9: Chapter 9 Second Sign-in: The Emperor's Personal Command?

The urgent sound of bells pierced the night sky.

The roar of an eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch shook the entire capital, leaving it sleepless throughout the night.

As soon as dawn broke, the Golden Throne Hall was already packed with people.

The civil and military officials stood with grave expressions, their heads bowed.

The hall was unusually quiet, and the atmosphere was oppressive.

A messenger knelt in the center of the hall.

He was covered in blood, and his armor was in tatters.

His throat was hoarse as he reported the critical military situation at the border.

"Your Majesty, the Black Wolf Dynasty has torn up the alliance treaty, and an army of one hundred thousand is pressing against the Yanmen Pass!"

"The Black Wolf King has declared that we must cede the three northern provinces and pay an indemnity of ten million taels of silver."

"And they also... they also want us to send a princess for a marriage alliance."

"Otherwise, in three days, their iron cavalry will enter our borders and slaughter the cities for a hundred miles!"

With every word the messenger spoke, the faces of the officials in the hall turned a shade paler.

Ceding territory.

Paying reparations.

Marriage alliance.

Since the founding of the Great Xia Divine Dynasty, it had never suffered such humiliation.

On the throne, Li Zhan's young face was pulled tight.

He gripped the armrests so hard his knuckles turned white.

Just yesterday, he was filled with high spirits because of the "heaven-sent auspicious omen."

Today, he felt as if a basin of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe.

An army of one hundred thousand.

This number was enough to crush the currently hollow Great Xia.

"Absurd! This is going too far!"

An old general trembled with rage and stepped forward.

"Your Majesty! The Black Wolf brats have not given up their intention to destroy us!"

"Your subject requests to fight!"

"I am willing to lead thirty thousand border troops and fight those one hundred thousand wolf cubs to the death!"

"Even if I end up wrapped in horse hide, I will never lose face for Great Xia!"

"Fight to the death? General Zhang, what are you going to use to fight them?"

Prime Minister Wei Yong walked out, his voice neither masculine nor feminine.

He shook his head at the old general, putting on a look of compassion.

"The national treasury is empty, and we can barely pay the salaries of the capital's imperial guards; what are we going to use to fight a war against one hundred thousand men?"

"Besides, who in the world doesn't know how powerful the Black Wolf Dynasty's cavalry is?"

"How long has it been since Great Xia fought a war? Our soldiers are out of practice; what are we going to use to risk our lives against them?"

He turned to Li Zhan and bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, we cannot act on impulse now."

"Once war begins, it will mean devastation and displacement for the people."

"The only strategy now is to stabilize the Black Wolf Dynasty first; seeking peace is the best policy!"

"Peace? How do we make peace? By actually ceding territory, paying reparations, and sending a princess?!"

The old general glared at him angrily.

"Times change!"

Wei Yong showed a pained expression.

"In order to protect the people of Great Xia from the flames of war, sacrificing a bit of land, gold, and silver, and sacrificing one princess is worth it!"

"Besides."

Wei Yong changed his tone, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

"Why did the Black Wolf Dynasty suddenly attack?"

"It is because the general guarding Yanmen Pass, Xiao Zhan, repeatedly provoked the Black Wolf royal court, killing their people and stealing their livestock, which brought this disaster upon us!"

"In this old subject's opinion, if we want peace, we must first capture the troublemaker Xiao Zhan, hand him over to the Black Wolf King to deal with, and appease his anger!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire court was shocked.

Xiao Zhan.

He was the younger brother of the Great General of National Defense, Xiao Hong.

He was the uncle of Consort Xiao Yu, and the final pillar of the Xiao Family Army.

He was also one of the few generals in the court loyal to the imperial family.

This move by Wei Yong was vicious enough.

He was forcing the imperial family to bow their heads and using a borrowed knife to kill, uprooting the imperial family's foundation in the military.

"You're talking nonsense! You're slandering!"

The old general trembled with anger.

"General Xiao Zhan is a loyal subject! He guarded the border and blocked the Black Wolf Dynasty from invading and plundering so many times!"

"You treacherous villain, how dare you distort the truth here!"

"General Zhang, watch your words!"

Wei Yong's face darkened, and his people immediately stepped forward.

"The Prime Minister is dedicated to the country; he will not tolerate slander from a martial man like you!"

"Your Majesty, I second the motion! Our national strength is weak; we should not go to war, but prioritize peace!"

"Please, Your Majesty, capture the guilty General Xiao Zhan and send him to the Black Wolf Dynasty to show our sincerity!"

Suddenly, more than half of the civil officials knelt down.

That pressure surged once again toward Li Zhan on the throne.

Li Zhan's face turned pale and livid.

He did not want to be a monarch of a fallen nation who begged for peace in humiliation.

But what Wei Yong said was not unreasonable; if they fought, could they really win?

He knew best what the state of the national treasury was.

If they lost, he would be the eternal sinner of Great Xia.

The confidence he had just built was teetering under the threat of national destruction.

Just as Li Zhan was about to compromise.

In Dragon Imperial Hall.

Li Xuan opened his eyes.

They were ice-cold.

"What a fine move of colluding from within, what a fine parasite of the state."

He had seen the whole play in the Golden Throne Hall.

This old dog Wei Yong had calculated everything so well.

This was an attempt to force him and Li Zhan into a dead end.

To retreat meant ceding territory and paying reparations, losing all prestige, and the fall of the nation.

To advance meant rushing into war, likely resulting in defeat, and still the fall of the nation.

No matter the choice, it was death.

"You want me to die? Are you worthy?"

Li Xuan sneered.

He no longer had the patience to play mind games with this old dog.

To deal with a mad dog, one must use a harder stick and beat it to death with one blow.

"System!"

Li Xuan's thoughts stirred.

"I want to sign in!"

[Ding! Please choose a sign-in location.]

"The Military Bureau!"

The Military Bureau.

The core of the Great Xia Divine Dynasty that managed the nation's military affairs.

It was the place in the imperial palace with the heaviest aura of weapons and iron-blooded will.

Signing in here would surely yield something good.

[Ding! Sign-in location "Military Bureau" confirmed!]

[Signing in...]

[Congratulations, host, you have successfully signed in at the "Military Bureau"!]

[Obtained God-Demon Level Military Strategy — "Wumu's Testament"!]

["Wumu's Testament": Written by the ancient Saint Wumu Yue with his life's work, it contains the Great Dao of the military, unpredictable military formations, and miraculous strategies to turn the tide. By Cultivate this method, one can condense military Killing Intent, command ten thousand armies, make all armies yield, and be invincible!]

Li Xuan closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his entire aura had changed.

He raised his hand, his fingers tracing gently through the Void Realm, as if pointing at a sand table and arranging troops.

The formation of the one hundred thousand troops outside Yanmen Pass, all their retreat routes, and all their weak points were already clear in his mind.

They were full of flaws.

"Wei Yong, oh Wei Yong, you have delivered this pillow at just the right time."

Li Xuan sneered coldly.

He looked at his grandson in the Golden Throne Hall, who was pushed to the edge of a cliff and whose face had turned pale.

His Divine Thought transmitted a sound, exploding directly in his mind.

"Zhan'er!"

Li Zhan gave a start.

Imperial Grandfather!

The fear in his heart was swept away, replaced by wild joy and peace of mind.

"Straighten your back!"

Li Xuan's voice was majestic and cold, carrying Killing Intent.

"A bunch of spineless cowards, a bunch of traitors, and they have scared you like this?"

"My face, the faces of the ancestors of the Li family, have all been lost by you!"

"Imperial Grandfather... Grandson..."

Li Zhan was too ashamed to lift his head.

"Now, listen to me!"

Li Xuan's voice was resolute and decisive.

"Read it out, sentence by sentence!"

"Yes!"

Li Zhan suddenly looked up, his eyes instantly becoming firm.

His gaze turned sharp and cold.

This change made Wei Yong, who thought he had victory in his grasp, change his expression slightly.

Li Zhan slowly stood up from the throne.

His gaze swept across the kneeling "peace faction" and finally stopped on Wei Yong's old face.

His voice was not loud, but it made the atmosphere in the entire Golden Throne Hall freeze.

"Peace? Ceding territory? Reparations?"

"And you want to send my imperial sister to be ruined by those barbarians?"

Li Zhan laughed.

He laughed with full irony.

"Great Xia has been established for three hundred years; there have only been monarchs who died in battle, never cowards who begged for pity!"

"The Black Wolf Dynasty has one hundred thousand iron cavalry, and Great Xia does not have a million soldiers and armor?"

"If they dare to come, I dare to make sure they have no return!"

These words were as hard as iron.

The old general and the others listened, their blood boiling, their faces flushed with excitement.

Wei Yong's expression changed completely.

No.

This script is wrong.

How dare this little emperor say such things?

Where did he get the confidence?

"As for General Xiao Zhan..."

Li Zhan's gaze turned to Wei Yong, full of mockery.

"He guards the gate for the country; he is a hero!"

"The Prime Minister is not thinking about how to reward him, but instead wants to tie him up and send him to the enemy to seek temporary peace?"

"I would like to ask the Prime Minister."

"Is your heart the heart of Great Xia, or the heart of the Black Wolf King?!"

These words were harsher than slapping him in the face in public.

The label of "colluding with the enemy and betraying the country" was thus placed on Wei Yong's head.

"Your Majesty! You... you are slandering me!"

Wei Yong trembled with anger, pointing at Li Zhan, unable to say a word for a long time.

The people behind him were also stunned.

What is going on?

Why did he suddenly harden his stance?

The style changed too fast.

But what Li Zhan said next truly made them terrified.

Li Zhan took a step forward.

He opened his arms, his majesty fully displayed.

He scanned the officials, his voice resounding through the hall, issuing the first decree that truly belonged to him since his ascension.

"Transmit my decree!"

"Starting today, assemble the troops and provisions of the world!"

"The soldiers of the three armies, prepare for battle!"

"I!"

He paused, and with all his might, roared out those words.

As soon as these words were spoken, the court was in an uproar.

"Will — —" "Lead — —" "The — —" "Expedition — —" "Personally!"