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"Years apart... Your Highness, your charm remains unchanged..."

On the shore, two groups of people were in a standoff.

High on the prow of the large ship, the Duke of Wei and others looked down from their vantage point at the arriving party of Princess Royale, while on the dock, a group of warriors clad in golden armor stood in extremely neat rows.

However, the thick black aura emanating from their bodies made the golden armor seem like it was shrouded in black mist!

The Duke of Wei had a smile on his face but inwardly took a deep breath.

The supernatural soldiers crafted by the Princess Royale were formidable. Although they were restrained, the malevolent aura concealed within their armor was enough to make even someone like him, a Super First Rank warrior, feel a chill in his heart!

If he wasn’t mistaken, each of the ten people surrounding Princess Royale possessed Super First Rank strength!

No wonder Siao Mingyue dared to do such outrageous things that defied the world. It turns out the results were so substantial...

"Hmm, you’ve aged," Princess Royale said indifferently, lifting her gaze towards the other.

The Duke of Wei Wang Jin, one of the top ten famous generals of the previous dynasty, had made a name for himself when she and Lumings were still considered the younger generation.

For some unknown reason, he was subdued by her brother, and after the Great Jin Country was established, he was tasked with defending the north, commanding four hundred thousand Silver Dragon Guards - the Emperor’s most relied-upon duke!

"I can’t compare with Your Highness..." the Duke of Wei chuckled. "You have a way of preserving your youth, looking almost the same as when you were twenty. I envy you, old man that I am."

In fact, many people wanted to know how the nearly seventy-year-old Princess Royale could still look so young, but there were almost no women in the world stronger than her, so nobody dared to truly confront her and ask.

"I originally thought you had aged as well." Princess Royale looked at him. "After all, according to your Wang Family lineage, a hundred years old is basically the limit, but you’re over one hundred and thirty years old and can still fight so well!"

Sensing the vigorous vitality from the other, her years of combat experience told her that the current Duke of Wei, in terms of individual strength, was no less than her!

"Heh heh... Your Highness flatters me!"

"I hear that the Duke of Wei has come to invite me to Jiangnan?"

"Just on the way, on the way," the Duke of Wei laughed. "I heard that Your Highness and that young lad, Chen Qing, also share a special connection. Seeing as I’ve come from afar, it would be fitting for Princess Royale to guide an old man like me. Otherwise, I’d be quite anxious."

"It seems you don’t know the details about Chen Qing..." Princess Royale said with a smile. "Sorry, but I may not know more about Jiangnan than you do."

"Is that so?" the Duke of Wei put away his smile and looked seriously at her. "Having lived as neighbors with Chen Qing for so long, you don’t know a thing about him?"

"I don’t know..." Princess Royale looked towards the Duke of Wei’s ship. "That ship was given to you by Chen Qing, wasn’t it?"

"Heh heh, has Princess Royale seen it before?"

"Of course, it’s the same kind of ship he used when transporting grain for me. Just because it’s such a terrifying ship, I’ve always been too scared to make a move..."

"Transporting grain for you?" The Duke of Wei’s eyes lit up, and after glancing at those monsters behind the Princess Royale, he nodded suddenly.

"I see, I see. I was previously analyzing it: the West Sea had first been occupied by monsters, and the chances of ordinary folks surviving were extremely slim. Instead of taking Jiangnan first, Princess Royale went straight to confronting the West Sea. Either these creations of yours don’t need to eat, or.

.. you have a stable backup. It seems, Chen Qing. .. is your backup!"

"Isn’t it the same for you, my lord?" Princess Royale sneered.

"Your granary was burned, yet you still managed to stabilize the northern border. I thought it was because the dukes of the Imperial Court had grown too decrepit to fight, but now seeing this ship, I understand. You also relied on Chen Qing, didn’t you? "

"Hahaha!" the Duke of Wei suddenly burst into laughter.

But his heart was filled with even more curiosity, how much grain did this Chen Qing have?

Could he sustain two superpowers? Was he not raising an army in Jiangnan anymore?

Or did it mean he didn’t need an army at all?

But that seemed wrong too. The recent intelligence showed that Chen Qing decisively defeated Weichi Peng, proving that he did have his own troops, and during the grain collection, he also saw the man named Xuu Hu with soldiers who all possessed the strength of the elite Five Dragon Guard!

Maintaining such an army would require a vast amount of resources. What was Chen Qing’s angle?

"So will Princess Royale go?" the Duke of Wei asked seriously.

"Of course, I’ll go..." Princess Royale said with a smile. "The Duke of Wei came all this way at your age; how could a junior like me decline?"

"Haha, good, good, good!" the Duke of Wei patted the ship. "Then I haven’t accepted Chen Qing’s ship in vain!"

Princess Royale: "....."

"Well then, Your Highness, we shall meet in three days!"

"Very well, in three days... we shall meet in Nan Ming!"

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After the ship left, Fifth Master Shen approached and said, "Just like that, we let them go?"

"Don’t underestimate that old man..." Princess Chang shook her head, "His personal guards are warriors from the northern border who’ve fought countless battles. If we really fought, our losses wouldn’t be small, and we also need him to restrain the Imperial Court!"

Fifth Master Shen nodded. Princess Chang dared to do such a bold act now because of the rebel forces in the north, which tied up most of the military power of the dukes at the Imperial Court, causing the court’s military strength to weaken.

Otherwise, just being attacked from both sides at the West Sea would leave them with no chance at all!

"It seems that Your Highness has predicted correctly, Chen Qing... really wants to be this host!"

"Hmph..." Princess Chang sneered, "That depends on whether he has the capability. With forces from all around converging, if he can keep the situation under control, I have nothing to say. But if he cannot... heh, I’ve long coveted the grain route of Jiangnan!"

"Your Highness is right..."

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"Father, is what Princess Chang said true?" on the ship, Wang Shiyu asked curiously, "Aside from supplying us, is Chen Qing also sending grain to Princess Chang?"

"Most likely true!" Duke of Wei nodded gravely, "If I were Princess Chang, having backstabbed Duke of Qin successfully, the first place I’d want to occupy would surely be Jiangnan.

With that territory, one can have a stable rear.

Attacking the West Sea directly would be a very risky military move, and Princess Chang, a famous general of our times, would not take such military risks lightly. "

"Unless she had no choice," he pondered.

"No choice?" Wang Shiyu frowned.

"You still have much to learn..." Duke of Wei shook his head, "Princess Chang holding Jiangnan is steadier, so why expose her back to Chen Qing? She’s always been skilled in plotting; how could she trust anyone?

The only way to reach this point in the game is either.

.. Chen Qing is her man, and she has somehow ensured his absolute loyalty and control over him, or.

.. she suffered a major setback at the hands of Chen Qing and had no choice but to withdraw from Jiangnan! "

"This..." Both sons of Duke of Wei found it somewhat unbelievable, and Wang Shiyu took a deep breath, "Father, which possibility do you think is more likely?"

"The second one," the Duke of Wei said solemnly, "because if it were the first, it would mean Princess Chang has full control over Jiangnan and sufficient grain supplies.

Then she should take the opportunity while we are entangled with the Imperial Court to swiftly take over the West Sea, rather than inviting several forces to Jiangnan like now. "

"Could it be a trap, designed to harm us?"

"If that were the case, then it would lead to universal condemnation. All forces would prioritize dealing with her, which is far less profitable than quietly consuming the West Sea."

"Indeed... but..." Wang Shiyu hesitated, "If you say Princess Chang has suffered at the hands of Chen Qing... I find it hard to believe."

He had lived through the previous dynasty’s chaos with his father and knew all too well the combat prowess of Princess Chang, who had outmaneuvered Lumings. He could hardly imagine anyone who could make her suffer a loss.

"Believe it or not..." the Duke of Wei said in a low voice, "because only with that possibility would Princess Chang be in her current predicament. Let’s go to Jiangnan; I’m now even more interested in this Chen Qing!"

"Yes, Father!"

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Three days earlier, the Imperial Court had received news of Weichi Peng’s defeat, casting a pall over the court assembly.

Some of the younger officials and even the high-ranking civil officials couldn’t help but think: just twenty years ago, the once strong Great Jin Dynasty was now in decline?

With continuous losses in the north and repeated pleas for reinforcements, and with the Southern Barbarians setting their sights on an Imperial Family princess in the southwest.

Princess Chang’s crushing victory over Duke of Qin, coupled with the scheme against the 300,000 Golden Dragon Guards, the Imperial Court... had lost nearly 700,000 of its elite descendants in Jiangnan!!

Now... even dealing with a rebellious thief who started as a Magistrate had ended in defeat.

Has the Imperial Court... really lost its way?

"Speak..." from behind the screen, the voice of The Empress drifted out quietly, "What does Chen Qing’s letter say?"

The high-ranking officials of the Imperial Court glanced at each other before Minister Pang, the newly-appointed Minister of War, presented the letter, explaining, "In his letter, Chen Qing states that Your Majesty had entrusted him with great responsibility in Jiangnan, to guard the Dragon Palace Secret Realm and protect the true lineage of the Siao Family, in anticipation of your secret decree. At such a critical moment, summoning him back to the capital is out of the question. He believes the current commands of the Imperial Court do not reflect Your Majesty’s true intent.

He remains loyal to Your Majesty and refuses to comply! "

"Rebellious official and thief, spouting nonsense!!"