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

"Defeated? How could they have lost?"

Liu Longyue stared at the battle report in silence for a long time.

Although she had heard about the happenings in the northern frontier, seeing the battle reports with her own eyes brought her a different feeling.

"Could the White-Spear Soldiers really be that powerful? And what about that Tiger and Leopard Cavalry? I've never even heard of them." The attendant's expression was complicated.

Now that the Northern Martial Envoy has arrived in Daqian, the atmosphere in the capital is becoming more and more eerie.

Beiwu and Daqian suffered repeated defeats, while the morale of Beijiang was high. If they were not suppressed, it would not benefit either side.

Thinking of this, the attendant whispered, "Princess, why not join forces with the Great Qian and attack the Northern Frontier from both inside and outside? We might succeed."

Liu Longyue sneered, "You're overthinking it. The old emperor is just old and frail, not insane. If he were to join forces with us, wouldn't he be hesitant to act rashly?"

"Did he even have a choice?"

"The three kingdoms of the Western Regions are quite strong. If we unite with them and attack the important towns in the east and west of the northern frontier respectively, we might have a chance."

“The kingdoms of the Western Regions are not stupid. Without sufficient benefits, who would dare to confront Chen Futu head-on?”

"It would be better if they fought each other to the death, so that our Northern Wu army and people would have a chance to break through the Dragon Pass and march into the Central Plains."

……

For a full two weeks, Chen Futu was busy with Longcheng's government affairs.

As expected, agricultural reform and the integration of land tax and poll tax faced great resistance. Some merchants and aristocratic families even secretly raised grain prices in retaliation against Chen Futu's policies.

When Qin Liangyu and her men returned from suppressing the bandits and heard this news, they were so angry they wanted to lead their troops to kill the bandits.

Zhang Liang intervened, saying, "Generals, killing people won't solve the problem. The circulation of goods is inseparable from merchants."

“Zifang is right, so I want you to publicize this to the outside world.”

Chen Futu revealed his entire plan.

In short, by establishing development zones, wealthy merchant families could change their lowly status by donating money and land.

In addition, they will be given certain preferential treatment.

Zhang Liang listened quietly from the side, his eyes growing brighter and brighter in the end.

"Excellent! This way, we won't have to worry about them clinging to money, grain, and land. This move is unprecedented, and once it's announced to the world, the northern frontier will surely become a place that merchants flock to."

The generals didn't quite understand what they were hearing, but they were deeply moved.

By using the removal of merchants from the lowly status as a bargaining chip, Chen Futu was able to attract merchants to willingly contribute money and effort. He even indirectly demonstrated his determination to the world that once he conquered the world, the status of merchants would be changed, and in that case, there would be no fear of not having enough money and supplies to go to war.

I'm afraid those merchants would sell their pots and pans to support Chen Futu's quest for control of the Central Plains.

As expected, with the issuance of the new policy, the once bustling Dragon City suddenly quieted down, and then batches of merchants came to the Prince's Mansion, wanting to see the Crown Prince.

Chen Futu ordered Zhang Liang to set up a Ministry of Commerce to specifically receive merchants and to erect a merit stele to inscribe their names as a reward.

The most generous businessmen either donated new technologies or did business directly with the Ministry of Commerce to obtain distribution agency rights.

In just a few days, Longcheng swept away its previous slump, with the Ministry of Commerce raising 15 million taels of silver and acquiring countless land deeds.

Zhang Liang specifically recruited many capable individuals to assist in handling government affairs.

Previously, the displaced people and impoverished people from the surrounding areas who were recruited during the bandit suppression campaign could directly participate in the construction of the development zone, and the wages were quite high.

Moreover, high-yield crops were subsequently promoted.

In about a month, Longcheng was completely transformed.

Zhang Shouren, who was far away in Tianyun City, looked astonished when he heard the news.

He had previously thought that Chen Futu's reckless actions would create chaos in Longcheng, but now it seemed that he was the real clown.

Even due to the new crops and development zones, other major towns sent people to Longcheng to meet the Crown Prince, hoping to promote them in their territories.

This is an overwhelming trend. Even if some officials are unwilling, the wealthy merchants and households under their jurisdiction are all fueling it. They don't want to watch the merchants of Longcheng drink and eat meat while they can't even get a sip of soup.

"Report! Your Highness, there's been some activity in the Western Regions!"

The military intelligence reached Chen Futu.

It concerns the alliance between Longman, Shiguo, and Daqian.

Both countries mobilized 30,000 elite troops to jointly attack the western part of the northern border, while the Great Qian Dynasty dispatched 200,000 troops, intending to recapture Kaiyang Pass and its subordinate Kaiyang City.

After carefully reading the battle report, Zhang Liang said, "It seems they are not a united front either."

The Shi Kingdom and the Longman Kingdom are not weak, and their armies are more than this. The fact that the two countries only sent 30,000 troops is more symbolic than practical. Their main purpose is to contain some of the troops in the northern border region and to see if the Great Qian Kingdom can win on the main battlefield. If they win, the two countries will definitely go all out to divide up the northern border region. But if they lose, they will retreat.

Qin Liangyu asked suspiciously, "Would Zhang Shouren agree to defend the western battlefield?"

"General Zhang will agree."

Chen Futu understood Zhang Shouren's mindset; his choice to leave Longcheng was to preserve his strength and accumulate power.

As an outstanding commander who had followed the Prince of Zhenbei for many years, how could he not see that there was no need to fight on the western battlefield? Both sides only needed to set up their formations and wait for the outcome on the eastern battlefield.

This was not only an opportunity to gain merit without exerting any effort, but also an opportunity for Zhang Shouren himself. It goes without saying what it would mean if Chen Futu suffered a defeat on the eastern battlefield.

Zhang Liang said solemnly, "In my opinion, Zhang Shouren will inevitably control the troops of Tianyun Pass and the two surrounding generals. Their total strength is about 120,000, while the Crown Prince can only spare a maximum of 30,000 from Longcheng. Long Pass, Yanbei Pass, and Fushui also need to defend against surprise attacks from the northern enemies, so the troops transferred will not exceed 60,000. Including our own troops, our total strength for this eastern expedition will be at most 100,000."

The Great Qian Empire is advancing with overwhelming force; the eastern battlefield is in grave danger.

[1. Choose Zhang Liang as commander-in-chief to lead the generals to rescue Kaiyang. Reward: 3,000 Xuanjia cavalry, commanding general Qin Qiong, rank: early stage of Xiantian.]

[2. Choose to ignore it, and you'll get the Yangguan Pass for free. You won't feel bad about losing it. The reward is the "Coward" title.]

[3. Choosing to personally lead the eastern campaign will result in a rank upgrade, one opportunity to use someone else to do your dirty work, and the combined strength of two tigers.]

[Using a borrowed knife to kill: When used on a target, it can cause the target to die accidentally within 24 hours. The host's intelligence must be far superior to the target's.]

【Power of Two Tigers: As the name suggests, the host's strength is enhanced, granting them the ability to fight across ranks.

"To kill someone with a borrowed knife, one needs to be far more intelligent than the other party to succeed. The emperor is an old fox, and I dare not say that my intelligence is far superior to his."

Chen Futu felt it was a pity, and then asked, "Who is the commander of this Great Qian Dynasty?"

"Marquis of Annam, Jia Pingchuan."

Yan Sheng spoke with a grim face, and Li Huaifeng and the others' expressions changed drastically. "Oh no, it's actually him!"

"Oh? What's so special about him?"

"This man once served as the commander of the Southern Frontier. He was a Xiantian Realm expert in his early years and was able to suppress the chaos in that region for eight years. Now, several years have passed, and his strength has only increased. Our army may be his match!"