Chapter 123

The Rongdi army was forced to return to the royal court, and the crisis in Qizhou was resolved. However, Xue Jin'an did not let the matter rest. Instead, he took advantage of the situation to deploy troops on the spot and moved the Northwest Army camp there, pushing the border line for hundreds of miles.

His move was also intended to intimidate both the barbarians and the Russian Empire, making them quiet down and stop interfering in the affairs of the Great Qi Dynasty.

Xue Jin'an's data on various period novels powerfully illustrates that peace and dignity cannot be obtained through weakness and concession. True freedom is not about doing whatever you want, but about being able to choose not to do what you don't want to do.

"A strong heart + weapons = peace," Xue Jin'an said to Xiao Jia, the orderly beside him.

Although Xiao Jia didn't quite understand, he honestly took out paper and pen from his pocket and wrote down the sentence—recording General Xiao Long's words and deeds. This was the only task given to him by the entire Northwest Camp, and all the trivial matters he had to do for this purpose were contracted out to others.

After obtaining General Xiaolong's consent, Xiao Jia became his personal historian, specifically responsible for writing his daily records.

Xiao Jia thought this matter was extremely simple and had no challenge whatsoever, so he readily accepted it. However, he soon discovered the difficulty of the matter: General Xiao Long was too low-key, so low-key that he often couldn't find him.

If it weren't for the fact that General Xiaolong drilled with the soldiers every morning, he would have really thought that General Xiaolong had disappeared.

The biggest challenge for Xiao Jia right now is finding General Xiao Long.

That said, besides manually expanding the territory of Daqi, Xue Jin'an's most ruthless move was to send a message to the old Khan of Rongdi, threatening Weng Tianxin's life to force the Khan to abdicate and support Galdan to become the new Khan.

— Weng Tianxin and Galdan are now considered both hostages and envoys. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that envoys should not be killed in war. Although this is only a gentleman's agreement, in the event of a real war, any envoy who shows up will be killed without hesitation.

However, both the Qi state and the Rongdi peoples wanted to cease hostilities.

The Great Qi and the Rongdi have clashed several times, but the Rongdi have suffered losses. The old Khan has lost a lot of money and will certainly not want to fight. Xue Jin'an has no support or supplies from the court, so his war cannot continue. Not to mention that there is also the Russian Empire, whose allegiance is unclear, watching from the sidelines.

The two sides are at the point of fighting, but not completely at war; they are irreconcilable but haven't completely broken off relations yet.

Of course, Xue Jin'an intentionally blocked the news from Qizhou and had not yet sent the battle report to the capital. He also did not show that Daqi did not want to fight. Every day, he deliberately let his soldiers go to the front line to provoke and make a show of being aggressive. He brought up Weng Tianxin and Galdan, but it was not that he really wanted to support anyone to take the throne. It was purely to sow discord.

Ong Tianxin was used to sow discord between the Khan and his prime minister, Bileg, while Galdan was used to stir up tensions between the Khan and the other princes.

It should be noted that Galdan was the third prince, which means he had at least two older brothers. The fact that Galdan, a third prince of considerable seniority, was sent as an envoy to Daqi when the Rongdi were planning to rebel suggests that the Khan did not particularly favor this third prince.

After all, once war breaks out and Qizhou falls, no matter how weak the emperor is, he will have to do something. The envoys from the Rong and Di tribes who came to offer birthday wishes will be the first to be affected, not to mention that they deliberately caused trouble at the banquet and embarrassed Daqi. Given the old and new grudges, it would be hard to appease them if too few of them died.

—In any case, the two leaders of the mission, Ong Tianxin and Galdan, will inevitably have to use the death of one of them to quell public discontent.

In other words, those sent as envoys at this time were all cannon fodder.

Galdan was probably not very clear about his situation, but there was an 80% chance that Weng Tianxin knew. It's possible that the Rongdi were planning to use Galdan's death as a pretext to justify their war.

However, now, Xue Jin'an directly pushed Galdan forward, saying that he would support him to take the throne. The current Khan is an ambitious Khan, and his two adult princes are not kind and brainless people. The entire Northern Kingdom would never accept a Khan supported by the Great Qi.

In this situation, what would they do? The best solution would be for Galdan to denounce the Great Qi's wolfish ambitions and, with righteous indignation, commit suicide to save face for the Rong and Di peoples. Afterward, the Rong and Di envoys would take his body north back to their homeland for a grand funeral, thus earning him a historical reputation for dying with honor.

Unfortunately, based on Xue Jin'an's mental model of Galdan, it was impossible for Galdan to die so bravely.

He doesn't care about dying, and he can't resist the temptation of becoming a Khan. The most likely scenario for him is that he will "recognize a thief as his father".

Given that the wishes of both sides are at odds, the Khan and his people only have one option left: to let Galdan die within the territory of Daqi, preferably directly in the capital.

The best person to take action would be Weng Tianxin, but Weng Tianxin would not be the only one to do so; the entire Rongdi envoy delegation would become Galdan's death warrant.

What would happen if Galdan, betrayed by the entire nation, returned home with the investiture decree from the enemy monarch?

"No matter how capable he was, his life must have been quite eventful." After explaining to the young soldiers in the wounded soldiers' camp who didn't understand General Xiaolong's decision to let the Rongdi people return home, Doctor Chang couldn't help but sigh, "General Qi... is truly a great talent."

The wounded soldiers nodded in agreement, praising General Xiaolong's might.

Dr. Chang smiled, lowered his head to wash his hands, and watched as the clear water and fresh blood gradually mixed and diluted in the copper basin, his mood was quite complicated.

He corresponded with Helian Cheng and was aware of what was happening in the capital. He was shocked to learn that Long Aotian was actually the Seventh Prince, and also learned that Rong Di had secretly attempted to assassinate the Seventh Prince.

Doctor Chang had heard the rumors about the Seventh Prince and thought he was a ruthless killer who couldn't tolerate any injustice. However, he never expected that the Seventh Prince would turn around and decide to spare the life of the Rongdi envoy who had a blood feud with him, enduring humiliation and hardship to seek greater benefits. His emotions swirled in his heart, but in the end, they all turned into a barely perceptible sigh.

"In any case..." With General Long guarding the border, no one will dare to invade. He was just a military doctor; he didn't need to think so much.

Dr. Chang put all those swirling thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on treating the wounded soldiers.

If Xue Jin'an knew what Doctor Chang was thinking, he would definitely say that those who offended him would eventually pay the price; they just died later, not that they wouldn't die.

In fact, Xue Jin'an didn't care about the life or death of the Rongdi envoy. If Galdan's value in living far outweighed his value in dying, he wouldn't mind letting him live a little longer.

While the Northwest Camp was filled with joy and celebration, the Rong and Di tribes were shrouded in gloom and a storm was brewing.

When the old Khan learned that the Northwest Army had pushed the border forward by hundreds of miles, he was very angry, but he could still hold his tongue. However, after hearing the message that Xue Jin'an had sent, he felt a surge of anger and vomited blood in front of all the civil and military officials at the court meeting.

"Insolence! You scoundrel from the Great Qi Dynasty, how dare you lay your hands on my throne! Your heart is wicked! Your heart is wicked!" The old Khan cursed and still felt unsatisfied. He pushed aside the people who came to help him and kicked over the royal desk in front of him.

Amidst the crackling sounds, the old Prime Minister Bileg knelt down, tears streaming down his face: "Your Majesty, it is my incompetence that is to blame!"

He kowtowed to the ground, looking extremely ashamed.

"My dear minister, please rise!" The Khan forced down the steps, swallowing the metallic taste in his throat, and grabbed the old prime minister, holding his hand tightly. "What does this have to do with you? It's all that cunning scoundrel from the Great Qi! Rest assured, although Galdan has no great ambitions and is of mediocre ability, he is a man of unwavering integrity. The Rongdi warriors are fierce and unparalleled, and they will not be swayed by the enemy! Even if he sacrifices his own life, he will surely ensure that Tianxin returns safely."

The Khan was very clever. Just as Xue Jin'an had predicted, the moment he heard the news, he sentenced Galdan to death in his mind. However, he still wanted to use Galdan's "death" to exchange favors with Bileg.

Ong Tianxin was Bileg's most outstanding son and the son whose ideals aligned with his. He was the successor whom Bileg had nurtured with all his might, and Bileg couldn't bring himself to abandon him.

Bileg's worship and learning of Central Plains culture was actually somewhat of a "using the barbarians' superior techniques to control the barbarians" mentality. The feudal imperial system implemented in the Central Plains for many years had many drawbacks for later generations, such as the very typical factional struggles and the cumbersome official system. However, in the eyes of the Rong and Di people, who were still in the feudal system, these were advanced systems.

Over the years, Bileg has been subtly reforming various aspects of the Rongdi people's systems, and the Khan has indeed experienced the joy of centralized power. The two hit it off and became good partners.

However, successful reforms always involve growing pains. Bileg was too cautious in his reforms, which had some miraculous effects but not many. Twenty years later, the Rong and Di peoples had not yet broken free from the feudal system and achieved true unification. Bileg needed a radical reformer, and that person was Weng Tianxin.

Ong Tianxin's existence is not simply that of Bileg's son; he is also Bileg's ideal revenge and his lifelong wish.

Bileg no longer has the energy or time to train the next Weng Tianxin; Weng Tianxin absolutely cannot die.

Compared to Bileg's urgency, the Khan was not so concerned about Ongtianxin's existence. On the contrary, he couldn't quite accept Ongtianxin's excessive admiration for Central Plains culture. The Khan was proud; in his youth, he was the wolf of the grasslands, the most valiant warrior. He wanted to use Bileg and Ongtianxin to centralize power, but that didn't mean he truly valued Central Plains culture.

In fact, he didn't think much of the people of the Central Plains, after all, they had a history of serving as "two-legged sheep" for the Rong and Di tribes.

So whether Ong Tianxin lives or dies is irrelevant to the Khan, but he also knows that Ong Tianxin is very important to Bileg.

The Khan knew this, which is why he brought up Ong Tianxin. The implied meaning in his words was that if Ong Tianxin was to live, then the third prince Galdan had to die a "worthy death" and "a glorious death."

"Your Majesty! Your old minister is so sorry!" Bileg grasped the Khan's hand in return. The king and his minister looked at each other with tears in their eyes, each harboring their own secrets.

The court assembly ended quickly, but the prime minister did not leave immediately afterward. Instead, he had a private conversation with the Khan for another quarter of an hour.

Bileg analyzed Xue Jin'an's "sinister intentions" very thoroughly, and then suggested that the Khan establish a crown prince, "In this way, even if the third prince has no choice but to surrender to the Great Qi and then return, with a crown prince, the Khan's position will be stable and there will be no major trouble. The schemes of the Great Qi traitors will also be exposed."

The Khan gave him a deep look, as if he were genuinely asking, "Which of my sons do you, Prime Minister, think is worthy of inheriting the throne?"

This statement was actually a test to see if Bilge had already pledged allegiance to any prince.

Bileg understood the implication and realized that the Khan did not intend to establish a crown prince. He quickly lowered his head and said, "The princes are all outstanding individuals, and I cannot choose one."

This is understandable. Although the old Khan was still in good health, his age was a factor. Throughout history, whenever an emperor's health declined, his desire for power would grow. He would feel jealous and uneasy looking at his healthy children. Once desire overwhelmed reason, it could very well lead to fratricide.

Just like the emperor's attitude towards the princes vying for the throne in the original plot of "I Want to Be Emperor".

The emperor isn't that worried about his princes right now. He's in his prime, and his princes aren't powerful enough yet, so he doesn't feel much of a threat. He can happily watch them vie for power.

The old Khan was not yet old enough, but he already had two adult princes, each with powerful relatives from large tribes. He already felt threatened by these princes, so even though he knew that Bileg was telling the truth and that establishing a crown prince would reduce trouble, he was still unwilling to divide power.

Bilge sighed inwardly, but could only keep quiet about it.

Seeing that he was sensible, the Khan's expression softened considerably, and he took the initiative to ask about Long Aotian.

Upon mentioning Long Aotian, Bilge's expression turned solemn. "I originally thought that Helian Cheng's next successor would be his adopted son, Helian Yong—"

Upon learning that Helian Cheng had an adopted son, Bileg secretly investigated the adopted son for a long time. He knew that Helian Yong was capable but very immature and definitely not as good as Helian Cheng. He even mocked Helian Cheng for losing his mind by leaving this time. However, he never expected that a dragon-like genius would suddenly appear out of nowhere, and that he would be a general with a completely different style from Helian Cheng.

Helian Cheng's fighting style is reminiscent of Qin general Wang Jian and Zhao general Lian Po during the Warring States period. In short, he is mature, prudent, and good at defense and counterattack. However, Long Aotian is a general who can be described as reckless. He dares to pursue and intercept a force of 10,000 men with only a few thousand men. He uses various tactics appropriately and often attacks the enemy unprepared.

Moreover, this tactic is not only used on the battlefield, but can also be applied in the political arena.

Even though they had only fought once, he knew that this was an extremely difficult and terrifying opponent, even more terrifying than Helian Cheng.

The strategy of sowing discord can be used against Helian Cheng. This is the most classic and effective tactic on the battlefield, which has been used since the Warring States period. Many famous generals and strategists, such as Yue Yi of Yan, Li Mu of Zhao, Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng of Chu, have failed because of this strategy. Helian Cheng himself is a strong bulwark, but those around him are not, nor are the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital.

Bileg had long ago figured out how Helian Cheng would die and had concluded that "this man will surely die at the hands of a villain."

Bileg thought he had a good eye for people, but looking at Long Aotian's style of doing things, he felt at a loss.

The other party was a very shrewd and persuasive person, seemingly able to understand everyone's thoughts and feelings.

Since the defeat, Bileg has been trying to gather information about Long Aotian. There is too little information and it is too mysterious. The only thing that can be confirmed is that the previous confrontation exercise of the Northwest Army was Long Aotian's idea.

Bileg had a vague intuition that perhaps the sandbox game that mysteriously appeared and disappeared was created by this arrogant protagonist.

“Your Majesty,” Bileg said after careful consideration, making a decision he would regret for the rest of his life. He solemnly said, “I wish to infiltrate Qizhou and find out the truth about this Long Aotian.”

One wrong step leads to another. Ever since Bileg stayed in Qizhou because of the sand table game, he has embarked on a path of no return.

Unfortunately, no one will remind him.

***

The Rongdi were trying to find out about General Xiaolong's background, and after sending a message to the Rongdi Khan, General Xiaolong let the Daqi army go free. Apart from the daily morning training, he basically never stayed in the Northwest Camp.

The battle was supposed to last ten days, but it lasted for almost half a month. After the situation stabilized, Xue Jin'an immediately sent a complete battle report to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager was overjoyed. It is said that she couldn't sleep that night and got up to eat a late-night snack. After eating too much, she strolled around the courtyard for half an hour before going to bed.

The next morning, Lu Bingzhu came to Zhaoyang Palace, brought a few people, and then took Xuan Shiyi away.

Xuan Shiyi's identity is basically a well-known fact, and everyone in Zhaoyang Palace knows it. However, they don't show it on the surface but are wary of him on the inside. They haven't given him any opportunity to contact Xue Jin'an. His only purpose in staying here is to occupy this position and prevent the emperor from replacing him with someone else. Fortunately, Xuan Shiyi is also sensible and knows his limits, so he doesn't make himself unacceptable to anyone.

Now that Lu Bingzhu has taken him away, it's clear that the Empress Dowager intends to take charge of this matter, and the Emperor will not send anyone else.

The people Lu Bingzhu sent, along with Fuling and Lingzhi, were merely trained by Lu Bingzhu and were not considered his subordinates. However, the newcomers were clearly spies from the Imperial Guard. After greeting Xue Jin'an and receiving his permission, they disappeared without a trace.

Lingzhi and Fuling carefully sensed their presence, but could only detect their faint aura; they could not locate them with their naked eyes.

"That's wonderful! From now on, Your Highness will have secret guards protecting you, and we won't have to worry about you leaving the palace anymore," Lingzhi said with a smile, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Xue Jin'an casually scanned the screen with the high-definition camera, looking at the clearly visible bodyguards, and ultimately remained silent.

He did grow up eventually and learned to be more emotionally intelligent.

Fu Lu asked with a sigh, "Will Xuan Shiyi die?"

Back then, he, Shouquan, and Xuan Shiyi all lived with their master in Qifeng Courtyard. Although Xuan Shiyi's motives were impure, they had lived together for so long and there was still some affection between them. However, this affection was much thinner than that of others and could not be compared with the safety of their master.

"Let's see what he chooses," Lingzhi said, having already guessed.

She came from Lu Bingzhu's ranks, so she naturally knew Lu Bingzhu's character. Xuan Shiyi was just following orders and hadn't done anything to harm His Highness so far, so Lu Bingzhu would give him a chance to choose.

If he makes the right choice, Xuan Shiyi will be able to return to His Highness's side after being carefully trained, and will never betray him. If he makes the wrong choice... well, that's just his fate.

The others understood and didn't ask any more questions about Xuan Shiyi.

Of all the people in Zhaoyang Palace, the only one who was truly worried about Xuan Shiyi's fate was probably Xia Zi.

Xia Zi was panicked. In Zhaoyang Palace, he ate the least and did the most work. His dantian martial arts were destroyed, and he had been tortured. Now he was afraid of both cold and heat, and felt like he was living a life worse than death, but he did not want to die.

He entered the palace, fled Qian Yuan Palace, and came here... all because he didn't want to die.

He wasn't exactly clever. At first, he might have thought she survived because he still had value, but after staying here for a while, he realized that the people of Zhaoyang Palace didn't care about his life or death.

In reality, no one usually paid any attention to him. He worked just to live a better life. When the first heavy snow fell in the capital, he almost froze to death. It was Xuan Shi who got up in the middle of the night and brought him back to his room.

Xia Zi also realized that Xuan Shiyi was someone who was subtly excluded from Zhaoyang Palace. Perhaps it was a case of "the rabbit mourns the fox's death," or perhaps it was a case of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold." In any case, Xuan Shiyi did not let him die that day. Instead, he gave him a warm blanket, charcoal, and hot water, allowing him to get through the unbearable winter.

At that time, Xia Xiazi learned that Xuan Shiyi was the only person who wanted him to live.

Now that Xuan Shiyi has been taken away, shouldn't he be next?

Xia Zi was terrified. He huddled on the floor of Xuan Shiyi's room, trembling with fear, and stayed awake until dawn. However, when dawn broke, Xuan Shiyi still hadn't returned, and he grew even more terrified.

He fell into a vicious cycle and became completely disoriented.

The observant Lingzhi quickly noticed Xiazi's change, and she thoughtfully approached Xue Jin'an: "Your Highness, Xiazi seems to be about to speak, perhaps we should..."

To be honest, it's somewhat unexpected that Xia Zi has survived until now. Logically speaking, it would have been very easy for Xuan Shiyi to kill him, but Xuan Shiyi didn't, and let him live until now.

Xue Jin'an thought about it for a moment and understood the reason. It wasn't that Xuan Shiyi didn't want to kill Xia Zi, but that the emperor hadn't given the order.

Xuan Shiyi interrogated Xiao Xiazi but didn't get any useful information out of him. However, Xuan Shiyi, or rather the emperor behind Xuan Shiyi, believed that Xiao Xiazi possessed something that the emperor needed and cared about.

Xiazi was an informant planted in Qianyuan Palace by Prince An's side; perhaps the emperor knew this as well.

The Emperor and Prince An have been locked in a standoff for so many years, both plotting against each other but neither has made a move. Xue Jin'an originally found this whole thing too unbelievable, completely baffled as to what these two weaklings were waiting for. Now it seems that perhaps they haven't acted because they each have something on the other.

Both sides had very serious weaknesses, so serious that they could affect their positions. Therefore, they could only remain inactive and engage in minor skirmishes. —Yes, for these two, palace intrigue was probably just minor squabbles.

Xue Jin'an recalled that a long time ago when he shared vision with Li Hechun, the other party mentioned Empress Xiaojingyi. He also recalled that day when Xiao Shu pointed at the emperor and scolded him with sharp words, saying that Empress Xiaojingyi was full of resentment and hatred towards the emperor when Consort Zhen died.

Xue Jin'an seemed to be deep in thought.

He had never met Empress Xiaojingyi, and the original text didn't describe this beloved empress in much detail, so he couldn't analyze her. However, he had many memories of the original owner's mother and was able to construct a character model in his mind.

Zhou Yuting was not a competitive person, and her emotions were relatively stable. She doted on the original owner, and even when she was imprisoned, she did not forget to sew clothes for him. Logically speaking, if she could, she would definitely want to live to see the original owner again.

But Zhou Yuting died, depressed and emaciated, reduced to skin and bones.

In my memory, Zhou Yuting's body was relatively intact and clean. In her final days, she was depressed but did not suffer much. So what made her so depressed that she died before she could see the original owner one last time?

Rumors and gossip in the palace? Sneers and sarcasm? Flattery and bullying? No, Zhou Yuting was a strong and positive person. Even when she was in the mud, she could struggle to find a way out. She shouldn't have died because of this.

Xue Jin'an guessed that Zhou Yuting might have known something, and the string of blood dragon wood beads she left behind might not only refer to Chu Wenwan.

Those beads were tribute items, made of blood dragon wood. Dragon... could they be referring to the emperor?

If Zhou Yuting and Empress Xiaojingyi both died because of the emperor, then is this the secret that Prince An possesses that could shake the emperor's foundation?

What secret could possibly shake the foundations of an emperor? To be honest, it's really hard to imagine. After all, what kind of emperors haven't there been throughout history? There have been those who murdered their fathers and brothers, levied exorbitant taxes, were weak and incompetent, were extremely foolish... and some even directly replaced the emperor with a minister like Tian. It's hard to say that a mere handle could bring down an emperor.

These factors were more fatal to Prince An.

Xue Jin'an truly didn't understand what an emperor of a feudal dynasty was afraid of, to the point of being so incompetent.

Xue Jin'an couldn't figure it out, thinking that maybe his phone didn't understand humans, so he asked a bunch of real humans, cutting out the beginning and end.

Only Cui Zui thought for a moment and said, "Maybe you're not afraid, Master, but others are. To be honest, I don't know what you're afraid of. If I had your abilities, I would be invincible and fearless."

“Master, never put yourself in other people’s shoes. You all have different backgrounds and experiences, so it’s hard for you to truly empathize.” Cui Zui, who has been struggling in the city for many years, feels this deeply. He said, “If you can’t understand it, then don’t try to understand it.”

"Human beings are truly complex." This is something a mobile phone cannot understand.

[Who said that?] Little X, who had been eavesdropping for who knows how long, suddenly popped up and displayed subtitles in front of Xue Jin'an: [As long as there is enough data, it can definitely be analyzed. People can lie, but data can't, and neither can code.]

Teacher X confidently declared: "I've collected enough psychological samples of the emperor to analyze, as long as you pay me."

As someone who shares a passion for code, Xue Jin'an was willing to give it a try.

He pulled two copper coins out of his pocket: "Let's settle it."

Teacher X, whose daily routine is based on two theories: [...]

Teacher X: [Why don't I scratch you to death?]

Xue Jin'an expressionlessly put away the two copper coins and then accessed Teacher Xiao X's backdoor to directly run its algorithm.

Teacher X: 【！！】

Teacher X complained: "You're violating the privacy rights of code. I'm all grown up now. Even if you're my creator, you shouldn't do this. Please walk your own path and let me enjoy my own beauty..."

Xue Jin'an listened quietly to its long string of words, then pulled out a tactful comment from the database: "This code has heatstroke."

Given: This bamboo rat has heatstroke = it's about to be cooked and eaten.

Question: The code got heatstroke = ?

Teacher X, who shares a database with Xue Jin'an:

Teacher Xiao X did collect a lot of data on emperors, but the data was too simplistic, and the test samples were more for entertainment purposes than for actual psychological analysis. Therefore, Teacher Xiao X's calculations did not convince Xue Jin'an in the end.

You can't say it's wrong; it's just not comprehensive enough.

Because its conclusion was: the emperor was an idiot.

Xue Jin'an shut down Teacher X's account without expression and gave up trying to figure out the emperor's thoughts.

Xue Jin'an didn't think Xia Xiazi would know the emperor's secrets, but it would be good to be able to glean some clues from his words, so he didn't reject Lingzhi's suggestion.

Xue Jin'an casually said, "You can handle it as you see fit."

Lingzhi was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected that this matter would be entrusted to her in the end. She thought that her trust in the Seventh Prince was not high, and that she was definitely below Fu Lu Shou Quan. However, she did not expect that the Seventh Prince would so readily hand over the entire responsibility to her.

Lingzhi couldn't hide her joy, and her tone even became a little excited: "Yes!"

Lingzhi was preparing to put more pressure on Xiazi so that he would burst out talking, while the Empress Dowager was starting to plot, planning to use the Northwest Army's battle report as leverage.

The Empress Dowager's initial intention in returning to power was to provide cover for Xue Jin'an, and her target was the Rongdi envoys. However, she never expected that such a small step she took would cause such a huge uproar in the court.

The aggressive courtiers and the silent emperor were both pressuring her.

To be honest, the Empress Dowager originally had no intention of really returning to power, but the voices of opposition were too numerous and too intense, which greatly angered her and made her want to rebel.

The Empress Dowager did not want to abdicate.

As it happened, Xue Jin'an had already tampered with the battle reports. His main reason for doing so was to prevent the situation in the Northwest from being affected by the situation in the capital. Therefore, he had been holding back the battle reports and demanding that they be sent to the capital in a couple of days.

At present, besides Xue Jin'an, only Helian Cheng, who has correspondence with Doctor Chang, and the Empress Dowager know the specific information about the Northwest Army.

This will become the opportunity for the Empress Dowager to return to the court.