At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

Haizhou City, the government office.

Crown Prince Xiao Yunfeng hurried to the main hall of the government office, his face extremely grim.

His brows were furrowed, his thoughts were racing, and a sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

When he entered the lobby, the first thing he saw was the white-haired old man sitting in the guest seat, Su Mu.

Su Mu calmly gazed towards the doorway, quietly awaiting the arrival of the Crown Prince.

As he reached the door, the prince paused, his ominous premonition growing stronger.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, walked to the center of the main hall, forced a stiff smile, and cupped his hands in greeting:

"General Su? Weren't you enjoying your retirement in the capital? Why have you come to Haizhou City? You didn't even inform me beforehand so I could come out of the city to greet you."

Su Mu stood up and politely returned the greeting, his voice hoarse: "This old man has come by imperial decree. Your Highness, please accept the decree."

He stood up, took out the rolled-up, bright yellow imperial edict, and slowly unrolled it.

The prince's smile froze for a moment.

His hands trembled slightly, and he slowly knelt down, his forehead bowed, his voice low and deep: "Your subject Xiao Yunfeng... receives the imperial decree."

Su Mu unfolded the imperial edict, his voice unhurried yet clear:

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Crown Prince Xiao Yunfeng, leading the eastern expedition, suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Ninghai, losing the city and territory, with morale shattered and generals at odds. While I intended to give him experience as a newcomer to the battlefield, the situation in the East Sea is critical and cannot be afforded further. Therefore, Crown Prince Xiao Yunfeng is hereby relieved of his post as Grand Marshal of the Eastern Expedition and ordered to return to the capital immediately without delay. The post of Grand Marshal of the Eastern Expedition is assumed by Duke Su Mu of Zhenbei. All troops in the East Sea are under the command of Su Mu; any disobedience will be punished according to military law. This decree is hereby issued!"

The prince's body stiffened abruptly, and he froze on the spot.

His heart was filled with resentment and anger, and that feeling was almost overflowing.

But the imperial decree had already been issued, and no matter how unwilling he was, it was useless.

Standing in the crowd, Xiao Jingyu's brows relaxed and his lips involuntarily curled up slightly when he heard these words.

He knew all too well what this meant.

The crown prince finally left.

That person who only knew how to talk big, was stubborn and self-willed, and was even trying to kill him, is finally going back to the capital.

He glanced at the prince's back and sneered inwardly: If you weren't called "Prince," you would have been executed by military law long ago. Why would you still be standing here now?

Han Shixun stood behind Xiao Jingyu, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

He felt incredibly pleased to see the Crown Prince's frustrated and rebuffed expression. Although he dared not laugh out loud, the light in his eyes was impossible to hide.

He cursed inwardly: "So this is what you get? You think you can really drive out the Eastern barbarian bandits and achieve great things? Dream on!"

Although Xu Cheng and his soldiers did not speak, the barely suppressed smiles on their faces said it all.

Some people secretly clenched their fists, while others coughed softly to hide their emotions.

Some people turned their heads and pretended to look out the window, but their eyes kept glancing towards the Crown Prince.

After reading the imperial edict, Su Mu handed it to the Crown Prince with both hands and said, "Your Highness, please accept the edict."

"As per His Majesty's decree, you must immediately depart for the capital upon receiving the imperial edict."

The crown prince raised his head and his gaze fell on Su Mu's face.

He still wanted to make one last attempt.

After all, he had been making preparations in Haizhou City for so long, and finally managed to wait until the Eastern Yi troops withdrew. He was about to write to His Majesty to claim credit and rewards, but this imperial edict wiped out all his efforts.

But before he could speak, Su Mu slowly reached out and placed the Dragon Abyss Sword horizontally in front of him.

The sword was not drawn, but its heavy weight and overwhelming aura made the prince's throat tighten.

"This is a sword bestowed by His Majesty. Seeing this sword is like seeing His Majesty."

"Anyone who disobeys may be executed without prior notification."

The prince's gaze lingered on the sword for a few moments, and his fingers trembled slightly.

He recognized the sword.

The Dragon Abyss Sword was used by the late emperor and has never been given away lightly since the founding of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The fact that Father Emperor even gave this sword to Su Mu means... he has already made up his mind to completely abandon me.

Therefore, even though he was the crown prince, he should have been more sensible in this regard.

The crown prince remained silent for a moment, then finally lowered his head, accepted the imperial edict with both hands, and replied, "Your subject, Xiao Yunfeng... accepts the edict."

He stood up, gripped the scroll of imperial edict in his hand, and then turned and walked out of the hall.

He took two steps, then suddenly stopped, glanced back at Su Mu, paused for a moment, and strode across the threshold, disappearing into the sunlight outside.

The hall was silent for a moment, then a suppressed murmur arose.

"Finally gone... that crown prince, finally gone."

"If he doesn't leave soon, we soldiers are afraid he'll torment us to death."

"General Su has arrived, we finally have hope."

Su Mu ignored the whispers.

He hung the Longyuan Sword back on his waist and looked at Xu Cheng.

"General Xu, I would like to trouble you to immediately gather all officers and soldiers of the rank of centurion and above at the drill ground. I wish to see my brothers."

Xu Cheng clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice booming with a long-suppressed excitement: "This humble general obeys!"

He turned and strode out of the government office, his back view much more upright than before.

……

Half an hour later.

The military training ground was packed with people.

Thousands of soldiers stood in formation, flags waving, swords and spears arrayed.

When they heard the news that the Crown Prince had left and Su Mu had arrived, their faces were filled with joy.

My heart is filled with anticipation.

Because they know the prestige of the name Su Mu.

"Have you heard? The Crown Prince has been deposed! General Su Mu has taken over as Grand Marshal!"

"That centenarian war god who killed the Northern Di King in the northern border? Is that Su Mu?"

"That's him! I heard that when General Su was fighting, he charged ahead all by himself, and even beheaded the Northern Di King!"

"We're saved..."

The murmurs, like a low, rumbling tide, echoed across the drill ground until the hunched figure stepped onto the reviewing stand, at which point all the noise fell silent.

Su Mu stood on the command platform, looked around, and stared at the soldiers.

"Fellow soldiers."

"From this day forward, I shall be your commander-in-chief."

"I have no other skills, only one: when it comes to battle, I am always at the forefront."

"If you follow me, I will not let you die in vain."

He paused, then raised his voice slightly:

"What I want to tell you is very simple: from this day forward, we will share life and death, never abandon each other, and work together to drive the Eastern barbarian thieves out of the land of Daqian!"

A moment of silence fell over the training ground, then, like ignited gunpowder, erupted a deafening roar: "To live and die together! To never abandon each other!"

The voices of thousands of people merged into a torrent, echoing over the military camp.

Su Mu raised his hand, and his voice rang out again: "Next, I have a few things to announce."

"I hereby appoint Xiao Jingyu as the Grand Army Advisor to assist this old man in completing the great cause of conquering the East."

Xiao Jingyu stepped out from the crowd, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said in a steady voice, "This humble general obeys the order."

"Han Shixun is hereby reinstated as the deputy commander of the vanguard."

Han Shixun's eyes reddened slightly as he knelt on one knee: "This humble general will certainly not fail Elder Su's trust!"

"Qin Hao and You Zhongyi served as the left and right vanguards under General Xu Cheng, commanding the vanguard battalion."

Qin Hao and You Zhongyi stepped forward simultaneously, saying in unison, "Your subordinates obey!"

"Zhao Tieniu and Gu Changfeng were appointed as captains and were deployed with the army."

Zhao Tieniu laughed heartily and said, "Great! Now I can follow Elder Su on military campaigns again."

"After the North was at peace, my fighting spirit has been itching ever since."

Gu Changfeng clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying nothing more, but the excitement in his eyes said it all.

Su Mu finally looked at Chu Tianba and Wen Jiuyuan.

"The brothers of Qianlong Village and Qianlang Fort independently formed a battalion called Shenshui Battalion."

"With Chu Tianba and Wen Jiuyuan as commanders, all naval operations will be at your command."

Chu Tianba and Wen Jiuyuan exchanged a glance, then simultaneously knelt on one knee, their voices booming, "Your subordinate obeys!"

Then, Su Mu looked at the soldiers below the stage, paused, and raised his voice again:

"Three days later, the entire army will be fully prepared and will follow me to attack Ninghai City!"

A deafening roar erupted across the training ground: "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

These past few days, the soldiers have been holed up in the city defending it, feeling very aggrieved and harboring a lot of resentment.

Now that Su Mu has arrived, he has changed his strategy and taken the initiative to attack, which has allowed their pent-up frustration to erupt.

The wind blew from the north, making the blue dragon flag on the city wall flutter loudly.

Su Mu understood this very well.

Therefore, he had to personally fight back immediately to restore the morale of his troops.

He will take back those cities that were taken by the Dongyi people, one by one!