I am the snake demon!

"Zhongwu? The posthumous title has finally been decided. But why so late? Is the emperor up to no good?"

Inside the library, Bai Xuan listened to the news, put down his book, and a subtle expression appeared on his face.

It took so long of deliberation before the posthumous title of Zhongwu was finally bestowed upon him.

While the posthumous title is good, its vagueness and lack of clarity will not inspire gratitude.

"Do not slander His Majesty." Xu Yuhua glanced at Bai Xuan, knowing that loose lips sink ships and words can lead to trouble.

"Besides that, is there anything else special about the imperial court?" Bai Xuan asked dismissively.

"Yes, the imperial court issued four imperial edicts, all addressed to our Zhenbei Prince's Mansion. One was to bestow a posthumous title upon my father, and another was to confer a title upon you. However, we cannot ascertain the contents of the other two edicts. Moreover, the imperial envoys who came to deliver the edicts, besides the chief envoy Wei Xuanli, the Minister of Rites, and the deputy envoy Tian Mingjing, the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, were accompanied by the Prince of Wei's heir, Guo Mingcheng. This is truly strange," Xu Yuhua said.

One imperial edict is normal, four are not.

Such a thing has never happened since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Not to mention that the Crown Prince of Wei, who had absolutely no connection to this matter, was also accompanying them.

Because the previous emperor was a vassal king who ascended the throne, the Great Zhou Dynasty could suppress vassal kings in many ways.

"As expected, he was hiding something bad," Bai Xuan said.

"Indeed, it's just a pity that my father had such great military achievements during his lifetime, risking his life countless times to assist the late emperor in ascending the throne. He guarded the northern border of the Great Zhou for more than 20 years, fighting against the barbarians in the north and resisting the demons in the west. He died on the battlefield, but before his body was even cold, the court couldn't wait to take action against our Zhenbei Prince's Mansion." Xu Yuhua said with a cold smile.

"That's normal. It just proves that this emperor is a normal emperor. People always cut off their own path after they've come ashore, so that no one will follow their example. The late emperor was a prince who rose to power, so after he took the throne, he suppressed the princes. If it weren't for his father's outstanding military achievements, which forced him to be granted the title of prince, he would never have done so. It's only because he died young that the relationship between the emperor and his ministers was harmonious, and there was no 'killing the hunting dog after the cunning rabbit dies'."

"The current emperor and my father have no brotherly affection for each other; all they seem to feel is fear. They will only intensify the implementation of this national policy. However, firstly, he has only recently ascended the throne, and his position is still unstable; secondly, the Northern Wilderness and the demon race are eyeing him covetously. If he rashly acts against my father, something will happen in the northern border, and if he is not careful, the Great Zhou will be destroyed, and he will be a sinner for all time. Therefore, he has not taken any action. Now that my father severely injured the Northern Wilderness before his death and is dead, he is probably grinning from ear to ear in the palace," Bai Xuan said.

This was not unexpected for him.

The history of China has long made this clear.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the most powerful state in the Central Plains was Jin, which was usurped by Quwo. A branch of Quwo killed five Jin rulers and expelled one, eventually succeeding in destroying the main branch and usurping the throne to become the legitimate ruler of Jin. Then, thinking about their past, they feared that others would follow suit, so they suppressed their own clans. In the end, the absence of a royal clan became the norm in Jin, which led to the division of Jin into three states during the Warring States Period and its complete demise.

There was also the famous Jingnan Campaign of the Ming Dynasty, in which Zhu Di, the fourth uncle of Zhu Yunwen, captured Nanjing and became emperor. He then began a different kind of reduction of the power of the princes, and from then on, the princes of the Ming Dynasty were completely treated like pigs.

The late emperor did not want to grant the title of Prince of Zhenbei, but merit should be rewarded. The late emperor could not break the rules. Just like Liu Bang purged the vassal kings after defeating Xiang Yu, but before defeating Xiang Yu, he also had to grant them titles. However, the late emperor did not have the ability of Liu Bang and lived too short. The new emperor ascended the throne and was too busy consolidating the government to dare to hastily reduce the power of the vassal kings.

Therefore, the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion remained peaceful for twenty years.

But now that the Prince of Zhenbei is dead, isn't that an opportunity?

From the perspective of those in the North, the death of the Prince of Zhenbei was a devastating blow, but for those in the capital, it was probably seen as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Upon hearing this, Li Daoyan looked at Bai Xuan with some surprise. Duan Baiyu said that he only read Taoist scriptures in the Taoist temple and longed for a life of leisure and freedom. How could he have such insightful views on politics?

"Too."

Hearing Bai Xuan's words, Xu Yuhua was slightly taken aback, but she admired his calm attitude.

Speaking of which, since they met, apart from the matter of Xu Shi'an, Bai Xuan seems to be so indifferent to everything.

"But regardless, these four imperial edicts are undoubtedly a test of our northern border. Young Master, you must be careful," Li Daoyan said.

Don't act like an outsider; this is aimed at you.

"Uncle, rest assured, I understand the situation. Although the Emperor is being indecisive, he still gave Father a respectable posthumous title, which means he probably doesn't want to immediately break off relations. He likely still wants to use a gentle approach to slowly annex our northern border. We can only deal with whatever comes our way, since rebellion would only lead to our demise," Bai Xuan said.

Putting aside Bai Xuan's personal martial prowess, the Northern Territory had virtually no chance of winning against the Great Zhou.

Although the northern border has 300,000 troops, which can be called the most elite troops of the Great Zhou.

But with the death of the Prince of Zhenbei, half of the army's spirit was lost. The teamwork between Bai Xuan, Leng Shih-hu, and Xu Wen-zheng could not compare to when the Prince of Zhenbei was alive.

Moreover, in the previous war in the Northern Wilderness, although the King of Zhenbei was victorious in the end, he suffered heavy losses on both sides. The Wilderness people and the demon race were not to be underestimated. Tens of thousands of elite soldiers from the Northern Border died or were wounded. The number of 300,000 soldiers was originally just a figure of speech. If you take away some old, weak and disabled soldiers, the actual number that could be deployed to fight was only 200,000.

Finally, the late emperor governed well, and the current emperor did not cause any trouble, but honestly followed the late emperor's policies. Although the posthumous title was given slowly, it was still "Zhongwu" (忠武), meaning loyal and martial, even though the emperor's actions were not justified.

They are destined to lose.

"Third brother, don't mention the word 'rebellion'," Xu Yuhua said, glancing at Bai Xuan.

"I was just simply stating the possibility of failure," Bai Xuan said. "This is different from last time."

"But you said it, which means you've taken this into consideration, and that's not good," Xu Yuhua said, the difference in opinion was too great.

"Alright, let's talk about the good things. Father won the final battle, so they have no reason to punish us. Therefore, even if they were plotting, it would be within the rules. Now that Uncle Leng supports me and Xu Wenzheng has a broad perspective and is cooperating with me, the imperial envoy who delivers the decree will be afraid of us." Bai Xuan said.

In retrospect, this might be why the Prince of Zhenbei was so determined to win that battle.

Victory is a merit, but defeat is a crime.

Qiu Fu, a meritorious official of the Jingnan Campaign and a confidant of Zhu Di, was the Duke of Qi. Due to his poor decision-making and unfavorable battle, which led to the defeat of the army, even though he died on the battlefield and sacrificed himself for the country, Zhu Di still punished him, stripped him of his title, and exiled his whole family to Lingnan.

If the Prince of Zhenbei loses, it's hard to guarantee that the royal family won't take the opportunity to revoke the hereditary power of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion and depose the Prince of Zhenbei.

Now that they have won, the royal family has no excuse.

Perhaps this is why the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion contacted Xu Shi'an so late.

If the Prince of Zhenbei loses the final battle, it would be best if Xu Shi'an did not return.

Hearing that Bai Xuan did not mention rebellion, Xu Yuhua breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "That's right. The royal family also needs to follow the rules. Otherwise, it will be difficult to silence public opinion. They are also afraid that we will really rebel. After all, once we rebel, whether we succeed or fail, it will not be a good thing for him as the emperor."

"That's settled then. If anything comes up, contact me again. I haven't finished reading today's book yet. Uncle, Eldest Sister, you two discuss this first. I'm going to continue reading. I haven't finished reading about the One Heart Military Soul Formation today." Bai Xuan said, standing up, bowing to the two of them, and then getting up to leave.

The One Heart Military Spirit Formation is a formation that every student of military formations must learn.

The power of military formations is indeed formidable, even capable of destroying the heavens and the earth.

However, it has a major drawback: the more powerful the formation, the more people it requires. With more people, command becomes difficult, and chaos is more likely to occur.

Theoretically speaking, if you put a seventh-rank Daoist master and a hundred fully armed soldiers together and fight to the death, the seventh-rank master will be the one who dies.

But in reality, in most cases, those who survive are seventh-rank masters.

Because there is such a thing as morale.

Generally, if an army loses 10% of its troops, it will basically collapse and become unable to form an effective command structure.

From the perspective of formations, how far is it if 10% of the troops are killed?

Thus, the One Heart Army Soul Formation came into being.

Simply put, it means integrating the marshal's will into the formation, influencing the soldiers, and putting them in a state of high excitement, making them fearless and undaunted.

Bai Xuan was astonished when he saw it.

I've already made up my mind to study it.

Once he has thoroughly mastered this formation, he plans to train a guard force that belongs only to him.

"Wait, there's something else. Judging by the time, the imperial envoy will arrive at our Zhenbei Prince's Mansion in February to deliver the imperial decree, followed by the spring hunt in March. The sons of the northern military families will showcase their talents, and the leaders of the demon clans and barbarian tribes that are affiliated with the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion will also come to present gifts. This is your first spring hunt since you ascended the throne, and it is extremely important. You must not fail to do it." Xu Yuhua hurriedly said.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen," Bai Xuan replied, then plunged headfirst into the sea of ​​books.

"Has Third Brother been living like this all these days?" Xu Yuhua asked Li Daoyan in surprise.

"A thirst for knowledge, tireless pursuit, and a deep fascination with learning, to the point of forgetting to eat and sleep," said Li Daoyan.

He hadn't seen a bookworm like this in ages.

He had previously rejected Leng Qinghan without hesitation and showed no resistance. Now that the maid Hongxiu had moved in, despite her striking beauty and youthful vigor, he hadn't done anything to her, as if nothing could compare to the book in his hand.

Xu Yuhua was stunned.

Meanwhile, a large convoy was slowly approaching Liangzhou.

In the convoy, a young man in a brocade robe looked at Xu Yuhua's portrait with a look of amazement in his eyes.