General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

The next day, at the imperial court.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, looking pale and sickly, while the ministers below whispered amongst themselves, none of them knowing what had happened.

"Shen Luo, a few days ago you said that three thousand soldiers would be enough to quell the rebellion, right?" The Emperor's face was so gloomy it could drip water, and this was the first thing he said.

Shen Luo understood; it seemed the memorial had already been delivered.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he said calmly, pretending not to see the Emperor's expression.

"Very well!" the Emperor said. "Then I will dispatch three thousand troops to Longcheng to quell the rebellion."

Unsurprisingly, the courtiers below erupted in uproar.

"What's going on? Why were troops suddenly sent out again?"

"Didn't we put this matter on hold a few days ago?"

"With three thousand soldiers gone at once, what will happen to the safety of the capital?"

"Your Majesty is wise. I knew Your Majesty would be able to distinguish between what is important and what is not."

"If one city is not at peace, how can the world be at peace? I support the Emperor."

"Minister Shen." Ignoring the arguments of his ministers, the Emperor stared sternly at Shen Luo. "You are a pillar of my Southern Yue state, a general whose name strikes fear into the hearts of all under heaven. I entrust this task of quelling the rebellion to you. Do you have the confidence?"

"This..." The ministers looked at each other, neither daring to question the emperor's decision nor agreeing with it.

“Your Majesty, I am willing to go in place of the General Who Guards the Nation.” A general stepped forward and volunteered.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go and quell the rebellion, but the General Zhenguo's legs are too weak to go to the battlefield again," another general said through gritted teeth.

Other ministers also spoke up to advise, "The General Who Guards the Nation is no longer fit to go to the front lines. Your Majesty, please reconsider."

The Emperor ignored their words and asked again, "Minister Shen, are you confident?"

Shen Luo spun his wheelchair to the center, his voice resounding throughout the Golden Palace: "Your Majesty, I am confident. Please rest assured, I will surely restore a complete and peaceful land to Nanyue."

"Good!" The Emperor slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "With Minister Shen's words, I am relieved."

"Commander of the Nine Gates, listen to my decree: immediately select three thousand elite soldiers from the garrison of the capital to accompany the General of the State to Longcheng to quell the rebellion."

"Your subject obeys the decree." The Nine Gates Admiral jogged away.

"Shen Luo, listen to my decree. I hereby appoint you as the Grand Commander of the Northwest Army. You shall immediately lead your troops to Longcheng and take charge of all military affairs there. I bestow upon you an Imperial Sword, so that wherever you go, it will be as if I were personally present."

"Your Majesty, I will obey your decree." Shen Luo lowered his head, a storm brewing in his eyes.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Master, the carriage is ready and we can depart at any time." Nineteen stood in front of the general's mansion, dressed in military armor.

This set of armor has been on the armor rack for over a year, and now it can finally see the light of day again.

"Nineteen, you will take twenty men on horseback and go ahead with the imperial edict to Longcheng to take over all matters, large and small, in Longcheng. Also, notify the magistrates of all counties to assemble at the prefectural governor's office in Longcheng and await my arrival."

Shen Luo didn't rush to get into the car, but instead assigned tasks in front of the door.

"Also, don't alarm Cui Zhi yet."

"Yes, I understand." Nineteen led his men away on horseback.

Shen Luo took out a map with several red lines drawn on it, which were the advantageous battle zones he had drawn up while studying the map all night.

He pointed to one of the red circles and said, "Twelve, you will take the military tally and lead three thousand elite soldiers to travel day and night, and you must reach the border between Weishan County and Longcheng as quickly as possible."

Of the three counties, Weishan County is closest to Longcheng. If they want to attack Longcheng, passing through Weishan would undoubtedly be the best option.

That place is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Shen Luo sent scouts to explore the area last night.

If they can occupy the advantageous areas first, they might be able to make up for some of their numerical disadvantage.

"Your subordinate obeys." Twelve took the military tally. "And you, Master?"

Although the master's leg was fine, it was true that he couldn't use his internal energy.

"I'm in a carriage, I'll be there shortly. Don't worry, I've left several dozen guards with me."

In Nanyue, a first-rank official was allowed to have one hundred personal guards.

A marquis can have five hundred personal guards, while a prince can have one thousand.

This was originally a rule established by the emperor when the Nanyue Kingdom was founded to demonstrate the emperor's boundless benevolence, but it gradually became distorted as it was implemented.

After all, the more troops you have, the safer you feel. On the surface, everyone has a thousand troops, but in reality, nobody knows how many there are.

This is also why Nanyue has five adult princes but no princes.

Shen Luo watched Twelve leave, then turned around and found Jiang Qiqi standing next to him.

"Did you know the Emperor would entrust this task to you?" Jiang Qiqi asked.

Shen Luo touched his nose, feeling inexplicably guilty: "I didn't know before, I just found out."

"How long was it just now?"

"...Last night."

"..."

When Shen Luo saw the memorial last night, he realized that there were probably more rebels than he had thought.

However, 300,000 troops were stationed on the borders of Nanyue and Beiming, 100,000 troops were on the southern border, and the remaining large force was distributed in various border areas bordering other countries.

Far water cannot quench near thirst.

The troops stationed on the northwestern border were once again entangled by barbarian tribes and unable to move.

Under these circumstances, there were truly no soldiers available in Nanyue.

The safety of the capital cannot be ignored; three thousand troops are all the forces that can be mobilized in the capital.

But judging from the current situation, even if we include the three thousand people in the capital, their numbers will still be much greater than the rebels.

In this situation, the only condition for victory is to have a sufficiently capable general lead the troops.

Shen Luo, as the invincible General of Nanyue, who has commanded many battles where he won with fewer troops, is undoubtedly the best candidate.

Shen Luo himself was aware of this.

The Emperor understood.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Shall we leave now?" Jiang Qiqi glanced at the prepared carriage and the accompanying guards, feeling that her question was somewhat unnecessary.

“Yes. This matter can't be delayed any longer,” Shen Luo replied. “Thank you.”

Jiang Qiqi knew he was referring to the theft of the memorial to the emperor.

"If you really want to thank me, then take me with you." Her hope was rekindled!

"That won't do." She refused without even thinking.

"Snap." The fire went out.

"Okay, then be careful on your way." Jiang Qiqi didn't say anything more, as if her previous question was just a casual remark.

"Okay." Shen Luo looked at her suspiciously, as if he wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, he didn't say anything and turned to get into the car.

As the carriage drove away, Xiang'er tugged at her handkerchief, a little worried.

"Miss, it is said that the plague can be contracted if one is not careful, and once infected, one will die. Doesn't that mean the general and his men are in great danger on this trip?"

"Of course."

Watching the carriage disappear from sight, Jiang Qiqi turned and went back into the mansion. "Xiang'er, have you packed the bags I asked you to pack?"

"Pack up, Miss. Clothes, dry rations, two packets of herbs, a handful of silver powder, and two golden eggs." Xiang'er asked curiously, "Why do you need me to pack all this? Are you going out?"

Jiang Qiqi turned around and smiled slightly at Xiang'er: "Yes, let's set off for Longcheng."