Chapter 120: Those who argue with Li Chen never end up well

Outside Little Stone City, the hunting parties returned one after another.

Some were arrogant and triumphant, while others were dejected.

Liu Hao performed well this time, his warhorse piled high with prey. Li Ling, with "good luck" and the help of Chen Xuanan, also had a bountiful harvest.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites were busy counting and recording. When the Minister of Rites, Yan Hai, saw the suppressed Dingtian Shangren being led away, he knew His Majesty had won this time.

His inner feelings were somewhat complex; while he felt a sense of relief, he also felt a lingering melancholy.

His Majesty winning this round meant the court situation would remain stable.

The Second Imperial Prince had lost completely; if he hadn't been captured, he certainly wouldn't dare show his face again for a long time.

As for whether he himself would be purged by His Majesty, it all remained an unknown.

Regardless, he had done what he could; he would leave the rest to fate.

Inside the Imperial Capital, Lin Yue'e, having received the news, had already begun leading teams to arrest the Second Imperial Prince's remaining remnants.

Li Xian had only been spouting nonsense in the court last time, but this time, his rebellion was confirmed.

Today, the Imperial Capital's government office was packed with prisoners, and those who were once the Second Imperial Prince's cronies were all in a state of panic.

Outside Little Stone City, Li Chen sat on a meticulously crafted high platform, covered with soft cushions, with delicacies and wine laid out on the table before him.

A group of court officials stood in rows on either side; those who were seated were all heavyweights and powerful ministers.

The people standing behind them were also clad in armor, exuding an impressive aura.

Li Chen took the roster handed over by the Ministry of Rites official, which recorded the rankings of this Spring Hunt from highest to lowest.

Naturally, the first step was to distribute rewards to those on the roster according to the standards of previous Spring Hunts.

These tasks could be handled by Eunuch Cui, who stood nearby.

Next, naturally, was the highlight of this Spring Hunt: the Northern Expedition list, decided by Li Chen's mood.

Because Li Chen had already mentioned this matter in the court, everyone was waiting with expectant eyes.

After finishing the roster, Li Chen spoke up: "Minister Guo."

Grand General Guo Guo Po Yun stepped out excitedly, knelt before Li Chen, and replied: "Your subject is here!"

Li Chen continued: "I appoint you as the Marshal of the Northern Expedition, to command the three armies. I hope you can lead our great army to conquer the Wang Ting in the north and raise our national prestige!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Guo Po Yun cupped his hands and shouted loudly: "Your subject Guo Guo Po Yun is willing to serve you like a dog or a horse, swearing to fight the Northern Expedition to the death, and will not fail your high expectations!"

No one was dissatisfied with Grand General Guo Guo Po Yun being appointed as the Northern Expedition Marshal; after all, Guo Guo Po Yun had immense prestige and rich experience, making him truly the best candidate for the Northern Expedition.

To put it bluntly, given his status, few could compete with him for it.

Subsequently, Li Chen successively bestowed rewards upon several other generals to serve as supporting generals for the Northern Expedition, and these decisions were also approved by everyone.

However, when Li Chen spoke next, the entire scene was plunged into shock.

"Xu Zifeng, as the son of the Prince of Zhennan, you have been intelligent and exceptionally courageous since childhood. I see that you possess the talent of a general, so today I specially appoint you as the Vanguard General of the Northern Expedition. I hope your bravery can pave the way for the great army."

Not to mention others who were stunned on the spot, Xu Zifeng himself was extremely surprised, completely at a loss as to what game Li Chen was playing.

My father is the Prince of Zhennan, someone who is about to rebel, and I am a hostage left in the Imperial Capital who has been causing trouble ever since I arrived. You appoint me as the Vanguard General?

For a moment, Xu Zifeng stood there blankly, not knowing how to respond.

It wasn't until the generals around him nudged him that he reacted.

There was no help for it; he couldn't defy the Emperor in front of so many people.

Moreover, he knew exactly what kind of strength this Emperor possessed, so he didn't dare to have any objections at all.

Besides, he had indeed performed well during the Spring Hunt.

Xu Zifeng had no choice but to kneel and say loudly: "Your subject Xu Zifeng will certainly not fail your high expectations, swearing to fight the Northern Expedition to the death and serve the country!"

Li Chen had his own plans; anyway, your aunt recommended it, and I checked your resume and felt your ability was decent, so I'll take you north to test the waters.

Most importantly, I won't feel heartache if you die.

What is a Vanguard General? That's someone who charges at the very front.

Coincidentally, however, Xu Zifeng really wasn't afraid of getting hurt, and he needed battle to improve himself.

Many generals and noble youths around were looking at him with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

The Vanguard General charges at the front, so there are plenty of opportunities to earn merit.

As long as Xu Zifeng didn't die this time and returned alive, his military merit would be maxed out.

Next was the familiar Liu Hao. Although Li Chen hadn't seen her cousin yet, she had performed well this time, so Li Chen appointed her as the Deputy Vanguard General.

Liu Hao kowtowed in excitement to thank him.

Just at this moment, the Princess of Jingan, Li Ling, stepped forward to ask for a title, requesting to participate in the Northern Expedition.

This surprised many people present, as everyone thought she was just there to play.

Li Ling was also wearing armor today, standing tall and straight, no worse than those noble youths.

She felt her hunting record was decent, no worse than Liu Hao's.

Liu Hao was a bit dazed; are you really going to compete with me?

"Your Majesty, didn't you say that those who performed well in the Spring Hunt would have the opportunity to participate in the Northern Expedition?" Li Ling said resolutely.

It seemed she really wanted to go.

At this time, the Prince of Jingan wasn't there, so Li Chen glanced at Guo Guo Po Yun.

This was passing the buck; Zhao Wenyuan isn't here, so you take the blame.

Guo Guo Po Yun was also in a difficult position, but he couldn't hide; this was the Emperor's test.

The Prince of Jingan was an old acquaintance, so Guo Guo Po Yun proposed that Li Ling serve as his deputy, which meant arranging for her to be a garrison captain near the military headquarters.

Not letting her go to the front line could also be considered a form of protection.

And incidentally, letting her mix in some military merit would suffice.

If the Prince of Jingan's daughter died on the front line, he would probably come to skin Guo Guo Po Yun alive.

Li Ling was very dissatisfied; why could Liu Hao be a Deputy Vanguard General while I'm just a garrison captain?

However, she didn't dare say it here; once Li Chen agreed, there was no room for negotiation.

The last person who argued back didn't even have a grave.

Since Princess Li Ling was going, Chen Xuanan would naturally follow.

Li Chen hadn't expected that with just a casual remark, he had gathered two children of destiny to go to the front line.

At this moment, Li Chen didn't know what these children of destiny were useful for; if he had known, he might have sent Xiao Ming too, as three children of destiny might be able to combine into a two-star one.

However, at this time, Xiao Ming wasn't in the Imperial Capital either.

On the way back to the Imperial Capital, the more Li Ling thought about it, the angrier she got. Chen Xuanan comforted her, saying that by being a garrison guard at the tent, wouldn't she be able to know the military situation first, and wouldn't it be simple to get merit?

With his guidance, Li Ling's mood improved a lot.

In Chen Xuanan's view, if Li Ling wanted to be Emperor, she would have to pass the hurdle of her brother, Li Yang.

Perhaps others didn't know what kind of person Li Yang was, but Chen Xuanan had been a groom in the Prince of Jingan's mansion for so many years, and with his keen insight, he had secretly seen some of the schemes Li Yang had been up to.

This playboy was not as simple as he seemed.

Or rather, the second-generation children of the Prince of Jingan's mansion were all ambitious.

That was why, when Li Ling was looking at Li Chen last time, Chen Xuanan asked her if she wanted to be Emperor.

Since Li Ling was going to participate in the Northern Expedition, Chen Xuanan also had to prepare in advance.

He enjoyed this feeling of manipulating everything from behind the scenes without being known.

Returning to the Prince of Jingan's mansion, the Prince of Jingan, Li Longyu, began to fly into a rage.

"Nonsense! You want to participate in the Northern Expedition? Is that something you can participate in! That old thing Guo Guo Po Yun is the same; I'm going to report this to His Majesty right now!"

Li Longyu was furious; his birthday had just passed, and his daughter wanted to go to the battlefield; what kind of talk was this?

"Father, that is His Majesty's decree, and besides, I am only serving as a garrison captain in front of the central army tent."

Li Ling knew she couldn't provoke Li Longyu, and serving as a garrison captain in front of the central army tent was indeed a very good excuse.

Besides, the Emperor had issued the decree himself; who dared to defy it? The example of someone who had contradicted His Majesty was still fresh.

This sentence did indeed make Li Longyu stop his steps to go out; he couldn't make Li Chen withdraw the decree, but he could put pressure on Guo Guo Po Yun.

Li Longyu pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Ling, wondering if he had been wrong; he shouldn't have spoiled her so much in the past, nor should he have let her practice cultivation and visit famous teachers everywhere.

The battlefield was no child's play; Li Ling didn't even have military experience, yet she was going directly to the Northern Expedition; this was no different from seeking death.

He decided to pretend to agree first; the Northern Expedition hadn't started yet, so he would find a way to keep Li Ling behind when the time came.

Just as his daughter left, that good-for-nothing son came again.

Every time Li Yang came to find his father, it was to ask for money.

It was as if he only remembered Li Longyu was his father when he needed money.

"What's your excuse this time?" Li Longyu said in a deep voice. "Father, I've taken a fancy to a newly mined mine and am preparing to take it over. Believe me, Father, this time I definitely won't lose money!" Li Yang said confidently.

This sentence almost made Li Longyu choke; taking over a mine wasn't such a simple matter.

Moreover, every time he gave Li Yang money to do things, he would lose it all; his ability as a spendthrift was fully displayed.

In order to give this son something to do, Li Longyu finally took out some money for him to continue "starting a business," and Li Yang would have to find a way for the rest.

Li Longyu felt more and more that having reached this level, with status and power, he wasn't afraid of his children achieving nothing, but was afraid of them wanting to work hard to build a career.

It would be fine if they succeeded, but if they lost, it would be a major blow to their vitality.

Perhaps in the eyes of Li Yang and Li Ling, Li Longyu was a prince with no real ability, who had only reached this point by following the late Emperor.

How powerful the late Emperor was; during the power struggle, he fought his way out from among many princes and reached the peak of power in the Tian Ce Dynasty.

But Li Longyu felt that people should have self-knowledge; one should be clear about one's own abilities. If one doesn't have the ability to achieve a career, then just follow someone who does.

Therefore, during the late Emperor's startup process, Li Longyu's performance in the startup team was mediocre, but because he joined the team earliest, he had a share in every reward.

This was also why Li Longyu initially let Li Yang follow the Crown Prince, because the Crown Prince's ability was very strong, but he didn't know how the Crown Prince had died so suddenly.

!

At the Prince of Zhennan's mansion in the Imperial Capital, when Xu Zifeng returned, he saw the anxious look on his aunt's face.

"Don't worry, Aunt, it's just a small Spring Hunt. With my ability, it's naturally a piece of cake."

In order not to let his aunt worry, Xu Zifeng also began to boast.

Ji Lianyu saw that he was fine, and only then did she feel relieved, and then began to ask if anything had happened during this Spring Hunt.

Because she had begged Li Chen in advance, she didn't know if Li Chen could take care of Xu Zifeng.

Speaking of this Spring Hunt, Xu Zifeng also began to frown.

He told her about Li Chen appointing him as the Vanguard General of the Northern Expedition.

Xu Zifeng had grown up in the military camp since he was a child and was brave and good at fighting.

He wasn't afraid of fighting, he just didn't understand what the significance of Li Chen doing this was.

Hearing that Xu Zifeng had been appointed to such a position, Ji Lianyu felt a little excited inside, and kept urging Xu Zifeng to participate in this Northern Expedition seriously, not to charge at the front when charging, to compete for merit when it was time, and to protect himself well.

In Ji Lianyu's view, if the Prince of Zhennan were to be dealt with one day, Xu Zifeng could avoid punishment through military merit.

She was even considering finding a way to detach Xu Zifeng from the Prince of Zhennan's camp so that he could be safer.

Seeing this scene, Xu Zifeng felt it was a bit abnormal; if it had been in the past, his aunt would have been as anxious as an ant on a hot pan upon hearing that he was going to do such a dangerous thing, and would have thought of every way to stop him.

Why was she supporting him this time?

Xu Zifeng suddenly remembered that when he was about to go to the Spring Hunt, his aunt had told him to perform well, saying that there might be rewards; he hadn't paid much attention at the time.

Now it seemed that his aunt had known about this.

Since his aunt was a person in the Empress Dowager's camp, Xu Zifeng understood everything.

The Empress Dowager also wanted a piece of the pie in this Northern Expedition, so he was an important chess piece for the Empress Dowager in this Northern Expedition.

For so many years, the Empress Dowager had taken great care of him, and he might need the Empress Dowager's help in the future, so it was only right to repay her.

Thinking of this, Xu Zifeng gradually felt relieved and was not so resistant to the Northern Expedition.

Anyway, for many things, if he asked his aunt, she wouldn't say, so he had to guess for himself.

Xu Zifeng had figured it out, but his subordinate Ma Hei felt that this was developing too fast.

Ma Hei was now living in a villa in the Imperial Capital; although this was a residence arranged for him by Xu Zifeng, the environment looked quite good.

But the problem was, he had spent less time living here than he had in prison.

Originally, these past few days had been a miserable prison disaster, but the next second he had to participate in the Northern Expedition; what kind of thing was this?

After all, he had been sent by the Witch King to assist Xu Zifeng, so if Xu Zifeng was going to the Northern Expedition, he naturally had to follow.

"Well, I also want to see the experts of the Snow Eagle Wang Ting."

Coming out of the holy land this time, Ma Hei had indeed gained a lot of knowledge.

The so-called knowledge naturally meant seeing the Emperor's terrifying strength and clearly understanding the gap between himself and the Sage Realm.

When he came, Ma Hei felt that with his strength, plus the secret arts of the Witch Sect, he would have the power to fight even if he faced the Sage Realm.

Now it seemed that it was difficult even to stand up in front of the Sage Realm.

He hoped that this Northern Expedition would yield some gains.

Ma Hei was still okay; at least with the relationship of Xu Zifeng's aunt, he wouldn't encounter trouble in the Tian Ce Dynasty for the time being, and his opponent Feng Wuhen had now completely become a rat crossing the street.

With the defeat of Dingtian Shangren and the death of Yu Fuzi, the Second Imperial Prince Li Xian had already been wanted, and didn't even dare to return to the Imperial Capital.

As the Second Imperial Prince's confidant, Feng Wuhen was naturally also a wanted target.

Overnight, the status and position he had accumulated in the Imperial Capital for so many years vanished.

He could only follow Li Xian as they fled, starting the next step of the plan.

Li Xian hadn't yet recovered from the shock of his master being defeated; in his view, Dingtian Shangren was an invincible and undefeated expert, and the reason he had taken Dingtian Shangren as his master was also for this.

But his master had just lost like that?

However, when Li Chen displayed the might of the Divine Dragon, he had also seen it from not far away; with his late-stage Observing Heaven Realm strength, he could also see some clues, so he couldn't make excuses that Li Chen was lucky; it was hard strength that won.

Using an array against an array, and finally achieving a counter-kill.

This was a textbook-level fighting style.

It was just that he didn't know that Li Chen felt he could fight even without using an array.

"Second Highness, where are we going next?" Feng Wuhen asked.

"There must be an ambush on the way back to the sect, so we'll hide in the surrounding area for a while. As long as I find a way to inherit the sect, we still have a chance!" Li Xian said after pondering.

In his view, although his master Dingtian Shangren had been defeated and captured, his master's wife, Lady Youlan Lady Youlan Xianzi Lady Youlan, was still in the sect; as long as he followed his master's wife well and with her support, the position of the Tianyan Divine Sect Master would be his sooner or later.

Sect forces were very special in the Tian Ce Dynasty, with experts as numerous as clouds inside, and they were not under the control of the Tian Ce Dynasty, so it was indeed an excellent place to hide.

Because Lady Youlan Lady Youlan Xianzi Lady Youlan was one of Dingtian Shangren's trump cards, he hadn't told Li Xian, and Li Xian didn't know that his master's wife had already come to the Imperial Capital.

And now, Li Xian's master's wife was eating with Li Chen in an inn.

Li Chen had just returned to the Imperial Capital, changed his clothes, and came to this inn.

Because he had made some modifications to Lady Youlan Lady Youlan Xianzi Lady Youlan's memory, Li Chen hadn't been polite in changing it, directly turning himself into Lady Youlan Lady Youlan Xianzi Lady Youlan's master, and everything Lady Youlan Lady Youlan Xianzi Lady Youlan had done in the past was at the master's instruction.

This memory could be restored at any time, and Li Chen could do it, letting her restore it when needed, wanting to see her reaction at that time, whether it would be very exciting.

The table was ordered with tonics like kidneys.

And sitting opposite Li Chen was a mature and beautiful woman, her plump and full breasts pushing up her dress, her jade body and delicate figure undulating, beautiful beyond compare, with exquisite curves just right.

Her bulging, round, and lifted beautiful buttocks not only didn't affect her overall beauty, but paired with her charming phoenix eyes, they added even more to the mature beauty's style and charm!

At this moment, Lady Youlan Lady Youlan Xianzi Lady Youlan was serving Li Chen food, making the people nearby very envious.

This inn had been very popular recently, just because one could see this stunning woman when eating.

Many people weren't here to eat at all, but just to watch from the side and feast their eyes.

In the past few days, many people had come up to strike up a conversation, but they had all been rejected; this person was powerful, and they couldn't mess around.

Today, when they came to eat as usual and admire the beauty, that handsome young man walked over.

Those who often ate here knew that this handsome young man was one of the few people who could eat with the stunning woman.

Just being able to eat and chat with this stunning woman was already something countless people nearby envied and were jealous of.

But so what? Even if this young man was ridiculously handsome, in the end, he still couldn't eat her.

Because a few days ago, after these two finished eating, they each went their own way.

They couldn't eat her themselves, and didn't want to see other men eat her.

But now, a scene that made everyone around jealous and red-eyed appeared: after these two finished their meal, they actually accompanied each other back to the guest room!

Everyone was thinking in their hearts: It's over, this kid got to eat her!

Li Chen looked at the "trophy" beside him, thinking that he had finally gotten his hands on her.

Two hours later, Li Chen took Lady Youlan Lady Youlan Xianzi Lady Youlan and left the inn.

It wasn't that it was over, it was just that the bed had collapsed.

Returning to the sleeping palace, Li Chen didn't attend court for two days.

Midway, for excitement, Li Chen directly restored Lady Youlan Lady Youlan Xianzi Lady Youlan's memory.

Lady Youlan Lady Youlan Xianzi Lady Youlan said weakly: "Even if you have obtained my body, you will never obtain my heart!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chen became even more energetic: "As you wish."

I never intended to obtain your heart, and I'm too lazy to obtain such a thing; now that I can even obtain your body, that's exactly what I wanted!

If it weren't for the Spring Examination results being released in two days, Li Chen might not have attended court.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 121 =====