The Empress ascended the throne, and the news quickly spread throughout the Great Wei.
Everyone knew this would mark the beginning of a new chapter.
The storms in Luo Capital of Great Wei had little impact on the northwestern frontier; it was merely a change of emperor.
For the people on the frontier, it didn’t matter who was emperor; it had little effect on their lives.
Oliver Sheng had been training troops in River West County for a month.
The court hadn’t sent a new colonel to guard River West County, nor had any military orders come from Peace Pass for him to return.
The northwestern frontier had entered winter, and every morning, frost could be seen. Snow fell frequently, sometimes lasting for days.
“General Sheng, my master invites you to a wine gathering,” a servant from Magistrate Chen’s household came to the camp to deliver the invitation.
“Your master is quite leisurely, isn’t he?” Oliver sighed, thinking how relaxed the magistrate’s life seemed.
Unlike him, who spent every day either training or cultivating.
The servant smiled, not daring to respond to General Sheng’s complaint about his master.
Arriving at the magistrate’s residence, by the pond in the back garden.
Snow covered the stone rockery, and Magistrate Chen, wrapped in a black coat, was brewing wine and admiring the snow.
“Brother Chen, you certainly have refined tastes, brewing wine and enjoying the snow all day,” Oliver called out from a distance.
“Is General Sheng mocking me? It’s just a bit of leisure amidst the busyness,” Magistrate Chen replied with a smile.
Oliver walked into the pavilion and sat down opposite Magistrate Chen.
“Tell me, you didn’t call me here just to suggest another visit to Misty Willow House, did you?” Oliver took a sip of the warmed wine.
These days, he had been dragged to Misty Willow House several times by Magistrate Chen, all to see Fairy Isla Qin.
What left Oliver speechless was that every time they went, Magistrate Chen never got what he wanted but kept yearning to see Fairy Isla Qin, as if he were under a spell.
“General Sheng, what kind of person do you take me for?” Magistrate Chen said righteously.
“A simp!” Oliver replied nonchalantly.
Fairy Isla Qin certainly had her ways, enchanting people like Magistrate Chen to the point of losing their senses. Oliver, however, kept his distance from her.
“General Sheng always mentions ‘simp.’ What exactly is a simp?” Magistrate Chen asked curiously.
“It’s a term for something beautiful, praising your refined qualities,” Oliver said with a clear gaze, speaking formally.
“Hmm, then being a simp isn’t bad!” Magistrate Chen nodded happily.
Oliver: …
“Alright, tell me, why did you call me here today?”
Having grown familiar with each other, they spoke more casually.
“General Sheng, are you aware of the recent events in Luo Capital of Great Wei?” Magistrate Chen put down his wine cup and looked at Oliver.
“How would I know? I’m always in the camp training troops. I don’t have any close friends in Luo Capital,” Oliver said, holding his wine cup. Luo Capital felt very distant to him.
“The Emperor has passed away, the princes fought for the throne, and a new emperor has ascended!” Magistrate Chen said solemnly.
“Oh?”
Oliver squinted his eyes. Had the old emperor really died?
“Who is the new emperor?” Oliver put down his wine cup and asked.
After all, he was still eating from the Great Wei’s bowl; it was necessary to know his superior.
“Guess!” Magistrate Chen said mysteriously.
“Guess what? I guess you guess I guess not!” Oliver rolled his eyes at Magistrate Chen, finding the game childish.
Magistrate Chen almost choked on his own saliva. He had intended for Oliver to guess who would ascend the throne, but Oliver turned it into a tongue twister.
“Aren’t you curious which prince took the throne?” Magistrate Chen looked at Oliver, who seemed uninterested in who became emperor.
“Whoever becomes emperor, we still have to eat and dress. The emperor is far away, and the affairs of the frontier are of little concern to him,” Oliver said indifferently.
After all, it wasn’t him becoming emperor, so why should he care?
He only wanted to kill enemies and grow stronger. When he became a Martial Saint, even the emperor would have to bow to him.
Magistrate Chen didn’t know that Oliver had little reverence for the emperor in his heart.
“I really can’t with you,” Magistrate Chen’s little scheme was unfulfilled.
“The one who ascended the throne is not a prince, but the Seventh Princess, Hazel Han,” Magistrate Chen finally revealed.
“What?”
“The Seventh Princess, Hazel Han?” Oliver was shocked.
A female emperor?
In a world where strength and men were revered, how could a woman become emperor? Would the courtiers agree?
Seeing Oliver’s surprised expression, Magistrate Chen felt satisfied.
“How about it, surprising, isn’t it?”
“When I received the news, I also found it unbelievable,” Magistrate Chen said, still unable to fathom how the previously obscure Seventh Princess had ascended the throne.
“It is indeed surprising,” Oliver nodded.
“The first female emperor in history appeared five hundred years ago in the Da Li dynasty,” Magistrate Chen sighed.
Now, Great Wei also had a female emperor.
Magistrate Chen recounted the recent events in Luo Capital over the past month to Oliver. Oliver thought that the royal power struggle could be made into a dramatic series.
“This time, more than a dozen grandmaster generals were imprisoned and executed. General Li was also implicated and is likely to be sent to the southwestern frontier to defend against the demon tribes,” Magistrate Chen lamented.
Royal power struggles were always brutal, and those involved could easily be crushed.
“So many grandmasters sent to the frontier to fight the enemy should prevent the three states of Yan and Qi from falling,” Oliver said.
Magistrate Chen agreed with Oliver. River West County, being on the northwestern frontier, had no grandmaster to guard it. The barbarians came and went as they pleased, often invading River West County, making life unstable for the common people.
As they chatted about the events in Luo Capital, Oliver gained some understanding of the capital.
…
In the Luo Capital of Great Wei, in the Zhenghe Hall of the imperial palace, Empress Hazel Han was handling state affairs. These days, there were endless matters to deal with.
The old emperor had aged, leaving many state affairs piled up. The Second Prince, Han Feiyu, who had been acting regent, was preoccupied with fighting other princes, leaving state affairs neglected and now falling into Hazel Han’s hands, piling up like a mountain.
Hazel Han reviewed the memorials in her hand, then stretched her wrist.
A maid beside her handed her a cup of spirit tea.
“Your Majesty, take a break and have some tea,” the maid, Jade Han, said.
Hazel Han took a sip of tea and then rubbed her temples.
“How can I rest with so many matters waiting for me? Some courtiers are eager to impeach me and force me to abdicate,” Hazel Han said.
Many courtiers were dissatisfied with her ascension, as it didn’t align with their interests. They were waiting for her to make a big mistake.
“They dare? I’ll chop off their heads,” Jade Han said fiercely.
“If only it were that simple,” Hazel Han shook her head.
Managing the state and courtiers couldn’t be solved by killing alone.
Hazel Han picked up another memorial, this one from the northwestern frontier.
She opened it and read it carefully.
“Oliver Sheng, fifteen hundred cavalry defeated five thousand enemies, an innate talent at seventeen,” Empress Hazel Han found the content interesting.
This was a memorial from the magistrate of River West County, requesting to promote Oliver Sheng to the sixth-rank deputy general to guard River West County against the barbarians.
“Oliver Sheng? That name sounds familiar,” Jade Han said.
“You’ve heard of him?”
Hazel Han glanced at her maid, who had been with her since childhood.
“Yes, Your Majesty, a poem by this person is widely circulated in the capital,” Jade Han replied.
“Recite it for me.”
Hazel Han was intrigued.
“It’s said that Oliver Sheng wrote a poem for a woman named Isla Qin in a brothel, and it’s now sung by many scholars and courtesans:
‘Her clothes flutter like clouds, her beauty like blossoms,
The spring breeze brushes the railing, the dew glistens.
If not seen atop the Jade Mountain,
She would be met under the moonlit Jade Terrace.’”
Hazel Han listened and said, “What kind of woman deserves such a poem, a goddess under the moonlit Jade Terrace, huh!”
The poem was excellent, but the person…
Jade Han sensed something unusual and dared not speak further.
In this world, who could match this poem except for the unparalleled Empress herself?
A mere brothel woman, what a waste.
“I want information on this Oliver Sheng,” Hazel Han said calmly.
“Yes!”
Jade Han left the Zhenghe Hall and went to the Black Robe Guards to retrieve information on Oliver Sheng.
The Black Robe Guards of Great Wei monitored officials, common people, and martial artists, serving as the emperor’s eyes and ears.
Holding the information from the Black Robe Guards.
Oliver Sheng, seventeen, born in Peace Pass, a scholar, joined the army and showed exceptional bravery, with outstanding talent in cultivation, rapidly advancing in realms. He twice entered the grasslands, killing Hun enemies, once defeating eight thousand enemies with a thousand cavalry, later rescuing River West County, killing five thousand barbarians, including two innate experts.
On the battlefield, he wrote, “With lofty ambitions, I feast on the flesh of the Huns, and drink their blood with laughter.”
“Qin’s moon and Han’s passes, a thousand miles of long march, yet no return. If only the flying general were here, no barbarian horse would cross An Mountain.”
“Sworn to sweep away the Huns, five thousand minks lost in the dust. Pity the bones by the Unfixed River, still dreamt of in the spring boudoir.”
The information was mostly accurate.
If Oliver Sheng knew, he would think the Black Robe Guards were truly omnipresent.
“Not bad, brave and wise, a formidable general, and a talented poet, well-rounded,” Hazel Han couldn’t help but praise after reading.
She then found a commendation memorial from General Calvin Yang of Peace Pass for Oliver Sheng.
“In that case, promote him to Cavalry General, to guard River West County against the barbarians,” Hazel Han issued an imperial edict.
She then moved on, not spending much energy on a frontier general.
Half a month later!
An imperial edict from the capital arrived in River West County.
“Imperial edict!”
An eunuch, accompanied by Magistrate Chen, walked into the camp.
Oliver Sheng was still training his troops.
Seeing the grand procession, Oliver and his subordinates were curious.
“What did that eunuch shout?” Zane Wang asked.
“Something about an imperial edict,” Oliver, with his sharp hearing, naturally heard it clearly.
“An imperial edict?”
Zane Wang, Cameron Guo, Wesley Hu, and others were shocked. That was an imperial edict. Why did the colonel seem so indifferent and not rush to receive it?
“General Sheng, hurry and receive the edict,” Magistrate Chen called out, seeing Oliver standing still.
“What? Me?” Oliver finally reacted.
“Oliver Sheng, General Sheng, receive the edict,” the eunuch walked over with a duck-like gait.
“I receive the edict!”
Oliver finally reacted, cupping his hands to receive the edict, without kneeling, as this wasn’t the Qing dynasty.
His subordinates also cupped their hands in respect, showing their reverence for the emperor.
“By the mandate of heaven, the emperor decrees, General Oliver Sheng, for his bravery in battle and numerous achievements…”
The eunuch read a long decree, which Oliver didn’t pay much attention to. Why would the emperor suddenly issue an edict to him? Oliver couldn’t figure it out.
“Now, Oliver Sheng is appointed as Cavalry General, to guard River West County, defend against the barbarians, and protect the frontier, by imperial decree!”
After reading the edict, the eunuch looked at Oliver, “General Sheng, receive the edict!”
“Oh, oh!”
Oliver took the edict, and his subordinates were overjoyed, even happier than Oliver himself.
“Thank you for your hard work, Eunuch!” Oliver handed a fifty-tael silver ingot to the eunuch.
Xiao Chunzi, seeing the silver, was delighted. This general was very considerate. The long journey had been worth it, and all his complaints vanished.
“Please rest, Eunuch. I will host a banquet for you tonight,” Oliver said.
It was wise to befriend even a small eunuch; this was a lesson from his past life.
“No need, General Sheng, I must return to report. Thank you for your hospitality,” Xiao Chunzi politely declined and left.
“Congratulations, General Sheng, on your rightful promotion to Cavalry General,” Magistrate Chen congratulated happily.
Cavalry General, a sixth-rank deputy general, was a rank higher than his seventh-rank magistrate.
Holding the edict, Oliver was puzzled. How did he suddenly get promoted to Cavalry General by the Empress to guard River West County?
He didn’t seem to have any connections in the court.
How did the high and mighty Empress notice a small colonel like him?
Little did Oliver know, the instigator was the smiling Magistrate Chen beside him.
“Congratulations, General Sheng,” Cameron Guo, Wesley Hu, Hunter Tang, and other subordinates congratulated happily.
Guarding River West County, they would now have their own army, separate from the Peace Army.
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