Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

The next day was the third day of the Lunar New Year.

In Chengqian Palace, the Emperor and Empress, along with their concubines and married princesses and noblewomen, would have a small gathering. After exchanging pleasantries and greetings, they would see the princesses and noblewomen off to their husbands before leaving the palace to return home.

Yong'an was among them. Although she no longer needed to leave the palace, she mainly accompanied Lin Wantang and escorted her back to her residence. On the surface, she listened to the Emperor and Empress talking, but in private, Yong'an held Lin Wantang's hand tightly, very reluctant to part.

"The next time we meet will be on your wedding day..."

Unable to leave the palace often, Yong'an's eyes reddened with worry, and she said in a low, muffled voice, "No, I still want to do your makeup, but we can't always be together now."

"Who said that? If you're determined, you'll meet again." Lin Wantang patted her hand comfortingly and quietly wiped away her tears with an embroidered handkerchief. "It's not like we'll never see each other again. Let's pinky swear that I'll come to be with you whenever I have the chance."

Yong'an choked up and made a pinky promise with her: "It's a promise... I haven't had enough time with you yet."

The crying attracted the Empress's attention. She already disliked Lin Wantang, but she couldn't do anything for the sake of face. She just teased Yong'an a couple of times. The Emperor smiled and was about to speak when he suddenly heard a noise outside.

The sound of horses' hooves broke through the snow outside the palace gates.

A courier, his armor adorned with three feathers and stained with blood, tumbled off his horse, covered in dust and grime, his official boots gone. Ignoring the imperial guards' attempts to stop him, he staggered and pulled out an urgent dispatch token: "Report... urgent dispatch by fire..."

After the imperial guards verified the documents, they dared not delay and hurriedly carried the postman to the palace, one on each side.

"Report!"

The sound shattered the palace, and the lingering echo reverberated against the coiled dragon pillars.

Hua Ershisan also heard the strange noise and was about to leave to investigate when he bumped into a palace eunuch running in panic. The eunuch kowtowed repeatedly, his voice trembling with panic: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, there is an urgent military report from the western border!"

The emperor's face, which had just begun to brighten, darkened again, and he hurriedly said, "Summon them!"

Two imperial guards carried the courier to the palace gate. Because he was covered in filth and it was difficult for him to face the emperor, they put him down at the gate and knelt before him. The courier, breathless, managed to shout, "Report! On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, the Western Liao suddenly launched a night attack on the border..."

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, exhausted, yet still managed to shout, "General Zhu Yun lit thirteen beacon fires, and died a martyr after being struck by twenty-seven arrows!"

"The Western Liao cavalry seized the opportunity to advance rapidly, crossing the Yinma River. Smoke signals rose in all three towns and nine fortresses along the way, and by the end of yesterday, they had already reached the gates of Yunzhou City!"

"The border troops have suffered over ten thousand casualties, and General Cui Jin, the garrison commander, is seriously wounded. Before he collapsed, he sent an urgent message with fire from a hundred miles away, pleading with the Emperor to immediately dispatch the capital garrison and the northern border troops to provide reinforcements. Any further delay, and the eighteen prefectures in the west may all fall!"

The words were still ringing in my ears, yet the entire hall was filled with a deathly silence.

Lin Wantang was so shocked she almost bit her thin lips to pieces. The Western Liao had rebelled? And at this critical juncture?

What a coincidence... wait a minute!

In the previous life, the Western Liao Dynasty was not in turmoil. On the contrary, it was the barbarians in the northern frontier who took advantage of the emperor's critical illness to launch a large-scale uprising and attempt to march north. However, this only happened in the early autumn of this year.

Clearly, something was amiss, and everything was obviously the complete opposite of what I had experienced in my previous life.

Lin Wantang, filled with worry, dared not utter a word. Then, after a moment of silence, the emperor angrily swept the dishes and auspicious objects off the table: "Good! These barbarians of Western Liao dare to cause trouble at the year's end!"

"Hua Ersan! Prepare the Hall of Mental Cultivation! Immediately summon Wei Wujiu, Zhao Yuande, Wang Hong, Cui Lijian, Xie Zhi... all officials of the third rank and above in the court to the hall for a meeting!"

The Empress, not knowing what to say, advised the Emperor to take care of his health. She and the others then respectfully saw the Emperor off. Due to the sudden turmoil, the Empress dared not cause any further trouble and simply escorted the princesses and noblewomen home from the palace.

Lin Wantang was among them. After parting ways with Yong'an, she left the palace in a sedan chair, her mind in turmoil. Unable to find a chance to see Wei Wujiu, she had no choice but to return to the Grand Tutor's residence first.

The emperor and his ministers discussed the matter and decided to release Shen Huai'an ahead of time.

When Shen Huai'an entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation, all the officials had already gathered and were discussing whether to send troops to provide assistance.

Shen Huai'an feigned surprise, his expression instantly changing. He first greeted the emperor, then excused himself from the formalities and stood up. He pretended to listen for a while before finally saying, "Father, I believe that what Lord Cui and Lord Xie said is not without reason."

"Western Liao and our dynasty have long been on friendly terms and have always been peaceful. Since the time of Emperor Taizu, we signed a century-long peace treaty with Western Liao and were willing to be a vassal state of our Great Yue. They paid tribute every year without fail and their envoys came and went without objection. Now, they have suddenly started a war. This must be unusual. There may be some hidden reasons behind it."

"In my opinion, it would be better for our dynasty to send envoys to the Western Liao to inquire about peace negotiations. This would reduce the war and ensure the peace and prosperity of the people and the country."

Wei Wujiu, having already grown impatient, let out a cold sneer without any attempt to conceal his sarcasm, saying, "Your Highness, what a cunning strategy! To retreat, cede territory, pay reparations, and negotiate peace without firing a single shot, all while constantly yielding and avoiding the Western Liao barbarians?"

"Our great Yue is rich and powerful; how can we fear the barbarians of the Western Liao? Besides, what about the four cities and three fortresses that have already fallen? What about Zhu Yun, who was loyal to the country and defended the border to the death? Can he and the tens of thousands of soldiers who died in the line of duty close their eyes in peace?"

Wei Wujiu sternly refuted Shen Huai'an, then coldly glanced at Cui Lijian and Xie Zhi, who were solely advocating for peace talks. He bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that regardless of the reason for the Western Liao's sudden uprising, since they have already invaded our borders, occupied our territory, and caused the loss of our generals, we must fight to the bitter end! We will not return until the Western Liao is defeated!"

No matter what grievances or reasons the Western Liao may have, they dared to harm our people and launch a night raid. Let them all go to hell and plead with the King of Hell.

Shen Huai'an sneered: "Lord Wei, I'm sorry to say I cannot agree, but your radical words sound nice and are easy to say, but have you ever considered the common people on the border?"

"Oh, Lord Wei, you hold a high position and have long since abandoned the idea of ​​'letting others eat cake' (a Chinese idiom meaning 'nothing but meat porridge'). Alright, let's set aside the plight of the common people for now. Just consider this: if war breaks out, shouldn't the supplies be prepared before the troops even move?"

After a sarcastic and aggressive speech, Shen Huai'an bowed and asked the emperor, "Father, I once commanded the Ministry of Revenue and have some knowledge of the national treasury. If we were to dispatch 100,000 troops from the Northern Border to reinforce the Western Border, the Ministry of Revenue should be able to gather provisions in a short time. However, even the 500,000 troops in the Western Border are struggling to withstand the invasion of the Western Liao. Are these 100,000 troops enough?"

Clearly, 100,000 troops sent to reinforce the area are far from enough.

That would require dispatching more than half of the Northern Army's forces, at least 800,000. Such a large force would require provisions that the national treasury simply could not provide.