scaring away prey with the fire needed to cook their meals. Ripple was welcomed by all members of the Black Serpent tribe, even the ostracized One-Horned. The hostility from his fellow tribe members l..."Your Majesty, the other party also hinted that the Third Princess is in the disaster-stricken city, seemingly wanting to use our sword to eliminate them."

After Zhangzhang saw the message, he understood the thoughts of the second princess.

"What do you think, my lord"

If we can grant her wish, then it will be perfect! In that way, when we arrange the manpower, she will turn a blind eye to everything. It will be much easier for us to operate. Besides, whether this succeeds or fails, we will not suffer any loss anyway.

"If it succeeds, it shows our sincerity in supporting her ascension. If it fails, the Second Princess will be in our hands. When she ascends to the throne in the future, she will naturally have to thank us."

The cunning Zhang Zhang had already seen through the scheme. He thought that the Second Imperial Princess's tactic of "thief crying catch thief" was well-played. It not only removed a competitor for the throne, but also added trouble for the First Imperial Princess, all without getting his own hands dirty. It was truly a move with three birds in one stone.

"Very well, let us proceed as Zhang Aiqing has suggested. I shall await good news. That old hag Wu Lianyi stole five of our cities; I only demand the life of her one daughter, which is already a favor to her. Does she think we are pushovers For that supreme position, the Phoenix Nest Country will inevitably descend into chaos."

Panlong Xinhou curled the corner of his lips into a sneer and said.

Both parties reached an agreement, both publicly and privately. Things progressed quickly, and after half a month, the two sides met formally in Longling City.

This time, General Fengming was in charge of Longling City. She had received Lián Yī's flying eagle message long before this, and along with the message, she also received the Eagle Token. The Empress's original words were:

"Feng Ming, I will give you the Eagle Seal. It is to allow you to act with discretion. Currently, Feng Qi Country is suffering a calamity, and the surrounding three countries are definitely restless. They may even take this opportunity to regain control of the five city citadels!"

Your task is to keep an eye on these five cities. Don't let the other side tear open any gaps in our border defenses. As for everything else, you can handle it yourself!

Phoenix General broke out in a cold sweat. She didn't know whether to say the Empress was brilliant and wise, or simply bold and unconventional. The eagle talisman, capable of mobilizing the entire Phoenix Nation army, had arrived along with a letter, delivered by a flying eagle.

If a falcon were to lose an eagle talisman in the middle of flight, there would be a risk of it being lost. Let alone moving troops, she would have to shoulder the blame for losing the eagle talisman. At that time, unless the Empress herself came, no one could move the border army.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Feng Ming set about deploying his troops.

She wasn't the only commander in the border defense forces, there was also one from the Zhao family. Phoenix had also heard about the incident where the other side had dispatched new recruits for disaster relief. She also knew why the Empress had entrusted the Eagle Talisman to her instead of the general from the Zhao family. Apparently, the Empress was dissatisfied with the Zhao family.

Feng Ming disagreed with the other party's actions. Zhao Jia Bing's life is a life, and the new recruits' lives are also lives; there was no need to go too far. Now, they had made the empress unhappy, and the Zhao family was actually being restrained by this.

She also understood the Empress's intentions. By using the pretext of defending against foreign enemies, she aimed to disrupt and scatter Zhao's army, preventing them from becoming a powerful force.

Feng Ming went directly to see General Zhao Li, delivering the order to mobilize. Naturally, General Zhao Li refused to cooperate.

"General Phoenix, you and I are on the same level. Even if we need to adjust our defenses, shouldn't we discuss it first instead of you issuing commands"

"It was Fengming's fault for not making things clear."

Feng Ming smiled apologetically and directly took the Eagle Talisman from his bosom, handing it to Zhao Li.

"This is the falcon sigil the Empress gave me, for this defense adjustment."

Zhao Li's face changed the moment she saw the eagle talisman. Her eyes were fixed on the cold, gleaming talisman, silent for a moment. She was very sure this eagle talisman was real, and she also knew that Feng Ming didn't have the guts to make a fake one to fool her.

After confirming that the other party had seen it clearly, Feng Ming carefully put the eagle talisman back into his bosom. He then handed the Empress's handwritten order to Zhao Li before slowly settling down and waiting for the other party to finish reading the Empress's decree and return it to him. Only then did he slowly begin to speak:

General Zhao, we both know that the Empress is a woman who cannot tolerate even a grain of sand in her eyes. Now that the second princess is regent, the Empress entrusted me with the Eagle Seal. I believe you understand her intentions.

I still say the same thing, I only pledge allegiance to the Queen, whether she is the current Queen or the future Queen. But because you bear the surname Zhao, you have already been labeled as a Second Princess.

Therefore, I advise General Zhao not to hinder the Second Princess's progress. After all, who will ultimately ascend to power remains undecided.

"Understood! I will cooperate with General Fengming to make the necessary adjustments to border defense."

Zhao Li replied to Feng Ming's words with almost every syllable squeezed out between her teeth.

Phoenixming received the other party's reply and directly read out the list of transferred generals, giving Zhao Li three days to prepare before leaving.

As Feng Ming left the hall, Zhao Li directly waved her hand and overturned the chair that Feng Ming had just been sitting on, causing all the generals in the hall to hold their breath.

But even if she were furious, she couldn't openly defy the Empress's command. Especially since Feng Ming still held the eagle talisman, if she did so, it would give the Empress an opportunity to attack the Zhao family, and this was a point they both agreed on.

"General, what do we do"

After Zhao Jia's deputy general and the others waited for Zhao Li to catch her breath, they timidly asked in a low voice.

"What else can we do They have the Eagle Talisman. Even I, with the Phoenix Cry, can't command it, let alone you."

"The Phoenix's clear intention is to scatter our Zhao army. The Empress simply does not trust us!"

Another deputy commander said angrily.

"Silence! The Queen's decision is not for you or I to discuss!"

Zhao Li glared at her deputy, then lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment before speaking:

Since this is the Empress's wish, we must carry it out without reservation. Otherwise, it would be detrimental to ourselves, the Zhao family, and even the Second Princess. As for how to carry it out, we can discuss it further.

Two lieutenants immediately understood the general's meaning. Not all soldiers in the Zhao family army were from the Zhao family; they should do their best to protect the core officers and be willing to abandon some manpower when necessary.

This way, it wouldn't anger the Empress, would protect Zhao's important military leaders, and would leave Fengming speechless. It was the most appropriate strategy for the current situation.

When Deng Fengming saw the Zhao family's general reinforcements, he thought about it for a moment and immediately understood Zhao Li's intention. A hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes.

The Empress was clearly giving the Zhao family a chance. Taking advantage of this reshuffling, if the Zhao family fully accepted the orders and didn't act in defiance, perhaps there could still be a good outcome. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any good fruit to eat. The Zhao family had been standing high for too long and had forgotten how to bend.

After seeing the phoenix, Feng Ming didn't say anything or go to complain to General Zhao Li. He continued to adjust the deployment as planned. After all, the Panlong Kingdom's supply train had already arrived at Longling City. and helplessness were palpable. In the end, he agreed to his father's request, allowing Xue Wenjing and Xue Lianbo to enter the Wu family's gate.From that point on, his tragedy was sealed. Under Xue...