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

As March approached, after nearly a month of training and preparation, the Wu Zhao army officially set off for the Southern Zhili battlefield.

The 110,000-strong army marched south in a mighty procession, leaving no trace of its territory.

Standing atop the city wall of Shengjing, Li Hong watched the massive army gradually disappear from sight. Even he, who was usually calm and composed, couldn't help but clench his fists.

"He Yong".

"The slave is here."

Upon hearing Li Hong's summons, He Yong immediately stood respectfully by his side, bowing as he awaited instructions.

Li Hong's eyes remained fixed on the departing cavalry, and finally, almost as if possessed, he asked, "Do you think they can win?"

He Yong was taken aback; this was the first time he had ever heard Li Hong speak with such a lack of confidence.

But he quickly realized what was happening and said repeatedly, "With such a formidable army, how could we possibly lose? Your Majesty, you need not worry."

"Yes, such a military display is the first time I have mobilized so many troops since I ascended the throne, especially on my own territory."

Li Hong sighed softly.

“In the past, I would never have worried about this kind of thing, but this time, for some reason, I feel a little uneasy.”

He Yong advised, "Your Majesty, you are too tired. I guess it's because of the arrival of foreign barbarians that you are worried. Go back and get some rest, and you will be fine."

Li Hong: "You will come back to the palace with me."

After saying that, he staggered down the city wall.

He Yong followed Li Hong's back and suddenly realized that the emperor at this moment looked exactly like a richly dressed old man.

Back in the palace, Li Hong lay on a rocking chair in the imperial study, his eyes fixed on the direction of the palace beams.

The eunuch Fengchun served him carefully, while He Yong sat to the side, peeling oranges for him with his own hands.

"Your Majesty, please."

After a long while, He Yong placed the peeled oranges in front of Li Hong.

Li Hong waved his hand, signaling him to put it down, and then asked again, "He Yong, tell me honestly, should this war be fought?"

He Yong replied, "Your Majesty, this servant believes that since the State of Chu dares to violate the borders of Wu Zhao, it is the responsibility of the Wu Zhao army to defend our territory. I think the people also support Your Majesty."

"Is it?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hong said to Feng Chun, "Take all the memorials sent by Bortu and Shi Mingdeng to He Yong for a look."

Fengchun turned around and handed the memorial on the table to Heyong.

After receiving it, He Yong immediately began to carefully examine it.

Li Hong continued, "These are memorials from local people in Haizhou, Huizhou, and the coastal areas of Southern Zhili. They were only delivered last night."

In Haizhou, the local people supported Empress Jiang Mengxuan as their leader, and more than 4,000 soldiers from surrounding areas defected to Haizhou.

In Southern Zhili, the people did not panic as expected upon Shen Lang's arrival; on the contrary, their lives improved even more than before.

Tell me, do the people truly love me? Do I truly have the people's hearts?

He Yong hurriedly knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, please don't think like that. Those unruly people are short-sighted and ungrateful, which is why they did this."

Most people still favored the Wu Zhao Kingdom and were deeply grateful to His Majesty.

"But if that's the case, why didn't a single civilian stand up along the way when the Chu army marched north, even to help the government troops carry some grain and fodder?"

In the Battle of Huizhou, the Chu army, with the help of the city's inhabitants, captured the inner city. Similarly, in the Battle of Zhenzhou, the Chu army was guided into the city by local residents before finding the grain depots.

The same was true in the Battle of Jiankang; the people of the outer city actually invited the Chu army into their homes to help them attack the inner city.

How could this be? He Yong, tell me, why is no one willing to help me drive away these Chu people?

They're all either standing by and watching from the sidelines, or helping the Chu people attack my Wu Zhao Kingdom. What have I done to wrong them?

After being pressed for answers, He Yong didn't dare to utter a single word.

The reason for this is not something that happened suddenly, but rather the result of gradual accumulation.

Seeing that He Yong couldn't answer, Li Hong smiled and said, "But it doesn't matter. Those troublemakers' thoughts..."

I don't care. They live on this land, so where can they run to?

"In this Wu Zhao Kingdom, to this day, I still have the final say, and no one can change that."

He Yong: "Your Majesty, please just give the order if you need anything from this servant."

Li Hong: "How is the preparation of military supplies going?"

"The first batch of grain has been sent to Southern Zhili, carried by 200,000 laborers."

Li Hong: "Why is it only 200,000?"

He Yong: "This servant is still recruiting. This 200,000 is just the initial number. More people will come later."

In fact, it took He Yong a great deal of effort to recruit these 200,000 laborers from the people.

Years of war, coupled with an extravagant birthday banquet, have depleted the national treasury of Wuzhao.

He Yong had no money to recruit more laborers to transport grain and supplies. He relied on borrowing from one source to another and making empty promises to barely manage to gather a force of 200,000 laborers.

Two hundred thousand men may seem like a lot, but in reality, it is far from enough to guarantee the survival needs of the elite cavalry units at the front.

Besides the daily food expenses for 110,000 officers and soldiers, there were also 150,000 warhorses that needed to be kept in captivity.

According to He Yong's estimate, at least 800,000 laborers would be needed to shuttle back and forth between the capital and the battlefield in Southern Zhili in order to solve the problem of the shortage of supplies at the front.

Moreover, he received an urgent message from officials in Southern Zhili, informing him that the Chu army had concentrated all the grain and fodder from the Southern Zhili region in Jiankang City.

In other words, when the army arrived in Jiankang and fought against the Chu army, it was unable to obtain enough supplies from the local area.

Therefore, He Yong had to urgently allocate grain and fodder from the Minzhou direction to the south of Zhili.

However, Minzhou officials stated that the only land and sea routes to Southern Zhili had been blocked by the Chu army fleet, and the local laborers refused to continue working as slaves because they had failed to settle the money promised by the court during the campaign against the Jiang Kingdom.

With logistics inadequate, how can we possibly fight the Chu army?

A sense of exhaustion spread through He Yong's heart.

But he couldn't show it; he could only grit his teeth and persevere.

Li Hong noticed He Yong's predicament and smiled as he changed the subject: "He Yong, you don't need to be in such a hurry. Things will be resolved eventually. I believe in you."

He Yong put on a grateful expression and thanked him, saying, "This servant thanks Your Majesty. In fact, Your Majesty is the one who is in the most difficult situation in the entire Wu Zhao Kingdom. Your Majesty, please take good care of your health."

"Ha, you lackey, you always have such sweet words."

Li Hong thought for a moment, then suddenly stood up and said to He Yong, "He Yong, draft an imperial edict now, one that I am writing to the Empress of Great Chu."

Write it like this: "I have heard that the life of Empress Wen of Great Chu is truly extraordinary, a heroine rarely seen among women. I am greatly pleased and wish to offer Haizhou as a dowry to marry the Empress as my consort, bestowing upon her the title of Consort Chu."

If the Empress agrees, I am willing to forge a marriage alliance with the State of Chu, and from then on, the two countries will exchange goods and resources, and there will be no further distinction between them.

After the grand wedding, I will assume the reins of military power, while the Chu Consort will continue to rule the Chu Kingdom. With the two kingdoms united and ruling the world as one, peace and prosperity will reign.

He Yong was dumbfounded. If the person in front of him hadn't been Li Hong, he would have thought he was a madman.

There is only one reason why Li Hong is doing this now.

He was afraid, afraid that his dream of a superior nation would be ruthlessly shattered.

They wanted to force the empress to withdraw her troops through a "marriage alliance".

As for bestowing upon her the title of concubine, it was merely a fig leaf to cover up the ceding of territory and payment of reparations, in order to save face.