After the two entered the Prince of Yan's residence and took their seats, Zhao Zheng spoke first.
"I wonder what happened that Bai Qiu is coming so late?"
"My lord, my ancestor has agreed that the Li family will fully support you. So, would you like the Li family to do some work for you in the court?"
Li Baiqiu asked respectfully.
Upon hearing Li Baiqiu's words, Zhao Zheng revealed a satisfied smile and then said.
"No need. When I entered the palace just now, Her Majesty the Empress gave me the position of Commander-in-Chief of Nanjun and instructed me to train 100,000 elite troops in Nanjun in preparation for the southern expedition."
Zhao Zheng's words surprised Li Baiqiu, because it seemed that Zhao Zheng and the Empress did not have any major conflicts.
So for a moment, Li Baiqiu didn't know how to answer.
However, Zhao Zheng noticed Li Baiqiu's hesitation and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Bai Qiu, are you wondering why I'm so obedient to the Empress now?"
"Bai Qiu dares not, my lord must have his own concerns."
Li Baiqiu answered respectfully, but his eyes revealed a strange curiosity.
After all, Zhao Zheng now possesses considerable strength. Although he dares not say he can defeat the entire Northern You Empire, he has no problem contending with it.
But Zhao Zheng is still so obedient, not daring to reveal the slightest intention to rebel, which is indeed a bit puzzling.
"Bai Qiu, you still underestimate the strength of Daying. Actually, I can tell you something: I have a way to counter the Northern You Empress, but if the entire Northern You is just about the Northern You Empress, then what right does the former Daying Empire have to be the number one empire on the continent?"
Zhao Zheng said with a deep gaze.
As expected, as soon as Zhao Zheng finished speaking, Li Baiqiu gasped and then said somewhat absentmindedly.
"You mean..."
"Alright, keep the rest to yourself. Don't show it."
Zhao Zheng stopped Li Baiqiu from saying anything more.
"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, my lord."
Li Baiqiu said respectfully again.
"No need. I think your ancestor understands this in his heart. But what I'm saying today is only for you and me to know, understand?"
Zhao Zheng's expression turned serious. He understood very well the impact that would have on the entire continent if today's content were exposed.
Putting aside other factors, the Northern You Empire will undoubtedly become a thorn in the side of many forces, who will do everything in their power to suppress it.
After all, while other forces were powerful, their strength was still palpable. However, the power of the Northern You Empire truly filled everyone with despair.
Therefore, these words absolutely must not be spread.
"I understand. I will forget about this matter today."
Afterwards, the two discussed in detail how many people the Li family could send, where they would be assigned to what kind of work, and then Li Baiqiu left.
However, Li Baiqiu's face was full of confidence when he left.
They felt confident about their future, and the Li family felt confident about their future survival.
The next morning, Zhao Zheng, accompanied by Elder Mu, presented a visiting card to the Bai family.
Because Zhao Zheng didn't have much time, he wasted it.
However, to Zhao Zheng's surprise, not long after he sent out his visiting card...
The steward of the Bai family appeared respectfully in front of Zhao Zheng, his appearance was very respectful, but his eyes were full of disdain.
"Your Highness, I'm very sorry, but our master has been unwell these past few days and is unable to receive guests. So please, Your Highness, return home."
After speaking, he gave a look to the guards on both sides, who immediately tightened their grip on the wooden sticks in their hands.
Zhao Zheng's face immediately turned ugly, and Old Mu behind him snorted coldly. Just as he was about to step forward to say something, Zhao Zheng pulled him back.
Zhao Zheng silently shook his head at Elder Mu, then cupped his hands and addressed the Bai family's steward.
"In that case, I'll take my leave now. Please take good care of your health, General Bai."
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."
Guan said with a smile.
"Let's go."
Zhao Zheng immediately turned around and got into the carriage, letting Elder Mu drive it away slowly.
As soon as the carriage started moving, Zhao Zheng heard the conversation between the Bai family steward and guards.
"Steward, wouldn't it be inappropriate to just send away the Prince of Yan's son like this? After all, he is a member of the royal family."
“He’s just a piece of trash, don’t bother with him too much. Remember, we have the Bai family behind us, and not just any trash is qualified to enter. So what if he’s a member of the royal family? Even the Empress of Beiyou would have to report to the Bai family if she wanted to enter.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zheng involuntarily clenched his hands, his hands turning white and trembling, revealing the anger in his heart, but he did not immediately erupt into it.
Zhao Zheng understood that this was not the time to expose himself; he couldn't be too high-profile right now.
"What's wrong? Are you very unhappy?"
Ye Yi said with schadenfreude.
"Ancestor."
Zhao Zheng's voice was clearly low, indicating that he was not in the mood to joke with his ancestor.
"The Bai family is still the same Bai family. They're still arrogant enough. When your ancestor once wanted to visit the Bai family, he was beaten out of the house with sticks by the Bai family members."
Ye Yi said with emotion.
"ah."
Zhao Zheng was clearly somewhat surprised.
"Nothing's surprising. The Bai family has always been arrogant and disdainful of others, but it must be said that their talent is indeed exceptional. However, if the Bai family were to abandon their arrogance and disdain, then Da Ying might only be left with a family of military merits."
Ye Yi said with a touch of emotion.
It's as if they're still reminiscing about the past.
Throughout the years, everything has changed dramatically, but the only thing that has remained unchanged is the Bai family's arrogance.
"Ancestor."
Zhao Zheng said with some dissatisfaction.
"You need to understand that if you want others to respect you, you have to demonstrate your strength and power. If you are strong enough, how could the Bai family simply send a steward to get rid of you? So, prove yourself. Also, you don't need to go to the Ma family anymore."
"I see."
Zhao Zheng's voice was low and somber, clearly indicating that he had been hit hard.
When Zhao Zheng returned to the Prince of Yan's residence, the steward's disdainful look was still etched in his mind.
That disdainful look deeply stung Zhao Zheng.
Zhao Zheng, who used to freeload in the capital, had seen countless expressions of disdain like this, but he hadn't seen such an expression in the past two years, so he found it hard to bear for a moment.
However, as the monarch, Zhao Zheng quickly composed himself. When he slowly stepped down from the carriage, his face remained calm and expressionless.
After returning to the Prince of Yan's residence, a short while later, an imperial edict, escorted by a young eunuch, arrived before Zhao Zheng.
There was no ripple when the imperial edict was read.
However, when the imperial edict was read aloud and its contents appeared in the capital of the Northern You Dynasty, it caused a great uproar.
"As expected of the son of the Prince of Yan, he is able to command an army of 100,000 at such a young age."
"Yes, two years ago, this son of the Prince of Yan was just a good-for-nothing, but now he is the commander of Nanjun."
"However, does Her Majesty's order to train the soldiers indicate that she is dissatisfied with the previous setback in the southern expedition and wants to try again?"
"Her Majesty the Empress probably wants to launch a southern expedition. That's why she gave Zhao Zheng this mission."
"Tsk tsk, the Prince of Yan is leading nearly 500,000 troops stationed in the north, and the Prince of Yan's son is leading 100,000 troops stationed in the southern prefecture. It is said that if this father and son rebel, can the Empress, with her current injured body, withstand it?"
A person with ulterior motives spoke in a strange language.
The moment those words were spoken, the entire teahouse fell silent.
The rebellion of the King of Wei's son had only just occurred, and the fact that the renowned Northern You Wolf Riders of the Northern You Empire had been corrupted had truly stunned countless people.
Now that people have said this, some unpleasant things have started to spread about Zhao Zheng and the King of Yan.
After all, the rebellion had only just occurred, and the Empress's injuries were now common knowledge.
"Ahem, esteemed guests, please have some tea. Her Majesty the Empress always has her own plans. We common folk should just enjoy our tea. Hahaha."
The teahouse owner was immediately terrified and broke out in a cold sweat, then forced a dry laugh and said...
"That's right, that's right. Let's have some tea."
"That's right, let's drink tea, let's drink tea."
Seeing the atmosphere return to normal, everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
However, a strange thought remained in everyone's mind.
It is clearly impossible for such rumors to affect Zhao Zheng.
After Her Majesty the Empress issued the order, Zhao Zheng, escorted by a group of guards from the Blackwater Terrace, ran towards Nanjun.
…………
Ta-da~~~
The continuous sound of horses' hooves echoed along the official road, making it clear to everyone that there were quite a few cavalrymen present.
Unlike his first departure, this time Zhao Zheng did not take a carriage, but rode a dragon horse.
Because Zhao Zheng wanted to carefully observe the situation in the entire Nan Commandery.
Zhao Zheng, who had just left the capital, did not have any other feelings yet. However, the closer he got to the south, the more his brows furrowed. Compared to the prosperity and wealth of the northern capital, the southern region became increasingly desolate.
Zhao Zheng understood that this was due to problems left over from the last southern expedition by the Northern You Empress.
After all, although the last southern expedition was a triumphant return with endless honors, the resources consumed were astronomical.
Furthermore, if resources were to be transported from the north to the south, the resources consumed would certainly increase exponentially.
Therefore, the logistics of the southern expeditionary force were supplied by the southern prefectures and counties, which is why the southern part of the entire Northern You Empire has become so desolate.
When Zhao Zheng's cavalry entered Nanjun, although Zhao Zheng was prepared, all he could see at a glance were hundreds of acres of farmland, but there was no sense of cultivation.
Clearly, there is a severe shortage of labor in Nanjun, which means that there are not many young and middle-aged men in Nanjun.
This is a major blow to Ye Zhaozheng, who is about to recruit an army of 100,000.
How could such a barren place possibly raise an army of 100,000 men?
Although Zhao Zheng had heard people say that Nanjun was desolate when he was at Nanya Pass, he did not expect it to be this desolate.
There was no intention to cultivate any of the hundreds of acres of fertile land.
Therefore, the desolation of Nanjun was somewhat beyond Zhao Zheng's imagination.
However, Zhao Zheng did not stay in Nanjun for long. He needed to go to Nanya Pass first. He only wanted to check the situation in Nanjun, which is why he took a long detour. After checking the situation in Nanjun, he would go to Nanya Pass.
When Zhao Zheng returned to Nanyaguan, the atmosphere in the entire Nanyaguan was extremely eerie.
When Zhao Zheng saw Old Chen, he noticed that Old Chen had given him a silent look. He immediately understood that something important had definitely happened in Nanya Pass.
Immediately, Zhao Zheng turned around and smiled at the Blackwater Platform experts who had escorted him there, and said...
"I have arrived safely at Nanya Pass. I wonder if you would like to stay with me for a while or return to the capital immediately so that my men can make preparations."
The Blackwater Commander spoke expressionlessly.
"Now that I have escorted His Highness to Nanya Pass, I should return to the capital to report back."
"Well then, I won't see you off any further. Please take care."
Zhao Zheng cupped his hands and said.
These experts from Blackwater Platform completely ignored Zhao Zheng's call and immediately mounted their warhorses, heading towards the capital.
Watching these Blackwater Platform experts leave, Zhao Zheng's face darkened, and he asked with a somewhat unpleasant expression.
"Old Chen, what happened?"
"Your Highness, a few days ago, Li Ge got drunk and killed the commander of Nanya Pass."
Old Chen said calmly.
Although it sounded very simple to Old Chen, it was like a bolt from the blue to Zhao Zheng.
It should be noted that although Zhao Zheng had effectively stripped the commander of Nanyaguan of his power.
However, the commander-in-chief of Nanya Pass is Zhao Zheng's superior.
If this news were to fall into the eyes of those with ulterior motives, Zhao Zheng would immediately be branded as a traitor.
"Sigh, how could Li Ge do such a mess while I was away? Old Chen, why didn't you stop him?"
Although Zhao Zheng didn't verbally express any blame, his tone was full of dissatisfaction with Old Chen.
Old Chen seemed oblivious to Zhao Zheng's tone and continued speaking with a calm expression.
“Your Highness, there are many things happening in the Central Plains, so I have not paid attention to General Li Ge. Please forgive me.”
"you."
Just as Zhao Zheng was about to reprimand Old Chen, he suddenly stopped talking when he saw the large group of scholars behind him.
"Do you have any ideas, Mr. Chen?"
Zhao Zheng's tone softened, clearly indicating that the summoning array understood that now was definitely not the time to create conflict.
"Your Highness, I have three suggestions. As for which one to implement, I would like to ask Your Highness to decide."
Old Chen spoke with a calm expression.
Upon hearing Old Chen's words, Zhao Zheng's eyes lit up instantly.
Although Zhao Zheng harbored some resentment towards Elder Chen, Elder Chen's abilities and strategies had never disappointed him.
"Mr. Chen, please tell us quickly."
Zhao Zheng urged hurriedly.
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