The guards in front of the military camp saluted Song Sanniang one after another, but their eyes were all on Xie Jinze, who was wrapped so tightly behind her that it was difficult to tell whether he was a man or a woman.

Although there was curiosity in their eyes, they saw that they all looked solemn, as if they had something urgent to do.

Out of trust in Song Sanniang, they casually checked her, asked her to hand over their weapons for temporary safekeeping, and then let her go.

Song Sanniang certainly knew that the people behind Xie Jinze must have hidden weapons on them, and they would not be able to safely hand over the life and property of their master Xie Jinze to others, so she did not say much.

It was Xie Jinze's first time to visit the camp where the Tongguan garrison commander was stationed. The conditions were not as he had imagined, with enough food and clothing.

Almost all the soldiers' armor was damaged, and it was obvious that it had been used for a long time, with wear and tear in many places.

It was hard to tell what the food was like, but thinking about how Song Sanniang had made an alliance with him with food as a prerequisite, he guessed that he knew that Tongguan was short of food.

Maybe there is still food now, but it is definitely not much.

Just as he thought, Song Sanniang learned two days ago from the stoker in charge of logistics that food was in short supply.

She knew it, but there was nothing more she could do.

When Song Sanniang brought Xie Jinze into Cheng Wuan's tent for a meeting.

More than ten pairs of eyes with dark circles inside looked at them. Song Sanniang paused, wondering why these uncles all had dark circles under their eyes after not seeing them for just one day. Then she walked to the middle with the three people behind her and saluted Cheng Wuan above.

Xie Jinze also followed Song Sanniang in bowing, "General Cheng."

Cheng Wuan hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to address Xie Jinze below him. Finally, he just said, "You're welcome."

As soon as the words came out, they received several puzzled looks.

Cheng Wuan was also helpless. It was not appropriate to call him daughter-in-law or son-in-law, so he called him prince. He was not sure who was older between him and Xiao Tingmo.

Finally, he addressed the other person briefly and concisely as "you", and the other person should be able to hear his inner respect.

"General Cheng is so polite."

Song Sanniang watched the two of them being polite to each other. She felt that if they really wanted to communicate politely, it would take ages.

Song Sanniang's eyes swept across the familiar figures, and after confirming that everyone was there, she nodded with satisfaction.

Since they listened to her father last night and were all waiting here early in the morning, it seemed that they had agreed to follow Xiao Jinze.

What Song Sanniang didn't know was that after her father gathered everyone together, he dropped the bombshell of starting a rebellion.

In order to avoid leaking information, he surrounded the tent with several circles of his personal soldiers.

But what he didn't expect was that after hearing his "treasonous" words, those old brothers

They looked at each other and asked him if he was crazy.

After making sure that the other person was normal and was serious, they looked at each other and exchanged glances.

They all agreed readily, saying they were willing to give it a try with him.

But even so, Cheng Wuan did not relax. More than a dozen men slept on the floor in the tent all night.

It's just that they all minded each other's smelly feet, so in the end, none of them took off their shoes before sleeping.

That's just what I said. I just found out not long ago that they were going to rebel, and I couldn't sleep at night.

This is why they all have dark circles under their eyes. However, although Cheng Wuan was not asleep, his body did not feel any burden, so he was the only one without dark circles under his eyes.

"Since all the uncles are here, I won't waste any more words. This is Xiao Jinze. The late emperor secretly sent him out of the palace after he was born to prevent him from being persecuted. He is the real prince."

At this time, Xiao Jinze lifted his cloak, revealing his face, and then carefully took out a brocade box from his sleeve.

After opening the brocade box, there was a bright yellow imperial edict inside.

Ying and Zhao took a few steps forward and Xiao Xin took out the imperial edict and slowly unfolded it.

"This is the imperial edict my father left behind when he realized that Concubine An and the Zhou family were planning to take action against him. He sent someone through untold hardships to deliver it to me. Not long after, my father was killed by them. The imperial edict of succession was forged by Concubine An and Xiao Tingmo."

Ying and Zhao silently showed the will, then carefully put it away and put it back into the brocade box.

"I still have my father's personal jade pendant here. It was a token of love between him and my mother, and serves as proof of my identity."

But even without the jade pendant, Cheng Wuan and those veterans already believed in his identity.

They had met Emperor Jing and the late Queen before. Xiao Jinze's face looked like their son, and his eyes resembled the late Queen's phoenix eyes.

The overall facial features are very similar to the late emperor when he was young.

Cheng Wuan, who was sitting upstairs, was also sighing. He had met Xie Jinze so many times before, and although he always felt that his face was familiar, he never thought of him as the late emperor.

No wonder the Xie family was ransacked. Xie Jinze had been in the Zhou family’s hands for such a long time without being discovered by them.

Perhaps they did not expect that Emperor Jing had another prince who was living outside, and he was a man dressed as a woman.

"...I'm very grateful for your willingness to lend a helping hand to Jinze. After the matter is accomplished..."

Song Sanniang listened quietly to Xie Jinze, or rather Xiao Jinze, trying to win over people, and only spoke to assist when he needed it.

Soon, after a morning, Xiao Jinze became familiar with the old generals and their relationship became much closer.

In addition, Cheng Wuan ordered to prepare to break camp. Although the soldiers under his command were confused, the leaders with higher positions did not say anything.

He started to clean up the camp with nimble hands.

However, at noon, they had the most filling meal they had in a while, and their hearts were lifted.

No matter how they looked at it, they felt that this was their last meal. Could it be that the barbarians were determined to fight back? Or were they running out of food and fodder? After this meal, they would be dismissed.

After all, their purpose of guarding Tongguan was to resist foreign enemies, especially the invasion of the Ulan people. Now, the biggest threat, the Ulan people, has been eliminated.

The imperial court refused to provide them with food and fodder, and they had long known that the food in the pass was not enough for them to continue eating.

So dismissing some soldiers is the best option.

They understood, but they were just feeling very sad. They originally joined the army because they could have enough food to eat and receive money after signing up.

However, after going through so much with their comrades around them, those who survived have already developed feelings for them. They are reluctant to leave this place and the familiar faces in front of them.

And even if they went back, how could they survive in this world? They might be eaten by the gentry or the officials.

At this time, they couldn't help but feel resentful towards the emperor who didn't care about their lives and didn't give them food.

So when General Cheng gathered all the soldiers at the training ground and told them that Emperor An was not the descendant of the previous emperor and that they had to correct the royal family of the Ming Dynasty.

Confused but eager to try.