If you're made a fake emperor, why did you change the country's name?

As dawn broke, inside the Xuanzheng Hall.

Civil and military officials stood in two rows on either side, heads bowed in solemn silence.

"Attend court—!"

As the newly appointed Grand Eunuch Wei An called for the court session, all the officials immediately knelt down in obeisance!

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Sitting on the dragon throne, Zhao Yu spoke calmly.

"Rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Everyone rose, and the court assembly officially began.

The Minister of Rites was the first to step out from the ranks of civil officials. He bowed and presented a thick memorial with both hands.

"Your Majesty, the Wolf Kingdom's envoy seeking surrender, who was ordered to enter the country, arrived at the capital yesterday and is waiting outside the palace for an audience to discuss the terms of surrender."

He paused for a moment, then analyzed, "However, the Wolf Kingdom is powerful after all, and the former Wolf King unfortunately died suddenly on our Great Liang territory. If this matter is not handled properly, it may once again provoke the Wolf Kingdom barbarians to march south."

"I believe that our Great Liang is a land of propriety and should win people over with benevolence and virtue."

"Your Majesty may issue an edict to mourn the former Wolf Lord, demonstrating the grandeur of our Great Liang, and then demand several million taels of silver in compensation. It is not advisable to coerce you excessively."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Qiang, the Minister of War, immediately stepped forward to echo his words.

"The Minister of Rites is absolutely right."

"We have just gained the right to recruit soldiers, which is a crucial moment for strengthening our Great Liang. It is not advisable to cause any more trouble. We can settle accounts with the Wolf Kingdom next year."

Officials from the Lu and Zhang families nodded in agreement.

For a time, the entire Golden Palace was filled with the voices of civil officials seeking stability.

Zhao Yu, sitting on the dragon throne, smiled slightly. He knew all too well what these people were up to.

They simply hadn't had time to warm up the newly acquired power to recruit soldiers, and they wanted to hold onto it tightly, fearing another invasion from the Wolf Kingdom that would affect them.

But only he knew that the Wolf Kingdom had long since fallen apart and was busy with civil war because of his actions, so there was no way he could send troops to attack.

However, Zhao Yu had no intention of saying this aloud. Instead, he looked at Wu Xun's ranks and asked:

"My esteemed ministers, do you have any other opinions?"

Before the words were even finished, the military officers in the ranks immediately began pointing at the civil officials and launching a verbal battle.

"A bunch of traitors!"

"Spineless!"

"A bunch of robots!"

Even Meng Qianshan strode out.

"Those barbarians from the Wolf Kingdom invaded our borders, killed our soldiers, and plundered our people. Now they expect us to mourn their wolf lord? What kind of logic is this!"

"Wouldn't doing this discourage the soldiers on the frontier and the people of the world?"

After saying that, he looked at Zhao Yu, cupped his fists, and said:

"Your Majesty, I believe that not only should we not offer condolences, but we must also force them to cede ten square miles of territory!"

"If the Wolf Kingdom refuses to submit, I am willing to be the vanguard and lead the army on a northern expedition!"

"We must show those barbarians of the grasslands the might of our Great Liang!"

"Well said!"

"Commander Meng is mighty!"

The generals behind him cheered and were all eager to fight.

Meanwhile, the civil officials all looked displeased.

Minister of War Li Qiang sneered and stepped out from the ranks.

"Commander Meng, you have quite the arrogance."

"Where will the provisions and funds come from to wage war?"

"The national treasury is now empty, with only 100,000 taels of silver remaining. How can we support a major northern expedition?"

He glanced sideways at Commander Meng, his words laced with sarcasm.

"Could it be that Commander Meng is going to have to pay for the provisions and wages out of his own pocket?"

Commander Meng stiffened his neck and snorted coldly.

"The Dong family has usurped power and their property has been confiscated!"

"The wealth plundered from the people by the Dong family is more than enough to support a major war!"

"Your Majesty, I request permission to fight!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the representatives from the three major families, including Li Qiang, changed slightly.

Zhao Yu finally raised his head and looked at the Prince of Zhennan, who had remained silent all along.

"Prince Zhennan, how's the inventory of the Dong family's property coming along?"

The Prince of Zhennan stepped forward, his voice steady and calm.

"Your Majesty, we have already counted three million taels of silver and fifty thousand taels of gold from the various residences of the Dong family."

"Countless treasures, antiques, land deeds, and other valuables, with a total estimated value of over five million taels of silver."

"And the inventory is still ongoing."

As soon as he finished speaking, gasps of astonishment filled the entire hall.

Three million taels of silver! Fifty thousand taels of gold!

A total of five million taels!

The national treasury only has 100,000 taels of silver, while your Dong family has fifty times more!

Who wouldn't be shocked! Even the civil officials in the same camp lowered their heads and tried to make their presence known.

Zhao Yu feigned surprise and raised his voice a few decibels.

"So many?"

"I recall which minister said before that the Dong family were the pillars of our Great Liang?"

"How could a trusted advisor have such enormous wealth?"

Cold sweat broke out on Li Qiang's forehead as he knew he had to step forward.

"Your Majesty is wise! It is the Dong family who are treacherous and have deceived everyone! We, your subjects, have also been misled!"

The Gan family can testify! Even someone as discerning as Prime Minister Gan Qing was deceived back then, let alone us.

He quickly changed the subject, trying to drag the Gan family into the mess.

This tactic has indeed proven effective. Now that the Gan family has surrendered to Zhao Yu, Zhao Yu really doesn't know what to say.

Upon seeing Li Qiang, who had survived the ordeal, he immediately added:

"Your Majesty, I believe that even with money, it will be difficult to gather enough provisions in a short period of time."

"The various regions of Daliang have just survived the famine and are in a period of recuperation. It would be more beneficial for Daliang to establish friendly relations with the Wolf Kingdom at this time."

"Why not offer a token gesture first, and then settle the score with them next spring when supplies are plentiful?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, Minister Li is right. We should prioritize the greater good!"

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

The civil officials knelt down once again, all trying to persuade Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu looked down at the family representatives below, each with their own ulterior motives, and a smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"My esteemed ministers, you have truly devoted yourselves to the cause of our Great Liang."

"In that case, let's summon the Wolf Kingdom delegation to an audience first."

Wei An immediately understood and began to sing in a drawn-out voice.

"Announcement—The Wolf Kingdom delegation is hereby granted an audience!"

The heavy palace doors slowly opened, and several figures dressed in wolf-like attire strode in.

The leader, Sarakaka, had a full beard. Although he was an envoy from a defeated country, he appeared quite composed, even displaying a touch of the arrogance of a nomadic person.

"The head of the Wolf Kingdom delegation, Sarakaka, has led the Wolf Kingdom delegation to pay homage to the Emperor of Great Liang."

They simply bowed slightly, performing a traditional grassland greeting.

Only Tuoba Hu, standing in the middle of the queue, slightly raised his head and glanced furtively at Zhao Yu on the dragon throne.

Zhao Yu was also looking at him, and returned a meaningful smile.

The moment the Wolf Kingdom delegation entered the capital, the Embroidered Uniform Guard delivered the message to him, and he also arranged for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to make contact with Tuoba Hu.

Just as he had planned, Xiaoyue Jinshang chose to submit to him, and the letter of submission had long been stored in his Jingxin Palace.

Not only that, he also learned about the Wolf Kingdom delegation's plan for this trip—a show of bravado masking underlying weakness.

Taking advantage of the Wolf Kingdom's isolationist policies and the complete suppression of information, they attempted to feign the fact that they still had the strength to fight.

"What brings you here?"

Zhao Yu spoke calmly.

Sarakaka responded, "The Wolf Kingdom is willing to admit defeat, Emperor of Liang. We are here to discuss the spoils of war with you."

He paused, then added.

"But our Wolf Kingdom only lost to your cannons. If we were to fight a real battle on the grasslands, the outcome would be uncertain!"

"We grassland people revere strength. Since we've lost, we accept the defeat. Name your price!"

These words were spoken with great confidence.

Upon hearing this, the civil officials in the hall nodded secretly, becoming even more convinced that the Wolf Kingdom's strength had not been diminished and that it was not advisable to offend it.

Minister of War Li Qiang immediately seized the opportunity, stepped forward again, and bowed deeply to Zhao Yu.

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the former Wolf Lord died suddenly within the borders of our Great Liang, which is truly regrettable."

"Our Great Liang is a land of propriety and has always won people over with virtue. Your Majesty, I request that you issue an edict to mourn our former Wolf Lord, as a sign of friendship between our two nations."

These words sounded grand and dignified, but in reality, they were a way of deliberately showing weakness to the Wolf Kingdom.

Upon hearing this, the military officers all glared angrily.

The Prince of Zhennan watched the Minister of War's retreating figure and gently shook his head.

He was not disappointed by these people's cowardice.

He simply realized that without Gan Qing's leadership, the five major families were in a state of flux and were easy prey for the cunning emperor.