The ignited beacon finally attracted the attention of others.
Zhao Dahai and Li Xing are one of them.
The swaying blue smoke column looked particularly abrupt against the hazy background of firewood smoke, and soon a guard reported this abnormal phenomenon to the two of them.
The two of them looked at each other and walked out of the headquarters hall and outside the courtyard.
"Oh, it's really smoke." Zhao Dahai picked his nostrils and said, "Is it because the soldiers watching the sentry tower drank too much? That's the direction of the sea over there, right?"
"How about I send someone to the east wall to check on the situation?"
"Well, it's always right to make sure first." Zhao Dahai was about to go back to the house when he suddenly stopped again, "Wait a minute... I said, have you seen the adults in charge of the academic department today?"
"No. What's wrong?" Li Xing asked doubtfully.
Zhao Dahai called the guard directly, "Has Lord Wen come to the Privy Council Mansion today?"
The latter shook his head, "I didn't see it."
"Where is Master Quan? Where is Master Xue?"
The guard frowned and pondered, "It seems...none of them are here. Could they be on foreign duties?"
"Damn it!" Zhao Dahai spat out dirty words, "The Privy Council is closed today, you should go home first."
"Ah?" The guard froze on the spot.
Zhao Dahai was too lazy to pay attention to him and turned directly to Li Xing, "There is no need to send people to check the situation. You should quickly ask the members of the headquarters to leave the city and meet at Fengyang Villa."
"You mean... it's not a coincidence that the other practitioners didn't come? But I saw that all the new alchemists from the academic department came..."
"That means they have been abandoned." Zhao Dahai thought for a moment, "In this case, I will inform them alone and you leave first. My disciple must know this as soon as possible."
The Zhiwei Hall of the academic department is on the west side of the mansion. He trotted all the way into the hall, while a dozen or so alchemists were practicing their skills on their own, and the Master was not seen on the podium.
"Hey, I told you to stop flipping through the book." Zhao Dahai clapped his hands vigorously, attracting everyone's attention to himself, "There may be some trouble in the east of Jinxia City. To be on the safe side, it's best to leave the Privy Council Mansion first. You guys If you don’t know where to go for shelter, then come with me.”
The alchemists looked at each other, and then a tall man stood up and said, "Excuse me, are you..."
"The leader of the evil-elimination team, Zhao Dahai."
"Commissioner? Are you the one who betrayed the interests of the Privy Council to Her Royal Highness the Princess?"
"What is a pest control team? Sorry, I haven't heard of it."
"You are also an alchemist, right? Wouldn't you feel ashamed to follow someone like that?"
"What trouble? Maybe he just wanted to trick us out of the house on purpose."
Everyone was talking about it for a while, but their eyes and tone all showed unanimous contempt.
"This... Leader Zhao," the tall man shrugged, "did you see it too? The academic department does not welcome people from your headquarters, so-"
"boom!"
Zhao Dahai punched the wall, startling everyone.
Some alchemists even hurriedly touched the medicinal materials.
"You bastard, do you think I am willing to do this? Why don't I take advantage of you idiots for the sake of my apprentice!" Zhao Dahai yelled.
"First of all, let me tell you that I am not an alchemist. I can follow whoever I want to. Secondly, my apprentice is not stupid. Why don't I hug you when I have a princess to hug me? They are all righteous, Niwai! If you could hug me, I wouldn't believe you wouldn't reach out. !”
"The academic department doesn't welcome the order department, but you can do what you can! If you don't go to the order department, where will the merit come from? Just be the eighth-grade alchemist for the rest of your life!"
At this point, Zhao Dahai took advantage of the situation and spat on the ground, "Anyway, I have brought my words here. Believe it or not, you can stay here. If you really run into trouble, don't expect anyone to come to save you! Yours The adults who are engaged in business have already disappeared without a trace!"
Then he snorted coldly, turned around and walked out of the hall. "Compared to you idiots, my apprentice is a hundred times cuter."
Most of the alchemists had a good family background, and after passing the examination, they were even officials of the imperial court. They had never seen such vulgar curses, and they were dumbfounded for a moment.
"It's really, really unreasonable!" It took a long time for someone to reflect.
"Did he come to the academy on purpose to provoke?"
"But this is too obvious... Could there be something really wrong in the east?" Some alchemists wondered.
"Well, it seems true when you say that."
"Anyway, Master is not here, so if we take the first step, we won't be blamed, right?"
"I will report to Master whoever leaves first." The tall man who stood up at the beginning said again, "Have you forgotten Master's usual warnings? Everyone who submits to the Ministry of Command is a privy councilor. Traitor of the government!"
…
Two-quarters of an hour after the beacon smoke rose, Xia Fan and Ning Wanjun received news from the Privy Council House.
The princess immediately mobilized several professional scout teams and went to Jinxia City to further investigate the situation.
Xia Fan also sent Li and Shanhui, two natural scouts, to confirm the source of the beacon fire near the east city wall.
Soon, all kinds of information were collected into the villa one after another through oral or short letters.
An emergency meeting was subsequently held in the living room.
"Jinxia City is being attacked?" Once the news was announced, it caused a huge stir among everyone.
No wonder everyone is surprised. Shenzhou is not a strategic location, and it is located in the hinterland of Qi State. It has no boundaries with the surrounding countries. It is almost the place least likely to be affected by the war.
"The enemies came by boat, and there were quite a few of them." Xu Sanchong, who commanded the guards, said solemnly, "Before this, the East China Sea should have been a restricted area. Since these people have the ability to break through the evil blockade, their identities are basically the same. It can be finalized—nine times out of ten, they are the forces behind the Donghai Gang, from the Dongsheng Kingdom across the sea."
"Dongsheng Kingdom...are you trying to loot Jinxia City?" Eunuch Li frowned.
"Perhaps they are seeking something more." Advisor He Guicai shook his goose feather fan and said, "But no matter what they are seeking, the amount of effort they put into it is not small."
"Yes, according to the news from the front, the enemy is currently landing, and the vanguard has captured the east city wall. Judging from the number of ships, their number will definitely not be small. It is impossible to rely on the few people from the government to defend the city. It's different from using a mantis' arm as a chariot. What's more..." Xu Sanzhong paused, "The scouts didn't notice any movement from the government."
"Are they crazy?" Mo Yun said in disbelief, "If you lose, you will lose. If you surrender the city defense like this, everyone in the government will lose their heads!"
"Honestly, this attack is indeed very strange. Before we can figure out the enemy's reality and intentions, I suggest that we stay put and wait and see what happens." He Guicai looked at Princess Guangping, "Fengyang Villa is located at a high point , easy to defend but difficult to attack, the enemy is unlikely to come to you for trouble. When Shenzhou reinforcements arrive, this matter will naturally be settled."
"Consultant He is right. I also think this is the safest approach." Xu Sanzhong said with cupped hands, "The opponent's strength is not obvious, and we will inevitably suffer losses if we act rashly. Once the Shenzhou Army arrives, this may be exposed. The existence of a strange force may leave hidden dangers if not handled properly."
Others also looked in agreement.
The princess did not make a decision immediately.
She pondered for a moment, then turned her head to look at Xia Fan, "I want to hear your opinion."