The teahouse was originally bustling with activity, with everyone praising Chen Zhennan's bravery and the atmosphere was incredibly lively. However, a single sentence instantly silenced the entire teahouse.
Qian Zihao, the second son of Prince Ning, Qian Kun, is second only to his father in Ningzhou in martial arts skills. His figure is like a shadow, shrouding the entire teahouse.
He walked over to the storyteller, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over the crowd below, and announced loudly: "From this moment on, no one in Ningzhou is allowed to discuss anything about Chen Zhennan, not even his name. Anyone who dares to discuss him in private will be executed without mercy!"
His words were like sharp swords, piercing straight to everyone's hearts, and a tense atmosphere instantly filled the air.
The onlookers in the teahouse looked at each other, feeling dissatisfied, but none dared to contradict Qian Zihao in the face of his imposing presence.
Qian Zihao snorted coldly and walked out of the teahouse with an angry expression. His figure was like a cold wind, making people shudder.
The onlookers in the teahouse sighed, their eyes filled with helplessness and sorrow, but even more so with fear of Qian Zihao.
"This Qian Zihao is truly domineering to the extreme, even trying to deprive people of the right to talk about heroes." An old man muttered in a low voice, but his voice trembled noticeably, clearly still fearful of Qian Zihao's threats.
"Sigh, what can we do? He's the son of Prince Ning. How dare we commoners offend him?" Another middle-aged man shook his head and sighed, his eyes full of helplessness.
People in the teahouse got up and left hastily. The teahouse owner looked at the empty teahouse with a worried expression. Qian Zihao's ban would probably make the teahouse business worse in the future.
Chen Zhennan turned his head, his gaze sharp, and watched Qian Zihao walk away. He asked in a low voice, "Who is this Qian Zihao? Is he related to Qian Zihao?"
Yan Shiyu nodded slightly and slowly said, "Qian Zihao is Qian Kun's second son. He is quite skilled in martial arts, but he is extremely arrogant and his personality is completely opposite to his father's. He is a self-righteous and arrogant person."
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhennan smiled faintly. "It seems this kid has a lot of opinions about me. He probably harbors a lot of resentment towards me. In that case, we'll have to find a time to have a showdown."
As he spoke, Chen Zhennan put down a tael of silver, which made a crisp sound on the table, and then turned and walked out of the teahouse with Yan Shiyu.
After leaving the teahouse, Chen Zhennan said in a low voice, "Send someone to monitor Qian Zihao. Before we make a move against Qian Kun, we should start with Qian Zihao."
Yan Shiyu nodded, a sharp glint in his eyes, and said in a low voice, "Understood, Commander. By the way, Qian Kun will be back tonight. Is there anything I can arrange?"
Chen Zhennan rolled his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head slightly.
"No need. We wasted a lot of time attacking Mingzhou before. This time, I plan to do it openly."
Yan Shiyu was slightly taken aback and asked curiously, "Going openly? Commander, compared to Zhao Xiong, Qian Kun has more troops and many skilled warriors around him. Wouldn't going openly make things more difficult?"
Chen Zhennan understood Yan Shiyu's concerns, but he didn't take them to heart.
"Shiyu, do you know what your biggest problem is?"
"Uh," Yan Shiyu scratched his hair and shook his head slightly, "I don't know."
"Put yourself in someone else's shoes. When you're dealing with someone, you have to consider things from their perspective, whether it's their style of doing things or their personality. So, when dealing with a cautious opponent like Qian Kun, I understand that having an absolute advantage in strength is the best option."
Yan Shiyu thought about Chen Zhennan's words, but still didn't quite understand, so he simply stopped thinking about it. Anyway, these were things that shouldn't be his concern.
...
At three quarters past dusk, as the sun set behind the western mountains, golden rays of sunlight streamed through the window lattices onto the stone benches in the Prince Ning's residence, casting a warm glow.
Qian Kun sat there with a solemn expression. Standing in front of him were two young men: his eldest son, Qian Zijing, and his second son, Qian Zihao.
Qian Kun frowned slightly, looked around, and finally his gaze fell on Qian Zihao. He said in a heavy tone, "Ningzhou has five prefectures and thirteen counties. Although the territory is large, the military strength is weak. If Chen Zhennan launches an attack, he will probably take Ningzhou easily without relying on those bandits and robbers."
Upon hearing this, Qian Zihao raised an eyebrow and immediately retorted, "Father, you overestimate Chen Zhennan. He only had two hundred men. If it weren't for that strange ghost technique, how could he have so easily taken Mingzhou? To deal with him, we only need to gather a thousand iron cavalry to kill Chen Zhennan. It won't take a single effort!"
"Hmph!" Qian Zijing sneered from the side, his face showing disdain. "Do you think you can win a battle just by having more people? Chen Zhennan is a peerless martial artist. The battlefield is like a battlefield of tigers and wolves. How can you win by sheer numbers?"
Qian Kun felt a mix of emotions as he watched his two sons arguing.
He sighed slightly, his tone softening: "Zihao, Zijing, you both need to know that Chen Zhennan's weapons are extraordinary. Zhou Xiang's 300,000-strong army was routed. Let alone a thousand iron cavalry, even ten thousand iron cavalry wouldn't be able to take him down."
Qian Zihao wanted to continue arguing, but his father, Qian Kun, stopped him.
"Second son, you must set off for Pengyang County immediately. I will give you five thousand men to help your father gather all the bandits in Pengyang County and form an army to prevent Chen Zhennan from attacking from the outside."
Qian Zihao was stunned, feeling somewhat unwilling.
He had wanted to stay in Ningzhou to participate in more important matters, but faced with his father's orders, he could only bow his head.
"Yes, Father, I will set off tomorrow."
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