The capital of the Southern Yue Kingdom, the Royal Palace of Yangcheng.

Li Zongmin, the founding emperor of the Nanyue Kingdom, who declared himself emperor in September of the first year of the Daxin Lingwu era and adopted the reign title Tiande, was at this time summoning all the civil and military officials to the Golden Palace for a meeting.

In the Golden Palace, Li Zongmin, dressed in a bright yellow five-clawed dragon robe, sat upright on the gilded dragon throne, solemnly imitating the emperor, and summoned his ministers to discuss matters.

However, his short and stocky build meant that even in a dragon robe, he lacked the majesty of an emperor and instead appeared somewhat comical.

Since Li Zongmin proclaimed himself emperor, the two Yue regions under the jurisdiction of the Nanyue Kingdom, being far from the northern battlefields, had never been affected by the war and thus enjoyed peace and prosperity.

However, recently, a special envoy dispatched by Qin Ruhui, the prime minister of the Great Xin Dynasty, arrived at the Yangcheng Palace, bringing news of Qin Ruhui's alliance.

Along with Emperor Tiande, Li Zongmin and other officials of the Southern Yue court became restless and eager to make a move.

No longer content with merely ruling over the two Guangdong regions and their coastal areas, and over millions of subjects and people.

Instead, they began to set their sights on the Hubei and Hunan regions, which are adjacent to Guangdong and Guangxi.

In order to gain Li Zongmin's support, Qin Ruhui explicitly stated in the alliance that if the Southern Yue Kingdom could send troops to help him, allowing the new emperor Zhao Lingzhan, whom Prime Minister Qin Ruhui supported, to ascend the throne and consolidate his power in the Great Xin Kingdom;

They then ceded the two lakes region to the Nanyue Kingdom.

Today, the topic of discussion at the Nanyue Kingdom's court assembly is whether to form an alliance with Qin Ruhui, send troops to Jinling City, and assist Qin Ruhui in resisting Wu Sanjia, who has come south to defend the king.

On the dragon throne, Emperor Tiande, Li Zongmin, waved his hand and said, "My beloved ministers, what are your opinions on the conditions proposed by Prime Minister Qin Ruhui of the Great Xin Dynasty, namely, to send troops to Nanjing in exchange for an alliance with the two lakes region?"

"My dear subjects, there is no need for you to worry. Speak freely!"

At this moment, Li Shiyu, the crown prince, was the first to step forward and state his position, saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that we should send troops!"

"Since its founding last September, our Southern Yue Kingdom has been actively recruiting and training troops;"

"Now, the new army of 100,000 has begun to take shape, and together with the original 100,000 wolf soldiers, the total military strength of our Southern Yue Kingdom now exceeds 200,000."

"Your Majesty believes that now that the Southern Yue Kingdom is strong and well-equipped, it is time for it to expand its territory!"

After a pause, Crown Prince Li Shiyu continued, "Furthermore, the army's march to Jinling City is not a true campaign of external expansion, but rather to assist the Prime Minister Qin Ruhui of the Great Xin Dynasty in resisting the forces supporting the deposed Emperor Zhao Lingwu;"

"Once we get to the battlefield, we can handle things calmly. If things don't go well, we can always retreat!"

"If Father Emperor is unwilling to form an alliance with Qin Ruhui, that's fine too. He can verbally agree to the alliance first, and then, during the actual campaign to Nanjing, wait for the city garrisons in the Hubei and Hunan regions to open their gates voluntarily."

"It is not impossible for our South Vietnamese army to directly attack the city on the spot and take over the Hunan and Hubei regions without bloodshed!"

After speaking, Li Shiyu looked at his father, the emperor, on the dragon throne with a smug expression, like a child waiting for praise.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is absolutely right!"

Crown Prince Li Shiyu's suggestion was immediately echoed by the officials in the court: "Your Majesty, the Great Xin Dynasty is currently in chaos, undergoing a palace coup."

"Now is the perfect opportunity for our Southern Yue Kingdom to fish in troubled waters and expand our territory. It is the best strategy!"

"Your Majesty, I also advocate sending troops to Nanjing."

"Your Majesty, I also believe..."

In a short time, the civil and military officials of the Southern Yue Kingdom stood up one by one to express their views to Emperor Tiande Li Zongmin, all of whom believed that they should send troops to Jinling to fish in troubled waters.

Only Tang Bo, the former chief strategist of the Guangxin Prince's Mansion and now the prime minister of the Southern Yue Kingdom, remained silent with his brows furrowed.

Emperor Tiande, Li Zongmin, sitting on his throne and looking down at the court officials, could clearly see all the civil and military officials in the Golden Palace.

Among the faces advocating for military action, Li Zongmin immediately spotted Prime Minister Tang Bo, who appeared preoccupied and remained silent.

"My beloved subjects, quiet down!"

Li Zongmin waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

Then, he directly addressed Chancellor Tang Bo, saying, "Chancellor Tang, you look very serious and preoccupied. Do you have a different opinion on the matter of sending troops to Nanjing, which was proposed by your ministers?"

"Your Majesty, it's not that we have any differing opinions, it's just that—"

Chancellor Tang Bo hesitated for a moment, but finally gritted his teeth and said, "I believe that the matter of sending troops to Nanjing must be handled with great care!"

"Your Majesty, the reason why my Southern Yue Kingdom has been able to maintain a peaceful and prosperous land amidst the chaos of war is simply due to two reasons:"

"Firstly, it possessed a uniquely advantageous geographical location; secondly, under the wise leadership of the Emperor, it did not participate in the internal strife of the Great Xin Dynasty."

"In foreign relations, we maintained a neutral stance towards both Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin and the Great Xin Dynasty."

"Now, if we were to take the initiative to send troops to participate in the internal strife of the Great Xin Dynasty, I fear that breaking this balance of neutrality would push the Southern Yue Kingdom to the opposite side of King Chen Huai'an of Jin!"

Only then did Prime Minister Tang Bo finally voice his long-standing concerns.

Tang Bo continued, "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, the greatest threat to our Southern Yue Kingdom is not the crumbling Xin Dynasty, nor the Japanese pirates from the sea;"

"Instead, he is advancing with unstoppable momentum, first annihilating the Turks, then quelling the rebellions in the Western Regions, and recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, under the Prince of Jin, Chen Huai'an!"

"In my opinion, Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, who raised an army under the banner of 'purging the court of corrupt officials,' must ultimately aim to overthrow the rule of the Great Xin Dynasty and ascend the throne himself."

"Judging from the current situation, Chen Huai'an's ascension to the throne and his becoming emperor is almost a done deal; it's just a matter of time!"

Tang Bo added, "If at this time, our Southern Yue Kingdom rashly sends troops to participate in the internal strife of the Great Xin Dynasty, it might seem that we can expand our territory and acquire the Lianghu region;"

"But in reality, what should we do if our Southern Yue army encounters the southward-moving Longcheng army in Jinling City?"

"To fight, or to surrender?"

"Whether we fight or surrender, we will inevitably antagonize Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, thus giving the Longcheng army a reason to attack the Nanyue Kingdom!"

"At that time, will the mere 200,000 troops of the Nanyue Kingdom be able to withstand the million-strong army under the command of Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin?"

Finally, Tang Bo cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Emperor Tiande, Li Zongmin, and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that whether or not to send troops to Jinling ultimately depends on the attitude of the Prince of Jin towards this matter."

"Instead of simply and naively believing that we could take advantage of the internal strife and coup of the Great Xin Dynasty to send troops to Nanjing and fish in troubled waters!"