I started as a concubine, and I made the crown prince cry with my delicious food.

The atmosphere inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation was so oppressive it was suffocating.

The sandalwood incense wafted upwards, but it couldn't mask the pervasive stench of blood in the air—it emanated from the southern battlefield a thousand miles away, the murderous aura formed from the blood of three thousand soldiers.

A row of civil and military officials knelt on the ground, trembling with fear, their foreheads pressed against the cold floor tiles, cold sweat dripping down their faces.

Emperor Xiao Yuanzheng, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, sat motionless behind his desk. His face was not flushed with anger, but rather a grim, suppressed color. His dragon eyes were fixed on the blood-stained military report on the desk, filled with shocking words:

"Zhennan Pass has fallen! General Zhou De'an has been killed in battle! All three thousand defenders have been wiped out! A hundred thousand barbarian troops are advancing south; Jiangzhou is in imminent danger!"

The most glaring thing was the four large characters written in blood at the end of the military report: "Send reinforcements immediately!"

That was the last message written in blood by the last messenger of Zhennanguan. After writing those four words, he jumped off the hundred-zhang-high city wall and crashed into a pile of flesh.

"Half an hour has passed." Xiao Yuanzheng finally spoke, his voice terrifyingly low. "I gave you half an hour to think. Now, who can tell me what exactly is going on?"

A deathly silence.

"I'm asking you a question!" He slammed the military report to the ground. "Zhennan Pass, the southern gateway to our Great Liang! Five thousand elite troops, three checkpoints, eighteen arrow towers! Zhou De'an guarded it for eight years, and I trusted him for eight years! And what was the result? Gone overnight?!"

"And what about you pillars of the court, you so-called brilliant minds!" He stood up, his dragon robe billowing behind him like a furious dragon. "Last month's military report said something about 'the southern border being stable and the barbarians submitting'! Just half a month ago, the Ministry of Revenue was telling me we could reduce the garrison in the south to save on military expenses! And now? A hundred thousand troops have reached our doorstep! Who among you will give me an explanation?!"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" Minister of War Sun Maolin was the first to raise his head, his forehead already scraped and bloodied. "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I am guilty beyond redemption! The military reports I received last month did indeed indicate that the southern border was stable, but who knew..."

"Who knows? I don't want anyone to know! I want to know why none of you know!" Xiao Yuanzheng walked up to him, looking down at this old minister who had followed him for twenty years. "Sun Maolin, how many years have you been in the Ministry of War?"

"Two... twenty-three years."

"Twenty-three years, and you didn't even notice the sudden reinforcement of 100,000 troops in the southern border? Were those scouts just for show? Were the border scouts dead? Or perhaps..." His voice suddenly dropped, filled with murderous intent, "...that someone deliberately concealed military intelligence?"

These words sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Concealing military intelligence is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty dares not!" Sun Maolin's face was deathly pale. "Your Majesty, I will immediately send men to investigate thoroughly! If anyone is found to be colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, I will tear them to pieces!"

"A thorough investigation? What are you going to investigate? All three thousand garrison troops are dead. Can a dead man talk?!" Xiao Yuanzheng kicked over the chair in front of him. "What's the use of saying all this now! Zhennan Pass has already fallen! The garrison in Jiangzhou numbers only eight thousand. Facing a hundred thousand barbarian troops, how many days can they hold out? Three days? Five days? Once Jiangzhou falls as well, there will be no more defensible terrain in the south. The barbarians can then advance unimpeded, directly threatening the heart of our Great Liang! Where do you plan to send me then?!"

These words were extremely harsh, and the ministers all turned ashen-faced.

"Father, please calm your anger."

A calm and composed voice rang out.

Xiao Jingshi strode in, dressed in a black court robe. His face showed no panic, only a calm demeanor born of careful consideration.

"Jing Shi, you've arrived." Upon seeing the Crown Prince, Xiao Yuanzheng's anger subsided slightly, but the flames in his eyes still burned. "You've read the military reports from the Southern Frontier?"

"Your Majesty, I received a copy of the military report while I was still in the Eastern Palace." Xiao Jingshi walked to the kneeling ministers, his gaze sweeping over these usually aloof and high-ranking court officials. "The fall of Zhennan Pass and the death of Zhou De'an are indeed a great disgrace to our Great Liang. But..."

He then changed the subject: "The most urgent task right now is not to find out who is responsible, but how to deal with this crisis."

"Zhennan Pass is strategically located, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the river on the other, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. General Zhou's ability to defend it for eight years demonstrates his true skill. Yet, the barbarians were able to breach the pass overnight, which must be suspicious." Xiao Jingshi walked to the map and pointed to the mountains and terrain of the southern border. "I suspect that the barbarians have been preparing for this for at least half a year, and it is highly likely that... they have an inside accomplice."

"An inside man?!" Xiao Yuanzheng's pupils contracted.

"Yes." Xiao Jingshi turned to look at the kneeling ministers, his gaze sharp as a knife. "Otherwise, it is impossible to explain why our scouts did not detect the movement of 100,000 troops, nor can it explain why the impregnable Zhennan Pass was breached overnight."

Minister of War Sun Maolin's face paled even more. He seemed to remember something and said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness is referring to... the batch of military funds that the Ministry of Revenue sent to the southern border last month..."

"Exactly," Xiao Jingshi said coldly. "That batch of military pay was delayed by a full twenty days. I have checked the accounts, and the so-called 'encounter with mountain bandits' on the way is simply unbelievable."

"You...you're doubting me?!" Qian Gu, the Vice Minister of Revenue, paled. "Your Highness, you can't make baseless accusations! Although the military pay was delayed, it eventually arrived! How could I possibly be a traitor!"

"Whether it's slander or not, an investigation will tell." Xiao Jingshi remained unmoved. "Father, I request that the Court of Judicial Review thoroughly investigate this matter. All officials in the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Southern Border Garrison involved in military pay and intelligence should not be let off the hook."

"Granted!" Xiao Yuanzheng decided immediately. "Issue my decree: Li Jingfeng, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, is to immediately enter the palace and take full charge of this case! Anyone who dares to obstruct him will be punished as a traitor!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" the ministers responded in unison, but Qian Gu, the Vice Minister of Revenue, was ashen-faced and his lips trembled uncontrollably.

After dealing with the internal issues, Xiao Jingshi continued, "As for the current battle situation, I believe we should divide our forces into three routes. The first route is to draw 10,000 elite troops from the capital's main camp and rush to Jiangzhou day and night, arriving within seven days; the second route is to mobilize 5,000 border troops from the western frontier to bypass the flanks and cut off the barbarians' supply lines; the third route..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present: "Select elite troops from the armies that have come to the aid of the emperor from all over the country to form a central army of 20,000 men, as the main force for the decisive battle."

"Good! As expected of my son!" Xiao Yuanzheng finally showed a hint of relief on his face. "Do as Jing Shi said! The Ministry of War shall immediately mobilize troops! The Ministry of Revenue shall do everything in its power to raise the military funds! The Ministry of Rites shall go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices and tell our ancestors that I will personally go south to protect this land!"

"What?!"

These four words struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving everyone present with a buzzing sound in their ears.

The emperor personally led the expedition?

Is the Emperor going to personally lead the army in the southern border region?

This is simply unheard of! Throughout history, apart from the founding emperor, which emperor has ever personally gone to the battlefield?!