Chapter 226
The soldiers knew they were merely following orders and there was no need to obstruct the killing of the general and King Zhuang, so they all laid down their weapons. Even the few with ulterior motives could only follow the crowd.
The crisis ended with the death of Jiang Long alone.
Afterwards, Su Jin followed Zhou Lin back to the military camp.
Zhou Lin immediately arranged for his trusted confidants to seal off the entire military camp to prevent news of Jiang Long's death from reaching the imperial court.
By the time he finished his work, it was already dawn.
Su Jin and the others were invited into the camp and placed under guard.
"Ugh, this food is so meager." Su Jin looked at the food that had been delivered and was extremely disgusted.
Yue Ziqi frowned, somewhat uneasy. "I feel that Zhou Lin has never wanted to submit to us. What if he changes his mind? What if he wants to declare himself king?"
Once inside the main camp, the secret guards were too far away to reach her. If a fight broke out, Yue Ziqi feared he wouldn't be able to protect Su Jin.
Zhou Chen quickly said, "No, I won't let him hurt my sister unless he steps over my dead body."
Su Jin put down her chopsticks and chuckled, "Take it easy."
Zhou Lin has no way out, and he's not the type to declare himself king.
Zhou Lin was well-trained by the Empress Dowager to be a subservient person. Even if he broke free from the constraints, he had no desire to rise to a higher position.
Zhou Lin has arrived and wants to speak with Su Jin alone.
Zhou Chen disagreed, glaring at Zhou Lin as if he were an enemy.
Su Jin smiled and comforted him, then told Zhou Chen to go out first.
Zhou Chen then obediently left.
Seeing Zhou Chen so obedient to Su Jin, Zhou Lin felt very uncomfortable.
He sat down, scrutinizing Su Jinxia, his face flushed with anger. "I think Prince Zhuang might not be the second Empress Dowager!"
Su Jinxia lowered her head and chuckled softly, indicating her suspicion that Su Jinxia was controlling Zhou Chen.
Su Jin didn't care. "You can compare me to the Empress Dowager, but please don't compare Zhou Chen to you. He's much better than you."
Zhou Lin's face darkened.
Su Jinxia was mocking Zhou Lin's ignorance, that he was being deceived without realizing it.
Zhou Lin felt a pang of pain in his heart, and his arrogance instantly vanished. He had indeed failed miserably.
Zhou Lin took a deep breath, stopped beating around the bush, and went straight to the point: "Prince Zhuang is a master strategist, he must have already figured out what he wants me to do next, so please speak frankly."
Su Jin nodded. This felt much better.
"Then I'll be frank. I want you to send troops to take over the entire Northeast."
Zhou Lin was a local tyrant in Northeast China, and it would be incredibly easy for him to take over the region.
Once Zhuang Jun conquers Northeast China, he will control half of the country.
Zhou Lin remained unmoved upon hearing this; he had already anticipated it, but…
Zhou Lin leaned down slightly, his eyes suddenly sharpening as he stared at Su Jin and said, "I can not only help you conquer the Northeast, but I can also help you conquer the entire world. However, I have one condition!"
Su Jin raised an eyebrow in surprise. He thought Zhou Lin would be in a difficult position, but he didn't expect that this person would be so understanding after thinking it through.
"you say!"
——
Outside the tent, Zhou Chen anxiously peered out, but couldn't hear a single word.
Yue Ziqi remained calm and even casually reminded him, "The young master told us to be patient, he must have a plan in mind, so don't rush."
Zhou Chen sighed, "I'm afraid... he'll upset my sister."
Yue Ziqi glanced at Zhou Chen and knew that "he" referred to Zhou Lin.
He couldn't help but chuckle to himself; now, Zhou Lin was just "him" in Zhou Chen's heart...
After a long while, Su Jinxia's clear voice came from inside the tent, "Achen, come in."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chen quickly walked in, only to find that the atmosphere at the table was quite harmonious.
Su Jin remained calm and composed, while Zhou Ji seemed to be in a much better mood than when he arrived; at least his brow was no longer furrowed.
Su Jin tapped the table lightly, and Zhou Chen sat down.
"Ah Chen, starting today, you will accompany the Tiger Forest Army to attack the Northeast region, striving to completely conquer the entire Northeast region within six months," Su Jin said softly.
Zhou Chen sensed something was amiss. "And what about you, sister? Where are you going?"
"Of course I must return to the Zhuang army camp to take command!"
Zhou Chen's handsome eyebrows furrowed. "I have never led troops into battle before, and I am not up to the task."
"I will teach you," Zhou Lin said, his gaze towards Zhou Chen very gentle. Now that things had come to this, Zhou Lin felt deeply indebted to Zhou Chen and only wanted to make amends.
Zhou Chen glanced at Zhou Lin out of the corner of his eye, his expression displeased, showing he didn't care about Zhou Lin's instruction.
“My reputation is not good. If I rashly lead the army, it will have a bad impact on Zhuang Jun.” Zhou Chen was very worried. He had a feeling that Zhou Lin had said something to make Su Jinxia willing to push him forward. But in reality, he did not want to show his face. He just wanted to follow behind his sister and help her as much as he could, instead of causing her trouble.
Su Jinxia gently patted Zhou Chen's forearm. "Don't worry, I said I would clear your name and let the world know what kind of people the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are, and what kind of suffering you have endured. I mean what I say!"
Zhou Chen's eyes welled up with tears, and his lips were pressed tightly together. "Does my sister really want me to lead troops into battle?"
Su Jin looked at him intently, "Of course, we go to conquer the world not so that we can sit on some supreme position in the future and enjoy a lot of wealth and glory, but so that the world can be at peace and the people can live a stable life. So you have to experience it, to know what the people are thinking and what they want?"
"It's not difficult to conquer the Northeast, but it's difficult to govern it and deal with the people's grievances. Although you have suffered since childhood, you also have great love in your heart, so I believe you can do a good job."
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