The empress disliked my achievements for overshadowing her own, so she turned her attention to the N

Chen Nan arrived at the front of the army formation, cleared his throat, and spoke with an air of authority.

"My fellow officials, the army was indeed summoned by me."

"That's because I heard there were assassins in the palace, so I mobilized a large army to surround the palace."

"All of this is to prevent the assassin from escaping."

Chen Nan first found an excuse for mobilizing a large army.

Although the Empress Dowager wouldn't pursue the matter, he still needed a reasonable explanation.

However, his casual explanation was seen as utter nonsense by the court officials.

They were all discussing matters in the imperial court before, so where would an assassin be?

Moreover, there were a large number of patrolling soldiers in Wei capital, thousands of guards in the palace, and eunuchs everywhere around Fengtian Hall.

Among those small surrounding countries, who would dare send assassins to cause trouble for Northern Wei?

Everyone knew perfectly well that the assassin was just an excuse Chen Nan had made up.

Whether the assassin actually exists or not is irrelevant; what matters is that he now has this excuse.

Then, Chen Nan continued, "Fellow colleagues, the assassin has now surrendered, and the safety of the palace is guaranteed. I will now order the army to make way."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a narrow path, just wide enough for one person to pass through, appeared in the middle of the army.

Seeing this, the officials dared not say anything more and lined up in order of their rank.

They left in an orderly fashion through the gaps left by the army.

Chen Nan stood in front of the army, watching this scene with admiration.

Just as Changsun Du passed by, he gave Chen Nan a meaningful look.

However, Chen Nan's attention was entirely focused on the area behind the assembled officials, and he did not notice this particular glance.

"Gentlemen, today's assassin has been dealt with. I hope that no assassins will appear in the next five days."

Chen Nan suddenly said something else.

These words caused the entire team to pause for a moment.

In an instant, everyone realized the deeper meaning behind the words.

Isn't the goal simply to get them to pass all the reforms in five days?

But if they really did that, wouldn't the Northern Wei court become a one-man show by Chen Nan?

Next time, anyone who dares to disagree with Chen Nan's suggestion will be punished.

What would you do if someone directly led troops to besiege the palace?

For a time, the court officials looked at Chen Nan with a hint of hatred in their eyes.

What they didn't know was that Chen Nan had once lived in a country with a history of thousands of years.

They were very clear about the advantages and disadvantages of ancient systems.

The reforms he proposed are not the best solution, but they are the optimal solution for the current situation.

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Garden, the Empress Dowager of Northern Wei sat in the middle of the courtyard, her gaze fixed on a corner of the wall.

Strangely, there was a faint blush on her face.

A moment later, as the blush on the Empress Dowager's face faded, she regained her dignified demeanor.

What's going on in front of the palace?

In the Imperial Garden, only the Empress Dowager was there, but she asked a strange question.

The next second, a reply came from the empty imperial garden: "Chen Nan threatened the ministers to agree to his reforms."

"It seems that most of the ministers are very resistant, and I'm afraid there will be some trouble later."

The Empress Dowager chuckled: "After all the officials have left, have the Prince of Zhennan come to my residence."

After that, the Imperial Garden returned to its usual tranquility.

The scene shifts to the palace gates, where all the ministers have departed.

Chen Nan sighed, "These system rewards are really hard to get!"

That's right, he did all that just to get the system's rewards.

Such a large amount of equipment, as well as warhorses and food.

He is fully capable of arming an extremely powerful army.

"Wu Xu, lead the army back to the camp. We don't need you here for the time being."

Upon hearing this, Wu Xu and Mo Bai led their army back.

After watching the army leave, Chen Nan was about to return to his residence.

One of the eunuchs stopped Chen Nan: "Your Highness, the Empress Dowager is waiting for you in the Imperial Garden."

Chen Nan smiled helplessly. He knew that this was because of the trouble he had caused by privately gathering a large army.

However, in order to ensure the reforms proceed, he doesn't mind a little more trouble.

After figuring it out, he went to the Imperial Garden alone.

When Chen Nan arrived at the Imperial Garden, he found the Empress Dowager sitting there alone, staring blankly at a corner of the wall.

Following the other person's gaze, Chen Nan discovered that the corner of the wall corresponded to the wall where he had carried the Empress Dowager to hide last time when the imperial horse lost control.

Instantly, a series of images flashed through Chen Nan's mind.

There was even a bad feeling about it.

Just as he was making these thoughts, the Empress Dowager noticed his arrival.

Neither of them spoke. Chen Nan looked up at the sky, while the Empress Dowager's eyes lingered on Chen Nan.

As Chen Nan was pondering, the Empress Dowager suddenly spoke up: "Has the Prince of Zhennan arrived?"

A voice pulled Chen Nan back to reality.

He bowed slightly and asked, "I wonder if the Empress Dowager has summoned me because of something urgent?"

The Empress Dowager pondered for a moment: "The Prince of Zhennan acted somewhat hastily today."

"The Prince of Zhennan has already executed a minister in the imperial court, so why should he personally lead a large army to establish his authority?"

"Does it mean you think I don't support the Prince of Zhennan's reforms?"

After being asked three questions in a row, Chen Nan smiled awkwardly and said, "Your Majesty, I had no choice but to come up with this plan."

"Those reforms played a crucial role in the development of our Northern Wei Dynasty."

"My purpose in bringing this large army here is merely to warn those court officials not to have any ulterior motives in this matter."

What Chen Nan said is true; once those reforms are implemented...

The Northern Wei Dynasty was about to experience unprecedented growth.

While it cannot completely eradicate the greedy thoughts of court officials, it can effectively prevent them.

Moreover, after the establishment of the Heroes' Tomb, the army's combat effectiveness and fighting spirit will also increase dramatically.

The most crucial point that Chen Nan hasn't mentioned yet is that the Northern Wei Dynasty didn't value merchants at all.

This has led to ridiculously low commercial taxes.

Moreover, some iron and salt mines are controlled by private individuals.

Regardless of the dynasty, these things could only be controlled by the imperial court.

Otherwise, it could affect the livelihoods of the lower classes at any time.

This is also why the economy of the Northern Wei Dynasty never became strong.

The Empress Dowager nodded: "It's not that I don't support your reforms, it's just that this time it was a bit too rash."

"In the future, I will announce to those below that the assassin has surrendered."

"This can also be considered as mitigating the impact of this incident."

Only then did Chen Nan realize that he, a prince, had led troops alone to besiege the palace.

He only considered the ministers' thoughts, but ignored the people's thoughts.

The common people are ignorant; they hear in the morning that the palace is under siege, and by evening news of the country's destruction can spread.

Once this rumor spreads, it will likely plunge the entire Northern Wei into chaos within two days.

"Your subject will certainly do his utmost to contribute to the development of the Northern Wei Dynasty."

Chen Nan made another promise.

"Therefore, there's nothing else to discuss."

"The envoy from Western Shu should arrive in Wei capital in about two days. At that time, Prince Zhennan should do his best to find out the true intentions of Western Shu."

The Empress Dowager raised another issue.

On the way back to the Prince's Mansion, Chen Nan kept thinking about the Empress Dowager's words.

He never understood why the Western Shu would suddenly send an envoy to the Northern Wei.