Two years later, the Yongan Palace

Ye Fan and Song Lin took off their armor and walked into the palace together.

"Lin'er, Fan'er, you are here." Jiang Yulou, wearing a dark purple official robe with a Qilin pattern, stood at the head of all the officials. Seeing the two coming back, he greeted them with concern.

"Godfather." Ye Fan nodded respectfully to Jiang Yulou, while Song Lin showed no expression.

Beside Jiang Yulou was Minister Liu, who was wearing a black robe with crane patterns. He was now Prime Minister Liu, who commanded an army of 400,000 in the Western Wilderness and held great power in the court.

Prime Minister Liu glanced at Song Lin and Ye Fan and said, "Your Majesty, the news that came this morning is that the Cloud Nation has defected to the Southern Territory."

"What!" Murong Yao, who was sitting on the dragon throne, slapped the chair and stood up angrily. "Fu Yi, you are really capable!"

An old official with a white beard reported, "The southern border has built a railway train. They are transporting food and fodder to the South Gate much faster than we can. Furthermore, with the involvement of the Cloud Nation, if we continue to fight, we will suffer a serious blow to our army's vitality."

They have not established a nation, but simply refused to pay tribute to the court. I suggest that Your Majesty withdraw your troops and seek peace, so that you can rest and recuperate."

"How dare you! Refusing to pay tribute and hand over the criminals is treason. Letting the Southern Territory recuperate is giving Fu Yi the opportunity to expand his power! He holds Murong Yan and Murong Tao in his hands. Does he want to overthrow me and help the Crown Prince restore the throne, or does he want to take the throne alone?"

Prime Minister Liu frowned and warned, "Your Majesty, marching and fighting will consume food, fodder, and manpower. Your Majesty, please do not disturb the foundation of the country."

Murong Yao was slightly displeased, "Uncle, you always tell me to be cautious, but I have already sat on the throne of the emperor, how long do I need to be cautious?

Besides, if it weren't for your rebellious son Liu Zhang who instigated a rebellion in Lucheng, Generals Jiang and Ye would have taken over the southern border long ago. Why would it have dragged on to this point?"

"Your Majesty, for the sake of your great cause, I have long severed the father-son relationship with him. Are you blaming me?" Prime Minister Liu did not tolerate him and spoke sharply.

Jiang Yulou spoke to smooth things over, "Prime Minister Liu, you are too serious. We know that you have endured humiliation and hardship in the Western Wilderness, which led to the current situation. But where are you——

Oh no, that Liu Zhang has colluded with Fu Yi, the bandit leader of the southern border. His tactics are truly cunning, making it difficult to capture the southern pass. No wonder Your Majesty is so impatient. I am also anxious watching this."

The other ministers also echoed the advice, "That's right, Your Majesty. We have just recaptured Lucheng, and the army needs to rest and recuperate. As for the southern border, we must take our time."

Most of these important officials were cultivated by the Liu family and now hold important positions in the court.

In addition, with Empress Dowager Liu and Prime Minister Liu inside and outside the court, this group of people naturally spoke on Prime Minister Liu's side.

Murong Yao knew the ins and outs of this, so he gave in and changed the subject, "What about Xiling City? Why doesn't Xiling City surrender to me?"

Prime Minister Liu replied, "Your Majesty, Xiling City's military equipment is needed to defend the border of Haoyue Kingdom and cannot be transferred to attack the southern border."

"I think they are just waiting for the Southern Territory to overthrow the Yanyang Kingdom, hoping to get a piece of the action!"

"Your Majesty, Princess Lin of Xiling City is about to turn twenty-two this year, right?"

Censor Xu stepped forward and reminded them, "Your Majesty, why don't you issue an edict to confer the title of Imperial Consort on Princess Lin and have Xiling City surrender its people?"

Murong Yao looked at Prime Minister Liu and asked what he meant.

Prime Minister Liu nodded and said, "Censor Xu, this is a very good plan. If Xiling City is unwilling to hand over the princess, we will also have a reason to declare war on Xiling."

Murong Yao immediately issued an imperial decree, ordering people to rush to Xiling City.

......

On the other side, Xiling City.

Xiling City has been quiet for three years since the death of the city lord and Lin San, and it has become much less lively.

At this moment, the City Lord's Mansion was decorated with lights and colors again, and preparations were being made for a grand wedding.

The wedding of Mr. Lin Wu and the eldest daughter of the northern Xue family.

Since Xiling City is thousands of miles away from Beizhixing, preparations for the wedding began a month ago.

Lin Mu waited early at the border between Xiling City and Qingzhou Prefecture, waiting to welcome the bride.

Now that the disaster situation in the north of Haoyue Nation has completely stabilized, the poultry and grain he cultivated have yielded a good harvest. The North Star has also become prosperous due to the port trade.

Mr. Lin, who came from Yanyang Country, was loved by the people in the north of Haoyue Country.

Although he and Xue Yu had already performed the marriage ceremony in the north, the Xue family in the north was still willing to respect the tradition of their Yanyang Kingdom and marry their eldest daughter to Xiling City.

The dowries from the three northern prefectures, plus the gifts from the regent, stretched for nearly twenty miles.

Marrying a princess is just like this, but the Xue family does have the strength to do so.

The wedding procession was hammering and banging all the way, and it would take five or six days to walk from the border between the two countries to the main city of Xiling.

It was enough for the entire Xiling City to congratulate them on their happy event.

......

On the other side, the southern border

The old nobles of the Kingdom of Clouds were overthrown by the people, and the new rulers were willing to return the territory of the Kingdom of Clouds to the southern border.

They proposed that Fu Yi establish a new imperial court, support him as emperor, and let him lead the Kingdom of Cloud to prosperity.

Murong Yan and Murong Tao also suggested many times that he establish a country to fight against Murong Yao.

However, Lord Shen and several veteran generals from the Southern Territory always disagreed and wanted to support Murong Yan as emperor.

Deep down, they still follow the principle of having a legitimate reason for their war and maintain a minimum of respect for the late emperor and the Murong family.

The prince's party officials who had escaped with Murong Yan all proposed that Fu Yi become the emperor.

They saw the prosperous South, where rumbling steam engines replaced most of the manpower.

Steam trains that were more than twice as fast as horses, steam drills that worked day and night, steam spinning machines, steam tillers...

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!