Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

The princess smiled and sat up from the bed. "Liu Siyue, let's fight side by side and carve out a fertile ground where we have a voice, so that your ideas can take root and grow into towering trees."

You can prune its branches and leaves, letting it grow into the shape you desire. Would you be willing?

"I'm willing, as long as the princess isn't afraid that I'll be a burden."

"You don't need to be modest. You are stronger than I imagine. You won't be a burden to me, but rather an asset. I believe in you!"

The princess raised her palms, and Liu Siyue quickly raised hers as well. The two palms clapped together tightly, making a vow with a high five.

"Princess, we're not enough manpower to fight our way out. How about I recruit a group of young men from the village and start training them?"

"Yes, we are indeed short-handed. Go and recruit more people. We are going to do something big, and we need to find a way to raise funds in advance. I have 150 personal guards outside the palace, and we have some funds, but it is not enough."

"Princess, leave the matter of provisions and pay to me. You just need to arrange the troops. I will set up a logistics regiment to take care of provisions and pay."

What's your plan?

The crops you grow on your farm? That's just a drop in the ocean. Even if you harvested all the grain from your village, it wouldn't last more than two meals. Besides, those are seeds; they need to be stored properly, and you can't eat any of them.

I will contact those feudal lords to see if we can form an alliance. If not, we'll have to go out and seize grain.

"Princess, believe me. If I say I can do it, I can do it."

"This is no child's play; once the arrow is released, there's no turning back."

"I'm taking this very seriously and I'm not exaggerating."

"What is the princess's plan?"

"Take Lingshui County first, then Dongping Prefecture. Dongping Prefecture will definitely be a tough nut to crack. Have you developed that powerful weapon yet?"

"We've figured it out, but the quantity is small; I've only made about 50 so far."

"May I see it? I want to witness its power."

"Okay, we'll go up the mountain first thing tomorrow morning."

"How is the princess's injury? Let me check it."

"It's fine now, it's just starting to itch, but it'll be better soon. Just be careful tomorrow."

"April, thank you for saving me!"

"This is fate. If I hadn't been craving wild game, I wouldn't have met the princess. The princess is a person with great destiny; it was all arranged by God long ago."

"Princess, it's settled then. I'll make the arrangements now; the sooner the better."

Qingwu hitched up the oxcart and took Liu Siyue to the village chief's house.

When Liu Jinsheng saw that Siyue had arrived, he quickly welcomed her inside, saying, "Siyue, come in and sit down."

"Winter Plum, April is here, bring out the fruit from the house."

"Dongmei held a plate of pink, juicy peaches in one hand, which looked big and tempting, and a plate of golden apricots in the other hand, which were a little smaller than eggs. She put the plates on the table and said, "Siyue, try them. These peaches are very sweet. Peel them and eat them. The apricots are also very sweet. They were all brought over by my brothers from my mother's family."

"These fruits look delicious; I need to try one of each kind first."

Liu Siyue picked up a peach and started peeling it. Pan Dongmei quickly pulled Qingwu down to sit, and stuffed a peach and an apricot into her hands, saying, "Qingwu, don't be shy, you can have some too."

"Thank you, Auntie." She glanced at Liu Siyue, who was happily eating a peach, juice dripping all over her hand. "Why are you looking at me? Eat!"

One peach was enough to make her burp with satisfaction. "These peaches are so delicious, better than the ones from my farm. I'll try some apricots next."

She picked up an apricot, squeezed it with her hand, and the flesh split in two. She ate the flesh and exclaimed, "Delicious! Almonds are edible too! My aunt gave me that hammer to smash them; I want to eat almonds."

"Okay, Auntie will help you smash it."

Liu Siyue wiped her mouth and said, "Uncle Village Chief, you don't need to tell the villagers about your meeting in the county town. Just go about your business as usual. We have people patrolling the village entrance day and night. Recently, there have been bandits causing trouble, and some people in the county town have already been killed by them, so we still need to be careful."

"Why don't we do anything? What if the officials come demanding our people in six days?"

"Uncle Village Chief, you don't need to worry about that. I won't joke with the lives of the whole village. There's an important thing to do now. Gather the able-bodied men in the village. I need to train a group of soldiers."

"April, are you going to go against the government? We are just ordinary people, how can we fight against battle-hardened soldiers? If we are still labeled as rebels, not only our village, but all our relatives will be implicated."

"Uncle Village Chief, you probably don't understand the current situation. The North and South are now at odds, and civil war is imminent. The people will only suffer more. Where will the manpower, food, and pay for the war come from? They will have to be exploited from the people."

"I'm not afraid to tell you, a very important person lives in my house and is about to do something big. Are you scared?"

"A big shot? What big shot?"

"This will remain a secret for now. If you're afraid, I won't force you. After all, you're the village head, and it's only right that you consider the people's needs."

To avoid implicating the villagers, I will take my second uncle's family and leave this place.

"April, you can't leave! If you leave, I'll feel uneasy."

"This matter is too important; I need to discuss it with the clan chief. You should come with me now."

"Okay, let's go now."

"April, almonds."

"Thank you, Auntie."

"Since you like peaches and apricots so much, your brothers sent over quite a few. I'll take them to your house later."

"Auntie, no need. You have children at home, so save the food for them. Pack what's on your plate. If your family has any left, bring it to my house, and I'll buy some."

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll go back tomorrow and have them send it over. How much do you need? Two or three hundred pounds, I have a lot of people at home."

"Okay, there are still a few trees at home. Every year we can't finish eating them all, and we can't sell them either. They just rot in the ground."

On behalf of my family, I thank you.

"No need to thank me, it's just business!"

Qingwu was carrying a small basket. When Pan Dongmei saw it, she told Liu Jinsheng to wait a moment, as they were going to the clan chief's house. She wondered what the clan chief would think. So she immediately took another basket, filled with a few peaches and some apricots, and handed it to Liu Jinsheng, saying, "Take this and give it to the clan chief."

When they arrived at the clan chief's house, Liu Jinsheng repeated what he had said in April, "Uncle, what do you think we should do?"

The clan chief sighed, "Since ancient times, whenever the world has been in turmoil, whether it is foreign invasion or internal strife, it is always us ordinary people who suffer the most. We can never escape the heavy corvée and taxes. Of the young men who are conscripted into the army, only a few survive. How many of them ever return? Even if they do return, they are left crippled."

During wartime, we live in constant fear, worried not only of starving to death but also of waking up one morning without our heads. We live in perpetual anxiety. Rather than living in fear, we might as well take a gamble. Since April believes in that person, we will believe in him too, and follow April.

"Okay, I'm relieved to hear that."

"How many people do you need in April?"

"We'll take as many as you want, Uncle Village Chief. Women aged 15 and above can sign up."

Liu Jinsheng looked at Liu Siyue with a questioning look. "Siyue, you're not wrong, are you? Letting women mingle with men and train with them, wouldn't that ruin their reputation?"

"Uncle Village Chief, how can that ruin your reputation? Only people with impure thoughts would think that way. If anyone has such thoughts, I'll skin them alive."

The eldest princess of the Great Sheng Dynasty led thousands of troops in a desperate battle against the enemy. Was she not afraid of ruining her reputation?

At all times, the greater good of the nation and its people must be placed first.

Liu Jinsheng scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, "It's because Uncle is narrow-minded."