She sported a variety of expressions with her seductive red lips, exuding extreme sexiness.

"Oh right, my lady, what kind of soup did you say this was?" Long Chen took the porcelain bowl from Diaochan’s jade-like hands and asked.

"It’s Ten Complete Nutritional Soup, my lord."

"Is it a soup made from various whips?!" Long Chen looked at the bowl in shock, almost wanting to gulp it all down!

Or maybe Diao Chan understood him and specially made this kind of strong tonic soup. What a virtuous wife she was!

"My lord, what are you saying?! This Ten Complete Nutritional Soup is made from chicken, duck, goose meat, along with jujubes, bamboo shoots, atractylodes, wolfiporia, and codonopsis, cooked for three hours."

"My lord, what did you just mention about various whips? I’ve never heard of such a thing," Diao Chan curiously asked, her captivating eyes wide open.

Long Chen: "......"

Oops! He got it all wrong!

Well, it’s not entirely his fault. With such a stunning beauty like Diao Chan at home, he almost wanted to spend every day embracing her.

And given that Long Chen wasn’t particularly adept at physical strength, he couldn’t match Diao Chan’s stamina. After just an hour or two...

"Nothing, nothing at all! Thanks for your kindness, my lady. Bottoms up!"

Saying so, Long Chen finished the entire bowl of Ten Complete Nutritional Soup in one gulp.

Diao Chan held onto her waistband, her fingers tightly entwined, smiled sweetly seeing Long Chen finishing the soup.

Originally worried that her husband might not like her cooking, she didn’t expect him to enjoy it so much.

Internally, she was more determined to prepare more "delicacies" for her husband in the future.

Once Diao Chan finally left, Long Chen’s face instantly turned pale, and he started dry heaving.

He thought his lady’s appearance would mean that she cooked delicious food!

Unfortunately, it seemed he had overestimated it.

It appeared that while God opens one door for you, He might close another. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

At that moment, a guard’s report sounded from outside the door.

"Report—My Lord, Lord Xi requests an audience!"

Long Chen rubbed his sore eyes and replied, "Allow him in!"

Soon, the door was opened by a slender young scholar, his face handsome, another exceptional beauty.

Of course, compared to Long Chen, there was still a considerable difference.

"Zhi Cai, it’s so late. What’s the matter?" Long opChen inquired.

"My Lord, I’ve finished reviewing all the administrative tasks you assigned to me," Xí Zhi Cai smiled calmly.

"What?! So quickly?" Long Chen was astonished, glancing at the remaining stack of documents on his desk...

"Well, could you review these documents as well?" Long Chen pointed to the papers on his table.

Xí Zhi Cai: "....."

Before long, the pile of documents on the desk diminished. The last book was the only one left.

"Zhi Cai, you’re truly extraordinary! You finished everything in just two incense sticks’ time!"

Long Chen counted on his fingers. If he had done it, he probably wouldn’t have finished even after pulling an all-nighter!

This top-notch strategist was indeed different. He was totally in awe!

"By the way, my lord, I have one more thing to remind you." Xi Zhi Cai rubbed his sore wrist as he stood up.

"Are you referring to the assignment in the Yanling County, the capital of Jiujang Prefecture?" Long Chen’s eyes gradually turned cold.

"Yes, my lord. It’s better to take office as soon as possible. I fear delays may lead to unforeseen changes," Xi Zhi Cai furrowed his brows.

"Very well. After all this time, those jumping clowns should have revealed themselves. It’s time to round them up!" A hint of killing intent flashed in Long Chen’s eyes.

The main reason Long Chen stayed in Dragon Town after returning to Jiujang Prefecture instead of immediately heading to Yanling was to stage a grand play!

This strategy was devised by Xi Zhi Cai and him—a brilliant plan to deceive the enemy!

The primary objective was to identify corrupt officials and influential families secretly supporting them within Jiujang Prefecture.

Following conventional thinking, new officials would stir up trouble upon taking office. Therefore, if Long Chen brought a large army and took office immediately, many officials and influential families would likely hide and wait for the storm to pass before emerging to cause havoc.

This was precisely what Long Chen wanted to avoid. He didn’t want those individuals causing trouble in the rear when he was away on military campaigns.

Thus, from the beginning, he wanted to replace all the officials in Jiujang Prefecture with his people to better control the region.

The current governor of Jiujang Prefecture was Liu Mai, a person with a considerable background, even more formidable than Liu Bei, who claimed to be the King of Zhongshan. Under Liu Mai and his Liu family’s rule, Jiujang Prefecture had become a solid fortress.

Taking advantage of the central government’s focus on combating the Yellow Turbans, Governor Liu Mai had issued decrees primarily benefiting the Liu family and other influential families. Meanwhile, the common people were subjected to various forms of exploitation.

In the end, the result was that the scholar-officials accumulated immense wealth from the war, while the common people suffered in dire straits.

To fully control Jiujang Prefecture, Long Chen chose to appear weak on the surface and delayed taking office. This made the officials think he was timid, secretly fostering a sense of contempt.

In reality, Long Chen and his generals were preparing behind the scenes. Thousands of elite soldiers were gradually infiltrating Yanling County, secretly collecting evidence of corruption, oppression, and exploitation by officials and influential families.

All these pieces of evidence would be used as trump cards once Long Chen officially took office.

"Is all the evidence gathered?"

"Yes, my lord. We have more than enough to strip them of their positions!"

With this evidence, even the court wouldn’t dare to harm him.

After a moment of contemplation, Long Chen finally spoke, "Good! Tomorrow, we will head south to Yanling!"

Upon hearing this, Xí Zhi Cai’s eyes lit up with excitement. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Once Long Chen’s position as governor was secure, he could formally appoint Xi Zhi Cai as his military strategist!

.....

Jiujiang Commandery

Yanling County.

Inside a luxurious and grand mansion, a festive atmosphere filled the air. Drums and gongs played together, and there was singing and dancing.

In the main hall, brightly lit with lamps, several seductive songstresses in gauzy dresses danced with captivating allure. Around them, seated on both sides, were about a dozen men, their faces flushed and their gazes hazy.

A burly man raised his cup towards the middle-aged handsome man at the head seat, saying, "Governor Liu, this toast is to you!"

The middle-aged man at the head seat waved his hand, "Oh, I’m no longer the governor of Jiujang Prefecture!"

"Come on, that young man named Long hasn’t taken office yet. I heard you, Lord Liu, a descendant of the Han dynasty, have already intimidated him!"

"Moreover, he’s just a nobody, how could he compare to you, Lord Governor!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Mai revealed a pleased expression, his lips curling upwards. Liu Mai was a fifth-generation descendant of Prince Xiao of Langye, a legitimate member of the Han dynasty. His noble status was highly respected.

Originally, he enjoyed ruling Jiujang Prefecture as if it were his kingdom. However, he didn’t expect a sudden appearance of Long Chen, the appointed General of Han’s Southern Garrison and the Prefect of Jiujang County by the imperial court.

But so what? Liu Mai thought bitterly.

A powerful dragon may be invincible elsewhere, but in Jiujang Prefecture, could he still contend with me!?

"Very well! Play more music, continue the dancing!"

"No one leaves sober tonight!"

Liu Mai laughed heartily, waving his hand.

Unbeknownst to them, when they let their guard down, a crisis was quietly approaching.

The next day, outside Yanling County.

Long Chen sat high on a jade lion, adorned in a silver unicorn armor, wielding the Zhenji Spear, emitting an aura of intimidation. Behind him, his 5,000 armored soldiers seemed unstoppable, a towering force of impending doom swirling above them.

The dark clouds rolling in unnerved the soldiers guarding the city walls.

The commanding general shouted, "Who goes there!?"

At Long Chen’s signal, Zhou Tai stepped forward and shouted towards the walls.

"Our Lord is the General of Han’s Southern Garrison! Open the city gates!"

The soldiers on the wall were petrified by Zhou Tai’s shout, especially when they saw Long Chen raising the symbol of the new prefect.

"Open the gates!"

The heavy city gates slowly creaked down, echoing with a loud bang.

The scene inside Yanling County was exposed to Long Chen’s army like an undressed woman in front of them.

"Keep order and don’t disturb the civilians!" Long Chen ordered.

Then, turning to Xu Chu and Zhou Tai, he said, "Zhongkang, Youping, take fifty soldiers each and accompany me to the governor’s mansion!"

"Zhi Cai, you know what to do!"

"Yes, I understand," Xí Zhi Cai nodded respectfully.

In the Prefectural Mansion.

Liu Mai and others were originally enjoying themselves, suddenly hearing the messenger reporting that the newly appointed prefect had entered the city.

And he brought five thousand armored soldiers, an overwhelming aura!

Liu Mai was caught off guard, and his buttocks felt numb as he quickly instructed his attendants, "Quick! Summon the other officials and the county magistrate."

Before long, Long Chen had already arrived at the majestic Prefectural Mansion.

"Take control of everything!" he said in a cold tone.

"Yes!" Zhou Tai and Xu Chu smirked; they enjoyed this kind of work.

A chorus of pig-like squeals echoed from the mansion.

"Ah! You can’t arrest me! My ancestors are Xiang Yu, King of Lanyang. I am a member of the imperial family!"

...

Long Chen sat upright in the Prefectural Mansion, tapping the armrest rhythmically. "Report—The entire Liu family has been taken under our control!"

"There were two thousand private soldiers hidden in the Liu mansion, all under our control. Our casualties amount to dozens."

Long Chen calmly stated, "Illegally raising dead soldiers, hiding dragon robes, attempting rebellion—these are capital crimes! Throw them all into the dungeon, awaiting judgment."

His calm words sent shivers down the spines of the soldiers around, making them tremble with fear.

Lord, he is ruthless!

He framed the entire Liu family with unfounded charges, ruthlessly condemning them. Even the returning advisor, Xishi, was surprised and hurriedly approached Long Chen, whispering, "My Lord, Liu’s family is of imperial descent. Is it too much to do this?"

Long Chen waved his hand and reassured, "Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. Look, I haven’t killed them yet!"

"As for those pieces of evidence, let’s fabricate a set."

Hastily stepping back a few paces, Xishi’s hands were ice-cold.

"Xishi, what’s wrong? Feeling unwell?" Long Chen asked with concern.

He cared a lot about Xishi’s health. After all, he was a top-notch strategist, and their relationship ran deep. He couldn’t afford to lose him prematurely.

"It’s nothing, my Lord. I’m just fortunate that I’m not your opponent!" Xishi patted his chest.

Long Chen: "..."