The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Xu Zhen saw their hesitation: "Just focus on getting better and don't worry. Even if it's just to prevent the Brown Kingdom from repeating its old tricks, Dayong will not give up its research on the plague."

If he simply said that the Yonghe court would not abandon everyone, no one would dare to fully believe him.

But his frankness made him seem more credible.

As a result, people's hearts were at peace again.

Ten days have passed.

In Liaozhou, after He's army had dealt with everything after capturing Chongyan Pass, they turned their attention to their next target—Wucheng.

In Xizhou, Mo Sheng retreated to Yucheng to reunite with his privately trained subordinates. The Red Eagle Army pursued their victory and began a difficult siege.

In Dongzhou, the plague was brought under control and no new cases were reported. However, of the more than 10,000 soldiers who survived in the sealed-off area, only 5,000 remained.

In Tingzhou, Zhuo Mu led a small team ashore and within five days plundered more than ten villages, occupied the county seat, and burned 30,000 corpses. The locals quickly organized a team of sailors to resist, but they were no match for them.

Twenty days later.

In Liaozhou, after several rounds of overt and covert persuasion, the city lord of Wucheng led the people to open the city gates. At midnight, the He family army entered the city with unstoppable momentum, and in the end, only Murong Ze and five trusted confidants escaped by swimming in the river.

Xu Zhen's "Poem on the People" spread widely in Dayong and Heguo. The text highly praised the actions of the city lord of Wucheng who took the blame for the people and surrendered to Dayong. The text also described the interaction between the He family army and the people of Wucheng. Even the children of both countries could sing a few lines of it.

In Xizhou, infighting broke out among Mo Sheng's subordinates, and Song Zhiling, leading ten thousand soldiers, severely wounded Mo Sheng. Mo Sheng was forced to retreat and recuperate.

In Dongzhou, Zhang Pu launched another attack, employing the same tactic, and another three thousand soldiers contracted the plague. Wang Feiyu led the remaining cavalry in a surprise attack on the Brown Kingdom's camp, killing one of the deputy generals and forcing Qi Yongji to reveal himself.

The naval forces of Tingzhou and Qizhou returned to defend their positions. The battle between Dayong and Heguo was evenly matched.

After three months.

He's army won two out of three battles and captured two states. Qi Yongji and Murong Ze joined forces and regrouped more than 20,000 men. They launched a surprise attack at midnight, killing more than 10,000 He's army and injuring countless others.

When Mo Sheng ran out of food, his grain transport carts were hijacked on the way. Mo Sheng then took 3,000 civilians hostage, forcing the Red Eagle Army to retreat 2,000 li.

Xu Zhen contracted the plague, and Zhao Lingyin led more than ten doctors from the Imperial Hospital and Yuanxiu Academy to rush to his aid from afar. The first recovered patient walked out of the lockdown area.

Che Zhong'an led his army north to join forces with Nie Zhao's troops, who had infiltrated the He Kingdom earlier. With the help of an inside agent, they captured the capital of the He Kingdom.

August of the following year.

In the capital, Dayong's grain production reached a new high; the first horse-drawn carriage freed from animal power appeared; the Yuanxiu Academy expanded to more than ten schools; and Dayong added more than twenty female officials. More than twenty people from the Ordnance Bureau sacrificed their lives, but they developed a new gunpowder formula and more powerful firearms, and the war situation between the two countries completely shifted in Dayong's favor.

Zhuo Mu was the first to be affected.

All of his men were executed, while Zhuo Mu was captured alive.

Finally, tens of thousands of pieces of his flesh were cut off while he was still alive and placed in front of the graves of the innocent people of Dayong who had died tragically, as a sacrifice to the dead.

Mo Sheng's soldiers fled in disarray. He fled back to the capital, intending to take Jiao Lian away, but was ultimately stabbed to death by Jiao Lian with a golden hairpin.

During this time, Zheng Xun secretly took the little golden dragon to fight against the dragon vein of the Brown Kingdom, and the little golden dragon won a great victory.

What was Qi Yongji doing at that time?

For more than a year, he has been traveling around, and he doesn't know how many times he has cursed his civil and military officials as useless.

The battle between the Brown Kingdom and the Great Yong was evenly matched, and he was wounded many times. Although he escaped death each time, his body was still affected.

At this time, news came that the Great Yong had developed a new firearm, and he was furious.

"A bunch of idiots and good-for-nothings!"

After repeated failures, Qi Yongji had long lost his former composure.

He finally realized the difference between the Brown Kingdom and the Great Yong Kingdom.

After losing that faint divine favor, even with his talent for governing the world, he alone could not support a country.

The entire Dayong Kingdom was united in its efforts to defeat the He Kingdom. Everyone put in their best effort, contributing money and manpower, even risking their lives.

What does the Brown Country have?

The impoverished people who have no sense of belonging to the Brown Kingdom, a group of civil and military officials with their own selfish motives, and pigs who are still keen on fighting among themselves even in the face of national crisis.

What makes Brown Country capable of winning?

He couldn't figure it out.

What drove him to despair was not only these things, but also the fact that the new grain promoted by the Brown Country yielded no harvest at all.

Qi Yongji then realized that the grain seeds brought by Liang Yongde were a complete scam.

It was too late for regrets at this point. His mind raced as he desperately sought a way out of the predicament.

"I've got it! Spread this word so that those lowly people know that it's the Great Yong who's making them starve this time."

Although Qi Yongji looked down on ordinary people, he had to admit that these people could also unleash considerable power.

Mo Cheng lowered his eyes, and after testing the poison, respectfully handed over today's medicine.

"Your Majesty, while important matters are at hand, you must not neglect your health!"

Qi Yongji glanced at him, his gaze complex.

Over the years, if one were to ask who he trusted most, it would be Mo Cheng.

After all, they've been through so much together.

To protect him, Mo Cheng was on the verge of death several times, and his body was covered with wounds.

The person who once inspired him to kill has now earned his genuine affection.

"You know, the older you get, the more you like to nag."

Mo Cheng smiled, revealing clear lines: "As long as Your Majesty doesn't mind."

Seeing Qi Yongji drink the medicine without any suspicion, his smile became even more genuine.

……

After the emergence of new firearms, the stalemate between the two countries gradually shifted in the favor of Dayong.

The four armies advanced with unstoppable momentum, and the Brown Kingdom never won another battle.

The following spring, Qi Yongji was besieged in Zhaocheng, with only 20,000 soldiers remaining to put up a stubborn resistance.

Qi Yongji knew the situation was settled, so he gripped his sword and waited calmly inside.

The door was kicked open, and two rows of heavily armed female soldiers filed in. Then, Zheng Xun led He Wuyu and the others into the room.

Qi Yongji's gaze swept past the others and landed steadily on Zheng Xun.

"I never imagined I would be defeated by you."

His gaze as he looked at Zheng Xun was both unfamiliar and somehow familiar.

After all, the two didn't meet very often.

"Qi Yongji, things have come to this point, and you are powerless to change anything."

Zheng Xun spoke calmly, without any boasting, as if he were simply stating a fact.

Of course, that is true.

However, she showed no signs of smugness, as if defeating Qi Yongji was a trivial matter, which angered Qi Yongji.

Does she look down on him so much that she doesn't even think he's worthy of being her opponent?

"Princess Yuanjia is quite capable!"

Qi Yongji spoke those few words in a sarcastic and ambiguous way.

Zheng Xun stared at him for a moment, finally casting aside his biased view of the chosen one and sensing his annoyance.

Her feelings suddenly became somewhat complicated.

However, Qi Yongji's idea was not bad; Zheng Xun really didn't take him seriously.

Or rather, she was certain from the beginning that she would win.

She acknowledged Qi Yongji's abilities, but what she feared was the destiny behind him.

The Brown Kingdom is a motley crew. If it weren't for the internal strife in the Great Yong Dynasty, how could such a petty country have gained power?

She smiled modestly: "So-so. In the end, it took a lot of effort and dragged on for too long."