The sadness that had accompanied him all the way collapsed in an instant, falling apart, and was immediately covered by joy.

He had never known that the heavens favored him so dearly.

Thinking about how he had hit the Prince Beimo twice, Zhao Xu felt deeply guilty.

If it weren’t for the Prince Beimo’s cleverness, playing a beautifully executed trick, he and Princess Jing Mountain would have truly missed each other.

Although there were many affairs in Nangang, since he hardly had the chance to come to Beimo, Zhao Xu decided to meet Princess Jing Mountain before leaving.

However, since Princess Jing Mountain was kidnapped and taken to Nangang during her outing, she won’t be thinking about leaving the palace again.

Previously, her outings were for leisure and to choose a Prince Consort for herself.

Now that she had someone she cared for, even when she was at the Zhao Family, she often strolled the streets with Miss Zhao, reducing her urge to go out of the palace.

Having caused her father and mother to worry for so long, now that she returned, she ought to behave more obediently, so they wouldn’t be anxious.

Besides, with the Nanliang envoy still present, what if there was another attempt to kidnap her?

As Princess Jing Mountain didn’t leave the palace, Zhao Xu had no choice but to find a way to get in.

And he actually did manage to enter the palace.

However, with the strict guard of the Beimo Palace, he was inadvertently exposed.

Moreover, the Beimo Minister wanted Princess Jing Mountain to choose a Prince Consort, and the King Beimo wished for his daughter to marry, completely extinguishing the Prince of Nanliang’s intentions. Princess Jing Mountain claimed she already had someone in mind.

Zhao Xu was that person.

The Nanliang envoy discovered Zhao Xu’s activities in Beimo, especially when Zhao Xu competed with the Prince of Nanliang for the princess, leaving the envoy utterly shocked.

News of the mistaken identity of the princess quickly traveled to Nanliang, infuriating the Emperor and the Prince of Nanliang.

Neither had met Princess Jing Mountain, although the Princess Consort Mo had, she never mentioned that it was a false princess.

No wonder she agreed to Prince Beimo bringing the Golden Mountain Princess to Beimo, only to marry her back later, clearly she also feared the truth coming out, sparking fury in Nanliang.

The Emperor of Nanliang was not known for his temper, and Princess Consort Mo knelt and wept, fearing the Prince’s blame on her father for his failures, hence she swapped identities, attracting Prince Beimo to Nanliang.

But who would have thought that Prince Beimo would outplay her, unnoticed by anyone in Nanliang?

Then the modification of Princess Jing Mountain’s title to Golden Mountain Princess by the Nanliang minister surfaced.

Just changing one character not only thwarted Nanliang’s plan but also turned it into a laughing stock.

The minister was dragged out and executed.

Princess Consort Mo seized the moment to shift blame onto the Nanliang minister, earning herself a slap from the infuriated Emperor of Nanliang.

The Nanliang minister deserved death for his mistake, and her concealment and failure to report also couldn’t escape guilt.

However, as there were still uses for Princess Consort Mo and her father, the Beimo Cheng King, the Emperor of Nanliang tolerated her with some degree of patience.

Princess Consort Mo confessed to the rescue of Princess Jing Mountain midway, and within days, news that Zhao Xu was the one in Princess Jing Mountain’s heart reached Nanliang.

It was clear that Zhao Xu was the one who rescued Princess Jing Mountain back then.

Assuming Prime Minister Zhao had retired to his hometown peacefully, no one expected it was the Zhao Family disrupting the court’s affairs.

The Emperor of Nanliang dispatched assassins targeting Prime Minister Zhao and Zhao Xu.

...

Meanwhile at the border, General Shi had been resting for over half a month.

General Shi showed undeniable signs of negligence, not stepping out of his tent, abstaining from discussions on combat strategies, and not boosting the morale of his soldiers.

The soldiers speculated in private whether General Shi was letting the Duke Huguo do as he pleased until he hit a wall with the Daiqi East Town Marquis and Prince Zhenbei, only to reclaim military power afterward, forcing the Emperor of Nanliang to recall the Duke Huguo.

With such thoughts in mind, these generals also slacked off.

The Duke Huguo was eager for success, repeatedly attacking cities, only to fail more with each attempt, defeating further upon each loss.

Since General Shi did nothing but focus on recuperating, the heir of the Duke of Guardian wished to learn some insights from Xie Jingchen but could accomplish nothing.

On the third occasion of being summoned, the heir of the Duke of Guardian had run out of patience, "Still no news at all?"

Xie Jingchen shook his head.

The heir of the Duke of Guardian coldly retorted, "Is there truly nothing, or do you dare not speak?"

Xie Jingchen hesitated before speaking.

The heir of the Duke of Guardian continued, "I’ve always treated you graciously, do you think I dare not do anything to you?"

Xie Jingchen stated, "General Shi is just still indignant. Since the Duke Huguo entered the camp, none of his battle plans were adopted, instead, he ended up as a scapegoat and was wronged, this time he even got poisoned and almost lost his life."

"General Shi feels that whether he’s on the battlefield or not makes no difference. On the battlefield, witnessing the Duke Huguo pushing soldiers into harm’s way only stirs his urge to strike. Recuperating is perfect to clear his sight and let the Emperor know who’s more suited to command the troops."

The heir of the Duke of Guardian gave a cold laugh.

Sure enough, General Shi harbored such thoughts.

"Is there anything else aside from this?" he asked.

Xie Jingchen continued, "General Shi has always secretly monitored the Duke Huguo’s battle plans. He mentioned more than once about how the old Duke Huguo defeated the Flying Tiger Army."

"Back in the day, the Daqi Flying Tiger Army was known for its invincibility, suffering repeated defeats at Daqi’s hands made Nanliang shiver upon hearing their name, yet such an undefeated army was still wiped out by Nanliang."

"The Daiqi East Town Marquis rebuilt the Flying Tiger Army to cleanse the shame of being annihilated back then."

"The old Duke Huguo was brave and good in battle, the Huguo now fell far from that, beaten to the point of having no resistance against the Flying Tiger Army, the reemerging glory of the Daqi Flying Tiger Army is not who the old Duke Huguo was back then..."

The more Xie Jingchen spoke, the more unsightly the heir of the Duke of Guardian’s face became.

Though it praised his grandfather, it slandered his father! 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

It’s because of his grandfather’s remarkable talent at turning the tides, that is why despite the Duke Huguo’s repeated losses, the Emperor still trusts him.

Losing doesn’t matter, it’s who laughs last that counts!

The heir of the Duke of Guardian clenched his fist, "If the Duke Mansion could wipe out the Flying Tiger Army once, they could wipe it out a second time!"

Xie Jingchen was eager to inquire about the old Duke Huguo’s strategy to destroy the Flying Tiger Army but held back.

Destroying the Flying Tiger Army was no easy feat, perhaps the Duke might resort to the usual tricks, all he needed to do was wait patiently.

After Xie Jingchen withdrew, the heir of the Duke of Guardian went to find the Duke Huguo.

The Duke Huguo was equally troubled by the war, consecutive defeats had severely damaged his prestige, and the morale of the soldiers waned, the Daqi Flying Tiger Army was formidable and he loathed them to the core.

The heir of the Duke of Guardian proposed to annihilate the Flying Tiger Army once more, to which the Duke Huguo replied, "Is it so easy to destroy the Flying Tiger Army?"

If it were that simple to eradicate them, would he have permitted them to live until now?

Not just the Flying Tiger Army, he even wanted to take the life of Prince Zhenbei.

The heir of the Duke of Guardian looked at the Duke Huguo, "How did father and grandfather annihilate the Flying Tiger Army back in the day?"

This was something the heir truly never knew.

No matter how many times he asked, the Duke Huguo never revealed a word.

Seeing the heir’s persistence, the Duke Huguo dismissed his subordinates and shared the tale of how the Flying Tiger Army was destroyed back then.

Since the victory was not exactly honorable, the details were nothing worth flaunting.

"Without the help of the Duke Chong, there would have been no way to annihilate the Flying Tiger Army," the Duke Huguo said.

The heir of the Duke of Guardian found the process perilous, any slight deviation would have spelled disaster.

But to say there was no possibility of annihilating the Flying Tiger Army again wasn’t entirely accurate either.

The heir said, "The Daqi Camp doesn’t lack people willing to help us."

The Duke Huguo looked at his son, "You mean...?"

"The East Town Marquis never figured out how the Flying Tiger Army was eradicated in the first place; otherwise, he would never have allowed Duke Chong to live till today," the heir of the Duke of Guardian remarked.

"Rehashing the same trick could still succeed!"

The Duke Huguo hesitated; the site where the Flying Tiger Army got wiped out years ago was twenty miles within Nanliang territory.

Meaning that to repeat the trick, they would first have to hand over this town to Daqi.

The heir thought giving up the child benefits not caging the wolf, destroying the Flying Tiger Army ensures the town’s recovery is nothing to worry about!

"This town can also be used as a favor," he said.