"It's been many years. Your Highness is still as charming as ever."
On the shore, two groups of people faced off. On the tall bow of the ship, the Duke of Wei and his entourage looked down at the approaching Princess Chang. At the dock, a group of warriors in golden armor were lined up in perfect order, but the thick black aura emanating from them made the golden armor look like it was wrapped in black mist!
The Duke of Wei smiled, but secretly took a deep breath.
The zombie soldiers created by the princess are extraordinary. They are clearly restrained, but the murderous aura hidden in their armor can make even Above First Rank martial artist like myself feel a little scared!
If he wasn't mistaken, all ten people surrounding the princess were at Above First Rank rank!
No wonder Xiao Mingyue dared to do something so outrageous; the results were so plentiful.
"Hmm, you have indeed grown old." The eldest princess calmly raised her head and looked at the other person.
Wang Jin of Duke of Wei was one of the ten most famous generals of the previous dynasty. When he became famous, he and Lu Ming were still juniors. For some reason, he was subdued by his younger brother. After the founding of the Great Jin, he guarded the north and commanded 400,000 Silver Dragon Guard. He is the most trusted duke of the current emperor!
"I can't compare to Your Highness," the Duke of Wei chuckled. "You have the art of preserving your youth; you look exactly the same as when you were twenty. This old man is envious."
Many people actually want to know how the princess, who is almost seventy years old, has such a youthful appearance. However, there are almost no women in the world stronger than the princess, so no one dares to really go up and ask her.
"I originally thought you were already old," the princess said, looking at the other woman. "After all, according to your Wang Household's bloodline, a hundred years old is basically the limit, but you're over a hundred and thirty, and you're still so capable!"
Sensing the vigorous energy emanating from her opponent, the princess's years of combat experience told her that the current Duke of Wei, in terms of individual strength, was no less than hers!
"Hehe, Your Highness flatters me!"
"I heard that the Duke of Wei came here this time to invite me to Jiangnan?"
"By the way, by the way," the Duke of Wei chuckled. "I've heard that Your Highness and that young Chen Qing have quite a close relationship. I've come from afar, and it just so happens that Your Highness can also be my guide. Otherwise, I'd be quite anxious."
"It seems you don't know much about Chen Qing either," the Princess said with a smile. "I'm sorry, I may not know more about Jiangnan than you do."
"Is that so?" The Duke of Wei's smile vanished, and he looked at the other person seriously. "Your Highness, the Princess, have been neighbors with Chen Qing for so long, yet you know nothing about his background?"
"I don't know." The eldest princess looked at the Duke of Wei's boat and said, "Did Chen Qing give you this boat?"
"Hehe, the Princess has seen her?"
"Of course I've seen them. He used these kinds of ships when he transported grain for me. And because he used such intimidating ships, I didn't dare to do anything."
"Transporting grain to you?" The Duke of Wei's eyes lit up. He glanced at the monsters behind the Princess and nodded immediately. "I see. I was analyzing this before. With the monsters occupying the West Sea first, the chances of ordinary people surviving are extremely slim. The fact that the Princess didn't conquer Jiangnan first but instead directly confronted the West Sea means either that these things you created don't need to eat, or that you have stable reinforcements. It seems that Chen Qing is your reinforcement!"
"Isn't the Duke the same?" the Princess sneered. "Your granaries were burned, yet you still managed to stabilize the Northern Frontier. I thought the dukes in the court had become too decadent to fight. Now, looking at this ship, I understand. It was all thanks to Chen Qing, wasn't it?"
"Hahahaha!" Duke of Wei burst into laughter.
But a growing sense of curiosity arose within him: just how much grain did that bastard Chen Qing possess?
Can it support two super-powerful forces? Has he stopped supporting Jiangnan?
Or does it mean he doesn't need to maintain an army?
But that doesn't make sense. The latest intelligence reports that Chen Qing defeated Yuchi Peng, proving that he has his own troops. Moreover, he saw Xu Hu, the big man, and his soldiers all had the strength of the Five Dragon Guards when they were collecting grain that day.
Such a force requires enormous resources; what exactly is Chen Qing's strategy?
"Will the eldest princess go?" the Duke of Wei asked solemnly.
"Go ahead," the eldest princess said with a smile. " Duke of Wei, you are already so old, yet you've come all this way. How could I, a junior, be presumptuous?"
"Haha, very good!" The Duke of Wei patted the ship. "Then I haven't gained this ship from Chen Qing for nothing!"
Princess Eldest: "."
"Then, Your Highness, we'll meet again in three days!"
"Alright, see you in Nanming in three days!"
--
After the boat left, Fifth Master Shen approached and asked, "Are we just going to let them leave like that?"
"Don't underestimate this old man." The eldest princess shook her head. "His personal guards are all veterans of countless battles in the Northern Frontier. If a real war breaks out, we will suffer considerable losses. Moreover, we also need him to keep the court in check!"
Fifth Master Shen nodded. The fact that the Eldest Princess dared to do such a bold thing was largely due to the rebellion in the north. The north had tied down the vast majority of the imperial court's troops, making the imperial court's military strength seem weak. Otherwise, they would have had no chance at all, being attacked from both sides in the West Sea!
"It seems His Highness was right, Chen Qing. You really want to be the host!"
"Hmph," the princess sneered, "That depends on whether he has the ability. With forces from all sides gathered, if he can control the situation, I have nothing to say. If he can't, well, I've been eyeing his grain supply in Jiangnan for a long time!"
"Your Highness is right."
--
"Father, is what the Princess said true?" Wang Shiyu asked curiously on the ship, "Besides supplying us, is Chen Qing also sending grain to the Princess?"
"It's highly likely to be true!" Duke of Wei nodded solemnly. "If I were the Eldest Princess, after successfully backstabbing Duke of Qin, the first place I would definitely want to occupy would be Jiangnan. Only by occupying there can we have a stable rear. If we directly attack West Sea, it would be a very risky military move. The Eldest Princess is a famous general of our time and would never easily take such a military risk."
"If I'm not mistaken, she had no choice but to do this!"
"Forced to do it?" Wang Shiyu frowned.
"You still have a lot to learn," the Duke of Wei shook his head. "The Eldest Princess has a more secure position in Jiangnan, so why would she entrust her back to Chen Qing? She's a master of intrigue; she wouldn't trust anyone. There are only two possibilities for how she's gotten to this point: either Chen Qing is one of her people, and she's used some method to control Chen Qing and ensure Chen Qing absolute loyalty; or she's suffered greatly at Chen Qing's hands and had no choice but to withdraw from Jiangnan!"
Both of the Duke of Wei's sons were somewhat incredulous. Wang Shiyu took a breath and asked, "Father, which possibility do you think is more likely?"
"The second option is more likely!" Duke of Wei said solemnly, "Because if it's the first option, it means that the Eldest Princess has already controlled the entire Jiangnan and has ample food supplies. In that case, she should take advantage of our entanglement with the court to quickly seize West Sea, instead of inviting several forces to Jiangnan as we are doing now."
"Is it possible that this was a deliberate setup to harm us?"
"If that's the case, then the whole world will unite to condemn her, and all forces will prioritize dealing with her. It's far more worthwhile to quietly swallow up the West Sea."
"That's true, but..." Wang Shiyu hesitated, "I'm not entirely convinced that the Princess suffered a loss at Chen Qing's hands."
He had experienced the chaos of the previous dynasty alongside his father, and he knew very well the Princess's military prowess. Now that Lu Ming had been outmaneuvered by the Princess, he found it hard to imagine who else in the world could make this person suffer.
"You have to believe it whether you want to or not," the Duke of Wei said in a low voice. "Because only with this possibility could the Princess be in this predicament. Let's go to Jiangnan. I'm even more interested in that Chen Qing now!"
"Yes, Father!"
--
Three days ago, the court received news of Yuchi Peng's defeat, which made the court meeting lifeless!
Some members of the imperial family and even some high-ranking civil officials couldn't help but wonder: In just twenty years, has the once mighty Great Jin already declined so drastically?
After suffering repeated defeats in the north, the kingdom repeatedly requested reinforcements from the imperial court. Meanwhile, the southern Southern Barbarians kingdom in the southwest even set its sights on the royal princess.
The Eldest Princess decisively defeated the Duke of Qin, and coupled with the loss of 300,000 Golden Dragon Guard due to the plot, the imperial court suffered a loss of nearly 700,000 of its own bloodline in Jiangnan!
Now they've even failed to deal with a rebellious bandit who rose to power as a prefect.
Is the imperial court truly incapacitated?
"Speak," the Queen's voice drifted from behind the curtain, "What did Minister Chen Qing's letter say?"
Upon hearing this, the high-ranking officials exchanged glances. Finally, the newly appointed Ministry of War, Lord Pang, presented the letter, saying, " Chen Qing has written to say that His Majesty entrusted him with an important task years ago: to guard the Dragon Palace Mystic Realm in Jiangnan and protect the true direct line of the Xiao Household, awaiting His Majesty's secret edict. It is impossible for him to be summoned back to the capital at this crucial moment. He believes that the current order from the court is not His Majesty's true intention, and he is loyal to His Majesty and refuses to accept it!"
"Traitorous scoundrel, spouting nonsense!!"