My chat group is full of female losers

Chapter 338 News Arrives
While the Third Princess was displaying her great power, on the other side, in a side hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the atmosphere was unusually peaceful.

Chu Lu sat at the head of the table, one hand supporting his chin. Below, several ministers were discussing how to deal with the mess from the past few days, how to appease the people of the capital, sort out the chaotic situation, and reward the soldiers who fought bravely on the front lines, among other trivial matters.

"...Your Majesty, the soldiers on the front lines fought valiantly and have now returned in triumph. They deserve a great reward. I believe that the national treasury should be opened, and all those who participated in the battle, regardless of whether they died or were killed, should be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver and ten acres of land, to demonstrate the boundless grace of the Emperor," said Jia Ruhui, Minister of Revenue, with great passion.

"I second that opinion," the Minister of Personnel added. "Furthermore, with the people of the capital now settled, we should reduce or exempt taxes to allow the people to rest and recuperate, so as to secure the country and maintain peace."

Prime Minister Shen Shi'an stroked his beard and concluded, "Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and your strategic planning has brought us peace today. Although the aftermath is complicated, it concerns the stability of the country. We will do our utmost to share Your Majesty's burdens."

Chu Lu nodded repeatedly on the surface, appearing approving, but in reality, his mind was preoccupied with Huo Qi's situation. Had their ambush gone smoothly? Had the shopkeeper given anything away? Would the contact arrive on time? He wasn't paying any attention to what they were saying.

Just then, a series of unusually rapid footsteps came from outside the hall.

The eunuch in charge of the seal guarding the palace gate changed his expression and immediately walked quickly to the center of the palace gate. He spoke with the newcomer in a low voice for a moment, and his expression suddenly became serious.

Chu Lu naturally noticed the commotion and, somewhat curious, was about to ask a question.

The chief eunuch had already turned and quickly entered the hall. Reaching the crowd, he held a memorial box above his head and interrupted the meeting: "Your Majesty! A secret report from the Ministry of War, sent with urgent dispatches from six hundred li away, concerns matters concerning the northwest border!"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent instantly. The prime minister and the others exchanged glances, all seeing a hint of seriousness in each other's eyes.

Chu Lu waved his hand and said, "Bring it here."

The eunuch stepped forward and presented the memorial box. Chu Lu opened it and took out the scroll of letters inside.

The letter contained little information, yet Chu Lu's pupils constricted slightly as he read it.

The message came from a scout far away in Longbei, saying that strange phenomena had occurred in the sky. Afterwards, the third princess, who was going to marry the Khan, somehow killed the Khan at the New Year's banquet and was hailed as the new ruler by the people of Longbei.

Chu Lu put down the letter, already understanding the situation.

He wondered to himself, "Qin Su, did the Third Princess make her move?"

“That’s right.” Qin Su nodded in reply. “If I’m not mistaken, this should be the final part of the Third Princess’s storyline. Next, she will quickly unite all the forces of the desert and then march south to attack the capital.”

Perhaps because she had ample time, unlike the previous leading ladies, she didn't abandon her own storyline but followed the plot step by step to where she is now. She must have been very well prepared.

Chu Lu sighed inwardly.

—This is too fast, I can't even catch my breath.

"Is there any way to stop her?" he asked in his mind. "Sending troops to confront her head-on is definitely hopeless, right? If I remember correctly, you said her character was some kind of transmigrated immortal lord?"

“Yes,” Qin Su explained, “but it seems she wanted to highlight the power of women, so she didn’t use magic directly at the beginning of the war. This gave us an opportunity; if we could gain an advantage in the first few exchanges, we could buy some valuable time.”

"That's a good idea, but how exactly does it work? In her original story, how was this battle won?" Chu Lu's curiosity was piqued. He really couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried; without some kind of cheat, how could a group of female soldiers win this battle?

"That's roughly the process." Qin Su thought for a moment, sorted out the details, and whispered them in Chu Lu's ear.

Qin Su finished speaking in no time. As soon as Chu Lu heard it, a thought of how to respond immediately popped into his head.

As he pondered this, his ministers watched intently as he finished reading the letter, remaining silent for a long time with an unpredictable expression on his face. Finally, one of them couldn't hold back any longer.

Chancellor Shen Shi'an leaned forward and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, has... something serious happened at the border?"

Chu Lu snapped out of his thoughts, and without saying a word, he flipped his wrist and tossed the letter down: "Read it yourself."

A eunuch nimbly ran forward to take the letter and handed it to several high-ranking officials. After the group read the letter, the previous tension vanished instantly, and their eyes shone with ecstatic joy.

"Your Majesty! This is incredibly good news, truly incredible good news!" Minister of Revenue Jia Ruhui was so excited that his face turned red and his voice became distorted.

"Who can argue with that!" The Minister of Personnel slapped his thigh. "Who would have thought that the Third Princess would have such power, making those wolf-like desert tribes obedient! Now that she has become the master there, isn't that desert practically ours?"

Prime Minister Shen Shi'an stroked his beard, his chest trembling with laughter: "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! In my humble opinion, we must immediately undertake two tasks. First, prepare generous gifts and send envoys to congratulate the Third Princess on her ascension to the throne."

Secondly, we should go with the flow and persuade her to submit. If she just nods, this centuries-old border threat will be completely resolved!

For a moment, the hall was like boiling water, with the old ministers talking one after another, as if they could already see the bright future of expanding the territory, and their faces were all shining.

As Chu Lu listened to this group of people talking about their grand plans, his ears were ringing. He raised his hand to interrupt their daydreams: "Alright, stop dreaming. This won't work."

The smiles on the faces of the ministers froze instantly, and they stared at him blankly.

Chu Lu sighed and said, "That Third Princess, for some reason, hates us to the bone. Now that she holds great power, do you think she's thinking about returning to her ancestral lineage, or about how to kill us all?"

However, the ministers suddenly turned into stones in a latrine, completely disbelieving Chu Lu's words.

Shen Shi'an even adopted the air of someone with experience, advising, "Your Majesty, you are overthinking this. Blood is thicker than water; how could a daughter take a knife to her own father?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, after all, we are her maternal family. We have never deliberately mistreated her in terms of food, clothing, daily necessities, or etiquette. Moreover, we did not force her to marry. What great grudge do we have against each other? As long as we speak kindly to her, she will surely change her mind."

Even if, by the very least, she harbors resentment and is unwilling to return, at least the two countries can remain at peace, which is still a good outcome. At least the border pressure will be greatly reduced, and trade between the two countries can be promoted. The cattle, sheep, and horses of the desert are all valuable resources.

She would never do something as vicious and foolish as sending troops to slaughter us all.

Looking at their confident demeanor, Chu Lu was too lazy to waste any more words with them.

In his view, the most crucial thing right now is to find Tian Shu as soon as possible and maximize the correction value.

As for trying to persuade the Third Princess, that would be a complete waste of time.

However, seeing how stubborn they are, it would be troublesome to persuade them. It would be better to just let them do it. Once they run into obstacles, it will be easier for me to propose sending troops to fight them.

With that in mind, he simply decided to become a hands-off manager.

“Since all of you ministers think so,” Chu Lu waved his hand, “then you ministers may act as you see fit. Do whatever you wish, and you need not consult me ​​on every matter.”

He stood up, yawned, and said, "I am tired. The meeting is over. You may all leave."

The ministers were overjoyed to receive the emperor's permission.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

"We will certainly fulfill our mission and bring Her Highness the Third Princess and the entire desert back to their homeland intact!"

They bowed deeply to Chu Lu with great joy, then left one by one, full of energy and high aspirations, presumably to discuss who should be sent as an envoy and what generous gifts should be prepared.

Watching their departing figures, Chu Lu sighed softly.

(End of this chapter)