The old emperor was somewhat surprised to hear that he was willing to personally lead the army and asked, "Have you thought this through? The third prince and the others advocate surrender, yet you still want to go to war?"

As an emperor, he was naturally unwilling to surrender. As his courtiers said, if he surrendered, where would he put his old face?

At that time, he was already troubled by various things in the court, and to make matters worse, the Third Prince and the Crown Prince were both causing him trouble. They told him to surrender as soon as they opened their mouths, which was really annoying to think about.

The Fifth Prince knew this was his chance, so he said, "Father, our Eastern Court used to be the leader of the four kingdoms. Which country wouldn't give us some respect? But now that honor has been snatched away by the Northern Flame. I can't swallow this insult. I must reclaim the glory that belongs to us!"

"Well said!"

The old emperor slammed his fist on the table in agreement, feeling that the fifth prince understood him better.

He used to rule over the entire Eastern Court and was a powerful force among the four nations, but now he's constantly being overshadowed by Northern Yan. It's no wonder he's unhappy about it.

"But you must understand that the situation on the border is not optimistic. It's not unreasonable for others to want to surrender. Are you really confident?"

Regardless of the circumstances, the Fifth Prince is still his son. Now that the Crown Prince and the Third Prince are both embroiled in rumors, if things are not handled properly, they may have to give way to other princes.

Of all the princes, the old emperor favored the fifth prince the most and did not want anything to happen to him.

The Fifth Prince, however, was very confident and said, "Father, rest assured. The situation on the border has been bad lately, mostly due to the influence of Wu Jiaming. Now that Wu Jiaming has been sent back and his days are numbered, he will no longer affect the fortunes of the border. Your son will lead troops to help the old general, and we will definitely be able to turn the tide!"

These words truly resonated with the old emperor, who nodded with great satisfaction and said, "Good, good! If you return victorious, I will certainly not treat you unfairly!"

The emperor's words were very suggestive, and the fifth prince immediately understood. In other words, as long as he returned victorious from the battle, the emperor would give him the position of crown prince!

Isn't this exactly what he wanted?

"Thank you, Father!"

He knelt down to express his gratitude. The old emperor was also in a good mood and personally helped him up, saying, "The border matter is of utmost urgency. Prepare to depart immediately!"

In any case, Dongting is still relatively wealthy, with a considerable amount of grain still in its granaries. It wouldn't be difficult for him to take a batch to the border to provide support.

Anyway, as long as we can win this battle, we're willing to pay any price.

The Fifth Prince left the palace in high spirits, and the news quickly reached the ears of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, who had no opinion on it.

Especially on the Third Prince's side, his subordinates thought he would take some action, but all they got was, "Don't worry about it, just do your own thing."

The subordinate was puzzled and said, "Your Highness, when you were in dire straits, the Fifth Prince took advantage of your misfortune quite a bit. Now that you have such a good opportunity, don't you want to take revenge?"

“There’s no need for that,” the Third Prince said with a smirk. “He’s going to his death anyway, why should we bother?”

The subordinate was taken aback. He wanted to ask more questions, but seeing that the Third Prince didn't seem to be in the mood to say anything more, he withdrew.

The Third Prince knew perfectly well that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Fifth Prince's expedition would likely be a one-way trip.

Once in the hands of that couple, no matter how much courage someone has, it will be worn down, just like I was back then.

This is why, ever since he returned, he has avoided getting involved in anything related to that couple. Because once you face them, no matter how talented you are, you will be utterly defeated.

The Fifth Prince set off in a grand procession, and the letter was delivered to the border as quickly as possible. The old general looked at the letter in his hand, sighed helplessly, but still conveyed the emperor's message to the soldiers.

"The imperial reinforcements are coming soon. If we just hold on a little longer, we will definitely be able to defeat the Northern Yan people fair and square!"

Regardless, we still need to get our energy pumped up.

However, the soldiers below were not very convinced. After all, it was quite a long journey from the capital to here, and by the time the food arrived, they would all have starved to death.

The old general could only assure them that they would not go hungry, and that he had already sent people to transport grain from nearby cities, so they would be able to fill their stomachs soon.

The soldiers calmed down and found places to sit and doze off. Since they were hungry, they had no energy and no mood to stand guard. Whatever.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the New Year celebrations had already ended in Beiyan, but Jiang Jiuniang was already busy preparing to welcome the God of Wealth, with various grand ceremonies.

The soldiers were already used to the lady's actions and happily followed along.

After welcoming the God of Wealth, the yarn workshop will also be open for business. On New Year's Eve, they will rush to make clothes for the soldiers. Now that the New Year is over, many people will also need to wear sweaters, so Jiang Jiuniang will prepare to sell the sweaters all over the country.

As long as you build a reputation, the business will continue to thrive, and the God of Wealth won't have come for nothing.

"Sister Jiu Niang, I'll go with you!"

Peng Yuan came out of the tent. Because she was pregnant, Qin Jian was afraid she would get cold, so he wrapped her up like a little dumpling. Now she could hardly walk and was walking slowly.

Jiang Jiuniang didn't rush her. She waited for her to come to her, took her hand, and took her pulse. She shook her head and said, "You were exhausted a while ago. Your body is a bit weak and can't withstand any bumps. Let's wait until the pregnancy is more stable before we talk about it."

Before they discovered she was pregnant, she went to the city with Jiang Jiuniang every day to run free clinics, so her body was weakened and couldn't be restored so quickly.

Peng Yuan was terrified when she heard this. This was her and Qin Jian's first child, so she had to be extremely careful and naturally wouldn't try to be brave anymore.

"Alright then, Sister Jiu Niang, be careful and come back soon."

She touched her belly with some regret, feeling only a pity.

I didn't realize it before, but after following Jiang Jiuniang and seeing more of her, I found that doing business is really interesting, especially earning money through your own abilities, which is really joyful.

For the sake of the baby in her belly, she could only wait anxiously in the tent.

"Don't worry, Aunt Yuan, I will take good care of Mother!"

The dog waved at her, its voice brimming with excitement.

He had spent the past few days of the Lunar New Year holiday in his tent, and now he was finally able to go out and explore. He was very happy.

Seeing him like this, Peng Yuan's heart melted completely. She dreamed of having a child as sensible and adorable as a puppy.

She'd heard that looking at cute kids could help her have a cute baby, so these past few days she'd been staring at the dog all the time, wishing her own child would look exactly like it.

Jiang Jiuniang smiled, waved to her, and left with the dog.

When they arrived at the workshop, Fang Yong limped out, leaning on his cane. He was very happy to see Jiang Jiuniang, but there was also some melancholy between his brows. For a moment, the expression on his face was hard to describe.