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The Sum Emperor pondered for a moment.

Then he said, “Draft an edict: North Prince has slain 200,000 from the Barbarian Tribe, captured more than 100,000, and has shot the Sky Wolf King on the battlefield. For his great achievement, he is especially rewarded with two million taels of silver, 200,000 bolts of cloth, and the Order of Expansion.” Seeing the Sum Emperor simply awarding the Order of Expansion like that left the ministers somewhat flabbergasted. It had not been easy for the previous generations of Sum Emperors to reclaim the Order, and now the current one was giving it away again.

However, at this time, none of the ministers said anything because, compared to the Order of Expansion, people were more concerned with the position of Crown Prince.

If they could exchange the Order for the position of Crown Prince, then they would still find it acceptable. After all, the north was the territory of the Barbarian Tribe, and the North Prince could only expand his territory further north.

If he moved south, it would not be expanding his territory, but rebelling.

As long as North Prince did not become Crown Prince, everything was negotiable, and there was no issue with giving him the Order of Expansion. At the same time.

At the northern gate of the Capital city, a soldier bearing a small red flag was loudly shouting while riding a horse: “Great victory in North City!!!”

North Prince led the soldiers of North City to slay 200,000 of the Barbarian Tribe and captured another 100,000!!!”

The soldier rode his horse towards the direction of the Imperial Palace, shouting as he went.

This kind of great victory had to be shouted out, it had to be let known to the common people.

It’s just that Lin Xiuming and the Military Supervisor had instructed the Red Ribbon Messengers before dispatching them not to shout it out in the Capital city and to wait until they reached the Imperial Palace.

Because the merits of North Prince were too significant, it was best for the common people to find out after the royal court had discussed and decided on how to reward North Prince. Otherwise, public opinion could definitely exert some pressure on the royal court.

But Lu Chen didn’t think so much about it. He figured that the common people were bound to learn of it sooner or later anyway, so he dispatched the Red Ribbon Messenger, instructing him to shout vigorously along the way and even specially prepared dozens of water bottles for him.

Only when the common people of the Great Sum knew about North Prince slaying 200,000 from the Barbarian Tribe in North City would the royal court not dare to do anything to him.

Such a great achievement, if the royal court did not reward him but thought instead of reducing his fief or accusing him of rebellion, it would surely lose the hearts of the people.

At this moment, the common people of the Capital city, hearing the war report from the Red Ribbon Messenger, were stunned.

Had they heard wrong?

North Prince led the soldiers of North City to slay 200,000 of the Barbarian Army?

Was it true?

Wasn’t North Prince a useless Prince?

An effete Prince, his body hollowed out by indulgence in wine and women, could obtain such military exploits?

This was so outrageous they dared not doubt its falsehood.

Although the common people lacked political acumen, they were also aware that a war report so outrageously fake was actually unlikely to be false, because no one would dare transmit such a blatantly false report.

Moreover, it was a message brought back to the Capital city by the Red Ribbon Messenger!

For a time, all the common people in the Capital city were in a frenzy. Of course, most commoners were questioning the authenticity of the news. After all, the news seemed too preposterous to believe.

A universally recognized useless person, merely changing his location, had undergone such a dramatic transformation—it was obviously impossible.

At the same time within the Capital city, spies from other nations or dynasties also heard the news delivered by the Red Ribbon Messenger. Although they were highly skeptical, their reaction was not the same as that of the common people.

Upon hearing the news from the Red Ribbon Messenger, spies from other countries immediately made use of various connections to inquire about the movements on the high court.

Those ministers would surely know if the event was true or not.

Soon, spies from other countries found out that the war report delivered by the Red Ribbon Messenger was indeed true, which dumbfounded them.

Having collected intelligence in the Great Xia Dynasty for so many years, they had never considered North Prince seriously, dismissing him as just a useless Prince not worth understanding. Such a worthless prince was never expected to become the Crown Prince of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The result…

Once the war report was confirmed, it meant that all the intelligence they had collected about North Prince over the years was false. They had all been deceived by North Prince, who turned out to be the most promising and cunning Prince of Great Xia!

Although some found it hard to accept this reality, the spies from various countries quickly relayed the intelligence they had gathered about North Prince back to their respective capitals.

At the same time.

Imperial Palace, Royal Garden.

After arriving at the pavilion where Situ Ce was, the Sum Emperor asked, “The State Preceptor should already know everything, correct?”

Situ Ce replied, “Yes, I’m aware.”

When Situ Ce learned about what North Prince had been doing in North City, just like everyone else, he couldn’t believe it. But after a Shadow Guard showed him the intelligence they had gathered, he gradually came to accept the news.

At this moment, Situ Ce said, “Congratulations to Your Majesty for having Prince Lu Chen, such a brave and skilled warrior.”

Hearing this, the Sum Emperor coldly said, “State Preceptor, are you mocking me?”

Situ Ce immediately replied, “This subject would not dare! ”

The Sum Emperor snorted and then said, “Chen really hid his capabilities deep enough. Fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry, even the court can’t afford to maintain so many Heavy Cavalry, yet somehow North City has suddenly produced fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry, just like that!”

At this time, Situ Ce said, “Your Majesty, it looks like Vice Commander Bai’s intelligence wasn’t wrong. It is highly probable that Prince Lu Chen did not collaborate with Mysterious Moon Palace, because he simply doesn’t need to rely on them.”

The Sum Emperor then said, “Has the State Preceptor not considered where Chen’s Heavy Cavalry came from?”

“You should be well aware of what North City is like. He has only been there for a short while, so how could he possibly create fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry?” Situ Ce asked, “Could it be that Your Majesty suspects Prince Lu Chen of collusion with other dynasties, and that these Heavy Cavalry came from another dynasty?”

“However, as far as I am aware, apart from Great Xia, North City only borders the Da Yue Dynasty. If such a large force of Heavy Cavalry had passed through Da Yue, the Shadow Guard would certainly have some information.”

Hearing Situ Ce’s words, the Sum Emperor fell silent.

What Situ Ce said was right; Heavy Cavalry are of great interest to all major dynasties. Any dynasty using Heavy Cavalry would be known to the others, and it wouldn’t go completely undetected.

Furthermore, no dynasty would willingly give away fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry to others; that’s simply an impossibility. That leaves only one possibility left—that the fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry truly were created by the North Prince.

But no matter whether it’s time or resources, North City couldn’t possibly have manufactured fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry.

Could it be that this son of mine can summon soldiers out of thin air?

At that moment, Situ Ce said, “Your Majesty, I think this could very well be a good thing for you.”

The Sum Emperor asked, “Why does the State Preceptor think so?”

Situ Ce answered, “You do not know the origin of these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry, nor do the court ministers, nor the Aristocratic Families.”

At these words from Situ Ce, it dawned on the Sum Emperor.

It meant he could pretend that the North Prince was someone he had supported since, after all, no one else knew how the North Prince had come by the Heavy Cavalry.

The North Prince was appointed by him to North City, and it could be said that it was thanks to the Sum Emperor himself that the North Prince could achieve the military exploits he has today.

Therefore, the Sum Emperor might have known what kind of person the true North Prince was, and also known that the North Prince had always been concealing his true abilities. Assigning the North Prince to North City was likely part of an important mission.

Perhaps all of this was the Sum Emperor’s grand scheme!

Creating Heavy Cavalry requires a lot of resources, and it is not something that can be done in a day or two. North City didn’t have those resources, and right now in the entire Great Xia, only one person could support the North Prince having fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry!

That would be none other than the current Sum Emperor!

At this time, the Sum Emperor asked, “The State Preceptor thinks I can use Chen’s Heavy Cavalry to confound the Aristocratic Families?”

Situ Ce said, “Yes, Your Majesty. Currently, only you could enable North City to have fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry. No family or dynasty could have the capability to do so, and it was also you who personally sent the North Prince to North City.”

With hands clasped behind his back, the Sum Emperor stared at the lotus pond in front of him, deep in thought for a long time.

The fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry of North City could indeed be of some use, but after utilizing them, the question of how to deal with them afterwards would be another troublesome matter.

After a long while, the Sum Emperor spoke, “State Preceptor, I need you to make a trip to North City.”

Situ Ce, expecting this, immediately replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Sum Emperor continued, “After you arrive in North City, tell Chen that I am considering making him the Crown Prince and hope he will not let me down.”

Situ Ce said, “Your servant understands.”

The Sum Emperor then turned around and said, “Very well, State Preceptor, prepare for your journey to North City.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. This old servant shall take his leave.”