Chapter 3542 Waiting for someone to fight this battle
Seven days later, Zhu Feng heard the news that the newly enthroned king of Yue State was about to arrive at Doubei Town with all his civil and military officials.
Along with this group of people came the food and fodder that had just been collected.
During these seven days, eleven large and small battles broke out on the border. In the early stages, the two sides fought back and forth, but in the later stages, the army of Doubei Town gradually lost their fighting spirit, closed the camp and refused to go out, allowing the Yan army to provoke and scold them without moving.
This piece of news and battle report was delivered by Cui Yuanmei personally. Zhu Feng should have gone back for lunch at this time, but he stayed when he saw the news. He opened the document and read it, and his face gradually darkened.
Fortunately it was relatively calm.
Zhu Feng said, "According to my estimation, the grain stored in the Yue Kingdom's granary should not exceed 150,000 dan. This extra 100,000 dan—"
Cui Yuanmei said, "After Li Wushang ascended the throne, he successively killed several third-rank officials in the court and confiscated their homes. Of course, he couldn't even gather the 100,000 dan of grain. I suspect he also raided some wealthy families."
To strike the rich means to find some charges to pin on the famous wealthy businessmen in the country and then raid their houses.
Throughout the dynasties, famous wealthy businessmen were registered in the court. They were asked to pay for the construction of cities and walls on weekdays, and they were also asked to pay for food shortages during wartime. However, if they had to pay a large sum of money all at once, they would simply be accused of a random crime, have their property confiscated, and be done with it.
Li Wushang was able to come up with such a large sum of money in such a short period of time, he must have used this method.
Zhu Feng said, "It seems that he is determined to fight this battle with me."
Cui Yuanmei continued, "Also arriving with this batch of grain and fodder are the 20,000 troops accompanying Li Wushang. These 20,000 troops will eventually be incorporated into the forces led by Chen Wenxiao. By then, the pressure on General Xiang will be even greater."
Zhu Feng said, "He's been engaging in minor fights these days, and he's not satisfied with them. If there's a fight like this, it would help him loosen up his muscles."
As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps were heard outside.
Xiao Shunzi immediately came in to report: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine has arrived."
Zhu Feng looked up and saw it was getting late. He figured Nan Yan must be waiting for him to go back for lunch and had grown impatient, so she came over to urge him. As expected, Cui Yuanmei seemed to know what was going on. A faint smile played across his wrinkled face as he said, "Your Majesty, I will now take my leave."
Zhu Feng waved his hand: "Go down. Come back after lunch."
"yes."
Cui Yuanmei responded and went out. When he reached the door, he saw the imperial concubine standing outside with an unhappy look on her face. But she was still polite to him. Cui Yuanmei bowed and left the South Courtyard.
Only then did Nan Yan walk into the study.
As soon as I came in, before I had time to complain, I heard Zhu Feng say, "You are too impatient. You come here to urge me after such a short time. Am I a child who doesn't know to go back and eat?"
Nan Yan said, "Your Majesty is still right?"
In fact, she was also concerned about the situation here. She heard that there was a big movement in Yue State. She sat at the dinner table waiting for Zhu Feng to come back, but he didn't show up. So she simply asked someone to pack the food in boxes and led people over herself.
At this time, she didn't waste time talking to Zhu Feng. She just waved her hand and asked Ruoshui and the others to come in with their food boxes. She walked to the other side of the study and placed the food on the small table.
Zhu Feng stood up, stretched, and walked over.
He looked at the food. Although the dishes were not fancy, they were all home-cooked dishes that suited his taste. This helped to slightly restore his originally weak appetite. So he sat down. Nan Yan took out a bowl and chopsticks from the box and handed them to him. Zhu Feng took them and asked, "Where's Xinping?"
"She ate in her room."
"She won't eat with you?"
"Because of what the Emperor said, she has been unable to eat or sleep for the past two days. Seeing her like that, even I can't eat. It's better to out of sight and out of mind."
Zhu Feng couldn't help laughing and said, "How do you manage to be a mother?"
Nan Yan said, "She's such a grown-up girl, but she still needs her mother to take care of her meals. What's the point of keeping her?"
The two of them sat down and started eating while arguing with each other.
Nan Yan took two bites before saying, "I just saw Master Cui outside. Is there something important that brought him here?"
While eating, Zhu Feng told Cui Yuanmei what he had reported.
Nan Yan frowned slightly and thought for a while before saying, "He is determined."
Zhu Feng said, "If he wasn't so determined, why would he so easily start a war? He has just ascended the throne and has no military achievements, no political achievements, and no popular support. If he doesn't establish his prestige through a victory, it will be difficult for him to maintain his position."
Nan Yan frowned and said, "But if he does this now, will his position be secure?"
“…”
"Killing high-ranking officials and striking down wealthy individuals, the first thing a monarch does after taking power is not to appease the people and stabilize the political situation, but to go on a killing spree. This makes people's hearts even more unstable. How can he win their hearts?"
“…”
"The Emperor raised him for so many years, how could he turn him into a fool?"
Zhu Feng said, "You misunderstood him. He's not a fool for doing this."
Nan Yan said, "Oh?"
Zhu Feng said, "He's just throwing everything at the wall, betting everything on this one battle. As long as he wins this battle, and defeats us, he'll have military merit. After the victory, they can negotiate, and Yue will have the upper hand in diplomatic relations between the two countries, which will also be a political achievement. By then, his prestige as a monarch will also be established."
“…”
"It kills three birds with one stone. He's very smart."
“…”
"So, the key to the matter lies in winning or losing this battle. He is determined to fight this battle and must win."
Nan Yan frowned and said, "But didn't the emperor say that if the fight is too ugly, it will also cause problems for future diplomatic relations. So even if we win, wouldn't it be disadvantageous?"
Zhu Feng looked at her with a half-smile: "Have you ever considered that we will lose?"
Nan Yan said with a stern face, "With the war imminent, how can you make such a sad announcement and shake the morale of the army? If the Emperor's words get out, there will be chaos!"
Zhu Feng originally wanted to tease her, but he was amused by her serious look.
The two of them buried their heads in their food for a while, but Nan Yan's heart seemed to be preoccupied with this matter, feeling a bit uncertain. After a while, she couldn't help but look up at Zhu Feng: "We won't lose, right?"
Zhu Feng curled one corner of his lips and said, "Here we go again. Didn't you tell Xinping the other day that I wouldn't lose? Why are you wavering again today?"
Nan Yan said, "If the emperor fights this battle personally, I won't worry at all."
“…”
"But I feel that the Emperor doesn't seem to intend to fight this battle himself."
“…”
"The Emperor seems to be waiting for someone to fight this battle."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com