Who understands? He traveled through time with a high-spec spatial ability.

The Emperor of Yan struggled to sit up, his withered fingers gripping the edge of the dragon bed tightly, his cloudy eyes sweeping over the assembled officials.

He suddenly noticed the gilded and silver-inlaid curved sword at the waist of his third son, Tuoba Jun. It was a treasure that the Khan of Northern Qi had presented as tribute last year, and he remembered it very well.

"Jun'er," the old emperor's voice was like the rustling of withered leaves, "that fifty thousand elite troops you just mentioned, I'm afraid it will be very difficult."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Jun immediately knelt down, quickly walked to the bedside, and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, I misspoke just now. In fact, only five thousand light cavalry are needed." As he spoke, he subconsciously turned the curved sword at his waist slightly to the left.

This seemingly casual action was a gesture by which the people of the Great Yan Dynasty expressed their submission.

Minister of War Cui Yuanli suddenly coughed violently: "Five thousand?"

Having finally stopped coughing, he continued with a serious expression, "Your Highness, I truly cannot agree with what you have said."

He bowed to Tuoba Jun and continued, "Prince Chen of Liang is undoubtedly a military genius of Liang. Leaving aside his ability to lead troops, he currently commands tens of thousands of soldiers, while our Yan Kingdom can only muster a little over 20,000 troops. What's worse, Pengcheng is only two hundred li away from the capital. Once Prince Chen's army arrives, the Yan capital will be in grave danger."

"Lord Cui, you are unaware of this," Tuoba Jun smiled slightly, his eyes radiating confidence.

"Although Prince Chen of Daliang has a numerical advantage, his army is exhausted from the long march here. Moreover, the terrain around Pengcheng is complex and not conducive to large-scale battles. My five thousand light cavalry are highly mobile and can launch a night raid on their camp when they are unprepared."

Cui Yuanli frowned, clearly disagreeing with Tuoba Jun's plan, and retorted, "Your Highness's idea is brilliant, but it is too risky for five thousand light cavalry to face tens of thousands of enemy troops. If we fail, Yandu will truly be in imminent danger."

At this moment, the Minister of Personnel, who had been silent all along, stepped forward and said, “Lord Cui, please do not be anxious. Since His Highness has proposed this plan, he must be very confident. Our army is currently limited in strength, and if we fight according to conventional methods, the chances of winning are not high. Why not try His Highness’s surprise attack plan?”

"Your Majesty, this old minister believes that the most urgent task is to discuss how to rescue our captured soldiers. This matter is of utmost importance, and a proper plan must be drafted as soon as possible to avoid demoralizing our soldiers!" The old Grand Tutor suddenly trembled as he spoke, his voice slightly shaking.

He listened for a while and realized that although the emperor and the ministers present had talked so much, they had never mentioned the matter of prisoners of war, which made him increasingly anxious.

Before the Emperor fell into a coma, he advocated first devising a strategy to resist Prince Chen. However, an urgent report stated that the commander of the Yan army, Tuoba Zheng, had gone to the Liang Kingdom's military town. Of the 100,000 troops under his command, apart from those who died in battle, more than 70,000 survivors had all become prisoners of war.

The old Grand Tutor was truly worried. If he could not demonstrate to the people of Yan and the world his determination to rescue prisoners of war and not abandon any of them, he would be in grave danger.

He worried that this move would not only chill the hearts of the people of Yan, but also incur the contempt of the entire world.

More importantly, he worried that once prisoners of war lost trust in their own country, they would become the best weapons in the hands of the enemy, and that compatriots would kill each other, a situation he absolutely did not want to see.

"Grand Tutor, you are mistaken. With Prince Chen of Liang at our gates and Yandu in imminent danger, repelling the enemy should be our priority. If we are distracted by rescuing prisoners of war, it may give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of the situation," Tuoba Jun said calmly as he stood up.

The old tutor's beard trembled with anger. "Your Highness only cares about repelling the enemy in the present moment, but he doesn't care about the lives of those 70,000 soldiers! If we don't rescue them, the morale of the Yan army will be thrown into chaos. How can we expect our soldiers to serve the country in the future?"

The ministers were divided into two factions: one supported rescuing the prisoners of war first, while the other advocated defeating Prince Chen first.

Emperor Yan leaned against the dragon bed, his eyes darting among the crowd as he weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

Just as the argument was getting heated, a young eunuch rushed in, "Your Majesty, an urgent report from Xiangcheng!"

Everyone fell silent instantly. The Yan Emperor, forcing himself to speak, said, "Read it!"

The young eunuch unfolded the letter with trepidation and read aloud: "Your Majesty, I, Liu Hong, kneel and report that the Liang army has invaded, and I led... Xiangcheng has fallen."

Everyone was shocked. The Prince of Liang was so fast that he had captured Xiangcheng in such a short time!

"His Majesty!"

"Your Majesty! This matter is urgent, and we urge Your Majesty to make a decision quickly!"

"Father!"

……

There was much discussion among the crowd. Some advocated sending reinforcements immediately, while others believed that the situation should be stabilized first, and then a longer-term plan should be devised.

As the Emperor Yan listened to the debate, his face remained calm, but his eyes gradually hardened. "As Jun'er says, allocate five thousand light cavalry to him. If he can defeat the Prince of Liang, Jun'er will be credited with the greatest achievement."

The old tutor wanted to say something more, but the Emperor of Yan waved his hand to stop him from continuing.

Tuoba Jun kowtowed in gratitude, "Father, rest assured, your son will certainly not fail in his mission and will ensure the safety of our Great Yan." With that, he rose, his eyes filled with fighting spirit, and strode out of the hall.

The old Grand Tutor inwardly pounded his chest and stamped his feet, heartbroken and indignant, "How foolish! How foolish the Emperor! My Great Yan is truly doomed now."

He walked out of the palace with a heavy heart, sighing and shaking his head.

Upon returning to his residence, he immediately locked himself in his study and had his trusted aide grind ink for him.

Seeing his haste, his trusted aide quickly asked, "Master, what's wrong? Is there anything you need to write? This old servant can do it for you; there's no need for you to do it yourself."

The Grand Tutor's eyes welled up with tears. He picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, paused as he licked the ink, shook his head, and said in a low voice, "No need. This letter seeking peace must be written by me personally."

His trusted aide was greatly alarmed and quickly advised, "My lord, why are you doing this? Besides, His Majesty will not agree to sue for peace!"

The Grand Tutor remained silent, sitting for a moment before uttering two words: "Soon."

These two words were spoken softly, yet they struck the heart of a trusted confidant like a heavy hammer.