*

Nan Qing acted immediately. During her 100-day celebration, she crawled directly towards her emperor father, grabbing his bright yellow dragon robe and refusing to let go. This delighted Emperor Wu Jing, who lifted the little dumpling above his head and declared:

"Zhaoyang resembles me."

After that, Nanqing lived a leisurely life of eating and sleeping for more than a year. But after he could speak fluently, he began to show amazing talents such as photographic memory.

She was well-versed in ancient and modern classics at the age of three, and at the age of five, she defeated a Grand Secretary in a debate before the Emperor, demonstrating extraordinary political talent and governing ability.

At the age of eight, he wrote ten essays on "Governing the Country," covering various aspects such as land system, commerce, taxation, imperial examinations, and border defense. His profound insights impressed the senior members of the cabinet.

In the same year, Fifth Prince Jing burned incense at the Imperial Ancestral Temple and broke with ancestral rules by appointing his eldest daughter, Princess Zhaoyang, as Crown Princess, making her the first female heir apparent of the State of Wei.

On the day of the investiture, Nanqing, dressed in a black imperial robe, calmly accepted the golden book and seal. Among all the civil and military officials, from the most stubborn Minister of Rites to the fierce generals who had returned from guarding the border, not one raised any objections.

Now, ten-year-old Nanqing has grown into a man of extraordinary bearing, proficient in both civil and military affairs.

All the people of Wei knew that their next queen was a celestial maiden born with auspicious omens, and a wise ruler who issued various new policies that made their lives better than before.

That same year, ten-year-old Nanqing changed out of her fine clothes, donned silver armor, wore a short sword at her waist, and tied her black hair high as she entered the military camp.

Inside the military camp, although the soldiers knelt to greet him with proper etiquette, they still had some doubts in their hearts.

They knew the Crown Princess was exceptionally intelligent, enacting new policies and bringing peace to the people. However, the battlefield was not the imperial court; arrows could not recognize the phoenix-patterned jade seal, and scimitars could not distinguish between the sons of dragons and the grandsons of phoenixes.

Therefore, all the generals assumed that the Crown Princess was just there to make a formality.

But Nan Qing set up a fighting arena in the center of the training ground. Standing only four feet tall, she stood with her back straight and her gaze calm as she surveyed the crowd and raised her voice:

"Today I am here not to discuss politics, nor to distinguish between high and low status, but only to discuss ability."

"Whoever can defeat me will be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold."

She drew her short sword from her waist and plunged it into the wooden stake of the arena with a clang; the tassel of the sword was as red as blood.

These words caused an uproar throughout the camp.

The veterans looked at each other, while the soldiers were eager to try, but none of them dared to actually lay a hand on the Crown Princess. To win would be an overstepping of authority, and to lose would be even more shameful.

Until a centurion with a muscular physique could no longer contain himself, he strode forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"This humble general dares to ask Your Highness for guidance!"

Nan Qing smiled slightly and raised her hand in a gesture of invitation: "Please."

After three moves, the centurion's burly body was thrown off the stage by her using the force of her own blows, leaving the soldiers stunned.

She stopped, her gaze sweeping over the crowd, her voice neither hurried nor slow.

"Next."

Next, with spears, broadswords, clubs, and mounted archery, Nanqing used his strength to make the generals submit.

When the army's greatest warrior fell to her sword, the entire training ground fell silent for a moment, and then, led by the old general, they knelt on one knee and roared.

"This humble general is willing to follow Your Highness through fire and water, without hesitation!"

For the next three years, Nan Qing recruited, trained, and disciplined soldiers, using an iron fist to enforce military discipline.

Before dawn, the sound of orderly drills echoed across the drill ground. In her personally compiled "New Military Strategy," she combined traditional battle formations with Qimen Dunjia (a form of divination), creating the unique "Seven Star Linked Formation," which enabled the guards to be both offensive and defensive.

The improved light armor uses black iron as its core, reducing its weight by half but doubling its defensive capabilities.

Whenever there was a martial arts competition in the army, Nanqing would set a rule: whoever could defeat her would be promoted three ranks, but for three years, no one had been able to claim this reward.

On the contrary, the "Iron Eagle Guards" she trained were all capable of taking on a hundred men each.

The number of beacon towers along the border of the Wei Kingdom increased to thirty-six, each equipped with the "telescope" she invented. The soldiers of the scout battalion rode improved warhorses and could easily travel three hundred miles a day.

The navy's newly built warships could carry a thousand people, and the fire mines hidden inside the hulls terrified the pirates, who no longer dared to plunder merchant ships and fishermen traveling to and from Wei.

Springtime in the twelfth year of the Longqing reign.

In the Golden Palace, thirteen-year-old Nan Qing stood below the steps, dressed in a black court robe embroidered with phoenixes, his posture as slender as a pine tree.

"Father, I request permission to send troops to attack the Song Kingdom!" The clear, cold voice resonated powerfully.

"Your Highness!" Lin Zhiyou, the Minister of Revenue, hurriedly stepped forward. "Last year, many places suffered from natural disasters. If war breaks out again, I'm afraid the national treasury will not be able to support it, and the people will be burdened beyond their capacity!"

Nan Qing's eyes remained unchanged; he simply unfolded the scroll of border military reports in his hand.

"Over the past ten years, Rongguo cavalry have crossed the border to harass our army a total of 147 times and robbed caravans 83 times."

Lin Zhiyou forced a smile and said, "Your Highness, those are just a small group of bandits..."

She raised her eyes, her gaze sharp: "For decades, countless border people have been displaced and killed or wounded because of this. Lord Lin, in your eyes, this is nothing more than a small band of bandits?"

Lin Zhiyi choked, her face contorted in pain, and dared not utter another word in rebuttal.

"If small problems are not eliminated, they will eventually become major disasters."

"If Rongguo dares to allow its cavalry to cross the border as if it were nothing today, it will dare to besiege the city tomorrow!"

"Will Lord Lin take up arms and go into battle then?"

Lin Shangshu's face turned pale, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he fell silent, not daring to say a word.

Seeing this, Prime Minister Zhou sighed softly, stepped forward slowly, and spoke with a tone of admonition:

"Your Highness, our Wei Kingdom was founded on commerce. Although our military strength has gradually increased in recent years, if we rashly start a war, I fear that trade routes will be cut off and the people's livelihood will be impoverished..."

"It is precisely because the country is founded on commerce that we need a strong military to protect commerce!"

Nan Qing suddenly raised his voice, turned to look at the court officials, and finally his gaze fell on the Minister of Revenue.

"In the past five years, the instability at the border alone has caused our country's trade routes to lose tens of millions of taels of silver. Lord Lin, am I wrong?"

Speaking of this, Lin Zhiyou was furious, forgetting all about his opposition to sending troops, and said through gritted teeth:

"Your Highness, this is indeed true!"

Nan Qing nodded slightly, turned his gaze to Prime Minister Zhou, suddenly chuckled softly, and asked in a low voice:

"What does the Prime Minister think is the reason why Rong Kingdom specifically robs our Wei Kingdom's merchant caravans?"

Without waiting for a reply, she flicked her sleeves and pointed directly outside the hall.

"Because they know we'll just have to endure it!"

Nanqing's voice resounded clearly among the beams and pillars of the Golden Hall. Before the echo had faded, General He Yuanqing was the first to step forward.

"This humble general requests to be the vanguard!"

Immediately afterwards, more than ten generals, including the Right General, the General of the Flying Cavalry, and the General of the Chariots and Cavalry, knelt down one after another to request to fight.

On the high platform, Fifth Jing, who had remained silent until now, finally smiled. He slowly rose, his demeanor radiating an undeniable authority, and said:

"Draft the imperial edict."

"I hereby appoint Crown Princess Zhaoyang as Grand Marshal of the Northern Expedition, and all border troops in the north shall be under her command!"