"Make Princess Jade Fox the Crown Prince?"
As soon as these words left his mouth, General Bruce Meng, Shen Du, and Sean Song all looked utterly shocked.
Prince Daniel Jiang’s face showed obvious panic. Though he was only seven, he knew full well that if he were truly abolished, his fate would be miserable. At that thought, regret overwhelmed him—why had he gone and provoked that big demon king?
Ever since he became crown prince, everyone treated him with utmost respect—everyone except that big demon king, who never seemed to care about him. That’s why he wanted to show off his authority in front of Ian Song, but things backfired: not only did he fail to show any dignity, now the demon king wanted to abolish him.
Princess Jade Fox herself was utterly stunned. Young Master Song actually wanted to make her the female crown prince—how could a daughter take that role?
After a long pause, Bruce Meng was the first to speak: "Young Master Song, this cannot be done. Since ancient times, there has never been a precedent for a woman to become crown prince. If you really do this, the whole world will..."
Ian Song waved his hand, cutting Bruce Meng off. "Aren’t rules made to be broken? I do what I want—what does the rest of the world have to do with me?"
"Please reconsider, Young Master," Shen Du also pleaded.
Sean Song, however, remained silent. Ever since pledging himself to Qi, he had accepted Ian Song as his master. The idea of making a woman crown prince was absurd, but if Ian insisted, he wouldn’t object—after all, if Ian could flip twenty thousand troops overnight, abolishing a deposed crown prince was nothing.
"Young Master Song, please take back your words. Jade Fox would rather die than become crown prince." Princess Jade Fox stepped forward, looking at Ian Song with a firm and resolute expression.
Ian Song waved his hand dismissively. "If you don't want to, forget it."
Ian's cold gaze fell on Prince Daniel Jiang. "You need to understand, Qi is already destroyed. Aside from General Bruce, no one takes your crown prince status seriously. So you'd better behave, or I'll really abolish you! From now on, you'll stay by my side and study. If you do well, helping you restore the kingdom is no big deal—maybe unifying the whole Shenzhou Continent, too!"
Bruce Meng and Shen Du both breathed a sigh of relief when Ian backed off. As for letting the crown prince study under Ian, that was a huge blessing—after all, Ian was the disciple of an immortal.
Prince Daniel Jiang looked utterly miserable. In his mind, Ian forcing him to study was just revenge.
"Jade Fox, General Meng, I don't want to study with him!" Daniel pleaded.
"If you don't learn anything, how are you supposed to be a king?" Ian sneered.
Bruce Meng hurried to say, "That's right, Your Highness. Young Master Song is incredibly knowledgeable. If you learn even a fraction from him, you'll be able to dominate the world."
"Your Highness, Young Master Song is a rare teacher. You really should study diligently under him," Jade Fox nodded earnestly.
"Enough, this doesn't concern you. Princess Jade Fox, take the crown prince to rest!" Ian waved impatiently.
"Yes, Young Master Song!" Jade Fox replied.
Princess Jade Fox gave Ian a deep, complicated look, then led the still-unwilling Prince Daniel Jiang out of the hall.
Next, Ian Song announced a major decision: relocate all Edgehaven’s soldiers and civilians to Lingshui Prefecture.
Edgehaven was just a small frontier city with low walls—impossible to defend. Moving to Lingshui Prefecture was the best option.
No one objected to this plan.
After the meeting, Shen Du and Sean Song left to arrange the migration, while Ian called Bruce Meng alone to his courtyard.
"General Meng, do you think I’ve become too domineering and lawless?" Ian asked with a smile. Earlier, when he suggested abolishing the crown prince, he’d noticed a trace of worry and discontent on Bruce’s face.
"I wouldn’t dare!" Bruce replied gravely. Clearly, he did resent Ian—his family had always served the royal house, and abolishing the crown prince crossed his bottom line.
Seeing this, Ian didn’t mind and asked, "General Meng, without my help, how much chance do you have of restoring Qi?"
Bruce thought for a long moment, then realized in defeat that he didn’t even have a ten percent chance—not only was restoring the kingdom impossible, he might not even be able to keep the crown prince alive.
Seeing Bruce silent, Ian continued, "My approach may seem extreme, but I want your crown prince to mature quickly, because I won’t stay in this world for long. Once I finish my mission, I’ll leave the Shenzhou Continent."
"Young Master Song will leave?" Bruce was shocked.
"According to my plan, I won’t stay in this world more than ten years. In my view, restoring Qi isn’t difficult. But once it’s restored, when I leave, will your crown prince be able to hold the realm? I need a crown prince with both martial skill and strategy, someone who can defend the kingdom. If he can’t, all my efforts will be wasted, so I’d rather abolish him and support someone else. But rest assured, before Qi is restored, I won’t abolish him. If, after restoration, he still can’t shoulder this responsibility, then I’ll have to remove him."
It may sound cruel to a child, but he’s the crown prince—he has no choice.
Hearing Ian’s words, Bruce’s doubts vanished. He bowed deeply. "Young Master, I understand. From now on, I’ll never defy your orders."
Ian nodded, satisfied. "Since you trust me, I promise that when I leave, I’ll do everything I can to secure the future of Qi’s royal house."
"Your righteousness is admirable, Young Master!" Bruce bowed again.
"All right, go prepare. We’ll depart for Lingshui Prefecture immediately."
"Yes, I’ll take my leave!"
Bruce’s form of address changed yet again.
After several days of long travel, at last, on the fifth day, all of Edgehaven’s soldiers and civilians arrived in Lingshui Prefecture.
Meanwhile, during these days, news of Zhao’s Left General defecting had spread throughout the Shenzhou Continent. Victor Zhao had royal blood, yet he’d defected to the destroyed Qi Kingdom—truly unbelievable.
For a time, the Zhao Kingdom became the laughingstock at everyone’s table.
The Zhao king was furious, ordering veteran General Gu Min to lead thirty thousand troops to attack Lingshui Prefecture.
Lingshui City, city lord’s manor, newly built council hall.
Ian Song sat at the head of the table, Victor Zhao to his left, Bruce Meng to his right.
Below Victor sat his two deputy generals, Mark Tu and Daniel Shan, along with other military officers. Below Bruce sat Sean Song, Shen Du, and the civil administrators.
"All right, let’s begin." Ian knocked the table. "General Zhao, when will Gu Min’s army arrive?"
"Gu Min runs a tight ship. At most half a month and he’ll be here!" Victor Zhao replied gravely.
"Half a month left." Ian smiled. To him, the king of Zhao sending thirty thousand troops was like a gift—he was actually looking forward to it.
After that brief question, Ian ignored the military topic and tossed two jade-and-silk scrolls to Sean Song. "Summon craftsmen and manufacture everything described in these!"
The scrolls described papermaking and movable-type printing.
Ian then issued a series of orders: he self-appointed as Grand General of Qi, named Victor Zhao Guarding General, Bruce Meng Conquering-the-East General, Sean Song as prefect of Lingshui, Shen Du as deputy prefect, and promoted many others as well.