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

"Absurd! Absolutely absurd!"

In the main hall of Bianliang Palace, when Guo Gang heard Lai Ba talk about sending women to the Jin camp to reward the army, he immediately objected without thinking.

"The Jin people were willing to make such outrageous demands. Is this what they mean by sincerity?"

Li Gang's voice was deafening in the hall, making everyone's ears ring.

Upon hearing this news, all the court officials looked solemn and incredulous.

Lai Ba stood silently in front of the hall, his neck hunched over.

His only responsibility was to relay the message to Zhao Huan verbatim; he remained silent, standing like a statue.

"Your Majesty, the Jurchens are so treacherous and ambitious that they dare to openly humiliate the men of our Song Dynasty. They even want our Song emperor and his ministers to offer their wives and daughters to the Jurchens for their pleasure. This is a blatant insult to the dignity of our Song Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty, I beg you to issue an edict to sever all possibility of peace talks with the Jin and vow to fight the Jin to the death!"

Zhou Xianwu immediately stepped forward and, together with Li Gang, asked Zhao Huan for instructions.

However, after thinking it over for a moment, Zhao Huan said, "My two ministers, there's no need for this. Actually, this matter can be discussed."

Upon hearing this, Li Gang, Zhou Xianwu, and even the other pro-war faction members in the hall all stared at Zhao Huan with wide eyes in disbelief.

Zhao Huan continued, "I've thought about it. The Jurchens have come from afar, and it's inevitable that they'll feel bored and restless after being in the army for so long."

When people are depressed and irritable, they will inevitably generate a lot of resentment. If some women could be sent over to soothe their emotions,

"Once the hostility dissipates, will they be willing to withdraw their troops?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xianwu nearly fainted.

He never imagined that such shameless words would come out so openly from the mouth of a king.

When Lai Ba, Xue Congli, and others heard Zhao Huan say this, they immediately seized the opportunity and began to echo his sentiments.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. The Jurchens are suffering greatly, and if a woman could alleviate their distress, their hostility would dissipate."

"That's right. As the saying goes, women are made of water. They can remind men of the best things in the past, which may stir up the Jurchens' homesickness and make them eager to return home. They might even speed up their retreat north."

Seeing that someone supported him, Zhao Huan immediately beamed with joy: "Yes, what my two ministers Xue and Lai said is very true. That's what I also think. As long as the Jurchens are satisfied, they will have no intention of attacking my Bianjing anymore."

Such an absurd thing was actually turned into a great joy in the eyes of this group of foolish and incompetent officials, who insisted on sending their wives and daughters to the Jin camp to be ravaged by the Jin people.

"His Majesty!"

Suddenly, Li Gang roared, directly interrupting the reverie of the emperor and his ministers.

"If you do this, how will you explain it to the people of the city!"

"Just half a month ago, they fought alongside the garrison soldiers to repel the Jurchens and defend Bianjing with their lives!"

"Now, how do you expect them to hand over their children to please the Golden Man!"

Li Gang was clearly so enraged by Zhao Huan's shamelessness that he lost his mind on the spot.

Looking into Li Gang's bloodshot eyes, Zhao Huan felt a chill run down his spine and stammered, unsure of what to say.

"Li Gang, you are truly outrageous!"

Ye Fan shouted and stepped forward.

"How dare you disrespect His Majesty! Do you know your crime?!"

Li Gang roared, "It's all because of you, you traitor, that His Majesty has been so bewitched! If it weren't for you, how could my Great Song have fallen to such a state!"

Ye Fan's pupils contracted, and he turned to Zhao Huan, saying, "Your Majesty, Li Gang has disregarded the law and has even violated official etiquette by shouting in the hall. I implore Your Majesty to dismiss him from his post and investigate him!"

Zhou Xianwu immediately pleaded, "Your Majesty, Lord Li was only worried about the people of our Great Song Dynasty, and that's why he unintentionally offended Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, please forgive Lord Li this time, considering his tireless dedication to the Song Dynasty!"

Zhao Huan then recovered from the shock of Li Gang's shout.

"Li Gang disregards the law, roaring in the palace, showing no respect for the emperor or his father. I should have dismissed you from your post and investigated you, handing the case over to the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."

However, considering your unwavering loyalty since the start of the war between the Song and Jin dynasties, I hereby grant you a special pardon and will not pursue the matter further. But if this happens again, I will not be so lenient.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xianwu breathed a sigh of relief and immediately gave Li Gang a wink.

But Li Gang remained unmoved.

Seeing this, Zhou Xianwu could only bow to Zhao Huan on behalf of Li Gang: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Ye Fan, standing to the side, frowned and thought to himself, "What a pity."

"Humph!"

Unexpectedly, Li Gang turned around and left the main hall, heading towards the palace gate.

Zhao Huan was enraged by Li Gang's attitude, but he clenched his fists and forced himself to suppress his anger.

"Right Prime Minister, I entrust the matter of sending provisions to the Jin army entirely to you."

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will certainly handle this matter well."

"Yes, I am relieved that the Right Chancellor has handled things well. I am tired, court adjourned."

After saying that, he got up and prepared to leave the main hall.

"Report~"

Just then, a guard came to report.

"Your Majesty, General Guo has come to report."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huan sat back down on the dragon throne and asked, "General Guo, what is it now?"

The guard replied, "General Guo reports that the soldiers are suffering from the scorching heat due to the hot weather and hope that the court can distribute some fruit to help them cool down."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huan immediately lost interest: "Why bother reporting such a trivial matter? Are there no fruits and vegetables left in the city?"

The guard replied, "All the fruits and vegetables have been sent to the Jin camp. Fruits are scarce in the market now, and they are more than ten times more expensive."

Zhao Huan waved his hand and said, "Oh dear, since the weather is so hot and unbearable, then drink more well water."

"Let's wait until the Jurchens retreat before discussing anything further. Go back and tell General Guo to have the soldiers hold out for a few more days, then we can adjourn the court."

Having said that, he quickly left the dragon throne.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xianwu felt a chill run down his spine.

The enemy ate the fruit they were given and had their own doctors treat them.

It's absurd that our own soldiers have to endure the scorching heat.

Even more absurdly, they now want to send women and children to enemy camps to be used for amusement...

At this moment, Zhou Xianwu's eyes suddenly hardened.

No, he had to do something. No matter what, he couldn't let the women of Bianjing be defiled by the Jurchens.

Once this happened, the morale of the soldiers and civilians in Bianjing was completely shattered.

He thought of someone.

"Lin Yunxiu, I can only ask you for help this time."

Thinking of this, he quickly walked out of the palace.

Upon seeing this, Ye Fan couldn't help but snort coldly.

……

"No, let go of my daughter! What are you doing?!"

"Father, save me, Father!"

In front of a house, a girl of sixteen or seventeen was dragged and pulled by two soldiers onto a horse-drawn carriage.

A man in his early forties was clinging tightly to the soldier's leg, trying to get his daughter back.

"Get out of my way!"

The soldier, extremely impatient, kicked the man away and then directly directed the carriage to move.

In front of another house, a group of soldiers forcibly separated a couple.

"Sir, why are you arresting my wife? My wife, my wife!"

"My lord, my lord, save me!"

The husband held his wife's hand tightly and wouldn't let go.

The Imperial Guard soldiers escorting the couple were enraged and beat the man mercilessly, separating the couple.

Upon receiving the imperial decree, Ye Fan decisively took action, dispatching the Imperial Guards to search every household for female relatives.

In an instant, the entire city of Bianjing was in turmoil.

Ye Fan stood on his horse in the street, his expression grim as he gazed at the tragic scene. Suddenly, he roared:

"Listen up, all of you! This is an imperial decree! Your lives all belong to the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty! Whether you are a man, a woman, a child, or an elderly person..."

You must all obey the Emperor's orders! Even if the Emperor commands your deaths, you must have no regrets! Do you all understand?

"Anyone who doesn't hand over the women in their household is defying the imperial decree, and those who defy the imperial decree will be punished for treason! Did everyone understand?"

After shouting, Ye Fan turned his horse around and led more than a dozen prison carts filled with women out of the city.

"Everyone, stop!"

Just then, Li Gang drew his sword and blocked their path.