After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

During the banquet, the generals lost their appetite and watched the "brotherly affection" performance with suspicion.

Zhang Shouren was so startled by Chen Futu's enthusiasm that he broke out in a cold sweat.

After three rounds of drinking.

Chen Futu got completely drunk and was helped back to the inner hall, while Zhang Shouren left immediately without delay.

Zhang Liang left several generals behind and asked with a smile, "Have you all figured it out?"

Guan Yu stroked his beard and shook his head repeatedly. The atmosphere at the banquet was indeed strange. He was waiting for the signal to smash the cup and then kill Zhang Shouren, but His Highness the Crown Prince did not give the order.

Qin Liangyu pondered for a moment and said, "It seems that the young master has some kind of plan."

"That's right, the young master is pretending to be drunk. If I'm not mistaken, Zhang Shouren will soon mobilize his troops and leave Longcheng. He may take his family with him."

"what!"

The generals' expressions changed drastically. "He's really plotting a rebellion!"

Zhang Liang said in a deep voice, "The Crown Prince just deliberately forced Zhang Shouren to leave Longcheng. What the Crown Prince wants is the power of Longcheng. We can let Zhang Shouren go, but he is not allowed to take his troops with him. This matter will require the help of the generals."

Zhang Liang then gave them some instructions, and the group left to carry out their orders.

Longcheng Camp.

Guan Yu and his men, armed with military tallies, mobilized the army, declaring their intention to wipe out the mountain bandits throughout the northern frontier. Apart from their own troops, the 50,000-strong army was divided among the five generals.

When Zhang Shouren arrived at the camp, he found it empty. After inquiring about the situation, he was furious but laughed instead.

One of the generals gritted his teeth and cursed, "You scoundrel, you've gone too far!"

Zhang Shouren sighed, "The young master is drunk. In my opinion, it must be that scoundrel Zhang Liang who came up with the plan. He didn't expect me to lead the troops away."

"Damn pedantic scholar, I'm going to chop him up right now!"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Zhang Shouren was no fool. Who was Zhang Liang? He was able to defeat Yan Sheng with half the number of troops as the enemy. The fact that Zhang Liang dared to plan this meant that everything had been arranged long ago. If they stormed the Prince's mansion, no one would be able to leave today.

"Is that all that's left?"

"General, the prince is intolerant of others. Why not rebel against him and you become the Prince of Zhenbei?"

"Tianyun Pass has 80,000 soldiers, enough for the general to settle down. When the time is right, we will attack Longcheng and kill that arrogant prince."

The soldiers were filled with righteous indignation and kept talking.

Zhang Shouren remained silent for a moment, then ordered, "We can't wait any longer. Take the supplies and leave Longcheng immediately."

"Here!"

Truckloads of supplies left the west gate of Longcheng.

Chen Futu gazed out the window from the inner hall, when a guard behind him reported: "It has been confirmed that Zhang Shouren and the families of his generals have all gone missing. They are probably hiding in the supply wagon. Should we intercept them?"

[Zhang Shouren's rebellious intentions have become apparent; please make a swift decision, host.]

[1. Choose to recall the five generals to intercept Zhang Shouren. The reward is three thousand Xuanjia cavalry, commanded by Qin Qiong, who is at the early stage of the Innate Realm.]

[2. Choose to let things run their course, release the tiger back into the mountain, and reward high-yield crops]

"I choose two."

High-yield crops are stored in the system space.

"Brother, the next time we meet, it will be a fight to the death."

Zhang Shouren has done nothing yet, and Chen Futu doesn't want to be branded as a fratricide.

Half a day later, the supply and grain convoy left Longguan. After they left, Chen Futu bestowed the mansions of those people upon several of his generals.

Zhang Shouren quickly learned of the news, and his expression was incredibly interesting. "So the Crown Prince did this on purpose. The next time we meet will probably be on the battlefield."

"That kid's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Next time we meet, I'll definitely kill that red-faced man to avenge my comrades!"

"Yes, that kid is just born into a good family; he has no chance of holding onto the position of Prince of Zhenbei."

Many of his soldiers were resentful.

Zhang Shouren didn't say much, but urged his men to hurry on their way back to Tianyun Pass as soon as possible so they could have peace of mind.

In Longcheng, Qin Liangyu and her men did indeed go to suppress the bandits.

The northern border region is mountainous and rife with bandits. The mountain strongholds are rich in silver, money, and provisions, so why not take advantage of them?

Moreover, the 50,000 soldiers of Longcheng suffered heavy losses in the last major battle with Yan Sheng, and some surrendered soldiers were added to their ranks, so they need to be trained and integrated.

Zhang Liang asked Chen Futu, "Aren't you afraid that Yan Sheng will rebel?"

“Yan Sheng’s family has been invited to Longcheng by General Qin. Yan Sheng is not a traitor and will not rebel.”

Chen Futu and Yan Sheng did not meet often, but from the other's behavior, it could be seen that he was a kind and honest man. Moreover, when the Prince of Zhenbei was alive, the two had a good relationship.

Yan Sheng may not agree with the court's decision, otherwise he wouldn't have hesitated so long before launching his military campaign.

On the other side, the imperial court of the Great Qian Dynasty was filled with murderous intent, and all the officials shrank back, not daring to utter a sound.

On his way back north, Chen Futu repeatedly defeated the Daqian army, launched a night raid on Fushui Pass, broke through the three formations of Beiwu, and ambushed Yan Sheng's 100,000-strong army at Kaiyang Pass, making him famous throughout the world.

The old emperor could no longer contain himself and glared at his ministers: "Useless! All of you are useless! You can't even deal with a single traitor!"

The officials were speechless.

Who can blame this?

If it weren't for the imperial authority's concern that Chen Futu and his several powerful generals would have already belonged to the court.

Furthermore, neither Daqian nor Beiwu had ever fought against them.

"Tell me, Chen Futu has already established his power, what should we do now?"

The old emperor paced back and forth with a gloomy face.

He could not sleep peacefully as long as Chen Futu lived.

One official suggested, "It would be better to send envoys to Beiwu and Hudi, and have them jointly send troops. Then the imperial court can send troops to attack the northern frontier, leaving Chen Futu unable to attend to both ends."

"absurd!"

Sun Chengzong, the Prince of Kaiping, stepped forward angrily, “If Chen Futu is defeated, the northern border will be wide open. At that time, the Hu and Bei Wu will join forces, and you want to cause the Central Plains to be filled with bloodshed!”

"King of Kaiping, then you should come up with a plan!"

"Yes, this is a matter for your military merits. What's the use of saying nice things if you can't share His Majesty's burdens!"

Civil officials seized the opportunity to attack the military clique, creating chaos and disorder in the court.

Sun Chengzong's head was buzzing.

The old emperor suddenly said, "I intend to unite with the kingdoms of the Western Regions to send troops."

Three countries in the Western Regions bordered the Great Qian Dynasty: the Western Zhao, the Longman, and the Shi Kingdom.

Of these three countries, Shi and Longman are the strongest, while Xizhao is the weakest.

The emperor of Western Zhao was a woman named Zhao Xi'er. She was a capable ruler, though not very good at military affairs, but she was very good at the economy.

None of the officials had any objections upon hearing this. The next step was to discuss who should be sent to the Western Regions.

Sun Chengzong pressed further, "What benefits does Your Majesty intend to promise?"

Countries won't send troops if there's no benefit to them.

The old emperor said in a deep voice, "I don't mind ceding northern lands to them."

"His Majesty!"

"King of Kaiping, don't be anxious. What I mean is that with some maneuvering, we can make them fight like dogs."

The old emperor's smile was inscrutable, and all the officials fell silent, then went to prepare for their mission.

At the same time, news of Beiwu's defeat also reached Princess Liu Longyue of Beiwu.