Chapter 1 The Tall Man

The tall man's gigantic frame made the ministers' hearts leap with each step.

Jiang Chen, however, remained calm. Now, even super experts like Jing Yue and Shi Ping were inferior to him.

How could a tall man who only knew brute force possibly be his opponent?

Jiang Chen dodged the tall man's straight punch with a sidestep, then casually pushed the tall man's shoulder. The tall man couldn't maintain his footing for a moment and almost fell to the ground.

Barely managing to steady himself, the tall man heard the sound of rushing wind behind him.

The tall man was shocked and hurriedly swung his arm backward, but he hit nothing.

At that moment, Jiang Chen formed his hand into a knife and chopped at the tall man's ribs.

"Ah!"

The tall man let out a painful scream and fell directly to the ground.

The three movements of dodging, following up, and striking were completed almost in the blink of an eye.

It wasn't until the tall man fell to the ground and wailed that everyone came back to their senses.

Bai Si and the others were dumbfounded and couldn't believe it.

The ministers cheered loudly, celebrating the victory of the battle.

Jiang Chen smiled faintly and looked at Bai Si, "I will also participate in the unarmed group fight. Do you still want to compete?"

Bai Si shook his head subconsciously.

The combat power that Jiang Chen displayed was simply not something they could deal with.

If Jiang Chen participated in the group fight, they would surely be defeated.

Bai Si couldn't understand how a Great Wei emperor could be so strong!

At the same time, he secretly rejoiced.

Fortunately, these strengths were not very useful in warfare.

Otherwise, the Quanrong would have no one who could compete with Jiang Chen.

"Since that's the case, let's go outside the city to compete in archery and horsemanship."

Jiang Chen waved to Yao Shouxin, "Beloved Minister Yao, I'll be counting on you later."

Yao Shouxin said solemnly, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will definitely not disgrace the reputation of our Great Wei!"

This change of events surprised both the ministers and the Quanrong people.

Why did he suddenly change people?

The ministers didn't understand. In their opinion, if Jiang Chen played in these two events, he would definitely win.

Why did he suddenly switch to Yao Shouxin?

Yao Shouxin passed the imperial examination. How could he have any riding and archery skills?

Bai Si and the others secretly rejoiced.

It was a good thing that they changed someone. If Jiang Chen were still playing, they would lose confidence before the competition even started.

Soon, they moved to the camp outside the city. After the targets were set up, Yao Shouxin and one of the Quanrong men took their bows and stood ready.

The targets quickly moved under the soldiers' control.

Yao Shouxin and the Quanrong man drew their bows and shot their arrows at the same time.

After a moment, Yao Shouxin smiled and cupped his fist at the other party, "I won."

The Quanrong man's face turned pale, and he found it difficult to accept the result.

The ministers on the Great Wei side were equally surprised.

No one expected that Yao Shouxin would have such archery skills.

Jiang Chen wasn't surprised. After Yao Shouxin began to distinguish himself, he summoned Yao Shouxin and learned that he had disliked reading since he was a child and instead loved riding and archery, so he kept this in mind.

Now, it came in handy!

Wen Fengli came to Bai Si with a smile at this time, "Prince Bai Si, in the four competitions, our Great Wei has already won three. This fourth one, there's no need to compete, right?"

Bai Si's face turned green and then purple.

He never expected that the competition he was sure to win would suffer three consecutive losses!

If he went back like this, he would probably become the laughingstock of all the Quanrong people.

"No! The fourth one must be done!" Bai Si gritted his teeth and said.

Even if he only won this one, it would be easier to explain when he returned.

The competition started quickly. Yao Shouxin's superb riding skills and unpredictable attack methods quickly knocked his opponent off his horse.

The ministers cheered.

This was a complete victory!

Jiang Chen was also very happy.

This was the first time since the founding of the Great Wei that they had defeated the Quanrong!

Bai Si's originally dark face turned as pale as paper at this moment, as if it had been bleached.

He had staked everything on the last event, horsemanship, but he had lost!

How was he going to explain this when he got back?

Jiang Chen didn't care what Bai Si was thinking. He waved his hand.

"Pass down the order, hold a celebration banquet tonight!"

The ministers laughed heartily. Many of them went to Yao Shouxin's side to congratulate him on his two victories, and at the same time, they euphemistically congratulated him on his promotion to Minister of War.

Yao Shouxin used the victory of these two competitions to gain the recognition of all the ministers.

No one noticed when Bai Si and the others left, or how they left.

Obtaining such a great victory made the blood that had been silent for a long time in the ministers' bodies boil again.

Jiang Chen's image in the hearts of the ministers also underwent a great change.

Such a great victory quickly spread throughout the Great Wei.

Tian Cheng and his daughter in the Western military camp also heard the news.

As soon as they heard the news, the father and daughter both felt that someone was deliberately trying to disgust the Great Wei.

But as the news came that Bai Si and the others had returned to the Quanrong in disgrace, Tian Cheng and his daughter were dumbfounded.

Was that unreliable rumor actually true?

The Great Wei's emperor and ministers had actually won a complete victory in the five competitions?

How was that possible!

But this was an undeniable fact. After realizing this, Tian Cheng and his daughter exchanged glances.

Their plan to defect to the Quanrong had to be implemented faster!

In the Qianqing Palace Hall, Xu Changqing, the Minister of Revenue, reported, "Your Majesty, the Xiongnu have sent a letter of courtesy, saying that they want to do business with our Great Wei."

Jiang Chen took the letter of courtesy and looked at it, then looked at Yao Shouxin, who had just taken office, and said, "Beloved Minister Yao, how is the climate in the north this year? How is the harvest?"

Yao Shouxin said, "Your Majesty, the climate outside the pass is dry this year, and large areas of green grass have withered. This is probably the reason why the Xiongnu want to trade with us."

Jiang Chen nodded, this explanation was reliable.

Two days ago, Jiang Chen had already received a letter from Bao Qimeng, which mentioned these things.

"Gentlemen, what do you think, can this deal be made?" Jiang Chen asked.

Yao Shouxin was the first to say, "Your Majesty, I think this deal can be made."

"Tell me your reasons." Jiang Chen said.

Yao Shouxin then said, "First of all, the Xiongnu have shown their intention to be peaceful by doing business with our Great Wei."

"Second, if we don't trade, the Xiongnu people will inevitably go south to survive, and there will be war again."

"Third, through trade, we can obtain excellent horses and other materials from the Xiongnu, which is a good thing for our Great Wei."

Jiang Chen nodded and said, "Beloved Minister Yao is right."

Then, his gaze fell on Xu Changqing, "Beloved Minister Xu, I have a suggestion. Go back and perfect it."

"Establish a trade city in the north, guarded by heavy troops, to be used for our Great Wei and the Xiongnu to exchange what they have for what they need."

This proposal shocked the ministers.

If this was the case, wouldn't they be turning enemies into friends with the Xiongnu?

Wen Fengli, the Minister of Rites, considered his words and said, "Your Majesty, should this matter be discussed in the long term? Our Great Wei fought a battle with the Xiongnu just half a year ago. The local soldiers and civilians may not be able to accept it in the short term."