoid getting into trouble.

At night, the couple met again. This time Xu Huaiyi was covered in blood and his hair was a mess. He got into the car and took off his armor and clothes.

While helping, Gu Huanxi asked, "Fighting again? Are you not injured? Did you win or lose?"

Xu Huaiyi panted and said, "I'm not injured, it's the blood of the Japanese devils. They don't even sleep and they start the battle in the middle of the night, over and over again, it's endless. It would be better to have a big fight to the death. It's a waste of time. It's meaningless even if you win..."

When he entered the bathroom, Gu Huanxi stood at the door and asked, "Is it getting harder to fight?"

Xu Huaiyi hummed in annoyance, "The Prince of Fujian's Mansion must have provided support to the Japanese pirates, including weapons, manpower, and food. It's clear that the Japanese pirates didn't have much fighting power before, but now they are like chicken blood. Our casualties are increasing, and we can't even supply medicinal materials. This time, Lian Yunting was stabbed. Master wrote a battle report and sent it back to the capital. Let's see what the court will do..."

Gu Huanxi said, "Emperor Jianxing has issued an order to recruit soldiers. Not only are you short of troops, but I heard that the north is also short of troops, and there are rebellions in various places, and they all need manpower..."

Xu Huaiyi raised his voice, "Conscription?"

Gu Huanxi rubbed his brows and said, "Yes, for conscription, every household must provide one soldier, and silver is not allowed to replace it. Hu Yingjie went to Hutian Village and told me after he came back that the village was almost in chaos..."

The situation in Hutian Village is relatively good, but the situation in other villages is even less optimistic.

This made her feel insecure, as if the world was about to fall into chaos.