Even though I was dressed as an ugly woman, I was still forced to love by all kinds of big guys

Xuanming Hall is a magnificent hall with carved beams and painted buildings. On the six-story white marble steps, there is the seat of power, with a giant golden dragon made of pure gold coiled behind it, which is luxurious and majestic.

In the court, the old emperor, who had not been seen for a long time, sat on the dragon throne for the first time, with Yu Yan standing beside him, while Wuyang could only stand at the steps on the left, gritting his teeth in his heart.

Seeing Yu Yan lowering her head from time to time to listen to the old emperor's whispers, Wu Yang felt even more aggrieved. A hint of sinister cruelty flashed across her slanted eyes, and wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were clearly visible.

Why does the East Factory have the upper hand over the West Factory? After all these years, the Emperor's grace still favors Yu Yan!

He calmly turned his gaze away from Yu Yan. You were just a dog in our hands. We want to see how long you can stay so glorious!

Civil and military officials were arguing in the hall, their faces red, while the old emperor closed his eyes tiredly, a feeling of powerlessness sweeping over his body.

He is only about fifty years old. If he had not been ill and exhausted from his warlike nature in his youth, how could he allow other countries to provoke him or even run wild on Qixia's territory!

The civil officials and military generals argued endlessly about whether to negotiate or attack, which gave the old emperor a headache. He waved to Yu Yan.

Yu Yan immediately understood and coughed twice, "Please speak one by one, sirs."

The vast Xuanming Hall fell silent for a moment. After the civil officials exchanged glances, the Minister of Revenue stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty! In my humble opinion, negotiating peace is the best policy! With the constant natural disasters of recent years, tax revenue has already been reduced by a significant amount. Furthermore, with years of war and massive conscription, the military's food and rations are increasing, and the treasury is facing a severe financial crisis!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the other civil servants began to chirp in agreement, each sentence filled with complaints, "That is to say, the more money and food are demanded, the fewer victories are won..."

"Most of the resources are going to be used, but they keep saying it's not enough. If this continues, the national treasury will be emptied..."

"By then, we won't have to wait for the enemy to invade us. We'll be worn down by them first..."

When the generals heard this, their anger flared up. They pointed at the group of old, pretentious people and cursed, "What a bunch of old fools! My soldiers risked their lives at the border so you could enjoy yourself peacefully in the Imperial City! And now you have the nerve to blame us?!"

"You old bastards! You'll behave yourself just by being sent to the battlefield! Do you think fighting is as easy as talking?!"

After a few words, the two sides started arguing again, but the military generals were not as good at talking as the civil officials. They could not win the argument, nor could they fight. In the end, they could only get angry and their faces turned red.

As the Minister of War, Shen Qingyun knew very well how difficult the army was and how intense the war was. How could these literati who had always been protected in a greenhouse understand their hardships?

Pulling over his colleague who was about to lose his mind with anger, Shen Qingyun, who had been silent until then, spoke up. He asked the civil officials who were still talking nonstop, "Do you understand Nanyue and the Jin people? Especially the Jin people. Do you think they will negotiate peace? Even if they agree to negotiate peace, will they abide by the contract?"

His voice was low, but it resounded throughout the hall. "Last year, the Jin people blatantly violated the treaty and massacred five cities in Daqi! Princess Zhaoren, who was sent to marry into the Nanyue Kingdom, was openly insulted and divorced! She is still ridiculed by other countries! Have you forgotten all this?"

He pointed at Jinbesi and asked, "Can you swallow this?"

He pointed at Kurabe Tsukasa again and asked, "Do you still have any manliness left in you?"

He pointed to the ceiling of the palace, "Last year, hundreds of thousands of our Great Qi men were killed or wounded! They were all born by their mothers and raised by their fathers! They have wives, children, and elders at home who are waiting for them to return. How can we negotiate peace? How can we negotiate peace!"

Every word was deafening.

The old emperor slowly opened his eyes and looked at Shen Qingyun. He saw that his eyes were red, his back was straight, and his expression was sad.

Some people wanted to argue, "We want to negotiate peace just to avoid casualties. How can we know if we don't try..."

"Enough!" As soon as the old emperor spoke, everyone held their breath and waited for what would happen next.

Glancing at his sons standing in a row below, the old emperor asked, "What do you think?"

The Crown Prince appeared to be a gentle and refined gentleman. He folded his hands over his chest and bowed to the heavens, saying, "In your humble opinion, retreat will only make the enemy more powerful. Thinking back to my father's iron-blooded tactics, who would dare to challenge him? I am willing to fight him myself!"

Listening to the prince's bold words, the third brother secretly rolled his eyes and thought to himself, "Come on, you know you are the prince. Even if a war really breaks out, your father won't let you go to the front line. Who are you pretending to be for?"

Lao Liu, who had just returned from Laoshan a few days ago, lowered his head and looked at his toes. He was completely uninterested in these arguments and asked if they could be finished quickly. He wanted to go back to sleep.

After the prince finished speaking, it was the third prince's turn. He of course advocated for peace talks. After all...

He was about to bow and speak when he was interrupted by the old emperor, "Your Highness is right. How can a man like me, Qixia, be suppressed by barbarians?! Fight!"

The third child:......

He sighed in his heart, then comforted himself. He really didn't see that the old man was willing to throw the prince to the front line. It's okay to fight, but if the prince dies on the front line, then he will be safe, right?

"Sixth Brother, did you gain anything in Laoshan recently?"

Suddenly, the old emperor called out the Sixth Prince, and a sense of foreboding suddenly rose in his heart! He looked up at the old emperor and said, "No way! If the prince wants to lead the troops to fight, then let him go. Why call him out for anything?"

"I am stupid and weak, so..." Lao Liu answered calmly, not caring about the old emperor's visible dissatisfaction.

A hopeless person! The old emperor glared at the sixth brother, thought for a while, and then set his sights on the third brother. "Then let the third brother go to the front line to command. You have always been smart. Don't let me down."

The third brother: I am really impressed.

He could only comfort himself in his heart, just go, take more military power, and the future will be easier!

But the old emperor's words made the third brother's eyes darken instantly. He said: "You will lead 30,000 soldiers, escort the food and grass, and go to find King Pingwu to help the Weiwu army win every battle."

Why did it have to be the Mighty Army? The third child cursed in his heart, his father's intentions were too obvious!

Who doesn't know that Prince Pingwu has an army of 300,000? My father was afraid that Prince Pingwu would establish his own army and wanted to recapture the Weiwu Army. He was worried that the sixth son would side with his mother's clan, and he was also afraid that the crown prince would fail and suffer an accident. That's why he sent him! If he succeeds, it's best; if he fails, the loss will be minimal.

The third prince could understand the emperor's will, and most of the smart people in the hall could also do so. Some parties that supported the third prince began to think in their hearts that the future of the third prince would not be peaceful.

The atmosphere was delicate, and the third brother could only obey the order. He looked at Wuyang for help, thinking of coming down to discuss it with him later to see if the situation could be turned around.

Wuyang gave him a reassuring look. No matter what the old emperor planned, this journey had to follow Wuyang's script.