At the tender age of eight, he was hastily dragged out and made emperor!

In this world, truth and falsehood are intertwined, and reality and illusion are blurred. This is true even between people, let alone between nations. When choices are made, whether one wins or loses, it all depends on who can face it with equanimity.

Guild halls under the jurisdiction of the Honglu Temple.

The residence of the Northern Barbarian delegation.

“Princess, the situation under the rule of Nanyu seems simpler than we initially thought.” In the luxurious house, Juqu Anzhong bowed slightly and greeted Murong Tianxiang through the curtain.

"The young emperor, born out of wedlock, succeeded to the throne. Although the Empress Dowager of Nanyu cleared obstacles before her death, deposed the first wife of Emperor Taizong of Nanyu, and supported the young emperor's birth mother as empress, thus making up for the young emperor's status as the legitimate son."

"It's just that Nanyu places too much importance on etiquette and clan rules, and the young emperor's unorthodox behavior has already created an irreversible danger for Nanyu."

"Is that how you see it?"

Murong Tianxiang leaned against the cushion, waving the silver notes she held, and looked at Juqu Anzhong with a half-smile, "If Nanyu really only values ​​etiquette and clan rules, then why were Zhang Hui and his gang of military officers so eager to send troops to quell the rebellion when Zong Qingdao rebelled?"

"If Nan Yu truly only values ​​etiquette and clan rules, then why did the northern and southern armies guarding Yudu conduct drills under Han Qing's leadership not long ago?"

"If Nan Yu truly only values ​​etiquette and clan rules, then why have Xiao Jing and Bao Yuan joined forces to eliminate powerful ministers and their cronies in the Yu court in recent days?"

"And how do you explain these things?"

As she spoke, Murong Tianxiang's cold eyes were fixed on Juqu Anzhong, and she could see through his thoughts at a glance.

Unlike his initial visit to Nanyu, Juqu Anzhong had seen many things in Nanyu, which led him to believe that Nanyu posed no threat to the Murong Dynasty.

Even though the current Murong Dynasty is locked in a fierce war with the invading Zanpu Qin Khanate, with many areas on the front lines in a stalemate, it is impossible to determine a winner in the short term.

But can the Southern Yu, with such unity of purpose, truly pose a threat to the Murong Dynasty?

too messy.

Too mixed.

In recent days, Juqu Anzhong has been observing and analyzing, even comparing Nanyu with the Murong Dynasty. He found that the situation in Nanyu is more complicated than that in the Murong Dynasty.

What impressed him most about Nanyu was that there were emperors who trusted them and emperors who did not. The key problem was that the central government and the local governments in Nanyu were too disconnected. It was fine when there was no turmoil or threat, but once such a danger existed, the local governments would inevitably run into trouble.

Although there was fierce struggle and power struggle at the central level of the Murong Dynasty, the people under its rule, especially the subjects of the Murong Dynasty, all trusted their emperor.

Before Emperor Tuowu ascended the throne, he commanded the most elite army, with the Imperial Martial Army following him to the death. He defeated one powerful enemy after another and even conquered some small countries, which made Emperor Tuowu extremely prestigious.

One is an emperor who doesn't have complete control over anything from top to bottom, but has too many ideas he wants to realize.

One is an emperor who can maintain control from above and enjoys extremely high prestige below, who knows how to act even if there are some problems inside and outside the court.

From an outsider's perspective, Juqu Anzhong didn't think the former could accomplish anything, not to mention that there were still so many powerful enemies around Nanyu.

"The princess's concerns are indeed reasonable."

Juqu Anzhong composed himself and spoke his mind, “But hasn’t the princess noticed that everything the young emperor of Nanyu has done is actually based on the confidence given to him by the Empress Dowager of Nanyu?”

"Indeed, nothing major has gone wrong in Nanyu in the past period of time, but the root of all this was the paving the way for the young emperor by the Empress Dowager of Nanyu."

"As far as I know, the maternal families of every member of the Southern Yu Emperor's harem, whether it be the Empress or the concubines, are all extraordinary."

"This precisely explains why the Qing Yuting regime is so complicated."

"Because their interests are tied to those of the Southern Yu royal family and the young emperor of Southern Yu, they compromise and make concessions on certain matters. Otherwise, I really can't understand why Southern Yu is in this situation."

"What have you done behind my back?!"

Murong Tianxiang's eyes turned cold, and she shouted at Juqu Anzhong through the curtain.

"I only did what I believed was right."

Juqu Anzhong bowed and said, "Just yesterday, I secretly sent someone to the southern and northern borders to urgently present what I have seen and heard these past few days to the Emperor!"

"Who told you to do that?"

Murong Tianxiang felt a surge of anger. She never expected that Juqu Anzhong would do such a thing behind her back. Now was not the time to do such things.

"I originally intended to inform the princess of this matter."

In contrast, Juqu Anzhong calmly said, "However, in recent days, the princess's mind has not been on our court, but rather she has been getting very close to the enemy prince, Your Majesty..."

"Shut up!!!"

"Shut up!!"

Murong Tianxiang's angry rebuke rang out from this moment.

At this moment, Murong Tianxiang felt a surge of murderous intent.

She became close to Chu Hui because she had something she wanted to do. Putting aside everything else, the recent sensation caused by the Shangchu Bank in Yudu had already aroused her vigilance.

The information sent to her by some of the undercover agents under the jurisdiction of Fengyu Division indicated that this Shangchu Bank also had branches in Gyeonggi Province.

However, upon contacting Chu Hui, Murong Tianxiang discovered that Chu Hui was quite surprised by this matter. The strength displayed by Shangchu Bank and the commotion it caused in Nanyu were simply beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.

An idea then came to mind.

I'm afraid this Shangchu Bank has connections with the Emperor of Nanyu!

Unfortunately, other troubles arose in the Yudu area afterward, diverting the attention of many people and preventing Murong Tianxiang from investigating what others were thinking.

Are you questioning me?

Murong Tianxiang, trying to calm herself down, stared intently at Juqu Anzhong.

The person in front of him was someone his elder brother, the Emperor, trusted very much.

"I don't dare."

Juqu Anzhong bowed his head and said, "I only feel that for our dynasty, we should expedite the invasion of Nanyu by Xichuan. This will not only ensure the stability of our southern region, but also, after the Zanpu Qin Khanate is dealt with, provide Your Majesty with the opportunity to personally lead an expedition against Nanyu. Once this can be accomplished, Your Majesty's prestige in court will be unchallenged!"

Murong Tianxiang remained silent.

This was exactly what she had hoped for; otherwise, why would she risk everything and conceal her identity to travel south with the delegation?

This matter was initially kept from many people.

In this matter, Juqu Anzhong is under great risk and pressure. If anything happens to Murong Tianxiang in Nanyu, his life will be over.

He's finished, and his family and tribe will be finished with him!

"you are wrong."

After an unknown amount of time, Murong Tianxiang spoke up: "Nanyu is not as simple as you think. That's what I thought before, but in fact, it's probably not like that."

"Does the princess think that the young emperor of Nanyu is not simple?"

Juqu Anzhong then expressed his thoughts.

"if not?"

Murong Tianxiang retorted, "You don't really think that everything the young emperor of Nanyu possesses today was given to him by his deceased grandmother?"

"minister……"

Juqu Anzhong remained silent.

There was something that had always been hidden in his heart.

Just a few days ago, he received a secret edict from Dadu.

The message was simple: if a cooperation could not be reached with the delegation sent by Xichuan in a short period of time, then the delegation should return to Dadu as soon as possible.

Considering the distance between the two countries, this secret edict must have been issued at least half a month ago, which means that His Majesty must have encountered something.

Juqu Anzhong's first thought was of the Khanate of the Zanpu!

When the Zanpuqin Khanate invaded, Juqu Anzhong suspected that someone within his own dynasty might be colluding with them. Otherwise, why would the Zanpuqin Khanate have chosen this particular time to invade?

"Answer me!"

Murong Tianxiang's reprimand rang out.

"I do not know how to answer the princess."

Juqu Anzhong bowed and said, "I only know that during this period of time, the Chuan Kingdom delegation has been avoiding our delegation, especially the ninth prince of Chuan, Xia Ji, who spends his days drinking and making merry at his residence and maintaining close contact with the Prince of Nanyu. I think the princess should..."

"Report!!"

But just then, a hurried sound came from outside the hall.

For some reason, Murong Tianxiang's heart suddenly tightened.

Under the watchful eyes of the two men, one of them ran in.

"Princess, Ambassador, something terrible has happened."

The man was somewhat agitated and said, "The Chuan Kingdom delegation left the residence prepared by Nan Yu without any warning. The Prince of Nan Yu, along with many ministers, went to..."

"What did you say?"

Murong Tianxiang said in disbelief.

Juqu Anzhong frowned slightly.

“Princess, I believe that the Chuan Kingdom delegation must have received a message from Chuan Kingdom.” After a moment of silence, Juqu Anzhong bowed to Murong Tianxiang through the curtain.

"The Kingdom of Chuan is likely aware of the various aspects of Nanyu and has no intention of cooperating with our dynasty. Instead, it plans to launch an attack on Nanyu on its own..."

"You underestimate Nanyu!!"

Upon hearing Juqu Anzhong's words, Murong Tianxiang frowned and interrupted, "You'll regret this idea sooner or later. Send someone to investigate this matter now; I suspect there's something fishy going on!"

"Yes."

Juqu Anzhong bowed his head in response, but in his heart he was thinking about something else. Now that the Chuan Kingdom delegation had left, there was no point in continuing to linger in Nanyu.

What exactly do you want to do?

At this moment, Murong Tianxiang's brows were furrowed, and she clutched the silver notes tightly in her hand. Originally, she had many things to do, and she could even verify some of her guesses, but now that this has happened, Murong Tianxiang felt that her time in Nanyu was probably not long.

In fact, Juqu Anzhong's behavior made Murong Tianxiang guess some things, but she was somewhat unwilling to believe that something new would happen to the Murong Dynasty. For some reason, deep in her heart, she found that the young emperor of Nanyu seemed to be very similar to her elder brother, a feeling she had never had before...