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

Zhang Liang left the northern frontier; he was going to the capital to personally carry out the mission of sowing discord between the Northern Wu and the Great Qian.

Chen Futu remained in the northern frontier to vigorously develop people's livelihoods and build the northern frontier into a powerful force.

"Your Highness, a document has been sent from the Western Zhao."

The messenger arrived at the Prince's mansion in a hurry. Chen Futu curiously opened the letter and saw a scroll of elegant and delicate handwriting.

The letter was sent by the ruler of Western Zhao, the legendary Zhao Xi'er.

It is said that Zhao Xier was a ruthless person. During the struggle for the crown prince, a prince planned to sacrifice her and send her to another country for a marriage alliance. However, she killed that brother and then plotted to make the crown princes fight each other to the death. In the end, they all died, and she ascended to the throne.

She wasn't very good at military affairs, but she was an unparalleled genius in politics and business.

The letter's meaning was quite simple. Zhao Xier first stated her position, declaring that she had no ill intentions towards Northern Xinjiang, and even expressed her hope to deepen cooperation with Northern Xinjiang, such as through commercial exchanges, where she could sell warhorses.

The warhorses of the Western Regions are renowned for their quality.

Despite Chen Futu's command of the White-Spear Soldiers, the Women's Army, and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the northern frontier actually has very few warhorse reserves. The vast majority of them were used up in the war waged by the Prince of Zhenbei.

In addition, the letter also revealed the national strength of the Longman and Shi Kingdoms as Zhao Xier had investigated, as a sign of sincerity.

"Zhao Xier is quite an interesting person."

Chen Futu gave the letter to Qin Liangyu.

After reading it, Qin Liangyu said, "She is afraid that the prince will one day take troops to retaliate against the Western Regions, so she is showing goodwill in advance to avoid being caught in the crossfire."

"The top priority in the Northern Frontier is to develop people's livelihood and enhance its overall strength. The primary enemy is the Great Qian Dynasty. I have no plans to launch a military campaign against the West for the time being. Please write her a letter for me, saying that I am very interested in the warhorses of the Western Regions. If this ruler trusts the Northern Frontier, she should come and discuss cooperation in person and see if she has the guts."

Qin Liangyu suddenly realized what was happening and immediately began writing a letter.

Next, Chen Futu summoned people from the Commerce Department and the Ministry of Agriculture to inquire about the recent situation in northern Xinjiang.

These two departments were officially finalized by him recently.

The head of the Commerce Department was named Feng Cheng, and the head of the Agriculture Department was named Li Xun. Both of them were talents discovered by Zhang Liang in the northern frontier.

Li Xun said, "The Crown Prince dispatched a large army to sweep away the bandits around Longcheng. In addition, with your illustrious reputation on the battlefield, many people who could not survive in Daqian came to join us. There are about 30,000 people. According to the decree you issued, the Ministry of Agriculture divided the land and acreage, and the poll tax was integrated into the land tax. The Commerce Department then helped them build their homes. The people around Longcheng have all settled down."

Feng Cheng, who was standing nearby, chimed in, "The construction of the development zone is progressing smoothly. Merchants admire the Crown Prince's achievements and have increased their confidence in the Northern Frontier. Some merchants from Daqian have come to do business, hoping to get a share of the profits from the development zone's construction."

"Tell them that with the stabilization of the northern border, a series of commercial plans will be launched. If they are interested, they should show their sincerity. Also, you should set up a price control department for me based on the existing commercial department."

The meeting lasted for a long time, and by the time Chen Futu had seen off the two officials, it was time for lunch.

It's been a long time since Chen Futu has had a proper stroll around Dragon City, and he wonders how Dong Xian'er is doing.

Chen Futu led Dian Wei out, and his personal guard said, "Miss Dong Xian'er has been taken to a house in Pingkang Ward. Because of Miss Dong's reputation, many young men from noble families have come to visit her. Dong Xian'er has not met any men, but she has made friends with many young ladies from prominent families."

Chen Futu chuckled inwardly, "My sister, she's always hanging out with Dong Xian'er?"

"Yes, Miss hosted a banquet today and invited many sons and daughters of high-ranking officials and nobles to participate."

"That girl really can't stay still."

Chen Futu rarely had time, so he decided to go and take a look, but he didn't want to make a fuss about it and just treated it as an ordinary guest.

Inside Pingkangfang was Miaoyin Garden. When the two arrived, they heard laughter and cheerful voices, as well as the melodious sounds of zithers and lutes.

During the banquet, dozens of young men raised their glasses, exchanged toasts, and recited poems.

Chen Yuling sat firmly at the head of the table with an air of elegance, while Dong Xian'er quietly accompanied her, her beauty attracting much attention.

Chen Yuling was, after all, the daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo. Her appearance was in no way inferior to Dong Xian'er's, and she also possessed a sharp and heroic spirit that Dong Xian'er lacked. The young men from noble families looked at her with amazement.

There were empty seats in the garden, so Chen Futu led Dian Wei to find a random spot, and Dian Wei started eating voraciously as soon as he sat down.

To him, the literary works recited by the scions of noble families were like farts; he couldn't understand them anyway, and rice was much more practical.

"Miss Chen, the young master has decisively defeated two armies. I wonder if he will launch another military campaign?"

A refined young man asked with a smile.

Chen Futu frowned; how dare they inquire about such a thing so casually?

Chen Yuling pouted and said, "Today we'll only talk about romance and nothing else. Besides, I don't understand matters of state."

Chen Futu was fairly satisfied with this answer. If this younger sister were to reveal all the political affairs of the Northern Frontier, she would be far too brainless. Moreover, the identity of the young man who spoke was suspicious.

Chen Futu gave a look to the guard outside the door, who then secretly memorized the young master's appearance so that he could investigate him after the banquet.

"It's a pity that we didn't have the chance to see General Qin and General Li's beautiful faces."

Then someone else spoke up, mentioning Qin Liangyu and Li Xiuning, and the scene gradually became noisy.

Chen Futu overheard that these people were very fond of the two female generals, and some even wrote a poem on the spot to express their feelings.

Dian Wei, gnawing on a roast goose, mumbled, "A toad trying to eat swan meat, all talk and no action."

"Who are you calling a toad!"

Dian Wei had a loud voice, and when several young noblemen heard what he said, their faces turned green.

Even if they are toads, you can't say it out loud!

The young ladies from prominent families present suppressed their laughter as they watched Chen Futu and Dian Wei begin to whisper among themselves to their best friends.

When Chen Yuling and Dong Xian'er saw Chen Futu, their eyes lit up. Just as they were about to get up, Chen Futu shook his head, signaling them to be quiet.

Since returning from the capital and experiencing numerous life-or-death battles, Chen Futu's temperament has changed considerably.

Most of the noble families present had never seen the Prince of Zhenbei's heir before, and even if they had, they wouldn't have recognized him.

Chen Futu wanted to take this opportunity to see if there were any capable young people among them.

Dian Wei waved the roast goose and shouted, "What's wrong? Calling you toads is an understatement. You dare to criticize General Qin and General Li? Don't you even know your place?"

"you!"

"ordinary man!"

“You are so vulgar and crude that we are ashamed to associate with you.”

Dian Wei was just a warrior. He didn't care what these noblemen thought. He kept calling him a toad, which made the group of young nobles want to hit him, but they didn't dare to act rashly because he was too big.

Chen Futu gave him a wink, and Dian Wei immediately stood up. "Don't say I'm bullying you. I'll give you a handicap. Whoever can last three moves will get a chance to meet General Qin and General Li."

Such outrageous remarks caused an uproar among the audience, and a group of scions of prominent families were particularly indignant.