"Brothers who are not wearing cotton-padded coats, cross the river in an orderly manner. Do not crowd together. The river looks thick, but we still need to prevent it from cracking under the pressure."

Following Chen Zhennan's order, the 1,500-strong special forces team, divided into groups of five and maintaining a distance of about five meters between each other, began to cross the river one after another.

Their movements were orderly, like a long dragon slowly moving across the ice, each step taken with care, as if afraid of breaking the frozen tranquility.

When the warhorses crossed the river, their feet were very slippery, and their horseshoes could not stay steady on the ice, making a piercing sound.

This reminded Chen Zhennan of the scene in "Journey to the West" where Tang Sanzang and his disciples crossed the Tongtian River. He hurriedly ordered, "Brothers, wrap the horses' hooves with cloth and lead them across the river."

Chen Zhennan led his horse slowly across the river, the ice creaking softly beneath his feet as he walked carefully with each step.

After reaching the other side of the river, Chen Zhennan felt much more at ease.

As soon as he stepped ashore, Chen Zhennan saw a group of several hundred people slowly walking towards him.

It was an army of imposing strength, with soldiers who were perfectly aligned, tall, and walked with a steady gait.

Chen Zhennan's heart skipped a beat, and his gaze locked onto the leader of the team.

He was a burly man, clad in armor, exuding an aura of majesty and power.

As the distance closed, Chen Zhennan finally saw the man's face clearly.

The man was about thirty years old, with a full beard and eyes that revealed fearlessness and decisiveness, like a beast ready to pounce at any moment. Chen Zhennan guessed that this man should be Ai Zijun.

That's right, Chen Zhennan had never met Ai Zijun, and the two had only communicated a dozen or so times through memorials.

Although they had never met and had little interaction, Chen Zhennan had a deep impression of Ai Zijun.

Ai Zijun's image had already been vividly sketched in his mind, like an old friend.

Ai Zijun was not a general who fought his way out of Lingnan with Chen Zhennan, but was originally the Prince of Zhenbei of Dawu, a general who was trained by Wu Yunyin's father.

When the Great Wu Dynasty was attacked by rebels, Ai Zijun originally wanted to lead troops to rescue Wu Yunyin's father.

Unfortunately, the rebels attacked too quickly, and before Ai Zijun could even encounter them, the capital had already fallen.

Subsequently, Ai Zijun submitted a letter of surrender, on the condition that he retain his title of Prince of Zhenbei and continue to guard the Northeast. Otherwise, he would lead his troops south to fight the rebels to the death.

Although the rebels captured the capital, they were severely weakened. Ai Zijun's Northeast Army numbered 100,000, and the rebels were simply unable to fight any longer, so they had no choice but to agree to his terms.

In the end, Ai Zijun retained his title as the Prince of Zhenbei, and the Northeast Army suffered no losses and continued to guard the Northeast.

His decision puzzled many people, but Chen Zhennan understood it, as it was very much in line with his style of doing things.

No matter when, if a country with a large population, abundant resources, and strong military power has its dynasty overthrown, it means that the dynasty has betrayed the people, and a change of dynasty is reasonable and justifiable.

Chen Zhennan naturally likes loyal people, but he sympathizes with those who are blindly loyal, but he doesn't pity them.

Later, Chen Zhennan raised the banner of rebellion, and people talked about it. The story of Chen Zhennan rebelling for a woman spread all over the world. Some people ridiculed him, some admired him, and some were deeply puzzled.

After learning of this news, Ai Zijun did not immediately raise an army in response.

He was a soldier, and he had his own pride and principles. He wouldn't easily follow someone he didn't understand, let alone someone who acted on emotion.

However, as time went on, the rebels suffered repeated defeats under Chen Zhennan's attacks, and their cities were breached one after another.

Ai Zijun never expected that the rebels would be so easily defeated, nor did she expect that Chen Zhennan, who suddenly appeared, would be so brave.

What surprised him even more was that during their retreat, the rebels began to burn, kill, and loot the civilians before heading towards the Great Yan, clearly intending to join the Great Yan.

This was something Ai Zijun could not accept. Filled with rage, she did not hesitate for a moment and immediately raised an army to attack the rebels.

Meanwhile, Chen Zhennan slowed down his offensive, which puzzled Ai Zijun. He even thought that Chen Zhennan wanted to use him to make him and the rebels wear each other down.

But after some time, Ai Zijun learned that the reason Chen Zhennan slowed down his offensive was because, when passing through the disaster area, he helped the people who had been looted to build houses and soup kitchens. Even the soldiers' rations were used by Chen Zhennan to provide relief to the disaster victims.

When Ai Zijun learned of this, he was deeply moved, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

He led the Northeast Army to intercept the rebels' route and sent someone to contact Chen Zhennan, intending to attack the rebels from both sides in a decisive battle.

This was the first communication between Ai Zijun and Chen Zhennan, and the two parties reached a cooperation agreement directly.

Ultimately, under the combined attack of both sides, the group of rebels who were reduced to nothing but good-for-nothings were annihilated by Chen Zhennan and Ai Zijun.

After his great victory, Ai Zijun did not seize the rebels' property, but instead led his troops back to the Northeast.

After returning, Ai Zijun sent a message to Chen Zhennan, saying that he could surrender, but he wanted to retain his status as the Prince of Zhenbei, just like the letter of surrender he had given to the rebels before.

Chen Zhennan understood that Ai Zijun did not trust his performance and was worried that he would be as ineffective as the previous rebels, or even bring the war into the Northeast. That was why he had forcefully retained his military power.

Later, Chen Zhennan led his troops into battle and gradually reclaimed the territory. Wherever he went, he was loved and respected by countless people.

Ai Zijun was skeptical of the rumors, so he decided to go out and see for himself. He led his guards, disguised as a caravan, and visited the places Chen Zhennan had been.

Wherever Ai Zijun went, he received a remarkably consistent result: Chen Zhennan did not harm the people in the slightest, and the people were grateful to him.

After returning to the Northeast, Ai Zijun wrote down her secret investigation in a memorial to Wu Yunyin, expressing her sincere desire to return to the Great Wu Dynasty. She also praised Chen Zhennan highly in the memorial.

From then on, Ai Zijun was filled with respect. He knew that Chen Zhennan was not only a military genius, but also a leader who cared deeply for the people.

Although the two never met, they appreciated each other deeply, like two old friends who had known each other for many years.

What Ai Zijun didn't expect was that his memorial to Wu Yunyin would become the basis for her idea of ​​eliminating Chen Zhennan.

In the years that followed, Wu Yunyin became more and more convinced of this idea, which ultimately led to tragedy.