I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"Your Highness, your halberd is truly amazing!"

"Along this journey, no martial artist below the fifth rank has even been able to touch the hem of your robe."

"It's not the halberd that's powerful; it's clearly the young master who's more powerful!"

"Our young prince is a hero, a great hero who will save the world. Whether he can defeat the Northern Barbarians and save the Great Zhou from disaster depends entirely on our young prince."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

On the rugged mountain road, a group of soldiers surrounded Su Chen, flattering him.

Some of these people were new recruits who had just joined the army, while others were former subordinates of General Su, the Marquis of Dingyuan. They all came to follow Su Chen.

Following Su Chen, they believed that they could achieve great things and restore the glory of the Marquis's mansion!

Su Chen rode on horseback, his halberd lying horizontally in front of him, never letting it out of his sight.

He was very pleased with these flattering words and couldn't stop smiling.

Who would rather hear pleasant words than unpleasant ones?

Moreover, he didn't receive these kind words for no reason.

Along the way, he quelled banditry and killed corrupt officials, earning him the praise of the people and the title of "Su Qingtian" (a high-ranking official in Chinese history).

These words of praise are all well-deserved.

"If the old Marquis were still alive, seeing the young master like this, he would surely..."

Suddenly someone mentioned General Su, the Marquis of Dingyuan, Su Chen's grandfather, who was once the top military figure in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Although the protagonist Su Chen had never met this person, he was connected by blood and couldn't help but tear up.

He reached out and wiped his moist eyes, his gaze gradually hardening.

He believed that after this battle on the border, his grandfather in heaven would be proud to have such a grandson as him!

The army marched through the mountains under his leadership when suddenly a troop of cavalry caught up quickly from behind.

"The commander-in-chief has given the order!"

"Army halt your advance and establish a garrison!"

"Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

The military order quickly spread throughout the ranks, and every soldier knew it, immediately halting their advance.

After the military order was issued, most soldiers began to remove their heavy equipment and rest on the spot, some drinking water and others eating dry rations.

A small number of soldiers looked at each other and discussed amongst themselves, with Su Chen leading the discussion.

Su Chen didn't even dismount, turning his head to ask the person beside him, "Why did everyone stop? We're almost at Qingling Pass."

"Wouldn't it be better to rest after we've cleared customs?"

"How can we possibly get a proper rest in this desolate, freezing weather?"

"Your Highness, we don't know either; it was a military order from above."

As someone removed their equipment, they kindly said to Su Chen, "Young Master, please come down quickly. Military orders are absolute; we just need to follow them. We'll do whatever the higher-ups tell us to do."

It would have been better if he hadn't said those words; now that they were, Su Chen was even less inclined to dismount.

He sat upright on his horse and shouted, "What do you mean by 'military orders are as solid as mountains'? As the saying goes, a general in the field may disobey some orders, let alone a wrong order!"

"Vanguard Battalion, all of you, listen to this Crown Prince! Continue the advance and strive to enter the pass as soon as possible!"

At his command, many die-hard fans chose to follow him, donning their gear again and surrounding Su Chen.

The messenger, who was about to leave, saw this, quickly rode back, and shouted:

"Are you all deaf? Didn't you hear the military orders?"

"The army shall halt its advance and remain in place. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

Su Chen ignored him, and with his legs lightly spurring on the horse's flanks and his head held high, he led his men forward.

The messenger panicked and spurred his horse to the front.

With his own body and a horse, he blocked everyone's path.

Glaring at the crowd, the messenger shouted, "Stop! I told you to stop! Didn't you hear me?"

Su Chen had no choice but to stop with his men and looked at him, saying, "The military order is incorrect. We must continue advancing. Please go back and correct the order!"

"presumptuous!"

The messenger whipped his horse in the air, making a loud crack.

"A soldier's duty is to obey orders!"

"Are you openly defying military orders?"

Upon hearing this, many people around Su Chen advised him to dismount and obey military orders.

Disobeying military orders will not end well!

An ordinary person would have dismounted immediately; a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle.

But since Su Chen is the protagonist, and protagonists love to challenge the rules.

On horseback, Su Chen straightened his back even more, staring at the messenger, "What if I say no?"

Snapped!

Without saying a word, the messenger lashed out with his whip.

It was clear that a bloody mark was about to be left on Su Chen's cheek, disfiguring him.

Little did Su Chen know that he was prepared and reached out to tightly grasp the whip that was being lashed out.

The messenger's eyes widened in fury, and he was about to retract his whip when he lashed it out again.

To everyone's surprise, the pull failed to budge the object; Su Chen's strength was terrifying.

"Let go! I told you to let go!"

The messenger shouted angrily, straining with all his might.

On horseback, Su Chen remained motionless, as steady as a mountain, with a smile on his lips.

At one point, Su Chen suddenly let go of his hand. The messenger was completely unprepared and, due to inertia, fell off his horse and was badly hurt.

This scene immediately drew laughter from Su Chen's die-hard fans, who all pointed at the messenger and laughed so hard they were doubled over.

The young messenger scrambled to his feet, his face flushed with embarrassment.

He had never suffered such humiliation since becoming a messenger.

Enraged, he gripped the hilt of the knife at his waist with his right hand, about to slowly draw it.

Su Chen openly defied military orders and even mocked him. Even if he killed Su Chen, the Crown Prince probably wouldn't say anything.

But just as he drew his sword three inches from his waist, a tall figure with a high ponytail blocked his way and reached out to press down on his sword.

Upon recognizing the person, the messenger immediately clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Commandant of the Guards!"

The newcomer was none other than Wei Hongying, a captain in the vanguard battalion!

Upon seeing Wei Hongying, Su Chen's eyes lit up, and he was about to dismount.

"Don't move."

Although the two words sounded light and casual, Su Chen sensed anger in them, and he paused.

The next moment, he immediately forced a fawning smile and said with narrowed eyes, "Sister Hongying, what brings you here? I was just about to look for you!"

After saying that, Su Chen was about to dismount again, trying to deceive everyone.

"I said, I'm not moving!"

Wei Hongying said, word by word.

He was so frightened that he didn't dare to move, remaining in the position of dismounting.

After saying that, Wei Hongying stretched out a hand and asked the messenger behind her for a riding whip.

The messenger didn't know what Wei Hongying was going to do, but he still respectfully presented the riding whip with both hands.

Taking the whip from the messenger, Wei Hongying slowly circled around Su Chen on horseback.

Su Chen didn't dare to move, but his eyes kept following Wei Hongying, wanting to know what Wei Hongying was going to do.

"Sister Hongying, what's going on?"

"Sister Hongying probably doesn't know yet, but a couple of days ago, I single-handedly wiped out another bandit gang. All the credit goes to our vanguard battalion!"

"Before the battle even started, our vanguard battalion had already accumulated so many merits that they were almost overflowing."

"After the war, when rewards are distributed, Sister Hongying will definitely be promoted to general!"

Don't expect praise; the words will only be spoken once they've left your lips.

Snapped!

Without warning, a whip suddenly lashed out at Su Chen's back.

Su Chen winced in pain, but dared not resist.

Snapped!

Another lash.

Wei Hongying stared at Su Chen and coldly said, "Don't think that saying these things will make me let you off!"

"Blatantly disobeying military orders is the first crime!"

"To mock a messenger is the second offense!"

"Attempting to bribe this general is the third crime!"

"Will you plead guilty to these charges or not?!"

My back was burning with pain; without even looking, I knew my clothes were torn and I was bleeding.

Su Chen did not wear armor like other ordinary soldiers.

Ever since he got the title of savior hero, he's become arrogant and usually only wears a single layer of clothing.

Alone with his halberd, he was confident that no one could harm him.

But he never expected that Wei Hongying would actually slap him today.

If he had known this would happen, he would have worn armor.

"Speak, admit it, or deny it!!"

Wei Hongying spoke louder, enunciating each word clearly.

"recognize!"

Su Chen gritted his teeth and said.

Snapped!

The third lash came down.

The pain made Su Chen gasp sharply, almost causing him to fall off the horse.

"Since you admit it, then you'll stay on horseback for the next few days as punishment! Don't you like dismounting and resting on the spot? Then you'll stay on horseback as long as you want."

After speaking, Wei Hongying returned the riding whip and turned to leave, deliberately repeating the military order before departing:

"By order of the commander-in-chief, the army shall halt its advance and rest in place. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers suddenly realized what was happening and quickly began removing their equipment as fast as they could.

Seeing that things were not going well, Su Chen's die-hard fans also started to take off their equipment. At this time, they must not get carried away.

Su Chen was spared because of his status as the heir of the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion, the many merits he had made over the past few days, and the fact that Wei Hongying was his sworn sister.

They had nothing, and if they dared to disobey military orders, they would only face death.

Nobody would joke about their own life, right...?