The substitute prince: Reported the emperor's brother at the beginning

Chapter 184 Changes at Hushan Pass

Ning Yi sees through the Dongfang family.

Although they formed an alliance with Ning Yi, Dongfang Wang also verbally betrothed Dongfang Qing to Ning Yi.

They are still waiting for Ning Yi to ascend the throne so that he can conquer a country for their Dongfang family.

But in business, they are very strict about price and making money, and they will not show any mercy.

This is like wanting benefits without wanting to pay any price.

How greedy.

Ning Yi said with a cold look: "Even if it's expensive, this prince has plenty of money, enough to arm an army."

They were too slow in producing their own products and their army was expanding too quickly, so they could only rely on the Dongfang family to deliver them.

However, Zeng Zhizhong said: "Your Highness, when the Fourth Prince rebelled, the army he left behind was nominally wiped out by Your Majesty with tens of thousands of soldiers."

"But after we took away a lot of troops, we also recovered tens of thousands of sets of high-quality armor and various weapons and equipment."

"It can be used by the Third Army at Hushan Pass. We just need to replenish enough firearms."

"Oh? There is such a thing?" Ning Yi laughed.

"I didn't expect that even though the fourth brother had been dead for so long, he could still help this prince so much."

When the Fourth Prince was defeated, many of his troops were just a mob.

Most of them were to give an explanation to Emperor Wu, and they were all cleaned up by Emperor Wu.

But there are still more than 30,000 real elites.

With the cooperation of the Prime Minister, Ning Yi fought back nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses.

As a result, after various disassembly and selection, 8,000 troops were found to be suitable for continued training and combat.

But the weapons and equipment are still there.

Ning Yi was naturally very happy. This was equivalent to him having an extra army for no reason.

Moreover, they were all trained by the fourth brother with great effort.

They are all quite capable of fighting, and many of them are veteran border soldiers.

A little training for two months is enough to become an elite.

Ning Yi was satisfied and said, "This is even better."

"As for the new troops for the two states, we can get them from the Dongfang family. Sooner or later, this prince will get the money back."

Ning Yi's tone was quite sarcastic when he said this.

Zeng Zhizhong suddenly realized that His Highness was planning to take over the Dongfang family.

In name, he asked the Dongfang family to help him expand his strength.

But once the Sixth Prince ascends the throne, he will definitely deal with the greedy Dongfang family.

By then, no matter how much money the Dongfang family makes, it will all be in vain.

Zeng Zhizhong thought about it, but still didn't say anything to persuade him.

This prince has a lot of ideas and a strange temper. You never know when he might turn against you.

Besides, it is still early for His Highness to ascend the throne.

Instead of doing this, it would be better to wait until His Highness ascends the throne before persuading him.

Zeng Zhizhong saw Zeng Rou, who was following him in men's clothes, and his eyes were full of tenderness.

Zeng Zhizhong first asked, "Rou'er, how is your life in the Prince's Mansion? Have you been bullied?"

Zeng Rou was also very happy to see her father.

She immediately said, "Don't worry, father. Rou'er is living well in the prince's mansion."

"Your Highness has taken good care of Rou'er. I don't need to do any rough or heavy work. I just need to help Your Highness write some books."

As for what she wrote, she would not say.

Zeng Zhizhong nodded with satisfaction, feeling emotional as he looked at his now happy daughter.

If he were in his hometown and there had not been a disaster, he would be a well-known scholar in the surrounding area and a very prestigious person.

If he were to pass the imperial examination this year and become a juren, his daughter would be ready to get married.

It would be so nice if the whole family could enjoy themselves together then.

But now, her daughter can only be a maid serving the prince.

Even if it's just helping His Highness with some written materials.

She is also a maid, and her status is still the lowest.

But Zeng Zhizhong is more motivated.

Once His Highness ascends the throne, based on Zeng Zhizhong's performance at this base, he will at least be promoted to a high-ranking official, and he will be a direct subordinate of His Highness.

At that time, he only needs to ask the Sixth Prince, who has become the emperor, to confer a title on his daughter.

I believe that Rou'er, who has always been following the prince, should be able to be made a concubine or something like that.

That would be a good ending, as they would also be royal relatives.

As for now, it is already quite good for Zeng Rou to be a maid.

After all, it's his fault that he, as a father, has no ability or capability.

Fortunately, the prince was there and saved his daughter, otherwise his daughter would have been killed in that brothel.

Ning Yi glanced at the father and daughter chatting, and naturally did not disturb them.

The Zeng family has been of great help to me.

Only Zeng Zhizhong, the old scholar, managed the logistics of the entire base in an orderly manner, which made Ning Yi very satisfied.

Moreover, Zeng Rou is very loyal to him and will not reveal any secrets.

Ning Yi certainly understood that once the plan was successful, Zeng Rou would have to have a concubine and would not treat him unfairly.

Moreover, the boy from the Zeng family is also a book boy, and a book boy with a seed of learning. Ning Yi has high expectations for this batch of book boys who have already gone through school.

They will continue to receive sufficient training and then be assigned to various places. In the future, they will become generals or personnel in important positions.

At this time, the shopkeeper from the Intelligence Department, who had come along to join in the fun and get some heads, received a letter from a servant who came running over in a hurry.

After taking a quick look, the head of the intelligence department walked towards His Highness with a worried look on his face.

Handing him the letter, he whispered, "Your Highness, there's been some unusual activity at Hushan Pass."

"Hmm?" Ning Yi immediately took the letter.

He had been keeping an eye on the direction of Hushan Pass, knowing that it was very important.

The Duke of Dingguo over there has assembled an elite army of nearly 80,000.

If we include some other miscellaneous soldiers and able-bodied men, it would be enough to form an army of 100,000.

With so many troops so close to the capital, any problem would be devastating.

Ning Yi looked at the letter carefully. It was sent in a hurry by the intelligence personnel stationed in Hushan Pass by the Intelligence Department.

All that was written on it was that Duke Dingguo Fang Chengyu summoned generals from all over the place.

A collective military meeting lasted several days.

But when the military meeting was over, several generals were missing.

Immediately, Duke Dingguo sent people to clean out their army's direct subordinates and replace them with new generals.

Ning Yi put down the letter and said leisurely, "Hushan Pass, it's time to take action."

He pays close attention to Hushan Pass.

All along, the Intelligence Department has been keeping a close eye on the direction of Hushan Pass, fearing that the Dingguo Guild might suddenly cause trouble.

Zeng Zhizhong saw that something was wrong with Ning Yi, so he came over and asked a few questions. He then realized that something was wrong in the direction of Hushan Pass.

As the general manager of logistics here, he can also be called Ning Yi's strategist.

Zeng Zhizhong thought for a moment and advised, "Your Highness, we have to be on guard."

"But now, apart from the First Army, the Second Army, and the two guards of the Beijing Camp, the other troops have little combat effectiveness."

"Furthermore, the newly mobilized Third Army in the direction of Shanhu Pass has only been training for less than a month."

If the new army wants to form combat effectiveness, it must train for at least three months. Otherwise, it won’t even be able to master the formation, and if it goes up like a swarm, it will be courting death.

The training of the new troops is simply too troublesome and harsh.