What a joke! Fu Hao is a formidable fighter, a renowned female warrior, but the Fu Hao of today is Pei Mianman, a young girl who was just crying out in pain and begging for mercy under him. How could she possibly endure the wounds she suffered on the battlefield?

Moreover, this trial is extremely strange. He doesn't know anything about the Qiang people. They were completely wiped out by the Shang Dynasty's army before. Wouldn't Pei Mianman, a young girl who has never led troops before, just be a sitting duck?

Fu Yue, who was standing nearby, advised, "Your Majesty, I know that you and the Queen have a very good relationship, but now is not the time to act on emotions. Moreover, the Queen has suppressed domestic rebellions before, and it is clear that she is very capable in military affairs. Your Majesty does not need to worry so much."

Zuan was frustrated, but he didn't want to tell him the reason directly.

Seeing that he still disagreed, Fu Yue continued to persuade him: "Your Majesty, we are now at a critical juncture of life and death! If you let your uncles or cousins ​​lead the troops into battle and they return victorious, your throne will be in jeopardy."

Zuan was taken aback: "Why?"

Hearing him ask this, Fu Yue's face showed a hint of suspicion: "In our Shang Kingdom, the throne is generally passed down from brother to brother. After the previous king passed away, the throne was passed to his younger brother, and so on. Only in rare cases will the throne be passed to one's own son."

"When Pan Geng moved the capital to Yin, he passed away and then passed the throne to his younger brother Xiao Xin. After Xiao Xin passed away, he passed the throne to his younger brother Xiao Yi, who is your father. Theoretically, he should have continued to pass the throne to his younger brother or the eldest son of one of the previous kings. However, he passed the throne to you, his own son. Naturally, the other kings were dissatisfied and have been trying to usurp the throne. If those people lead troops to defeat the Qiang this time, their prestige will become extremely high. How will you, Your Majesty, then conduct yourself? You are currently concerned about the Queen, but if the throne is taken away, you will not be able to protect her."

"I dare to speak boldly, but the Queen is so beautiful that once you fall from power, many people will covet her. By then, it will be too late to regret it."

After hearing his explanation, Zu'an finally understood the whole story. This Fu Yue truly lived up to his reputation as a famous minister of ancient times; his analysis of the advantages and disadvantages was so clear and persuasive. If they were the real Wu Ding and Fu Hao, they would most likely have been convinced. Unfortunately, they were imposters.

Just as he was trying to find a way to refuse, Pei Mianman spoke up, "Alright, I'll go then."

"Manman!" Zuan was taken aback, never expecting her to volunteer.

Fu Yue, who was standing to the side, was a little puzzled as to why the king addressed the queen that way. But then he thought that it must be a nickname they used in private, so he didn't mind.

Pei Mianman pulled Zu An aside and transmitted her voice through her inner energy: "Zu An, I know you're worried about me, but we're here for a trial. If we do nothing and just hide in this palace, it may seem safe, but it's just like drinking poison to quench thirst. After the time is up, we'll both still be doomed."

“That Fu Yue was obviously arranged by the trial to give us enough information. His words should be trusted. If I don’t lead the troops into battle, there are only a few possible outcomes: the Qiang invade and the Shang Kingdom is destroyed; or your uncle and cousin lead the troops to repel the Qiang and are then put on the throne... No matter which outcome, our trial will definitely fail.”

Zu An frowned and said, "But leading troops into battle is too dangerous. You have no experience in this area. I'm afraid this trip will be more dangerous than safe."

Pei Mianman smiled gently: "Don't treat me like a sheltered young lady. You should know that I've cultivated myself all the way to where I am today. What kind of hardships haven't I seen? Besides, I've been to military camps..."

Zu An was surprised: "You served in the army?"

He subconsciously thought of Hua Mu's story of disguising herself as a man to join the army, but when his gaze fell on her chest, he immediately dismissed the guess. Even if she wanted to disguise herself as a man, her strength wouldn't allow it.

“I’ve never served in the military, but I have seen things in the barracks.” Pei Mianman smiled. “After all, the Pei family is a top-tier aristocratic family in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and we have connections and resources in the military.”

She continued, "Don't worry, Ancestor. We cultivators pursue our own path. All things in the world are interconnected in terms of the principles and rules of the Dao. Since I was able to cultivate to the sixth rank at such a young age, I wouldn't be a fool even if I led troops into battle."

Seeing the confident look on her face, Zu An realized that she was not just a pretty face, but a genius cultivator. She must have gone through all sorts of unimaginable hardships and difficulties to get to where she is today. So why should anyone worry about her?

"I was being old-fashioned," Zu'an apologized to her.

Pei Mianman, on the contrary, became a little embarrassed and shy: "You care about me too much."

Zuan laughed heartily: "Then I wish you every success!"

Pei Mianman nodded: "Don't worry, I will definitely complete the mission. Since this trial requires both men and women to participate, there will definitely be tests for both of them. You should be careful then."

Zu An nodded, but in his heart he was thinking, if the test for the woman was to conquer the Qiang tribe, then what would be the test for him?

Unfortunately, after thinking for a while, he still had no clue, so he calmed himself down and decided to help Pei Mianman resolve the Qiang issue first.

He wanted to ask her to help him with some cheat codes, but unfortunately, there was very little historical information about the Shang Dynasty. The specific process of how Fu Hao defeated the Qiang people was not recorded in the historical books. Helpless, he could only give her a general description of the terrain of Shaanxi and Gansu, since Pei Mianman knew nothing about this world.

Zuan didn't know if this would help, since he didn't have a detailed topographical military map, only some rough outlines of mountain and river courses.

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