Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

Chapter 603 The Prince of Ruyang's Plea for Help
With the trivial matters settled, Chen Jiu Si and the others decided to set off. Li Si Qi had already run away last night, so there was nothing in Shiyan worth Chen Jiu Si staying any longer.

Before leaving, Chen Jie received news that Peng Yingyu had promised Li Siqi that she would not participate in the struggle for the dragon vein beyond the Great Wall.

Dragon veins beyond the Great Wall?

Chen Jie was also shocked by the news, but the date of the dragon vein's opening had not yet been confirmed; it was just a vague idea among the people.

Upon receiving the news, Chen Jie thought to himself that he didn't know when the dragon vein would open, but he didn't need to worry about it for now. He hadn't completely resolved the crisis yet, and the imperial army was still in Anhui confronting his father-in-law. The outcome was still uncertain, and this was going to be a problem sooner or later. Therefore, Chen Jiu Si had to find a way to resolve it.

However, Chen Jie still has some things to resolve, such as the resettlement of the entire Hubei Road area.

How to characterize Xu Shouhui's death is a question. After all, he was the emperor of the Tianyuan Empire. How should his death be handled?

As for the Tianyuan Empire, how should they deal with it? After thinking it over, Chen Jie and Peng Yingyu's final idea was to handle it quietly.

Firstly, the fact that Xu Shouhui was not buried with the rites due to an emperor means that Xu Shouhui was not recognized as an emperor; at most, he could only be considered a guy who claimed to be an emperor.

Secondly, it was publicly announced that the Tianyuan Empire had perished, and the entire Hubei Circuit was temporarily placed under the control of Chen Jiu Si.

Thirdly, there is the issue of restoring people's livelihoods. After Chen Jie and Peng Yingyu rushed back to Xiangyang, the entire city was still under military control, jointly managed by the Qihuo Army, the Qinglong Army, and the Zhuque Army.

Immediately following this, Hu Weiyong and his team of civil officials moved into Xiangyang City.

Currently, land surveying, redistribution, and urban planning policies are being implemented.

Upon returning to Xiangyang, Chen Jie immediately began his urgent reform plan. First, he discussed with Hu Weiyong and others the plan to restore the traditional scholar-farmer-artisan-merchant system in Xiangyang. Second, they discussed the possibility of relocating the capital after the city had recovered to a certain extent, allowing Chen Jie to move the city lord's mansion to Xiangyang. This would accelerate the recovery of Xiangyang's economy, politics, and people's livelihood.

Then came urban planning. After gaining successful experience in governing Huangzhou Prefecture, Hu Weiyong and his team immediately began to replicate it in Xiangyang City.

Following this was the restoration of education, with talented people from the common people being placed in government agencies and other positions. It can be said that these actions were very much in line with the people's wishes.

Once everything was nearly done, Chen Jie began to reform the military. Military reform was very important. Now that Chen Jie had occupied the entire Hubei Circuit, his territory was larger, and his army needed to be larger as well.

Therefore, Chen Jie added two new armies to the existing ones: the Beggar Army and Peng Yingyu's Buddhist Army. Thus, Chen Jie now had five armies under his command: the Azure Dragon Army, the White Tiger Army, the Vermilion Bird Army, the Beggar Army, and the Buddhist Army.

In response, Chen Jie issued a military expansion order. Previously, Chen Jie's army had a full strength of about 15,000 men. This time, Chen Jie issued an expansion order to increase each army to 25,000 men, an increase of 10,000 men.

In this way, Chen Jie would have an army of 100,000. The other issue was the militia. Chen Jie's attitude toward the militia was that they must be prepared at all times, their training must be rigorous, and they must be able to replenish the army immediately should the main force suffer losses.

Regarding the militia plan, Chen Jie ordered that Wu Daojun be the commander-in-chief of the militia army, and Chen Gou and Chen Tun, two members of the Chen family, be the deputy commanders.

Thus, Chen Jiu Si's army reached a regular force of over 100,000 men.

This included the Azure Dragon Army, numbering 25,000 men, commanded by Golden Swallow, stationed in Xianning Prefecture to guard against enemies invading from the southeast.

The Vermilion Bird Army: 25,000 men, commanded by Shi Gengming, stationed in Shiyan to defend against an invasion by Li Siqi's army from the northwest.

The Beggars' Army: 25,000 men, commanded by Zhang Dingbian, stationed in Huanggang to deal with the invasion of the Daqian army from the northeast.

As for the Buddhist army, it numbered 25,000, with Ou Puxiang as the commander-in-chief and Ding Pulang as the deputy commander. They were stationed in Xiaogan and Huanggang, forming a pincer movement to deal with the pressure from the north.

Finally, there is the White Tiger Army, which is stationed in Xiangyang Prefecture to protect the future Hubei Road Prefecture.

After doing all this, Chen Jie went to Zhou Chu and asked him to expand his city patrol army and take charge of the security issues in the entire Hubei province.

Then there's Wu Hong, his elder brother. Chen Jie still entrusted his elder brother with an important task, appointing him as the chief inspector of Hubei Province, responsible for cracking down on corruption and malpractices.

After these tasks were completed, some administrative arrangements were made, mainly including Chen Jie's plan to open factories in Xiangyang Prefecture to boost the economy, and the establishment of the first primary school, middle school, and university in Xiangyang Prefecture.

We must make Xiangyang Prefecture prosperous step by step.

Chen Jie's vision for the future is to make Xiangyang Prefecture a temporary political center, using politics to drive the economy and complete the first step of economic transformation.

Huangzhou Prefecture, however, remained an economic center and continued to maintain its economic advantages.

After completing these tasks, Chen Jie found Peng Yingyu and helped him locate a temple in Xiangyang that had been ravaged by Xu Shouhui. Chen Jie renovated the temple, brought back the original monks, and rebuilt the main hall, providing Peng Yingyu with a place for secluded meditation.

It was named Guiyuan Temple, meaning that all things return to their origin and all things are renewed.

Having done all this, Peng Yingyu had a decent place to live, and only then did Chen Jie have time to return to Huangzhou Prefecture.

Upon arriving in Huangzhou Prefecture, Chen Jie was greeted by a constant stream of people offering their congratulations. However, just as Chen Jie was busy with his work, a piece of bad news arrived.

On this fine day, Chen Jie finally had some free time and quietly enjoyed family time with his three wives in the courtyard. Huang Wan'er chattered away about some interesting things that had happened recently, while Su Yunjin quietly accompanied the two children.

Zhao Ya was engrossed in studying military strategy and tactics, while Chen Jie lay on a recliner, listening to Huang Wan'er's incessant chatter and enjoying the massages from several maids.

Just as Chen Jie was enjoying himself, Chen Chun, the head steward of the Chen family, rushed over and immediately said, "My lord, something terrible has happened! An urgent dispatch from the front lines!"

Chen Jie was taken aback. The front line, the only one that could be called the front line now was the Liuan front line, the confrontation between Prince Ruyang and Bolotemur of the Baoxiang Army.

Moreover, Chen Jie has been discussing with Zhao Ya these past two days about going north to support his father-in-law, the Prince of Ruyang. However, the two of them cannot go to provide support. Chen Jie is currently mobilizing Zhang Dingbian and Ou Puxiang to lead the army towards Liuan, while scouts have already been dispatched.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie stopped rocking in his chair, and Zhao Ya put down her military book and looked at Chen Chun.

Huang Wan'er stopped her incessant chatter, and Su Yunjin also stopped teasing the child and turned to look in their direction.

Everyone looked at Chen Chun, who immediately handed over the urgent documents from the front lines.

Chen Jie took the document, glanced at it, and frowned. He then turned the document over and handed it to Zhao Ya, who was standing nearby. Zhao Ya asked, "Is the situation already very bad?"

Hearing this, Chen Jie didn't speak, but remained silent for a moment before saying, "No, it's not as bad as you think."

Zhao Ya looked at Chen Jie and said, "Husband, don't lie to me. I can accept anything, but I can't accept it if you hide things from me."

"Has something happened to my father?"

Zhao Ya looked at Chen Jie, who remained silent for a moment before speaking, "I'll set off tonight. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to my father-in-law."

"What's wrong? Why the rush? Leaving tonight?"

Zhao Ya became even more anxious upon hearing this, and looked at Chen Jie, saying, "Show me the military report, or I'll go to the front lines right now."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie looked at Zhao Ya and, seeing her stubborn expression, knew she wasn't joking. He sighed helplessly and said, "Fine, since that's the case, I'll tell you then." With that, Chen Jie handed the military report to Zhao Ya.

Zhao Ya took the military report, glanced at it, and immediately called out, "Father!"

Immediately after putting down the military report, Chen Jie looked at her and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to the front lines to save my father!"

Zhao Ya spoke up, and Chen Jie looked at her and said, "Ya Ya, calm down. What's the use of you going now? Can you defeat Bolotemur?"

"Even if I can't beat them, I'll still go! That's my father, the king!"

Zhao Ya sobbed uncontrollably, "I can't just watch my father die on the front lines. It's because of me. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have done this!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie realized that he owed Zhao Ya a great deal, and also owed the Prince of Ruyang. To put it bluntly, the Prince of Ruyang had led his troops to block Bolotemur in order to help his daughter.

Now that such a big thing has happened, I can't just ignore it.

At this moment, Chen Jie pulled Zhao Ya back and said, "Ya Ya, don't worry. According to the military report, only the Liuan direction has been lost. Father-in-law still has a second line of defense in Anqing."

"Zhang Dingbian's Beggar Army and Ou Puxiang's Buddhist soldiers have also gone there. They should be able to set up a second line of defense before Father-in-law arrives in Anqing. Don't be nervous. The intelligence only said that Father-in-law was injured but is not in any danger."

"Let's set off tonight, at full speed, and we'll be able to meet up with Zhang Dingbian and the others tomorrow night. We should be able to reach the Anqing defense line the day after tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ya hesitated for a moment and said, "Husband, you'd better not go."

"Ok?"

Chen Jie looked at Zhao Ya, who said, "Husband, this time the enemy is too strong. Bolotemur, a fourth-level Fusion God, would be of no use even if you went."

"Don't go. Sister Su is still waiting for you here. If something happens to you, what will happen to them, a widow and her children?"

Hearing Zhao Ya's words, Chen Jie was stunned. Before he could speak, Su Yunjin said, "Sister Ya Ya, what are you saying? The prince came out to resist Bolotemur in order to protect our Huangzhou Prefecture."

"Now that the prince has been implicated, how can we stand idly by? If we do nothing, where will our conscience be?"

“We must take care of this matter concerning my husband; we absolutely cannot let my sister and the prince feel disheartened.”

“Yes, Yun Jin is right. Although I don’t get along with our princess, I’m on her side in this matter. We owe her something, so we can’t just ignore it!”

"Yes, Ya Ya, we're family. How can we let you shoulder the burden alone when we're in trouble!"

Chen Jie also looked at Zhao Ya and said, "Ya Ya, Yun Jin and Wan'er are right. This matter started because of me, so I have to take full responsibility."

Zhao Ya said, "But, the fourth level of the Melting God realm could be dangerous; people could die if things go wrong!"

Chen Jie chuckled and said, "Hehe, if I were afraid, I wouldn't be alive today. Don't worry, I know how to handle this. I won't put myself in danger and make you worry about me."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ya exclaimed, "This is no joke!"

Chen Jie said, "I never joke; I'm serious."

Zhao Ya took a deep breath and said, "Alright, since that's what you think, I won't say anything else. You can go, but if it really comes to an irreversible point, my husband, I hope you can escape!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie looked at Zhao Ya and asked, "Then what about your father?"

"I will stay with him."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie said, "You want to die with your father?"

“I am his daughter, so it is only right for me to die. You are different; you still have them, your wife, and your children.”

Chen Jie then looked at her and said, "You are carrying my child too."

"That's precisely why I don't want you to take any risks."

Seeing the complicated look in Zhao Ya's eyes, Chen Jie stepped forward and hugged her. Zhao Ya froze on the spot, at a loss for what to do. At this moment, Chen Jie whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I will definitely save your father. Even Bo Luo, a fourth-level Fusion God, can't stop him!"

"But……"

Zhao Ya wanted to say something more.

"No, what 'but'? Don't worry, since I said so, I'm confident!"

As Chen explained, his gaze became incredibly firm. "I cannot let my child be born without a maternal grandfather."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ya couldn't help but burst into tears. Seeing Zhao Ya like this, Chen Jie gently patted her back.

Huang Wan'er said jealously, "One moment they were facing a life-or-death separation, and now they're all all lovey-dovey. I can't bear to watch, my little Luo Ning, we can't stand seeing your father and your third aunt being so intimate..."

After saying that, Huang Wan'er picked up Xiao Luoning and left.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ya merely glanced at her, thinking, "Who is this bastard calling the third one?"

After Huang Wan'er's outburst, Chen Jie and Zhao Ya lost their tender feelings and exchanged a glance, saying, "Let's pack up and leave tonight."

Upon hearing this, Su Yunjin looked at them and said, "Come back soon, Sister Huang and I will pray for you."

Chen Jie looked at Su Yunjin and said, "Okay, you just need to take good care of the child at home. I can handle the rest."

As they talked, they made their preparations, and soon it got dark. Outside the Chen residence, Su Yunjin and Huang Wan'er saw Chen Jie off. Then, the two looked at Chen Jie and Zhao Ya and said, "Come back soon."

Chen Jie said, "Okay, I understand."

Su Yunjin then came to Zhao Ya's side and said, "Ya Ya, take good care of yourself."

Zhao Ya nodded. Chen Jie checked the time and felt it was about time, so he immediately mounted his horse. Behind him were Du Xiong and five hundred elite cavalry. Then Chen Jie said, "Let's go."

The group headed straight towards Anqing Prefecture!

(End of this chapter)