Great, it's just a lackey, we're saved!

Chapter 321 His Highness is back!

The convoy headed north, and everyone remained silent along the way. Jiang Yueli's thoughts were in turmoil; before she even reached the capital, her heart had already drifted back.

When the convoy rested, everyone gathered together again.

Tan Lin then approached the Princess and shared his thoughts.

"Your Highness, I've thought a lot about this journey, and I have some thoughts on the situation in the capital."

The eldest princess said solemnly, "Mr. Tan, please speak."

"The most important point is that Daqing's uprising was sudden, and it was able to reach the capital of Dazhou in just three months. There is something fishy about this."

Jiang Yueli frowned: "What do you mean, sir?"

Tan Lin patiently explained, “Your Highness, think about it. The Great Zhou and the Great Qing are roughly equal in military strength. The soldiers of the Great Qing are skilled in horsemanship and archery, so the border defense is under great pressure. This is also the reason why the princess fought so hard at the border back then.”

"But when the cavalry crossed the flat plains of the Central Plains and arrived in the northern mountains, their movements were restricted, but Daqing still advanced with unstoppable momentum."

"Qian Tao and Feng Polu are such fierce generals, and their ability to lead troops is well known. Yet they both died or were wounded in battle. Doesn't the princess think there's something wrong with that?"

Jiang Yueli's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately realized what was going on.

"Mr. Tan means that someone in Beijing is colluding with Daqing from the inside?"

“More than that,” Tan Lin took a deep breath, “this person’s status is definitely extraordinary, otherwise he would not have access to the core battle reports at all.”

"General Zhaoyong Feng Polu was captured in open field battle. Doesn't Your Highness find that laughable? Feng Polu was most skilled in open field battle. After years of fighting, he had developed a mature set of open field battle methods. However, open field battle is all about surprise."

"If military intelligence is leaked, how can he launch a surprise attack? I'm afraid that before General Feng even sets out, the enemy will already have a trap waiting for him."

Jiang Yueli nodded, a flash of hatred in her eyes.

With a formidable enemy at hand, someone colluded from within and without to leak all the confidential battle reports, leading to the tragic deaths of the Great Zhou generals.

Now, they don't even have a fierce general who can intimidate the capital, leaving Ning He, a woman, to shoulder the heavy responsibility.

Zhou Wei then asked, "The Marquis of Zhenyuan still has 300,000 troops under his command. Can we summon him to the capital?"

Jiang Yueli shook her head: "No, the Marquis of Zhenyuan guards the southwest and resists the southwestern countries. Although these countries are small, if they unite, they will be a great threat."

"They have been restless all these years, harassing our southwestern border from time to time, so we have to be on guard."

Currently, troops cannot be easily mobilized in various locations.

Even the Southern Guang Army could only spare 100,000 men to go to the capital to defend the emperor.

The situation is quite serious.

Zhou Wei turned to Tan Lin: "Mr. Tan, if we find the traitor, with the current strength of the Great Zhou army, can we turn the tide?"

Tan Lin thought for a moment and said, "We can only try our best, after all, no one knows what the situation is in the capital."

"There's another strange thing. Logically speaking, the capital shouldn't be able to withstand such an offensive from Daqing, but they were blocked for a long time, even though they were only a hundred miles away."

As Tan Lin spoke, he looked at the eldest princess.

"Your Highness, is the Third Prince perhaps an unparalleled military genius?"

Jiang Yue Li didn't know if the Third Prince was a military talent, but relying solely on his intelligence, he certainly wouldn't be able to keep the enemy army a hundred miles away.

Therefore, there must have been someone else helping in this!

"Yue Lin was unruly from a young age. Although he had learned archery and military tactics in his childhood, he only practiced them sporadically."

Jiang Yueli's meaning was clear: the Third Prince was not a capable general, and Tan Lin should not have any hope.

Tan Lin was quite open-minded and said directly, "No matter how the Third Prince held off the Daqing army, it is truly remarkable that he was able to hold out for so long."

"I only hope that the Southern Guang Army, led by the First Prince and the Second Prince, can enter the capital as soon as possible."

After a short rest, the group continued their journey.

Traveling day and night, the people were alright, but the little red horse couldn't take it anymore.

Zhou Wei had no choice but to exchange for energy and stamina-replenishing pills in the system, which she then fed to the little red horse before the group continued on their way.

Seeing that Zhou Wei was only feeding medicine to the little red horse, the princess patted A Bao and said, "Weiwei, won't you give A Bao some?"

Zhou Wei shook her head: "A Bao is a beast. Not only is it tough and thick-skinned, but it only needs two bowls of milk to run a hundred kilometers."

Ah Bao was born a spirit beast, unlike ordinary animals.

Without stopping, the group returned to the capital in just ten days.

Looking towards the gates of the capital, Zhou Wei sighed, "This journey has been really difficult. If we hadn't had to avoid the cities occupied by Daqing, we might have been able to get there much faster."

The princess looked exhausted; everyone was extremely haggard from traveling day and night.

When the convoy arrived at the south gate, Zhou Wei had just jumped down from A Bao's head, wanting the soldiers to open the city gate.

Then a cheer came from the city tower.

"It's Her Highness the Crown Princess! Her Highness has returned!"

"Your Highness is the chosen one of Heaven; with Your Highness's return, we are saved."

"That's an auspicious beast! The auspicious beast has returned! May the auspicious beast protect the Great Zhou!"

Not long after the cheers of the defending soldiers, a buzzing sound also erupted inside the city.

The entire city was thrilled by Jiang Yueli's appearance!

The city gate slowly opened, and Sun Cheng stood at the entrance to greet them.

Upon seeing Jiang Yueli, he immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Your subordinate, Sun Cheng, greets Your Highness the Crown Princess."

Jiang Yueli waved for him to rise: "General Sun, is everything alright in the capital?"

"Your Highness, a few days ago the Nanguang army marched to the capital to defend the emperor, forcing Daqing to retreat another fifty li. The two armies are still in a stalemate."

Jiang Yueli breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

On their return to Beijing, they detoured to the Zijin Pass, a strategically important but difficult-to-attack defensive point, which was abandoned by Daqing.

Inside the Zijin Pass, the soldiers were on high alert. Upon seeing the Princess's convoy, they mistook it for enemy troops and nearly clashed.

Now that I hear the Daqing army has retreated again, the pressure on Beijing is finally not so great.

"Does Your Highness wish to enter the palace?" Sun Cheng asked. "If Your Highness wishes to enter the palace, I can send someone to escort you."

Jiang Yueli frowned upon hearing this. "What? Is there still a rebellion in the capital?"

Sun Cheng said awkwardly, "No, it's just..."

Seeing Sun Cheng hesitate, the princess said, "General Sun is one of us, so please feel free to speak your mind."

Sun Cheng immediately cupped his hands and said, "I hope Your Highness will forgive me. In the past few months, many nobles and officials have fled the capital, causing panic among the people of the capital."

"There was a riot not long ago, and it was only through the joint efforts of my subordinates and Miss Ning that the riot was suppressed."

"Later, I discussed it with Miss Ning and we felt that the reason the people were so fearful was because they had no hope in their hearts. If we could give them hope, perhaps we could temporarily stabilize the capital, so..."

Jiang Yueli understood; she was that hope and a source of comfort.

Ning He and Sun Cheng must have been spreading rumors among the people, exaggerating that the Crown Princess was the chosen one.

They publicized the cessation of the snow disaster and the auspicious beast recognizing its master, attributing all the credit to Jiang Yueli. To put it bluntly, it was a deification campaign.

Because of the goddess-like presence of the Crown Princess, the people felt that the Great Zhou Dynasty would not perish.

"No wonder the soldiers were so excited when I appeared at the South Gate, and the people spread the news far and wide."

Sun Cheng apologized, saying, "Your Highness, this was a last resort. Miss Ning and I know that doing so might arouse Your Highness's suspicion and make His Majesty wary. But if we didn't do this, the capital would probably be in chaos long ago."

Jiang Yueli didn't care; if the emperor in Hexi Palace was suspicious, so be it.

With the Great Zhou Dynasty on the verge of destruction, he was still hiding in Hexi Palace and refused to come out. This time, it was no longer because he was afraid of Jiang Yueli, but because Jiang Yueli was going to take the initiative to attack.