After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Jiangpu City.

Built during the reign of Emperor Fuye, this colossal city stands majestically amidst the biting cold wind, a fist of the giant Liang Dynasty pounding on the land north of the Yangtze River.

Sixty years ago, the Northern Dynasties built this city in order to contain the south of the Yangtze River. It served as a strategic foothold for the Eight Banners' southward expansion and was always a sharp knife hanging over the head of the Great Ridge.

Twenty years ago, on a stormy night, the second-generation Marquis of Zhenguo of Daliang, with his white hair, led Ning Changling and his generals in a sudden and fierce attack on Jiangbei! They swarmed the city like ants, disregarding sacrifices, and stormed the city in one night!

After capturing the two cities, the elderly eldest son of the Grand Prince Consort Shangguan and Empress Fuye ascended the city tower, pressed his hand against the city wall, and said in an aged voice, "If these two cities are not lost, Daliang can look north." For twenty years, the court has continuously strengthened the city and increased the height and thickness of the city walls.

From then on, the pressure on the border defense along the river was greatly reduced.

Once the Northern Dynasties shifted their military focus to Hubei and Sichuan, the Liang army would march straight out of the Huai River.

Therefore, for the past twenty years, the main force of the Eight Banners has been tied down here.

The main battlefields in the north and south were always north of the two cities and south of the Huai River.

……

"Clang, clang!"

The clanging of armor echoed through the streets as they marched.

A burly general in gold armor trimmed with red stood in front, while his deputy in silver armor stood beside him.

Behind the two were about a dozen fully armed guards.

The group strode confidently down East Street, coming from the north with an imposing air.

The silver-armored deputy general, Dong Anguo, gripped his sword, glanced at the gold-armored general who was half a step ahead, and said with some concern:

"Old Jiang, today is the day the imperial delegation arrives in Jiangpu City. Aren't you going to greet them?"

"I'll welcome him..."

Seemingly realizing his words were a bit too harsh, General Jiang Luzhi, in his golden armor, quickly stopped mid-sentence, only humming twice as he said:

"My son is dying, isn't that reason enough?"

The general's footsteps continued.

Dong Anguo sighed, his hand resting on his sword, and said, "Shi Kuan is lucky and will be alright."

Jiang Lu's Way:

"Those who risk their lives fighting the Tartars have no real fortune! The truly fortunate ones fight the Tartars in the imperial palace—that's what you call majestic and blessed!"

Dong Anguo rubbed his forehead:

"Old Jiang! Watch your words! How many days have you been a general? Do you really think you can spout such nonsense just because Governor-General Shangguan is protecting you!"

Dong Anguo cursed a couple of times, but in his heart he thought that this man's temper might actually be a good thing that he didn't go to greet the delegation.

As the commander-in-chief of Jiangpu Army, it would be unreasonable not to go and greet the delegation that was going to stay in Jiangpu City.

As the General Commander of Jiangpu Army, Jiang Luzhi was angry, but he was not stupid. He said:

"What's the big deal? After I see my son, I'll go drink with them to apologize, drink myself to death there, is that alright?"

Dong Anguo glanced at the nonchalant General Jiang, unsure how to offer advice, and simply sighed, repeating:

"Don't worry, Shih-kuan will be fine."

If Shih-kuan were the other party's biological son, Old Jiang would naturally not come to visit.

When Shih-kuan's father captured Jiangpu City, he was the first to climb the city wall, but he died at the last step because he shielded his comrades from a sword.

His comrades stepped over his father's corpse, drew their swords, and seized the credit for being the first to scale the walls, thus making Shi Kuan an orphan.

Old Jiang was naturally the comrade-in-arms who had taken the credit for Shih-kuan's biological father's success. He adopted Shih-kuan and raised him.

Dong Anguo glanced at the south city gate; the sun was about to set, and he felt a deep sense of unease.

Prince Jing was easygoing, and Vice Minister Jia was the younger brother of Lady Jia of the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion, and nominally the maternal uncle of Shangguan Yun, the Governor-General of Jiangbei.

Naturally, no one would blame Jiang Pujun.

Only the prince consort who accompanied the delegation...

Dong Anguo looked somewhat conflicted, unsure of the other person's temperament.

When this grand prince consort beat that northern dynasty prince in the golden palace,

They naturally felt relieved and cheered.

Even Old Jiang praised him on the first day, saying that this kid truly lived up to his reputation as the grand-nephew of the Marquis of Jingbei! He had thought he was a talented man who was like a woman!

A few days later, the three major camps of the Northern Dynasty that had left returned, with their vanguard pressing in and setting up camp thirty miles away.

The two sides began to engage in continuous combat.

The pressure of death pressed down once again.

Things are finally starting to look a bit off.

Especially when some of their comrades began to die, and their deaths were gruesome, the Tartars declared, "This is retaliation."

Some of the things said in the military were inevitably quite unpleasant.

"If you've got guts, why don't you go fight on the battlefield?" "I was in the Golden Palace, and when I heard him proposing marriage to the Empress, I beat him even harder than he was..." "Come to Jiangpu City!" "Fighting the Tartars in Nanjing, relying on the Empress... who wouldn't dare to fight them?" "They can't even celebrate the New Year properly..." "He's so arrogant now... but he sheds our blood..."

And so on, the words gradually became harsh.

Even Old Jiang, after Shi Kuan and several night scouts were severely injured by an extremely elite Qing cavalry unit seven days ago, couldn't help but take his anger out on the Grand Prince Consort.

"Hey, if he really is the son of the Marquis of Jingbei, then let's go to Jiangpu City and fight the Eight Banners army with real swords and spears! What's the point of beating up some weak and pathetic dog prince..." Old Jiang complained when he was drunk.

These days, the attitude of everyone in Jiangpu City towards that prince consort has become extremely strange.

It's basically like, "That prince deserves to be beaten, but you're no hero. Because I'll beat you even harder, and I'll fight you to the death, while you'll be beaten without any consequences."

At the beginning, the vast majority of people admired him, while a very small minority looked down on him.

After the Northern Dynasties conquered the south, their attitude gradually shifted, becoming at most half admiration and the other half contempt.

Dong Anguo knew that Jiang Luzhi's decision not to greet the delegation but to visit Shi Kuan was likely due to some resentment towards the soon-to-arrive imperial son-in-law.

A faint medicinal scent wafted through the air.

Looking around, Dong Anguo saw that the fifty or so houses at the front of East Street had been converted into a camp for wounded soldiers.

Steam rose from the street.

A dozen or so young men wearing long gowns and white strips tied to their arms were cooking something in an iron pot on the street.

These people were sent by the Empress about five days ago to take over the wounded soldiers' camp. They were led by two royal physicians and were called "medical soldiers".

"stop!"

A medic with a white veil covering his face raised his hand to stop the dozen or so menacing Jiangpu City military leaders in their group.

This isn't my first time here.

Jiang Luzhi, Dong Anguo, and the others obediently followed the other party's instructions and washed their hands and faces with hot water.

"Put on a mask."

A medic handed them each a white gauze mask.

On the first day, not to mention the bad-tempered Jiang Luzhi, even the good-tempered Dong Anguo got a little angry.

But when they came back two days later, they were all dumbfounded to see that the dozen or so people had tidied up the wounded soldiers' camp in an orderly manner. The wounded soldiers' camp, which used to be smelly and full of excrement, had been cleaned up and was now brand new and extremely clean.

What surprised them even more was that

Several wounded soldiers they had assessed as terminally ill two days prior were not only still alive on the third day, but their wounds hadn't yet festered or smelled, and they were even speaking with a surprisingly strong voice.

They were both delighted and astonished, and began to call the two imperial physicians, Cheng Qiu and Mo Shaoru, "miracle doctors."

The medics told them to wash their hands and wear masks, and they all did so.

"I am not some kind of miracle doctor."

Cheng Qiu stroked his white beard, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said to them:

"We've been following the 'Hygiene Regulations for Wounded Soldiers' issued by Her Majesty. Her Majesty said that if we do this job well, she'll grant us both a title. If you behave yourselves, I won't kill you..."

The entire camp was silent.

……

……

The south gate of Jiangpu City was wide open.

The young prince, Shangguan Yun, dressed in a scarlet robe, stood at the front, leading the way.

Officials of all ranks from Jiangbei stood on both sides to welcome the delegations from the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

The dock not far away.

The river water crashed against the rocks, splashing up a spray of water.

The majestic warship docked at the shore and dropped anchor.

"Bang!"

A slender figure wearing a melon-shaped hat and a dark green striped mandarin jacket jumped onto the wooden planks of the dock.

With a "thud!" she straightened up, flicked the folding fan in her right hand, looked up at the majestic Jiangpu City, and silently praised it.

He turned his head again and looked at the figure in the moonlight robe who had just come ashore.

"Feed~"

She wrinkled her nose and snorted in dissatisfaction.

"Chef Ning, why are you standing so far away from me?"