The ninth son of the emperor was demoted at the beginning. I have a famous Chinese general.

"Hahaha, General Li, please stand up quickly."

Ning Quan stepped forward and helped Li Cunxiao up.

How could Ning Quan dare to neglect such a powerful general?

"General Li, this is my wife, Li Wanyue."

Then, Ning Quan pointed at Wanyue and introduced her.

"Li Cunxiao, I'm honored to meet you, Madam."

Li Cunxiao quickly knelt on one knee and bowed.

"General Li, please stand up."

Li Wanyue hurriedly supported him.

Li Cunxiao's sudden appearance just now scared Li Wanyue.

If Ning Quan hadn't reminded her, she would probably have screamed.

"Thank you, Madam."

Li Cunxiao stood up and stood beside Ning Quan. He looked harmless on the surface, but his aura gave people a strong sense of oppression.

Seeing this, Lu Bu and Zhang Fei sighed in their hearts: It's really amazing!

The strength between masters is obvious at a glance.

Lu Bu and Zhang Fei believed that they were no match for Li Cunxiao.

However, they were not jealous because they were all system generals and served Ning Quan.

"General Li, with your help, my great cause can be accomplished."

Ning Quan looked at Li Cunxiao and said with satisfaction.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will do my best to assist you."

Li Cunxiao replied in a deep voice.

"well!"

Ning Quan nodded with satisfaction, then returned to the convoy with a few people.

After returning, Ning Quan immediately gathered everyone together and introduced them to each other.

After some greetings, Ning Quan and Wanyue returned to the carriage.

"Husband, is this your magical ability?"

"Is this how all these civil and military officials under your command came to be?"

As soon as she returned to the carriage, Wanyue immediately asked impatiently.

"Yes, that's how it all came about, and there will be more to come."

Ning Quan replied with a smile.

"Yeah, that's great."

"My husband is really amazing."

Wanyue said with admiration.

"That is."

Hearing this, Ning Quan said proudly.

......

Next, the convoy continued to move forward.

Half a month later, they arrived at Changhe City, the capital of Beiting.

"Your Highness, should we go into the city?"

Outside the carriage, Lu Bu asked.

"No need to go in, it's better to hurry up and go to the fiefdom."

"Besides, they don't welcome us, so we'd better not make things difficult for ourselves."

Ning Quan smiled faintly.

"Hey, Your Highness, why do you say that?"

Hearing this, Lu Bu asked in surprise.

"Haha, is that even necessary?"

"If we are welcome into the city, then someone should be outside the city to greet us by now."

"Look, we've already reached the city gate, and there's no one to greet us. Isn't the meaning obvious?"

"But this is normal. The Beiting Protectorate doesn't even take His Majesty seriously, so how could they care about a prince like me?"

Ning Quan said with a smile.

"Oh, I understand."

After listening, Lu Bu nodded and said nothing more.

......

Changhe City, Protectorate.

Governor's Mansion, inside the Governor's Mansion.

"Grand Commander, the Ninth Prince's convoy did not enter the city and has already left."

Li Yuanchong, deputy general of the Governor's Office, bowed and reported.

"Humph, it seems he still has self-awareness."

Hearing this, Governor Li Chenglin snorted coldly.

Li Chenglin is in his early forties, has a square face, and is tall and strong.

He was the son of Li Tai, the former governor of Beiting. He was not only an outstanding martial artist, but also good at commanding the army.

After Li Tai's death, he took over his father's position and has been managing Beiting for more than ten years.

"Commander-in-Chief, then we're going to do nothing?"

Li Yuanchong asked tentatively.

"What for? He's just a useless prince. I'm lucky enough that I didn't cause him any trouble. Do I really have to treat him to a banquet?"

"He was exiled to Beiting, practically to death. Do you think His Majesty has any good intentions?"

"Just wait and see. It's a question of how long he can live."

Li Chenglin said with disdain on his face.

"Yes, I understand."

Li Yuanchong bowed.

"By the way, have the food and wages arrived?"

Li Chenglin suddenly asked.

"Your Excellency, the troops have arrived, but the quantity is 10% less than last year."

Li Yuanchong replied.

"Haha, just as expected, His Majesty is deliberately trying to make things difficult for us."

After hearing this, Li Chenglin had an expression that said, "As expected."

Ever since His Majesty came to power, he has been suppressing Beiting and Anxi Protectorate.

Military pay and food wages became less and less every year, and even weapons and armor were no longer supplied.

Its purpose, of course, is to force Beiting and Anxi to return to the control of Daqian.

Unfortunately, Beiting and Anxi have been occupied by him and An Daocheng for many years. How could they be willing to submit to Daqian?

"The Grand Admiral is wise. His Majesty is putting pressure on you."

Li Yuanchong agreed with a smile.

"Humph, he thinks I'll give in if he puts pressure on me? He's simply dreaming."

Li Chenglin said disdainfully.

"General, as the saying goes, it's impolite not to reciprocate."

"Why don't we just open the border and allow the Western Xiongnu to enter Longyou and Hexi?"

"This way, His Majesty will know that Beiting is not easy to bully."

Li Yuanchong suggested.

Hearing this, Li Chenglin frowned slightly.

I have to admit that Li Yuanchong’s idea is good.

The purpose and responsibility of Beiting's existence was to resist the threats posed by the Western Xiongnu and the Arabs to the heartland of Daqian, and to control the countries in the Western Regions.

If the border is opened and the Western Xiongnu are allowed to invade, one can imagine how much damage it will bring to Daqian.

In this way, he could take the opportunity to put pressure on the court and force it to stop withholding military pay and food wages.

But if this were really done, the people of Daqian would suffer.

It is true that Li Chenglin has some opinions about His Majesty, but he is unwilling to let the people suffer, and even more unwilling to bear the blame.

"Let's just forget about this matter."

After a long time, Li Chenglin said slowly.

"Yes, I understand."

Hearing this, Li Yuanchong nodded.

......

at the same time.

Ning Quan and the convoy continued to head towards Hulun.

More than half a month later, the convoy traveled to a place more than 300 miles away from Hulan, and Ning Quan met Huo Qubing who came to greet him.

"The general has met His Highness."

When he saw Ning Quan, Huo Qubing hurriedly saluted.

"Haha, no need to be so polite. General Huo, you have worked hard."

"How is Hulan doing?"

Ning Quan asked with a smile.

"Your Highness, the situation in Hulan is quite dire. Not only is the city in ruins, but there are no soldiers, no food, and no weapons."

"The population is also extremely small. The entire Hulan has less than 5,000 people."

"........"

Huo Qubing introduced.

"Oh? Is it that bad?"

After hearing this, Ning Quan was surprised.

Ning Quan expected that Hu Lan's condition would definitely not get better, but he didn't expect it to be this bad.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Besides, Hulan City is too small. There's not even a place to live."

"Although I and the Chief Secretary have already started building the house, I'm afraid it's too late."

Huo Qubing replied.

"Okay, I understand. What about other aspects?"

Ning Quan continued to ask.

"Reporting to Your Highness, other aspects are not good either."

"Hulan City is geographically remote and is a place of conflict on all sides. To its northeast lies the Xiongnu territory, two hundred miles to its northwest lies the Arab Empire, and three hundred miles due west lies the Western Regions."

"What's even more serious is that there are many bandits entrenched in the Qilian Mountains to the south."

"Are there any more bandits?"

Hearing this, Ning Quan was surprised.

"Yes, and there are quite a few bandits. They specialize in robbing passing caravans and merchants, and even plunder Hulan City every year."

Huo Qubing replied.

"Is it that serious?"

After hearing this, Ning Quan couldn't help but frowned.