The imperial court is ceding territory from our northern border? Then we'll rebel!

Zhang Cheng was carried out of the Wuwei Prince's Mansion by two soldiers from the Zhenbei Army.

When he walked out of the palace gate, his legs were still weak, his face was as white as paper, and his whole body was soaked in cold sweat.

He had expected Xiao Jingchen to be tough, but he hadn't anticipated that he would be this tough.

They won't reason with you, they won't argue with you, and if you disagree on a single word, they'll immediately resort to force.

Moreover, a single move could involve an army of 500,000! They would also use the pretext of "assisting in transporting grain" to seize territory that did not belong to their jurisdiction!

What is this?

This is a rogue! A bandit! A tyrant who completely disregards the laws of the imperial court!

He stumbled and crawled back to the post station, and overnight wrote a memorial sent by express courier, reporting Xiao Jingchen's exact words to the capital in the most terrified and urgent tone.

He hoped that this memorial would make the officials in the court, and the Empress on the dragon throne, realize what kind of monster they were facing.

Delay? Verification?

These methods used to deal with ordinary officials are a joke in front of Xiao Jingchen.

They just flipped the table!

……

The capital city, the Zichen Palace.

When Zhang Cheng's urgent memorial was delivered to Emperor Yan Wumingkong, less than a month had passed since she last received Xiao Jingchen's "challenge letter".

The atmosphere in the entire court froze once again.

"Outrageous! This is utterly lawless!"

It was that same upright censor who was the first to jump out, trembling with anger.

"Sending troops to Hejian Prefecture? This is blatant armed invasion! This is the most serious provocation against the imperial court! Your Majesty, if this traitor is not eliminated, the nation will cease to exist!"

"Prime Minister, what do you think?" Wu Mingkong ignored the agitated censor and focused her gaze on the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister's face was even more unpleasant than last time.

What could he possibly think? He just wanted to disappear into the ground.

Last time, one of his men suggested using delaying tactics against Xiao Jingchen. And what happened? He slapped them back, and even more ruthlessly and directly than before.

"Your Majesty..." the Prime Minister began with difficulty, "This old minister believes... Xiao Jingchen's actions are nothing more than... a bluff, intended to force the court to allocate funds and provisions as soon as possible. He has just annexed Yunzhou, and his foundation is unstable. He would never... would never dare to actually start another war at this time."

His words sounded unconvincing, even to himself.

"Dare not?" Wu Mingkong sneered. "You said the same thing about Tian Kui last time. You said he had seven million troops and Xiao Jingchen wouldn't dare to resist. And what happened?"

The prime minister lowered his head even further.

"He dared to fight an army of seven million, do you think he wouldn't dare to touch a mere Hejian Prefecture?"

Looking at the helpless ministers of His Highness, Wu Mingkong felt a deep sense of annoyance.

She knew that Xiao Jingchen wasn't bluffing.

That man, if he says it, he will definitely do it.

Ten days.

He only gave him ten days.

Three days have passed since Zhang Cheng issued his memorial. That means she only has seven days left to make a decision.

Is it to continue to stall him, betting that he won't dare to send troops, and then sit and wait for Hejian Prefecture to be flattened by 500,000 troops, so that the face of the imperial court will be completely torn apart?

Or should we once again humiliatingly compromise and obediently send him the money and provisions?

Wu Mingkong felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

She realized that she had completely lost the initiative in this game. Every move she made was being led by the nose by Xiao Jingchen. He was like a master chess player, and she was merely a pawn on his chessboard, passively responding to his moves.

This feeling filled her with immense anger, yet she felt utterly helpless.

"Your Majesty!" A military officer stepped forward; he was a commander of the Imperial Guards of the capital. "This humble general requests permission! I am willing to lead all the troops in the capital region to reinforce Hejian Prefecture! We must not let Xiao Jingchen succeed!"

"Support them?" Wu Mingkong glanced at him. "How many troops are there in the entire capital region? One hundred thousand? Two hundred thousand? What do you have to fight against five hundred thousand battle-hardened elite soldiers?"

"Besides, even if you go, what about supplies? Weapons? Who will command them? By the time you bring your men to Hejian Prefecture, they'll have already occupied the city and looted all the food!"

The commander of the Imperial Guards also lowered his head in shame.

Yes, we can't beat them.

This cruel reality weighs on everyone's hearts like a mountain.

"Issue my decree."

In the deathly silence, Wu Mingkong spoke again. Her voice was filled with exhaustion.

"Order the Ministry of Revenue to immediately raise three million taels of silver and five hundred thousand shi of grain. There must be no delay!"

"Furthermore, issue an imperial edict to Hejian Prefecture and its surrounding prefectures, ordering them to 'fully cooperate' with the Northern Protectorate's grain transport. Local officials must 'do their utmost to meet' all the Protectorate's needs!"

This imperial edict was even more humiliating than the last one.

Last time, it was just the imperial court allocating funds itself.

This time, it was tantamount to directly ordering the local authorities to open up the treasury and let Xiao Jingchen take what he wanted!

This is tantamount to telling the whole world that the imperial court can no longer control the Northern Protectorate. Whatever it wants, it can only give.

"Your Majesty..." The Prime Minister wanted to persuade him further.

"Court adjourned!"

Wu Mingkong didn't want to listen to any more nonsense, so he abruptly flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

……

Seven days later.

The border between Yunzhou and Hejian Prefecture.

Cang Jia's army of 500,000 has already assembled here.

This army of 500,000 was composed of a diverse group. It included both veterans of the original Zhenbei Army and surrendered soldiers who had just been reorganized.

The new recruits, dressed in brand-new black uniforms and holding sharp weapons, wore expressions of both nervousness and excitement.

This was their first "campaign" after joining the Zhenbei Army. Although nominally they were "assisting in transporting grain," everyone knew that as long as the prince gave the order, they could become a ferocious army that could flatten Hejian Prefecture at any time.

They longed to prove their worth and repay the man who had given them land and a new life with a victory.

On the opposite side of the army, the official road of Hejian Prefecture was deathly silent.

The prefect of Hejian Prefecture, along with his officials, stood on the border line, their faces ashen, their eyes filled with longing.

They received two completely contradictory secret orders from the capital.

The first step is to make them do everything they can to delay and obstruct the entry of the Northern Army.

The second, and most recent, imperial edict ordered them to "fully cooperate."

These two imperial edicts nearly drove the prefect mad.

What is he supposed to do?

Fortunately, he no longer needs to worry about it.

In the distance, a swift horse was galloping towards them, kicking up clouds of yellow dust. The rider held aloft a bright yellow command flag.

He was the imperial eunuch who delivered the imperial decree!

"Imperial edict has arrived!"

The shrill voice sounded particularly jarring in the empty boundary.

The prefect and his officials, as if granted a general amnesty, immediately knelt down.

The eunuch delivering the imperial decree read out the imperial edict that demanded their "full cooperation."

After hearing this, the prefect finally felt relieved.

Cooperation is better than resistance. At least, your life can be saved.

He stood up shakily and bowed to the endless, dark army formation across the border.

"Your humble servant, the Prefect of Hejian Prefecture, respectfully welcomes...respectfully welcomes the imperial army's arrival, and will assist in the transport of grain!"

Cang Jia, mounted on his horse, looked at him coldly, a disdainful smile on his lips.

He waved his hand.

"Reveal the Prince's order!"

"The army does not need to enter the country!"

"Let's set up a 'supply exchange station' right here!"

"Please, esteemed officials of Hejian Prefecture, transport the grain yourselves."

The prefect was stunned.

Not entering the country? Just handing over at the border?

He immediately realized what was happening and felt a surge of immense humiliation.

Xiao Jingchen is too lazy to even pretend to "help".

He wanted to use this most direct and domineering method to tell everyone.

My men are standing right here.

My knife is at your throat.

I'll take my own grain!

Soon, wagons loaded with grain, escorted by soldiers from Hejian Prefecture, creaked and groaned as they drove from Hejian Prefecture toward the border.

The convoy formed a long line, stretching from dawn till dusk in an endless stream.

The newly recruited soldiers of the Zhenbei Army watched this scene unfold, seeing the once high-ranking court officials bowing and scraping before them, busying themselves with their affairs.

An unprecedented sense of pride and belonging welled up in their hearts.

They knew they had chosen the right person to follow.

Following a prince like this, you'll always stand tall and proud!

Looking at the long line of grain carts stretching for miles, Cang Jia was filled with emotion.

There was a time when the northern frontier had to be humble and subservient to the imperial court just to get a little bit of grain.

Now, all they need to do is send their army to the border, and the state capitals on the other side will obediently deliver their grain to their doorstep.

All these changes were caused by just one person.

His gaze was fixed on the direction of Ancheng, filled with awe.

The prince's methods are truly unpredictable.

He solved the North’s biggest crisis with a bloodless “armed parade”.

More importantly, he used this method to announce to the whole world the powerful rise of the Northern Protectorate.

From then on, everyone had to think twice about who was in charge in the north of the Great Yan Dynasty.