Shen Xi was not angry, nor did her expression darken.
Instead, he took Bai Qiao's hand and said very sincerely, "Sister Bai, the law and human sentiment should not be confused."
White Chocolate is also very intelligent; she understands things very quickly.
"Commander, Bai Qiaozan has overstepped his bounds."
Shen Xi looked at Qi Xiuwen: "Xiuwen, go and receive your punishment!"
Qi Xiuwen bowed and withdrew to receive his punishment.
Ten strokes of the cane were delivered, and the soldiers carrying out the punishment dared not hold back; the blows were very forceful!
Qi Xiuwen gritted his teeth and endured it without uttering a sound.
Shen Xi had someone help Qi Xiuwen back, where Fang Chenyan was already waiting on Shen Xi's orders.
Fang Chenyan quickly cleaned him up and applied medicine.
He instructed, "Do not get the wound wet for three days. Rest for three days, and I guarantee it will improve in three days."
Qi Xiuwen frowned: "I still have a lot of things to take care of!"
Fang Chenyan's face darkened: "Health is the most important thing. Otherwise, what if you get sores in this heat?"
The autumn heatwave is particularly fierce this year!
Fang Chenyan was already quite familiar with Qi Xiuwen and the others, so their feelings for each other were genuine.
At this moment, a messenger brought Shenxi's message: Qi Xiuwen should rest for a few days, and the matter should be temporarily handled by Song Zhen.
Qi Xiuwen was deeply grateful. The commander had no choice but to punish him under the law, but he was also very reluctant to do so. Such a commander was someone he wanted to serve.
In Chenxi, the land clearing and planting activities to restore production are proceeding very smoothly, and everything is in an orderly manner.
Meanwhile, Wen Changhan, who was in Shoutian Prefecture, was discussing matters with He Chunlai from Weijing Prefecture and Zhu Shu from Xin'an Prefecture.
He Chunlai bowed to Wen Changhan and said, "My lord, the elite troops from our various prefectures have assembled at Yonghe Prefecture. Please give your instructions."
Wen Changhan, who had already declared himself King Wen, clapped his hands in approval. A bunch of rabble Red Guards were actually trying to seize their territory.
Once he wipes out this rebel army, the entire north and east will be under his control.
Then we'll lead our army south and besiege the capital.
"Fight the Red Guards with all our might!"
"yes!"
From then on, King Wen's army and Ma Zhigang's Red Guards began to fight.
This slowed down the Red Guards' southward advance considerably.
The attack on Zhonggui Prefecture ceased. With General Mo Yuhua guarding the area, the Red Guards could not advance any further for the time being. Furthermore, with the attack from King Wen, the Red Guards had no choice but to retreat to Qi County and Fangzhou County.
Meanwhile, the Red Guards in the northeast were engaged in a fierce battle with King Wen for control of Yonghe Prefecture.
Seeing that the situation was very favorable, Mo Yuhua led his army to attack Fangzhou County, intending to seize the two lost counties.
The fact that the three forces were concentrated in the north meant that Jianming Prefecture and Xianghe Prefecture, which were located at the border between the north and south, were not attacked.
This also freed up a lot of time for Chenxi, who was developing his strength in a stealthy manner.
When Ge Congshan, the prefect of Xianghe Prefecture, received the message from the third prince, he couldn't help but frown.
The Emperor has always been in good health, so why has he suddenly become seriously ill?
This was when neither the Third Prince nor the Crown Prince were in the capital.
Meanwhile, his spies, whom he had secretly planted in the capital, sent a messenger with a message: "The situation in the capital is tense. The commander of the capital has already set up three layers of defenses inside and outside the capital. He said that there is chaos in various places now, and in order to prevent the capital from also becoming unrest, it is necessary to prepare defenses in advance!"
"The checks in the capital are very strict now, so I hope the governor will be prepared."
Ge Congshan frowned. Following the Third Prince's letter, he was instructed to obey the arrangements and, once there was accurate information, to join forces with Wu Aimin, the Prefect of Jianming Prefecture, to attack Yuzhang Prefecture.
This rendered the Eighth Prince's men unable to act.
The Third Prince will abandon his attack on Nanning Prefecture and lead his troops back to the capital. At that time, he will be able to compete with the Eighth Prince.
The Crown Prince won't be back for a while.
But first, we need to find out exactly how the emperor is doing.
Before we are certain of the Emperor's exact condition, we must not act rashly.
Ge Congshan hurriedly summoned General Su Zhao of Xianghe Prefecture. Although the prefect had no power to mobilize troops under the law, at the beginning of the founding of the country, Emperor Taizu had enfeoffed regions and made them prefects in order to appease the meritorious officials.
Moreover, these governors all inherited their positions through family lineages, effectively making them local kings.
Those prefects all held real power, including military power.
Although the imperial court later realized the impropriety of the situation and tried to reclaim the real power of the prefects and establish the position of general to help and supervise the prefects, it only managed to reclaim a few areas around the capital.
Although each prefecture also appointed a general, they were basically all members of the prefect's family.
Xianghe Prefecture was where the Ge family had always served as prefects. General Su Zhao was promoted and appointed by Ge Congshan.
After Su Zhao entered, he bowed to Ge Congshan and said, "Greetings, Prefect."
Ge Congshan handed him the Third Prince's secret letter and the spies' message. After reading them, Su Zhao couldn't help but ask, "What are your instructions, Prefect?"
Ge Congshan burned the secret letter and the messenger's message, saying, "No matter what, you have assembled the army and are ready at any time."
"yes."
Ge Congshan pondered for a moment, then said, "As for whether or not to help the Third Prince, we'll wait and see."
Although they had close ties with the Third Prince, and the Third Prince's wife was from the Ge family, he never thought highly of the Third Prince. The Third Prince's wife was an arranged marriage by his father during his reign.
Ge Congshan always felt that the Third Prince had some cleverness in petty matters, but lacked the breadth of vision and wisdom that an emperor should have.
Can such a prince becoming emperor be a blessing for the people?
He favored the former crown prince, believing him to be the rightful heir to the throne who would serve the country and its people.
Unfortunately, fate is cruel; the Crown Prince died suddenly, and none of the other princes could catch his eye.
Su Zhao obeyed Ge Congshan's orders without question. After agreeing, he went to the military tent to make arrangements.
At this moment, the Eighth Prince's wife, Feng Ke, frowned and sighed inwardly.
She was from the Feng family of Jingchuan Prefecture. Her cousin was the emperor's favorite concubine who gave birth to the twelfth prince. She was then married off to the eighth prince as a concubine.
She was unwilling. She had always known that as a daughter of the Feng family, she had no chance to choose her own future, but she just didn't want to get involved with the royal family.
Entering the palace is like entering a deep sea. Since entering the Eighth Prince's residence, she has been like a caged bird, unable to fly anymore.
The Feng family of Jingchuan Prefecture is a powerful clan with considerable influence in the prefecture. Her cousin, Feng Liu, is a deputy general in Jingchuan Prefecture, commanding an army of 30,000.
There were quite a few members of the Feng family who served as officials in the imperial court and as local officials in Jingchuan Prefecture.
Such a prestigious family is coveted by the emperor and the princes alike.
In the end, they placed their bets on the Eighth Prince, simply because he was favored by the Emperor and his maternal clan was in decline, making him easier to control.
The reason why the twelfth prince was not chosen was because the twelfth prince himself was unwilling to be the emperor and often angered him.
The emperor would not allow a prince like this to become the crown prince.
Upon hearing that the Emperor was seriously ill, Feng Ke ordered all the princes in the capital to go to the palace to attend to him.
Before leaving, the Eighth Prince appeared very happy in front of her, but once he left her room, his happy expression vanished, replaced by a worried look.
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