Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

That night, Ye Fan personally went to Zhao Huan's palace to apologize.

"Your Majesty, it is my incompetence that has caused you to suffer humiliation. I have come here specifically to apologize to you."

"Your Majesty, please rise. Reform is not something that can be accomplished overnight, so how could I blame you?"

Zhao Huan quickly helped Ye Fan up and comforted him in a gentle voice.

"In truth, it was my oversight that I failed to consider the realities of the Song Dynasty. If we were to say that the imperial examination system failed this time, I would also be held responsible."

He said this with a heart full of resentment.

When Emperor Huizong learned of today's imperial examination, he immediately summoned him to the Eastern Palace and gave him a severe reprimand, warning him not to act recklessly again, or he might depose him from the throne.

If it were a few months earlier, when the Jin army was pressing in, he would have been eager to avoid becoming emperor.

But now, he has gradually tasted the benefits of power, and naturally he is unwilling to be abolished like this.

Ye Fan, unwilling to accept defeat, immediately offered Zhao Huan a completely new suggestion.

"Your Majesty, after careful consideration, I believe the reason this reform has taken such a turn for the worse is entirely due to my lack of prestige in the Song Dynasty."

Therefore, I cannot obtain the support of the officials. I have come to see Your Majesty today to request Your Majesty's permission to lead troops north to recover the lost territories of our Great Song Dynasty!

"Brother Yu, what did you say?"

Zhao Huan was completely shocked by Ye Fan's suggestion, and his face turned ashen.

Ye Fan replied firmly, "Your Majesty, I wish to lead troops north to recover the lost territories of our Great Song Dynasty. Only in this way can the reforms be sustained!"

Zhao Huan's expression changed, and he immediately refused: "Brother, this matter is of great importance. The Jurchens have finally managed to return north..."

Our Great Song Dynasty rarely enjoys peaceful times. How can we rashly send troops now? What if the Jurchens attack? This matter requires careful consideration.

He didn't want to experience the same fear and anxiety he felt when the city was besieged by the Jurchens.

"Your Majesty! Please trust me!"

Ye Fan tried to persuade him again.

"This action of mine was not taken on a whim, but rather after thorough and detailed investigation before I dared to speak frankly to Your Majesty."

Zhao Huan was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Ye Fan slowly explained: "Your Majesty, the Jurchens' attention is currently focused on Northern Yan, and all their main forces have been deployed to the Jianzhou area to hold their ground."

The garrison left in the northern territory numbered only about ten thousand, and most of them were old, weak, sick, or disabled, scattered across various strategic passes.

If our Great Song Dynasty were to launch a northern expedition at this time, it would surely boost morale.

In this way, His Majesty's prestige will increase day by day, and when the reforms are resumed, I believe no one in the court will dare to oppose it.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huan frowned.

That would naturally be excellent if it could increase one's imperial prestige.

However, he didn't have the courage to go to war with the Jurchens to gain prestige.

"Let me think about this more carefully."

"His Majesty!"

Upon seeing this, Ye Fan burst into tears and knelt down before Zhao Huan.

"Brother Yu, what are you doing? Get up quickly..."

Ye Fan ignored him and spoke in a trembling voice.

"Throughout my life, I have never been valued by my family. I entered the sect to study in my youth, hoping only to acquire skills to serve the court."

Unfortunately, the Chu court and the public viewed me as a monstrous threat, doing everything possible to humiliate me. Even my own father was ashamed of me and went so far as to banish me from the house.

I had thought my life would be uneventful, but unexpectedly, I met Your Majesty during the darkest moment of my life.

Your Majesty values ​​me so highly, disregarding my humble status, and has gone to great lengths to help me establish myself in the Song Dynasty. I know that I should not accept rewards without merit.

My daily thoughts revolve around how to repay His Majesty's kindness in recognizing and supporting me. I had hoped that the reforms would greatly enhance His Majesty's prestige and free him from the constraints of the Crown Prince's palace.

"I never imagined my plan would backfire so badly, causing Your Majesty to lose face in court today. My heart aches as if pricked by needles!"

As he spoke, tears streamed down his face as if they were free.

Zhao Huan was also moved by Ye Fan's heartfelt words, and his eyes involuntarily reddened.

"For the sake of the Song Dynasty and to prevent Your Majesty from being hindered by others, I have decided to sacrifice my life and give my life for Your Majesty."

"I am heartbroken by the failure of the reform. I don't care what the officials in the court say about me, but I absolutely cannot accept Your Majesty being humiliated!"

"So Your Majesty, please trust me one more time. This time, I will prove to you with my actions that the ministers you value are not incompetent, and that your judgment has never been wrong!"

After saying that, he prostrated himself and knelt down.

Zhao Huan couldn't help but wipe away his tears with his sleeve, then quickly reached out and helped him up.

"Your Majesty, please rise and tell me in detail how you plan to launch a northern expedition?"

Seeing that Zhao Huan had been persuaded, Ye Fan was overjoyed.

Taking advantage of the situation, he stood up and immediately pulled out a military map from his robes, spreading it out on the table, saying, "Your Majesty, please look, this is a military map of the northern lands. As long as my army..."

Ye Fan spoke with great enthusiasm, and Zhao Huan listened with repeated nods.

Zhao Huan was extremely knowledgeable about military affairs.

To what extent are you proficient?

To the point of being completely ignorant.

He didn't understand a word Ye Fan said, except for empty promises like "conquering them," "invincible," and "the enemy will surely tremble in fear."

Actually, Ye Fan didn't know much about military affairs either, but he had at least read a few military books. Although he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run.

To be honest, it makes perfect sense.

With just a few words, he had already persuaded Zhao Huan.

"Your Majesty, the Jin Kingdom is currently weak in terms of military strength. Our army will take advantage of this to launch a northern expedition. After retaking Xiangzhou Prefecture, we will deploy heavy troops to guard it. Even if the Jin people react, the war will only be contained in the vicinity of Xiangzhou Prefecture."

"My master will lead this battle, and together with the other disciples, we will surely win and restore the face and territory that the Song Dynasty has lost over the years."

After listening to Ye Fan's account and looking at the marching route outlined on the map, Zhao Huan felt his blood boiling.

"Very well, as Your Majesty has said, tomorrow morning at court, I will issue the imperial edict for the Northern Expedition and set out on a chosen day to launch the expedition!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Having achieved his goal, Ye Fan bowed to Zhao Huan again without hesitation.

In fact, Ye Fan himself was not confident that the Song army could successfully launch a northern expedition and reach Xiangzhou Prefecture.

But in order to achieve his ambition of dominating the world and to sit on the throne of the emperor, he had to take a gamble.

They gambled their future with the lives of tens of millions of people in the Song Dynasty!

At this very moment, Wanyan Lie, who was completely unaware of the news that the Song Dynasty was about to launch a northern expedition, was closely watching the movements in the direction of Northern Yan.

The war between Northern Yan and Tianlang Kingdom has lasted for nearly a year, with countless casualties on both sides. Many Jin people have also been conscripted to join the battle, so for the time being, there is no time to pay attention to the situation in Song Kingdom.

It wasn't until the end of January that definite news came from the direction of Beiyan.

Murong Ba, the war god of Northern Yan, ambushed the wolf tribe at Xingling, using the munitions he purchased from the Chu army as bait, and with the help of the Northern Yan cavalry, annihilated 70,000 wolf tribe members in one battle, completely stabilizing the situation in Northern Yan.

The remaining wolf pack, realizing they were no match for the enemy, chose to retreat.

This protracted war dealt an extremely heavy blow to Northern Yan, with a rough estimate of nearly half of its population killed or wounded, and astronomical economic losses. The hard-won market system also collapsed during the war.