Her arrival was like an unstoppable storm, quickly sweeping across the entire Southern Dynasty. In particular, shortly after her arrival, she swiftly destroyed the long-established arms smuggling network operated by the Empress and the Emperor.
This arms smuggling business was jointly planned and executed by the Empress and the Emperor, who had a tacit cooperative relationship with the governor of Mingzhou in the Southern Dynasty.
This network not only brought them substantial economic benefits, but more importantly, it provided them with immense political advantages. Through this network, they were able to secretly supply weapons to their own forces, enhancing their military strength while simultaneously weakening the combat capabilities of opposing forces.
However, Princess Ningding's arrival completely disrupted their plans.
With astonishing efficiency and skill, she swiftly severed all smuggling-related connections within the Southern Dynasty.
She not only personally commanded the army to precisely crack down on smuggling networks, but also used a series of political means to undermine the power of the empress and emperor in the Southern Dynasty.
Princess Ningding's decisiveness and action shocked and unsettled the Empress and the Emperor.
To prevent the situation from escalating and affecting relations between the two countries, they had to reluctantly abandon this lucrative business.
They knew that continuing would not only cost them influence in the Southern Dynasty but could also trigger a more serious political crisis. Therefore, they made the difficult decision to shut down the arms smuggling network that had once brought them immense profits.
Nevertheless, their fear and respect for Princess Ningding grew daily. They knew that this princess was no ordinary person, and her existence undoubtedly brought new variables to the political landscape of the Southern Dynasty and the Northern Region.
Although the Empress had never had direct contact with Princess Ningding, the information she gathered through various channels, as well as the decisiveness and ability displayed by Princess Ningding, forced her to admit that this princess was definitely not a character to be underestimated.
In their efforts to find Xuan Xunchuan and Du Hui, who had disappeared in the Southern Dynasty, they exposed all of their spies in the Southern Dynasty. The people were found, but the spies were also wiped out by the Southern Dynasty, with only some deeply hidden ones remaining undiscovered.
In order to stabilize the situation, the Empress allowed undetected spies to remain hidden, and the messages that were occasionally sent back were all insignificant.
I've only heard that Princess Ningding was fierce in her words to the ministers in court, and that she didn't care about anyone. I've also heard that Princess Ningding's influence among the common people was not to be underestimated. She personally visited disaster areas and organized rescue efforts, and her approachable image was deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Princess Ningding's reputation spread rapidly throughout the Great Jing Dynasty as early as when she told the Empress's father on the banks of the Muyang River that everyone should treat her sister well. Her decisiveness and ability to act shocked many people.
She not only possessed keen political insight but also demonstrated extraordinary military talent.
Her crackdown on the arms smuggling network was not just a simple operation, but also a warning to Dajing.
Deep down, the Empress felt both awe and wariness towards Princess Ningding.
She knew that if the princess's wisdom and abilities were used properly, they would become a force that the Southern Dynasty could not ignore.
However, the Southern Dynasties imposed extremely strict restrictions on women, and it's unknown what kind of future this little princess will be able to make in such an environment.
The Empress often pondered how brilliant Princess Ningding's achievements would have been had she been born in a more open era.
She even speculated privately that if the Southern Dynasty had sent Princess Ningding instead of the current Consort Xian, the situation in the harem would likely have become extremely complicated and turbulent.
Before she knew it, the Empress's thoughts had drifted off into the distance. She suddenly realized that her mind had wandered, so she quickly brought herself back to the present and said with a smile to the palace maids present, "This morning, I heard Xia Yun mention that Princess Ningding wrote a letter home to Consort Xian."
According to palace custom, Consort Xian should reply to her sister's letter tomorrow. If you are curious about this princess, you might prepare some of the newest and most interesting trinkets from the Great Jing Kingdom and take them to Consort Xian so she can pass them on to Princess Ningding.
“In this way, through these small gifts, our relationship with Consort Xian will naturally become closer. Once our relationship is better, wouldn't we be able to directly inquire about Princess Ningding from Consort Xian?”
The Queen continued to explain, her voice revealing a hint of strategic gentleness.
“Oh…that is indeed a good idea…” Consort Shu nodded thoughtfully, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes. “When I return to my palace later, I will definitely search carefully to see what fun and novel things are suitable to give to Princess Ningding.”
Meanwhile, Rong Ning, far away in the Southern Dynasty, was unaware that she was being targeted again.
It took them half a month to rush back to Nanyang City.
The journey went quite smoothly.
The two thousand imperial guards in Luochuan were quite formidable.
Speaking of these two thousand imperial guards, Rong Ning still had to admire her father's generosity.
When the Crown Prince arrived in Kangye City, she assumed that the Imperial Guards stationed at the Prefectural Governor's residence were all there were. However, she discovered upon leaving the city that day that the Crown Prince had only brought two hundred men into the city to avoid causing a riot among the people, while the rest were stationed outside the city.
These two thousand imperial guards are no small number. The emperor probably felt that the events in the north were extremely serious and that some people would be restless, so he sent so many imperial guards.
When they entered the city, it was a grand and impressive procession.
Rong Ning was originally on horseback, but fearing that the procession would be too grand and would invite criticism, he got into a carriage and entered the city.
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