Hearing Yuan Xiu's declaration, Mu Shanyue felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and tears streamed down his face.

He looked at Yuan Xiu in front of him, waving his fists under the dark clouds, with a raging storm and lightning behind him, which made him think of the late emperor for a moment.

"The Yuan family has no spines." Mu Shanyue served three emperors, which was his summary of the Yuan family and the reason why he swore to be loyal to them to the death.

Mu Shanyue bowed deeply and said, "This old minister supports Your Majesty's decision. I will do anything to serve the country, even at the cost of my life!"

Yuan Xiu's aura at this moment intimidated everyone, and Wen Tai dared not disagree anymore.

Yuan Xiu helped Mu Shanyue up, grasped his old hand and said, "Elder Mu, there's no need for such a grand gesture."

As he spoke, Yuan Xiu looked at the others and said, "I will issue an edict to my uncle, ordering him to garrison troops at Muqiao Pass to put pressure on Southern Zhou. However, my uncle is a man who considers the overall situation, and the number of troops he can draw from the Zhennan Border Army is limited. Therefore, I will also send a force south to Yunshui City to put pressure on Southern Zhou."

"I'll station troops at Yunjing and Yunshui. I want to see if Southern Zhou will panic!"

Wen Tai said, "Send another force... Your Majesty, are you perhaps transferring troops from General Wang's command?"

“Wang Ren is far away in the three northern counties, which is not advisable.” Yuan Xiu looked at Tie Ge and asked, “Lord Tie, where do we have any usable troops?”

Without a second thought, Tie Ge immediately said, "Jingbei County has 50,000 troops stationed there. There hasn't been any war there in recent years, so we can use them."

Yuan Xiu thought for a moment and said, "That's not a good idea either. The garrison in Jingbei Commandery is in the northeast of the empire. Moving troops from the northeast to the southeast would be a long journey and would cost a huge amount of money and supplies, which is not cost-effective."

Tie Ge frowned and said, "In that case, the other counties will only have scattered troops."

"Use scattered troops," Yuan Xiu ordered. "Lord Tie, plan it out. Use the troops stationed in Shangyang and Jiangyang counties, as they are closest to Yun Jing. Who are the commanders of these two counties?"

While Tie Ge was still pondering, Chen Changyun immediately said, "Your Majesty, the Commandant of Shangyang Commandery is named Li Lu, who was formerly the Prefect of Shuotong City in Shangyang Commandery. The Commandant of Jiangyang Commandery is named Chai Xin, who was formerly the Inspector of Yanchuan City. Both of them were promoted this year."

Yuan Xiu nodded and said, "Those who have just been promoted are even better, as they have the drive to make contributions. Let each of them lead 10,000 troops to Yunshui City."

Tie Ge accepted the order and replied, "Yes!"

Yuan Xiu then raised the letter and said, "My elder sister also said that if my final choice is to send troops, she hopes that the Right Chancellor will lead the army. Privately, the court's arrangement for the father to save the son will make the Right Chancellor grateful to me. Publicly, the Right Chancellor and the Champion Prince leading troops south to press on the border at the same time will give Southern Zhou a greater deterrent."

What do you think?

Mu Shanyue said, "This old minister believes it is feasible."

Chen Changyun echoed, "I second that suggestion."

Tie Ge nodded and said, "It would be even better if the Right Chancellor could personally go south."

Yuan Xiu did not express his opinion, but looked at Wen Tai.

Wen Tai understood Yuan Xiu's meaning and said, "Your Majesty, I also think it is feasible, but... the troops hastily assembled from Shangyang County and Jiangyang County, and are rushing south, will be somewhat strained for the Right Chancellor alone. I suggest that the court send another supervisor to assist the Right Chancellor in commanding the troops."

"The Left Prime Minister's suggestion is excellent. Who should we send?" Yuan Xiu glanced at everyone.

Chen Changyun bowed his head and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, silently volunteering himself.

Leading 20,000 troops to put on a show would be a great achievement upon their return, earning them military command experience. Even if a real battle broke out, the Right Chancellor and the Champion King would be there to hold them off.

This looks like a deal that can only make you money!

Tie Ge straightened his back, full of anticipation.

Yuan Xiu's gaze swept past the two of them and landed on He Yin's face.

"He Yin!"

"Your subject is present."

"You will be the military supervisor!"

"Your subject obeys!" He Yin remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was utterly shocked, never expecting the emperor to appoint him as a general.

Tie Ge sighed regretfully, but Chen Changyun retorted, "Your Majesty, shouldn't it be Lord Tie who goes? Lord He is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice..."

Yuan Xiu ignored Chen Changyun and said to He Yin, "When Zhao Cheng was eliminating spies in Yanchuan City, Lord He investigated him and knows him quite well. After we welcome Zhao Cheng back, you should get closer to him. Lord He, do you understand what I mean?"

"Your subject understands."

Chen Changyun pouted, thinking to himself, "Back when I went to Yanchuan City to investigate Zhao Cheng, I went too!"

Although he was dissatisfied, he dared not say anything more.

Yuan Xiu then said, "The old Minister of Justice has asked me to resign several times, and I can't keep him here any longer. He Yin, if you can return safely from this trip, then take the old Minister's place!"

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness!" He Yin quickly knelt down, extremely excited.

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback, not expecting the emperor to speak so directly.

This is clearly blatant praise for He Yin!

Fearing that he was too young and inexperienced, and that people would criticize him for taking the position of Minister, they instead gave him a great achievement.

He's been directly admitted to university!

What did the emperor see in He Yin?

Chen Changyun couldn't understand it.

Mu Shanyue stroked his beard, quite satisfied with the emperor's arrangement.

He knew what the emperor had taken a liking to He Yin for.

Fair and impartial!

He is upright and righteous!

"It seems the emperor is gradually realizing that there are too many sycophants around him, and he needs to change this trend." Mu Shanyue glanced at Chen Changyun and Wei You, a smug look on his face.

Wen Tai lowered his head, but his expression was not good.

He had already recommended a candidate to the emperor for the position of Minister of Justice, but the emperor neither used him nor gave him any instructions. Instead, he publicly promised the position to He Yin.

A promise is a promise; as long as He Yin's trip goes smoothly, there will be no changes.

Looking at the emperor, who was becoming more and more mature and opinionated, Wen Tai felt a sense of unease.

...

When news of Zhao Cheng's capture reached Changsui and Yanchuan, Yang Qingzhi was happily petting his cat, eagerly awaiting the next performance.

To avoid disrupting order within the army, Yang Qingzhi brought Zhao Cheng to the manor.

In the open space outside the manor, Southern Zhou soldiers formed a large circle, and Zhao Cheng was tied to a tree with his hands behind his back.

Yang Qingzhi sat comfortably to the side of Zhao Cheng, a hundred meters away, eating fruit.

Seeing the situation before him, Zhao Cheng was dumbfounded and shouted, "Little Commander, you change your mind faster than flipping through a book! Are you going to execute me?!"

"No rush, no rush!" Yang Qingzhi waved to Zhao Cheng cheerfully and said, "You'll find out in a bit, no need to rush!"

"Damn it!" Zhao Cheng cursed under his breath, while looking around. Apart from the Southern Zhou soldiers, he couldn't see anything unusual.

But immediately, his gaze was drawn to a figure walking out of the manor.

The figure was dressed in night clothes, carrying a bow and arrow, followed by six Southern Zhou soldiers.

She walked into the circle formed by the Southern Zhou soldiers and stopped two hundred meters away from Zhao Cheng.

Even from a distance, Zhao Cheng could still recognize her.

Just like that night when he was surrounded, even though he could only hear the sound of arrows cutting through the wind, he could tell who the people coming were.

Zhou Nuo!