With wives as numerous as clouds and soldiers as numerous as a million, you say he's a useless

"Here comes the secret report from Beian City."

After Ye Cheng'an finished eating, Zhao Xuefu handed him a secret report sent by an informant in Bei'an City.

Ye Cheng'an took a look and saw that all the loyal officials in the court, led by Han Zhaolie, had been dismissed and stripped of their titles.

Many scholars in Bei'an City who couldn't stand it criticized it with their words and writings, and all of them were imprisoned and confined by Su Wanrou and her son on the grounds of being traitors and rebels.

With the city of Beian now heavily fortified, it's practically a ghost town.

Because the souls and thoughts of the people living in the city were completely imprisoned.

No one dared to express their true opinions.

Only the royal court continued its extravagant lifestyle of singing and dancing.

However, the royal treasury was empty, and no one knew where Ye Jinglan's money came from.

It's fine as long as it's not about exploiting the people or taking advantage of their wealth.

Ye Cheng'an shook his head as he read, concluding that Ye Jinglan was simply not suited to be the king of the Northern Territory.

He has a serious problem with his personality. He is clearly an extremely mediocre and incompetent person, yet he insists on proving to others that he has ability.

Sure enough, the North is about to descend into chaos.

"Thank you." After reading it, Ye Cheng'an returned the secret letter to Zhao Xuefu.

Zhao Xuefu retorted, "You and I already have that kind of relationship, why are you still being so polite?"

"It's perfectly normal for me to pave the way for my future husband, isn't it?"

"By the way, I see you've already sent three valiant generals to recruit soldiers. When do you plan to attack Yong'an City again? Should we plant some people within Yong'an City to coordinate an attack from within and without, putting the Northern Kingdom in a pincer movement?"

Ye Chengan shook his head. "There's no need for that. Ye Jinglan has already lost the hearts of the people and is now universally condemned. As long as I bring the army into the city, the people will surely stand on my side."

"As for the Northern Royal Court army... Hmph."

Ye Cheng'an sneered, not believing that these troops would become his enemies, because these people were all his grandfather's former subordinates.

As long as he goes back, everyone will follow him!

It's safe to say that we won't need to fight much when we go back.

Ye Jinglan and Su Wanrou, this couple, have ruined themselves.

Ye Cheng'an will go back to reap the fruits of victory.

That damned couple dared to kill their teacher! Once he captures them alive, he will tie them to the teacher's grave and make them kneel there for the rest of their lives!

"Alright, it's getting late. Let's get some rest. After giving our teacher a grand funeral tomorrow, I'll assess the results of our recruitment efforts and then decide when to send troops to Beian City!"

"Would you like to sleep with me tonight?" Zhao Xuefu invited.

Ye Chengan frowned.

Zhao Xuefu immediately said, "I know that Chief Secretary Pei has just passed away, and you are not in the mood to do these things. I am just afraid that if you sleep alone, you will be overwhelmed by grief when you think of Chief Secretary Pei."

"I'll just stick close to you and do nothing."

"Alright then." Ye Cheng'an accepted Zhao Xuefu's invitation.

Zhao Xuefu kept her word and truly maintained a completely separate relationship with him throughout the night.

That night, the two had a rare heart-to-heart talk.

"Princess, are you really going to stay by my side? Even if I become an enemy of the court in the future?" Ye Cheng'an asked.

Zhao Xuefu nodded. "We've been sleeping together, why would I lie to you?"

"You said it yourself. If I find out later that you've been plotting against me behind my back with the court... I certainly won't let you off easily," Ye Cheng'an said.

Zhao Xuefu nestled in Ye Cheng'an's arms and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Although Ye Cheng'an was still thinking about his teacher, seeing Zhao Xuefu's peaceful sleeping face dispelled much of his sorrow.

Once he returns to Bei'an City, he must think carefully about how to make Ye Jinglan and Su Wanrou apologize to their teacher in the most satisfying way!

The next day, Ye Chengan got up early in the morning.

He didn't wake Zhao Xuefu, but Zhao Xuefu still woke up very early.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Zhao Xuefu demanded. "Chief Secretary Pei is not only your teacher, but also someone I deeply respect. He is a pillar of the Great Qian Dynasty. If you dare to cause me to miss seeing him off on his final journey, I will not forgive you!"

Ye Cheng'an knew that Zhao Xuefu didn't really respect Pei Heng.

The other party was merely extending their affection to Pei Heng, wanting to send him off as a royal princess and give his teacher the greatest honor.

I was touched and said, "Thank you."

Zhao Xuefu snorted lightly, "I've already said there's no need for thanks between us."

Ten miles of paper money, and the people of Liuzhou knelt to see Pei Heng off.

Upon hearing the news of Prefect Pei's death, the people spontaneously came to pay their respects, and the funeral procession stretched like a long dragon, with no end in sight.

Ye Cheng'an buried Pei Heng on the highest mountain in Liuzhou. He knew that his teacher loved nothing more than the mountains and rivers of the North, so he wanted his teacher to be able to see the land and people of the North at all times.

"Teacher, wait for me! Wait for me to return to Bei'an City, capture that despicable couple, and bring them before you to kneel before your tombstone to atone for their sins!"

Pei Heng was already dead and naturally couldn't speak, but Ye Cheng'an knew that Pei Heng would definitely agree.

The teacher voluntarily went to the royal court seeking death in order to pave the way for him, so that he could legitimately purge the court of corrupt officials.

The teacher couldn't wait to see him conquer Bei'an, replace Ye Jinglan, and become the overlord of the North!

He couldn't let his teacher down, no matter what.

……

After properly burying Pei Heng, Ye Cheng'an summoned Zhang, Zhao, and Li, asking, "How is the recruitment going?"

"Given the precedent of the eldest son's previous victory against a larger force of 100,000 Northern Barbarian cavalry, 100,000 soldiers have already been successfully recruited within Liuzhou in just one day since the recruitment was announced."

"Yes, use all the armor, weapons, and warhorses of the Northern Barbarian soldiers to arm them. I don't care what methods you use, train an army that looks formidable within three days!" Ye Cheng'an said.

"Three days later, we will march back to Beian City."

To march back to Bei'an City?

What passionate words!

Zhang Hanfeng and his two companions had suffered a lot of bullying and suppression from Ye Jinglan and his wife over the years, and they had long wanted to vent their anger.

Now that they've heard Ye Cheng'an's words, they're naturally going all out to train their troops.

At this moment, in Bei'an City.

Su Wanrou was clearly unaware that Liuzhou was already mustering its troops, ready to attack Beian City at any moment.

She was still using that cheesy, manipulative act to stir up trouble in front of Ye Jinglan, saying, "Your Highness, tell me, why is it that Chief Secretary Pei, who is clearly a court official from our Northern Border, keeps going against you?"

"Could this be at the behest of the eldest young master?"

"I've heard that the eldest young master has been enjoying great success in Beian City lately, defeating the 100,000 iron cavalry of the Northern Barbarians with only 24,000 troops! He even submitted a memorial accusing Xiao Heming of treason..."

"Your Highness, do you think the eldest son might be lying about military intelligence? How could 24,000 soldiers possibly defeat 100,000 Northern Barbarian soldiers?"

Furthermore, Xiao Heming is one of our men, the highest-ranking official in Liuzhou. Why is the eldest young master so eager to frame him with so many crimes? Could it be that he wants to completely control Liuzhou and is plotting something?

In fact, even if Su Wanrou hadn't said these words, Ye Jinglan would still have been suspicious.

They are essentially the same kind of people.

It is common to judge others by one's own petty standards.

Ye Jinglan snorted coldly, "This rebellious son is narrow-minded and has many grievances against me. It's hard to say what's going on, so I shouldn't have let him go to Liuzhou in the first place..."

"Your Highness, how about this? The New Year is just around the corner. Why don't you trick the eldest son into coming back under the pretext of a family reunion?" Su Wanrou suggested. "Of course, Your Highness doesn't need to do anything to the eldest son. Just have him placed under house arrest. That way, Your Highness can be completely at ease."

"So that one day, father and son will turn against each other and be laughed at by others for our northern border."

"That's not a bad idea..." Ye Jinglan murmured, then summoned Wang Chengen, "Wang Chengen, send someone to Liuzhou to summon that rebellious son back to Beian City for the New Year."

Wang Chengen frowned. Of course he knew that the prince wouldn't be so kind for no reason. Looking at Su Wanrou's venomous appearance, he knew that she must have been stirring up trouble in the prince's ear again.

Prefect Pei is dead.

Within the Six Ministries of the court, all the old ministers and former subordinates of the former Northern King were dismissed...

At this time, summoning the eldest son back is absolutely a move with ulterior motives!

Wang Chengen has also been greatly shocked these days. He never expected that the prince, whom he had always regarded as a wise ruler, would do so many bad things under Su Wanrou's instigation. Therefore, he no longer wants to help the wicked.

The eldest son must not return at this moment, no matter what!

He can deliver messages for the prince, but he must also inform the eldest son of the potential dangers of this trip!

"Yes, Your Highness, this servant will go now and order someone to convey the decree to the eldest son." Wang Chengen replied obediently on the surface.

This made Su Wanrou's smile completely uncontrollable.

Ye Cheng'an, even if you control the locust plague, even if you make a lot of money with the Golden Dragon Wings, even if you build a factory in Liuzhou, crush the Nine Dragons Alliance, and defeat the 100,000 iron cavalry of the Northern Barbarians, so what?

In the end, you still can't change the fact that you can only be a defeated opponent of this princess!

This city of Bei'an is now completely under my control. If you dare to come back, I guarantee that you will never return and will be imprisoned in this vast royal city forever, spending the rest of your life in sorrow and pain!

Only my own son, Jin Yu, is worthy to be the heir to the Northern Territory, worthy to stand in the royal council hall, enjoying boundless glory and commanding respect!

You will always only ever be a stepping stone for us, mother and son!