On the sixteenth day, Jiang Shuwan saw Pei Yanzhi off on his expedition.
The war drums thundered, like muffled thunder rolling in.
The massive, dark army slowly set off across the vast land, raising clouds of dust.
Banners fluttered in the wind, some red as fire, others black as ink, and the emblems on the various flags shone with a majestic light in the sunlight.
The soldiers, dressed in neat armor, marched with firm and powerful steps, each step making a dull thud on the ground.
The generals rode on tall warhorses, their expressions solemn, their eyes piercing, and the longswords in their hands gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
Pei Yanzhi, dressed in a long black robe, stood tall and straight like a pine tree, quietly at the forefront of the army.
His long, ink-black hair swayed slightly in the wind, revealing his sharply defined, cold face.
Pei Yanzhi glanced at Lu Shaogan, who was standing next to Jiang Shuwan, and said, "There are quite a few people in the capital who oppose you, so you must not be soft-hearted."
"To secure the outside world, we must first secure the inside. The capital city is nothing to worry about," Jiang Shuwan paused, "Besides, I'm not the same person I used to be."
"That's good."
After Pei Yanzhi finished speaking, he mounted his horse, and Yin Quan Xiao Wu hurriedly followed.
The army moved extremely fast and soon disappeared from sight.
Seeing that Jiang Shuwan remained standing still, Lu Shaogan advised, "Princess, let's go back."
"Um."
Jiang Shuwan nodded and asked, "Has Wanwan arrived?"
"We've already passed several cities, and we'll arrive in three to five days."
“I heard she’s managing things very well in the North. Now that her child is still young, she’s the one who’s been working so hard to come and help me.”
"What's the big deal? The child has a wet nurse to take care of him. Besides, she did a great job in the North."
"..."
The two talked as they entered the city, and then came the day when Jiang Shuwan, as the chief minister, attended court for the first time.
The court was initially bustling with activity, but upon seeing her, everyone fell silent for a moment before erupting into another uproar.
"There's no such thing as a woman ruling the court."
"It's an insult to our culture to expect us to be ordered around by a woman."
"She had a history of collusion with the Fourth Prince. My clan patriarch died by the Fourth Prince's sword. There's absolutely no way she'd let me take his orders!"
"That's right, don't even think about it!"
"She's dreaming!"
These languages are constantly being heard.
Jiang Shuwan pretended not to hear and slowly walked into the court, dressed in a solemn princess's court dress.
Her court dress was predominantly bright yellow, embroidered with intricate and exquisite phoenix patterns. The gold threads shimmered in the sunlight, exuding the nobility and majesty of the royal family.
Her head was adorned with a phoenix crown, each gem sparkling with dazzling light. With each step she took, the tassels on the crown swayed gently, making a soft rustling sound.
Jiang Shuwan walked directly to a position at the very front of the court.
She turned around and smiled at the ministers.
“When the Crown Prince was still alive, he held various small and large court assemblies, and even issued the letter of exoneration from the Prince of Zhennan’s mansion.”
"Why are you all chattering away now that the young master has left?"
"Could it be that everyone's mouths were gagged earlier?"
The imperial court was in an uproar.
"What do you mean?"
"We were only giving the Crown Prince face before?"
"Besides, you did make good contributions when you took charge of the new department, but now that spring is here, the new department is busy building factories and docks—that alone will keep you busy enough. The power of the prime minister is of great importance, and you can't do it well!"
"Yes, you can't do it right! You should step aside!"
"Make way, make way..."
"In the end, your surname isn't Li either..."
Jiang Shuwan smiled slightly at this, and pointed to the official who said that she was not surnamed Li, "I am indeed not surnamed Li, but I can make you surnamed Li."
"What do you mean?" The man stepped back in fear.
Jiang Shuwan waved her hand, and Lu Shaogan rushed up and slapped him to the ground several times. Then, the Imperial Guards came up to arrest him.
"You've defied the heavens! I'm a veteran of two dynasties..."
"Help! Help!"
The Imperial Guards ignored his cries and immediately ordered him to be taken away.
"Why bother? Let everyone see. Anyway, it doesn't seem like any of you officials want to discuss matters with me."
"Since there's nothing else to do, let's all come and watch the fun."
As she spoke, Jiang Shuwan picked up her hands.
The Imperial Guards immediately dragged over a bench and escorted the official upstairs.
"You're insane! This is the imperial palace! You should punish this official of the court!"
"A scholar's rebellion will never succeed in ten years; that's you, all you know how to do is talk nonsense."
Jiang Shuwan didn't bother with him and directly ordered a fight.
The next instant, the imperial guards' paddles struck the official. The official, with his delicate skin, begged for mercy after only a few blows.
"I was wrong, Princess, I was wrong..."
Jiang Shuwan did not stop. At first, the other officials scolded the official for being spineless, but when they saw the official being beaten with one stroke after another, his lower body was covered in blood and flesh, and they were terrified and turned pale.
There are plenty of ruthless people these days.
But they didn't expect that Jiang Shuwan, a woman, could be so ruthless.
"Okay, let's stop."
Jiang Shuwan walked directly up to the official and asked, "Do you know why I hit you?"
"Because...because I offended you..." The official was covered in cold sweat, and his fingers were trembling from the pain.
"You're wrong. It's because of embezzlement. When the Crown Prince went to war in the western border, you were in charge of preparing provisions and didn't take a little silver, did you?"
As Jiang Shuwan spoke, she grabbed his right hand, which was adorned with three pigeon blood rubies.
Each one is about the size of a thumb.
"Last year's commercial and agricultural taxes have been used up."
"All the silver in the entire Great Jing Dynasty right now is earned by me. If you dare to steal my money, you're asking for death!"
With a wave of his hand, the Imperial Guards dragged the man away and beheaded him.
Everyone was stunned by the sight of the human head rolling down at the entrance of the palace.
"After all, he's a veteran of two dynasties..."
"And it's right now, when we urgently need people..."
"How can you just say 'kill' like that..."
"If I say it's okay, then it's okay." Jiang Shuwan smiled coldly, put her hands in her sleeves and walked around the court, her gaze sweeping over the faces of the various officials.
"However, you are right. The Great Jing is currently beset by internal and external troubles, and it is a time when it needs people."
"If it weren't for the circumstances, I wouldn't want to see blood."
"Alright then, I won't force you. Those who want to leave can go, and those who want to stay, no matter what mistakes you have made, I will forgive and forget."
"Of course, since you've stayed, you must follow my orders. If anyone takes something they shouldn't, they'll suffer the same fate as you."
Seeing Jiang Shuwan point at the human head and say these words with a smile, the hearts of all the officials in the hall trembled.
"We will all obey the princess's orders."
"We'll listen to the princess."
Some women left in a huff because they didn't want to be around women, but they were a minority.
Jiang Shuwan quickly assembled several teams and began working.
Following the previous forgetfulness, the war in Jing State lasted for a full five years, resulting in heavy casualties.
In the end, war is all about firepower and logistics.
Logistics and domestic affairs were to be handled by the ministers; she would focus on the firepower.
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