Midnight (11 PM - 1 AM).

Her eyelids seemed to be fighting, and once they closed, they were stuck together so tightly that she didn't want to lift them again. Jin Fengluan was sitting so hard that she was about to fall asleep.

As the ruler of a country, Jin Fengluan had stayed up almost all night the last time he moved from Jinling to Nanze. These past few days had been filled with mental and physical strain, so even though war was breaking out on the front lines, he still couldn't resist the drowsiness.

After swaying slightly, she struggled to lift her heavy eyelids and said calmly to the officials below the stage, "You all wait here. I've remembered something."

Without waiting for the ministers' reply, she got up and, supported by the palace maids, left the hall. Then, looking exhausted, she went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

She was convinced that good news would soon arrive from the front lines, so she decided to go back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation for a nap, thinking that nothing bad would happen.

As soon as she left, the ministers began to whisper among themselves.

"The Yangma Wall was lost so quickly, it seems the rebels' strength has exceeded our expectations. If this continues, will the garrison of the outer barbican be able to defeat the enemy there?" The Minister of Rites said in a low voice to Wang Yong, the Minister of Revenue, with his head down.

Wang Yong had a sullen face; beneath his drooping, thin eyebrows, his small, beady eyes were almost invisible. He shook his head.

"It's hard to say, Xia Guan always reports good news and not bad news."

"It must be because the battle at the front is intense, otherwise they wouldn't have abandoned Yangmaqiang so quickly. The rebels' artillery is very powerful. Once they send the artillery into the city, the defenders on the outer barbican will have a very difficult time dealing with it."

"Ah..." Upon hearing this, the Minister of Rites frowned even more deeply. As if to comfort himself, he continued, "It shouldn't be that bad. Of the four lines of defense at the city gate, the outer gate tower and the inner gate tower have the most troops and are the most heavily guarded."

"To put it another way, even if the rebels break into the outer barbican, they will only be asking for trouble, since the defenders on both the main city tower and the outer barbican tower can besiege them."

"How could they possibly withstand an attack from both sides?"

Wang Yong nodded slightly and said, "Yes, that's true."

"But in the end, the sheep and horse wall was lost too early, and it deviated from the plan..." At this point, he shook his head again and sighed almost imperceptibly: "I just hope that after the rebels suffer, they can retreat for a while."

"Fighting like this for so long is really making me uneasy. If they retreat, it will give our people a chance to catch their breath, take stock of their casualties, replenish their supplies and troops, and then we can prepare for the next move."

"If this keeps going on, who can take it?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a cold snort rang out from the side.

"At this point, why do you still hope they will retreat? Don't you understand the traitor's ways? Do you think he will give up easily if he doesn't achieve his goal?"

"If you ask me, it's not necessarily a bad thing that he keeps attacking cities."

Wang Yong glanced to the side and saw that the speaker was Jin Pingyong, the younger brother of Prince Jing. Although both were fat, Jin Pingyong was smaller than Wang Yong. He was currently crossing his arms, slightly raising his chin, and showing a nonchalant expression.

"I wonder what Your Highness's insightful opinion is? This humble official is all ears." Wang Yong cupped his hands in greeting.

Jin Pingyong raised the corner of his mouth and sneered, "There's nothing particularly insightful or not."

"The troops deployed on the outer barbican tower are far superior to those defending the sheep and horse walls. There are countless cannons, ballistae, matchlock guns, and crossbows. Do the rebels think that they have won a great victory after breaking through the sheep and horse walls?"

"Little did they know that this was a huge mistake. I think they would suffer heavy casualties as soon as they came in."

"That traitor is young and impetuous, but he doesn't know the principles of warfare: advance and retreat should be based on strategy. A relentless attack will only result in heavy casualties for them. As the saying goes, 'One should strike while the iron is hot, but the second will be weak and the third will be exhausted.' Once they suffer a setback in Yangma City, where will they find the courage to fight again?"

After he finished speaking, the Minister of Rites nodded repeatedly, and the gloomy look on his face eased considerably. Apart from him, most of the other ministers nearby did the same.

Wang Yong hesitated and said, "But the rebels have always been known for their relentless advance. From Beiliang to Anyang County, and from Anyang County to Jinling, they have always done the same thing in every battle, big or small."

Upon hearing this, Jin Pingyong's smile widened, and he said loudly:

"You think I don't know?"

"But so what? Their bravery at this moment will only cost them more lives."

"The traitor doesn't follow any rules in battle; he just orders his men to charge. It's only those men who are willing to risk their lives for him."

Wang Yong said "Oh," and a look of realization appeared on his face.

He understood the implication in His Highness's words: the rebels were doomed to failure and would inevitably suffer a crushing defeat.

But if it were truly a situation where neither advancing nor retreating was feasible, how could the war have become so intense? Is it because he's overthinking things and lost too much confidence, or is he simply overconfident?

He looked at Jin Pingyong, who had his arms crossed and looked smug, but he was still uneasy.

Jin Pingyong glanced at Wang Yong and swung his arm, saying, "What's wrong, Earth Official? Are you terribly afraid?"

"Are you worried that the rebels will break in tonight?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Yong blushed and said with a self-deprecating laugh, "It would be a lie to say I'm not afraid. The rebels are attacking the city; how can I not be worried?"

“But…” he drawled, then continued, “it’s probably unlikely that we can break through.”

"Should?" Jin Pingyong's lips curled slightly as he shook his head and said, "It's impossible, not 'should'."

"Just wait and see. Soon the front will send back good news. The rebels will suffer heavy casualties, either retreating in disarray outside the city or struggling to hold on and barely surviving."

"Your Highness is right." Wang Yong bowed repeatedly, and Jin Pingyong nodded, but only snorted.

Seeing his confident demeanor, Wang Yong couldn't help but think to himself, "When we were deploying the front-line troops earlier, this chubby boy kept backing down, saying he wasn't good at military affairs. But now he's standing here talking like he has everything under control."

Little do they know that no matter what kind of tactics they use, they all need people to execute them, and there is a huge gap between saying something and doing it.

But clearly, his words calmed most people down considerably; putting everything else aside, he did indeed ease the tension.

At that moment, a deep voice slowly rang out:

"The outer fortress has already been prepared with countermeasures. If the enemy insists on attacking regardless,..."

"Then, what awaits them is annihilation," Prince Qing said expressionlessly.

"Your Highness is right!" Jin Pingyong immediately echoed loudly, then looked around at everyone and laughed heartily, "After all, they did prepare kerosene there!"