Chapter 156: Li Chen is surnamed Li, and I am also surnamed Li

But who would have thought that Li Chen just said it lightly and then ignored him? What was this about?

Yet, this approach of Li Chen's was enough to make people like Zhou Ye feel very respectful, because he felt a trace of respect—a trace of respect from the Emperor, which was a great honor.

What he didn't want to do, the Emperor didn't force him to do; he just let him do his job well and hoped to see him in the imperial court.

This showed that the Emperor respected his choice but had expectations for him.

Zhou Ye was also filled with emotion in his heart, thinking: Could this be a true wise monarch?

Zhou Ye certainly had ability, and he knew it himself, but he was afraid of being involved in court disputes and eventually ending up in prison, implicating his whole family.

As a jailer, he understood this matter too well.

In the prison of the government office, those old subordinates of the Second Prince—weren't they loyal ministers in the court before? Now they were still prisoners, not even as good as him, a jailer.

In any case, at this stage, Zhou Ye had no intention of being promoted.

In fact, Zhou Ye thought too much; Li Chen just felt that the May Tian Ce Dynasty was just as Zhou Ye said: outstanding people and divine land.

The capital lacked nothing, but talent.

There were many people who could do things, but what was lacking were positions.

Take the imperial court, for example; the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Rites had all changed many people, and those who came up were not only capable of doing things but also worked harder.

Li Chen was not someone who was very short of manpower; there were plenty of people who took the initiative to be his dogs.

Some even came from thousands of miles away from the Northern Wang Ting to show their loyalty.

As Li Chen gradually showed his strength, the Ji family in the south and the major sects in the central May Tian Ce Dynasty didn't they also send people over?

Even if Zhou Ye had ability, Li Chen certainly didn't lack this one person.

Li Chen came over just to see how Lin Yue'e's judgment was.

The facts were just as Lin Yue'e said: Zhou Ye had a certain talent.

But this was not enough to move someone of Li Chen's level.

What about a thousand-mile horse? Li Chen's current mounts were all holy beasts.

Zhou Ye's Bo Le could only be at Lin Yue'e's level.

But having said that, no matter how small Zhou Ye's official position was, he was still on the payroll.

As the direct superior, it was appropriate for Li Chen to come and comfort a grassroots subordinate and encourage him.

As for whether Zhou Ye would have development later, it depended on his own thoughts.

Leaving the government office, Li Chen naturally headed to the Ji family.

He really hadn't slept well last night, so he had to make up for it today.

Just arriving at the courtyard, he saw two plump, beautiful women chatting and laughing.

Ji Lianyu and the Princess of Zhennan were wearing identical clothes today, even their hairstyles were the same.

They seemed to want to let Li Chen guess who was the elder sister and who was the younger sister, and there would be a special reward for guessing correctly.

He didn't know how Ji Lianyu persuaded her sister, or if the Princess of Zhennan had long wanted to do this.

Li Chen indicated that there was no need to guess; he would know after testing the depth.

On the other side, Xu Zifeng also began his rebellion plan.

He and Ma Hei had already led the army to fight in the Northern Wang Ting for a period of time, but he was not looking to achieve merit.

According to the instructions of the Prince of Zhennan, Xu Zifeng was looking for a way to command the northern tribes.

Just like he fought in the southern countries before.

Because he fought the fiercest, Xu Zifeng had already clashed with the main cavalry of the Snow Eagle Wang Ting.

He discovered that these people's strength was very powerful and they were fearless of death.

They possessed very strong recovery abilities; as long as it wasn't a fatal wound, they could recover within a certain period of time.

These people's combat power was very powerful; if it weren't for encountering Xu Zifeng, the Son of Luck, others really couldn't deal with them.

After capturing some people, Xu Zifeng learned that the people of the Snow Eagle tribe had received the gift of the Snow Leopard God.

Then he started investigating this so-called Snow Leopard God.

According to northern legends, the Snow Leopard God had lived for countless years and had the ability to be immortal.

Therefore, those who could receive the blessing of the Snow Leopard God possessed super-strong recovery abilities.

And the Khan of the Snow Eagle Wang Ting had received the baptism of holy blood, not only possessing powerful strength but also an immortal holy body.

According to Xu Zifeng and Ma Hei's judgment, the Snow Leopard God might be a powerful holy beast existing in the snowy mountains, which had cultivated for a certain number of years and had special abilities.

These northern warriors blessed by the Snow Leopard God, once they left the north, their abilities would also disappear.

That is to say, this Snow Leopard God and the blessed warriors were only powerful in the north.

To defeat the Khan, one could only find a way to make him leave the north.

As long as he was still in the north, he was an invincible existence.

Xu Zifeng had no great interest in defeating the Khan; what he wanted more was the holy blood blessing of the Snow Leopard God.

As long as he also received it, then he would be an immortal existence, and in the north, he would also be worshipped by various tribes as a god, so he could rely on his own ability to command the northern tribes.

At that time, he would lead his army south, his father, the Prince of Zhennan, would move north, and the May Tian Ce Dynasty would certainly change dynasties.

If others thought this way, Ma Hei would feel that this person was sick—there were so many people in the northern tribes, who didn't want to receive the holy blood baptism of the Snow Leopard God?

But for thousands of years, only the Khan had received it, so he became the Khan of the Snow Eagle Wang Ting at a young age.

Xu Zifeng thought this way, and Ma Hei felt it was really possible, because Xu Zifeng's luck was truly powerful.

Ma Hei had fought with him until now, several times in danger, repeatedly besieged by the northern tribal army, but in this desperate situation, Xu Zifeng could always escape, and by chance, discovered heavenly treasures in the north, his strength was constantly soaring, and even this army was getting stronger and stronger.

So when Xu Zifeng said this plan, Ma Hei indicated: Your Highness, if you think it's possible, then you can give it a try.

Anyway, you're awesome; you might just succeed.

I don't have that ability; I'll just follow you.

Others might not be able to do it, but the Son of Luck might really be able to.

After establishing the goal, Xu Zifeng led his vanguard army deep into the snowy mountains.

This was the forbidden area of the northern tribes; it had been attacked by rebels within the tribe some time ago, so the guards of the Great Snowy Mountain were very numerous.

Xu Zifeng's army was soon discovered, and the northern tribal cavalry chased after them.

Now they were deep in the interior, food was not enough to continue, and the climate near the Great Snowy Mountain was very cold; normal May Tian Ce Dynasty soldiers could not withstand the cold of the snowy mountains.

Not to mention others, even Ma Hei, a Heavenly Abyss Realm expert, felt his combat power drop significantly.

But some time ago, when Xu Zifeng passed by an area where they were besieged, this army deep in the interior fell into mortal danger; as long as they were entangled by the northern tribal army that arrived, they would certainly die.

Ma Hei felt a familiar scene appear again. Under Xu Zifeng's leadership, they inexplicably broke into the northern so-called "Great Snowy Mountain Forbidden Area," and the northern tribal troops did not continue to chase them.

According to their thoughts, Xu Zifeng and the vanguard army he led would certainly die in the forbidden area.

But Xu Zifeng's heaven-defying luck—he didn't die, didn't trigger the restrictions, and in a situation of food shortage, found a forest of Ice Spirit Snow Pears.

The soldiers and horses ate the Ice Spirit Snow Pears and gained special resistance to icy and snowy weather, significantly improving their combat capability.

And Xu Zifeng himself found an Ice Spirit Snow Pear that was different; this fruit was crystal clear and looked like it was not a common item at first glance.

Ma Hei felt at the time that this thing had an unknown origin, what if there was danger? It would be better to let Xu Zifeng eat the ordinary Ice Spirit Snow Pears; everyone had eaten those, and there was no big problem.

But who was Xu Zifeng? He felt there certainly wouldn't be much of a problem, so he started eating it.

As a result, not only was there no problem, but it also allowed him to gain special abilities.

Ma Hei didn't know how to complain about his luck for a while, but if it were anyone else, according to Xu Zifeng's way of playing, he would have died eight hundred times already.

So this was why, when Xu Zifeng said some outrageous ideas, such as going to get the holy blood baptism of the Snow Leopard God, Ma Hei did not stop him.

This kid might just succeed.

After resting, the vanguard army continued deep into the Great Snowy Mountain with Xu Zifeng.

Just like that, the army led by Xu Zifeng was the first army to enter the northern Great Snowy Mountain in the last few hundred years of the May Tian Ce Dynasty.

When Xu Zifeng entered the Great Snowy Mountain, he was still thinking that after returning from this battlefield, he would be able to see his aunt. But on some level, his aunt was also on the battlefield now, and besides that, there was someone he didn't even expect.

At the same time, in the eastern part of the empire.

In the palace of Green Hill City.

The Third Prince Li Yu did not send anyone to participate in the National Celebration.

Because this was a form of tribute; if he sent someone, wouldn't it mean he had already recognized Li Chen as Emperor?

Since he recognized him, then his own expedition to crusade against Li Chen would be unjustifiable.

Therefore, no matter what, Li Yu could not possibly go to pay tribute to Li Chen.

The Prince of Zhennan could certainly go; after all, he was only a vassal king now, and he had no qualification not to acknowledge Li Chen.

And in Qingqiucheng and its surrounding areas, it was rumored that Li Chen was the culprit who poisoned the Crown Prince and the former Emperor.

It was Li Chen and the Empress Dowager colluding; the two of them must have unknown secrets.

!

Just like the Second Prince Li Xian's approach, in the area where the Third Prince was active, there were negative messages about Li Chen and the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager really didn't understand: you spread rumors, why do you always bring me along?

In fact, there was no way around it; just spreading negative messages about Li Chen, many people didn't believe it, but adding the Empress Dowager, regardless of whether the credibility was high or not, people would gossip and speculate, so the rumors spread quickly.

"I didn't expect the Prince of Zhennan to wait for me to go first!" Li Yu said with an unhappy face.

According to his plan, the next person Li Chen should strike was the Prince of Zhennan; he didn't expect the Prince of Zhennan to go pay tribute—this dog thing really wanted to benefit from the conflict.

And the fighting in the north was getting more intense; those experts from the Northern Wang Ting had all returned.

They even left harsh words when they left: if Li Yu didn't move, then when the Northern Wang Ting defeated the May Tian Ce Dynasty's Northern Army, Li Yu would also have to pay the price for not keeping his promise.

Just now, Li Yu thought that since he had to fight, he might as well get the Prince of Zhennan to fight together, so he sent an envoy over.

After all, the Prince of Zhennan's envoy had also come to invite Li Yu to fight together last time; Li Yu thought at the time that the Prince of Zhennan would certainly be the first to be attacked, so he didn't agree.

But the envoy came over and said he had been humiliated by the Prince of Zhennan's people.

Roughly speaking, they had no qualification to see the Prince of Zhennan at all, and the Prince of Zhennan's subordinates mocked them for having soft bones, only knowing to come for help when they were about to be beaten—what were they doing earlier?

That was the Prince of Zhennan's territory, so Li Yu's envoy returned full of resentment.

This made Li Yu furious; the table in the palace was shattered by his palm.

"Your Highness, what should we do?" The person replying to Li Yu was his confidant, the Heavenly Abyss Realm expert Zhao Changgong, who had the title of the First Spear of the Capital.

Zhao Changgong had a grudge against Feng Wuhen, so after Feng Wuhen joined Li Xian's camp, Li Yu came to win over Zhao Changgong.

Of course, these so-called "First" titles were all excluding the Sage Realm.

Because in the competitions of various regions, there was really no precedent for Sage Realm experts to participate.

The Sage Realm was in a separate tier, and other titles were competed for in various duels.

Many Sage Realm experts had their own titles and didn't need to use "Where-Where First" to let people know their skills.

Zhao Changgong was not only Li Yu's confidant but had also followed him on the battlefield for many years; he also had great military merit and had a certain prestige in this area.

He could now understand the Third Prince Li Yu's frustration, as if Li Yu was being forced by the Prince of Zhennan and the Snow Eagle Wang Ting to be used as a gun, and he was not allowed to move.

Because according to Li Chen's temper, if Li Yu didn't pay tribute, after the National Celebration ended, someone in the court would certainly impeach Li Yu, and according to Li Chen's temper, he would certainly deal with Li Yu.

Li Yu would have to fight even if he didn't want to.

Just as he was hesitating whether to send troops, and preparing to send troops, a voice appeared in the palace.

"Third Highness, I think you can go pay tribute."

The person speaking was the former Minister of War Zou Chong, who had now been demoted to Vice Minister of War.

Bang!

Li Yu stood up in a rage, the powerful aura causing the table in front of him to collapse directly.

He came to Zou Chong, held a sword to his neck, and said: "Zou Chong, what do you mean? Are you provoking me?"

As if in the next second, if Zou Chong said the wrong thing, he would certainly lose his head.

He was already planning to rebel, so what did he care about the Minister of War—oh no, it was Vice Minister of War; even if you were a clansman of the Empress Dowager, so what? Was I afraid of the Empress Dowager?

Zou Chong could sit here because he was really too idle, and his official position was high enough to sit in this place.

Li Yu wanted to rebel; people in the capital knew this, and he wasn't afraid of being heard by Zou Chong.

Besides, the two were old acquaintances before and had some face.

But now, Li Yu felt that Zou Chong was looking for death.

Putting down his wine cup, Zou Chong said: "Third Highness, do not be angry; listen to me analyze it for you."

After all, he was the Minister of War for so many years; how could he have no skills?

Li Yu glanced at Zou Chong and let him continue.

Zou Chong continued: "Third Highness, you are surnamed Li, and the Emperor is also surnamed Li, but the Prince of Zhennan is surnamed Xu. You don't need to fight with the Emperor and let an outsider pick up the bargain."

"And the Prince of Zhennan humiliated you so much; I think you should just go pay tribute, and then tell the Emperor that if you exterminate the Prince of Zhennan, let the Emperor appoint you as the Prince of Zhennan, then this world is still the Li family's."

"Moreover, the commander of the Second Army, Yun Xu, is your mentor; if you go to fight the Prince of Zhennan, he will certainly cooperate with you to fight and help you sit firmly in the position of Prince of Zhennan."

Zou Chong's words made Li Yu's brain start to turn.

Because he felt Zou Chong's words made some sense.

Li Yu was thinking: I fight Li Chen to the death, and then the Prince of Zhennan curses me for being a fool while easily attacking the capital.

Then what is the meaning of this war? Paving the way for the Prince of Zhennan? Or reducing the pressure on the Northern Wang Ting?

But I am surnamed Li; I am a direct blood relative of the Li family. Why should I help an outsider?

I can't be Emperor, but being a Prince of Zhennan is fine, right?

And if I go to fight the Prince of Zhennan, Li Chen will certainly let the Second Army cooperate.

Just as Zou Chong said, Yun Xu is my mentor; I learned to march and fight from him since I was a child; it can be said that I was taught by him.

In Yun Xu's eyes, me being the Prince of Zhennan in the south is better than the current Prince of Zhennan, right?

I have been in the Second Army for many years, and I can also let the Second Army cooperate with me perfectly in battle.

Most importantly, setting aside other things, Li Chen and I can be considered brothers.

Even if I don't set it aside, Li Chen and I have no conflict other than the throne.

In the palace, Zou Chong saw Li Yu put away the sword and start to think seriously about what he said, and he knew Li Yu had been persuaded.

Zou Chong felt he really wasn't easy; he came here from thousands of miles away, was inexplicably impeached by the Vice Minister of War, and his official rank was demoted by one level.

If Li Yu rebelled, he might even kill me to sacrifice the flag. Instead of saying I persuaded Li Yu to solve the Prince of Zhennan, after returning to the capital, this credit is taken, and it's a sure promotion.

Zou Chong had been Minister of War for so many years; he could observe the situation, and his eloquence and ability were also up to par.

It couldn't be said how awesome he was, but this was his job, and normal performance was enough.

At this time, Zou Chong knew he needed to let Li Yu think; he couldn't say too much, as saying too much might have the opposite effect.

Anyway, I gave the suggestion; whether you listen or not is your business.

Li Yu returned to his seat, sat for a while, and asked his confidants around him, wanting to hear their opinions.

As a confidant who had followed Li Yu for many years, Zhao Changgong knew Li Yu's meaning.

If Li Yu didn't agree, he would have said so directly; why ask them?

Li Yu wanted face; he couldn't just listen to whatever you, Zou Chong, said, right?

Now it was just going through the motions, letting the confidants express their views, and finally concluding with "everyone says so," and I will reluctantly agree.

Only then would there be a sense of "I am not afraid of Li Chen," and he could retain some face.

Zhao Changgong was also afraid of others talking nonsense, so he stood up directly and said loudly: "Your Highness, I think the Prince of Zhennan is too bullying, simply not putting Your Highness in his eyes, and those people from the Northern Royal Court are even more disrespectful to Your Highness. I think we should give the Prince of Zhennan a lesson and let him know the Great Tian Ce Dynasty is surnamed Li!"

Zhao Changgong was the head of Li Yu's confidants; when he said this, other soldiers also spoke up one after another, planning to give the Prince of Zhennan a lesson.

The process reached here, and Li Yu finally showed a "reluctant" expression, sighed, and said: "Since you all say so, then let's do it. You immediately send someone to tell Li Chen that as long as he agrees to let me be the Prince of Zhennan, I will move south immediately!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 157 =====