Shenxi planned to remain peaceful for a while before launching attacks elsewhere.

Now, three years later, the construction of Jianming Province is almost complete.

However, in terms of military strength and manpower, there is still a gap.

However, Miaojiang Road, Haozhou Prefecture, and Nanning Prefecture divided up most of Kangjian Prefecture.

Li Hui, the prefect of Kangjian Prefecture, sent a series of documents to the imperial court requesting reinforcements.

Three years later, significant changes had occurred in the imperial court. The Eighth Prince had clearly shown signs of defeat and had withdrawn from the capital, retreating to Yuzhang Prefecture.

The Crown Prince and the Third Prince have occupied the capital, but due to years of fighting, their forces have also suffered heavy losses.

To replenish their troops, they conscripted men from all over the country.

The people around Beijing, who had just caught a breather thanks to favorable weather, have been struck by bad luck again.

Even children as young as twelve or thirteen were conscripted into the army.

Just then, the Prince of Ruyang sent out a shocking message: the Emperor was with him and was now planning to return to the capital.

The Crown Prince and the Third Prince were both struck by lightning; they were waiting for the critically ill Emperor in the capital to breathe his last.

But now, the news from the Prince of Ruyang clearly tells them that the emperor in the capital is an imposter.

The real emperor was about to return to the capital to take charge of the political situation, which put the crown prince and the third prince in a very difficult position.

Let them come back. They're fighting to the death with the Eighth Prince and his men, it's a complete mess. Their subordinates are all betting that the Crown Prince will ascend the throne.

If the emperor returns, it would be fine if he acknowledges the crown prince again; if not, he could accuse the crown prince of treason.

After all, the emperor had been in hiding for so many years, which must have been because he felt that the power of these princes was too great and uncontrollable, and that it was an insult to his dignity.

With the Crown Prince now wielding power comparable to the Emperor himself, will the Emperor tolerate him?

If they are not welcomed back, the Crown Prince will be branded as a rebel, leaving him with only one option: to completely break with the Emperor and seize power.

However, with the support of the Prince of Ruyang, the Emperor now also has control over Yizhou Prefecture and Jingchuan Prefecture.

Seizing power from the emperor is extremely risky.

Under such circumstances, how could they possibly send troops to support Kangjian Prefecture?

The Third Prince sent a letter to Li Hui, explaining the current situation and telling him to hold on.

Li Hui was so angry that he tore the letter to shreds.

If he can hold on, would he need to post for help?

Looking around, Qiong'an Prefecture? No, Qiong'an Prefecture is already embroiled in numerous conflicts with Hejian Prefecture, having fought many battles, both large and small. Hejian Prefecture is the territory of the Third Prince, while Qiong'an Prefecture rose to power thanks to the Eighth Prince.

Moreover, the Qiongan Prefecture frequently harassed the now relatively wealthy Thanh Thuy district of the Jianmin Province.

The place where Li Hui has now retreated to is Qi County, which borders Qingshui County in Jianming Province.

Qi County's location is quite awkward; it's not even geographically marked.

This is simply because Qi County is a narrow, elongated area.

Only a corner of the edge connects to Qingshui County.

Squeezed into this place, Li Hui had nowhere to escape.

This is exactly what Xie Ning of Nanning is trying to do: to squeeze Li Hui into Qi County, or force him to flee to Qiong'an Prefecture or Jianming Province. No matter where he flees, Xie Ning will have a reason to pursue him directly.

Then, they can take advantage of these two places and even seize their territory.

Miaojiang Dao and Haozhou Prefecture shared the same idea.

With the army pressing in, Li Hui weighed his options carefully. He couldn't possibly go to Qiong'an Prefecture; fleeing into the Eighth Prince's territory would be suicide.

If it weren't for Hejian Prefecture holding back Qiongan Prefecture, Li Hui would probably have been attacked by Qiongan Prefecture long ago.

There is only one road leading to Jianming Prefecture.

In Thanh Thuy district of Jianmin province, a tall city wall was built, stretching along the border. One man could guard the pass against ten thousand.

Li Hui arrived at the nearest city wall and had someone call out to the garrison commander inside.

The garrison commander was none other than Yunnan Ze.

Yunnan Zebei has been entrusted with the important task of protecting Qingshui County.

When Yunnan Ze suggested whether they should launch another attack to seize territory, Shen Xi and Gu Beitian rejected the idea.

The construction of the entire Jianming Province has been underway for more than four years.

This is what improved the lives of the residents in the area.

They can eat their fill and wear cotton-padded clothes.

At this point, one should observe the overall situation of the world before considering whether to attack.

After more than four years, Shenxi finally found the cotton seeds he had been dreaming of.

Last year, the plants were planted and grew very well, allowing some people to wear cotton clothes and cotton-filled coats.

This year, Shenxi is preparing to expand its cotton planting area so that everyone can wear cotton clothes.

The capital of Jianming Province has been well-governed by Zhao Xun, to the point that even if doors are left unlocked at night, there would be no bandits.

Qi Xiuwen sent another document, this time reporting the crisis in Shanghe County.

The Eighth Prince retreated to Yuzhang Prefecture, but the Third Prince, on the orders of the Crown Prince, pursued him relentlessly and captured two county towns.

It was at this time that news came that the Emperor was in Ruyang Prefecture, preparing to return to the capital.

The third prince received the crown prince's order to immediately withdraw his troops and return to defend the capital.

This means they're preparing to go against the emperor.

The retreat of the Third Prince's troops finally relieved the Eighth Prince.

Then they turned their attention to Shanghe County and Xiahe County.

This is Yuzhang Prefecture's territory, how could we let traitors occupy it?

With the threat from the Third Prince gone, the Eighth Prince led his troops to attack Shanghe County directly.

Because the Eighth Prince was determined to conquer these two counties, he brought a large number of troops—at least several times more than those for Shanghe County.

The garrison commander of Shanghe County was Han Liu.

Han Liu fought with all his might and barely managed to defend Shanghe County. By the time Qi Xiuwen posted the article, Han Liu had withstood seven attacks from the Eighth Prince.

While sending the message to Shenxi, Qi Xiuwen also sent someone to quickly notify Zhao Peng in Jinshan, Xiahe County, instructing him to send half of his troops to support Shanghe County and requesting Xiahe County to send troops in return.

At this time, some troops from Bian'ai County and Linchuan County were also mobilized to support Shanghe County.

Upon receiving the document, Shenxi couldn't help but frown.

This eighth prince is truly brainless. At this critical moment, instead of properly rebuilding the ruined Yuzhang Prefecture, he sends troops to fight, wasting lives and resources.

If the fighting continues like this, even if he captures Shanghe County and Xiahe County, there will likely be internal turmoil again.

In fact, the Eighth Prince wasn't entirely brainless; he wasn't just eyeing the two counties, he also had his eye on Jinshan.

The secret of Kingsoft is no longer an absolute secret, otherwise Zhao Peng wouldn't have stationed several thousand people at Kingsoft.

No amount of gold can make up for the damage caused by war.

Moreover, it's likely that the Eighth Prince won't actually use this gold for the benefit of the common people; he'll probably use it to expand his army.

The reason why the Eighth Prince failed in the struggle against the Crown Prince was largely due to the chaos within his army.

The Eighth Prince's army is not a unified force; it comprises the forces of the Eighth Prince, Ninth Prince, Tenth Prince, and Twelfth Prince.

These forces also vie for power and profit.