Two months later, when the first heavy snow fell, a scout rushed into the capital and headed straight for the palace…
"Report! Urgent report from our scouts! The Ice Mountain Grassland tribe has amassed a large army and supplies, and is heading towards our Tianlong Kingdom!"
No one expected that the Ice Mountain Grassland tribe, which was the farthest from the Tianlong Kingdom, would attack them first. This was simply impossible, after all, it was a huge loss for them to travel such a long distance to attack them, risking the danger of heavy snow!
But that's exactly what happened. Given their army's pace, it would take them at least two or three months to get close to the border city of the Tianlong Kingdom! It doesn't seem to have much impact right now, but the Ice Mountain Grassland tribe is cold all year round, and the snow is like flat ground! If they start a war in winter... they will definitely lose.
Upon learning of this, the old emperor immediately summoned all the court officials to the Imperial Study for an audience!
A moment later, a furious roar came from the imperial study! The old emperor was so angry that his hands trembled.
"Peace talks? That mere little country dares to lead an army to attack the Heavenly Dragon Kingdom? It's tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock, yet you want me to open the door for peace talks? Minister Ma? Do you want me to lose face completely?!"
Upon hearing this, Vice Minister Ma was so frightened that his legs went weak and his face turned ashen. He immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, while gesturing to the Prime Minister beside him for help.
Upon receiving the document, the Prime Minister's eyes were filled with solemnity, but he still stepped forward.
"Your Majesty! I believe that Minister Ma did not mean that. However, in the past year, the national treasury has been empty, and with the recent war, the military strength in the court is even more insufficient. If war were to break out suddenly, not to mention the bad weather, there would not be enough food and troops!"
Upon hearing this, the old emperor's expression froze instantly, and his gaze fell upon Cui Wenjie, the middle-aged man who was in charge of finances and was promoted by the prime minister after Minister Chen was demoted.
"Minister Cui, is this true?"
Immediately, a middle-aged, overweight man stepped forward, knelt down tremblingly, and said...
“Your Majesty, since I took office, I have compiled statistics on all the expenditures of the national treasury over the past few years… What the Prime Minister said is absolutely right! Last year’s war with Qi depleted the national treasury in both money and grain. It was only after a year of rest that we managed to recover a little. If we were to fight again now, I’m afraid we would not be able to sustain it.”
After saying this, the old emperor was also stunned. He hadn't really worried about the national treasury for the past year or so, and had even rewarded Wang Yan with nearly a thousand taels of gold not long ago...
If only I had switched to silver! Just as he hesitated...
The next second, all the ministers in the imperial study knelt down.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
The old emperor's face turned green instantly. He hadn't even said he disagreed! These people were so clueless, making it seem like he was a tyrant!
"Alright, alright! Get out of here! I understand!"
All they do is tell him to think it over, but not a single one of them can actually help him solve his problems! Why didn't they complain about being poor last year when there was war? Now…
Suddenly, the old emperor thought of something and quickly said...
"Wait, Minister Cui, stay here!"
Upon hearing this, Cui Wenjie hurriedly returned, but glanced at the Prime Minister with a puzzled look. The Prime Minister, not knowing why the old emperor would suddenly say such a thing, simply shook his head knowingly and left.
When only three people remained in the imperial study, the old emperor finally spoke and asked.
"I ask you, last year's war with Qi lasted so long, what was the state of the national treasury at that time?"
Cui Wenjie was taken aback, but then, thinking that there was nothing he couldn't say, he spoke up.
"Your Majesty, I remember that year you had just reduced taxes, and the national treasury was in a precarious situation. It was extremely difficult to even support the front lines, and in the end, we had no choice but to raise them back up. Even the first batch of grain after the spring was a month late!"
"That should be fine. Things were this tense last year, so it's definitely impossible to fight this year, right?" Minister Cui thought to himself.
Upon hearing this, the old emperor was completely stunned! How did the army win the victory under such difficult circumstances last year? With the national treasury empty and the grain supplies simply insufficient, how did Wang Yan lead the soldiers to hold out until the grain supplies were delivered in the spring?
A series of questions and a heavy feeling in his heart made the old emperor's expression increasingly solemn, and he finally sighed.
"I am tired, you may leave."
Upon seeing this, Cui Wenjie quickly took his leave.
The eunuch Hai, who was standing nearby, quickly went over to massage the old emperor, saying as he did so.
"Your Majesty, please don't worry too much. We'll deal with whatever comes our way. There will definitely be a solution!"
Even he thought the old emperor was worried about the tight national treasury and how to handle the war!
The old emperor rubbed his head and muttered to himself.
"What do you know! Given the situation last year, why was Wang Yan able to hold out until the end and even win battles? The national treasury was clearly strained, and I simply didn't have any extra grain to send over!"
Grandpa Hai was stunned. Yes! Last year, the war was intense, but everyone overlooked that one problem: food is the most important thing for the people. Without supplies, they won the battle on empty stomachs? But from another perspective, how heartbroken must they have been then! The country they fought so hard to defend had actually…
At this moment, the Imperial Study became utterly silent…
At this moment, the old emperor himself did not realize that it was only after the death of Empress Wang Yan that the Ice Mountain Grassland tribes of the Tianlong Kingdom would behave in such a way!
A few days later at the morning court session…
The old emperor, dressed in a golden dragon robe, looked somewhat dejected.
Until a minister suddenly spoke up.
"Your Majesty, I believe there must be a reason why the Ice Mountain Grassland tribe suddenly attacked our country! After all, there has always been a reason for sending troops. They can't just come all this way to fight because they're in a bad mood, can they?"
The old emperor was stunned for a moment. He had never really thought about this question. He was just overwhelmed by the sudden news. Now that he thought about it, why would the Ice Mountain Grassland tribe go to such great lengths to fight them?
For a moment, whispers arose in the court, and the old emperor then looked at the prime minister.
"What does the Prime Minister think?"
The old prime minister, whose name was called, was quite confused, but he still stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, this old minister believes that… we should ask the Sixth Prince about this matter. After all, this old minister did not receive Prince Chloe before; it was the Sixth Prince who received him.”
The old emperor then remembered the beautiful man who had become dizzy after drinking a few sips of wine at the banquet, and frowned.
"If there's nothing else, the court may adjourn."
Having said that, he left the main hall without waiting for Eunuch Hai to call out the words "Dismiss the court."
However, it was obviously useless to ask that question. When the Sixth Prince was asked about Prince Chloe, he looked completely bewildered and had no idea what had happened!
Only after the old emperor explained clearly did he straighten his expression.
"Father, I absolutely did not offend Prince Nakolo! Please, Father, see the truth!"
The old emperor knew he wouldn't offend anyone, and seeing his upright yet bewildered son, he rubbed his forehead in exasperation! He was now beginning to wonder if choosing such an upright and gentle son as the crown prince had been too impulsive!
How could an emperor be so gentle! There was not a trace of imperial domineering power or ruthlessness.
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