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

"Peace talks?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hong looked at Zhang Gui with disbelief.

"You want me to admit defeat to the State of Chu?"

"This is not admitting defeat, it's seeking peace!"

Zhang Gui wiped away the tears from his eyes and said earnestly, "Your Majesty, this servant requests that you take a look at the official letter from the State of Chu."

The State of Chu only desires a piece of land; it's not impossible for them to exchange goods with my Wu Zhao Kingdom.

Li Hong remained silent for a long time, then got up, picked up the official letter, and slowly walked to the brazier.

Looking at the burning embers in the brazier, Li Hong threw the official letter directly onto the embers.

"Long live the Lord!"

Zhang Gui immediately knelt on the ground and wept uncontrollably.

Why would you do this to yourself?

Li Hong slowly turned around, his face expressionless, and said, "Does this make you give up? Let me tell you, peace talks are absolutely impossible."

I will not only contend with the State of Chu to the very end, but I will also bring the Empress of Chu into the palace and place her under house arrest.

Because I am the supreme ruler, the sovereign of the world, and Heaven has entrusted me with a great mission. How can I be subject to the control of others?

"Peace talks have always been the only thing that has happened—foreign states submitting to me and begging for peace. You expect me to negotiate with them and admit defeat? Absolutely not!"

Zhang Gui looked up at Li Hong, whose face was ashen, and knew that no matter how she tried to persuade him, he wouldn't listen.

"Your Majesty, is this battle truly unavoidable?"

"Now that the State of Chu has bullied me, how can I possibly swallow this insult!"

"If Chu wants to fight, then I will fight them to the bitter end, until they understand what it means for the emperor's wrath to bring about the deaths of millions!"

After Li Hong finished venting his anger, Zhang Gui sighed and slowly got up.

"Since Your Majesty insists on fighting, then this servant will obey Your Majesty's order."

Li Hong then softened his tone: "That's right. Why should we, as ruler and subject, get so angry with each other? You should vent your anger on your enemies."

As he spoke, he took Zhang Gui's hand and sat down on the chair.

"I will not pursue your matter of leaving the military camp without permission. Since you were unable to attend this birthday celebration, I specially ordered the imperial kitchen to prepare your favorite flatbread."

Remember to take this with you when you leave. After you return to the main camp, urge Fu Lin'an to launch an offensive against the Chu army as soon as possible.

"This servant understands and will return immediately..."

Before Zhang Gui could finish speaking, He Yong's urgent voice rang out from outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, military intelligence from Jiankang!"

He Yong ran into the imperial study with a nervous expression.

Upon seeing Li Hong, she burst into tears.

"Your Majesty, news of a defeat has arrived from the Jiankang military camp. The entire army of the military camp, along with more than 10,000 officers and soldiers from the three outer vassal tribes, has been killed in battle, including Fu Lin'an and Tong Yuanshu!"

"what!"

Zhang Gui was the first to exclaim in surprise.

"That's impossible! I reached an agreement with the King of Chu before I left. He couldn't possibly launch an attack on us! That's absolutely impossible."

Upon hearing the news, Li Hong quickly recovered from his shock and spread his hands, saying, "Give me the General's Report."

He Yong immediately handed the report to Li Hong.

After glancing at it, Li Hong immediately narrowed his eyes.

Where is Fu Lin'an now?

"Your Majesty, Fu Lin'an is currently awaiting Your Majesty's judgment in Guang County."

"The decree states that Fu Lin'an has misled the country and ruined the emperor's reputation. Considering his past contributions to the nation, he is ordered to commit suicide on the day he receives the decree, and his family will not be held accountable."

Li Hong spoke calmly, but his words made Zhang Gui and He Yong sense a raging fire beneath his calm exterior.

Twelve thousand elite troops perished in a single battle.

When Li Hong launched a war against foreign powers, unless he was desperate, he rarely deployed more than ten thousand elite cavalry and officers and soldiers at a time.

The attack on Xuechuan involved more than 20,000 military officers and soldiers, and 10,000 cavalry from outside the pass.

Moreover, even if they fail, the maximum loss of these elite troops would be a thousand or so men.

The loss of tens of thousands of elite troops in this battle truly made Li Hong's heart bleed.

Because Li Hong could only mobilize a little over 40,000 mobile elite troops.

Now that a quarter of his strength has been lost to Fu Lin'an, it will affect his rule over Wu Zhao. No matter how much Li Hong likes Fu Lin'an, he must execute him.

He Yong immediately went to draft the imperial edict, and Zhang Gui hurriedly said to Li Hong, "Your Majesty, you have experienced the military strength of the Chu Kingdom as well."

Your servant suggests that since we are going to fight, we must concentrate our superior forces on one point and recapture Jiankang by the third of next year.

Li Hong took a deep breath: "Since Shen Lang wants to contend with me, then I will play along to the end. Immediately order half of the garrison troops stationed in the southern counties to assemble in Jiankang City."

In addition, an urgent message was sent via 800-li express to all the vassal states outside the pass, ordering them to send all available officers and soldiers into the pass and proceed to Southern Zhili.

Then notify all officers and soldiers of the military camps in the capital and the enemy military camps in the southern states to assemble at the Zijin Mountain camp.

In addition, 400,000 laborers and artisans were conscripted from the populace to join the army in the campaign.

Li Hong really went all out this time to target Shen Lang.

The numbers he mentioned alone totaled 40,000, including the military officers and soldiers of the Wuying Army and various outer vassal tribes.

Meanwhile, the number of other stationed troops that can be mobilized is approximately 30,000.

Seventy thousand men should be enough for the Chu army.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Gui looked troubled: "Your Majesty, I must remind you that it may be difficult to gather laborers."

"What do you mean?"

"Does Your Majesty still remember that during the second campaign against Xuechuan, there were over 300,000 laborers and artisans?"

His Majesty initially promised them 1.2 million taels of silver as payment.

However, as the war escalated and military funds became strained, you reduced the wages of the laborers, and in reality, only 115,426 taels of silver were paid.

After he mentioned it, Li Hong suddenly remembered that there was indeed such a thing.

But he still asked, as if it were his own intention, "What does this have to do with my summoning of laborers?"

Zhang Gui: "Because Your Majesty has broken your promise, the people no longer trust you. Now, the laborers and laborers in the north no longer sincerely serve the court."

"It's so presumptuous!"

Upon hearing this, Li Hong flew into a rage.

"These unruly people are narrow-minded and only care about money. I've been so good to them."

Having repeatedly exempted the entire nation from taxes and grain levies, and reduced agricultural taxes to a mere 13%, what more could they possibly want?

"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have been so soft-hearted. I would have summoned them even for free."

Li Hong took a deep breath, and after venting his anger, he said to He Yong, "He Yong."

He Yong, who had just drafted the decree, immediately stood in front of him: "Your Majesty, this servant is here. Please give your orders if there is anything you need."

"He Yong, you are in charge of the army's pay and supplies. Gather enough laborers as soon as possible. This time, I will drive the Chu people back to the sea in one fell swoop."

"The slave obeys the order."

He Yong thought he had been given an important position and immediately accepted this favor with great joy.

Little did he know that he would soon find himself in a terrible predicament because of this.

The military pay for 70,000 to 80,000 horses is not something you can easily raise.