When the ultimatum arrived, He Tongyuan completely abandoned all unrealistic fantasies.

When He Dongyuan left the capital of Silla, he also received bad news.

That is, the Silla Prime Minister's Office sent people to formally negotiate with the Daegan court delegation.

As for the final terms, they are no longer important.

Importantly, Silla ultimately sided with the Daegan court.

Inside the cabin of a merchant ship at the harbor terminal.

"Lord He,"

A follower spoke up: "The news has been confirmed. The Silla Prime Minister's Office has indeed made formal contact with the Daegan court delegation."

It seems Jin Tai is determined to oppose our Prince Xin's Mansion to the very end!

"As expected!"

He Tongyuan nodded slightly and said, "Since Silla is beyond saving, we need to make multiple preparations."

Although we are about to withdraw from Silla, all the pieces we have laid out within Silla territory must be put into action.

He ordered spies within Silla to closely monitor the movements of the Silla army, especially its northward advance.

Pay attention to information such as troop composition, generals, routes of action, number of personnel, and equipment; the more detailed the information, the better.

Upon receiving this information, report it immediately to Shenzhou City and Dongning City; there must be no delay!

"clear!"

The attendant quickly responded.

Since Qingyu Trading Company and Sunji Trading Company began to conduct business extensively in various countries, Dongning's intelligence network has gradually penetrated into various countries as well.

And this is also an important part of Dongning's intelligence sources!

Especially now, with the situation in Dongning critical, we should make good use of these connections to find out information from other countries as soon as possible.

So that His Highness Prince Shin can make arrangements as soon as possible!

After giving this instruction, He Tongyuan continued, "Besides that, we also need to get moving!"

He ordered the navy and armed merchant ships to blockade the coast of Silla.

Any ship flying the flags of Silla or Daegu shall not be allowed to go to sea, and if discovered, all such ships shall be taken into custody and captured.

Any who resist will be sunk!

Although our Dongning military force is not large, our naval power is not weak!

We must open a second front at sea to ensure the safety of Dongning and Liaodong!

This task must be done well!

If we do it well, we might even be able to harass Silla from behind, forcing them to stop their full-scale northward advance!

This is also our chance to win!

"yes!"

The attendant quickly responded.

In fact, the strategy of using naval ships and armed merchant vessels to blockade the coast of Silla and launch a surprise attack on Silla from behind was also a strategy originally devised by Prince Shin, Yi Shin.

This was also a contingency plan to prevent Silla from acting unilaterally!

I never thought it would come in handy now!

In fact, He Tongyuan had already anticipated Silla's choice.

After all, everyone knows that in terms of sheer military strength, the Prince Xin's side is not at an advantage.

Moreover, they also have to face attacks from the north, south, and west.

Given this situation, no one would choose to stand with the Prince Xin's Mansion!

After making these two arrangements, He Tongyuan continued, "Report the news to His Highness Prince Xin immediately."

Let's get back to Dongning as soon as possible!

Immediately, He Tongyuan and his entourage left Silla.

...

The departure of He Tongyuan and the others did not mean that the matter in Silla was over.

Instead, after He Tongyuan and the others left, Silla became a place of turmoil and intrigue.

On one hand, the Prime Minister's Office was preparing to sign an alliance treaty with the Great Gan Kingdom.

On the other hand, upon learning of this news, insightful individuals spoke out and submitted memorials to the Prime Minister's Office, urging them to abandon the signing of an alliance treaty with the Great Gan Kingdom.

Although these insightful individuals did not recommend that Silla form an alliance with the Prince of Shin's court, they all upheld Silla's long-standing attitude of independence and detachment, suggesting that all alliance treaties be abandoned.

They declared that they would remain indifferent to the war between the Da Gan Kingdom and the Xin Prince's Mansion, and would not get involved!

This has been the consistent practice of the Silla Kingdom for over a hundred years!

It was precisely this approach that enabled Silla to maintain its status for so many years, remaining close to Daegan.

And it is precisely based on this consideration that those insightful people have spoken out so vehemently.

The leader was Kang Hyo, the Grand Councilor of Silla, accompanied by Kim Jeong-eon, the Vice Minister of the Chancellery, Hwang Deok-saeng, the Grand Councilor Park Joon-seong, and students of Kang Hyo and Kim Jeong-eon.

The participants were all from the Secretariat and the Censorate.

The Secretariat was originally a group of palace attendants who advised the emperor and served as advisors.

However, since the young emperor ascended the throne and the prime minister took sole power, all government decrees originated from the prime minister's office. The advisory and policy-making functions of the Secretariat gradually disappeared.

The Secretariat and the Censorate gradually became idle places. Some people who were at odds with the Prime Minister's Office and did not align themselves with the Prime Minister's Office were all sent to the Secretariat and the Censorate, becoming sinecure positions.

Among these people are many insightful individuals.

Upon seeing and hearing that the Prime Minister's Office was preparing to sign an alliance treaty with the Da Gan court delegation, they began to rally and unite to oppose the Prime Minister's Office's policy.

Within just a few days, thousands of scholars from the entire Silla capital paraded through the city streets and shouted slogans outside the Prime Minister's residence and the royal palace, protesting against the alliance.

A massive undertaking!

The news naturally reached the Prime Minister's residence as well.

"It's numb!"

Prime Minister Kim Tae, somewhat embarrassed and angry, said, "A bunch of purists, what do they know!"

This is the best opportunity for our Silla Kingdom to expand its territory; it is a golden opportunity to go down in history!

These people, all they know is to oppose, oppose!

Aside from opposing, I don't know what else these supposedly upright individuals can do!

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

Kim Tae was so angry that he was puffing out his beard and glaring at his opponent.

"Father,"

Jin Zhong, the son who was standing to the side with his head bowed, said, "Why bother with these things?"

They're just a bunch of petty scoundrels; they'll amount to nothing!

Do you want a son? Find some people to drive them all away!

When the time comes, once the ringleader is arrested, the mob will disperse!

Father, you have important matters to attend to; please leave this small matter to your son.

"OK!"

Kim Tae nodded slightly and instructed, "Remember, you must act quickly and not let the impact escalate."

In particular, we must not let the news leak out!

Don't underestimate these upright individuals; they are all scholars, and they still have influence throughout the country.

If they were to leak the news and it spread to other places, the consequences would be quite different!

"I understand!"

Jin Zhong bowed and said, "The defenses of our capital are in my son's hands."

Besides, with the city's patrols, they can't possibly escape!

Kim Tae waved his hand dismissively and said, "Go on, go on!"