One month later, in Shuocheng, Northwest China.
Shang Shaoyan and Shang Yunlan's plan is slowly taking shape.
On this day, news spread throughout the Northwest Army camp: His Majesty had taken the military pay that should have been allocated to the Northwest Army camp to build the Summer Palace, and he had taken half a year's worth of the amount.
Meanwhile, they learned that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, which had been paying for the military's expenses out of its own pocket, was also running out of money.
In fact, the soldiers in the Northwest don't need much money, but Shang Shaoyan has been paying their salaries in advance for a year, so it was only a matter of time before his pockets were emptied.
In the past few days, the soldiers often "accidentally" bumped into Shang Yunlan, who looked distressed, and Shang Shaoyan, who had been seriously injured on the battlefield but hadn't uttered a sound, but whose eyes were now silently red.
In the evening, the soldiers lit a campfire and sat around it to warm themselves and talk.
"I heard the county magistrate is worried sick—luckily we still had some surplus grain, otherwise we'd starve to death next month." A soldier spoke up in the silence, his eyes reddening. "The county magistrate is kind, yet she has to feed a bunch of grown men out of her own pocket, this is outrageous..."
These words were like throwing a fire into a pot of oil, instantly igniting everyone's anger and gratitude—anger towards the imperial court and gratitude towards the county magistrate.
Shang Shaoyan stipulated that when there was no war, each person could drink a small jar of wine every seven days. Now everyone had drunk the wine, and the trivial emotions that usually existed were amplified by drunkenness. Everyone talked at once, saying that before Shang Shaoyan came, they didn't have enough to eat or wear, and they didn't have good weapons; the Duke and Duchess of Zhenguo were suspected by the emperor during their lives, and after their deaths, no one even bothered to find their bodies...
The more they talked, the more disheartened they became. At that moment, a general suddenly said, "The old Duke and his wife... were killed by His Majesty."
This completely caused an uproar.
Were the old Duke and Duchess murdered by His Majesty? They were loyal ministers who guarded their region without ever complaining. If it weren't for them, where would the Southern Chen Dynasty be today?
Such a good person did not die on the battlefield, nor did he die in the war with the Western Turks, but died at the hands of his own people, who were also beneficiaries of the system.
Even someone as noble as the Duke and his wife, who had made many sacrifices, could be killed by His Majesty at will. What about them?
What about these nobody guys? Will they also be abandoned one day?
Wait... they've already been abandoned.
His Majesty used their military pay to build the summer palace, completely disregarding whether they could eat their fill and stay warm.
Many were plunged into despair, but some remained skeptical: "How could this be? Why would His Majesty do such a thing?"
The general who broke the news lowered his head, his voice tinged with sorrow: "That day I was on duty in front of the county magistrate's tent when I heard her arguing with the Duke... I overheard the gist of it. The Duke said that His Majesty had killed their parents, so why should the county magistrate, like her parents, foolishly guard the Northwest? The county magistrate said she had no choice; only in this way could she protect the Shang army. Even if she died, she wanted to die in the place her parents loved most."
Everyone fell silent.
Suddenly, someone broke the silence: "How wonderful it would be if the county princess were to become the emperor."
The person next to him shuddered, then covered his mouth: "Zhao Si, are you out of your mind? Even if you are, if the county princess is harmed by your words, you could die ten thousand times over!"
Another soldier, who had been somewhat frightened and shocked, immediately said upon hearing this, "If it weren't for the county magistrate, we would have been dead long ago! If the county magistrate has this intention, I, Hu Liu, will be the first to support her!"
Zhao Si pried open the hand covering his mouth and raised his voice, "I, Zhao Si, am putting this out there! The county princess is far more righteous than that dog emperor! You all need to put your hands on your consciences and think about it. Since that dog emperor ascended the throne, have we ever had enough to eat and wear? Have we ever received any decent armor or weapons? If it weren't for the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion supporting us, we would have died countless times!"
At this point, Zhao Si stood up, his eyes red, and said, "I'm not going to let that son of a bitch Chen Huang guard the country anymore! He's not worthy of it! I'm going to find the county magistrate right now!"
After saying that, he ignored the people around him and went straight to Shang Shaoyan's military tent.
At this moment, several soldiers caught up with Zhao Si: "I'll go with you!"
Gradually, the team heading to Shang Shaoyan's camp grew larger and larger, eventually numbering nearly a thousand people, including many centurions, thousand-household commanders, and even two ten-thousand-household commanders.
...
Half an hour ago, inside the tent.
Shang Shaoyan looked at the Zhenguo Duke's mansion guard kneeling on the ground and smiled, "Zhao Xin, thank you for your help these past few days."
Zhao Xin kowtowed respectfully: "Your Highness is too kind. It is my honor to serve Your Highness."
Shang Shaoyan nodded slightly and said, "We can begin in a moment."
Zhao Xin respectfully agreed, then asked somewhat hesitantly, "Princess, is this really going to work?"
Shang Shaoyan smiled casually and gestured with his chin toward Shang Yunlan: "Brother, you tell us."
Shang Yunlan glanced at her helplessly, then said to Zhao Xin, "During this period of time, He Yang asked you to do a lot of things. The most time-consuming and laborious one was to pretend to be an ordinary soldier and tell others some legendary stories—such as the first female head of the Shang family, the queen of the Western Regions... With He Yang's own efforts, the soldiers have gradually accepted the idea that women can also become empresses through your subtle influence."
"But it's impossible to make everyone dissatisfied with Emperor Chen all at once. So, half a month later, you'll start guiding different people to see He Yang and my worries about military pay, and then instill resentment towards the court. What we need to do next is to reveal the news that Emperor Chen killed my parents, thereby arousing everyone's hatred towards Emperor Chen. I've already had someone do this part. What you need to do is propose that He Yang declare himself emperor, and then bring people to our military tent."
Zhao Xin didn't quite understand these intricacies, and Shang Yunlan hadn't explained things very clearly, but he was always loyal, so he would naturally do as she said.
...
Outside the tent at this moment.
The group lined up in front of the tent, each with their own thoughts—the few centurions and chiliarchs were there to investigate on the orders of their leader, the two ten-thousands were well aware of Shang Shaoyan's abilities and wanted to gain merit by supporting him, and the remaining soldiers were those who genuinely wanted to support Shang Shaoyan as emperor.
They did not believe that women could not be emperors. This was partly due to Zhao Xin's subtle influence, and partly because Cheng Lingxiu and Shang Shaoyan were both women, but their abilities were by no means inferior to those of men.
Zhao Si—also known as Zhao Xin—knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times. Then he stood up, bowed deeply towards the military tent, and said in a booming voice, "The Southern Chen Dynasty is in chaos, and the Chen Emperor is incompetent. I beg the County Princess to raise an army and declare herself Emperor!"
Those following behind him were startled, and then shouted in unison, "The Southern Chen Dynasty is in chaos, and the Emperor Chen is incompetent. We beseech the County Princess to raise an army and declare herself Emperor!"
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