Who put the yellow robe on me?

Hearing the dark-skinned Sixteenth Prince's profound words, he subconsciously tilted his head slightly and replied, "Your Highness! The people of the Western Regions have been properly resettled! My son Zhong Dalu and General Mi Hongchun, the Western Guard General, have properly resettled the people of Kucha City."

The bitter taste of yellow sand surged in Zhong Wenbin's throat, and he seemed to see the sandstorm covering the sky and the sun outside the city of Kucha again.

That day, dark clouds were gathering over the city. When the Sixteenth Prince led his troops to charge, the wound on his left shoulder from a stray arrow was still oozing blood. After receiving the recall medal from Emperor Liang, he still gritted his teeth and left himself a plan for attacking the city.

Zhong Wenbin's voice was low and powerful, as if carrying the roughness of the wind and sand from the Western Regions, echoing in the Wanhe Hall.

At this exciting moment, Zhong Wenbin and the dark-skinned Sixteenth Prince looked into each other's eyes. Without saying much, their eye contact conveyed a tacit understanding and understanding that transcended life and death. For more than half a year, they had lived and died together in order to attack the Western Regions, and had already established an irreplaceable relationship between them in the war that surpassed the friendship between monarch and subject.

Zhong Wenbin knew that the dark-skinned prince in front of him was none other than the familiar Sixteenth Prince—Jiang Chen, who had fought alongside him and strategized on the battlefield in the Western Regions.

At that moment, Zhong Wenbin seemed to see the countless moments of fighting side by side in the past. The fierce scenes of the neighing of war horses and the clashing of swords seemed to echo in his ears, and the blood was still surging in his heart.

Zhong Wenbin immediately turned to Emperor Liang who was sitting in the palace. He was wearing a dragon robe woven with gold thread, and his brows revealed a sense of majesty and calmness.

Zhong Wenbin leaned forward slightly, his voice loud and firm, "Your Majesty, I have led the troops to recapture the Western Regions. However, Your Majesty has only heard reports of victory and has never examined the details of the campaign. Taking advantage of this opportunity presented by the real and fake prince, I would like to share with you the entire process of the campaign."

As he spoke, his eyes flashed with fiery passion, and his voice seemed to tear apart the silent palace and bring to life the real scene of blood and fire on the distant battlefield.

"The Western Regions have always been Daliang's mortal enemy, and Daliang has never been the slightest bit tolerant of its borders." Zhong Wenbin continued, his words imbued with the kind of lofty ambition that can only be gained after years of battles and conquests.

He waved his hand slowly, as if outlining the scene of the bloody and fiery battlefield in the distance: "And this time, the Sixteenth Prince and this old minister took less than a year to recapture that barbaric land!" His voice was filled with arrogance and heroism, and every word sounded like a heavy hammer falling to the ground, shocking everyone who heard it.

However, although Zhong Wenbin kept attributing the credit to the "strategic planning" of the Sixteenth Prince, and everyone in the court knew that there was a hidden meaning in his words, who could not see that the real backbone was actually Zhong Wenbin himself - the number one person in the Daliang military.

His image of being indomitable and fearless in the face of danger has long been deeply rooted in people's hearts. Like Prime Minister He, he never intervenes in the fight for the throne among the princes and always maintains a detached neutrality.

This impartiality is the fundamental reason why Emperor Liang relies so much on them.

A glint of enlightenment flashed in Emperor Liang's eyes, his eyebrows raised slightly, and he said happily: "Accurate!"

Zhong Wenbin then addressed the two Sixteenth Princes solemnly, his voice deep and magnetic, "Your Highnesses, I remember that the Thirteenth Princess, Jiang Sirou, once accompanied our army on an expedition to the Western Regions. Although she felt confident because she held Your Majesty's golden medal of immunity from death, I, this old minister, have always opposed her joining the army, until... until you gifted her a personal treasure. May I ask what this treasure is?"

When he finished speaking, the air around him seemed to freeze, as if everyone was waiting for that crucial word, their heartbeats and breathing held.

The dark-skinned prince suddenly closed his eyes, and before his eyes appeared the image of the Thirteenth Princess's fluttering red tassel as she charged into battle. The metallic whine of the armor rubbing against her as he forced it onto her body that day was still ringing in his ears.

Prime Minister He, standing nearby, thought to himself, "Good fellow! That old fox, Zhong Wenbin, has long anticipated that the scandal surrounding the Thirteenth Princess's kidnapping after returning to the capital with the army might have already spread to the Western Regions. Now that he's openly asking for this personal treasure, he's actually telling His Majesty: The Thirteenth Princess dared to go to war precisely because she possessed the golden medal of immunity from death. Even if His Majesty blames her, General Zhong Wenbin will only be held jointly responsible!"

Prime Minister He chuckled secretly in his heart. Although his words were subtle, they were like a sharp arrow piercing the inner workings of the court, causing the officials present to reveal a half-smile on their faces.

At this moment, amidst a slight commotion, the dark-skinned Sixteenth Prince was about to answer, but the dissolute Sixteenth Prince suddenly stepped forward and said in a low voice, "It's gold silk soft armor!"

This decisive announcement seemed to instantly ignite the curiosity and enthusiasm for discussion of everyone present.

A few whispers echoed in the palace, like the sound of tiny silver bells echoing in the air. That golden soft armor was the treasure that the Ninth Prince had lost to the Sixteenth Prince in a bet.

It turned out that when General Zhong Wenbin was talking about the personal treasure, the Ninth Prince Jiang Yu guessed that it was the gold-thread soft armor. It happened that the Ninth Prince was only one step away from the dissolute Sixteenth Prince, so he told the dissolute Sixteenth Prince the voice that only the two of them knew.

The Ninth Prince's cunning eyes flashed with a smug light, as if hinting, "I have already guessed that it is this treasure."

The dark-skinned Sixteenth Prince was stunned at first, then his eyes flashed with surprise. He thought to himself: I didn't expect this dissolute fellow to have already seen through this secret! At that moment, he seemed to understand the Ninth Prince's half-smile, and all the mysteries were revealed without words.

After pondering for a moment, the dark-skinned Sixteenth Prince slowly spoke, his tone carrying a hint of unquestionable confidence: "At that time, I won the golden soft armor from Ninth Brother, and then gave it to Thirteenth Sister. This friendship and good story are well known to everyone." When he finished speaking, his eyes were firm and calm, as if the past events were vivid in his mind and no one dared to question them.

Zhong Wenbin nodded slightly. Although he knew that this was hinting at the true ins and outs of the court, he said this not to identify the real prince, but to take this opportunity to tell Emperor Liang: The reason why the Thirteenth Princess dared to join the army was not a momentary impulse, but because she had obtained the golden medal of immunity from death from His Majesty, and because our army had made sufficient security arrangements and protection for this.

Seeing this, General Zhong Wenbin also took advantage of the situation and said, "As His Majesty the Sixteenth Prince said, this question is too simple. Why not let me ask a few more questions to thoroughly determine whether the prince is real or fake?"