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The following morning, Hongming led his well-organized army and slowly approached Lecheng, which was thirty miles away.

To her left, Chen Nan rode a fiery red-brown horse, clad in black armor, looking quite imposing.

This armor was personally awarded to him by the Empress Dowager of Northern Wei before the army set off on its expedition.

This armor is said to be the only set of black armor in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

To Hongming's right was her retainer Hongyao, with Fang He and others following behind her.

As for Hongze, since his mission was the rear guard, he naturally did not follow other armies.

They traveled in silence, on a small hill about ten miles from Lecheng.

After observing the surrounding terrain, Hongming immediately decided to set up camp there.

After settling the army, Hongming and the others looked at the map on the table in the main tent, pondering how to launch an attack.

Fang He walked up to Hong Ming, knelt down, and volunteered, "General, this humble general is willing to lead scouts to investigate the situation in Da Qian!"

The group of people who had been deep in thought were taken aback when they saw Fang He suddenly step forward.

Hongming pondered for a moment, then hesitated and said, "General Fang, you are the deputy commander of the army. Are you going to personally lead scouts just to find out the situation in Daqian?"

"Exactly!" Fang He nodded solemnly.

Hongming did not immediately agree, but instead turned to look at Chen Nan beside him.

They found that the latter was still studying the map with his head down.

Thinking that Fang He was unwilling to be with Chen Nan, he could only nod and say, "In that case, I'll have to trouble General Fang."

"The last general takes command!"

Fang He accepted the order, stood up, and turned to walk out of the tent.

However, a smile appeared on his face the moment he lifted the tent flap.

After leaving the main tent, he first inspected the army on his own before hurriedly leading his scouts away.

Inside the tent, Hongming noticed Chen Nan rubbing his forehead repeatedly and asked in confusion.

"General Chen, are you not used to it?"

Chen Nan shook his head: "No, I was just thinking about how to fight this battle in order to minimize losses."

Meanwhile, in the Great Qian Dynasty court.

Wu Fengluan's face twitched as she looked at the urgent letter in her hand.

He slammed his hand on the dragon throne: "How dare you, Chen Nan, go and seek refuge with the Northern Wei, the mortal enemy of my Great Qian!"

Seeing this, Jiang Hai immediately fawned, "Your Majesty, I have long said that Chen Nan is a wolf in sheep's clothing and will sooner or later bring harm to our Great Qian."

"I advised Your Majesty to take action against it as soon as possible, and fortunately, I was able to allocate the military funds this time."

"Otherwise, Chen Nan might have moved them all to Northern Wei."

Hearing Jiang Hai's flattery, Wu Fengluan's usually dark face showed a rare hint of a smile.

"Yes, Minister Jiang is the most sensible one, knowing to divert military funds in advance."

"Not only that, this time they even recommended a very talented person to me."

"In just one day, we launched a counterattack on Lecheng and successfully recovered the lost territory!"

"Come here, reward Jiang Qing with one hundred taels of gold!"

Jiang Hai, who had received the reward, did not laugh. Instead, he made a serious suggestion.

"Your Majesty, that Chen Nan is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Not only has he surrendered to the Northern Wei, but he is now leading the Northern Wei army to counterattack our Great Qian."

"In my opinion, we should send people to demolish the Prince of Zhenbei's residence. Leaving it is an insult to our Great Qian Dynasty."

"Alright!" Wu Fengluan pondered, "Jiang Qing, won't General Jiang Zhe feel overwhelmed by the task of fighting on the front lines alone?"

Upon hearing Jiang Zhe's name, Jiang Hai's face hardened: "Your Majesty, Jiang Zhe is a renowned general whom I searched for extensively. His martial arts skills have long since reached the fifth rank. With General Jiang Zhe at the front lines, there's absolutely no need to worry!"

Jiang Hai's words caused the officials in the Great Qian court to frown, but none of them dared to stand up and speak.

They had already investigated and found out that Jiang Zhe was Jiang Hai's older brother.

However, the difference in their status within the family was too great. If Jiang Hai hadn't gained power, the Jiang family would never have acknowledged him as their second son.

However, Wu Fengluan was extremely domineering and had her mind clouded by Jiang Hai, so she wouldn't listen to any advice.

This cycle repeated itself, and the court of the Great Qian Dynasty had long since become a one-man show by Wu Fengluan, with the exception of Jiang Hai's advice, which was heeded.

When Wu Fengluan appointed Jiang Zhe as the Grand General of the Great Qian Dynasty, the Prime Minister of the Great Qian Dynasty also stepped forward to advise against it.

However, the prime minister offered his advice in the morning, was killed at noon, and his home was ransacked that evening.

This has resulted in the fact that, apart from the exchanges between Wu Fengluan and Jiang Hai, everyone else in the Great Qian court is like a statue.

After the court session ended, a group of ministers whispered among themselves around a corner.

"What should we do? His Majesty listens to the advice of treacherous officials all day long. If this continues, the Great Qian Dynasty will perish sooner or later."

"Don't even mention it. Just treat the court assembly as a place to take photos. When you go there, just stand there like a statue, don't say a word, and don't cause any trouble."

"Alas, what a tragedy. The title of Prince of Zhenbei was bestowed by the late emperor, yet he not only failed to enjoy the benefits of our Great Qian Dynasty, but was instead stripped of his title by the empress whom he had helped to ascend the throne, and reduced to a laborer on the border."

"People who surrendered to the Northern Wei were still criticized by the Empress in court. Where can they go to seek justice?"

A group of people gathers quickly and disperses just as fast, because they're afraid these complaints will be overheard by someone with ulterior motives.

In the end, they had their homes confiscated.

The scene shifts to the Lecheng County government office.

A very fat man weighing 180 pounds sat in a high position.

The fat man's upper body was exposed, with two beauties on either side of him, and his smile never stopped.

When emotions run deep, his whole body trembles and he has an expression of enjoyment on his face.

Just then, a messenger suddenly ran out from outside.

The man immediately knelt down, not daring to raise his head, and reported directly: "General Jiang, there is a Northern Wei general outside who claims to be Fang He and requests an audience!"

The fat man's expression changed, and he said unhappily, "Get lost! I'm enjoying myself right now. Wait outside for me to serve you!"

That's right, the fat man is Jiang Hai's older brother, Jiang Zhe.

At that moment, Fang He was pacing back and forth outside the county government office, looking anxious.

Every now and then, they would go up and inquire about some news.

After a while, the flush on Jiang Zhe's face faded, and he patted the shapely buttocks of the beauty in his arms.

"Go down now, but don't forget to come to my room tonight, both of you!"

Upon hearing this, the two strikingly similar beauties wiped away their tears and retreated as if fleeing.

After watching the two leave, he put on his armor and shouted, "Guards!"

Soon, the messenger who had just reported the news returned to the county government office.

Upon seeing the person who arrived, Jiang Zhe remained expressionless and first reprimanded them: "Next time I'm busy with important matters, no matter what, you mustn't disturb me, understand?"

"General, I've got it!"

Jiang Zhe's expression changed from gloomy to sunny: "Just remember that. What do you have to report?"

"General, there's a man outside the county government office who claims to be Fang He, the deputy general of the Northern Wei Dynasty. He says he has important news to report!"

"Oh? A deputy general from Northern Wei? Bring him in and let us take a look."

Jiang Zhe looked surprised. He didn't understand why a general from Northern Wei was wandering around his Great Qian's military camp.

The messenger got up and left, and soon returned to the county government office with one person.