Having been driven to the brink of despair, what other choice did Emperor Tiande have at this point?

In the end, they could only take a desperate gamble and approved Prime Minister Tang Bo's proposal to use the strength of the barbarians to fight against the southern expeditionary army of Longcheng.

At the same time, Emperor Tiande secretly ordered his personal eunuchs to go to the coastal areas to prepare large warships for the Nanyue royal family to use when they fled to the sea.

Li Zongmin had made up his mind that if he still could not stop the advance of the Longcheng army by relying on the strength of the barbarians, then he would personally lead the fleet and the elite troops of Nanyue to retreat to the sea and seek new development in the South China Sea.

He always had a double standard and would never gamble the fate and future of the Li family of Nanyue on the barbarians of the Atlantic.

After leaving the court, Prime Minister Tang Bo, who bore the great responsibility of the rise and fall of the Nanyue Kingdom, was full of ambition.

Since the founding of the South Vietnamese state, he finally had the opportunity to wield great power and make his mark.

To manipulate the country, the emperor, and the crown prince is the ultimate goal of countless powerful ministers and relatives of the emperor throughout history. This is far more fulfilling than usurping the throne and becoming emperor himself!

Tang Bo, who came from a strategist background, was no exception. He enjoyed the feeling of deciding the life and death of a country from the palm of his hand.

This time, he was fantasizing about having a good showdown with the new emperor, Chen Huai'an.

"Prime Minister Tang, please wait!"

At that moment, the voice of Crown Prince Li Shiyu suddenly came from behind Tang Bo.

After he stopped, Crown Prince Li Shiyu rushed over and said with a hopeful expression, "Prime Minister Tang, are the bronze cannons in the hands of those barbarians from the Atlantic Kingdom really as powerful as you described?"

Um!

Tang Bo nodded and said, "Your Highness, I have personally witnessed the power of that bronze cannon, and I am not exaggerating!"

"Excellent, excellent!"

After receiving an affirmative answer, Crown Prince Li Shiyu finally showed a long-lost smile.

He grabbed Tang Bo's sleeve and, disregarding his status as crown prince, pleaded, "Prime Minister Tang, I have a request. When inviting the barbarians to assist in the fight against the rebels in Longcheng, could I also go and lend a hand?"

"Prime Minister Tang, you must be aware that in the Battle of Yongzhou, Pang Xianchu, the commander of the Longcheng rebels, used his new bronze cannons to deceive and confuse the emperor, causing me to lose face before the emperor and the entire court."

"I, the Crown Prince, must avenge this!"

Faced with Crown Prince Li Shiyu's request, Prime Minister Tang Bo readily agreed, saying, "Since His Highness the Crown Prince is willing to take the lead and set an example for the people and soldiers of our Southern Yue Kingdom to fight against foreign enemies, how could I possibly not support him!"

"In that case, after I finish my discussions with the barbarian leader of the Atlantic Kingdom, I will immediately inform His Highness the Crown Prince. Once the barbarian's bronze cannons enter the city, His Highness will be in full command!"

Upon hearing this, Crown Prince Li Shiyu immediately clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Then I will have to trouble Prime Minister Tang!"

"When we defeat the rebel army in Longcheng this time, I, the Crown Prince, will personally petition my father to bestow upon the Prime Minister of Tang the title of Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince, grant him a certificate of merit and a golden token of immunity from death, so as to demonstrate the Prime Minister of Tang's contributions to the country and the people of Nanyue!"

"In that case, I thank Your Highness in advance!"

Ha ha!

As they spoke, the two couldn't help but exchange a smile.

This scene is reminiscent of the time two years ago when the two went to the Prince's Palace to force Prince Guangxin to declare himself emperor.

However, this time, the patricide dagger symbolizing his desire for power and status was not hidden in Crown Prince Li Shiyu's sleeve!

After bidding farewell to Crown Prince Li Shiyu, Prime Minister Tang Bo immediately dispatched his servants to Yangcheng Port to change to small boats and set sail. Finally, near the South China Sea, they found a fleet of ocean-going ships from the Atlantic Ocean.

This Atlantic fleet, which sailed to the mysterious Eastern superpower for trade, consisted of more than thirty ocean-going vessels of various types, with two to three thousand foreign sailors, carrying a large number of Western handicrafts to the East to carry out trade activities.

Bronze cannons are one such example.

The leader of the foreign fleet, Markel, was a middle-aged man in his early forties with a typical Western European face: blond hair, blue eyes, and a hooked nose.

There was a fierce aura in those blue eyes.

That's the unique temperament of someone who has spent a long time adrift at sea, struggling through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Upon receiving the invitation from Tang Bo, the prime minister of the Southern Yue Kingdom, Markel immediately gathered several dozen skilled barbarian sailors, took two bronze cannons and some cannonballs, and boarded a small boat to travel to Yangcheng, the capital of the Southern Yue Kingdom.

With Emperor Tiande's decree, the South Vietnamese soldiers guarding the coastline along the way immediately allowed them to pass. Markel and his entourage of barbarians, armed with swords and pushing two bronze cannons, entered Guangzhou without hindrance and proceeded to the Prime Minister's residence.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tang Bo had been waiting in front of the Prime Minister's residence for quite some time.

As soon as the two sides met, the Yi chieftain Markel immediately stepped forward warmly, hugged Tang Bo tightly, and kissed him on the cheek. He said in broken Chinese, "My dear Tang, I knew we would meet again!"

"I never imagined this day would come so soon!"

As he spoke, Markel pointed to the two bronze cannons behind him and said, "Don, this is a gift I brought for you, it's for you!"

After thinking for a moment, he added, "It's free!"

Ha ha!

Tang Bo laughed heartily, gestured for Markle to enter, and said, "Markle, please come in. Let's talk as we walk!"

"Let's talk as we walk!"

Soon, the group arrived at the council hall of the Prime Minister's residence. After taking their seats as host and guests, they drank tea and discussed matters.

Tang Bo cut to the chase: "Markel, regarding your Atlantic Kingdom's desire to trade with our Southern Yue Kingdom, I have already persuaded our Emperor Tiande."

"The Emperor has indicated that trade with the Atlantic Nation is permissible and has agreed to open special trading ports for Atlantic Nation ships to dock and for Atlantic Nation subjects to reside temporarily at the ports."

Oh my god!

Before Tang Bo could finish speaking, Markel, the Yi chieftain in the guest seat, exclaimed in surprise, "Tang, is this true?"

Cough cough!

Tang Bo coughed twice and said, "Markel, don't get agitated, let me finish what I have to say!"

"Our Emperor Tiande said that your desire for trade and permanent presence is a minor matter, but we need you to do something for the Southern Yue Kingdom!"

Markel blurted out, "Don, what's up?"

Tang Bo said, word by word, "Sell all the bronze cannons of your Atlantic Kingdom fleet to the Southern Yue Kingdom, and help us win a war!"

"fight?"

Markle's eyes widened like saucers as he shook his head repeatedly, saying, "No, no, no, dear Don, you know we're just a fleet from the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce. We're businessmen, we only make money, we don't fight!"

oh?

Tang Bo raised an eyebrow and said with a cold smile, "Is that so, Mr. Markle?"

"If that's the case, then pretend I didn't invite you to my residence today. As for opening treaty ports and having a permanent garrison, I don't think our Emperor Tiande would agree to that!"

"Butler Wang, see the guests out—"

With that, Tang Bo gave the order to leave.

"Blackie, Tang, wait!"

Seeing that the duck in his mouth was about to fly away, Markle abandoned all pretense of composure and hurriedly said, "My dear Tang, what I mean is, the sailors and crew of our fleet are merchants, not soldiers;"

"If we were to make them fight—"

"You need to pay more!"