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

"Then you should go and persuade those guys in the cabinet," Shen Lang said with a shrug and a smile. "Military strategy is not child's play."

Besides, an expedition spanning half the continent would surely cause problems with the cabinet. Why don't you go and talk to them yourself?

Ban Dingyuan: "Principal, you proposed the establishment of the cabinet, and you have considerable influence within it. With just one word from you..."

I believe the cabinet members will agree unconditionally, so why bother with this unnecessary step?

Shen Lang said seriously, "You mean you can disregard the rules I set? What's the point of having a cabinet then?"

Ban Dingyuan then realized his slip of the tongue and quickly returned the greeting: "I'm sorry, Principal, I was just too nervous. I hope you will forgive me."

Shen Lang waved his hand: "Alright, I've given you the opportunity. How to persuade them to support this expedition is up to you, the ones who have personally been to Wu Zhao."

Three days later, the cabinet will hold a meeting to vote on whether to send troops to Wuzhao. Don't rest when you get back; prepare your materials and attend the meeting.

"Yes!"

Ban Dingyuan responded, then looked at Ban Zhao, and suddenly had an idea.

……

Three days later, the Xuanyi Hall of Weiyang Palace was filled with cabinet members.

This is the first major meeting held by the cabinet since its formation.

In addition to cabinet officials, Empress Jiang Mengxuan, Duke Shen Lang, and Prince Jing Jiang Shangxian also attended the meeting to make decisions.

The final decision rests with the Empress.

After everyone was seated, a meeting to discuss Wu Zhao's future fate officially commenced.

Grand Secretary Lin Yu was the first to stand up, cupped his hands in greeting to the crowd, and said, "Gentlemen, this is my first formal foreign policy decision-making meeting since I left the country."

The core issue of the meeting was whether to wage war against Wu Zhao Kingdom in order to open up trade routes between Chu Kingdom and the Western Continent.

Members of the Cabinet are welcome to speak freely, but please remain rational, refrain from verbal attacks and any physical altercations, and ensure the meeting proceeds in a civilized manner.

Alright, time is of the essence, let's begin the meeting now.

After Lin Yu took his seat, Liu Wu was the first to stand up and express his opinion: "Gentlemen, I believe that Wu Zhao Kingdom's military action is contrary to the law of the land."

The trade between our Great Chu and Wu Zhao is based on an agreement. Since it is an agreement, it naturally means that the decision was made through discussion. We cannot resort to war because of the failure of one agreement.

From any perspective, it is entirely unjustifiable for the State of Chu to wage war against Wu Zhao. Therefore, this councilor firmly opposes the formation of an expeditionary force to be sent to Wu Zhao.

As soon as Liu Wu finished speaking, Yao Chong, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, immediately agreed: "I support Minister Liu's point of view. From the perspective of interests, the key for our Chu Kingdom at present is to digest the resources in various parts of Southeast Asia."

There is still enormous potential for resource development in the various colonies of Southeast Asia. The rubber, gold, silver, and various minerals shipped from these countries to the mainland each year are already sufficient for the current development of the Great Chu.

There is absolutely no need to expand our influence to the Western Continent at this critical juncture. Waging war against Wu Zhao now will inevitably increase the burden on the national treasury.

This move is completely out of step with the current economic development of the Great Chu.

Therefore, this legislator supports Minister Liu's decision and opposes the formation of a deep-sea fleet that could lead to military conflict with Wu Zhaoguo.

Upon hearing this, Fa Zheng immediately stood up to object: "Minister Liu and Vice Minister Yao's analysis is not without merit. Our Great Chu's current demands for trade with the Western Continent are indeed not high."

However, everyone has overlooked one crucial point: what is the situation of the Wu Zhao Kingdom? The Wu Zhao Kingdom boasts a population of six hundred million!

If each of these 600 million people were to order one garment from my Great Chu, with the raw materials and factories currently available in my Great Chu, even if the machinery ran continuously for a year, it might not be able to meet such demand.

Therefore, do I need to elaborate on the immense potential contained within? My Great Chu will conquer Wu Zhao Kingdom as soon as possible, thereby opening up an unprecedentedly vast market.

Just imagine the wealth that would be brought to our Great Chu if we moved our factory equipment to Wuzhao. It would be far more than what we could obtain from Southeast Asia.

Of course, we may not see that step yet, but if we take a long-term view and lay the foundation in advance, what's wrong with that?

Therefore, I support the use of force against Wu Zhao Kingdom to make full preparations for the opening of trade between Great Chu and the Western Continent as soon as possible.

Liu Wu immediately replied: "Minister Fa's words are indeed too presumptuous. Putting everything else aside, let me just ask one question: how should we resolve the conditions for Wu Zhao's garrison?"

Separated by tens of thousands of miles, the length of time the troops were stationed there was absolutely incomparable to that of the nearby Southeast Asia.

This legislator believes that we should still try to force Wu Zhao to reach a consensus with our Chu state through negotiations.

Lu Lin stood up and spoke: "I believe that the matter of stationing troops should be fully handled by my Ministry of War. Since we can station troops in Southeast Asia, why can't we do the same in Wuzhao Kingdom?"

Moreover, with the rapid advancements in technology, no one knows what the speed of ships will reach in the future, so there is no problem with stationing troops there.

The most crucial thing is to make advance preparations for the future of our Great Chu. Therefore, this councilor also supports the use of force against Wu Zhao.

As both sides presented their arguments and provided ample reasons to uphold their views, the atmosphere in the meeting hall grew increasingly heated.

Even after the clock hands struck twelve o'clock and magpies crowed at dawn, the meeting still hadn't determined a military policy towards Wu Zhao.

After a quick lunch, the afternoon meetings continued as scheduled.

The two sides remained deadlocked and were locked in a stalemate for a time.

Just then, Pei Ju stood up from his desk, holding a stack of documents.

"Fellow members of parliament, my name is Pei Ju, and I am also a member of the delegation sent to Wu Zhao Kingdom, serving concurrently as the Deputy Foreign Envoy."

What I want to say is that regarding the decision on whether or not to go to war with Wu Zhao, let's first look at the information I've gathered in Wu Zhao before making a decision.

He quickly distributed the printed materials to each member of parliament.

"What you are holding now is a report on the current situation of Wuzhao, compiled by the envoy, myself, and the other members of the delegation."

This passage describes the current state of affairs in the Kingdom of Wu Zhao in detail. You can see how miserable their lives are.

I have personally witnessed large numbers of emaciated, starving people outside Shengjing, the capital of Wu Zhao.

Upon seeing a diseased and dead pig floating in the river, he exhibited an almost manic state.

Without any hesitation, they jumped into the icy river almost simultaneously to retrieve the dead pig.

I have also personally witnessed Di nobles wantonly buying and selling respectable young women in the streets of Shengjing.

Even on the way back to Haizhou, he personally witnessed the vassal tribes who had retreated from the Eastern Yi battlefield.

They wantonly carried out slave-hunting campaigns against law-abiding ordinary people within the Great Wall, forcing them to return to their garrison areas outside the Great Wall as slaves.

You absolutely cannot imagine how oppressive that country was; hell couldn't be more like it.

Everyone at the bottom of society lives like a walking corpse, devoid of any human dignity.

Without external force, it would be absolutely impossible to break through that barrier!