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

The journey to the northern frontier is long and arduous.

Before long, news of Chen Futu's success in passing the test will spread throughout the capital.

To ensure their return to the northern frontier, the four generals agreed to first cross the northern mountain range and then take a detour through Guanzhong to make other plans.

"We must hurry on our way and quickly shake off our pursuers."

Chen Futu ordered Gao Shun to lead the enemy troops to cover the rear, while he and four generals cleared the way ahead.

In the battle to capture the city, more than 100 of the 800 guards were lost, and more than ten of the elite troops were lost.

It's a pity we couldn't collect the bodies of our fallen soldiers.

We'll settle this debt another day!

……

The atmosphere in the imperial palace was oppressive.

"Report——"

"Your Majesty! Chen Futu, leading his personal guards and heavily armored soldiers who suddenly appeared, killed Sun Jingming, the general guarding the North Gate, and hung his head on the city wall of the North Gate!"

A city guard rushed over to report the news, and his words silenced the entire Golden Palace.

"how come!"

"A good-for-nothing playboy has absolutely no chance of escaping!"

"Chen Futu is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He actually deployed heavily armored soldiers in the important city of the capital, which shows that he has long harbored rebellious intentions."

The officials were in an uproar, both shocked and furious.

The claim that he defamed Princess Beiwu was completely fabricated. Everyone knew that the emperor dared to slander him because he was certain that Chen Futu was helpless and could not escape, and would have to bear the false accusation and die in the capital in a miserable state.

So he ran away?

The old emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, exuding an imposing aura without anger, but his clenched knuckles betrayed his inner rage.

"Gentlemen, Chen Fu has massacred the city gates and fled in fear of punishment. What should we do?"

What to do?

The officials sneered inwardly, knowing that the emperor wanted to see their attitude.

An official then stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, you should immediately order a pursuit and proclaim Chen Futu's crimes to the world, so that everyone can see what kind of person the Prince of Zhenbei has given birth to!"

"That's right. If this boy isn't eliminated, the court will lose face. He should be stripped of his title as Prince of Zhenbei!"

Since ancient times, civil and military officials have been at odds. The Prince of Zhenbei died, and his son rebelled. What is the point of retaining his title?

The emperor was immediately satisfied with the suggestions given by the assembled officials.

Unexpectedly, Sun Chengzong, the Prince of Kaiping, stepped forward with a grim expression and said, "Your Majesty, although Chen Futu is a traitor, the merits of the Prince of Zhenbei are undeniable. Your Majesty should not let the soldiers in the north lose heart. You should quickly issue an edict to strip Chen Futu of his title as heir apparent, and then order the northern region to capture the traitor and bring him back to the capital."

The emperor pondered for a moment, then issued several orders.

First, three thousand cavalrymen were dispatched to pursue Chen Futu.

Secondly, an order was issued to the world that Chen Futu had betrayed the court and was a traitor, and that he would be stripped of his title and punished accordingly, effective immediately.

Third, summon a general from the northern frontier to take over military command and have the garrison assist in capturing the thieves.

The first two edicts were feasible, but the officials had differing opinions on the third.

The northern frontier is the territory under the rule of the Prince of Zhenbei, and a single imperial edict and a general may not be effective.

Meanwhile, Chen Futu and his group marched deep into the foothills, deliberately concealing their tracks along the way.

During their night camp, the nameless thirteen soldiers finally returned from the capital, bringing back intelligence.

"What? Stripped of their titles!"

The four generals' expressions changed drastically.

Chen Futu said in a deep voice, "I would like to trouble Uncle Zhou and Uncle Zhao to travel light and return to the northern frontier as soon as possible to prevent any unforeseen events."

"Alright, we'll set off right away."

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Ziyi and Zhao Xianming set off overnight and returned to the northern frontier.

Accompanying him were six of the thirteen elite soldiers. Chen Futu had ordered them to go so that they could secretly keep an eye on the other generals in the northern frontier.

Inside the tent, a campfire blazed, but Li Huaifeng and Wu Shangde appeared deeply worried.

The emperor's edict stripped Chen Futu of his title, which would be detrimental to his future control of the northern frontier. The main problem was that he had no merits to his name and had lost his royal title. What should he do?

Chen Futu forcibly suppressed his anger and smiled at the two men, "Uncle Li, Uncle Wu, those are just empty titles. The Northern Frontier has always been governed by my father, and the Great Qian Dynasty has never shown any favor to the Northern Frontier. I'm afraid the soldiers have long been dissatisfied. Now the old emperor is stubborn and doesn't care about past favors. He even wants to exterminate the bloodline of the Prince of Zhenbei. How can the people accept this?"

Li Huaifeng and Wu Shangde looked surprised upon hearing this.

The battle in Beicheng revealed that His Highness the Crown Prince is quite shrewd, and his ability to remain calm and composed in the face of adversity is reminiscent of his father.

Furthermore, Chen Futu addressed them as "uncle," which, even if intended as a way to win them over, was quite pleasing to them.

With the Prince of Zhenbei gone, Chen Futu is the only leader in the northern frontier, and none of the Ten Great Generals can replace him.

Thinking of this, Li Huaifeng said solemnly, "The day you return to the northern frontier will be the day Your Highness succeeds as the Prince of Zhenbei."

"The imperial court is heartless and ruthless, but we old folks can't stand by and watch them humiliate the bloodline of the Grand Marshal."

Wu Shangde also expressed his opinion.

Chen Futu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he proved his potential by personally killing Sun Jingming; otherwise, the matter of the old emperor stripping him of his title would have been difficult to handle.

Of course, this alone is not enough; he must also demonstrate to the two generals that he has the ambition to become king.

The following morning, a scout reported that the 3,000 men of the Hundred Cavalry Division had gone straight to Guanzhong, clearly missing the pursuit route.

Chen Futu ignored him and ordered the procession to continue.

After another two days of travel, news suddenly arrived that there were several hundred bandits blocking the road ahead.

A large group of people had gathered on the mountain path, all of them emaciated and carrying a variety of weapons. These were not bandits, but a group of people who could not survive.

Li Huaifeng ignored all that and immediately ordered preparations for battle, instantly filling the mountains and forests with a chilling atmosphere.

Chen Futu frowned and objected, "No!"

"Why?"

“The court is tyrannical, and the people are suffering greatly. If they could survive, they wouldn’t gather together.”

Chen Futu was telling the truth. Although he had been living in seclusion in the capital for many years and had not entered officialdom, he was well aware of how serious the land annexation was.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that "beasts feast on the throne and rotten wood holds official positions in the imperial court."

“But they are all commoners of the Great Qian Dynasty,” Wu Shangde also reminded them in a deep voice.

Chen Futu shook his head and said, "Uncles, do you want to hear me say, 'I am a traitor, what does the world have to do with me?'"

"Ah this..."

The two generals looked at each other, and saw the shock in each other's eyes.

They certainly wanted His Highness the Crown Prince to be a benevolent ruler, but unfortunately, the timing was not right.

Ding!

The court was tyrannical, the people suffered, and they turned to banditry.

[1. Choose to eliminate bandits and maintain peace in the region; reward: crossbow manufacturing blueprint]

[2. Choose to deter bandits and travel through a pass; reward: cement manufacturing method]

[3. Choose to appease the bandits and solve their livelihood problems; the reward is "The Barefoot Doctor's Manual"]

The system notification came suddenly, and Chen Futu's heart raced. Without hesitation, he made his choice, "I choose three!"

The Barefoot Doctor's Manual is one of the three essential guides for time travelers. With it, you can quickly accumulate reputation!

[The reward has been issued and is currently stored in the system space. The host can retrieve it at any time.]

"Gentlemen, I am the heir apparent of the Prince of Zhenbei."

Chen Futu clasped his hands in greeting to the people, his face full of warm smiles, showing no airs of a high-ranking noble.

Sure enough, the people's expressions changed upon hearing the name of the Prince of Zhenbei.

An elderly man stepped forward with faltering steps, his cloudy eyes filled with emptiness and numbness. "Your Highness, please save us."

"Yes, Your Highness, if it weren't for corrupt officials who levy exorbitant taxes, we wouldn't be able to survive, and we wouldn't have done such a thing."

"Your Highness, please have mercy."