I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Three days later.

Ba Ye and others were assigned to serve under the Empress.

We're all from the Northern Barbarians, so being assigned here is quite fitting.

However, they did not see the Empress immediately.

Instead, Jin Ge first gave them a lecture and reorganized them.

"Do you know who I am?"

Jin Ge had everyone line up in front of him, while he limped back and forth in front of them, one hand on the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist.

"I know, you are Jin Ge, General Jin."

One of the prisoners of war, who looked quite clever, said in a flattering manner.

"Jin Ge?"

Upon hearing this name, Ba Ye couldn't help but shudder and hurriedly looked at the man in front of him seriously.

"Are you General Jin Gejin?"

Ba Ye couldn't help but ask.

Jin Ge looked Ba Ye up and down. The Empress had already told him Ba Ye's true identity. Jin Ge knew that Ba Ye was an undercover agent who had come to infiltrate their territory and was a confidant of Murong Qingcang.

"It's normal that General Ba Ye doesn't recognize me. After all, you've become quite famous on the other side these past few years, with a great reputation."

Realizing that Jin Ge was deliberately mocking him, Ba Ye immediately bowed his head and clasped his hands in a fist salute:

"I dare not address myself as General before you. I have long heard of your illustrious reputation and have regarded you as my lifelong role model!"

Seeing that Ba Ye looked sincere and didn't seem to be lying, Jin Ge was confused.

However, if you want him to completely trust you and treat Ba Ye as one of his own, you'll have to wait until the next life.

Jin Ge continued to sneer: "A role model? This general wouldn't dare. To consider a cripple like me a role model? Can't you think before you speak?"

The implication is that Ba Ye is lying.

Upon hearing this, Baye became even more sincere, "General, please don't say that. Back when you were still in my Northern Barbarian land, you made countless contributions to the court and were the number one warrior of my grasslands. At that time, I was still making a living by herding livestock for others. I happened to hear about your deeds and decided to follow you for life."

"Today I have the honor of meeting such a role model. General, please accept my bow!"

After saying that, Ba Ye actually knelt down with a thud and bowed deeply to Jin Ge.

This bow completely confused Jin Ge. Could it be that Ba Ye was really his little fanboy?

However, as I said before, if you want him to completely trust Ba Ye, you'll have to wait until the next life.

After coughing twice, Brother Jin said, "Alright, enough with the nonsense. I only asked you all to come here today for one thing."

"Since none of you want to go back and you'd rather stay, then you'd better behave yourselves. Anyone who dares to harbor disloyal thoughts will face consequences; my blade is not to be trifled with!"

With a clang, Jin Ge drew his sword, startling everyone before sheathing it again.

After saying that, Jin Ge pointed to a few people: "You, you, and the other two, come in with me."

After randomly selecting a few people, Jin Ge led them into the Empress's tent.

Before going in, Jin Ge repeatedly reminded him, saying:

"When you meet the ever-victorious general later, be careful what you say, and watch your head."

"We know, we know, General Jin. We are the most perceptive among us, but we have a question."

Jin Ge turned to look at him and asked, "What's the problem?"

The man rubbed his hands together, a forced smile on his face:

"General, shouldn't we address you as His Majesty, not the Ever-Victorious General?"

Everyone knows that the Empress was formerly the emperor of Northern Mang. This time, Northern Mang is about to be defeated, and the Empress will definitely be reinstated. Calling him Your Majesty might leave a good impression on the Empress.

But to his surprise, instead of praise, he was met with Jin Ge's vicious gaze.

Jin Ge stared intently at him, saying each word clearly, "Keep your clever tricks to yourself, or you won't even know how you died!"

The man trembled with fear and quickly retreated behind the crowd, no longer daring to be the first to stick his neck out.

Jin Ge then reached out and lifted the tent flap to go inside, and the others followed behind him with their heads down.

The tent was small, but it had everything one needed. The empress, dressed in military attire, sat behind a large table, reviewing military reports.

Inside the tent, there was a child running around and playing freely. Without a doubt, this was Princess Huayang, the child of the Empress and the Emperor of Great Zhou.

Jin Ge gave them a wink, and they quickly stepped forward and bowed together, saying, "Greetings, General Ever-Victorious."

Upon hearing this, the Empress behind the table didn't even lift her eyelids, casually waving her hand to tell everyone to rise.

At this moment, Jin Ge stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "General, these people are determined to see you, and I couldn't stop them no matter what I did."

To everyone's surprise, the Empress said, "Enough with this useless nonsense. What brings you here to see me, General?"

Jin Ge looked somewhat embarrassed and spoke frankly: "Reporting to the General, His Majesty has assigned them here, but I do not know how to arrange them. Please enlighten me, General."

The Empress then put down the military report in her hand, glanced at the group, and asked, "A few days ago, when Your Majesty released the prisoners, I was not present. I heard that you are unwilling to return. Why is that?"

One of them stepped forward, quickly clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Reporting to the general, the Northern Barbarians are doomed. Going back would be no different from sending ourselves to our deaths. We might as well stay here and serve under your command."

The Empress curled her lips into a sneer, "Back then, when I was forced to abdicate by Murong Qingcang and fled to the Great Zhou, I didn't see any of you showing loyalty to me."

"Now you've suddenly remembered your loyalty? How is your behavior any different from that of a weather vane?"

"You all know how people treat opportunists. So, do you want me to take action myself, or will you do it yourselves?"

These words startled everyone.

They had thought that if they came here, the Empress would give them a good job.

But to everyone's surprise, the Empress wanted to kill them.

They quickly looked to Jin Ge for help.

When Jin Ge brought them here, he didn't say that the Empress would kill them. If she had said that earlier, they would never have come.

Jin Ge didn't know what was going on. The Empress clearly needed people right now. Although these people were prisoners of war, they could be very useful if used properly. He guessed that the Empress was just trying to scare them. This was part of her test.

"Why haven't you made a move yet?"

The empress's tone was very unpleasant.

Everyone was terrified and shoved each other.

We hope someone will come forward to speak on their behalf.

So he stepped forward.

The Empress looked at him. "Have you decided how to make your move?"

Ba Ye clasped his hands and said, "General Qi, wouldn't suicide be too easy for me? I'd rather die on the battlefield!"

The other prisoners of war nodded in agreement, indicating that they were also willing to die on the battlefield.

To everyone's surprise, the Empress didn't buy it at all, saying, "You don't deserve to die on the battlefield. If you were willing to die on the battlefield, why did you become prisoners? You should have preferred to die rather than surrender and sacrifice yourselves for the country, instead of spouting nonsense that I, the general, don't believe at all."

In other words, if Ba Ye doesn't show some real skill, all of them will die.

Ba Ye clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Then please give me a chance, General. I am skilled in archery!"

Jin Ge tried to smooth things over, saying, "Yes, General, let's give them a chance. Killing them like this would be too easy on them."

"Good at archery?"

The Empress raised her eyes and asked, "How powerful?"

Ba Ye stretched out an arm: "Please step outside the tent, General, and I will shoot for you to see."

"No need."

The Empress waved her hand and said, "Right here. Go and get a pitch-pot game."