On his seventh day in the Capital, Ren Ye entered the palace with the Dragon Head to attend court and seek an audience with the emperor.
The northern campaign had ended in complete victory. Naturally, this was cause for nationwide celebration, and further proof of Emperor Wanwu's grand vision and strategic brilliance. At court, the officials' tongues seemed coated in honey as they knelt on the floor, pouring out lavish praise.
The Third Prince had originally wanted to voice dissent to distinguish himself from the rest. But considering his earlier mistake of using 3.2 million to outdo his imperial father, he could only follow the crowd and sing his praises.
At court, Ren Ye was formally invested as the Southern Border's Prince of a Different Surname, enjoying the same treatment as the imperial princes. Emperor Wanwu also issued numerous decrees establishing an "ironclad alliance" between the Wuyao Kingdom and Qingliang Prefecture.
Once these decrees were announced, the ministers understood that, for a long time to come, the two regions would advance and retreat together, prosper together, and jointly confront every opponent and problem in Shenzhou.
Many high officials regretted not joining the northern campaign or buying residences in Qingliang Prefecture, leaving them facing a crushing loss now. The changes this frontier region would undergo within a few years, or even in the near future, were foreseeable: its roads would bustle with traffic, trade would flourish, and development would race ahead.
They hadn't bought any property!
What a crushing loss!
After announcing the alliance decrees, Emperor Wanwu promoted the Dragon Head to Prefect of the Three Lands of Lingnan, concurrently serving as commander-in-chief, with second-rank status at court. He also authorized her to maintain eighty thousand Greenwood troops and granted her extensive powers to appoint and dismiss officials.
At that moment,