Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

On the night the dispute over the unpaid wages broke out, Li Ye couldn't sit still and went to the official residence to ask Shen Lang for help.

Things have developed to this point, and are completely out of Li Ye's control.

If the soldiers of the Dongzhou camp are allowed to continue causing trouble, and if someone instigates them, the army will start to storm the city gates, and the capital and even the entire Shu Prefecture will face annihilation.

Currently, within the entire capital, only Shen Lang has the ability to quell this rebellion.

Even with his eyes closed, Li Ye knew that only Shen Lang had enough provisions to stabilize the morale of the army.

"Duke Zhenguo, you are aware of the situation at the Dongzhou camp. I have no other choice."

"I have no choice but to swallow my pride and beg you for help, hoping to obtain some grain from your territory to calm the morale of the Dongzhou army."

Li Ye adopted a very humble attitude, unlike when they first met, when he was full of probing questions.

Shen Lang glanced at him. In just one month, Li Ye's spirits were far worse than when they first met.

Clearly, the events that have occurred during this period have overwhelmed him and even exceeded his own limits.

Seeing this, Shen Lang no longer concealed his thoughts: "Lord Li, let me tell you the truth, I have plenty of grain, as much as you need!"

"Let alone a single camp in Dongzhou, I can feed the entire army and civilians of Shu."

Li Ye cupped his hands in thanks: "Then I thank the Duke of Zhenguo for his generosity. On behalf of the entire army, I thank the Duke of Zhenguo..."

"Wait a minute!"

Shen Lang stopped Li Ye from expressing his gratitude.

"I haven't finished speaking yet. Before distributing the grain, I have a question I'd like to ask Lord Li."

"Whatever you wish to ask, Duke Zhenguo, please speak freely."

Shen Lang's eyes turned cold: "The imperial court allows the King of Shu to command a maximum of 50,000 troops, so why does the Dongzhou camp alone have 530,000 soldiers?"

"May I ask you, Lord Li, what exactly does the Prince intend to do?"

Li Ye's heart tightened. Was Shen Lang planning to reveal his hand directly?

"Lord Zhenguo, I am only in charge of local government affairs and do not know much about military matters."

"what."

Shen Lang chuckled dryly and simply flicked his sleeve.

"Fifty thousand and five hundred and thirty thousand, that's a tenfold difference. And in this land of abundance, Sichuan, we haven't heard of any rebels."

There's no fighting on the border, so why does the King of Shu need to maintain so many soldiers?

Li Ye's eyelids twitched violently. He was about to offer an explanation when Shen Lang continued, "Rumors are flying everywhere, saying that King Jiang Chong of Shu is holding considerable military power, with 700,000 troops ready to storm the capital and seize the throne at any moment."

I originally thought this was just someone deliberately trying to sow discord between the Prince and His Majesty. How could the Prince of Shu possibly have so many soldiers?

Now it seems that 700,000 people is not an exaggeration at all. The total registered population of the entire Shu Commandery is only about 7.2 million.

Soldiers made up a full ten percent of the population, placing such a heavy burden on the people of Shu County. The purpose of this, besides inciting rebellion, was...

I really can't think of any other reason, Li Ye. Give me the truth, Jiang Chong, are you going to rebel?

Meeting Shen Lang's all-seeing gaze, Li Ye felt a chill run through him.

This statement, seemingly asking Jiang Chong whether he would rebel, is actually giving himself a choice.

The choice was whether to follow the imperial court or continue to support the King of Shu.

After a brief silence, Li Ye directly admitted: "That's right, the King of Shu does indeed harbor rebellious intentions. Over the years, he has been recruiting soldiers and horses, sparing no expense in the wealth of Shu."

His goal was to one day return to the capital and inherit the great cause.

The King of Shu once said that the throne should have been his, but the Empress interfered, causing the imperial artifact to be lost.

"His Majesty ascended the throne at the young age of sixteen, and he has no capable people by his side. What can he use to compete with the King of Shu?"

Li Ye shook his head: "Duke Zhenguo, you were not in the palace when the succession struggle took place in the capital, so it's normal that you don't know what was happening there."

My father once said that in the struggle for the throne among the seven princes, His Majesty is the true beneficiary. It was His Majesty who deceived the late Emperor, leading to the tragic fratricide within the imperial palace!

"what……"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang couldn't help but chuckle.

When the struggle for the throne among the seven princes broke out, Jiang Mengxuan had just returned from the Zixia Sect and was only eleven years old.

How could an eleven-year-old girl possibly have the ability to dictate the course of the struggle for the throne among the seven princes?

It seems that Li Ye really cannot be allowed to live.

He actually started to drive a wedge between himself and his wife!

Li Ye shook his head. He could tell from Shen Lang's posture that he didn't believe him, so he wisely changed the subject.

"Please don't be offended, Lord Zhenguo. What I just said was only heard from others, so please pretend you didn't hear it."

"Although Your Highness harbored rebellious intentions, that was a few years ago. I admit that Your Highness initially gathered so many troops in order to seize the imperial artifact."

However, in recent years, the Chu state has been growing stronger, and His Majesty is a ruler who has revitalized the state. The King of Shu knows that he can no longer contend with His Majesty.

These extra troops are merely for securing their own wealth and power.

After all, if His Majesty cannot tolerate the King of Shu, the King of Shu can only try to protect himself, but he would certainly not raise an army in rebellion.

Shen Lang fiddled with the beads in his hand, not believing Li Ye's words at all.

"Regardless of the circumstances, according to the laws of the Great Chu, what crime should a local vassal king be charged with for privately recruiting soldiers without the permission of the imperial court?"

"They shall be stripped of their titles and demoted to the lowest social class; in severe cases, they shall be beheaded and their property confiscated!"

"Then tell me, what crime should Jiang Chong be charged with?"

Shen Lang adopted an aggressive posture.

"As long as you can tell me, I will personally handle the trouble at the Dongzhou camp outside the city."

Jiang Chong fell silent; this was another time Shen Lang was forcing him to make a choice.

“Duke Zhenguo, the prince’s affairs are ultimately matters of the royal family, and I have no right to interfere.”

Upon hearing these words, Shen Lang closed his eyes expressionlessly and leaned back in his chair.

After a long pause, he raised his hand and said, "Go back now."

Li Ye: "What about outside the city..."

"I'll handle it, don't worry." Shen Lang's eyes were half open. "Li Ye, I advise you to take care of yourself. Go."

"I am resigning."

After Li Ye finished his greetings, he withdrew from the official residence in an orderly manner.

As soon as the person left, Shen Lang shouted loudly, "Ma Guocheng!"

Ma Guocheng immediately appeared before Shen Lang: "Duke Zhenguo, what are your orders?"

Shen Lang tossed him a military manual.

"Gather all the people listed in the military register by name tomorrow at the Guanxuan Hall. I want to speak with them personally."

"As ordered!"

After receiving the order, Ma Guocheng quickly withdrew.

At the same time, Jiang Chong, who had experienced Tarzan in the mountains, finally returned to the entrance of Qishan with Cao Meng.

Looking back at the mountain path that had troubled him for nearly fifty days, Jiang Chong couldn't help but sigh, "I should have repaired Qidao if I had known."

Upon hearing this, Cao Meng retorted, "Your Highness, if you ask me, why go through all this trouble? We should simply advance our troops directly from the Qinling Mountains' Ziwu Pass and march into Guanzhong."

The roads there are flat; the army can cross them in ten days, reach Chang'an to join forces with the Guanzhong army, and then march on Liangzhou, wouldn't that be convenient?"

"idiot!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chong immediately cursed.

"Who doesn't know that the Ziwu Pass is an easy route? But if our army suddenly appears in Chang'an, what will the powerful clans of Guanzhong think? Will they think that our Shu army has come to seize their Guanzhong land?"

Cao Meng, however, did not take it to heart: "So what if it is? Your Highness is the emperor, and the powerful clans of Guanzhong should treat you with the respect due to an emperor."

"Cao Meng, you are truly a despicable scoundrel!"

Jiang Chong was too lazy to argue with this warrior any longer, so he spurred his horse and galloped towards the capital.