After a moment of hesitation, everyone rose and bowed in salute.
“Your Highness, First Prince, please ascend the throne and bring peace to the realm!”
Hua Yuanyi shouted along with them, though a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.
On the surface, the First Prince’s ascension at this moment did indeed seem like a brilliant move. Once he became emperor, the entire Yan Kingdom would belong to him—including Fengzhou.
In other words, the territory Jiang Jin had fought tooth and nail to conquer would, theoretically, naturally become part of the Yan Kingdom the moment the First Prince ascended the throne.
And Jiang Jin, the meritorious hero who had expanded the kingdom’s borders, would be nothing more than a subject!
With some careful propaganda and maneuvering, Jiang Jin would become merely a pawn in the First Prince’s display of genius and foresight—the vanguard who had reclaimed lost territory under the First Prince’s wise leadership.
Unfortunately, they had miscalculated one thing.
A man who had gone from having nothing to conquering Fengzhou in just two years was hardly someone they could control.
Jiang Chun appeared calm, but his tightly pressed lips betrayed the fact that his heart was anything but.
This was indeed an excellent opportunity to ascend the throne. Qu Zhao was in no position to compete, the Ji Army had no intention of contending for supremacy, and the Jiao Army was already engaged with Sizhou.
As for the various forces that had once sought his aid, some had been destroyed, while those that remained were either relatively powerful or had fallen into complete silence.
Perhaps these forces could still be consolidated and put to use—especially Fengzhou.
Its land, its divine weapons and powerful tools, and its high-yield grain varieties…
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. His voice trembled slightly.
“This would be improper.”
Sun Zheng was the first to kneel.
“Your Highness is benevolent. Now that the nation is in peril, only Your Highness can ascend the throne and turn the tide before the kingdom collapses.”
The others followed suit, kneeling as well.
“We beg Your Highness to ascend the throne at once—to save the common people from suffering and rescue the nation from this crisis!”
Jiang Chun wore a troubled expression.
“I have neither a succession edict from my royal father nor the title of Crown Prince. It would be inappropriate for me to take the throne.”
Sun Zheng urged him again.
“Your Highness, the late emperor and the late Crown Prince have both passed away. A nation cannot remain without a ruler for even a single day. We beg Your Highness to consider the realm and the welfare of its people.”
The military officer Ji Wangfei chimed in.
“In the Yan Kingdom today, only Your Highness is capable of shouldering this great responsibility. For the sake of the Yan Kingdom’s realm, please take up the duty that is yours.”
The civil official Dong Cheng pressed his forehead to the ground.
“Since ancient times, the legitimate heir and the eldest son have been given precedence. The Crown Prince has passed away, and there are no legitimate heirs left. Choosing the eldest is both reasonable and proper. We beg the First Prince to ascend the throne, so that the people may be reassured and the wars brought to an end.”
Daqing Commandery.
Zhou Leng felt somewhat conflicted upon seeing his former lord, Lu You, again.
After exchanging a few polite greetings, he was just about to get down to business when Lu You spoke first.
“I agree.”
Zhou Leng stared at him, completely dumbfounded.
“Agree? Wait, I haven’t even said what it is yet.”
Lu You waved a hand dismissively.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Zhou Leng: “…”
His expression turned solemn as he eyed Lu You suspiciously.
“General, what do you mean by that?”
Lu You frowned.
“I mean exactly what I said. Whatever the Princess intends to do, I agree. That’s all.”
With that, he turned and strode away.
Zhou Leng stood there gaping, his usually quick mind rendered utterly helpless.
After a moment, he turned to Li Zan.
“What’s wrong with the General?”
Li Zan stroked his beard.
“Didn’t the General agree?”
Zhou Leng: “…Agree to what?”
Li Zan: “To whatever you said.”
Zhou Leng was baffled.
“But I didn’t say anything.”
Li Zan spread his hands. “So why didn’t you say so?”
Zhou Leng: “...”
A quarter of an hour later, the matter of Jiang Jin building a dock in Changzhuang County had been settled.
Yet Zhou Leng still felt uncomfortable all over. It had gone far too smoothly—so smoothly that none of his professional expertise had been needed at all.
On the official road southwest of Anwu County, a squad of the King of Anwu’s cavalry was on patrol.
“This weather’s getting hotter by the day. And we still have to patrol at noon—what a pain.”
The captain shot him a glance. “Quit whining. I heard Fengzhou was taken by some princess, and Qu Zhao’s army may come for our Anwu County.”
“A princess? A woman that formidable?”
The captain nodded. “Yeah. I heard the former general of the Yan Kingdom—Zhou Sui—is under her command. Anyway, we’d better be careful lately. His Majesty has already ordered everyone to stay on high alert.”
As he spoke, he sighed again. “I also heard His Majesty sent men into the Western Spirit Mountains to investigate. I wonder if they found anything.”
“No way. The Western Spirit Mountains are complicated terrain. I’ve heard that once you go in, it’s hard to tell directions apart—you might never find your way out.”
Worry flashed through the captain’s eyes. “That may be true, but what if they’re driven into a corner?”
The soldier sighed. “That’s true. Desperate people are capable of anything. Times are hard enough as they are. I just hope there won’t be a war.”
He lifted his head to look at the blazing sun. “This sun is fierce enough to roast us alive. There’s some shade up ahead. Captain, how about we go rest for a bit?”
The captain nodded. “Fine. We’ll rest for a quarter of an hour and have some water.”
Before long, they reached the edge of a dense forest ahead. Dozens of men dismounted and sat down where they were. Just as they were about to take out the water flasks at their waists, a sound came from within the woods.
The captain instantly went on guard. “Who’s there? Who’s in there?”
The surroundings fell silent.
The soldiers exchanged looks, and the tension in their hearts eased slightly. “It’s nothing. Captain, don’t keep scaring yourself.”
The captain continued staring at the forest. After a while, there was still no sign of anything unusual. For a moment, even he wondered if he had been overly suspicious.
Just as he was quietly letting out a breath of relief, several hundred people suddenly burst out of the woods.
The captain’s pupils contracted, and a chill swept over him. With a sharp hiss, he drew the saber at his waist.
At the hottest hour of the afternoon, at the north gate of Anwu County.
The guards atop the city wall were drowsy with sleep. This kind of weather truly made one want to doze off.
The captain of the guards kicked one of them. “Sleeping on duty? Get up! If the patrol lieutenant sees you like this, he’ll have your heads.”
The guard he had kicked woke with an embarrassed grin, trying to ingratiate himself. “It’s just the afternoon heat making us sleepy. Besides, there’s barely a soul around here.”
The captain’s shout woke the other guards as well, and they hurriedly pleaded for leniency.
“Exactly. This weather really does make people sleepy.”
“We won’t do it again. Captain, please let us off this once.”
The captain sighed helplessly. “The higher-ups said Qu Zhao’s army may attack Anwu. You’d all better stay alert.”
The kicked guard looked puzzled. “We control the Shishan River. If Qu Zhao’s army comes, we’ll definitely spot them.”
The captain gave a cold snort and pointed toward the distant mountains and dense forests. “What if Qu Zhao comes through the Western Spirit Mountains?”
The guards stared at him in astonishment. “Captain, you’ve got to be joking. With conditions like those over there, how could anyone possibly come through the Western Spirit Mountains?”
The captain shook his head. “Who knows? When people are driven to the brink, they can endure any hardship. The Western Spirit Mountains may be dangerous, but they’re still a route, aren’t they?”
He knew more of the inside story than the others. Starting a few days ago, the King had been sending men to scout the Western Spirit Mountains one after another, but unfortunately, they had found nothing.
Still, given what he knew of the soldiers in the Anwu Army, the men sent to the Western Spirit Mountains had probably not ventured very far into them.
The terrain there was treacherous and complicated. Even experienced travelers might not make it back out after going deep into the mountains. It was understandable that the soldiers valued their lives and had only taken a cursory look.
He swept his gaze over the guards and said, “All right, stay sharp these next few days. Otherwise, don’t—”
His voice cut off abruptly.
The guards looked at one another in confusion, then turned to him. “Captain, what is it?”
