I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

What is the Northern Tour?

Qi Shan had learned from his history textbooks in his previous life that the Northern Tour was a regular inspection tour by the emperor of his territory in the north to ensure his stability.

For example, after unifying the six kingdoms, Qin Shi Huang tirelessly patrolled the entire country to inspect his own territory.

Normally, it is the emperor who conducts patrols, so is the Fifth Prince's northern tour an inspection on behalf of the emperor?

If he's not mistaken, there must be another layer of meaning behind this.

Zhao Bingkun said in a deep voice, "Brother Qi, are you aware of the current situation at the Eastern Palace?"

"To my shame, I only know that this northern tour is probably related to the throne, but I know very little about the struggle for the Eastern Palace. I hope Brother Zhao can give me some pointers."

The original owner was just a country bumpkin, a hunter in the mountains, who had never even been to school. He focused all his attention on gambling and women, paying no attention to national affairs, let alone inquiring about the situation of the Crown Prince.

Information was extremely limited in this era, and news traveled very slowly. And since he was in the northern frontier, a border region, news traveled even slower.

In particular, the so-called secret of the Eastern Palace is a closely guarded secret within a small circle. Even ordinary people cannot inquire about it, as they risk losing their heads.

This is unlike modern times, where even a slightly trending event can go viral online. With just a few taps on your phone, you can learn about major events happening around the world, and even the old man farming at the village entrance can chat about some secrets.

Even elementary school students who have just learned to type can type a few words.

Zhao Bingkun said, "Brother Qi is indeed clever. I have people in the court. Now the affairs of the country are urgent. The current emperor is getting old and only has two princes under his command: the crown prince and the fifth prince."

Qi Shan exclaimed in surprise, "That's not right! The emperor has three thousand beauties in his harem, so how come he only has two sons?"

Zhao Bingkun said, "That's the key point. The infighting in the harem is severe. In order to compete for the position of crown prince, the eldest prince, who is also the crown prince, killed all the other princes. Now only the fifth prince remains. The fifth prince's northern tour may be to gather strength in the future and defeat the eldest prince in the struggle for the throne."

Qi Shan said in a deep voice, "What does that have to do with the Northern Inspection Tour?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Bingkun's face lit up with smugness.

"You should know that the North has been dealing with various tribes on the grasslands for many years, and the Northern Frontier Army is almost the strongest fighting force in the entire Daqian army."

"If the Fifth Prince can win over the hearts and minds of the soldiers on the northern border, then the position of Crown Prince will surely belong to the Fifth Prince."

"To put it bluntly, if the Fifth Prince can unite the various border troops in the Northern Frontier into one force, even if the old emperor disagrees, the entire court of the Great Qian Dynasty will have to invite the Fifth Prince back. The First Prince will have no chance of winning at all."

Qi Shan finally understood why the Fifth Prince had embarked on a northern tour.

He seemed to have a vague feeling that this was an opportunity, an opportunity that could not be missed.

He is now in a remote border region, far from the emperor's reach, where the imperial authority has little influence over any matter.

But there are limits. To truly stand firm in this world, one needs the affinity of the central government, that is, to have connections within the imperial court!

This would make many things much easier. If one could climb the social ladder by associating with the Fifth Prince, and then leverage his power, one's own influence would grow significantly.

Moreover, all three of his wives had their homes ransacked, and he had promised them that he would clear their names and avenge their families.

Since he promised, he must keep his word.

To clear their name, they must rely on the Fifth Prince's power. If the Fifth Prince ascends the throne in the future, their support will be crucial, and they will gain even greater power.

Qi Shan said, "I understand. We can keep a close eye on the Fifth Prince's situation and try to make contact with him whenever possible. I wonder which city the Fifth Prince is heading to now?"

Zhao Bingkun said, "They're most likely heading to General Zhang's camp."

Qi Shan looked puzzled: "Which one is Zhang's Battalion?"

In fact, he still doesn't understand how many forces exist in the entire Northern Frontier.

After all, he hadn't been in this world for very long, and the original owner's memories were those of a villager.

How could a country bumpkin know so much?

The impression of those high-ranking officials and generals is mostly that they use a golden hoe to till the land, or a silver hoe.

Zhao Bingkun laughed and said, "Brother Qi has just been appointed as a commander of a thousand, so of course he doesn't know the intricacies involved. There are more than a dozen border army forces in the entire northern frontier, each operating independently. The reason for this is that the imperial court wants to prevent the border armies from uniting and disobeying the imperial orders, so this separation was implemented."

"A battalion has about 10,000 men, so the entire border army has over 100,000 men. However, they are all scattered and small forces, so they have little influence over the central court."

"But the reason why the Fifth Prince went to Zhangzi Camp is that Zhangzi Camp is almost the largest force among the border troops, with 3 border troops under its command. Even General Yuan Tianlong has to show some respect to it."

Qi Shan was shocked. In his eyes, Yuan Tianlong was already an extremely powerful border army. Yuan Tianlong exuded a murderous aura and had many brave and fierce soldiers under his command. Even he could not underestimate him.

Who was this general whom even Yuan Tianlong had to respect?

Although Zhao Bingkun's eyes clearly showed fear and awe, Qi Shan knew that if Zhang Tianhu were truly capable, he wouldn't have allowed the northern nomadic tribes to wreak havoc on the border like this.

If everyone were like Yuan Tianlong, this frontier would have been stable long ago.

Most likely, they have a lot of people, but they've raised a bunch of useless people who bully others because they have powerful connections.

Qi Shan shook his head. The most important thing right now should actually be how to train the troops.

That's right, we're short of money!

Lin Wan kept calculating the costs for him. She told him that if the army and logistics continued to be drained like this, they would not be able to pay their soldiers' salaries within two months, and even feeding the army would become a problem.

To gain favor with the Fifth Prince, one must at least demonstrate their value to him. The value of the border troops lies in their combat effectiveness.

If your own army can't even get enough to eat, how can it have any fighting power?

However, how to handle it is a big problem for the military.

He can't just go to those landlords and powerful families like before, can he?

Killing people every day isn't a good idea.

Bang bang bang!

"Commander Qi, I have important news to report!"

The sudden knocking startled the two people inside.

Then Meng Da's voice came from outside.

Qi Shan frowned.

Why is Meng Da here at this time?

The old man just got a scolding from him and slunk away.

Shouldn't they be addressing their mistakes in managing their subordinates?

Is there something important going on?