The carefree sixth prince, my father respectfully invites me to ascend the throne.

Yang Ling's face remained expressionless. He slowly stood up, dusted himself off, and said calmly, "Drag him away."

Soon, soldiers dragged the magistrate's body away, while Yang Ling slowly walked to the tallest seat in the county government office and sat down.

"Issue my order to place the entire city under martial law, and at the same time send an envoy with the county magistrate's head to the Chu Emperor."

Yang Ling looked at the map in his hand. The territory of the Chu Kingdom was neither too large nor too small. Since there was already a dispute, he naturally would not stop.

"Your Highness, why are we making such a big show of it? Won't this invite retaliation from the surrounding countries?"

Huang Chaowei's voice came from behind Yang Ling. Yang Ling turned her head to look at him, her eyes flashing with an inexplicable light.

"Retaliation? Do you think I'm afraid of their retaliation right now?"

Yang Ling smiled dismissively. With the truth in his hands, what did he have to fear?

"If they know what's good for them, I can let them live."

A cold glint appeared in Yang Ling's eyes. From now on, he would embark on a path of aggression and expansion, and anyone who dared to resist would have virtually no chance of survival.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside, as if someone had arrived.

"Your Highness, someone wishes to see you, claiming to be an old friend of yours."

Yang Ling nodded, gave some instructions, and soon saw two familiar figures walk into the hall.

"Why are you here?"

Upon seeing who had entered, Yang Ling was taken aback, for it was none other than the Zhao brothers, Zhao Ren and Zhao Yi, with whom he had previously spoken.

"Your Highness, I rushed here as soon as I heard that you had attacked the State of Chu."

Zhao Ren and Zhao Yi looked at Yang Ling with excitement on their faces.

"Your Highness's courage is truly extraordinary. I admire it. If Your Highness needs my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."

Zhao Ren and Zhao Yi clasped their hands in a fist salute to Yang Ling, their faces serious.

Yang Ling waved his hand, gesturing for them to sit down. These two were both rather steady individuals, and he was quite surprised that they had come to seek refuge with him.

“Your Highness, we have decided to follow you. Please accept us.”

The two brothers, Zhao Ren and Zhao Yi, knelt on the ground and solemnly said.

Yang Ling blinked, then smiled and reached out to help the two of them up.

"It would be best if you could come and seek refuge with me."

Zhao Ren and Zhao Yi exchanged a glance, and their eyes immediately reddened, tears streaming down their faces.

"Thank you, Your Highness! We will swear to serve you to the death!"

A smile appeared on Yang Ling's face as she helped the two people to their seats.

"Of course I trust you. From now on, you will live a life of luxury by following me. I will definitely not treat you unfairly."

Yang Ling's face was full of satisfaction, and she liked the two people in front of her even more.

"We brothers may not have any other skills, but we are incredibly strong. We guarantee that Your Highness can sweep across the world and establish a peaceful and prosperous era!"

Zhao Ren and Zhao Yi patted their chests and assured each other, their faces flushed, clearly very excited.

Yang Ling's lips twitched slightly. He sighed inwardly, thinking that these two had far too ambitious goals, but he liked them.

"Your Highness, although the State of Chu is not large, it occupies the entire southwest. If we can control this region, we will be even more powerful."

Huang Chaowei looked at Yang Ling, his eyes revealing a deep ambition.

Yang Ling nodded slightly. According to the normal historical logic, the current Chu Kingdom is equivalent to the southwestern Sichuan region.

He traveled to this world and found that apart from the different history, everything else was exactly the same.

In other words, the State of Chu possesses the most fertile land on the entire continent. If they could conquer the entire State of Chu, they would truly have no worries about food and drink.

"Your Highness, what should we do to conquer the State of Chu?"

The Zhao brothers, Ren and Yi, looked at Yang Ling with expectant expressions and asked.

Yang Ling stroked his chin, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Let's negotiate with that dog emperor first. If he's willing to submit willingly, that's fine. But if he dares to resist, then we'll march south!"

"Your Highness is wise!"

The two brothers, Zhao Ren and Zhao Yi, immediately gave Yang Ling a thumbs up and looked at her with admiration.

……

"Your Majesty, what should we do?!"

The King of Chu sat on the dragon throne, with two rows of officials standing in front of him, all looking at him with tense expressions.

The situation in the State of Chu is now extremely precarious. If Yang Linghui marches south, the entire State of Chu will likely fall, and all its people will become slaves.

"Your Majesty, we should withdraw our troops as soon as possible. If we wait until Yang Ling leads his army south, it may be too late!"

The old prime minister on the other side also frowned and offered his advice.

"Withdraw your troops? Why should I withdraw my troops?"

The King of Chu stared angrily at the crowd below, his eyes bloodshot. His hands were clenched into fists.

"How could I possibly hand over my empire to someone else! So what if he's Yang Ling? He's just a lone wolf. I have countless generals. Do you think I'd be afraid of him?!"

His tone was icy, as if he were about to devour someone.

Upon hearing the words of the King of Chu, the officials exchanged glances, a hint of hesitation flashing in their eyes.

"Your Majesty, our country is currently in dire straits, and another battle would likely result in heavy losses!"

The old prime minister couldn't help but advise that Yang Ling's strength was unknown, but it was enough to threaten the safety of the Chu Kingdom. If they were to confront him head-on, they would have no hope of victory.

The King of Chu looked at the old prime minister, his gaze gradually turning gloomy. "Prime Minister, I know you are all thinking of Chu, and I understand your concerns. However, I absolutely cannot give up the kingdom I have worked so hard to build. I will fight Yang Ling to the death!"

He spat out those words through gritted teeth, each word spoken with force and conviction.

"Think twice, Your Majesty!"

The officials hurriedly tried to dissuade him, saying that if the State of Chu were truly annexed by Yang Ling, how could they face their ancestors?

The King of Chu snorted coldly and left the palace with a flick of his sleeve.

The ministers all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the King of Chu leave, but the prime minister still had a frown on his face.

"You all saw His Majesty's attitude just now. If we don't find a way to stop Yang Ling from going south, our Chu Kingdom will surely be destroyed. Does anyone have a solution?"

The prime minister's gaze fell upon the assembled ministers, who all lowered their heads, not daring to look at him. They had no good ideas whatsoever.

"I've heard that the Liang court and the Ninth Prince are at odds. Why don't we use this opportunity to put pressure on the Ninth Prince?"

Suddenly, an older minister raised his head sharply, his eyes gleaming, and said loudly.

The others instantly realized what was happening and all looked at the minister with deep respect on their faces.