Xiang Hua responded with a bitter expression, "Actually, before Gong Xue submitted to Zhao Cheng, she stayed outside Yongliang City. She tried to enter the palace to save the emperor time and time again, but Xu Qingshan stopped her each time. She suffered a lot for His Majesty..."
"I understand her thoughts."
Yuan Li sighed and said, "You have been with me since Xuzhong County, so you should understand my ambitions. The once great Jing has become what it is now. I must remain steadfast in my goals and not be distracted."
“Wen Tai and Wen Hu…”
Yuan Li clenched his right fist so tightly that his nails almost dug into his flesh. He said angrily, "You've gone too far in bullying my Yuan family!"
At this moment, Xiang Hua noticed the situation at the palace gate and reminded him, "Your Majesty, they have arrived."
Wen Tai and Wen Hu walked directly to the court. Wen Hu even had a golden knife at his waist. As soon as they entered the hall, the officials greeted them with smiles. Even those who were dissatisfied dared not show any unpleasant expressions.
The two men paid their respects to Yuan Li without bowing, and then sat down on the prepared chairs, one on each side.
Yuan Li's face twitched. Every time he saw them acting like regents, he felt extremely humiliated.
Throughout history, in every dynasty that has appointed a regent, the emperor has invariably been a child who has not yet come to understand the ways of the world.
He's already this old, and he was once the top minister of the Central Secretariat of the Great Jing Dynasty, yet he's being managed like a little kid.
This is an utter disgrace!
Utterly ridiculous!!
As soon as Wen Tai and Wen Hu sat down, the court fell silent. Just as Yuan Li was about to speak, a voice suddenly rang out.
"belch--"
Wen Hu patted his chest, raised his hand to Yuan Li, and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I ate a little too much this morning."
Yuan Li suppressed his anger and said, "Humans are made of flesh and blood; these are things beyond our control. General, you need not concern yourself..."
“Uncle, this place has really good mutton stew. Why don’t you buy him a shop on the street outside the palace? That way we can eat it on our way to the palace.”
Before Yuan Li could speak, Wen Hu interrupted him and started talking to Wen Tai.
Wen Tai stroked his beard and said, "That's an old shop of his, with many regular customers in the east of the city. Forcing him to move would be cutting off his source of income. We should do things in a win-win way and be kind to others. We can't do things that harm others for our own benefit."
"Uncle is right."
Wen Hu nodded and said, "But many people don't understand this principle. They always think about forcibly defying the heavens, but in the end, they only harm themselves and others."
Wen Tai said, "That won't do."
Seeing Wen Tai and Wen Hu chatting idly, disregarding the emperor's dignity, some timid officials lowered their heads, while others showed anger.
Wen Tai suddenly looked at Yuan Li and said, "Your Majesty, the food there is really good. How about I get you a bowl next time?"
Yuan Li gritted his teeth and said with a forced smile, "Then I thank you, Prime Minister. Hearing you and the General praise it so highly, I really want to try it. However, with Dongjing and Nanzhou about to go to war, I heard that Yang Qingzhi's morale is high after his victory and he is preparing to launch a northern expedition. Shouldn't we do something about such a good opportunity?"
"Yes, we should do something."
Wen Tai picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked, "What does Your Majesty intend to do?"
Yuan Li said, "Dongjing has suffered two consecutive defeats, with heavy casualties and low morale. The people are also in a state of panic. If we send troops to Dongjing at this time, we can achieve great things!"
Wen Tai did not answer Yuan Li immediately, but narrowed his eyes and said, "Hu'er, you are the Pillar General, you tell us about this matter of raising troops for war."
"yes."
Wen Hu responded and then said, "Dongjing is now stronger than Xijing. Your Majesty must not forget the defeat at Guliang."
Yuan Li thought to herself, "Isn't my defeat due to you guys? What does it have to do with me?"
Thinking this to himself, he said aloud, "Wang Ren was defeated because he fell for Zhao Cheng's trick. Now that Zhao Cheng is leading his troops on a southern expedition, he can't spare any attention for Guliang. This is precisely our best opportunity."
Wen Hu said, "Zhao Cheng is not the only one who is good at fighting in Dongjing. Zhao Huan is still in Changsui. As long as we send troops, he will definitely go to Guliang in person."
"That's not right, General."
"What's wrong?"
"The Great General possesses unparalleled martial prowess and unmatched military might; what a hero he is!"
Yuan Li flattered Wen Hu, saying, "Why have you become so timid and afraid of Zhao Huan and his son?"
"Hahaha!"
Wen Hu suddenly burst into laughter: "No one can frighten this general! After a defeat, one should not be afraid of others, but rather learn to assess the situation. The Southern Zhou army seems to be winning battle after battle and has a formidable momentum, but can we guarantee that they will definitely win? If they cannot win, given the current national strength of Xijing, they simply do not have the ability to destroy Dongjing. In that case, why should we send troops?"
"It not only helped Southern Weekly, but also consumed itself."
"Sacrificing oneself for the benefit of others!"
Wen Hu spoke without any politeness, and Yuan Li's face turned ugly.
"So, General, what do you think we should do? Just stand by and watch?"
At this moment, Cheng Ping, the Vice Minister of War, came out.
Wen Hu looked at the man in his forties and knew that he was now Yuan Li's man.
"Does Lord Cheng intend to discuss military matters with me at this time?"
Cheng Ping said, "So what if it is? This is my duty."
"good!"
Wen Hu clapped his hands, stood up, and said, "Watching and waiting is certainly not the best option. If Your Majesty is asking me what we should do at this time, then it is to send troops to the Western Regions and march westward!"
"Advance westward!"
"The General is heading west!"
"They have no intention of invading us from the west..."
Ignoring the officials' discussions, Wen Hu continued, "In the past, when the Great Jing was powerful, the Western Regions were very obedient. Now that the Great Jing is divided in two, they will naturally look down on us. If we launch a large-scale campaign against the Eastern Jing at this time, not only will our national strength be insufficient to support it, but we also risk being invaded by the Western Regions!"
"The only way we can take advantage of the fact that Dongjing is too busy to pay attention to us is to advance rapidly westward, crush them with lightning speed, leave no survivors, deter these villains, and carve out peace for our rear!"
"Give us more time to develop our national strength, and we will have the resources to fight a decisive battle with Dongjing!"
Upon hearing this, the officials began to discuss it again.
"The General's analysis is indeed reasonable!"
"Indeed, if our rear is attacked while we are conquering Dongjing, the consequences would be unimaginable!"
"Yongliang City is too close to the Dayue Kingdom and the Jinran Kingdom, we must be on guard..."
"The general's approach of stabilizing the rear before developing national strength is correct!"
"..."
Hearing the growing approval from the officials, Yuan Li clenched her fist in her sleeve.
He already knew Wen Hu very well and was very clear about what Wen Hu wanted to do.
Wen Hu's words sounded reasonable, but Yuan Li knew very well that Wen Hu was talking nonsense!
"puff!"
As Yuan Li thought this, his body immediately reacted with a loud thud.
The entire room fell silent!
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