Chapter 841 To Save or Not to Save

The Imperial Study.

The atmosphere was heavy.

All the first and second rank officials in the court were present, and the place was crowded with people.

The emperor, seated on his high throne, asked: "What do you, my esteemed ministers, think?"

Grand Tutor Lin stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, “The Western Rong Kingdom has kidnapped the current prince of our Great Yu Kingdom and forced Lady Sui to serve them. Their intentions are despicable. I believe that we must send troops to rescue him, and we must also give the Western Rong Kingdom a severe blow. Otherwise, they will really think that our Great Yu Kingdom is a soft persimmon that does not know how to resist!”

"Twenty years ago, the Great Yu Kingdom was defeated because the previous dynasty was unstable," Lord Jin said. "But today, twenty years later, our Great Yu Kingdom is prosperous and powerful. Dealing with a barbarian kingdom in the west is no problem at all. I implore Your Majesty to immediately send troops west to rescue our people!"

Grand Scholar Pang nodded: "Twenty years ago, our Great Yu Kingdom suffered so much humiliation that we had to send Princess Taiping to marry a foreign ruler. So many people swallowed their pride and waited for the day when they could deliver a fatal blow to the Western Rong. Now that the Western Rong are causing trouble, our Great Yu Kingdom must not back down!"

"I agree with you gentlemen, but—" the Minister of War stepped forward, "My Dayu Kingdom has over 400,000 troops. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince leads 100,000 troops in a fierce battle with the Laji Kingdom. We have 70,000 stationed in the northern border, 100,000 in the western border, 70,000 in the southern border, and another 30,000 to 40,000 distributed across the various provinces. Where will we get the troops to send against the Western Rong?"

The Grand Councilor then said, "If we divert troops from other areas to the Western Rong, then the northern and southern borders will be left empty. The Yuezhi in the north, the Nanyue Kingdom in the south, and other small countries will have a great chance to take advantage of the situation and invade. Then, our Dayu Kingdom will be surrounded from all sides, with disastrous consequences."

The people present were divided into two camps.

Lin Taifu, led by civil officials, pleaded with the court to send troops to rescue them.

Military officers, led by the Minister of War, raised numerous concerns...

This discussion was exactly the same as all the previous ones, and still produced no results.

Three days have passed, and we still haven't come up with a concrete plan.

At this moment, Eunuch Ming hurriedly walked in: "Your Majesty, Lady Sui's son, Commander Zhao, has arrived in the capital. Before even returning home, he came to the gate of the Imperial City to request an audience with Your Majesty."

The emperor raised his hand: "Hurry and announce it."

The report delivered by General Yunhui on horseback only contained the basic information. General Yunhui did not explain the details of Lady Sui's situation in the Western Rong Kingdom, what the Western Rong Kingdom intended to do, and so on.

Before long, Zhao Sanniu was invited into the Imperial Study.

It took six or seven days to travel this distance, and he lay in the carriage every day. His injuries were almost healed.

He lifted his robe and knelt on the ground: "Your humble servant greets the emperor."

"Captain Zhao, stand up and speak." The emperor looked at him and said, "You've been in the Xirong Palace for some time. You should be aware of the Xirong Kingdom's purpose in abducting so many people from Dayu. Please explain in detail."

"Yes!" Zhao Sanniu stood up and replied with his head bowed, "After the matter of Asab was settled, our group headed back home. Just outside Asab, we encountered the Western Rong cavalry in the territory of the Yuezhi tribe. More than three hundred of us were surrounded and attacked by more than a thousand Western Rong. Outnumbered, we were all captured..."

He clearly recounted the entire sequence of events.

“My mother is being held in solitary confinement in the palace of the Western Rong Kingdom. The Western Rong King is forcing my mother to research rice varieties suitable for their land. In order to buy time, my mother had no choice but to agree to this demand. The Western Rong Kingdom attaches great importance to the rice varieties that my mother has developed, and my mother’s life is not in danger for the time being… But if we just wait like this, once my mother’s rice varieties sprout, everything will be beyond repair.”

Once Mother discovers a rice variety suitable for the Western Rong, she will be considered a traitor to the Great Yu Kingdom.

Once the Western Rong are able to cultivate grain, they will be even more powerful. With a bountiful harvest in the future, their iron cavalry will surely break through the western defenses and bring back the chaos of war from twenty years ago...

The ministers in the imperial study couldn't help but curse.

"The Western Rong King's wolfish ambitions are truly disgusting."

"To force a woman to work for them is a disgrace to men."

"The rice will be ready for harvest in just over three months. Once we have the rice seeds, the Western Rong Kingdom will definitely turn its back on us. Lady Sui is in grave danger."

"..."

The emperor gently tapped the table, and the imperial study fell silent.

"This matter will be discussed again at the morning court tomorrow. You may all leave."

"……yes."

The court officials bowed and withdrew.

The emperor pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

The Western Rong have trampled on the face of the Great Yu Kingdom, so naturally he couldn't swallow this insult. His first reaction upon learning of this was to send troops there.

However, the military was right. If they were to forcibly confront the Western Rong Kingdom with insufficient troops, the consequences would be unimaginable.

As the ruler of a country, he must consider the overall situation before making any decisions, and cannot afford to make the slightest oversight.

Standing to the side, Eunuch Ming reminded them, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager and the Empress have arrived."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Empress Dowager pushed open the door and walked in, with the Empress following beside her carrying a bowl of soup.

"Your Majesty hasn't eaten for several days. Have some soup first," the Empress said softly. "No matter how important the matter is, you must fill your stomach before you deal with it."

The emperor looked up and saw that the empress's eyes were also bloodshot.

He did not refuse the Empress's kindness and slowly drank the bowl of soup.

After finishing the soup, the Empress Dowager finally spoke: "The Sixth Prince, Lady Sui, and seven or eight ministers were abducted by the Western Rong Kingdom. This matter has been making headlines in the court for three or four days now, and there still hasn't been a resolution."

The emperor was about to speak.

The Empress Dowager continued, "If it were only the Sixth Prince who was kidnapped, that would be one thing, and I would never order the court to send troops to rescue him. Because the Sixth Prince has been lazy and incompetent since childhood, and has never rendered any service to the country or its people. Sending troops to rescue him would be a waste of resources and would negatively impact public morale. But this time, it is Lady Sui who has been kidnapped. Your Majesty knows better than I how Lady Sui rose from a peasant woman to her current position! She has made great contributions to the Xiao family's empire and has brought much benefit to the people. Therefore, everyone says that Lady Sui is the people's Lady Sui!"

"The reason Lady Sui got into trouble this time is precisely because she is talented and capable, which is why the Western Rong Kingdom did everything they could to capture her. If the court doesn't send troops, it's tantamount to telling the people that Lady Sui is not important at all. If someone who has made so many contributions is not important, how many people in the world will feel disheartened!"

"Moreover, I heard that the King of Xirong has treated Lady Sui with considerable courtesy. If Lady Sui were to learn that the Great Yu Kingdom has abandoned her rescue, and were to defect and become a citizen of Xirong, it would be a catastrophic disaster for our Great Yu Kingdom..."

"No," the Queen said firmly. "Wanwan would never betray the Great Yu Kingdom."

The emperor said slowly, "Of course we must save them, but how to save them is a difficult problem."

"Isn't it just because of insufficient troops? Are we going to give up just because there's no chance of winning?" The Empress Dowager took a deep breath. "Since ancient times, no war has ever been started only when victory was certain... If we keep running away, we're just telling the Western Rong Kingdom that the Great Yu Kingdom is no good! This time they can kidnap Lady Sui and the Sixth Prince, next time they can kidnap merchants from the border, and the time after that, they can kidnap the Great Yu Kingdom's civilians on the western frontier... Starting a war is not just about rescuing Lady Sui and the Sixth Prince, but also about telling the Western Rong Kingdom that our Great Yu Kingdom will protect its people at all costs!"

"If we don't bleed this time, we will bleed someday!"

"I do not want the Great Yu Kingdom to be forced to send another princess for a marriage alliance in order to end the war!"

"I hope that the Western Rong Kingdom will never dare to invade again!"

The Empress Dowager's voice was firm and powerful, making the Emperor's heart tremble.