The Emperor and Lord Yao were both taken aback upon hearing this, as it was the first time they had ever heard of such a thing. The Panzhou region, spanning hundreds of miles, was fertile and rich in resources, serving as the granary of the Great Northern Dynasty.
The Jin army's intentions were clear: they wanted to destroy everything there, leaving no harvest and breaking the lifeline of the Great Northern Dynasty.
The emperor gritted his teeth and secretly vowed that after this incident, he would use the full strength of the nation to eliminate the Fan Kingdom, the Jin Kingdom, and the Luo Kingdom, thus eliminating future troubles.
Next, Lord Yao began to tell fortunes. He started to speculate on the old lady's thoughts, first instilling a lot of theories in her, telling her that the affairs of life were predetermined.
The old lady's daughter has a very strong birth chart. She is currently only experiencing some hardships, but there are no major problems. Before long, her luck will turn around, and she is destined to be a person of great wealth and honor.
Lord Yao has extensive experience and rich theoretical knowledge. He analyzes problems in a very logical and reasonable way. After listening to him, the old lady stopped crying and started laughing.
It was lunchtime, and the old lady decided to invite them to stay for a simple meal.
"After hearing your words, I feel much relieved. Please have lunch before you leave. If it weren't for the strict checks by the barbarian soldiers, I would like to keep you here a little longer."
The Emperor was taken aback and asked:
"Do the barbarian soldiers often come to your house? What are they investigating?"
"The barbarian soldiers said they were capturing seven or eight old men, and told us that if we encountered these people, we should report to them immediately and they would reward us with ten thousand taels of silver."
"These barbarian soldiers are too arrogant! They actually dare to arrest people in our Great Northern Dynasty. Even if I knew about them, I wouldn't tell them," the old lady said indignantly.
The emperor and Lord Yao immediately understood that the barbarian soldiers were searching very thoroughly. Fortunately, the emperor and his ministers had separated beforehand, otherwise they would have been captured.
The old woman invited them to stay for a meal, and they did not refuse. During this period, they had been living a life of hardship and rarely had a hot meal.
Just then, an old man walked into the house, his face full of worry.
When the old man saw that a fortune teller had come to the house, he simply nodded. He walked up to the old lady and asked softly:
"What did the gentleman say?"
"This gentleman is simply a god; he's so accurate! My daughter and her family will be alright. Once they get through this ordeal, things will be much better," the old lady said excitedly.
"That's good. I told you long ago that our daughter would definitely survive this ordeal. Now you can finally rest assured. Let's go eat," the old man said, but the worry on his face remained.
The food was already laid out on the table. The old man sat down at the table and began to eat with his head down. The emperor was taken aback, but quickly realized what was happening.
Now that they're fortune tellers, they're no different from beggars. The fact that people are willing to let them stay for a meal is already a huge favor.
There were quite a few people in the family. The old lady only let them stay for dinner because she felt sorry for them. Logically speaking, they shouldn't have been at the table.
But one of them is the emperor, and the other is a high-ranking official of the court. How could they possibly eat while squatting in a corner?
The two were very embarrassed. At this moment, the old lady walked over and said:
"What are you two gentlemen still standing for? Please sit down and eat."
"Thank you, Madam."
The Emperor thanked him and then led Lord Yao to sit down at the dining table.
The atmosphere at the meal was very somber. After finishing his bowl of rice, the old man pushed it aside and began to grumble indignantly:
"The Jin soldiers committed murder and arson in Panzhou, doing all sorts of evil deeds, but the government officials fled faster than anyone else."
What's even more infuriating is that Panzhou Lake has 50,000 naval troops, enough to fight, but they're like turtles and tortoises, hiding in the lake and afraid to come out.
"How could the Great Northern Dynasty have raised so many incompetent fools? That naval commander Ding Tong should be killed!"
The old man's words shocked the emperor and Lord Yao. At this moment, the emperor felt a dull pain in his chest again, and he tried his best to calm himself down.
After a moment, the emperor finally calmed himself down, looked at the old man, and spoke.
"Sir, is what you're saying true?"
The old man glanced at the emperor, pointed to a man beside him, and said:
"This is my son. He just returned from Panzhou. What I'm telling you is all what he saw with his own eyes. If my son hadn't known some martial arts and defeated a few Jin soldiers, he might not have made it back."
The old man's son was named Xia Yun. He was in his thirties, very strong, and seemed quite capable.
"Some time ago, the allied forces of the three kingdoms launched a large-scale invasion of the Great Northern Dynasty. One of their armies directly invaded Panzhou. My mother was worried about my sister's safety, so I rushed to Panzhou to visit her."
Upon arriving in Panzhou, they discovered that their sister's family had fled to the south, and Panzhou had become a living hell.
I witnessed the Jin soldiers killing and burning with my own eyes. If I hadn't been good at riding horses and knew some martial arts, I might not have made it back.
The navy of Panzhou Lake dared not come out to meet the enemy. Their naval commander, Ding Tong, replied as follows:
The imperial court stationed its navy at Panzhou Lake, mainly to deal with invasions from enemy countries at sea. Without the court's orders, they could not land for combat.
I don't know what this naval commander was thinking. The people of the Great Northern Dynasty have all been killed, what use are you naval forces?
"Without orders from the imperial court, would you simply cower in Panzhou Lake and watch the people of the Great Northern Dynasty be slaughtered?"
Xia Yun was still indignant after she finished speaking.
The emperor certainly knew Ding Tong, the naval commander. He was a second-rank official and quite capable in leading troops into battle, especially skilled in naval warfare.
Panzhou Lake is not far from the sea, so if there is any trouble at sea, warships can quickly set sail to protect the maritime security of the Great Northern Dynasty.
Because this army fought on water, they had no warhorses and were not good at long-distance raids. Their combat ability was far inferior to that of ordinary infantry. If they encountered the enemy's iron cavalry, they would only be slaughtered.
To protect this navy, the imperial court had regulations for it, stipulating that it could not participate in land battles without the court's approval.
Of course, the emperor couldn't tell this family about these things.
But what time is it now? The capital has been captured, and many important departments of the court are unable to perform their duties. You're still waiting for the court's orders. I don't know what's wrong with Ding Tong's head.
If the navy doesn't stand up to protect the people of the Great Northern Dynasty at this point, when will they?
It seems we need to give Ding Tong an order, but how do we do that?
Just then, Xia Yun stood up and said:
"Father, I want to join the army and fight on the front lines."
"There are barbarian soldiers everywhere now, where can you join the army?"
“I’m thinking of going to Narcissus Village to enlist in the army, or I can become a farmer there and fight against the enemy.”
The old man sighed and said:
"Don't even think about joining the army. You're already thirty years old. You're too old to join the army. You should just stay at home."
Upon hearing this, Xia Yun immediately felt dejected, realizing he had no way to serve his country.
"Brave Warrior Xia, is it safe to go to Panzhou Lake now? Are there many enemy soldiers on the road?" the Emperor asked.
The Emperor's words greatly surprised Lord Yao. Could it be that the Emperor was going to Panzhou Lake to find Ding Tong and order him to lead troops to fight against the Jin army?
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