At this moment, the court in the Eastern Court was in an uproar. The emperor looked unwell and sat listlessly on his high seat, not wanting to say a word.
The old emperor was actually involved in Wu Jiaming's cultivation of immortality, and even knew that the source of the elixir was somewhat unclean, but he didn't care. As long as it wasn't exposed and didn't bother him, he could turn a blind eye.
After all, who wouldn't want to live forever?
But who knew that this matter would offend the gods, even appearing in the old general's dream. And Wu Jiaming's condition was just as the fairy in the old general's dream had said: Wu Jiaming's body was now exhausted and he didn't have much time left.
The old emperor was initially skeptical and went to see Wu Jiaming in person. Wu Jiaming admitted that he had also met the fairy, but the fairy said that he was destined to become an immortal. As long as he did what she asked, he could still become an immortal. But why did his body begin to weaken day by day after he did what she asked?
Wu Jiaming suspected that his subordinates had not followed his orders and wanted to kill everyone. He remembered what the Fairy Godmother had said: he could no longer kill. So he could only send people to investigate, but no matter how they investigated, they could not find any flaws. His body began to weaken uncontrollably.
He was an extremely afraid of death, and now that his body had become like this, he cried every day. Even when he was so sick that he could hardly move, he still insisted on burning incense and praying to Buddha, asking the fairy godmother to enter his dreams again, but he never got his wish.
The old emperor began to panic. Although he hadn't done those things himself, he had taken the elixir. If the gods were truly angered by this, he would be held responsible.
He was troubled by these things, so even though the old general sent him many letters, he couldn't pay much attention to them.
When you're about to die, who cares about the lives of others?
However, there were still some patriots in the court. Someone stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the border matters cannot be delayed any longer. The case of the grain supplies must be thoroughly investigated. If it weren't for this situation, the soldiers on the border wouldn't be so restricted everywhere!"
"Even if this matter remains unresolved for the time being, we must first send the food to the soldiers. This is no small matter, and we cannot act recklessly!"
The battle was going so well; they had even captured Huizhou City in Beiyan. But now, not only have they lost Huizhou City, but they're also afraid they'll lose Dongting City as well.
Given time, can't we directly attack the capital?
"Father, I am willing to investigate the grain supply case!"
The Third Prince stepped forward. He had been having a hard time lately. Wu Jiaming was his uncle, and when trouble came, everyone turned against him. People said that his maternal family was unlucky and would be targeted by the Heavenly God. Even the Emperor disliked him and the Crown Prince.
The emperor was annoyed, and when he saw someone willing to investigate, he was willing to agree regardless of who it was. However, someone objected, saying, "It all started with Wu Jiaming. Who knows if that batch of grain was a punishment from the Heavenly God for our Eastern Court? The Wu family is the maternal family of the Third Prince. It's best not to get involved in this matter."
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their anger towards the Third Prince and the Crown Prince, feeling that the current state of the war was partly their fault!
After all, nothing Dongting had gone smoothly since they returned from Beiyan, so they must be carrying some kind of evil spirit.
The Third Prince gritted his teeth in anger. What did this have to do with him?
The Crown Prince did not want to argue with them, but said, "Father, the war is urgent and the soldiers on the border are not getting enough to eat. In my opinion, why not let the old general surrender? As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. The old general has worked hard for the Eastern Court all his life, and he cannot be allowed to end up in such a miserable state."
Although surrendering is somewhat shameful, there is no other way in the current situation. We can't let all the soldiers starve to death on the border, or they will definitely rebel.
However, despite his good intentions, many people in the court did not think it was a good idea.
"Your Majesty, we must not surrender! How can our Eastern Court stand in the future? Those Northern Yan are shameless. They have already plundered so many good things from us. If we retreat, their demands will only become more unreasonable and excessive. How can our Eastern Court survive then?"
This person's concerns are not entirely unfounded; there are still quite a few people in the court who support him.
"Then tell me what you want?"
The man choked for a moment, then forced himself to say, "Of course we'll send them food so the soldiers are well-fed, then we won't have to worry about winning the battle!"
"Heh, easier said than done!"
The crown prince retorted with a cold laugh: "By the time this batch of grain arrives, I'm afraid the soldiers' corpses will be cold!"
Escorting grain is not as simple as delivering messages; otherwise, it wouldn't have taken so long to find out about the grain incident before.
"Enough!"
The old emperor spoke in a deep voice, "All this arguing has yielded no results. Court is adjourned!"
After saying that, he got up and left, not caring at all about how the matter should be handled.
The matter was delayed again.
The Third Prince looked helplessly at the Crown Prince and sighed.
Although the two of them had been at odds since childhood, they were still brothers. Now they were being targeted by all the civil and military officials, which was truly heartbreaking.
What's most distressing is that after Wu Jiaming's incident, the Wu family was targeted, and their mother, Empress Wu, was basically under house arrest. Although the two of them could still move around, their situation was not much better.
The old emperor has been displeased with them lately, and he estimates that it won't be long before he considers deposing the empress and the crown prince. If that happens, the Wu family will be completely finished.
After court, the two brothers, who rarely walked together, both looked worried.
"The border war cannot continue, otherwise the Eastern Court will be completely finished."
The Third Prince couldn't help but speak up. From the very beginning, he had not advocated war. With Lu Baichuan and his wife in Beiyan, their Eastern Court had no chance of winning.
In particular, the old general's letter mentioned that the other side had a small black ball with great destructive power. It was obvious that it was made by that woman, so it would be better to surrender and make plans as soon as possible.
"What use are you and me? Father wouldn't care at all."
The crown prince sneered, feeling that the Eastern Court was now on the verge of collapse.
The crown prince left quickly. Now that he knew the outcome, he had to make plans early. He had finally recovered his health and was determined to live as long as possible, otherwise he would be letting himself down.
The third prince also understood this principle, and quickly returned to his residence to find a way out for himself.
Meanwhile, the Fifth Prince secretly met with the old emperor and revealed his plan.
"Father, I am willing to personally escort the grain supplies to the border and lead the expedition. I will surely defeat the Northern Yan army and protect the borders of our Eastern Court!"
The Fifth Prince still had some confidence in himself. He had been suppressed by the Third Prince since childhood, and now that the Wu family was in trouble, it was his chance to show his true colors.
If we can win this battle, I will be one step closer to that position.
He was willing to take that risk.
Four chapters today, two more tonight!
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