Ouchi Taming the Cat, starting with the Ten Tiger Forms!

Chapter 626: Above the Imperial City
Princess Ankang played and joked with her brothers and sisters, and then left Jingyang Palace.

Li Xuan still occupied a good position in Princess Ankang's arms, while Yu'er followed behind them with the other attendants.

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and the whole palace is busy.

I heard that the Spring Festival Gala is the biggest banquet in the palace in a year, and it also has the most invited guests.

In addition to officials of all ranks, royal relatives, and famous families, there are also representatives from various countries who will stay in the capital and representatives from various vassal states who come specially to pay tribute.

It can be imagined that the scale of this banquet will be much grander than the previous Double Ninth Festival banquet.

There were still several hours before the Spring Festival Gala officially began, but Princess Ankang and others had already arrived at the main venue of the banquet, which was the Taiji Palace Square, early.

As there are so many guests today, I heard from the Eighth Prince that people are already starting to arrive.

However, those who entered so early were guests of lower status.

But to say that his status is low is only relative. Those who can be invited to attend the New Year's Eve dinner of the Daxing Dynasty are definitely not ordinary people.

The eighth prince wanted to bring his friends to watch the fun.

The guests were looking forward to attending the lively New Year's Eve dinner, while the princes and princesses who had lived in the palace for a long time wanted to watch the lively atmosphere of the guests.

The eighth prince came to the city wall surrounding the Taiji Palace Square with familiarity. He simply negotiated with the commander of the imperial guards, and the other party made way for them with difficulty.

But as they climbed up the imperial city wall, a team of imperial guards protected them firmly in the middle and guarded all around.

"Don't worry about them, let's just enjoy our fun."

The eighth prince waved his hands to everyone, indicating that they should not worry about it.

Speaking of which, this was the first time that Princess Ankang and others had climbed the imperial city wall.

The same is true for the fifth prince and the seventh princess.

Although they could see the tall wall that separated the palace from the outside world every day, they only realized how high it was when they climbed up.

When they looked outside, they could have a clear view of the entire capital city.

The Eighth Prince looked at the others who were enchanted by the scenery before them, and just smiled, admiring them from the side.

He was also shocked when he first came here.

Standing here, they can realize how strong and yet how thin the boundary between inside and outside the palace is.

"The capital is so big."

Princess Ankang couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, this is all Daxing's territory." The fifth prince said this and couldn't help but sigh.

Today, the Seventh Princess did not doze off during the day, which was rare.

She knew that everyone would stay up all night at the New Year's Eve dinner tonight.

The Seventh Princess was so excited that she couldn't sleep when she thought about so many people watching the stars with her tonight.

She also looked at the rare daytime view, and saw the crowds of people on the streets from afar, and actually found a bit of fun in stargazing.

After looking at the scenery of the capital city for a while on the imperial city wall, they remembered the purpose of coming up.

The Yong'an Gate, Chengtian Gate and Changle Gate of the Taiji Palace Square have all been opened, and people are queuing up and filing in.

Outside these three city gates, there were already quite a few people standing, ready to enter.

"Wow, so many people are going to the New Year's Eve dinner?"

“Even Taiji Palace Square can’t accommodate so many people, right?”

Princess Ankang looked at the huge crowd and asked in surprise.

"Some people just go through the motions at the Taiji Palace Square and then attend banquets elsewhere, some of which are even held outside the palace."

"These people will spend most of the night traveling back and forth, which is not a pleasure at all."

"But rules are rules and they must be followed."

The fifth prince explained to everyone.

"Look." The eighth prince suddenly pointed in a direction among the crowd.

A group of exotic people were gathering there.

"Those are tribute teams from hundreds of countries in the Western Regions. I heard that they were a few days late this year, arriving in the capital almost on New Year's Eve."

The Eighth Prince couldn't help but snorted coldly as he spoke.

The Fifth Prince at the side also chimed in: "Although the Hundred Kingdoms in the Western Regions are all small countries, under the rule of the Holy Fire Cult, they are also a strong force when united."

"It's just that they are more focused on trade and have no intention of competing for supremacy in the world."

"But now the tense situation between Daxing and Damao has gradually made them more worried."

The fifth prince sighed, his helplessness was obvious.

Li Xuan couldn't help but turn his head and look at the two brothers with some surprise.

"Old Five and Old Eight have been staying in the palace the whole time, so they are very familiar with the situation outside."

Even though the Eighth Prince was always unruly on weekdays, he still paid attention to these things.

Li Xuan thought about it carefully and it made sense.

Among the princes and princesses, there are really few who are complete fools.

Although they are not very old, they are already exceptionally outstanding compared to their peers.

In addition, the current situation in the court also forces them to be more sensitive.

After all, they are all the flesh and blood of Emperor Yongyuan. If the situation really changes, Prince Zheng will be the first one who will not let them go.

Unless the mother's family is strong, perhaps they can save their lives in the event of a change in the situation, but they will live in fear for the rest of their lives.

Therefore, the princes and princesses were actually very concerned about the court situation, openly or secretly, for fear that they would suffer the consequences without knowing it.

The reason why the Third Prince established himself in the army early on was also due to these considerations.

Only by making your influence great enough can you be able to protect yourself at critical moments.

Otherwise, if you just leave everything to fate, it would be too passive.

The Eighth Prince then pointed out some tribute teams and complained that their tribute to Daxing was becoming increasingly perfunctory.

Except for a few special countries, this phenomenon is almost universal.

Now that Daxing and Damao are evenly matched, these vassal states that were originally very respectful to Daxing have changed their attitudes.

This change made the Eighth Prince very unhappy.

"Eighth Prince, the advance troops led by Duke Hu have arrived at the front line several months ago. I wonder what the battle situation is like now?" asked the fifth prince.

The Fifth Prince had no channels to obtain this kind of confidential information, so he could only ask the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth Prince did not hide this.

"After the advance troops arrived, there were some victories and defeats at first, but then the desert side became more and more passive, and now they have completely adopted a passive defensive posture."

"The cities on the front line are fortresses that are easy to defend but difficult to attack. Attacking the cities will not be worth the loss for both sides."

"After the advance troops arrived at the front line, the fighting situation cooled down and even became calmer."

The Fifth Prince couldn't help but frown after hearing this and said, "Wouldn't it be a waste of time?"

The Eighth Prince shook his head and said, "We can't just go through all this trouble in vain. It cost a lot to form the advance army this time. The nobles will definitely not accept the result of returning empty-handed."

The fifth prince tactfully asked no further questions, and those on the city wall fell silent.

At this time, the Eighth Prince asked Princess Ankang:
"Ankang, what do you think?"

"Hmm?" Li Xuan felt something was wrong and narrowed his eyes to look at the Eighth Prince.

Normally, the Eighth Prince rarely talked about such serious topics.

He brought his friends to the city wall early today, saying that they were going to watch the fun, but soon he turned the topic to the general situation, and he seldom discussed such issues with Princess Ankang.

"What does Lao Ba want to do?"

"Are you asking on behalf of the noble?" "I've been so busy lately that I forgot to ask the little girl whether she has fulfilled her role as the noble's spokesperson during this period."

After Princess Ankang participated in a Cuju exchange match in the army, she was jointly nominated by the four dukes to become the spokesperson for the nobles in order to promote communication between the nobles and Emperor Yongyuan.

Li Xuan was previously busy dealing with Zhu Wufeng and the Western Region Fire Demon, and was often not in Jingyang Palace.

The Eighth Prince's sudden question today reminded Li Xuan of this.

Princess Ankang just smiled slightly when she heard the Eighth Prince's question:
"I?"

"I naturally hope that there will be no more wars in this world."

Princess Ankang's answer was very general.

"Ankang, you have put in a lot of effort in forming the advance army. It doesn't matter even if we return empty-handed?" The eighth prince seemed a little unconvinced.

Previously, Princess Ankang reorganized various government offices in the capital and filled the holes in the national treasury as the royal silver envoy.

Although they did not know about these things until a long time after the fact, everyone can now clearly see how great the impact Princess Ankang had caused.

Princess Ankang listened to the Eighth Prince's words of disbelief, but she still kept a smile on her face. She withdrew her gaze from the tribute teams and turned to look in the direction of the capital.

"Myna, I still say the same thing."

"If returning without success can calm more conflicts, I am willing to accept that outcome."

"Of course, if the dukes have made up their minds, I will report this to my father."

When Li Xuan heard this, he looked up at Princess Ankang with a serious expression.

As expected, she had come into contact with the nobles during the time when Li Xuan was busy.

This made Li Xuan worried. He wondered if Princess Ankang would show any fear when facing several dukes alone.

Seeing Princess Ankang's resolute expression, the Eighth Prince couldn't help but sigh:
"Ankang, you are more suitable to be the spokesperson than me and the third brother."

Princess Ankang still faced the Eighth Prince with a smile.

The Fifth Prince seemed to be deep in thought, his eyes moving back and forth between Princess Ankang and the Eighth Prince.

The Seventh Princess didn't care much about their conversation. She just lay on the wall, watching the endless stream of people passing through the city gate below.

"They'll come for you tonight."

"Ankang, the old guys have had plans since my grandfather went to war."

"Returning empty-handed is simply not an option."

"Your Excellency doesn't want to delay this any longer!"

The Eighth Prince's expression was extremely serious. Princess Ankang gradually put away her smile and revealed a helpless expression.

"That's it..."

Li Xuan listened silently, but he always had a bad feeling in his heart.

"What did the nobles talk about with the little girl?"

"Why does it sound like the nobles want to break the current situation?"

"Reliable on what?"

"Depending on the 100,000 advance troops?"

Li Xuan swallowed, feeling that something big was about to happen.

The front line is too far away, and even if Li Xuan really knew something, he would be powerless to change it.

He only hoped that the nobles would have a positive influence on them.

Otherwise, the situation that was finally reversed might be lost in one day.

"Meow?"

Li Xuan looked up and called out to Princess Ankang with concern.

Princess Ankang lowered her head and touched Li Xuan's head, and explained in front of everyone:
"Since the Dukes have made up their minds, there is no need to hide it."

"Fifth Brother, Seventh Sister, please keep what you are about to hear confidential."

The fifth prince nodded. The seventh princess didn't care what they were saying at all. Instead, she stared in a certain direction under the city wall, as if she had discovered something interesting.

Princess Ankang didn't pay any attention to the Seventh Princess and continued:

"Ah Xuan, a few days ago, several dukes came to visit Jingyang Palace after attending court."

"They want to propose to our father that we continue to increase the number of troops on the front line and give Duke Hu, who is leading the advance army, greater operational autonomy."

Li Xuan was stunned.

The Eighth Prince had said before that the front line was temporarily calm now.

In this case, what would Duke Hu do with more authority?
The Eighth Prince just said that it is impossible to return empty-handed.

Then it's either going backward or forward.

The nobles want the front to continue to move forward...

"No, the strongholds on both sides of the front are difficult to capture."

"So, are you planning to raid the heart of the desert?"

The geographical environment and living customs of Damo are very different from those of Daxing. There are large areas of desert and grassland, so the number of cities is far less than that of Daxing, and most of them form a tribe by living in groups in tents.

If a surprise attack was launched into the heart of the desert to destroy several tribes, the front line would indeed gain a lot of merit and could even expand the conflict.

Even if Da Mo wanted to endure it, he certainly couldn't do it under such circumstances.

But the risks of doing so are undoubtedly huge.

If things go wrong, the advance troops and even the backbone forces on the front line might be lost.

The nobles planned to take a gamble from the very beginning!
Princess Ankang wanted to persuade them to take a more moderate approach, but it seems she has failed.

The nobles had already made their own plans when the advance troops were successfully assembled.

It would naturally be best if Emperor Yongyuan agreed to send more troops.

But if Emperor Yongyuan does not send more troops, Duke Hu on the front line can also directly use the advance troops to gamble.

However, this method of executing first and reporting later would never make Emperor Yongyuan happy.

It might even cause great resentment from Emperor Yongyuan. Li Xuan could also understand why Princess Ankang wanted to persuade the nobles to accept the result of "returning empty-handed".

"Ankang, if it were me and the third brother, I'm afraid we would have passed on the Dukes' proposal long ago."

"After all, our position is not as fair as yours."

The eighth prince knew very well that if he were in his place, he would definitely favor the nobles, that is, the family of his mother.

But wouldn't that be a betrayal to their father?

The Eighth Prince was sincerely grateful at this moment that he did not have to make such a painful decision himself.

Princess Ankang stroked Li Xuan's head silently and said nothing more.

The Fifth Prince stepped forward and silently patted the Eighth Prince on the shoulder, then cast an encouraging look at Princess Ankang.

Princess Ankang and the Eighth Prince seem to have a glorious life, but they also carry corresponding burdens.

At this time, the Fifth Prince was glad that he was not caught in this position.

But when they turned around and saw the Seventh Princess immersed in her own world, they felt that she was the luckiest one.

"Hey, look at this."

"The accessories on those people are so strange!"

"When combined together, they can actually form the Gaochang Crescent Twelve Stars Chart."

The Seventh Princess looked at herself for a long time, then suddenly pointed at the crowd below and spoke.

(End of this chapter)