Foreword

Pei Yanzhi: I often have nightmares and have had a sleepless night for over a thousand nights until I saw the letter you sent.

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First year of war, border, military camp.

"He chose the wrong person!"

"It's him!"

"He's the one who killed us!"

"He's the one who caused the collapse of the Great Jing and Great Xia dynasties!"

"Why doesn't he just die!"

"Why!"

"Why!!"

The main military commander's tent.

The venomous gazes and resentful cries surged forth like a tide. He hadn't closed his eyes for three days, and every time he opened them, he was met with endless cursing and wailing.

In just a moment, Pei Yanzhi couldn't fall asleep.

He suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze empty as if dead, while his hands trembled uncontrollably.

"Your Highness."

Yin Quan and Xiao Wu were startled when they saw him like this as soon as they lifted the tent flap.

"It's been almost three years, and the young master still can't sleep soundly?"

Yin Quan frowned.

Their heir has always been a strategist, calm and composed, as if there is nothing in the world he cannot solve. Even when he failed the imperial examination a few years ago and was ridiculed by many people, he remained calm and natural.

Study hard every day, read books as usual, stay calm and steady, and make progress step by step.

But no one knows what bad luck Xiangguo Temple had that year, and he bumped into the young mistress. From that day on, their young master never slept peacefully at night again, and he became more and more silent and cold.

She'd even get up in the middle of the night to draw those ghostly things...

It's terrifying.

Now that the army has marched to the border, they haven't gotten up in the middle of the night to draw or burn those things, but their sleep is still not good.

"Yinquan, the young master has been sleeping poorly. We are now facing the rebel army in the western border from behind, and foreign countries are eyeing us covetously from the front. How can we fight if the young master is not getting enough rest?"

"How about..."

"Why don't we invite a high-ranking monk to perform a ritual?"

Xiao Wu clearly noticed the dark circles under Pei Yanzhi's eyes. Pei Yanzhi was a bold and unconventional person. He immediately asked a high monk to exorcise the demon, which frightened Yin Quan so much that he hit him with the sword in his hand.

"Perform a ritual! Perform a ritual! You traitor, who are you exorcising, the high monk you invited? Who is the demon...?"

“Naturally, it’s the demon that’s attached to the prince that’s being driven away. This demon is really audacious. It’s been two or three years and it’s still clinging to the prince. All the talismans I used before were useless. In my opinion, it must be a monstrous demon king. Otherwise, how could it dare to attach itself to the prince in Xiangguo Temple? Xiangguo Temple is too ineffective. It has received incense offerings from the people for generations, yet it can’t even suppress a demon.”

Hearing his words, Yin Quan shook his head, "Things are not as simple as you think."

“I have seen the Crown Prince… In his condition at that time, once he fell asleep, there would be strange movements, unless he was a light sleeper. Moreover, the Crown Prince was often plagued by nightmares. All these signs do not seem to indicate that he was possessed by a demon. Rather, it seems to be… rather, it seems to be…”

"What does it look like?" Xiao Wu asked curiously.

Yin Quan lowered his voice, "It's like a demon in one's heart! One page of the Forgiveness Sutra can forgive a hundred lives. Just think how many pages of the Forgiveness Sutra the Crown Prince has copied and burned. There must be over a thousand pages. What kind of heinous crime could cost more than a hundred thousand lives..."

Xiao Wu gasped.

But he dismissed Yin Quan's speculation, saying, "The Crown Prince is a genius, dedicated to the country and its people. He personally oversees new commercial and land laws; who wouldn't do that? Only a fool would believe he holds the lives of 100,000 people in his hands..."

Hearing him say that, Yin Quan didn't argue with him. He just brought in hot water for Pei Yanzhi to wash up. After that, there was a meeting of the three armies. Not long after, there were unusual movements on the rebel side. Foreign countries took the opportunity to harass the border. They were caught between a rock and a hard place. They could only struggle and try to survive in the cracks.

Until various supplies began to be delivered to the capital city in truckloads.

Along with the supplies came letters delivered with urgent care, traveling over 800 li (approximately 400 kilometers).

"How can we use the Eight Hundred Li Jia so lightly in such an emergency? In my opinion, the princess is still a woman and does not understand the importance of this matter."

"That's a good point. The princess is currently overseeing the country, so there must be something important going on."

"What could she possibly be involved in? She's just a woman. To put it nicely, she's a regent; to put it bluntly, she's just a pretty face. She doesn't understand anything about military or national affairs. The six ministries in the court are actually managed by those ministers..."

Pei Yanzhi had just come out of the tent when he saw a group of generals gossiping and arguing. He gripped the letter in his hand, a smirk playing on his lips, and went to meet them.

"Gentlemen, you have quite the leisure to discuss right and wrong here. However, your information is really outdated. Back when Emperor Jing (the old emperor) was still alive, a new one was added and put into charge by the princess."

"Since the princess took charge of the new department, no one in the six ministries, not even the ministers, dared to look down on her. Most of the supplies and military expenses for our army this time were raised by the princess leading the new department. Instead of being grateful, you generals insult the princess by calling her a mere decoration. You might as well not accept the supplies the princess sent this time."

Upon hearing Pei Yanzhi's anger, the generals quickly lowered their heads. In truth, they didn't really look down on Jiang Shuwan.

After all, everyone knows how poor the Great Jing Kingdom is. After the palace incident, except for the northern border, the three borders were in chaos.

An army marches on its stomach; Jiang Shuwan's ability to procure so much grain and silver is truly remarkable.

However, they really didn't think Jiang Shuwan was capable of being the regent.

"Alright, you can go now."

"Don't let me hear any more of that nonsense."

The crowd quickly scattered like birds and beasts, and when they arrived at the supplies area, the sound of praising Jiang Shuwan was heard once again.

Jiang Shuwan had just received another batch of supplies, a simplified version of fried noodles. There was no time to cook while marching in the field, and most soldiers carried only two rations. However, heavy snow blocked the mountains, and the weather was cold.

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