The New Year was very peaceful. The entire Li family lived together, and every day was filled with joy.
On the morning of the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, Prime Minister Wanlai came to visit.
Li Ting was eating breakfast.
The Li family members were so shocked that they dropped their chopsticks.
[Wan Nian must have something to ask of Father. Could it be that that incident happened?]
But I remember in the book, when Prime Minister Wan came looking for Father, Mother was already gone.
Zhao Yunchen was the first to provoke the Great Liang Kingdom in the Northwest, and was defeated.
The battle report, delivered by the Meteor Horse at breakneck speed, took six horses to their deaths before it finally arrived. To compensate for its losses, the Great Liang Kingdom forced the Southern Chen Kingdom to cede a city.
Zhao Yunchen's reason for provoking the Great Liang Kingdom was simply to test the new weapons manufactured for siege warfare.
[As it turned out, it was Yuchi Wudi leading troops on patrol, accompanied by Huangfu Chuhao, the second-in-command of the Great Yue Kingdom and Huangfu Chuxiong's younger brother.]
At that time, Huangfu Chuxiong happened to send his younger brother, Huangfu Chuhao, to the Liang Kingdom to spar with Yuchi Wudi. The two hit it off immediately and found they were kindred spirits.
[After consulting the oracle, Yuchi Wudi predicted a great victory and even more benefits from the battle, so he accepted the challenge.]
[Given this opportunity, Yuchi Wudi and Huangfu Chuhao conspired to set a trap. During their martial arts sparring, they both injured each other.]
Then the two of them went to the battlefield together and utterly defeated Zhao Yunchen.
As a result, the Liang and Yue kingdoms used the pretext that the Nanchen army had injured members of their respective royal families to force the Nanchen kingdom to cede territory.
Otherwise, both countries will have to amass their armies, pressuring the borders and attacking the Southern Chen Kingdom.
Upon learning of this situation, Emperor Hui decided to engage in battle.
However, Zhao Yunwan cried her heart out in front of Emperor Hui, and the court officials also disagreed with the idea of fighting.
The real reason is that the national treasury is empty; even if we fight, we will lose, and we might even lose more territory.
Emperor Hui then agreed to cede the wealthy territories his father had conquered years earlier.
Zhao Yunchen brought in the army of Nanchen to test the weapons for his private army.
Afterwards, that 1.5 million square kilometers of land was divided between the Great Liang Kingdom and the Great Yue Kingdom, with the Great Liang Kingdom taking the majority and the Great Yue Kingdom taking the smaller portion.
The results of the new weapon's testing indicate that it still needs improvement, yet this trial and error is being conducted at the expense of the Southern Chen Kingdom's interests.
Later, these new weapons were deployed to Zhao Yunchen's own army, almost leading to a successful coup.
The current direction of this book is confusing me. Some things haven't happened yet, some are happening, and some events have had their endings changed by my father and the others.
[Wan Nian's death in the book was also quite tragic; at an advanced age, he was humiliated to death by Zhao Yunwan.]
Li Ting quickly tidied up and had Liu Fu bring Wan Nian to the main hall, where he prepared the finest tea, fruit, and vegetables.
Wan Nian stared at the furnishings of Li Ting's house, and couldn't help but think of the late emperor's instructions.
"A rare guest indeed! The arrival of Prime Minister Wan is a great honor to our humble abode!" Li Ting's voice preceded his arrival.
Upon hearing Li Ting's loud voice, Wan Nian quickly got up.
After Li Ting entered the house, the two exchanged pleasantries for a while before sitting down to drink tea.
Wan Nian wanted to speak several times, but didn't know how to say it.
Li Ting patiently waited for Wan Nian to speak.
Finally, Wan Nian mustered his courage and said, "General Li, I have just received a secret letter and would like to ask you to take a look at it."
"Prime Minister Wan, is this secret letter about official business or personal matters?"
"Public affairs are matters of great importance to the nation and its people."
"Prime Minister Wan, shouldn't everyone be on holiday during the New Year? Why do you still have official business to attend to?"
"This matter is extremely urgent. If it is not dealt with, the Southern Chen Kingdom will lose 1.5 million square kilometers of land! And it is the most prosperous land in the Northwest, the land you fought back. Are you willing to give it up?"
"Prime Minister Wan, I am merely a Grand Tutor; I have no right to interfere in state affairs!"
"General Li, please set aside your identity as Grand Tutor and read this secret letter as the Protector General of Nanchen Kingdom!"
Li Ting took it, but did not open it.
"General Li, I truly have no other choice, and only you can resolve this matter. Otherwise, the fate of my Nan Chen Kingdom will be in grave danger!"
After listening, Li Ting no longer hesitated and opened the memorial.
This was a secret letter sent back by Di Jiang, the Protector-General of the Northwest, who had received word of the situation and spent a large sum of money to have the Kuai Da Escort Agency of the Qianji Gate deliver it.
The contents of the letter were exactly as Ruan Ruan had described.
After reading the letter, Li Ting slammed his fist on the table.
"General Li, I cannot think of a solution to this matter. Looking around the court, only you can resolve it."
After saying that, Wan Nian actually started wiping away tears.
"Does His Majesty know about this?" Li Ting's voice was filled with anger.
"Di Jiang said that Zhao Yunchen has sent a meteor horse back with a message, and it will take about three more days for the meteor horse to arrive in the capital."
"Has the Emperor been acting strangely lately?"
"General Li, what do you mean by that?" Wan Nian asked, puzzled.
"Prime Minister Wan, are you thinking of the fate of the Southern Chen Kingdom, or of Emperor Hui?" Li Ting did not answer directly.
"For the sake of the country, the throne should be held by a virtuous person. These are the words the late emperor instructed me before his death. He told me to guard the country of Nanchen. If Emperor Hui is incompetent, then support the crown prince. If the crown prince is incompetent, then support the crown prince's son."
"Did the late emperor really say that?" Li Ting was shocked that the late emperor had such foresight.
"Absolutely true." There was another sentence he hadn't uttered: "If the Crown Prince has no son, it means the Xiao family's reign is over. Let's incite Li Ting to become emperor!"
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