Some people hold an unwavering belief: if you haven't seen it, it doesn't exist.

Like Liu Yu, his impression of the Song Dynasty was still based on what he had seen ten years ago.

According to the Song Dynasty ten years ago, this war would have been going on for almost a year, and the food supplies would be on the verge of collapse.

The Song army's current strength is entirely a facade; the dog emperor is just putting on a show.

That's right! That damned emperor was just making a fuss!

Liu Yu thought to himself.

He himself didn't know if he was deceiving himself, and he preferred to believe this conjecture.

Wanyan Chamu was much simpler; he was immediately flattered by Liu Yu's words and a mysterious, confident smile appeared on his lips.

At this moment, he seemed to be reborn as Wanyan Aguda, standing at the pinnacle of power, looking down upon the insignificant masses.

He downed his wine in one gulp, then burst into laughter, as if he could hear the good news coming from the front: "Liu Yu, when I make that dog emperor kneel and kowtow before me, I will promote you properly!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! No, thank you, Your Majesty!"

Wanyan Chamu was slightly taken aback, then burst into unrestrained laughter.

When he heard the words "Your Majesty," he felt as if he had reached the pinnacle of his life.

One is willing to deceive himself, and the other is all brawn and no brains but simple-minded; they are a match made in heaven.

Wanyan Chamu, whose brain was full of tumors, was laughing triumphantly when she suddenly realized something that startled her.

"I am indeed willing to send troops to quell the rebellion, but at most I can mobilize 10,000 troops. The rest of the army is in the hands of Wanyan Zongwang."

Wanyan Chamu looked at Liu Yu with expectant eyes.

Liu Yu seemed to have anticipated this question, and with an expression that suggested he had everything under control, he said, "Your Majesty, this matter is simple. I have already bribed Wanyan Zongwang's attendants. Within three days, Wanyan Zongwang will surely be poisoned and die."

"Very well! I await your good news!"

After they finished speaking, they looked at each other and smiled, the kind of knowing smile that comes from conspiring to accomplish something big.

Immediately afterwards, eight more Han Chinese beauties, who were not dressed, filed in from one side and appeared in front of Wanyan Chamu.

Each of them was no more than eighteen years old, with skin as smooth as jade and beautiful faces. They were at the prime of their lives and should have been meeting their lovers on the bridge.

However, Liu Yu plundered her from the State of Song and brought her here, whereupon she became the lowest of slaves.

They all lowered their heads in fear, like frightened little rabbits.

Liu Yu revealed a lewd smile: "Your Majesty, the night is long."

It's snowing again outside; this is probably the last snowfall of early spring.

As the night grew darker, Shi Li'ai had not slept all night. The wrinkles on his aged face were like deep ravines, and his eyes were filled with a heavy heart.

Shi Jian hurried in from outside, his cloak still damp with wind and snow.

"Father-in-law, the Prince of Yan suffered a sudden and fatal illness."

His words weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like mountains.

The Prince of Yan he mentioned was none other than Wanyan Zongwang, the only one currently able to stabilize the situation in the capital.

Wanyan Zongwang had a strange illness since childhood, which he had succumbed to twice before.

But this time he couldn't hold on and passed away at this critical moment.

Shi Li'ai's second son, Shi Feng, said, "It is truly a curse upon the Shi family. The Prince of Yan died suddenly, and the Prince of Lu is the most powerful. The Prince of Lu has always been tough on Song, so this peace talk will surely be as futile as the moon's reflection in the water!"

"If it were as fleeting as the moon's reflection in the water, so be it. But Prince Lu, like Wanyan Zonghan, is extremely hostile to Han people. I'm worried he might take action against us beforehand!"

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

Shi Li'ai remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "Immediately send 500,000 strings of cash to Liu Yu's residence."

Shi Jian was extremely dissatisfied: "Father-in-law, that Liu Yu is a despicable and shameless scoundrel. Why should we give him money!"

Shi Feng replied, "Yes, I will leave this matter to you."

"Remember, be prepared before dawn."

Shi Feng was taken aback for a moment, but said nothing, only saying, "Don't worry."

“No, we can’t come up with that much money all at once, unless we touch the family treasury…” Shi Jian paused slightly, looking at his father with shock, “Father-in-law, that money is our life savings…”

"At this point, what's the point of talking about our past? The most important thing is to save the lives of our entire clan. As long as we can get through this, once Emperor Zhao marches on Shangjing, our Shi family will be safe. After that, who will Emperor Zhao rely on to govern the former Liao and Jin territories?"

Those around him looked pained.

While taking out 500,000 strings of cash at once isn't a large sum considering the Shi family's entire wealth, the only way to do so in such a short time is to use the treasury.

Prince Lu, Wanyan Chamu, was an extremely cruel person. If he were to seize power, he would surely unleash a massacre on the Shi family.

Liu Yu had just finished his fifth bowl of deer blood and was enjoying himself with a woman in bed when he suddenly heard his confidant's voice outside, saying that he had finally gotten up but was suddenly forced to leave.

He was instantly enraged. He grabbed a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, put on his clothes, and roared, "Give me a reason not to kill you!"

"Shangguan, the Prince of Yan has died suddenly!"

Liu Yu trembled, wondering if he had misheard. He quickly opened the door, and the wind and snow that had been flying in from the distant corridor immediately followed.

Liu Yu's face was pale, but his expression was excited: "What did you say?"

"The Prince of Yan suddenly fell ill and died in his residence."

"Great! This is truly heaven's help!"

Liu Yu quickly dressed and prepared to go see Wanyan Chamu.

Tonight, Wanyan Chamu is at his residence; I wonder what she's up to with those beauties right now.

Liu Yu couldn't wait to tell Wanyan Chamu the good news.

Suddenly, his head steward, Liu Zhaoren, rushed over and said, "Master, Shi Erlang requests an audience."

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