The question of how to deal with the Northern Rong people naturally sparked another round of debate.

The pro-peace and pro-war factions were clearly divided. In the end, the court officials were no longer standing in their original positions, but were divided into two distinct sides.

As a proponent of war, Xue Shen naturally sided with a group of military generals.

Emperor Cheng'an sat above, not really listening to much of the debate. His gaze swept over the clearly divided court officials, and his first thought was that if the advocacy was for war, then Prince Qin, as a member of the war faction, would definitely volunteer to lead the troops to fight.

But the King of Qin was ambitious. If the military power in the capital were handed over to him, the King of Qin might not even have to wait for the Northern Rong to do anything before he forced the emperor to abdicate and rebel.

Emperor Cheng'an felt uneasy whenever he thought of this possibility.

He coldly watched as the court officials argued endlessly, and finally said in a tired and weak voice, "What you all say makes sense, but there are countless people in the city. If we go to war, it will definitely affect them. The forces of the Three Departments alone are not enough to fight against the Northern Rong. It would be better to pretend to seek peace first and send envoys to negotiate. Then, when reinforcements arrive, we can attack from both sides and defeat them in one fell swoop."

The peace faction readily agreed, but Xue Shen could only sneer.

He looked into Emperor Cheng'an's cloudy eyes and roughly guessed what he was thinking, but he still stepped forward and said, "The Northern Rong King is not so easily fooled. It's not that we can delay them and they will let us delay. The Northern Rong people are the kind of people who won't act until they see a benefit. What does Your Majesty plan to use to keep them in check?"

Seeing Xue Shen becoming increasingly arrogant in court, Emperor Cheng'an couldn't help but slam his hand on the imperial desk and rebuked, "Prince Qin, are you questioning me?"

Xue Shen lowered his head: "Your subject dares not."

Emperor Cheng'an sneered: "I see you're quite bold. Who among those standing in the hall doesn't want to drive back the Northern Rong? But are the Northern Rong so easy to drive back? I know you were quite brave when you were young, but now, many years later, can you guarantee that you can drive back the Northern Rong without any casualties in the city? My actions are merely to protect the people in the city to the greatest extent possible."

"You always clamor for war, but what have these people suffering from the war done to deserve this?"

His righteous and awe-inspiring speech silenced everyone else.

Emperor Cheng'an, looking exhausted, waved his hand and pointed to Wang Yuanguang and several other pro-peace officials, saying, "Tomorrow, you will go out of the city to meet the King of Beirong."

Emperor Cheng'an made the final decision, leaving no room for further discussion.

The peace faction was naturally in high spirits and eager to prepare for tomorrow's peace talks, while the war faction looked dejected, angry at their lack of resistance but unable to express their anger.

Only Xue Shen remained unmoved. After leaving the palace, a military officer caught up with him and asked worriedly, "Is Your Highness just going to give up like this?"

Sitting on his horse, Xue Shen glanced at the city gate and said solemnly, "It's not that I'm giving up, but the Northern Rong King has gone to great lengths; this time, he won't be satisfied with mere petty gains."

He glanced back at the officers and said, "Gentlemen, you should prepare yourselves."

*

When Xue Shen entered the palace, it was still late at night; when he returned, it was already broad daylight.

When he returned to Tingmei Pavilion and did not see Shen Youying, he lowered his voice and asked Danzhu, who was serving him, "Is the Princess still asleep?"

Danzhu said, "After the prince left, the princess couldn't fall asleep and tossed and turned until almost dawn before finally getting to sleep."

Xue Shen entered the room quietly and found Shen Youying curled up in the quilt, fast asleep. However, she didn't seem to be sleeping well, as she was still frowning in her sleep, looking worried.

Xue Shen gently stroked her eyebrows and eyes, then rubbed his cold hands together to warm them before carefully taking her hand in his.

Surrounded by a familiar aura, Shen Youying's brows and eyes slowly relaxed, and she habitually moved closer to Xue Shen.

Xue Shen sat silently by the couch for a while before carefully getting up and leaving.

He first wrote several letters and had his trusted confidants send them out before summoning Wang Deshun.

"How much grain did the princess send to the south to stockpile this winter?"

This matter was handled by Wang Deshun. He did some calculations and reported a number.

Xue Shen calculated and said, "Adding the guards from various estates, it's barely enough." He added, "You should recall the secret guards scattered throughout the area, and replace the guards in the Prince's mansion with your own people. Arrange two teams openly, and secretly arrange more secret guards to protect the Prince's mansion completely, without any loopholes."

Wang Deshun had never seen him with such a solemn expression before. Upon hearing his arrangements, he was immediately taken aback: "Your Highness, are you going to...?"

Xue Shen stood up and looked at the map hanging behind him, saying, "Emperor Cheng'an is foolish and cowardly. Negotiating peace with the Northern Rong is no different from asking a tiger for its skin. If it comes to an emergency, I must take action in advance."

Admittedly, it would be more advantageous for him to step forward and turn the tide when Emperor Cheng'an's peace negotiations failed and resentment was widespread.

But Xue Shen was not Emperor Cheng'an; he could not stand by and watch the Northern Rong people run rampant on the territory of the Great Wei.

Wang Deshun understood and said, "What about the Red Mansion..."

Xue Shen said, "Let's leave it alone for now and keep them on their toes."

*

As Xue Shen had predicted, the peace negotiations did not go smoothly.

Wang Yuanguang led several peace negotiation officials out of the city in high spirits, but when he returned, he was as wilted as a frostbitten eggplant.

"The Northern Rong people demanded the cession of the three towns of Taiyuan, Zhongshan, and Hejian, and asked for four million taels of gold, sixty million taels of silver, ten thousand cattle and horses, one million bolts of silk, three thousand young girls, and the Qin King, the Prime Minister, and the Princess as hostages before they would agree to peace talks."

These words shocked the assembled officials.

Even Emperor Cheng'an, who had already prepared for a huge financial loss, was furious: "Those barbarians from the Northern Rong have gone too far!"

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!