I became a big shot in the quick transmigration world.

Chapter 758 Long Live the Emperor! (28)
This peace negotiation represents the most crucial opportunity for national transformation that Yu Muhuai has encountered since coming to this world.

In Yu Muhuai's view, if Cong State could seize such an opportunity and lie low, it could also find a chance to incite a war between Jian State and the peasant army, causing them to suffer heavy losses.

Even if they don't suffer mutual destruction, they can still deplete each other's manpower, resources, and finances, buying time for the Cong Kingdom to recover.

But to my surprise, the opposition in the court is still so strong.

Coincidentally, the minister who resolutely opposed peace talks in the previous life was also this Huang Jidao.

Yu Muhuai had mixed feelings about the old man.

First, there's Wan Zhixin's memory, and then there's Yu Muhuai's observations over the past few years.

She was certain that this was a loyal minister who was absolutely devoted to the Cong Kingdom and the Emperor.

In his previous life, although Huang Jidao was initially ostracized by Ping Qinian, he was only demoted and not ousted from the court.

However, after Wan Zhixin killed Ping Qinian and eliminated the Eastern Depot's power, the imperial court began a period of great turmoil and was on the verge of rapid decline.

That period was the time when Wan Zhixin went to extremes in his "purge of the eunuch faction."

Huang Jidao was also treated as a member of the "eunuch faction" because he was close to someone who had been labeled as such.

Neither of them are "eunuchs".

Such wrongful convictions and unjust accusations were commonplace in the previous life.

Huang Jidao survived the darkness of the Pingqin era, but he did not survive the days that followed.

His thinking was rather stubborn, and he offended many people from the moment he entered the court as an official.

Therefore, some people took advantage of his misfortune to try and oust him from the court. Unfortunately, Huang was stubborn and unpopular, and no one came to his aid.

It was undeniably tragic.

He was dismissed from his post and returned to his hometown.

For the next few years, Huang Jidao taught in the countryside, becoming a private tutor, and lived a comfortable and carefree life.

However, this man was always concerned about matters of the court, and whenever he heard bad news, he would be unable to sleep all night.

However, as the number of available talents dwindled, Wan Zhixin thought of this former scholar and issued an order to recall him to the capital.

Upon returning to the capital, Huang Jidao remained the same diligent and loyal minister.

Unfortunately, the Kingdom of Cong was doomed and its fate was in decline, which could not be reversed by one person alone.

Even if Yu Muhuai mobilizes the entire nation's resources now, it will still take a long time for things to gradually improve.

Moreover, at that time, there were a large number of rebel armies in the country, and the imperial court was full of corrupt officials and fence-sitters who held positions without doing their jobs.

At that time, the Kingdom of Jian offered an opportunity by proposing peace talks.

Huang Jidao firmly opposed this and, together with censors, civil officials, and others, argued with the peace faction based on reason.

Wan Zhixin originally wanted to negotiate peace, as he could see that the Cong Kingdom was already at its last gasp.

However, Huang Jidao was determined to disagree, citing all sorts of grand principles. In the end, although he persuaded Wan Zhixin, he also angered him.

The emperor was furious and, finding a pretext, dismissed Huang Jidao from his post once again.

Huang Jidao retired from the military for the second time, but this time he never had the chance to return to the imperial court.

Because within a few years, the capital was breached, and news of Wan Zhixin's suicide spread. Shortly afterward, the Jian Kingdom's army reached Huang Jidao's hometown.

The officials defending the city fled, and when the soldiers saw that their superiors had run away, they lost all will to fight and either surrendered or ran away.

Huang Jidao was nearly 60 years old, but he still stepped forward at this moment, uniting all the civilians and the soldiers who were prepared to hold their ground, and temporarily formed an army.

Because most of them were civilians, they had no weapons and many carried only carrying poles, so they were called the "Carrying Pole Army".

The "Carrying Pole Army" included not only men, but also their families.

The destruction of the nation was only a matter of time, but these women chose to bravely stand up and, together with their families, defend their homeland.

But the result was predictable: how could the weak "carrying pole army" possibly be a match for the elite troops of the Jian Kingdom?

They were all slaughtered.

Yes, Huang Jidao was an old stubborn man, and there were many such stubborn old men in the court who spoke sharply and were not afraid of power.

But they also possess the most important quality.

integrity.

A nation may perish, but a civilization can endure, and a people can survive.

It all comes down to integrity.

(My eyes are a little red as I write this. Of the four ancient civilizations, only Chinese civilization has survived to this day. It was nearly wiped out countless times, but it always escaped unscathed. It is because of the integrity of generations of people and the indomitable spirit of our ancestors that we have been able to preserve it to this day.)
At this moment, not far from Yu Muhuai, the loyal and stubborn Huang Jidao had already used the same tactics he used to persuade Wan Zhixin in his previous life.

This very argument completely enraged Wan Zhixin.

In the previous life, the representative of the peace faction was Yang Lü, the Minister of War.

Yang Lu is now standing behind Zhan Zhong, still a member of the peace faction.

Zhan Zhong was a person recently promoted by Yu Muhuai. In his previous life, he was labeled as a member of the "eunuch faction" and served as a minor official in a remote area. He was frustrated and unfulfilled, but in the end, he committed suicide by jumping into the sea with 100,000 soldiers and civilians.

Yu Muhuai was not mistaken; this was indeed a talented individual. In just a few years, he had become one of the cabinet's chief ministers, holding a position even higher than Yang Lu's.

Compared to Wan Zhixin's debate, the court was much cleaner and brighter this time, with far fewer people harboring ulterior motives.

Naturally, even more people supported Yu Muhuai's proposal.

After all, many of them were personally promoted by her, and they tended to follow the Emperor's opinions.

Except for stubborn old men like Huang Jidao.

However, it seems that the number of people advocating peace and those advocating war are roughly equal, with no clear advantage or disadvantage.

The main point is that it's clear to anyone with eyes to see that Cong Kingdom has gradually emerged from its predicament and is showing a steady upward trend.

In addition, Jian State suffered a great loss not long ago, losing not only soldiers but also a fierce general to Cong State.

The fact that they are negotiating peace at this time clearly indicates that they intend to recuperate and rebuild their lives.

Zhan: "Peace is out of the question! The Jian Kingdom harbors wolfish ambitions and has long coveted the territory of my Cong Kingdom—this is an indisputable fact. They have just suffered a heavy blow; now is the perfect opportunity to strike them while they're down!"

He said, "Jian Kingdom needs rest, but doesn't our Cong Kingdom need it too? You all know how much money war costs. The people of Cong Kingdom finally had a few years to catch their breath, and now we have to start another war that will cost us so much. Do you want Cong Kingdom to go back to its previous state?"

Zhan: "It is precisely because the Cong Kingdom's treasury is much fuller that the country has the capital to wage war, and therefore needs to press on and defeat the Jian Kingdom in one fell swoop!"

Wish you sweet dreams and good night (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
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(End of this chapter)