With a million soldiers, the empress begged me not to rebel

The Prime Minister did not dare to neglect and quickly bowed and replied:

"Your Majesty, Duke Wu has been on the move for several days and must have already traveled deep into the heart of the snowy mountains, searching for the rare snow lotus."

"The journey is long and dangerous, and with the recent floods, it's understandable that the transmission of information has been hindered."

"I believe that in a few days, there will be good news!"

As soon as the prime minister finished speaking, a bearded general jumped out impatiently.

He is a die-hard fan of Jin Xuanming and has full faith in Jin Xuanming's abilities.

At this moment, he echoed loudly with full confidence:

"Don't worry, Your Majesty! Duke Wu is so brave and invincible, a mere snow-capped mountain is nothing to worry about!"

"He will definitely return triumphantly with the snow lotus, and Princess Aisha will definitely recover from her illness!"

The flattery was deafening, but it only made the king even more upset.

Aisha is his only sister. She has been frail and sickly since childhood, and is now bedridden.

The imperial physician was helpless and only heard that Tianshan Snow Lotus was needed to prolong his life.

He placed all his hopes on Jin Xuanming, but with no news from him, how could he feel at ease?

Just when the king was extremely anxious and the atmosphere in the hall was solemn.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard outside the hall, coming from far away and breaking the silence inside the hall.

Then, a loud shout pierced the stagnant air:

"Urgent news! Urgent news!"

This sudden sound, like thunder, exploded in the hall.

The noisy discussions suddenly stopped, and everyone's eyes were directed towards the palace door.

The ministers looked at each other.

This urgent news came so suddenly, is it a blessing or a curse?

The bearded general was the first to break the silence.

He rubbed his hands excitedly, his face flushed, as if the snow lotus was already within reach:

"Your Majesty, this must be news of victory! Duke Wu must have returned in triumph!"

His voice was loud and full of confidence.

It seemed as if he had already seen the scene of Jin Xuanming bringing Xuelian into the hall.

Another minister followed suit and said:

"Yes, it must be good news! Duke Wu must have returned with the snow lotus! Princess Aisha is saved!"

He was very happy, as he had seen Princess Aisha's smile after her recovery.

A glimmer of hope also ignited in the king's heart.

But he tried hard to control his inner excitement and said calmly:

"Quick! Let the messenger in!"

The palace door slowly opened, and a scout ran in, looking exhausted.

His armor was caked with dust and his face was covered in sweat.

His breathing was rapid, obviously he had been running all the way here.

He knelt on one knee and presented a letter with both hands:

"Your Majesty, urgent news from Tiger Pass!"

The king took the letter, frowned, and said in a deep voice:

"Check the envelope, and once you've confirmed everything is correct, read it out loud!"

The scout nodded, carefully opened the envelope, and took out the letter.

However, when his eyes fell on the first line of words on the letter paper.

His face turned pale in an instant and his lips trembled, as if he had seen something terrible.

"What's wrong? Read it!"

The bearded general urged impatiently, his voice trembling.

It seemed as if he had sensed some ominous sign.

"What are you waiting for? Read it now!"

Other ministers also urged him.

The scout's face grew paler, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead.

His lips trembled and he said in a voice as thin as a mosquito:

"Hai...Haixia Pass...is lost..."

"what?!"

The king stood up suddenly, and the golden dragon pattern on his robe seemed to tremble.

The scout's voice grew fainter and fainter, almost inaudible:

"Haixia Pass... was... was captured... by Lu Yan..."

"Boom!" The king felt a roar in his head, his eyes went dark, and he fell straight backwards.

"His Majesty!"

"Your Majesty has fainted!"

The hall suddenly fell into chaos, and the originally festive atmosphere was instantly replaced by panic.

The imperial doctors worked frantically and finally rescued the King of Java from his coma.

The king slowly woke up, only to feel a splitting headache and seeing stars.

He struggled to sit up, looked around with a dazed look, and vaguely recognized that this was his bedroom.

"I...what's wrong with me?"

The king's voice was hoarse and weak.

An old doctor stepped forward quickly, bowed and replied:

"Your Majesty, you fainted due to a sudden attack of anger. You are now fine and will recover in a few days."

"Irritation?"

The king frowned, trying hard to recall what happened before he fainted.

Haixiaguan...Lu Yan...a flash of lightning flashed through his mind.

He suddenly woke up, grabbed the old doctor's collar and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Haixiaguan! How's Haixiaguan?"

The old doctor was so frightened by the king's sudden action that he replied tremblingly:

"Reply...Reply to Your Majesty, Haixia Pass...Haixia Pass has been lost..."

"boom!"

The king threw the teacup in his hand to the ground, fragments flew everywhere, and the tea soaked the precious carpet.

His hair stood on end with rage, his eyes were red, and he growled through gnashing teeth:

"Jin Xuanming! This loser! I sent him to find the snow lotus, but he deserted his post, causing the loss of Haixia Pass! Damn it! Damn it!"

The king's roar echoed throughout the entire bedroom, and the palace maids and eunuchs were so frightened that they trembled and dared not breathe.

With the help of the palace servants, the king struggled to his feet and staggered back to the hall.

He sat on the dragon throne, his face ashen, his eyes glancing sinisterly at the civil and military officials of the palace.

"Haixia Pass has been lost. Lu Yan can attack the hinterland at any time. Do you have any good plans?"

The king's voice was icy cold, filled with deep repression and anger.

There was silence in the hall, and you could hear a pin drop.

Tu Rong lowered his head, and felt a chill down his spine as he thought of his disastrous defeat at the hands of Lu Yan.

Mu Qing of Beixiang State was also defeated by Lu Yan's Shannan Prefecture army.

Now, people are even more terrified. Who dares to speak rashly at this time?

Losing is not scary, what is scary is that after losing, he was conquered by Lu Yan and became a powerful general under his command.

This is not the first time that such a thing has happened in Java.

The successive defeats had made the entire court, both civil and military officials, terrified of Lu, and had made them understand a truth:

Shannan Prefecture cannot be defeated, and Lu Yan cannot be provoked!

The silence of the crowd made the King of Java even more angry.

He slammed the armrest of the dragon throne and roared:

"Is there no one in the vast country of Java who has a good plan? What a bunch of rubbish!"

An old minister with white hair and beard stood up tremblingly, bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, please calm down. I believe the most urgent task is to send someone to Shannan Prefecture to negotiate peace with Lu Yan."

"Peace?"

The king sneered.

"What can we use to negotiate peace with Lu Yan? What does he want? What can we give him?"

“Your Majesty, we can offer Princess Aisha to Lu Yan in exchange for peace.”

The old minister gritted his teeth and made a proposal that shocked everyone.

"what?!"