Chapter 17 — In front of the Great Hall, I suddenly changed the person chosen to be my son-in-law

"Now that the worms have been eliminated, next I will take good care of this giant tree, fertilize it with soil so that it can revive again."

Father looked into my clear but steadfast eyes and didn't say a word for a long time. Finally, the person happily nodded.

"Good, good."

"I trust you."

His eyes turned to Giang Ham Diep standing next to him.

"General Giang."

"The matter on the northern border is urgent."

"I appoint you as the Great Marshal of Chinh Bac, in command of the three armies. Immediately go on an expedition, and must expel the Barbarians from the shores of Dai Ninh!"

Giang Ham Diep knelt on one knee, his voice ringing like a bronze bell.

"The general's order!"

His eyes burned with a burning will to fight. The emperor's father personally gave the commander seal to his hand.

"I'm in the capital waiting for news of your victory."

"The last general definitely did not disappoint expectations!"

Early morning the next day. Ten miles of communal house outside the capital. The Chinh Bac army had flags flying across the sky, armor shining brightly, like a giant steel dragon about to rush onto the battlefield. Giang Ham Diep is wearing silver armor and riding on the back of a handsome, majestic black horse. He didn't let me come and see him off. But... I still came. I did not sit on the Princess's throne, I just guided Nhuoc Lan, standing quietly in the middle of the crowd, watching him from afar. The great army is about to depart. But it seemed like he had sensed something, his eyes pierced through thousands of horses, stopping precisely on him. Four eyes looked at each other. The countless words I wanted to say turned into a silent look. I smiled slightly at him. I use a mouthpiece, don't make a sound, and say two words.

"Wait for him."

He understood. The man standing in front of an army of thousands of horses never changed his face, but his cheeks were slightly red. He looked at me, nodded heavily. Immediately after that, he suddenly pulled the reins, turned around, raised the long spear in his hand, and pointed straight to the North.

"Depart!"

As soon as an order was issued, the army immediately set out. Smoke and dust billowed, covering the sky. I still stood there, not leaving for a long time. Until that steel giant dragon completely disappeared at the end of the horizon. Nhuoc Lan put a cloak on my shoulders.

"Princess, the wind is blowing, let's return to the palace."

I nodded slightly.

"That's right, we should go back."

Our battlefield... Officially begins. Giang Ham Diep, the guy protecting Dai Ninh border. I will protect this whole country for you. Giang Ham Diep's army marched aggressively toward the northern border. The capital city, after experiencing a fierce political storm, has finally temporarily restored its peaceful appearance. We began to work on promoting new talents, filling the vacant positions after the fall of the Wei family. All candidates are personally reviewed and considered over and over again. What we want to build is a court that is truly loyal to our father and loyal to Dai Ninh. Not anyone's personal clique. But soon, we discovered a problem that was even more difficult to solve than purging the court's traitors. That day, the Minister of the Household, who is also the highest official in charge of the national treasury and finances, With a sad expression on his face, he entered my study room. He presented several thick books in front of me.

"Your Highness, please take a look."

"This is the current national treasury books of our Dai Ninh."

We open the notebook. Just looking at it made my heart heavy. On the pages of the notebook, each red number appeared extremely dazzling. National treasury... Almost empty.

"How is this possible?"

I raised my head, my voice was cold.

"I remember the national treasury left by the first dynasty. Although it cannot be said to be abundant, it is definitely not that bad."

The Minister of Health grimaced and sighed.

"Your Highness, there's something you don't know."

"In recent years, Prime Minister Wei Zhengde has manipulated the government, only favoring relatives, and corruption and bribery are rife everywhere."

"Of the local taxes, seven out of ten go into the private pockets of the Wei family and their factions."

"In addition, the Queen has continuously built palaces and spent lavishly over the years. The little foundation left in the national treasury has long been wiped out."

"Even though we confiscated the assets of the Wei family and Vuong Thanh Nguyen, the money we collected was just like a grain of salt when it came to supporting the great war with hundreds of thousands of troops on the northern border."