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

Wild Wolf Gully is a truly special place for Chen Jie. After all, he was born here, and more importantly, he accumulated a considerable fortune here back then.

For example, he harvested ginseng, saved Bai Wenjing, and even caught a red-bellied pheasant.

Recalling the past, Chen Jie also felt that the place was extraordinary.

"I never expected it to be there."

With that said, Chen Jie said, "Then let's go to Wild Wolf Gully tomorrow. I have some things to take care of this afternoon."

Yuan Sanjia said, "Okay, I don't have anything to do these next couple of days anyway."

Chen Jie did have something to do in the afternoon. He needed to write letters to several generals who were leading troops in the field and give them new orders. Since the war between him and Zhu Chongba was imminent, Chen Jie needed to consolidate his forces and not leave them all out in the field.

And he needs to formulate a final strategic plan in the coming period.

Thinking about it, Chen Jie returned to his residence. Huang Wan'er had also woken up and was lying lazily on a recliner, basking in the sun. When she saw Chen Jie, her eyes lit up and she immediately ran over and said, "Your Highness, you're finally back! I've missed you so much!"

Hearing this, Chen Jie looked at her and said, "You little glutton, didn't you eat enough yesterday?"

Huang Wan'er puffed out her large breasts and said, "Yes, I'm not full. I want to eat more tonight."

Looking at her like this, Chen Jie couldn't help but say, "You really are quite greedy. By the way, where are Yun Jin and Ya Ya?"

Huang Wan'er said, "Yun Jin is busy making royal robes for you. As for Zhao Ya, her baby is moving quite strongly, so she went back to rest and is expected to give birth in the next few days."

Chen Jie nodded, then looked at Huang Wan'er and asked, "And you?"

Huang Wan'er said, "Of course I'm waiting for my husband. I feel that the last few moves I made yesterday still need improvement, and I would like to ask my husband for some pointers."

Chen Jie looked at him and said, "You should just rest. I have important things to do!"

As Chen explained, he went straight back to his study, where there was a huge map marked with the various factions.

At this moment, Chen Jie stood in front of the strategic map and looked at it.

Before they knew it, evening had arrived. Su Yunjin came in, brought in the food, and saw Chen Jie staring at the strategic map in front of him. Instead of turning on the lamp, she turned it on herself.

Chen Jie then realized what was happening and looked at Su Yunjin.

Su Yunjin took a piece of clothing and draped it over Chen Jie, saying, "Husband, is something on your mind?"

Chen Jie looked at the map and said, "All the major events in the world are on this one map."

Su Yunjin looked at the map, and Chen Jie, still eager to share, said, "Yunjin, look, the blue area is ours, the red area is Zhu Chongba's, and the yellow area is Bao Qian's territory."

At this moment, Chen Jie pointed to the map, and Su Yunjin looked at the map in front of her and said, "Has the territory of the Qian Dynasty been compressed to only the area around Dadu and the second route?"

Chen Jie said, "Well, now the world is basically divided between me and Zhu Chongba."

"I occupy Hubei, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, and Qinghai, while Zhu Chongba occupies Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, and several other provinces and regions."

"We are now at the border. First, we have occupied the section from Nanyang to Luoyang in Henan. Zhu Chongba will definitely launch a counterattack."

"The other one is the area along the Yangtze River, around Jiujiang and Shangrao. This naval battle should be the final battleground."

"So I ordered the shipyard to build large ships. These large ships will sail down the river. Our warships are very tall. We can jump directly from the third floor of the warship to the city walls of the cities built along the river. So I think we should fight a naval war with Zhu Chongba."

After listening to Chen Jie's analysis, Su Yunjin asked, "Will Zhu Chongba fight us in a water battle?"

What if he wants to fight on land?

Chen Jie chuckled and said, "Fighting on land, that would be interesting. If he weren't stupid, he wouldn't be fighting us on land."

Su Yunjin looked at Chen Jie with a puzzled expression, but Chen Jie had a confident smile on his face.

Meanwhile, in Jinling City, the lights were on in Zhu Chongba's study. Zhu Chongba was looking at a huge map in front of him, with his wife, Ma Xiuying, behind him.

Zhu Chongba was holding a large flatbread in his hand, eating it in big bites, while his eyes were fixed on the map on the wall.

"Girl, look, this is the current state of the world. To the north is Bao Qian, to the west is that guy Chen Jiu Si, and to the east is us."

Looking at the map in front of her, Ma Xiuying asked, "Chongba, what do you plan to do next?"

Zhu Chongba said, "Now it's not my choice, but Chen Jiusi and I who have jointly chosen a plan, which is that we fight first, and after the fight, the winner will represent the Han people in a northern expedition to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun!"

Zhu Chongba said, "I heard Liu Ji say that since the puppet emperor Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the Liao Dynasty, they have gone through the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Song Dynasty, and the reign of Emperor Bao Qian. For more than four hundred years, they have not been recovered. It is simply outrageous that our Han people's land has been occupied by foreign tribes."

"Therefore, Chen Jiu Si and I have agreed that whoever wins will take over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun for the Han people and take over more territory."

"Uphold the might of our Han people!"

As Zhu Chongba spoke, Ma Xiuying sighed and said, "You and Chen Jiusi are both heroes of your time. If the two of you were to unite, it would be a great blessing for the Han Dynasty. But now you are killing each other. It's such a pity."

Zhu Chongba then took a bite of a flatbread and said, "There can only be one true dragon in this world. We are all jiaos that have not yet transformed into dragons. If we don't devour the other, we will never be able to transform into dragons. This is destiny. Destiny is like this and cannot be changed!"

As Zhu Chongba spoke, his gaze fixed on the map before him, he said, "I think Chen Jiu Si thinks the same way."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiuying picked up the duck blood and vermicelli soup from the table and brought it to Zhu Chongba. Zhu Chongba picked it up, took a sip, and said, "My sister really understands me."

Ma Xiuying asked, "Have you decided where you'd have your final showdown with Chen Jiu Si?"

Zhu Chongba exclaimed, "This!"

Zhu Chongba pointed to the map and said, "Yangtze River, naval battle!"

Ma Xiuying said, "In naval warfare, our warships are clearly inferior to Chen Jiu Si's. How should we deal with this?"

Zhu Chongba said, "Zhang Shicheng left behind a lot of good warships. In addition, he also has some Japanese warships here. They are just enough to fight. Besides, we can't do anything if we don't engage in a naval battle with Chen Jiu Si."

Ma Xiuying asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhu Chongba said, "We have established our capital in Jinling, while Chen Jiusi is in Huangzhou Prefecture. Both are located on the Yangtze River. I would like to avoid a decisive battle with him on the water, but what if he sends a fleet down the river to attack Jinling?"

"There's no way to hide, so we have to fight on the water."

Zhu Chongba said.

Having understood all this, Ma Xiuying asked, "Are you absolutely certain of victory?"

"Cough cough..."

Zhu Chongba coughed twice and said, "Don't worry, I won't lose so easily. Don't forget we still have so many brothers."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiuying nodded slightly. Then Zhu Chongba looked at Ma Xiuying and said, "Alright, sister, it's getting late. You should go to sleep early. Biao'er will be calling for his mother soon!"

Ma Xiuying said, "You should go to bed early too."

Zhu Chongba said, "It's alright, I still need to issue two more orders."

Ma Xiuying nodded upon hearing this. She didn't know much about the specific military matters; she just needed to focus on her logistical work. After Ma Xiuying left, Zhu Chongba looked at the map, coughed twice, and realized that his injuries hadn't healed yet, so he coughed frequently. It was unavoidable that he was getting chilled.

Since we can't personally participate now, we can't let the atmosphere cool down. Let's warm up this big battle first.

Just then, Zhu Chongba raised his hand and wrote on the order: "Order Tang He to lead 20,000 troops to support Feng Sheng and recapture Luoyang!"
"promise!"

At his command, Tang He immediately led an army of 20,000 men straight to Luoyang.

Just as Zhu Chongba issued his order, Chen Jie also issued an order: to rename the military commander of the Zhuque Army and lead his troops to support Chen Xiaohu in Luoyang.

After the order was issued, a handwritten letter from Chen Jie accompanied the procession. The letter contained only one thing: Chen Jiu Si was preparing to ascend to the throne as the King of Han.

The news quickly reached Chen Xiaohu, who was overjoyed to see the letter. Chen Jiu Si was going to ascend to the throne of the King of Han! His brother Jiu Si was finally going to become a king.

He was incredibly excited.

At the same time, he also received news that Zhu Chongba had sent his third brother, Tang He, to personally lead troops to support Feng Sheng and prepare to retake Luoyang.

Upon seeing the message, Chen Xiaohu sneered. He knew Tang He, who was Zhu Chongba's brother. Moreover, he had heard that Zhu Chongba had recently used the Xuanyuan Sword to sacrifice to the heavens, helping several of his fierce generals to improve their strength, enabling two of them to break through to the Fusion God Realm.

Furthermore, after consuming the Dao Fruit, his strength increased to the second level of the Melting God realm, making him comparable to Chen Xiaohu and Ni Wenjun, one of whom was Tang He and the other was Chang Yuchun.

The fact that Tang and others were sent to attack them this time was clearly aimed at them.

Thinking of this, Chen Xiaohu also became determined. I want to see if your sworn brother Zhu Chongba is more powerful, or my cousin Chen Jiusi is more powerful!
Beat the drums, gather the troops, and begin drills on the parade ground!

Chen Xiaohu quickly gathered the White Tiger Army, then climbed onto the high platform and shouted to the people below, "Brothers, I am Chen Xiaohu."

"There are two things we need to discuss today!"

"One good thing and one bad thing. The good news is that I just received news that our lord, in accordance with the will of Heaven, is about to be promoted to King of Han. From now on, we will be the royal army!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers' eyes lit up; their lord had become the King of Han.

It should be noted that the White Tiger Army's background is that of the same group of people who followed Chen Jie from Mianshui County back then.

In particular, the Chen clan, almost the entire Chen family of Mianshui, were in the White Tiger Army.

This is Chen Jie's true elite force, with a significant proportion of them surnamed Chen. And now they are being told that their lord, the most promising member of their Chen clan, is about to be granted the title of king!

Isn't that enough to excite them?
What does being crowned a king signify? It means that they are only one step away from becoming king!
They were only one step apart. If that day ever came and Chen Jiu Si became the final winner, then all of them would be the clansmen who had helped him rise to power, and their future wealth and honor would be assured.

It could be said that they were even more excited about Chen Jie becoming king than Chen Jie himself.

This is the role of direct descendants of the imperial clan.

Unable to contain his excitement, Chen Xiaohu raised his precious sword, clenched his fist, and shouted to the sky, "King of Han!"

His soldiers also shouted in unison, "King Han! King Han!"

The title of King of Han resounded throughout the land, and everyone was chanting the name of King of Han.

Once the blood and energy of the three armies were boiling, Chen Xiaohu said, "Gentlemen, I know what you are thinking. There is nothing else, but there is some bad news."

"Our King of Han's enemy, Zhu Chongba, has sent troops to attack Luoyang. Brothers, it's time to fight to the death. Are you afraid?"

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid!"

Chen Xiaohu said, "Very good! I was just worried that I didn't have any gifts to celebrate the ascension of our King of Han. I hope to give our King of Han a great victory as a congratulatory gift!"

What do you all think?

"Good, good, good!"

The army's morale was high, and the people's hearts were truly at ease. Seeing this, Chen Xiaohu raised his broadsword and said, "Then, everyone, let us defend Luoyang for the King of Han. I will live as long as the city stands, and I will die if the city falls."

"I will live as long as the city stands, and I will die if the city falls!"

The sound traveled like a rainbow, and once it reached the training ground, there wasn't a single coward among the soldiers. At this moment, Chen Xiaohu held his precious sword, his eyes filled with murderous intent, and said, "Come on, let me see just how much you, Tang He and Feng Sheng, really are!"

"Issue my military order: starting today, the entire army will take three shifts of rest, while one main force will be stationed on the city wall and must not slacken their efforts."

"Issue a city-wide martial law. Detain any suspicious persons on the spot. Anyone who objects will be executed first and reported later!"

"Third, all the city's granaries should be stored separately and guarded by troops, and there must be no mistakes."

"Fourth, all powerful families within the city are under martial law. Anyone who dares to collude with foreign enemies will have their entire family wiped out!"

"Fifth, move my bed to the city gate tower. From today onwards, I will eat and sleep there, standing with the troops, and I will never back down."

"Alright, pass on the order!"

"promise!"

Upon hearing this, the soldier immediately ran down to relay the order.

As the soldiers relayed the order, Chen Xiaohu looked up at Hubei and said, "Don't worry, my lord. If Luoyang falls, I will give you my head."

Just as Chen Xiaohu was making his mobilization, at this time, inside the Huangzhou Prefecture in Hubei Province.

Chen Jie and Yuan Sanjia have arrived at Wild Wolf Gully.

He had just returned to Yelanggou when he was discovered by the villagers. At that time, only some elders remained in Chen Jie's hometown of Xiantao Village.

Baozheng was Wu Zhong, Chen Jie's uncle Zhong.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

As soon as they arrived at Xiantao Village, they saw Uncle Zhong leading everyone over, kneeling down and kowtowing in greeting. Upon seeing this, Chen Jie got off the carriage and said, "Uncle Zhong, what are you doing? And all of you, please get up."

"Hehe, Your Majesty, we are so excited to hear that you are going to ascend to the throne of Han! Our Xiantao Village is about to produce a true dragon emperor."

Chen Jie said, "Uncle Zhong, your information network is really impressive. However, we are still some distance from the true dragon emperor, and there is still a fierce battle ahead."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhong said, "I know, isn't it Zhu Chongba? We will definitely win."

The villagers all said they would definitely win, and Chen Jie said, "Good, good, I'll take the villagers' good wishes."

Wu Zhong asked, "Your Majesty, what brings you here this time?"

Chen Jie said, "There's a treasure in Wild Wolf Gully that I need to retrieve. I'll talk to you later and wait for my return."

Wu Zhong said, "Okay, okay, your auntie made a lot of delicious food for you when she heard you came back. She'll definitely come over for dinner when you're done with your work."

"well."

Chen explained as he and Yuan Sanjia entered Wild Wolf Gully! (End of Chapter)