I became a prince in a martial arts world.

"Sit down!" Wang Yu pointed to the seat opposite him.

Song Chengyue sat down sideways and asked Wang Yu again, "Who are you? Please state your purpose, or don't blame me for being rude!"

Wang Yu laughed, "Of course I'm here to arrest your people. Otherwise, how would I know you were here, and why would your uncle have come looking for me?"

Song Chengyue frowned. "Aren't you from Longshan Prefecture?"

Wang Yu nodded. "The emperor's decree has been issued to me."

Song Chengyue was certainly not stupid. There was only one person in Longshan Prefecture who could be directly ordered by the emperor, and with two beautiful women by his side, his identity was obvious.

"You are Zhao Yu!"

"You're Song Chengyue?"

While Wang Yu and Song Chengyue were talking, Li Yunxiu already knew who this person was, but she did not expect that Song Chengyue would be working in a beef noodle shop in the market of Loulan.

"That's right, I am Song Chengyue." Song Chengyue nodded.

Li Yunxiu chuckled softly, "You'd rather trust the Shuntian Army than your uncle?"

Song Chengyue remained expressionless. "My uncle is a general in the border army. I cannot harm him."

Li Yunxiu nodded, not caring whether he was telling the truth or not, and simply said, "Your uncle came to us, begging us to show mercy and not take your life."

Song Chengyue was silent for a moment, then asked, "You agreed?"

"Of course we agreed, you have no grudge against us," Wang Yu laughed. "Actually, the emperor may not care about your lives, he cares about the Loulan treasure."

A flame ignited in Song Chengyue's eyes. "He killed my entire family. I will not give you the treasure."

Li Yunxiu frowned. "Your father's collusion with the Shuntian Army is a capital offense."

Song Chengyue angrily retorted, "My father never colluded with the Shuntian Army! It's just that the Emperor covets the Loulan treasure map in my father's possession!"

"Hmm?" Wang Yu raised an eyebrow. "Explain in detail."

"My father was the Minister of Rites. When the Loulan prince returned to the capital, he asked Emperor Taizu to send troops to restore the country. Emperor Taizu refused. After that, he lingered in the capital and visited the Ministry of Rites from time to time."

My father was a junior official in the Ministry of Rites at the time, and he was in charge of receiving the Loulan prince. We became friends after a while. Later, my father was promoted to Minister of Rites and he also wrote to the late emperor. However, Loulan had already stabilized by then, and the late emperor was unwilling to start a war.

Three years ago, the Loulan prince died in the capital. Before he died, he gave a batch of gifts to my father. My father accepted the gifts, but he did not know that there was a treasure map of Loulan among them.

Later, the Loulan prince died, and his followers lived in poverty in the capital. News spread that there was a treasure map of Loulan, and that the treasure map was in my father's hands.

The emperor issued an edict to inquire, and my father naturally denied it. As a result, the emperor believed that my father wanted to embezzle the treasure. My father was upright and incorruptible, and he confronted the emperor in court, saying that even if the treasure map was with him, the emperor could not take the treasure unless he helped the prince restore his kingdom.

The emperor was furious and imprisoned my father, confiscated his property, and exterminated his entire clan, all in an attempt to find the Loulan treasure map from our home. Unfortunately for him, my siblings and I received advance warning and had already found the map among the gifts and brought it out.

Li Yunxiu stared at Song Chengyue, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Then how do you explain that you've really gotten in touch with the Shuntian Army?"

Song Chengyue said fiercely, "The emperor unjustly killed my father, and we are not allowed to take revenge? I contacted the Shuntian Army myself because I heard that Military Advisor Niu was holding a memorial service for my father and questioning the emperor, so I sent him a letter to ask him to come to the Western Regions to meet us."

Li Yunxiu fell silent.

Qianqian asked curiously, "Why didn't you just give him the treasure map?"

Song Chengyue did not hide anything, "Because I was being hunted down by the imperial court at the time, and the Shuntian Army was fighting against the imperial army, I could not see Military Advisor Niu, and I was not at ease with the others."

Wang Yu and Qianqian both looked at Li Yunxiu.

Li Yunxiu remained expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Ma Bojun clicked his tongue. "This emperor is a bit inhuman. For money, he actually killed such good officials. No wonder he caused chaos in the country, with the Shuntian Army and the Red Lotus Sect causing trouble."

Song Chengyue looked at Ma Bojun, wondering how this person sent by the emperor dared to speak ill of the emperor like this.

Ma Bojun snorted, "No matter how powerful the emperor is, he can't control my White Horse Manor."

Then he looked at Wang Yu and said, "We Northwesterners are really honest. Let's send this kid back to Wang Bin. If he goes back with Niu Zilian to join the Shuntian Army and go to the battlefield, he probably won't survive."

"I'm not going back!" Song Chengyue immediately declared. "The emperor killed my entire family; I will kill him to avenge him!"

Li Yunxiu sighed, "You can't kill him. You'll only be taking revenge by handing the treasure over to the Shuntian Army and adding fuel to the fire for the rebels across the land."

Song Chengyue snorted coldly, "He deserved it!"

Wang Yu nodded. "He certainly deserved it, but historically, most of the first few who raised the banner of rebellion have failed. If you join the Shuntian Army, not only will it be difficult for you to achieve your goals, but you are also very likely to die in the chaos of battle."

I accepted a bribe from your uncle and promised to spare your life, so naturally I won't kill you. However, I didn't agree to take you back to him. If you don't want to go back, I won't force you.

Song Chengyue breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"However, I still want to give you a few words of advice. Apart from you and your sister, everyone else in your family is dead. Just like she said, you have already taken your revenge. There is no need for you to get involved again."

While eating noodles, Wang Yu spoke as if casually offering comfort, "The Song family depends on you to carry on the family line. I don't think your father and mother would want you to lose your lives after you've already taken your revenge, would they?"

Wang Yu said quietly, "Unless what you're thinking about isn't revenge, but your own ambition—wanting to join a powerful force, rule the world, and then seize power?"

Song Chengyue glared and retorted, "I didn't!"

"If you don't have that, your best option is not to join the Shuntian Army, but to join the Northwest Army."

Wang Yu laughed and said, "Let me analyze it for you. I just analyzed the consequences of joining the Shuntian Army. In fact, after you gave the treasure to the Shuntian Army, your role was already very small."

But once you join the Northwest Army, things will be different. The emperor will completely distrust the Northwest Army, which is equivalent to opening up another front. Moreover, there will be no way to make the Northwest Army hand you over, and your own prestige will be damaged.

From then on, the Northwest Army was no longer used by the emperor. In the future, the situation of the world will become clear. If the court is stable, you can go to the Western Regions. If the court is in great danger, you can also step on it. You can advance or retreat at will.

However, the cost was that the Northwest Army had virtually no chance of ruling the country. If you were ambitious and wanted to succeed your father, joining the Northwest Army might not be the best option.

Song Chengyue was somewhat taken aback. Although he couldn't react for a moment, he felt that it made a lot of sense.

"Of course that makes sense!" Wang Yu nodded matter-of-factly, "Because everything I said was from your perspective."

Song Chengyue couldn't help but ask, "Weren't you sent by the emperor to seize the treasure and take me back? Why are you considering things from my perspective?"

Wang Yu laughed, "Because I received a bribe from your uncle!"

Song Chengyue asked, "Then how will you explain this to the Emperor?"

Wang Yu said, "Just hand over the Loulan treasure to him. Do you really think he cares about your lives?"

Song Chengyue immediately realized what was happening, "I will not hand over the treasure to you."

"That's not up to you," Wang Yu laughed. "Whether it's the Shuntian Army or the Qishan bandits, if I want them to, they won't be able to take the treasure away right under my nose."

Song Chengyue neither confirmed nor denied it, saying, "Perhaps."

Li Yunxiu glanced at Wang Yu, then stared at Song Chengyue, "Have you already handed over the treasure in the ancient city of Loulan to the Shuntian Army?"

Song Chengyue's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately retorted, "I have never met anyone from the Shuntian Army."

Li Yunxiu nodded. "I understand."

Wang Yu couldn't help but chuckle, finishing the last bite of noodles in his bowl and letting out a sigh of relief. "I don't think the beef from the Western Regions is much better than that from Longshan Prefecture."

Ma Bojun laughed and scolded, "We're also in the Northwest, and we're all from the Northwest Yellow Cattle. The beef is tender, firm, and has a rich aroma. If you were in the Jiangnan region, you'd know how awful their water buffalo meat is."

Wang Yu nodded, pushed the table up, and said to Song Chengyue, "I've said everything I needed to say. As for whether you go to the Shuntian Army to be a nobody sent to your death, or go to the Northwest Army to find your uncle and cause trouble for the emperor, it's up to you."

Song Chengyue looked at Wang Yu with a complicated expression, "Aren't you going to arrest me?"

"I won't arrest you, and I'm too lazy to even arrest those Shuntian Army people."

Wang Yu laughed and said, "I also hope you can persuade the Shuntian Army that came to the Northwest, and tell them that their greatest wealth is not the treasure, but the hearts of the people. In fact, giving up the treasure is more beneficial to them than obtaining it."

Song Chengyue was dumbfounded again. "What do you mean?"

"This is the treasure of the previous Loulan king. Taking the treasure and doing nothing will only invite ridicule from the world," Wang Yu said. "Even your father understood this principle."

For thirty years, the imperial court has refused the Loulan prince's request. Now that he is dead, they want to seize his treasure. What is the difference between this and profiting from the dead?

Even if the emperor obtained the treasure, he would only seize a few million in military funds. This would be an enormous fortune for an individual, but it would not be enough to change the situation for a particular power.

The Shuntian Army traveled thousands of miles to the Northwest to fight the Qishan bandits for treasure, practically lowering themselves to the same level as bandits. How will the world view them if they try to conquer the world with such meager funds?

Song Chengyue looked at Wang Yu, "Don't you want to capture the Shuntian Army and seize the treasure?"

Wang Yu chuckled and said, "If you think you can conquer the world with just one Loulan treasure, then you are oversimplifying things. This is never just a matter of one or two people; it is a matter of the hearts and minds of the people."

If the imperial court can win over the hearts of the people, then no matter how many talented people the Shuntian Army has, they will not be able to cause any trouble. If the imperial court levies exorbitant taxes, then even without the Shuntian Army, there will be the Shundi Army and the Shunren Army to rebel.

Wang Yu laughed and said, "If we take the treasure but lose the hearts of the people, then it will be a loss that outweighs the gain."

Song Chengyue asked blankly, "Should I really hand over this fortune to the emperor?"

Wang Yu nodded and said seriously, "Would you like to hear my advice?"

Song Chengyue's eyes lit up. "I want to!"

Wang Yu said with a grin, "I've already analyzed so much for you. The rest of the analysis won't be free. If you want to hear it, just tell me about the Loulan treasure."

Seeing Song Chengyue's face change color, Wang Yu simply waved his hand, turned around and left, saying, "No rush, I'm staying at the Yuelai Inn, you can consider it."

Wang Yu left the beef noodle shop, leaving Song Chengyue behind with shifty, uncertain eyes.