After crossing, I surrounded the capital from the countryside

"Pass on my order. Immediately order the nearest northern border troops to suppress Xu Qingqing's uprising army with all their strength! Exterminate those rebels for me at all costs!"

"Yes."

However, when the emperor's order spread to the northern border like a storm, he did not receive the expected response, and reality gave him a heavy blow.

The messenger returned exhausted, and the news he brought pierced the emperor's hopes like ice.

"How dare you, the general of the Northern Frontier, be so rebellious!" Upon hearing this, the emperor's face instantly turned pale and his eyes were filled with anger, as if he wanted to set the entire hall on fire.

He stared at the messenger in disbelief, his voice trembling with anger, "What excuse do they have? How dare they go along with the rebels? Don't they know that this is a heinous crime punishable by the death of all nine generations of their clan?"

The herald knelt on the ground and answered in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Most of the generals in the northern border have excused themselves for insufficient food and manpower. Some of them have even colluded with the rebels in private with the intention of..." When he reached here, his voice became increasingly low, as if he was almost out of courage to speak.

"What is your intention? Speak!" the emperor shouted angrily, interrupting the herald.

"The intention... is to obstruct the imperial court's suppression and buy time for the rebels." The herald finally mustered up the courage to tell the cruelest truth.

Upon hearing this, the emperor was furious. He stood up abruptly and swept the memorials on the desk to the ground with a rustling sound. His face turned terribly pale.

"Bastards! How dare my army and my generals betray me and the country like this!" The emperor's angry voice echoed in the hall.

The herald kneeling on the ground with his head bowed could not help but curl his lips. It is you who is not in the right position now? ! What is the point of talking about betraying you? To put it bluntly, if you are not still sitting on the dragon throne, who are you?

In addition to being angry, the emperor also realized that this difficult problem must be solved.

He immediately summoned all his important officials and even invited the imperial teacher to discuss countermeasures. He decided to send his trusted generals to the northern border in person to take over the northern border and urge the northern border army to carry out the suppression mission.

The ministers looked at each other and reluctantly came up with a few half-hearted solutions, but the emperor was not very satisfied with them and the scene fell silent for a while.

Just as everyone was silent, each thinking of countermeasures, the National Master Li Feng slowly stood up. His voice was not loud, but it carried a majesty and coldness that could not be ignored.

"Your Majesty, I have a plan that may help you resolve your current predicament."

Upon hearing this, the emperor looked at the imperial teacher with sharp eyes, as if he had grasped a glimmer of hope.

"Master, please speak."

The Imperial Master nodded slightly and continued, "I suggest that we immediately forcefully recruit soldiers across the country to strengthen our military. We don't have to fight a decisive battle directly against the main force of the rebels. Instead, we can use these newly recruited soldiers to create chaos in the areas where the rebels are active, so that they can kill each other and consume each other's strength. At the same time, we can also take the opportunity to send elite troops to divide and surround the rebels and defeat them one by one."

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the hall. Some ministers were shocked, thinking that the imperial teacher's plan was too cruel and against the will of heaven; others nodded secretly, thinking that this might be the most effective strategy under the current situation.

The emperor frowned, pondered for a moment, and then spoke slowly with false sincerity: "The imperial teacher's plan can solve the problem temporarily, but it may hurt innocent people and cause resentment among the people. Moreover, forced conscription may provoke greater resistance."

The Imperial Master seemed to have anticipated the Emperor's concerns. He smiled calmly and continued, "Your Majesty is wise, but I believe that in times of national crisis, personal sacrifice is for the sake of overall stability. As for the people's grievances, as long as we can quickly quell the rebellion and restore order, we will naturally be able to win the people's understanding and support. As for forced conscription, I suggest that we adopt a combination of voluntary and compulsory methods, and at the same time increase the propaganda offensive against the rebels to let the people understand that only by working together with the court can we overcome the difficulties together."

The emperor heard this and weighed the pros and cons in his heart. He knew that although the imperial master's plan was not the best, it might be the only way out under the current situation. So he nodded slowly, agreed to the imperial master's proposal, and immediately ordered the implementation of the conscription plan, while strengthening the encirclement and suppression of the rebels.

The scene where the emperor, following the advice of the imperial teacher, forcibly conscripted soldiers from the people was full of heaviness and helplessness, and the constant dialogue added a bit of sadness.

In a remote village, before the sun had fully risen, the village was already shrouded in panic, and the tranquility of the village was completely torn apart. The government runners roughly pushed open the wooden doors and broke into the farmers' homes.

Li Qiang's arms were tightly grasped by the yamen runners. His muscles were tense and veins were bulging as he tried to break free from the runners' restraints.

"Father, no! I don't want to go!" Young Li Qiang was dragged out of the house by the yamen runners, his eyes full of fear and despair.

"Let me go! I have parents to support and fields to cultivate, I can't leave!" Li Qiang roared, his voice full of despair and anger. But in response, he only got the cold eyes of the yamen runners and the tighter grip.

His mother, who was usually gentle and virtuous, was now crying bitterly. She knelt on the ground, grabbing the air with her hands in vain, as if trying to catch her son's receding figure.

"My son...how can you leave like this...how can I live..." Her cry was heartbreaking, and every word seemed to be torn out from the deepest part of her heart.

His father, Lao Li, a haggard farmer, knelt on the ground, holding the corner of the yamen runner's clothes tightly with both hands, and cried: "Sir, please let my son go! He is the only strong laborer in my family. Without him, how can our family survive!"

After saying this, seeing that the yamen runners did not move, he immediately rushed forward, trying to take his son back, but was pushed away by several yamen runners and fell to the ground.

He struggled to get up, his eyes red, and he muttered to himself: "What kind of world is this... I can't even protect my own son..."

The bailiff snorted coldly, kicked Old Li away again, and said sternly: "This is the emperor's order, who dares to disobey? Let go quickly, or I will take you away too!"

"Mother...Mother, save me..." Li Qiang looked back into the house and saw his mother slumped on the ground, tears streaming down her face, shouting helplessly, "My son, my son..."

At this time, Zhang Bo, an elder in the village, rushed over after hearing the news. He walked tremblingly to the yamen runners and tried to persuade them with reason: "My lords, we understand the difficulties of the country, but forced conscription will only make the people more resentful. Why not adopt a voluntary approach and let young people who are willing to serve the country voluntarily join the army?"