The empress disliked my achievements for overshadowing her own, so she turned her attention to the N

The scene shifts to a prison cell, where Chen Nan looks at Liu Banggua, who is foaming at the mouth, and sighs helplessly. He knows he won't get anything out of this man.

Just as he turned around, Liu Bangua smiled mysteriously and reached into his waistband, groping for something.

A moment later, a white pill appeared in his hand, which he swallowed very quickly.

The series of movements were so fluid and seamless that no one present noticed them.

Qingyu followed closely behind Chen Nan, asking in a low voice, "Your Highness, what are we going to do next?"

"Go and prepare the troops. I have received definite news that Da Qian Long Hao is leading an army of 200,000 men toward Suzhou. They will arrive in a few days."

"At that time, the army will still need General Qingyu to be in charge."

Chen Nan felt that this matter was of great importance, and he should not and did not want to hide it from his subordinates, so he told them frankly.

However, upon hearing this, Qingyu's expression clearly changed: "Is what Your Highness said true?"

"The last great war with Daqian was only a short time ago, how come they have already regrouped and are ready to launch a new war so quickly?"

Chen Nan replied with a wry smile, "If I could, I certainly wouldn't want to start a new war at this stage."

"However, the Daqian dynasty has come here with no possibility of peace talks."

"As for the Northern Wei, I will need to be here to oversee things. At that time, I'm afraid General Qingyu will have to lead the army generals to Su City in person."

Chen Nan was not afraid of Qingyu leading the army alone; in terms of military skills alone, Qingyu was definitely not inferior.

It's just that the enemy I encountered before was him, which is why I suffered several defeats in a row.

As for loyalty, Chen Nan has even less to worry about.

Although Qingyu has not been favored by the Empress Dowager recently, Northern Wei is his home. If Northern Wei is gone, he will naturally have nowhere to go.

Qingyu hurriedly replied, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, this humble general will definitely drive Long Hao back to Daqian and not bring shame to my Northern Wei."

Chen Nan shook his head: "That's not necessary."

"The current situation in Northern Wei requires a large army to be stationed. Although we also have 200,000 troops, the capital still needs to be relocated, and we also need troops to be stationed there."

"This time, I can only give you an army of 100,000."

"And General Qingyu's job is to defend Su City. Without my order, you cannot retreat a single step."

"Can it be done?"

Before Qingyu even left, he could feel the pressure Chen Nan was putting on him.

However, he had no intention of backing down at all.

A smile appeared on his lips: "Your Highness, rest assured, as long as the city stands, this humble general will not retreat a single step."

Seeing Qingyu's state and answer, Chen Nan said with great satisfaction: "Since the general is so confident, then let Mo Bai inform the court officials to begin the court session."

"Once the court approves it, the army will be equipped with the appropriate gear and provisions, and the general can set off first!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Bai behind him was stunned and quickly sent someone to inform the court official's home.

Half an hour later, in the Fengtian Hall of the Imperial Palace.

Chen Nan remained standing to the side of the dragon table, while the civil and military officials stood in their respective positions.

However, a hint of doubt was clearly visible in everyone's eyes.

They had just finished their morning assembly, and no one knew why Chen Nan wanted to convene it again.

Chen Nan looked at the crowd and, to his surprise, found Hong Ze attending court among the ranks of military officers.

He smiled at him and asked with concern, "How is General Hongze's injury?"

Hongze grinned and patted his chest, saying, "Your Highness, rest assured, I have long since recovered and am ready to obey Your Highness's orders at any time."

Upon hearing this, before anyone else could react, Qingyu glared at Hongze with hostility.

He waited a long time, but didn't get the chance from the Empress Dowager. Finally, he got the chance to lead troops into battle from Chen Nan.

At such a critical moment, Hongze's injuries actually recovered?

He was afraid; the relationship between Hongming and Chen Nan was practically common knowledge.

Given Chen Nan's relationship with Hong Ming, it's inevitable that he would give Hong Ze some credit and make an exception for him.

That's why Qingyu was so nervous.

However, his reaction seemed rather inexplicable to Hongze.

Hongze and Qingyu stared at each other, and Hongze asked in confusion, "I don't think I've offended General Qingyu recently, have I? Why are you looking at me with such hostility?"

Qingyu was taken aback. It wasn't until he was discovered that he realized how obvious his gaze had been.

The others also watched this dramatic scene unfold.

The relationship between Hongze, Hongming, and Chen Nan was already delicate.

Chen Nan had no choice but to use Qingyu before.

They also wanted to see what Qingyu's status was now that Hongze had recovered completely.

Just as the others were about to watch the show, Chen Nan coughed twice and interrupted, saying, "Gentlemen, stop waiting to watch the excitement. I have received a secret report."

"The Great Qian Dynasty has dispatched an army of 200,000 men straight to our Suzhou City. How should we respond to this?"

As soon as these words were spoken, a murmur of discussion broke out below, interspersed with a few incredulous exclamations.

"What? Daqian has sent troops again? Didn't we teach them a lesson last time?"

"Tch, now even our Northern Wei is struggling to protect itself. Su City and such were originally cities belonging to the Great Qian Dynasty. In my opinion, we should just abandon them and not bother defending them."

"That's right, I also think we don't need to defend against it. We can just hand it over to Daqian, and maybe this matter will just pass."

The court, which had nearly a hundred members, could be roughly divided into three factions.

The military generals advocated for war, while the civil officials were divided into two factions: one advocating for peace, and the other, a weakling, even clamored for mercy and the abandonment of the city.

Chen Nan did not express his opinion. He also wanted to see what kind of personality these seemingly respectable officials really had when it came to a crucial moment.

To his surprise, without anyone intervening, the two factions of civil officials actually merged into one.

They all clamored to hand over Suzhou City.

The military officers, on the other hand, naturally opposed the idea. They had captured Sucheng by fighting every single soldier, and now they were being asked to give it up. No one could bear to do that.

The argument between the two factions grew louder and louder, and almost all of their forces gathered in the center of the hall.

Chen Nan couldn't stand it any longer and shouted, "Enough!"

He glanced at the civil officials and sneered, "If you weren't standing above the Great Qian Dynasty of Northern Wei at this moment, I wouldn't even believe that you are civil officials of my Northern Wei."

Upon hearing this, Changsun Du, who was standing at the head of the civil officials, frowned: "May I ask what Your Highness means by this?"

"The literal meaning." Chen Nan's voice carried a hint of coldness: "What? Does Prime Minister Changsun also think we should abandon Suzhou directly?"

"What should be done about the people of Suzhou? And what about the five thousand border troops in Suzhou?"

"Did the Northern Wei soldiers who died in Sucheng die in vain?"

Chen Nan's voice grew louder and louder, and it also resonated with the military officers.

Yes, they are all military commanders, and naturally they don't want to give up the cities they have worked so hard to conquer.

This is also why they initially opposed it.