Princess Promotion

The capital of Yan State was Dancheng.

Inside the main hall of Prince Yan's Palace, the candlelight made the dragon patterns on the wall flicker, as if foreshadowing the impending changes in the situation.

The ministers' voices rose and fell, creating a chaotic mess.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the most urgent task is to stabilize the people's hearts and send envoys to seek peace, so as to prevent the war from spreading to the territory of our Yan State." An elderly minister showed a trace of worry.

"Asking for peace? This is a cowardly act! How can Qi's wolfish ambitions be easily satisfied? Only a war can show the power of our Yan State!" Another young and energetic general slammed the table and retorted.

The King of Yan sat upright on the throne, his face obscured by the pearl curtain on the crown, making it impossible to see his expression.

The King of Yan remained silent throughout the whole process, and the quarrel in the hall became even more intense.

King Yan slowly stood up, his movements calm and composed with an invisible majesty, and gently waved his hand, signaling everyone to continue.

Then, a man walked out of the hall silently, leaving a group of ministers looking at each other in confusion.

Prince Yan walked through the long corridor and came to the side hall.

The layout here is relatively simple, without the luxury of the main hall, but with a bit more tranquility.

Prince Yan sat on the chair, his posture and demeanor no different from that in the hall.

The hall was brightly lit and surrounded by ministers.

There was only the lamp in front of him. The hall was empty, and he was the only one sitting on the dragon throne.

I don't know how long I sat there in a daze, until a steady voice broke the silence in the side hall: "Father."

The King of Yan looked up at his proudest child and asked, "Prince, what do you think?"

Yan Yunfan walked up to the King of Yan and said slowly, "Father, although Qi has been in chaos for years, its foundation has not been shaken, and its strength should not be underestimated."

"Then how do you think we should deal with it?" There was a hint of expectation in King Yan's voice.

Yan Yunfan pondered for a moment, then said, "I think we can take a two-pronged approach. We can first pretend to sue for peace to buy time, while secretly strengthening our military and preparing for war at any time."

A trace of disappointment flashed in the eyes of the King of Yan and he said, "So you are advocating a competition with Qi!"

Yan Yunfan analyzed, "Father, Qi has already annexed Western Zhou. This shows that the Queen of Qi is extremely ambitious and cannot be satisfied with just a little gold and silver."

"Qi State has just finished its war and is in need of reconstruction. If we don't do anything now, and wait for Qi State to recover, Yan State will be in danger!"

Yan Yunfan suggested pretending to be weak first, and when Qi State became complacent and let down its guard, they would immediately launch a surprise attack and kill him by surprise.

King Yan looked at the ambitious Yan Yunfan, and the last glimmer of hope in his heart disappeared.

When the King of Yan learned that the King of Qi had been usurped by his daughters, he was quite proud for a while that he had a smart and sensible prince like Yan Yunfan.

Neither Qi nor the Western Zhou Dynasty had a crown prince, only Yan State had one. Yan State could smoothly transition between the old and the new, but the Western Zhou Dynasty and Qi State were bound to be a bloody battle.

Now it seems that there is no need to appoint a crown prince in advance, and the emperor can rise to the throne with his own abilities.

Whether in terms of means or strategy, he is much better than the prince himself who has had smooth sailing.

On second thought, a figure like the Queen of Qi should not even be in Qi.

Even in the State of Yan, his own prince could not suppress it.

Now think about it, even those of them who have been emperors their whole lives are no match for that woman, let alone a fledgling prince like himself.

The King of Yan closed his eyes tightly, and no matter how much resentment he felt, he could only sigh and say, "Prince, how do you understand the letter from Qi?"

Yan Yunfan was stunned and replied subconsciously: "Of course it's a provocation. If you don't fight, you will have to cede land and pay compensation."

Prince Yan suddenly burst out laughing, and tears came out of his eyes while laughing so hard.

It turns out that all the civil and military officials in the court are a bunch of useless people, and I am the only one who is sober. This feeling is so sad and ridiculous.

After the King of Yan had laughed enough, he gasped and shook his head, saying, "Prince, you can be bolder."

Yan Yunfan's heart tightened instantly, beating wildly as he asked, "Could it be that she is referring to the State of Yan?"

The Prince of Yan nodded and said, "Yes! In a few days you will no longer be the Crown Prince, and I will no longer be able to call myself "I."

Yan Yunfan was panicked for a moment, and his words were a little unclear: "Father...you...what do you mean by this?"

Rather than Qi's desire to declare war and annex Yan, it was the attitude of the King of Yan that made Yan Yunfan panic.

The King of Yan simply said, "I... no, I intend to surrender and hand over the State of Yan to you."

Yan Yunfan's eyes were bloodshot as he asked, "Father! Are you crazy?"

Although we will lose the war, we still have a chance to save the State of Yan. If we surrender, there will be no chance at all.

The King of Yan stood up and left the throne and said, "You want to know why I'm afraid before the battle?"

Yan Yunfan lowered his head and said nothing, his whole body emitting resentment and anger, expressing what he had not yet said.

The King of Yan walked over to Yan Yunfan and said, "Because I don't see any chance of Yan winning. It's meaningless except for causing more bloodshed."

Yan Yunfan looked at King Yan angrily and said, "The war hasn't even started yet. No matter how strong Qi is, Yan is not a soft persimmon that can be manipulated by others. Why does my father think that Yan will lose?"

The King of Yan sighed deeply and said, "You don't understand. If Qi was just Qi, I wouldn't be afraid even if their troops doubled. But Qi has Yao Chuguang. Even if their troops were reduced by half, I wouldn't dare to act rashly."

Yan Yunfan was horrified and asked, "Father, are you afraid of that person?"

Prince Yan's eyes dimmed, as if he had aged several years in an instant. He said, "You are right. That woman is truly terrifying."

Yan Yunfan admitted that Yao Chuguang was indeed very strong. He used to think that he was very talented and it was not an exaggeration to say that he was a child of destiny.

No one could match him in terms of knowledge, status, or appearance, and they could only look up to him. All this came to an abrupt end until the rise of Yao Chuguang.

Yan Yunfan has been working hard to surpass Yao Chuguang, but it seems that no matter how hard he tries.

Compared with Yao Chuguang, he was just an ordinary person. When Yan Yunfan realized this, he found it ridiculous for a moment.

Yan Yunfan couldn't smile at all now, and was just confused. They were obviously of the same age, and he was even one year older than Yao Chuguang.

Yao Chuguang was able to do something that he could never do in his entire life, which frightened his father, whom he had revered and respected since childhood.

Fear! Such an unfamiliar word, it frightened an emperor.

Yan Yunfan suddenly became much calmer. He even heard himself asking King Yan why he was afraid of Yao Chuguang.

The King of Yan did not hide anything and instead asked Yan Yunfan, "If you were the King of Qi and had just conquered Western Zhou, facing internal troubles in the west and external threats from the barbarians who were eyeing you covetously, how would you deal with it?"

Although Yan Yunfan didn't know why the King of Yan suddenly asked this question, from the intelligence he had collected so far, he knew that Qi was not short of soldiers at all.

Yan Yunfan pondered for a moment and said, "I won't be as reckless as the Queen of Qi. I will first heavily guard the borders and then attack the western border. This way, I can prevent the barbarians from launching a surprise attack while also allowing me to attack the western border smoothly."

The King of Yan agreed, "This is a foolproof method. The only problem is that if the Western Border puts up a desperate resistance and barbarian tribes invade, the war could last a year, a half, or even several years."

Yan Yunfan said nonchalantly, "As long as we can win, it's worth spending some time."

King Yan asked back, "I thought so too at the beginning. Yao Chuguang couldn't think of something that you and I could think of. If she knew she could win 100% this way, why would she put herself in danger?"

Yan Yunfan was suddenly speechless.

Prince Yan: "I believe you and your staff must have studied the Empress privately. Is your final conclusion that Yao Chuguang is indeed a genius with unparalleled strategy? Her only flaw is her recklessness and her tendency to gamble the maximum benefit at the minimum cost?"

Yan Yunfan didn't say anything, but what King Yan said was indeed right.

Judging from Yao Chuguang's rise to prominence, she was indeed gambling from the beginning to the end.

Every layout is a risky one. It has to be said that this approach has high risks, but also high returns.

To deal with such a person, you have to take advantage of her gambling nature. For example, there are two roads, one is a smooth road but time-consuming, and the other is dangerous and steep but the shortest.

Ordinary people would choose the safe road, but Yao Chuguang is the kind of person who would choose the cliff.

With this calculation, it is not difficult to understand a person's personality and infer the decision she will make.

King Yan shook his head, and said, like a newborn calf fearless of a tiger, "I am quite the opposite of you. I think Yao Chuguang is an extremely cautious person, even to the point of being overly cautious."

Yan Yunfan didn't expect that King Yan's inference was completely opposite to his own. The word "cautious" didn't fit Yao Chuguang at all. How could this be possible?

Prince Yan patted Yan Yunfan on the shoulder and walked towards the door. "Why do you think Yao Chuguang is so reckless? Because she always seems to be risking her life."

"But have you ever thought about this? In Yao Chuguang's eyes, her own life is secondary, and Qi and its people are first. Would all her decisions still be reckless?"

Yan Yunfan opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Yan Yunfan had never thought about it from this perspective: Is there really someone who would value the people more than his own life?

They are just ants under her rule. Is it worth sacrificing one's life for them?

Yao Chuguang never thought that if he died, everything would be gone.

Who still remembers that she was an empress who came to power through rebellion?

No matter how well she does, who will care about her? Is it worth it for a group of ants?

The King of Yan approached the door step by step, shaking his head and sighing, "What else can we compare? We can't compare national strength, and we can't compare brains."

As he took his last step out of the door, the King of Yan cursed: "Even that desperate woman is more excited than you. Now I'm telling you that the only way to defeat Qi is to lead 10,000 people into Qi and kill that crazy woman. Who can do it?"

Finally, King Yan left cursing.

Yan Yunfan vaguely heard that the crazy woman could bring 10,000 soldiers to kill me and take my head...

Yan Yunfan...this is really possible!

Qi State, meeting tent.

Li Jinglong said with a look of melancholy, "Qi has been at war repeatedly, and the people need to recuperate and recover. Your Majesty has issued a declaration of war, provoking another war. What should we do?"

Yan Mingzhe frowned when he heard this. He also disagreed with His Majesty sending troops to attack Yan State at this time.

But after all, he was not an official, and he was only allowed to enter and leave the tent because he was helping to deal with some paperwork. It would be inappropriate if he continued to talk about it.

He suppressed his desire to hear what other ministers thought.

Li Jinglong's words caused discussions among several ministers. They all felt that the emperor's move was a bit rash and that he should not be blinded by the victory in front of him.

Yan Mingzhe nodded secretly in his heart. It seemed that the next step would be for the ministers to submit memorials and advice to Her Majesty the Empress.

Patriarch Wu continued to write with his brush, without even raising his head, "If you want to talk, go ahead and talk to yourselves, but don't bring me into this."

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was silent.

Then the ministers who surrounded Li Jinglong and supported him dispersed instantly, and even Li Jinglong shook his head and sighed with helplessness.

Yan Mingzhe was shocked. He gave up just like that?

Yan Mingzhe looked at Lord Xiao and found that he had quietly walked to the door of the tent, apparently about to go out.

Elder Xiao looked at Yan Mingzhe, who had followed him out, hesitant to speak, and said with a bright smile, "Brother Yan, are you talking about the declaration of war?"

Yan Mingzhe smiled and bowed to Elder Xiao, saying, "I hope Brother Xiao can help me clear up my confusion."

Xiao Ge Lao said: "Brother Yan, don't worry, His Majesty is not a reckless person!"

Yan Mingzhe was puzzled and said, "But now is not a good time to send troops."

Elder Xiao blinked his eyes and said, "As far as I know, this declaration of war only has three words, but it doesn't say when the troops will be dispatched!"

Yan Mingzhe was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "So that's it! So that's it!"

They cannot decide whether Yan State will send troops or not, but they can decide when to send troops. Given Yao Chuguang's personality, now is the time to achieve a great victory and make their reputation known.

Why not take this opportunity to give Yan State a good beating? It would be better to give it a try and see if there is any result.

Before, the State of Yan followed the barbarians and picked quarrels with them every day, but Yao Chuguang had the character of seeking revenge.

How could we possibly let Yan State go? We can’t send troops now, but it would be good to scare them.

Don’t ask, even if it’s such a boring thing, Yao Chuguang can definitely do it.

There is one thing that Lord Xiao did not tell Yan Mingzhe, even if Yao Chuguang really wanted to send troops to attack the State of Yan.

They couldn't stop him. Even if he wanted to die, Yao Chuguang would probably just buy a coffin and wait by the side.

It can be said that the ministers had no way to deal with Yao Chuguang. There were only two options for them: either take action or leave.

Elder Xiao looked at Yan Mingzhe, whose face was full of enthusiasm, and suddenly looked forward to the scene of Yan Mingzhe and Yao Chuguang facing off.

Elder Xiao shook his head. He was old and needed someone to share the burden with him.

Otherwise, if Yao Chuguang always takes the blame, the reputation he has painstakingly built over the years will be ruined.

At the border of Qi State, on the city wall.

An Tian held the account book and said with some melancholy, "Your Majesty, after the war with the Western Territory, our family fortune is almost gone."

An Tian looked into the distance and asked, "Are we really going to go to war with the State of Yan?"

Yao Chuguang rocked his rocking chair and said, "This war is inevitable. I must clean up this place. Only when Qi is strong enough can we truly end this century of war and chaos, and the people can live a truly stable life."

Yao Chuguang put down the book and said, "Only when we finish the battles we need to fight can the children avoid taking up spears and following in the footsteps of their fathers."

Yao Chuguang stood up and walked to the edge of the city wall, looking at the bustling streets.

By then there will be no more smoke of war, but lights in thousands of homes!