The Prodigal Son

Soon, a palace guard helped a messenger with three black flags on his back into the main hall.

Looking at the flag on the messenger's back, the already lifeless atmosphere in the court became even more somber.

defeat!

Another defeat at the front!

Could it be that Wangzhou Prefecture has been captured?

Many people, including Yan Li, were thinking with worried expressions.

The messenger rushed in and immediately knelt on the ground with a thud, wailing with grief and indignation: "Your Majesty, last night, General Qin Yu of Ning led a large cavalry force in a surprise attack on Shangxing, and Shangxing has fallen into enemy hands..."

"What?"

The Emperor of Yan's expression changed drastically. He abruptly stood up from his throne and asked in a trembling voice, "Shangxing...has been occupied by the enemy?"

"yes!"

The messenger replied in grief and indignation: "Shangxing only has less than three thousand county soldiers, which is no match for the enemy. From the discovery of the enemy to the fall of the city, less than a quarter of an hour passed..."

"fart!"

One minister roared angrily, "Did the enemy really manage to breach Wangzhou in just two days? Do you think Zong Bi and the 20,000 troops of Wangzhou Prefecture are all useless?"

That's Zong Bi!

He was a famous general who defended Tushi City for seven days with only 10,000 troops and a grandmaster, even making Emperor Xiaowu of Ningguo suffer a setback!

Even if the Ning army besieged Wangzhou Prefecture with 100,000 troops, it would be impossible for them to break through Wangzhou Prefecture so quickly.

Moreover, if it were an army of 100,000, they would have to fight their way in from Zhujun and Changping. In less than ten days, they wouldn't even be able to reach the city walls of Wangzhou, let alone break through it!

"I don't know either!"

The messenger looked dejected and was completely unable to answer the minister's question.

They didn't know how the enemy had managed to reach Shangxing so quickly.

Even though the prefect had strengthened the defenses, Shangxing only had so few troops, and they were powerless to fight back against the enemy's large army.

"I roughly know what happened."

Yan Li's face showed a deep bitterness. "Qin Yu most likely deceived Zong Bi and bypassed Wangzhou Prefecture directly, heading straight for Xing! Qin Yu used this tactic last year when attacking Min State..."

Upon hearing Yan Li's words, the group of ministers suddenly realized what was happening.

Yes!

Qin Yu used this trick last year, and it worked wonders!

It's entirely possible that he'll use this tactic again!

Emperor Yan felt a sudden dizziness and collapsed onto his throne, causing chaos to erupt in the court.

Shangxing has been occupied by the enemy!

How else can they provide assistance to Zong Bi?

Zong Bi of Wangzhou was left with an isolated army!

The door for Qin to attack other parts of Yan was also completely opened!

This scoundrel was the one who once turned the rear of the Min Kingdom upside down with just 10,000 cavalry!

What are we going to do now?!

Just as the court was in chaos, Yan Li stepped forward, his face ashen, and pleaded through gritted teeth, "Father! I beg to lead the reinforcements there personally. If I fail to recapture Shangxing, I am willing to commit suicide to atone for my sins!"

"Your Highness, you mustn't!"

Ministers immediately tried to dissuade him.

"Yes, Your Highness, Prince Su has already led the vanguard to attack. Prince Su is also a veteran general of our dynasty. Please trust Prince Su!"

"For now, Your Highness will remain in court to share His Majesty's burdens."

"Your Highness, please do not act impulsively, but prioritize the affairs of the state..."

Soon, a group of ministers joined in the persuasion.

Most of them were ministers who supported Yan Li.

Although the situation in Yan is critical, it is not yet to the point where the Crown Prince of Yan must lead an army into battle.

The State of Yan was not without soldiers!

However, it's impossible to gather too many troops in a short period of time!

If King Su, Yan Wujiu, can hold out against Qin Yu in Shangxing for a month, a large number of reinforcements will arrive.

At that time, Qin Yu will have no chance of holding Shangxing!

Despite the ministers' attempts to dissuade him, Yan Li remained unmoved, his gaze resolute as he declared, "This is the mess I made! I will resolve it myself!"

His confrontation with Qin Yu off the battlefield ended in a complete defeat for him.

Now, all he wants is to clash with Qin Yu on the battlefield!

He also wanted to see just how amazing this top talent of Daning really was!

The courtiers tried to dissuade him, but the Emperor of Yan flew into a rage, grabbed a memorial from his desk, and threw it at Yan Li, roaring, "Let him go if he wants to!"

Sensing the Emperor's rage, several ministers quickly gave Yan Li meaningful glances, signaling him not to act rashly.

However, Yan Li pretended not to see their meaningful glances and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Father! Your son will go and meet with Fifth Uncle immediately!"

After saying this, Yan Li slowly knelt down and respectfully kowtowed three times to Emperor Yan.

It felt like a farewell!

Seeing this, a group of ministers immediately stamped their feet in exasperation.

Isn't this ridiculous?

Does he think the court isn't chaotic enough already?

The Yan Emperor stared intently at Yan Li, his chest heaving violently.

That unfilial son!

He said it was all his fault, but that was just an angry outburst. Why is he blaming him?

What, does he expect me to apologize to him in court?

After kowtowing, Yan Li quickly stood up and bowed to the assembled officials: "My lords, at this difficult time, I earnestly request that you set aside past grievances and work together to help the court overcome this crisis! I thank you all!"

After saying that, Yan Li strode out of the hall.

"Your Highness! Please don't act rashly!"

Several ministers who had come to their senses rushed forward and held Yan Li tightly.

However, Yanli's mind was made up, and she remained unmoved.

Just then, a royal guard hurriedly entered the hall from outside.

Seeing the expressions on the faces of the imperial guards, everyone's hearts skipped a beat.

Could it be that something bad has happened again?

Yan Li also wanted to know what had happened, so she stopped for the time being.

After kneeling and bowing to the Emperor of Yan, the imperial guard spoke with a look of despair: "Your Majesty, the reason why our dynasty has not had much new grain on the market has been found out."

The Emperor of Yan's heart tightened, and he said sternly, "Speak quickly, what exactly happened?"

The imperial guard replied with a sorrowful expression, "Your Majesty, because the price of snow cotton continues to rise, many gentry and officials have been secretly renting or buying land from the people that should have been used to grow grain, land far from the official roads, and planting snow cotton on large tracts of it..."

They have only secretly investigated Huzhou and Shengzhou so far.

But judging from the current situation, the situation in other states should be similar.

In places that are easily visible, many people are still growing grain according to the imperial court's requirements.

But those places are, after all, a minority!

More often, it's in places that are unseen.

In some places, out of ten acres of land, not even two acres might be used to grow grain.

It's currently the harvest season for snow cotton, and as far as the eye can see, it's a vast expanse of white.

Even many court officials acquired land to grow edelweiss...

The imperial guards were still reporting what they had found out.

However, the Yan Emperor seemed not to hear him, and instead glared fiercely at the ministers in the court.

No wonder there isn't much new grain on the market!

Even high-ranking officials in the imperial court were involved, let alone local officials and gentry.

Facing the murderous gaze of the Yan Emperor, many ministers lowered their heads, secretly worried.

Many of them thought they were the only ones doing this!

Surprisingly, everyone does it this way.

Emperor Yan's lips turned purple. He forced himself to stand, his body trembling as he pointed at his ministers, laughing bitterly, "Good, good! You...you are all good ministers of Great Yan, all my...pfft..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Yan Emperor suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and swayed as he collapsed to the ground.

"His Majesty!"

"Father!"

Chaos erupted as everyone screamed and rushed forward...