Shangguan Wanning turned around and saw Mu Jingrui walking towards them.
"Brother, I leave it to you." Mu Jingyan ran away tactfully.
Seeing that Shangguan Wanning's hands were red from the cold, Mu Jingrui took off his cloak and wrapped it around her, holding her hands to keep her warm.
"Why did you suddenly think of learning self-defense? When we were little, I wanted to teach you, but you refused to learn."
A gust of cold wind blew, and Shangguan Wanning subconsciously leaned into Mu Jingrui's arms.
"I've never experienced danger before, so I never thought it was important to practice martial arts. But what happened last time..."
"Practicing martial arts is very hard, and you are just starting to learn now, so I'm afraid it's too late." Mu Jingrui led Shangguan Wan Ning to the house, "Don't worry, things like that... won't happen again."
Shangguan Wanning raised her head and glanced at Mu Jingrui secretly.
The memories of this life and the previous life were intertwined, making it difficult for her to tell which one was the real Mu Jingrui.
Perhaps, as long as his life continued to go smoothly as it is now, he would not become the cruel, murderous, and cold-blooded King of Zhennan.
"What are you thinking about?" Mu Jingrui noticed that Shangguan Wanning's mind was distracted.
Shangguan Wanning came back to her senses. "Nothing. Actually, I wanted to..."
"General Mu, the Minister of War, Mr. Liao, is here."
The soldier's report interrupted their conversation.
"What are you thinking about?" Mu Jingrui asked softly.
"It's not a big deal, go and take care of your business first."
"Okay, don't run around, okay?"
After giving the instructions, Mu Jingrui took the soldiers to the study.
"General Mu, how are you?" Lord Liao was sitting in the study drinking tea. When he saw Mu Jingrui come in, he stood up and greeted him.
The two had met several times in the capital, and Mu Jingrui also bowed. "Master Liao, please take a seat."
"Oh, I really didn't expect this place to be so cold." Lord Liao took a few sips of the hot tea in his hand. "General Mu was able to win the battle in such a harsh environment, and there were no casualties. It's really rare, rare."
"Lord Liao rushed here from the capital so quickly?" Mu Jingrui felt a little strange.
Lord Liao put the cup down and explained, "I happened to be in the northwest helping the emperor with some work. I was about to return to the capital when I received a letter from the Minister of State asking me to come to the border to find General Mu and pass on some instructions."
The border battles were originally under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, so Mu Jingrui did not find it strange and asked, "What instructions does the Minister have?"
Lord Liao took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it over, saying, "This is a handwritten letter from Lord Shangshu. Lord Shangshu hopes that General Mu will accept the proposal of Goshawk Nation for peace and release Ji Kuo and the tens of thousands of captured soldiers."
"What?"
Mu Jingrui snorted sarcastically, threw the letter from the Minister of War on the table, and looked at Lord Liao in disbelief. "Accept the peace talks?"
As soon as Lord Liao saw Mu Jingrui's attitude, he knew that he was unwilling, but he still answered firmly: "Yes, I accept the peace talks."
Ever since Ji Kuo was arrested, he took the initiative to ask for peace talks.
According to the rules, Mu Jingrui must report to the court all the opinions raised by Ji Kuo, who represented the Cang Ying, and Yun Qiao, who represented Wu Xiong.
In Mu Jingrui's opinion, there was absolutely no need to accept peace talks.
"Why?" Mu Jingrui's face darkened, and he looked at Lord Liao with sharp eyes. "Sir, should you give me and my brothers a reason to fight with me?"
"General Mu, I know it's very hard for the soldiers to fight on the battlefield and they need to risk their lives. However, this is the court's decision and we need to consider the overall situation."
"The overall situation? What's the overall situation? Is the overall situation to catch people and then release them?"
Lord Liao sighed helplessly.
"General Mu, Goshawk is the most powerful country on the northwest border. If you kill their prince, they will never stop. You can see the current situation. The court has no extra food and grass to support the battle here."
"But if we release Ji Kuo, not only will it show the magnanimity of the Celestial Empire, but we can also take this opportunity to make them surrender and never attack us again. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"
"Never attack again?" Mu Jingrui felt that he had heard a huge joke. "If someone else said that, I wouldn't find it strange, but Lord Liao... I heard that you also led troops to fight in battles?"
Lord Liao did not refute, which was considered as his acquiescence.
"Have you ever seen a small border country that truly submitted to the emperor? They submit when they are in trouble, but they submit again when the trouble is over? It goes on and on, endlessly. The court spends a huge amount of money on these things every year. Why not subdue them once and for all?"
Lord Liao finally understood everything at this time.
They didn't share the same philosophy as Mu Jingrui, and it was harder than climbing to heaven to convince him. In this case...
There is no need to continue talking.
If you don't agree, there's no need to talk too much.
Lord Liao stood up, shook his sleeves, and said, "I have conveyed Lord Shangshu's words. General Mu, after all, we are all colleagues. It is better to be friendly and there is no need to hurt feelings."
Mu Jingrui's face looked very ugly, and he didn't respond to what Lord Liao said.
"General Mu, when we return to the capital, there will be many things we need to discuss. Think about it carefully. Let Ji Kuo be released early tomorrow morning."
After saying that, he turned and walked out.
"Bang!"
Mu Jingrui waved his hand and swept the cup on the table to the ground, with fragments scattering everywhere.
The left and right vanguards came in, and seeing Mu Jingrui's gloomy look, they were a little afraid to approach, and asked cautiously: "General Mu...then...will Ji Kuo be released?"
Mu Jingrui did not answer. He gradually calmed down and began to consider the pros and cons of the matter.
"I really don't understand what the Minister is thinking. Getting rid of Ji Kuo is like cutting off the wings of a goshawk. The border will be peaceful for many years." The left vanguard put his hands on his waist and complained angrily.
But the right vanguard is a sensible man.
How deep is the water in the court!
He walked forward and said softly, "General Mu, although... the Shenji Battalion is not directly under the command of the Ministry of War, but... if you want to go to war in the future, all matters, big and small, will need to be handled by the Ministry of War. If your relationship with the Minister of War becomes too strained, I'm afraid... it will be disadvantageous to you."
Mu Jingrui naturally understood this principle.
But he still wasn't willing to give in.
"How is Ji Kuo now?" Mu Jingrui relaxed his clenched fists and asked calmly.
"He's locked up in jail. He doesn't seem to be too worried about his death." The right vanguard had visited him before and had this doubt in his mind.
Mu Jingrui thought for a moment and said, "Come on, let's go and take a look."
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