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

"What are you doing? Take him away!"

"Your Excellency, we beg you, we truly knew nothing about it, we really knew nothing!"

"Please spare me. If you promise to forgive me, I will do my best to serve you."

The princess's kisses rained down on Ban Dingyuan's face.

Ban Dingyuan was also embarrassed. How could the woman of Taiji Kingdom, a princess, be so shameless?

Finally, he forcefully threw the princess to the ground and fled the palace as if escaping.

"My angel, I await your reply. I can help the Great Chu take control of the Taiji Kingdom, I really can!"

"If you've figured things out, come find me. I'm pregnant with the king's child, you should understand!"

Unfortunately, Ban Dingyuan had already walked far away and didn't hear him at all...

That night, cries of agony filled the city of Pingjing.

All of Li Ren'ai's relatives were taken to the Grand Palace and detained.

The next morning, when Kim Jae-jae and other ministers arrived at the royal palace, they were surprised to find Choi Myung-gil standing respectfully behind Ban Jeong-won.

As expected, the throne was already empty.

Wang Xuance cleared his throat, glanced around at everyone, and then slowly said, "Since everyone is here, I will announce a few important matters on behalf of your king."

"First, Wang Zhifa broke the law, causing harm to the country and the people, and his crimes are unforgivable. He will be temporarily detained in the imperial prison to await further judgment."

"Secondly, before the new king ascends the throne, the Taiji Kingdom will continue to operate according to the old laws, so there is no need for anyone to feel nervous."

"One last thing, Cui Mingji is now the foreign affairs envoy appointed by our Great Chu. If we are not present, we can entrust him with handling any negotiations related to Chu."

These words sparked a flurry of whispers within the hall.

Kim Jae-jae, who has always disagreed with Choi Myung-gil, could not accept that Choi Myung-gil was not only unharmed, but had even climbed over him.

When Cui Mingji was taken away yesterday, Jin Zizai was smug, thinking that he had finally eliminated an opponent and that he would be a powerful minister with absolute authority in the Taiji Kingdom's court from now on.

But to everyone's surprise, after one night, Cui Mingji not only survived, but also gained the favor of the Chu Kingdom, becoming someone that even he had to look up to.

No, he can't accept this.

I am more suited to be Chu's dog than Cui Mingji!

When Kim Jae-jae was questioning the meaning of life, Choi Myung-gil also felt that life was such a wonderful thing.

After he was taken away last night, he intended to fight to the death.

The two slaps instantly extinguished his dream of a heroic death.

Being a hero is great, but it hurts too much.

So he wrote down in detail the process by which Li Ren'ai ordered him to collude with Goguryeo to counterattack Pingzhou.

Now he asks for nothing more than to keep his wealth and status.

However, at dawn, Wang Xuance personally draped his official robes over himself and warmly told him that from now on he was the sole Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Taiji Kingdom, and granted him many powers.

Even with his brilliant mind, Cui Mingji hadn't anticipated such a change.

Not only did he not put his heart into it, but he also became a powerful minister who held immense influence in the court.

What is going on?

To this day, Cui Mingji, standing in the imperial court, is still bewildered.

In fact, this was a decision made on a whim by Wang Xuance and Ban Dingyuan.

I am now in a foreign land with only a force of less than a thousand men and a single ship for round trips.

These forces alone are insufficient to conquer the entire Taiji Kingdom. Only by establishing a puppet regime can the task entrusted to Shen Lang be accomplished.

In fact, given how things had developed, neither Wang Xuance nor Ban Dingyuan were sure whether their actions had violated Shen Lang's original intentions, or whether they would be punished when they returned.

But since it has already happened, even if it's wrong, we can only continue down the wrong path.

If they can get the Taegi Kingdom to send troops and break with Goguryeo, then their mission will be largely accomplished.

Among the puppets, there is no one more suitable than Cui Mingji.

However, to their utter surprise, the group of high-ranking officials from the Taiji Kingdom were actually eager for them to become the dogs of the Chu Kingdom.

Kim Jae-jae, in particular, was almost driven mad with jealousy when he saw Choi Myung-gil being given an important position.

However, the two have not yet discovered their relationship.

Wang Xuance began by saying, "Gentlemen, the oppression of the people of Taegi by Goguryeo has reached the point of arousing the wrath of both heaven and man."

They forced the people of Taiji Kingdom to cultivate wasteland in the frigid White Mist Mountain, and ruthlessly took away the minerals you painstakingly mined.

Now, to make matters worse, they are conscripting your people to go to Northern Yan to their deaths. Our Empress was heartbroken upon hearing this news.

I believe that hardworking and outstanding people should not be bullied like this, but should fight for their own survival!

As you say, the people of Taiji Kingdom are the most outstanding race in the world. So how can such an outstanding race be bullied by a group of barbarians?

Tell me, what should you do now?

Kim Jae-jae was the first to stand up, clenching his fists and shouting, "War against Goguryeo is our only chance to escape oppression!"

"Let us heed the command of the Chu angel and drive out those barbaric butchers!"

"Ow ooh..."

"Sekida~"

Instantly, everyone in the palace cried out in unison, their eyes filled with tears, their hearts breaking.

Those who don't know the situation might think they have a deep love for this land.

This scene was unexpected for Ban and Wang. Why did it seem different from their lifeless attitude yesterday? What was the problem?

The two originally planned to use a combination of kindness and coercion, killing one group of people and supporting another to force them to submit.

But now it seems that all the methods I researched were useless and I couldn't use them at all.

"Is this what the Regent meant by acting according to circumstances and not being bound by theoretical frameworks? But..."

Just as the two were exchanging glances, wondering if there was a trap, Jin Zizai bowed and handed over a roster.

"My two angels, this is a list of household registrations from all over the thirteen states of Taiji. It is currently the dead of winter, a time of slack farming season."

"As long as the two lords give the order, within ten days, an army of 30,000 will assemble at the Rangzhou front."

"Thirty thousand people?"

Ban Dingyuan frowned and flipped through the roster.

The military service system in Taiji Kingdom was similar to that before the reforms in Da Chu. Ninety percent of the soldiers were farmers, working in the fields during wartime and farming during peacetime. The remaining ten percent were professional soldiers recruited through a conscription system, specifically used to guard the royal city.

However, once soldiers are conscripted, the imperial court will provide 50% of their food and pay, while the soldiers themselves will have to provide the remaining 50%.

Moreover, ordinary soldiers received virtually no pay, and the agricultural tax rate was set high at 60/40.

The imperial court takes six, and the peasants take four.

It would be a miracle if an army like that had any fighting power.

However, none of this matters.

The important thing is that as long as Taiji Kingdom breaks with Goguryeo, causing some trouble for the war between Northern Yan and Goguryeo, that will be enough.

"Kim Yi-jeong!"

"Your humble servant is here!"

"How about I entrust you with the mission of carrying out the king's decree and rallying all the troops in the land to resist the oppression of Goguryeo?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Zizai trembled with excitement.

"Your humble servant will certainly fulfill your mission!"

He looked up abruptly, startling Ban Dingyuan so much that he almost pulled out his Browning.

"I want to be the dog of the State of Chu."

"Let me be the dog of the State of Chu."

"I must become the dog of the State of Chu."

His eyes revealed a strong desire to become a dog, and even Ban Dingyuan and Wang Xuance could sense Jin Zizai's inner thoughts.