"That's right!" Wang Tiezhu suddenly struggled to his feet from the wheelchair and roared, "It must be those sons of bitches in the capital who killed Zhao Tou! Let's go to the capital and avenge Zhao Tou!"
"Shut up!" Han Zhong coughed violently and stopped him sternly. "How reckless! Do you want to destroy all the hard work done by Zhao Tou?"
He looked at Bai Ruolan and Huan Naxue, his tone heavy with sorrow: "Madams...with Tou Zhao gone, you are the backbone. Please...instruct us on the future of Shuozhou."
Bai Ruolan took a deep breath and suppressed the surging grief. Her voice was soft but firm:
"My husband...what you cared about most during your lifetime was Shuozhou and all of you brothers."
"If he were still alive, he would never want to see civil unrest in Shuozhou, and even less would he want to see you sacrifice your lives for him in vain!"
"The most urgent task is to stabilize the situation, defend the city, provide relief to the casualties, and restore people's livelihood! This is the best explanation to my husband!"
Huan Naxue also slowly raised her head, tears flowing silently, but she nodded vigorously.
At this moment, a loud voice came from outside the door: "The Imperial Envoy Pan has arrived!"
Before he could finish his words, Pan Ren, the Minister of Rites, swaggered in with several followers, with a look of hypocritical sadness and undisguised pride on his face.
"Generals, ladies, please accept my condolences..."
Pan Ren dragged out his tone, his eyes sweeping across the mourning hall and the crowd, "His Royal Highness, upon hearing the tragic news about General Zhao, was deeply saddened and specially ordered me to come and offer condolences and..."
Before he could finish his words, Zhong Dahu suddenly stepped forward, his murderous aura rushing towards him: "Relief? I think you are here to seize power!"
Pan Ren shuddered with fear, but forced himself to remain calm. "General Zhong, what are you talking about? I'm acting on orders! Shuozhou is a vital city in the country and cannot be left without a leader for a single day. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is concerned about border affairs, so he's ordered me to take over temporarily..."
"Bullshit!" Lin Feng couldn't help but curse, "Sima Han and I are here to take care of Shuozhou's defense! It's not your turn, a sour scholar, to point fingers!"
"Han Zhong is seriously injured, how can he manage the affairs?"
Pan Ren said sharply, "What do you warriors know about government affairs and military supplies? Your Highness the Crown Prince..."
"Master Pan!" Bai Ruolan suddenly spoke in a cold voice, interrupting him. "Your husband has just passed away. We are heartbroken and have no time to care about government or military affairs."
"Until the imperial edict is issued, my husband has designated Han Sima as the general commander of all defense matters in Shuozhou. All generals will perform their duties. There is no need for the imperial envoy to worry about it."
"As for the relief, the soldiers and civilians of Shuozhou are deeply grateful. When peace is restored in the future, we will definitely write a letter of thanks."
Her words were soft but firm, refusing to hand over power and shutting Pan Ren's mouth.
Pan Ren's face turned pale and blue, and he wanted to say something, but was forced back by Han Zhong's cold eyes and the murderous gazes of Wang Tiezhu and others. He could only say angrily:
"Since you dare not obey His Royal Highness's orders, I will report the truth to His Royal Highness! Humph!"
After saying that, he turned away.
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