Armed with a machete and a gun, armed with a system, they fled the famine.

The people didn't care what they did; they just kept walking deeper into the mountains.

Before long, all the people in Yizhou and Qingzhou, near Yulin Mountain in the west, disappeared. Almost everyone who could run away had fled, leaving behind only the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, who were completely unusable.

This caused great distress to officials of all ranks in both Yizhou and Qingzhou.

With the new emperor's personal expedition drawing near, the governors of Yizhou and Qingzhou had no choice but to send messengers on horseback to report the situation in their respective provinces to the new emperor.

"Snapped!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ning slammed his fist on the rosewood armrest in anger.

"Damn it! What kind of work are they doing? I told them to prepare to mobilize troops, and this is how they did it?!"

"They've been sending troops everywhere to arrest people indiscriminately; no wonder all the civilians have fled!"

"It's true that there is not much success and more than failure!"

The dark-faced, beardless man secretly raised his eyes to glance at the man sitting above, and cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, what do you think should be done now? Do you still want to... lead the army in person?"

With no soldiers available to recruit right now, leading an army in person would be tantamount to suicide.

Zhou Ning frowned and thought for a long time before finally deciding, "Since there are no people in Yizhou and Qingzhou, we'll find people in Daizhou. Pass down the order: this time, we must get things done!"

Although the area west of Daizhou is called Yulin Mountain, it is full of cliffs and precipices, making it impossible to climb.

This time, he wanted to see how the common people would choose.

He couldn't understand why people would rather run away than join the army, when it was the noble ambition of a passionate young person to fight and accumulate merits!

Moreover, if you join the army, you'll receive a monthly stipend.

Ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel.

When ordinary people join the army to fight, they are risking their lives to survive.

Most of them were quickly eliminated, like ants.

Therefore, they preferred to flee into the deep mountains to survive rather than be captured by government soldiers to make up the numbers.

The man with the dark face below shuddered upon hearing this.

It's over.

The Emperor is acting strangely again. If this continues, the Great Qing Kingdom will be wiped out.

He couldn't help but speak up, saying, "Your Majesty, this won't do. The people have just suffered from various natural disasters, and they need rest and recuperation right now..."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Zhou Ning glared at him fiercely.

"Jinzhou has already been captured by the Dou family army. If the imperial court doesn't send troops to punish the Dou family army and reclaim the lost territory, are they just going to watch the Dou family army continue to conquer cities and seize land?"

"This..." The black-faced, beardless man was speechless for a moment after being rebuked.

He didn't know what to do.

But he knew that if the imperial court insisted on continuing to suppress the Dou family army, then all the common people would surely flee.

At that time, the entire Great Qing Kingdom will probably be scattered and no longer a country.

As for the emperor sitting above, well, who knows if he'll still be alive by then?

Zhou Ning withdrew his gaze and coldly ordered, "Do as I say. Now go."

"……Yes."

The dark-faced, beardless man gave a hesitant reply, bowed, and took his leave.

Not long after, the governors and garrison troops of Daizhou began to send troops to arrest people everywhere. The people were so frightened that they fled south with their families.

One pass ten, ten pass a hundred.

Daizhou, Yizhou, and Qingzhou were all plunged into chaos, with some areas even experiencing multiple peasant uprisings.

Upon hearing this, the new emperor's face grew darker with each passing day.

However, what angered and terrified him even more was that news of the capture of Dingzhou and Suizhou by Dou's army also reached the capital.

Zhou Ning was so angry that he fainted on the dragon throne. Fortunately, Imperial Physician Wang from the Imperial Hospital gave him acupuncture and massage in time, and he quickly woke up.

The first thing he said upon waking was, "Quickly, order Daizhou, Yizhou, Qingzhou, and Yuzhou to send troops immediately!"

Those despicable Dou family army!

He should have wiped them out from the start, otherwise he wouldn't be facing this passive situation now.

Dou Qingran! You're doing very well!

The subordinate officials immediately went to make arrangements.

It's dying.

Dou's army has quietly captured Jinzhou, Dingzhou, and Suizhou. This is the prelude to a rebellion!

Even the Emperor has lost his composure; it's possible that the fate of the Great Qing Kingdom is truly sealed.

Run! We have to run away right now!

As a result, not only did ordinary people pack up and flee, but even some high-ranking officials secretly sent their families and children out of the capital.

If a fight really breaks out, the capital city will become a hotbed of conflict.

Yes, everyone! Get out!

In just one month, nine out of ten houses in Daizhou, Yizhou and three other prefectures were deserted, and the situation was extremely tragic.

Under Zhou Ning's urgent urging, the remaining four prefectures—Daizhou, Yizhou, and Qingzhou—finally mustered an army of 300,000 and headed towards Jinzhou.

Zhou Ning adjusted his mindset and personally led the expedition towards the border between Daizhou and Yizhou.

There is a road leading to Jinzhou. He will lead his troops through Yulin Mountain and head straight for Jinzhou.

Before setting off, he secretly ordered someone to go ahead and head to the barbarian capital city north of the northern lands.

If he were ultimately no match for Dou's army, he planned to persuade the barbarians to join forces with the imperial court to deal with Dou's army.

……

After making arrangements in Suizhou and Dingzhou, Dou Qingran returned to the north ahead of everyone else.

Upon hearing that the imperial court had dispatched troops to Jinzhou, he hurriedly summoned his deputy generals to discuss the next steps.

Yang Sanlang and Zhao Yan also went along.

However, the two only listened in and did not express any personal opinions.

Dou Qingran pointed to a location on the map, looked up at everyone, and said, "If the imperial court wants to enter Jinzhou, it will inevitably pass through here and here. Therefore, I have decided to send troops to guard these two places, and we will start the battle as soon as the enemy falls into the trap. What do you think?"

Dou Huai'an frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "I agree, this is the safest way. General, let me go this time. I heard that the new emperor is among them. I know what the new emperor looks like. Let me go and capture him alive."

Yu Hao was also eager to try.

Who wouldn't want to capture the new emperor alive?

He wanted to too!

So he raised his hand really high.

"General, what about me? I want to go too?"

"General, I can do it too!"

"And there's me, Old Sun!"

"Me too, me, me!"

Before Dou Qingran could say anything, the group of deputy generals below were all rubbing their hands excitedly, each one extremely thrilled.

Capturing the new emperor would be a golden opportunity for them to make their mark.

Everyone wanted to claim the credit so they could be promoted and given higher titles in the future.

Dou Qingran raised her arm and pressed it down, her eyes scanning each of her subordinates' faces one by one.

Finally, he turned to look at Yang Sanlang and Zhao Yan.

"Sanlang, do you think this is feasible?"

Yang Sanlang paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Of course it's feasible. However, we can't just focus on this side; we can also take care of the other side as well."