Now that you're reborn, who would still keep a mistress for their scumbag husband?

The imperial court's appointment came down at full speed, ordering Yun Qingxiao to be the chief general, and Mu Yong and Guo Xiao to be deputy generals, to lead the troops to support the battlefield in Southern Shu as soon as possible.

The emperor's intention of sending Guo Xiao here was very obvious. He could not fully trust Ling Qingchen's people.

When the army passed a small town by the Wei River, it was already dark. Xie Jinzhao ordered the army to camp along the river bank. After washing and dressing up, she entered the city, strolled around, and inquired about the situation.

The town is too small and has a small flow of people. When night falls, there are only a few passers-by on the street, all walking in a hurry.

A muffled groan was heard, and Xie Jinzhao looked over, only to see several thugs beating a scholar in the alley, punching and kicking him mercilessly.

Xie Jinzhao looked for a while and saw a pair of familiar eyes through the fingers of the scholar who was covering his face. This person was none other than the Prime Minister Li Wenzhong, who later served the Crown Prince and provided advice on how to completely subdue the King of Zhao and the King of Han.

In her previous life, she only knew that Li Wenzhong was saved by the Crown Prince, who supported him in taking the imperial examinations. Later, he passed the examination and became the top scorer, and finally became the Prime Minister, a capable minister.

Xie Jinzhao walked over. There were five or six thugs in total. She knocked them to the ground in the blink of an eye. Some of them were missing an arm, some had a broken leg, and they were all lying on the ground screaming and wailing.

Li Wenzhong let go of his head. He was beaten badly, but obviously not fatally injured, otherwise he would not have been destined to become the top scholar and the prime minister in his previous life.

He stared at Xie Jinzhao for a while, then slowly got up from the ground, knelt on the ground and thanked her, "Thank you for saving me, young lady!"

Ok?

Xie Jinzhao was stunned for a moment, and Li Wenzhong said, "There are traces of ear piercing on the girl's earlobe. Please forgive me for my random guess."

He is a scheming person!

Xie Jinzhao nodded, "Get up!"

Li Wenzhong pointed at the leader of the thugs on the ground and said, "May I ask Lord Yanzhijian, this man robbed me of the two taels of silver I used to sell myself for my father's funeral. Can I ask for it back?"

Xie Jinzhao thought to himself that this man's eyesight was indeed extraordinary.

"Who did you sell yourself to?" Xie Jinzhao asked.

"Local wealthy man Shen Shou!" Li Wenzhong looked at Xie Jinzhao with burning eyes. He was right in his bet. This person was Yanzhi Jian. She had a demeanor that no other woman in the world had.

"You want to sell yourself to me for two taels of silver?" Xie Jinzhao asked.

"I couldn't ask for more!" Xie Jinzhao smiled. "What ability do you have to think you are worth two taels of silver? If I hadn't come, you would have died long ago!"

Li Wenzhong raised his head and said, "I never thought that I would die in vain. Even if no one came today, there would be others who would come and save me from danger."

Xie Jinzhao knew very well that this was indeed the case.

She said, "If you could choose, would you choose me to save you, or the next person to save you?"

"If I were to choose, I would naturally choose Lord Yanzhijian. A wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in. To be honest, the one I want to serve is King Zhuang. King Zhuang is the god of war of our Northern Qi and a great figure. If he is assisted by a good minister, he will surely shine."

The emperor is still alive, so some things cannot be made too clear.

Because of her rebirth, many things are different from her previous life.

Xie Jinzhao gave him one hundred taels of silver and asked him to redeem his bond and then find a way to go to the capital.

"Sir, how should we deal with these people on the ground?" Li Wenzhong asked.

The people on the ground got up and knelt down to beg. They never thought that the person they met was Yanzhi Jian. Yanzhi Jian seldom walked around in the world, but every time she did something, there would be people to publicize her. Naturally, it was Feng Ye Tinghai's credit.

"How do you think I should deal with this?" Xie Jinzhao asked Li Wenzhong.

"I think Yanzhijian might as well take them in. They can be useful as servants or guards," Li Wenzhong suggested sincerely.

The thugs were immediately overjoyed.

"I never hurt innocent people." Xie Jinzhao stood with his arms folded, watching Li Wenzhong's reaction.

"My lord, are there any truly innocent people in this world? If you had just killed them with a sword, I would not have said these words. But since you have spared their lives, it would be better for you to use them for your own benefit rather than leaving them as weapons in the hands of others in the future. You will definitely not have enough troops on this trip to Qinzhou." Li Wenzhong said.

"How do you know I'm going to Qinzhou?" Xie Jinzhao was alert and had already pressed the Rouge Sword on his waist.

Li Wenzhong was ready to die. "Don't be nervous, sir. I have been paying attention to Prince Zhuang for a long time. I know several of the generals under Prince Zhuang. I have never heard of Yun Qingxiao, but Prince Zhuang has entrusted her with important tasks. I guess she must be the Princess of Zhuang."

He cupped his hands, and said more devoutly, "Sir, King Zhuang saved my family's life. If possible, I am willing to be loyal to King Zhuang for the rest of my life, and will never harm him in the slightest."

The emperor, princes and many powerful officials in the court knew her identity, but it was not easy for someone like Li Wenzhong to figure it out.

This person has a broad mind, meticulous thinking, unique insights, and is a talent. No wonder he was trusted by the Crown Prince in his previous life. He entered the court not long ago, but was eventually able to become the Prime Minister.

"No matter how loyal you are now, as long as you are not in the court, your ability will be limited. You should go to the capital first and pass the imperial examination." Xie Jinzhao said.

"I obey my orders!"

Xie Jinzhao called Diao Zheng over and handed the thugs on the ground to him. "If they are obedient, keep them. If they are not obedient, kill them. Don't leave any trouble for the future."

She didn't kill them because she was not a cruel and tyrannical person. Besides, she did have a limited number of people under her command. If possible, she wanted to win over some of them and use them for her own purposes.

Li Wenzhong saw through her thoughts.

Most superiors would not dare to employ such people, but Xie Jinzhao is not an ordinary superior, she is not afraid at all.

After those thugs were willing to join the army, Xie Jinzhao helped them connect their bones. Before, they only had dislocated joints but no broken bones, so they didn't need to rest and could go directly to the battlefield.

When the army arrived at Linhuai Pass west of the Huai River, Xie Jinzhao ordered the army to stop and arranged for people to investigate the whereabouts of Cao Zhen. They learned that Cao Zhen's people were missing and the Lan family army was being held accountable by the court.

Lan Huaijun led Lan Xuan'er, Lan Yu, Qiu Cheng and others to follow Xie Jinzhao's army back to Qinzhou. Hearing about this, he was very anxious. Lan Huaijun did not expect that Yun Qingxiao was actually the right general. He cupped his hands and said, "General Yun, I swear on my head that my Lan family has no intention of rebellion. There must be something hidden behind General Cao's disappearance. Since he disappeared in Qinzhou, my Lan family does have the responsibility to investigate it. Please give me a chance."

Xie Jinzhao asked, "What are you going to do?"

News came that the Lan family had been surrounded by heavy troops, and Cao Zhen's whereabouts were unknown.

Xie Jinzhao had already informed Cao Zhen before this, asking him to be careful when he arrived at Weishui. She was not worried about Cao Zhen's danger, and now her focus was on how to recruit the Lan family.