Chapter 3543 No Way Out
"The Emperor seems to be waiting for someone to fight this battle."
After saying this, the whole study suddenly became quiet.
Nan Yan raised her head and saw Zhu Feng also looking at her. His eyes flickered for a moment. In that instant, many emotions seemed to flash through his mind, but they were fleeting. The only recognizable expression on his face was the faint smile at the corner of his lips.
This smile made the quiet atmosphere seem less stuffy.
Nan Yan subconsciously asked, "Your Majesty?"
Zhu Feng said, "Alright, don't talk while eating and don't talk while sleeping. If you don't talk, there's nothing to eat, right? Eat quickly!"
After saying that, he lowered his head and started eating.
Nan Yan frowned.
As the saying goes, don't talk while eating and don't talk while sleeping. They have never taken this saying seriously over the years. They have even quarreled while eating, but now it happened that they were paying attention to the saying, "Don't talk while eating and don't talk while sleeping."
Nan Yan looked at him for a while, and seeing that Zhu Feng had made up his mind to ignore her, she pursed her lips, but didn't say much, and lowered her head to eat.
But Nan Yan was certain of one thing in her heart—Zhu Feng did not intend to command this battle personally.
At least he wouldn't rush into battle like he did in Shazhouwei.
Moreover, he was indeed waiting for someone.
The next morning, the Yue King's motorcade stretched for miles before slowly entering Doubei Town, transforming this already unstable town into a focal point.
Apart from the officials with gloomy faces and displeasure who came with Li Wushang, what made Chen Wenxiao happiest was the food and fodder.
After Chen Biri's death, in order to cover up the truth, Li Wushang defined his and Chen Wenxiong's deaths as sacrifices for the country. Although everyone did not understand how two people who died in their own mansions could be considered sacrifices for the country, the people were already dead. In addition, their only Chen Wenxiao had surrendered to the new monarch, so naturally there was nothing more to say. The Chen Mansion fell directly into the hands of Chen Wenxiao, and became the temporary residence for the monarch to supervise the war.
Although time was tight, Chen Wenxiao arranged the place to be very luxurious and comfortable.
He had thought that this was his first time receiving the monarch, a display of loyalty and respect as a minister who had contributed to the throne. However, when Li Wushang arrived and saw the ornate decorations throughout the palace, he couldn't help but frown. He coughed lightly, sat down on a chair in the meeting room, and said solemnly, "From now on, these ornate decorations are completely unnecessary. While in Daluo City, I discovered that the waste and extravagance in the palace are also very serious. If the whole country is like this, even mountains of gold and silver would never be enough to squander them all."
Chen Wenxiao immediately said, "I acknowledge my guilt."
Li Wushang waved his hand lightly.
After he ascended the throne, he killed several ministers and conquered many wealthy families in the country, which also caused a lot of complaints. Many civil and military officials were dissatisfied with him. Now, he still had to win over this minister who had supported him and had a large army under his command.
So, without saying too harshly, he asked directly, "I have read the battle report you sent me a few days ago."
Chen Wenxiao lowered his head and said, "I am incompetent."
Li Wushang looked at him for a moment and said, "I've brought you some food, but it's already drained the national treasury. You should know that the troops here consume tens of thousands of dan of food a day. If we can't take the city for a long time, not to mention the situation in Yan State, chaos will break out in the country."
Chen Wenxiao immediately said: "I understand that the war here is of great importance, so after I took command of the troops, I launched several battles, but Yan State--"
Li Wushang asked, "They're just playing a little fight with you?"
"yes,"
Chen Wenxiao's face darkened as he said, "I think they did it on purpose."
"How do you say that?"
"Every time I prepare thoroughly and launch a war, they often stay indoors. Even when they come to fight, it's only a perfunctory response, resulting in minimal losses on either side, with casualties often exceeding a few dozen. However, when I refrain from fighting, they send their troops to provoke us. And when we leave camp to fight, they quickly retreat."
“…”
"This situation has lasted for more than half a month."
“…”
"That's why the food is consumed so quickly."
Li Wushang originally knew the situation here, but when he heard what Chen Wenxiao said, the gloom in his heart deepened.
He said: "What do you think of Yan Country's actions?"
Chen Wenxiao looked up at Li Wushang for a moment before he softly said, "I suspect they're doing this to deplete our food supply. I believe they even—even know that our country is short of food."
Li Wushang's breathing was choked.
Now, the most serious problem weighing on him is not the current war, but the food problem. Moreover, the origin of the food problem has always made him very uneasy.
Now, Chen Wenxiao's words seemed to have completely pierced through the layer of window paper that he dared not penetrate.
Yan State knows this, so it has been attacking this point with precision.
But--
Seeing Li Wushang's brows knitted into a knot, his expression darkening to the point where even the several candles in the room couldn't illuminate it, Chen Wenxiao, despite being considered his trusted minister, felt somewhat suffocated by the gloomy aura of the new monarch. However, he still had to say what needed to be said. He said softly, "However, I'm not sure why they knew."
“…”
"For the past ten years, they have been transporting food here. It wasn't until Xiahou Jiu sent troops this time that their food supply was cut off."
“…”
Li Wushang was silent for a long time before he said, "There's no need to mention this matter anymore."
Chen Wenxiao looked up at him: "Huh?"
Li Wushang said, "Whether they know it or not, now that things have come to this, the only thing you have to do is win this battle for me. I brought all the civil and military officials here because I was afraid that if the situation on the front lines changed, they would start making nonsense in the court. But now that everyone has arrived in Doubei Town, there are hundreds of eyes on you. You can't lose."
“…”
"If you and I, the king and the minister, want to stand firm, we must win this battle."
Chen Wenxiao immediately said, "I understand."
“…”
"This time, I must win the battle."
Li Wushang said solemnly, "I've been by Zhu Feng's side for a full fifteen years. I know his methods very well. If you want to fight him, he will definitely be fully prepared to meet you. But we have no way out this time. We are not afraid of an ugly fight, but we are afraid of losing."
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