My reborn husband and son are thinking about how to kill me every day.

After Minister Yan spoke, many ministers stood up to echo his sentiments. They all agreed with Minister Yan that there was no time to lose and that action should be taken as soon as possible.

If this drags on any longer, it will eventually become a major problem.

In fact, many people secretly believe that Ji Yunshuang has now become a major threat.

She has already conquered the State of Qi, and the fiefdoms of King Xuan and King Duan are also under her control.

Given the strength of her forces, they might not be able to defeat her.

Not to mention the rumors that she was skilled at creating plagues and summoning monsters. The soldiers of Qi were no match for the monsters' attacks, and in the end, King Jing of Qi could only abandon the city and flee in disarray.

If even the State of Qi couldn't handle it, how could they possibly do so?

The atmosphere in the imperial court was more somber than ever before.

Everyone was filled with panic and confusion, but they couldn't show it in front of Emperor Zhou Gong, so they all tried their best to hide it.

Although everyone tried their best to hide their panic and confusion, they still could not escape Emperor Gong of Zhou's eyes.

Seeing that everyone was frightened by Ji Yunshuang before the battle even began, Emperor Zhou Gong was furious.

He swept his cold gaze across the crowd below and said, "Then what do you, my esteemed ministers, think we should do now to deal with that traitor Ji family?"

After bowing deeply to Emperor Zhou Gong, Minister Yan spoke again: "Your Majesty, I believe that we should not confront the Ji family head-on now. We should preserve our strength, let them fight amongst themselves with Prince Rui first, and then strike when they are both exhausted, and take them down in one fell swoop."

The ministers immediately seconded the proposal, all agreeing that Minister Yan's idea was excellent.

Emperor Gong of Zhou sneered, "Before the Ji family occupied Qi, you suggested they fight amongst themselves. Now that the Ji family has occupied Qi, neither side has made a move. Are you sure they will fight amongst themselves?"

Minister Yan said, "Your Majesty, our previous plan failed because the Ji family and Prince Rui had not yet completely broken off relations."

But things are different now. Ji Shi has already proclaimed herself emperor in Qi, clearly betraying King Rui. At this point, it's impossible for King Rui to still tolerate her.

A conflict between them is inevitable, and Prince Rui may have already begun to act.

Listening to Minister Yan's words, Emperor Gong of Zhou thought of the huge losses in the last operation, and his expression became increasingly displeased.

Last time, in order to incite Prince Rui and Ji Yunshuang to fight each other, they moved all the spies they had placed around Prince Rui.

Unexpectedly, not only did they fail to achieve their goal, they also destroyed all their pieces.

None of the newly cultivated pawns got close to Prince Rui or became his trusted confidants. They had no idea what Prince Rui's plans were now.

We can only judge Prince Rui's decision from some troop deployments and some movements at Prince Rui's residence.

Seeing Emperor Zhou Gong's expression, Minister Yan also thought of the failed plan from last time. He quickly lowered his head to avoid being scolded by Emperor Zhou Gong again.

Just then, the soldier who had been assigned to keep an eye on Prince Rui's army returned with a message.

"Your Majesty, the troops in Zheng City have moved. There are about 20 troops heading towards the State of Qi. Xie Liang is leading the troops."

Upon hearing the soldier's words, Minister Yan was immediately overjoyed. "Xie Liang is a confidant of Prince Rui. Was this sent by Prince Rui? Has he made a move?"

Emperor Zhou Gong showed no joy on his face. "How many troops are left in Zheng City?"

The soldier said, "There are still about 10 troops in Zheng City. Now, the troops from Qi, the troops from the Ji family, and the troops that Xie Liang brought from King Rui have all been combined. According to our observation, the 20 troops that Xie Liang brought to Qi include troops from all three sides."

Upon hearing the soldier's words, Minister Yan's smile vanished instantly.

He was a little confused for a moment about whether Xie Liang's troops to Qi were actually going to attack Ji Yunshuang.

It seems possible that Xie Liang betrayed Prince Rui and sided with Ji Yunshuang.

Emperor Gong of Zhou frowned and said, "Is that all the information we've gathered? What about Prince Rui's side? Are there any other troop movements?"

The soldier shook his head and said, "No."

After pondering for a moment, Emperor Gong of Zhou asked, "When and when did Xie Liang lead his troops?"

The soldier hesitated for a moment, then said fearfully, "About ten days ago... Judging by the time, we should be almost at Qiongdu by now."

Emperor Gong of Zhou angrily asked, "Then why did you only report this now?"

The soldier, sweating profusely, said, "We...we found it and came back to report immediately, but...we just didn't have any horses to replace them, so they're running slowly..."

In the past, sending messages to the capital was fast because there were post stations along the way. When you arrived at a post station, you would change horses and continue your journey.

However, due to various reasons such as plague, war, and floods, people in many places could not make a living. In order to preserve his strength, Emperor Gong of Zhou did not open the national treasury for the government to provide disaster relief, but instead asked the local officials to find their own solutions.

Over time, the Zhou Dynasty had become utterly corrupt. Officials at all levels, driven by greed, turned public power into a tool for personal gain. They routinely levied exorbitant taxes on the people, showing no regard for their lives. They would never consider helping the people or providing disaster relief.

While the court appears prosperous and peaceful, in reality, within Emperor Zhou Gong's jurisdiction, uprisings have long been rampant and the people are suffering.

In many places, post stations were looted by rioting mobs.

Even if some of the post stations are still standing, the horses inside are emaciated.

He rushed back, which is why he was delayed for so long.

Besides the horse, he also fell into the hands of rioters along the way. He had to deal with them for several days before he finally managed to escape and return to the capital to report the news.

The soldier trembled as he recounted the situation to Emperor Zhou Gong.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Gong of Zhou's eyes widened in disbelief, and he then roared in anger, "How could this be? How is this possible?"

He couldn't believe that such a thing could happen under his rule.

He had indeed heard a few days ago that several places had experienced flooding. However, he didn't think it was that serious. So he instructed the local government to prepare food supplies and settle the disaster victims.

No bad news followed, and he naturally assumed that all the flood victims had been settled.

Moreover, there hasn't been any bad news coming from below these days.

Seeing the emperor's anger, the ministers all knelt down tremblingly, shouting in unison, "Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down!"

"So, he's telling the truth?" Emperor Zhou Gong pointed at the soldier, his eyes wide with anger, radiating a chilling aura.