Chapter 122 A life-or-death battle between the two nations is now inevitable.
Several envoys and their attendants picked up the heads of the crown prince and the envoys, but dared not keep the two corpses, and scrambled away.
Even after they had disappeared from sight, the ministers were still in a state of extreme shock, unable to believe what had just happened.
Xiao Qidi said as if nothing had happened, "Gentlemen, you may leave now."
"Your Majesty!" An old minister knelt on both knees. "Your Majesty, do you know... how big a mess you just made?"
Xiao Qidi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What kind of basket?"
The old minister said with great distress, "How important is the Crown Prince of Yu? He can be used as a crucial bargaining chip in dealing with Yu! We can get Yu to offer sufficient terms in exchange, or keep him in our hands to make Yu wary, or take this opportunity to befriend Yu... There are so many ways we can consider to maximize the benefits for our Great Xuan!"
"But this old minister never expected that Your Majesty would be so reckless and disregard the consequences! You actually killed the Crown Prince of Yu! You even cut off his head! You even... you even killed the envoy from Yu!"
"Finally, they even had their heads taken back, and boasted that they would definitely destroy the Yu Kingdom!"
"Your Majesty! You have driven our entire Great Xuan to the brink of destruction and cut off all our escape routes!"
The old minister became more and more agitated as he spoke, and he was filled with remorse. If he had known that this would happen, he shouldn't have sat by and watched Xiao Qidi deal with the envoy in the first place.
But now, it's too late to regret it.
Xiao Qidi said calmly, "If I had told you beforehand that I was going to attack and destroy the Yu Kingdom, you would probably have tried to stop me again and again. I had no choice but to act decisively and not give you a chance to stop me."
Upon hearing this, several ministers nearly fainted.
This hotheaded king is treating matters of state like a joke!
The old minister, who had just spoken, slumped to the ground, looking utterly despondent.
Xiao Qidi deliberately said, "Unifying the world has been the wish of successive Xuan Kingdom monarchs. Now, the strength of the Great Xuan Kingdom is among the top of the seven kingdoms. Do you all lack confidence?"
The old minister said weakly, "Forgive my bluntness... Your Majesty, you are thinking too simply... This time, I'm afraid our Great Xuan will be forced into a life-or-death battle. No matter the outcome, we will definitely suffer heavy losses in the end! If other countries take advantage of the situation then... the consequences will be unimaginable!"
"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion!" another minister said solemnly, "Da Xuan does not yet possess the strength to fight six against one, so we must not engage in a fight to the death with Yu Guo! Although a blood feud has been formed between the two countries, as long as we offer sufficient compensation and find a way to appease the anger of the Yu Guo king, we may be able to avert war!"
Immediately, another minister said, "I second that proposal! Even if the compensation is extremely heavy, it's better than fighting to the death with the Yu Kingdom!"
"I second that proposal!"
"I second that proposal!"
The remaining ministers present also expressed their opinions at the same time.
The people who came to accompany the envoys were only a small part of all the ministers, but these were all powerful ministers, and their attitude was basically the same as that of the officials under their command.
Xiao Qidi looked at the people kneeling on the ground and said, "In the end, you don't trust me, do you?"
The ministers lowered their heads and remained silent, which was tantamount to acquiescing.
Xiao Qidi continued, "If I told you that I was absolutely certain I could destroy the Yu Kingdom without harming the strength of the Great Xuan Kingdom, you probably wouldn't believe me, would you?"
The ministers then said in unison, "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
“I have already thought it over,” Xiao Qidi said, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I don’t have time to waste my breath on you. You may all leave.”
"Your Majesty!" The leading old minister suddenly stood up. "If Your Majesty insists on going your own way, this old minister... this old minister will smash his head against this very hall and die!"
Xiao Qidi's eyes sharpened.
He knew that this old minister had always been devoted to the Great Xuan, and his reaction at this moment was also for the sake of the Great Xuan. He certainly couldn't let anyone lose their life.
However, given the current situation, it is impossible to persuade them verbally.
Moreover, it was clear that this old minister was determined to go all out.
There's no other way but to intimidate him first in order to save his life.
“Listen to me,” Xiao Qidi said coldly, “If you dare to die, I will exterminate your entire family.”
The old minister froze.
Xiao Qidi pointed to the others, "You are the same. Of course, I am not an unreasonable person. If you do not trust me, you are free to resign and leave, even if you go to the other five countries to serve as officials or seek refuge. I will absolutely not pursue the matter."
After saying this, Xiao Qidi turned and left before the ministers could speak.
The ministers exchanged complicated glances, sighed, and left the hall one after another, each with their own thoughts.
That same day, Xiao Qidi issued an edict to mobilize 100,000 troops, ordering them to travel light and depart immediately for Xitun Pass.
When the officials in the royal court learned of this news, they were all quite frightened.
One hundred thousand troops, lightly armed?
Without making any logistical preparations, they rushed to that barren land of Xitun Pass.
Is this intended to deal with the inevitable attack from the Yu Kingdom's army, or to launch a preemptive strike against the Yu Kingdom? Either way, such a hasty approach is unacceptable! What difference is there between this and sending 100,000 troops to their deaths?
For a time, a dark cloud hung over the imperial court.
The officials were filled with anxiety, all believing that their young ruler was pushing the Xuan Kingdom into an abyss.
As the 100,000 troops were being mobilized, some officials had already secretly fled with their families.
Although Xiao Qidi had made it clear to the court officials that anyone who wanted to leave could submit their resignation and he would not pursue the matter.
But these officials who had fled dared not trust such a crazy man who was acting recklessly, and all chose to secretly slip away.
Three days later, those who wanted to flee had all fled.
Xiao Qidi also obtained a list submitted by Li Yao, which clearly recorded which officials had fled.
"Your Majesty, they're all here, sixteen in total, three of whom are pillars of the state." Li Yao frowned, pondering, "Should we really not pursue them? If Your Majesty gives the order, I can lead the men of Qingyou Terrace to bring them to justice at any time—"
“No need,” Xiao Qidi burned the roster directly. “I am actually very pleased. Although sixteen officials of all ranks fled, the vast majority chose to stay. Let those who fled go. My Great Xuan does not need officials like that.”
"Yes, Your Majesty."
——
Several more days passed.
The heads of the Crown Prince of Yu and his envoy were finally brought back to the capital of Yu Kingdom by the envoy's entourage, who traveled day and night.
When the king of Yu saw the two human heads, he vomited three liters of blood on the spot. Overwhelmed with grief and anger, he killed the several envoys and attendants who had risked their lives to return and report the situation in order to vent his anger.
"Send the order..." The King of Yu slumped on his throne, his eyes red, and said, "Mobilize all the troops of Great Yu! I will massacre the Xuan Kingdom!"
A minister, risking the king's life to offend him, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince previously led 200,000 elite troops to attack Xitun Pass, but the result was... heavy losses. Now, we can only muster less than 100,000 troops."
The king of Yu roared, "Then conscript soldiers! All males in Yu who are sixteen years of age or older, no! Fourteen years of age or older, even if they are only sons, must go! Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy! How many soldiers can we get in this way?"
The minister's expression was solemn. "This... should be able to collect around 300,000 in the short term."
"Good!" The King of Yu's eyes were ferocious. "Then let's gather an army of 400,000! And with the full strength of the Great Yu, provide them with equipment and provisions! All the people of Great Yu, even the old, young, women and children, as long as they can move, must prioritize supporting the war effort! Anyone who disobeys will be killed! We must fight the Xuan Kingdom at all costs!"
None of the ministers from the Kingdom of Yu dared to refute this.
Soon, a series of imperial edicts were issued, and within a few days, they spread throughout the entire Yu Kingdom.
The curtain has been raised on the entire nation's preparations for war...
On the other side.
The Xuan Kingdom's 100,000 troops are about to arrive in the Xitun Pass area.
Because of the rapid march, the soldiers and their horses were exhausted.
The general in charge of leading the troops on the journey saw that it was getting late and that the nearest village, Linxian, was still half a day's journey away, so he ordered them to rest on the spot.
As night fell.
On the desolate land, tents were erected one after another, and the torches lit in the endless camps shone brightly against the backdrop of the stars in the sky.
A lieutenant, with a somber expression, entered the general's tent.
"General..." The lieutenant clasped his hands in a fist salute, gritting his teeth as he said, "I have some things to say, but I don't know... whether I should say them or not."
After finishing the small piece of hard, dry ration in his hand, the general said in a choked voice, "Speak freely."
Seeing that the general was about to choke, the lieutenant instinctively took out his water bottle from his waist, but only realized that it was empty when he held it in his hand.
He sighed inwardly and said indignantly, "General, don't you think that His Majesty's order for 100,000 of us to come here is too childish and absurd?"
The general frowned but remained silent.
The vice-president continued, "He acted impulsively and made a blood feud with the Yu Kingdom, which inevitably led to war between the two countries, and that's fine too. As soldiers of the Great Xuan Kingdom, we should naturally do our duty without hesitation! But... but he ordered us to travel light and quickly, without any food or supplies from the rear. What does he take us for?"
"Alright... that's enough," the general said with a helpless expression. "I'm sure His Majesty has his own plans."
"Bah!" The lieutenant grew increasingly angry and finally couldn't hold back any longer, shouting, "What kind of plans could he possibly have? I don't think he has even the slightest common sense about warfare! He's only been crowned for a short time and he's already acting recklessly in a moment of madness. He's simply a tyrant!"
The general's face darkened. "Shut up! Don't spout any more nonsense!"
"Even if you, General, are going to punish me, I must speak!" The lieutenant's eyes reddened, and his voice choked with emotion. "General, haven't you noticed that our soldiers have no water or food? And those horses are so hungry they can barely walk! I wanted to lead men to find a water source, but we found that the closer we got to Xitun Pass, the drier it became! Forget about water, we couldn't even find grass or tree roots!"
"I'm afraid that even if we reach Xitun Pass, we will only face even worse conditions."
"Furthermore, it's already autumn, and the weather is getting colder, especially at night... The soldiers don't even have any thick clothes, they're hungry, thirsty, and freezing..."
"General, the emperor is sending 100,000 of us to our deaths in vain! We would be willing to die on the battlefield fighting the enemy! But... if we die in such a vain, none of us soldiers will rest in peace!"
After he finished speaking, the general's eyes reddened.
He remained silent for a long while before finally speaking with difficulty: "Then... do you have any suggestions?"
The lieutenant wiped his eyes and gave a bitter smile: "General... please forgive my incompetence. Although I am full of anger and have uttered many complaints, I cannot think of any way to solve the current predicament of the soldiers. In the end, you and we soldiers are the same. Even if we know that it is a meaningless death, we will not back down. It's just a pity... that our Great Xuan Army has not been able to find a good ruler."
Upon hearing this, the general could no longer hold back, and tears welled up in his eyes.
The lieutenant knelt helplessly on the ground, speechless except for tears and sighs.
Just then, another lieutenant rushed into the tent.
Upon seeing the scene before him and the oppressive atmosphere, he was stunned for a moment, but he couldn't care less about that and hurriedly said, "General, someone has come to pick us up!"
The general quickly asked, "Who is it?"
"It's me." A deep voice rang out, and a tall, imposing figure in black stepped into the tent.
The deputy general who came to report immediately bowed his head and stood to the side.
The general's eyes widened. "Your...Your Majesty? What are you doing here?!"
The kneeling deputy looked up in disbelief.
When he met Xiao Qidi's deep, boundless eyes, his mind went completely blank.
Xiao Qidi said, "I arrived a few days before you and have made the necessary preparations for you. I came to meet you because I was worried that you might not have enough food on the way. Please wait a little longer, and food and water will be delivered soon."
The general was greatly surprised; the emperor had actually arrived several days before them?
How did you manage that? Could it be that Your Majesty can fly?
Surprised as he was, he didn't dare to ask, so he bowed and clasped his hands, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Xiao Qidi said nothing more and turned to walk out of the tent.
The deputy general kneeling on the ground frowned, slowly stood up and said, "Strange... As we marched here, the land became increasingly dry and desolate. Where could he possibly get us food and water?"
The general pondered, "There should be some stored in Xitun Pass... It seems there are also villages near Xitun Pass."
“That’s even more suspicious,” her husband said, “I’ve heard that the Xitun Pass area is an extremely barren border region, and since the beginning of this year, it has experienced a once-in-a-century drought. How could it possibly have stored up food and water?”
The general was stumped by the question and racked his brains but couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation.
The lieutenant stroked his chin, thinking carefully for a moment, then suddenly his expression changed drastically. "General, do you think... this... could this actually be... a grand conspiracy that Xiao Qidi deliberately set up?"
The general was taken aback. "Nonsense! What nonsense are you spouting!"
“I’m not talking nonsense,” the lieutenant said, pacing nervously as he began to analyze. “If it is the shocking conspiracy I just thought of, then all the strange things he has done since he returned to the capital and was crowned and began to rule in his own right can be explained.”
Seeing that he didn't seem to be making things up, the general lowered his voice and asked seriously, "Then tell me, what... scheme is he plotting?"
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