“Prince of Shu?”Xiao Ming murmured the name softly.Memories of this prince from his predecessor’s life surfaced—among all the imperial brothers, the Fifth Prince, the Prince of Shu, had the worst relationship with him.Both unruly and headstrong, the two had clashed repeatedly in Chang’an.Xiao Ming and the Prince of Shu had fought more than once over petty rivalries, earning them frequent reprimands from Emperor Wenxuan.Now that the Fifth Prince had taken his fief in Shu, Xiao Ming hadn’t thought much about him in a long time.In Xiao Ming’s memories, Shu was a remote, mountainous region—though historically known as the “Land of Abundance”, never lacking in grain.The only downside was the frequent raids from the Nanman tribes in the south and the Tibetans in the west.Still, overall, the Prince of Shu’s situation was slightly better than his own—though not by much.And given Shu’s rugged terrain, isolated deep inland, the Fifth Prince likely found his circumstances even more frus

“Wait,” said Xiao Ming, eyes fixed on the fortress ahead, issuing the command calmly.Atop the walls of Wubao Fortress, a figure who appeared to be the leader stepped into view, observing the incoming reinforcements from the Qingzhou army.Pointing toward the wall, Chen Fu said, “Your Highness, that’s Liu Chuang, the ringleader of this band. His father was involved in the Lotus Pond conspiracy against you. After their plan failed, I led the Cangzhou troops in a surprise attack on the Liu family’s fortress. We wiped out most of their retainers, but Liu Chuang managed to escape.”The harsh sunlight made Xiao Ming squint. After the Lotus Pond barbarians were wiped out, he had ordered the news to be sealed and immediately launched an operation to capture the aristocrats involved in the rebellion. Many were caught before they even had time to react. Had the Liu family been more alert at the time, they might have held onto Wubao.Lu Fei had reported that Chen Fu had used a trick to take the

A faint haze of smoke drifted through the air, heavy with the pungent smell of gunpowder.Luo Xin, who had been standing right in front of the cannon, flinched the moment it fired. Though he managed not to fall flat on his backside, everyone could see his legs trembling.Niu Ben and Lu Fei both looked pale—they hadn’t covered their ears. As commanding officers, they had to maintain their dignity in front of the troops, so they stood their ground during the shot, feigning calm.Now, Niu Ben cast a grateful look at Xiao Ming. Good thing I wasn’t still on my horse, he thought. Or I’d be on the ground by now.Looking over at the soldiers scrambling after the panicked horses, Niu Ben turned back to the cannon—his eyes now filled with new respect.If this cannon were used in the field, the barbarian cavalry’s horses would scatter in fear.“Your Highness… why is this thing so loud?” Luo Xin asked as he turned around, trying to act nonchalant despite still recovering from the blast.“If it we

“You’ve got quite the backbone, but I, Lu Fei, love breaking hard bones like yours.”Liu Chuang’s defiant attitude infuriated Lu Fei.Lu Fei knew Liu Chuang’s reputation all too well. Though the Liu family wasn’t as powerful as the Wang clan among Qingzhou’s nobility, their notoriety surpassed the other four great families.Rumors said the Lius’ ancestors were bandits who turned to farming after amassing enough wealth, eventually becoming the so-called “nobility” of today.Yet even now, the Liu family retained their bandit ways, bullying the weak and drawing endless complaints from nearby villagers.What’s more, because of this bastard, Lu Fei had lost his prized tiger pelt to Xiao Ming. His hatred for Liu Chuang burned even hotter.After Xiao Ming’s sudden purge of the nobility, Liu Chuang had led many escaped clansmen into banditry, committing countless murders and robberies. Now that he was caught, he knew there was no way out.So he hardened his heart, putting on a fearless front—

Warm spring winds stirred the air, rippling through the golden waves of wheat in the fields.In Zhu Family Village, nestled beside those fields, the scene was lively and chaotic. Every household was digging through their latrines—all looking for one thing: niter.Zhu Wuliu was the fastest. He already held a handful of white powder in his palm. He had searched every inch of his family’s outhouse and now carefully wrapped up the powder before rushing off to Qingzhou City.“Zhu Wuliu, go check it out first! If it’s true they’ll pay for it, we’ll follow!”“Yeah, you run fast—we’ll wait for your word.”“…”Many villagers were digging. Some were still skeptical. After all the suffering they’d endured over the years, they still didn’t fully trust the local government.Even though the land reform policies and production teams had brought them benefits, the long-standing distrust of officials wasn’t easy to erase.Some feared they were just being tricked into handing over what little they had.