The Feng family is despicable, but the 100,000 soldiers are innocent, and the South needs them.
That was a force of 100,000 mature soldiers and able-bodied men; wiping them out would break her heart.
What she needs to do next requires a huge population and an army.
Xiao Zhixing's mind raced; she was determined to have these people.
Feng Lizhen has not yet obtained the Leopard Talisman, so his position is not legitimate and his army has not been established, leaving these people without a place to belong.
Even if this army of 100,000 was indeed trained by the Feng family, since the name was not yet fixed, those soldiers were without a leader in terms of morality.
Just like an illegitimate child, it hasn't been included in the family genealogy yet.
The emperor could even issue a decree to disperse them to various places, at which point the Feng family would be left with nothing but helpless stares.
The Feng family was very clever. They used the war with the Southern Barbarians to bring their troops into the public eye. The emperor wanted to use them to suppress the Xiao family's army and resist the Southern Barbarians at the same time, so that the army would not be scattered to seize power.
The next step for the Feng family is to obtain the Leopard Tally, gain complete control of the troops, and at the same time continue their ambiguous relationship with the Southern Barbarians, fighting and making peace from time to time, in order to make the emperor hesitant to disband them.
At this point, Zhao Yunqi discovered the truth but there was nothing he could do. The situation was already set, and he had to hold onto the Leopard Talisman to temporarily control the Feng family's army.
His efforts to win over the Feng family and even deepen their ties with the Southern Barbarians were a last resort.
With the Great Sheng Dynasty besieged on all sides, the emperor's first priority was to stabilize the situation and win over the hearts of the people, and the Feng family played a very important role at this time.
Even though he knew the Feng family was restless, he had to endure it and continue using them.
Serves you right!
Xiao Zhixing listed all the members of the Feng family, circled them one by one, and pondered a solution.
On a sudden impulse, he wrote down the power of the Southern Barbarians next to it.
How can she seize control of this army of 100,000?
Can we use that 172-point system?
The red pen dots were placed over the names of Feng Min, Feng Hui, Madam Feng, Zhao Xi, the 172-point system, and Feng Lizhen's three sons...
"Yin Yi, collect detailed information on everyone in the Feng family, down to the smallest detail."
He also ordered the Ghost Guards to send more people to infiltrate the Feng family army.
She had to meticulously plan to take them down in one fell swoop, and she couldn't let the Emperor System and the Emperor discover anything amiss.
Even if they discovered something amiss, it would only be after she had taken control of the army.
This cannot be accomplished overnight; a crown prince plan is the top priority.
The Feng family's army is far to the south; she needs to plan carefully.
Soon the Lantern Festival arrived, and Shengjing held its biggest lantern festival. Li Wenxiu specially went to the Prince's Mansion to invite her to go and play together.
Xiao Zhixing was constantly pestered by her.
"There will be a fireworks display, a long lantern procession, riddle guessing, and a poetry recital. It'll be so lively!" Li Wenxiu chattered excitedly, her face full of anticipation.
"What, you haven't seen this before?"
"Hmph, they say I'm small and pretty, and they're afraid I'll run into kidnappers and get taken away if I go out. So every time they make me stay inside and wait for them." The little girl was full of resentment. "With so many servants following me, how could anything happen? They just don't want me to go out and watch the fun."
"Oh, so you're using me as a shield this time?" This silly girl, the Li family knows she loves excitement and turns into a husky that can't be restrained once she goes out, which is why they don't allow her to go.
Anything can happen at the lantern festival.
"Hehe, nothing can be hidden from you, sister. Please be kind and let me borrow it for a while. I told my mother that you were by my side, and that's why she agreed to set me free."
Xiao Zhixing smiled and said, "That depends on how you win me over."
"Ah~~ah~~good sister, shall I give you a shoulder massage? Or...I'd be happy to repay you with my body, sister~~please come on~~~"
This amused the maids standing nearby.
It's rare to find someone who isn't afraid of the prince and dares to be so infatuated with her; Miss Wenxiu is truly a remarkable person.
Finally, Xiao Zhixing won the little girl's affection with a pinch and a sticker before taking her out to the lantern festival.
The east wind at night releases a thousand trees of flowers, and blows down stars like rain; the road is filled with the fragrance of precious carriages and carved horses.
Ten thousand lights illuminate the Spring Bridge, their glow stretching for miles, a magnificent spectacle of dancing phoenixes and soaring dragons.
The poems describing the Lantern Festival are filled with endless descriptions of its lively atmosphere.
Li Wenxiu was so excited she almost grew wings.
Fortunately, they had a large number of people with them, especially the people from the royal palace and the eight giants, each of whom carried a sword and guarded them, protecting them in the middle, so no one dared to get close and crowd them.
"Wow, sister, that lamp is amazing—" The appearance of the huge box lamp caused a sensation, and the crowd pushed forward.
Xiao Zhixing helplessly grabbed the agitated Li Wenxiu, "Be careful."
Li Wenxiu suppressed her excitement and obediently nodded, but did not rush over again. The two of them led the people to walk a little further back.
The box lights fell down one by one and lit up, each layer of lanterns was different, eliciting gasps of surprise.
The ground floor and surrounding floors were packed with people.
The guards of the Imperial Guard stood tensely nearby, fearing something might go wrong.
"Let's go first." Seeing that the lanterns were almost all gone, Xiao Zhixing pulled the mesmerized Li Wenxiu aside and planned to leave first, as it would be difficult to move once the crowds got too dense.
The guards carefully formed a safety circle around the two of them, with the maids following closely behind.
"Ah—Lan'er? Lan'er?!" A shrill woman's voice rang out from not far away, so terrifying and jarring that Xiao Zhixing turned to look.
It turned out to be a mother and daughter. The little girl had fallen down because of the crowd, and the mother was crying and desperately trying to push through the crowd to save her daughter.
Xiao Zhixing frowned. "Bai Mei."
Bai Mei leaped over, grabbed the pale-faced girl who had almost been trampled to death, and handed her to the woman. Without saying a word, she turned and leaped back.
The woman hugged her daughter tightly, weeping with joy. She turned around and spotted Xiao Zhixing and his group, who stood out from the crowd. People and women of such height were rare to see, and with giant guards by their side, anyone could tell that Xiao Zhixing was no ordinary person.
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