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

Ban Zhao's words, every single one, struck a nerve with the cabinet members present.

Deng Xianjing sighed softly and couldn't help but ask, "Miss Ban, tell everyone, what do you and your mother usually eat? How do you manage to live?"

Ban Zhao replied, "When my mother was in good health, she would work for wealthy families every day and bring back leftover vegetables that they didn't want, which she would mix with other grains to make her daily meal."

But later, after my mother fell ill, an old lady next door took pity on us and would occasionally bring us some mixed grain porridge.

Later, my mother-in-law passed away, and I had to rely on begging to survive. When I encountered kind people...

If I beg for a few coins, I can buy a bushel of coarse rice, cook it into porridge, and that will last me two or three days.

But we just couldn't raise enough money for my mother's medical treatment, so..."

Deng Xianjing sighed softly, "Ms. Ban, please accept our condolences. We deeply sympathize with your mother's passing."

Can you tell us how many families around you are suffering the same hardships as you?

Ban Zhao shook her head: "Although my life with my mother is poor, we are truly happy compared to others."

The area where I lived was full of poor people. When they couldn't make ends meet, they would sell girls like me to get money and food.

Most of those girls ended up in bad places, but my mother, no matter how hard life was, resolutely refused to sell me and worked hard to teach me to read and write.

"Ugh."

Deng Xianjing sighed again and nodded to Ban Zhao and Ban Dingyuan.

The room was filled with discussion, some saddened by Ban Zhao's background, others angry at the poverty and destitution of the lower classes in Wuzhao.

Ban Dingyuan patted Ban Zhao on the back and whispered, "Xiao Zhao, that's enough. You can go back now."

"Ah."

Ban Zhao responded softly and left the cabinet meeting room accompanied by Amber.

"Fellow colleagues, I believe you have all heard what I just said. This is the current state of affairs in Wuzhao."

According to the materialist view of military academies, the entire Wuzhao Empire had generally degenerated into a slave society, and its overall condition was even worse than that of the people in the Southeast Asian colonies.

According to statistics, taking meat consumption as an example, an average factory worker in the colonial area could consume about 35 catties of meat per year.

Meanwhile, a commoner in the outskirts of Shengjing in Wuzhao Kingdom receives less than two jin (approximately 1 kg) of grain per year, a difference of nearly eighteen times.

As for disposable income converted into silver dollars, the annual income for laborers in the colonial territories was thirty-six silver dollars.

The income for commoners in the Wuzhao Shengjing region was twelve yuan. Note that this is the income of commoners in the Wuzhao capital region, and the difference between the two is approximately three times.

Prices in Wu Zhao Kingdom were even twice as high as in Southeast Asia, and their grain price had reached an astonishing level of one silver dollar per shi (a unit of dry measure).

Therefore, after a year of hard work, the common people of Wu Zhao Kingdom could not even meet their most basic needs for food and clothing. The so-called prosperous era was merely a prosperous era for Li Hong alone.

It has nothing to do with his people; any discussion of politics is forbidden among the public, and anyone found doing so will be severely punished.

Under such oppressive and terrifying rule, their entire social structure was on the verge of collapse, even in the event of war.

It wouldn't affect their current living conditions, because the people under Li Hong's rule could already be described as extremely poor and fragmented.

If our Chu state were to send troops to Wu Zhao at this time, we would surely gain a righteous cause and receive enthusiastic support from its vassal states.

I urge all my cabinet colleagues to make a decision soon and not miss this golden opportunity to expand the influence of the Chu Kingdom to the western continent.

That concludes my statement.

After Ban Dingyuan finished speaking, he bowed to everyone in unison.

A brief silence fell over the meeting room. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Prime Minister Lin Yu finally stood up and said, "Alright, there's less than half an hour left before the meeting ends."

"We can make a final decision on whether to intervene militarily in the Wuzhao affair. Let's decide by vote. Please think it over carefully before you vote."

After Lin Yu finished speaking, he sat back down in his chair.

After about fifteen minutes of discussion, Liu Wu was the first to stand up and cast his vote into the ballot box.

Immediately afterwards, Fa Zheng, Deng Jingxian, Lü Lin, and others also cast their bills.

When the clock struck five o'clock, the vote ended, with all cabinet members participating and no one abstaining.

Lin Yu stood up and walked to the ballot box, saying in a deep voice, "The voting process is over. Now, let's check the final vote count."

Everyone's eyes were focused on Lin Yu's face.

Lin Yu opened the ticket box and carefully checked each ticket one by one.

After reviewing all the votes, he paused for three seconds, then took a deep breath: "Now, I announce the commencement of military action against the Wu Zhao Kingdom."

Following a final resolution passed by the cabinet, a unanimous vote was taken to authorize military action against Wu Zhao.

Hearing this, Jiang Mengxuan smiled, and Shen Lang smiled too.

Now that the cabinet resolution has been passed, the next step is to prepare for the formation of the expeditionary fleet.

……

After the cabinet meeting, Shen Lang and Jiang Shangxian followed Jiang Mengxuan to her study.

Upon entering the Imperial Study, one could hear Jiang Mengxuan's voice brimming with uncontainable joy.

"That's great. I didn't expect the resolution to wage war against Wu Zhao to be passed unanimously. It really took me a lot of surprise."

Jiang Shangxian immediately patted his stomach and laughed, "Isn't this inevitable? The military power is all in His Majesty's hands, so even if they don't agree, there's nothing they can do."

Shen Lang: "This move is also to have a legitimate reason for taking action, so that if they investigate later, we can completely shift the blame to the cabinet."

Jiang Shangxian narrowed his eyes: "It seems that your purpose in setting up the cabinet was not so simple."

Shen Lang hurriedly said, "Your Highness, you have wronged me. The cabinet was established to improve the efficiency of government affairs."

Only by improving the efficiency of government affairs can the development of the Chu state not be halted by trivial matters.

Jiang Mengxuan smiled slightly: "Alright, now that the resolution has been passed and the State of Chu can launch a military operation against Wu Zhao, we should start preparing logistical supplies now."

Shen Lang: "There's no need to worry about ammunition. I've already inspected it, and the fleet's ammunition reserves are currently more than sufficient to allow the 30,000 troops on the expedition to provide continuous firepower for two months."

As for food, bean sprouts and various vegetables are essential for long-distance ocean voyages. Canned goods and a small amount of liquor are also indispensable.

We can purchase from private specialty stores and involve them in this war as well.

Oh, and there's also the issue of insufficient ships. A new solution has been developed: wooden sailing ships can be fitted with steam engines to replace the function of sails.

Jiang Mengxuan smiled slightly: "I'll draft a plan later and send it to the cabinet, hoping they can assist the expeditionary force in making a good logistical supply plan."

Jiang Shangxian immediately replied, "I will go and tell the cabinet as soon as possible. Your Majesty, please rest assured."

Shen Lang: "Alright, I'll arrange the twenty-four warships and five supply ships for the expeditionary fleet."

Jiang Mengxuan was very pleased. The more she looked at her man, the more she loved him. She could never get tired of looking at him.