The villain prince is three and a half years old

Xia Jing asked General Yu to wander over the capital when he had nothing to do to see if there were any messengers from the border.

The messenger was easy to identify. Apart from him, no one else could gallop in the capital. Of course, Jingzhao Prefecture would send people to block the roads in advance.

General Yu's way of reminding Xia Jing was also very simple, circling in an S shape on the map.

After walking quickly for a distance, Xia Jing realized that he had no one to ask.

Emperor Kangning has not received the news yet. It will take some time for him to get the news and summon his ministers to discuss it.

The melons need to grow longer in the fields. Back at Jingyixuan, Xia Jing took the initiative to wash up and go to bed. He wanted to sleep early so that he could eat the melons earlier tomorrow.

Early in the morning, before there were any students in the upper study, Xia Jing had already arrived at the south study.

Zhang Zanyu was drinking tea in the study and was startled when he saw Xia Jing.

"Teacher, is there any news from Uncle Wang?" Xia Jing asked directly.

"How did the Ninth Prince know this?" Zhang Zanyu was surprised. "The Emperor just summoned me last night to discuss this matter."

"Oh, I can know everything in the world just by counting on my fingers." Xia Jing said.

Zhang Zanyu raised his hand and patted the boy's head: "If you want to lie, you have to tell a smart lie."

If Zhang Zanyu hadn't said this, the matter would have just passed, but he said this, and the Ninth Prince, who was very confident in his lies, had to get back at him.

"I learned about it from the Cining Palace." Xia Jing said again.

"If you had gone to the Cining Palace, you wouldn't have come to the South Study so early."

If we were to ask who is the most difficult person to deceive in the palace, apart from the suspicious Emperor Kangning, it would be the meticulous Zhang Zanyu.

"Prince's Mercy" can increase the credibility of words, but if the credibility of these words is originally 0 in the eyes of the other party, then no matter how much it is increased, it will still be 0.

"Teacher, tell me quickly. This is the last thing the eldest princess left behind before she left. I didn't sleep all night last night." Xia Jing changed the direction of his lie.

"As a prince, how can you be so careless about your health?" Zhang Zanyu quickly put down his tea and said, "Go back and get some sleep. I'll talk to you slowly on the way."

From the South Study to Yuehua Gate, that’s pretty much it.

Xia Jing stared at Zhang Zanyu's expression, making sure that he really believed it.

Sure enough, this kind of lie that is not ambiguous and has little direct or indirect evidence is easy to be believed.

"I was kidding. With my personality, I can sleep soundly no matter what happens. How could I not sleep because of such a small thing? Teacher needs more practice. How could you be fooled by me so easily?" Xia Jing patted Zhang Zanyu's leg, shook his head and sighed.

Zhang Zanyu clenched his fists, finally understanding where Emperor Kangning came from when he said that the Ninth Prince was sometimes very irritating.

He picked up his tea again and said, "The King of Jing sent a letter back. Sure enough, there are Chu troops stationed outside Tianmen Pass. They are disguised as villagers and have been stationed there for some time."

"Being able to disguise themselves as villagers means that there aren't many of them?" Xia Jing asked.

"The Ninth Prince is far more perceptive than even a sage in this area," Zhang Zanyu praised. "This is likely just a small support group. The Yan State has cleared a large area outside Tianmen Pass, with only that village in the clearing. The main force should be hiding in the mountains and forests behind, making it difficult to detect."

"Uncle Wang sent a letter back, is he asking for support?" Xia Jing continued to ask.

Zhang Zanyu saw what Xia Jing was anxious to ask and said directly, "The emperor sent 10,000 imperial guards, and your uncle was among them."

The troops on the borders of the Ning Dynasty each had their own enemies and were difficult to mobilize. When war broke out, the imperial guards were usually sent to provide support.

Xia Jing felt relieved when he heard that Xiao Jida was there.

The State of Chu will definitely attack Tianmen Pass. When King Jing leads his army to defeat the attack of Chu and save Tianmen Pass, he will definitely make a great contribution. Xiao Jida in the past will also be able to share in the credit.

I just don't know how much credit this will bring. I don't know whether Ningguo can occupy Tianmen Pass.

Xia Jing pondered for a long time in the southern study and asked, "Have they already set off?"

"We set out before dawn and are now out of the capital," Zhang Zanyu replied.

Xia Jing asked for leave from him, left the South Study, and went to the zoo.

Chapter 164 New Mission

General Yu spread his wings and flew up, his dark green wings piercing through the morning light and into the clouds.

The capital city turned into a miniature model under it, and fell behind its tail in an instant. The soldiers marching outside the city looked like a long snake, or a group of ants leaving an ant nest to look for food.

It moved left and right above the ant colony until it finally found its target, flapped its wings, and landed steadily on Xiao Jida's back. The huge impact made the man bend over, and the horse under his crotch staggered and almost fell.

Xiao Jida turned around, stroked the Saker Falcon's back feathers, and looked towards the palace: "Did the Ninth Prince ask you to come?"

General Yu nodded, his dark eyes fixed on the horse beneath him, wondering if this colleague was tasty. The horse shuddered.

……

Xia Jing withdrew his gaze from the sky and looked at the 3D map beside him. He was relieved to confirm that General Yu and Xiao Jida had met up.

During the Spring Hunt, the man and the bird had cooperated before. I hope that when we reach the Eastern Territory, General Yu and General Xiao can also work closely together to achieve the best results.

The best outcome would be the successful capture of Tianmen Pass, and Xiao Jida played a decisive role in it. Emperor Kangning was overjoyed and gave Xiao Jida a promotion and a raise, allowing him to command more troops.

However, this is a bit difficult. The army is too small, and Chu is not easy to deal with.

There is no problem in achieving the bottom line. As long as the State of Chu cannot obtain Tianmen Pass, it cannot rush into the Central Plains and compete with the other six countries for hegemony.

Thinking of the future war among the seven nations, and Emperor Kangning's serious illness and the turmoil in the government and the country a year later, Xia Jing felt a greater sense of urgency.

[Troubled times are approaching, you realize your own power is insufficient, and decide to accelerate your layout]

Mission: The Mastermind

[Mission Objective: Plan and develop in multiple fields to expand and strengthen one's own power]

[This task includes many sub-items. You will receive a settlement after completing a certain amount of progress.]

The system interface popped up and brought a new task.

This is a completely new, independent task, not a branch of the growth task of "spreading prestige in the government and the country".

It came just in time.

Unlike the growth tasks that release branch tasks intermittently, this task can be explored freely.

Xia Jing looked at the task requirements and made plans and developments in many areas.

Speaking of multiple fields, what about scholars, farmers, merchants, artisans, culture and entertainment? Military technology? Astronomy and geography?

He thought of his handmade soap and glass workshops, which were both industrial and commercial. He also thought of his stick figure drawings and short stories, which could be considered cultural and entertainment.

Thinking about it this way, although the mission was just released, he has already done a lot.

[Detected "handmade soap", "glass and its derivatives", "educational toys", "fables", "knowledge contest"...]

【Get a reward】

The previous ones actually count too.

Xia Jing patted the system panel. You have a great conscience.

He looked at the reward interface.

Please select one of the following three options:

1. Treasure Map (Rubber)

[2. Recruitment Order (3,000)]

3. Guidance of Destiny

Upon closer inspection, they were all good things.

The treasure map is an old one, but the things inside are unusual, they are actually rubber resources.

Rubber plays an irreplaceable role in industry. From vibration damping pads to conveyor belts to sealing rings, modern people's lives are almost inseparable from rubber products.

However, this is something that will only be used after a certain industrial foundation is established.

The recruitment order was quite good. Three thousand soldiers were not a small number. The army that Emperor Kangning sent to support the King of Jing was only ten thousand. Of course, these ten thousand were the best of the best, several levels higher than the soldiers in the recruitment order.

As for the last item, the guidance of fate...

[Guidance of Fate: A mysterious crystal ball. After use, it can guide the fate of a character. Used 1 times.]

Xia Jing had used this item in the game before. Its effect was roughly equivalent to the current beast taming technique. It allowed him to control the actions of an NPC in his dreams. This NPC had to be his subordinate, and his favorability had to be above 80, just like a pet.

Xia Jing hesitated for a moment and clicked "Guidance of Destiny".

This item is very usable and it is definitely worth getting it.

As for where it would be used, Xia Jing turned his head and looked towards the east.

When the army arrived, he first used the beast taming technique to possess General Yu and check out the situation.

There are still some days before the Battle of Tianmen Pass, so there is no rush.

After leaving the zoo, the Ninth Prince headed straight for the Cining Palace.

"Grandma." He lay beside Luohan's bed and looked at the lying Empress Dowager You.

Empress Dowager You moved her head and slowly opened her eyes. This time she was not pretending to doze, but was really half asleep.

"What's the matter? You're here so early." The old man yawned. "Are you going to ask about Tianmen Pass?"

Empress Dowager You also knew yesterday's intelligence.

"No, I've already asked Master Zhang." Xia Jing took Empress Dowager You's hand and asked her to get up.

"What happened?" Empress Dowager You asked in confusion.

"Get up and do morning exercises." Xia Jing said.

Queen Mother You was stunned, but before she could ask anything, the boy pulled her out of the palace and into the back garden.

Yuhe hurried to follow.

The back garden was extremely quiet. This was a forbidden area in the Cining Palace, and only a few eunuchs and palace maids in charge could enter and exit freely.

Xia Jing led Empress Dowager You to an open space. Behind the open space was Empress Dowager You's vegetable garden, and to the right was a creeping chrysanthemum planted by the Ninth Prince a month ago, the seeds of which were a gift from Ning Wanjun.

He asked Yuhe to call Sun Jingzhu and bring a guzheng.

"What is this for?" Empress Dowager You became even more confused.

Not only did he choose the venue, he also brought in help!

Yuhe and Sun Jingzhu were also confused.

"Grandma will know in a while." Xia Jing watched Sun Jingzhu tune the guzheng, pushed the girl aside, and sat in front of the guzheng himself.

Empress Dowager You was even more curious. The music teacher in the study, Prince Jing, had been busy on business trips and hadn't taught the Ninth Prince much this year. When had he taught the Ninth Prince to play the guzheng?

Ignoring her puzzled look, Xia Jing put on the artificial nails.

With his right hand stroking the strings, Xia Jing was attracted by the artificial nails. He opened his palm and blood-colored lines could be seen in the deep red nails.

This is a tortoise shell artificial nail. In a previous life, Xia Jing had a friend who played the guzheng. Her most common birthday wish was to get a tortoise shell artificial nail. However, her wish was impossible to fulfill because the trade of tortoise shells was illegal.

During the Ning Dynasty, there were no animal protection laws, and no one cared about obtaining hawksbill turtles from them.

In her previous life, Xia Jing learned some guzheng from that friend.

As for this life, he also secretly played the guzheng in Jingyixuan, not knowing whether it belonged to Xiaoyue or Yiqiu.

He plucked the strings with his artificial nails and played a melody.

Yuhe listened carefully and felt that the melody was completely different from what Empress Dowager You usually heard and was very fresh.

Sun Jingzhu stood beside Xia Jing and watched the Ninth Prince's fingering.

Empress Dowager You frowned. The music was too passionate, not like a guzheng tune, but rather a tune from the grasslands. As a native of the Central Plains, Empress Dowager You was somewhat unaccustomed to it.

After playing the song, Xia Jing looked at Sun Jingzhu and asked, "Sister Sun, did you remember it?"

Sun Jingzhu nodded, then shook his head.

Xia Jing gave her the seat. She played it the first time, but she stumbled a little and even forgot one part.

Xia Jing taught her, and she played it a second time. It was smoother, and by the third time, she was completely familiar with it.

After the music part was completed, Xia Jing asked Sun Jingzhu to continue playing and walked to Empress Dowager You to proceed to the next part.

"What kind of movement is this? Why is it so weird?" Empress Dowager You frowned, but still followed Xia Jing to learn it.

"It's an exercise to get grandma moving her body."

"That's so weird, so disgraceful!"