The Prodigal Son

North Qidongdu, Dabancheng.

Within a single day, Empress Murong received two messages.

Ning's army launched a major offensive against the Yan state, and Wangzhou, the capital of Yan, was in grave danger.

Moreover, the State of Yan fell into Ning's treacherous scheme. Not only was Yan's economy on the verge of collapse, but it was also facing a severe food shortage. A great famine was inevitable!

Another piece of news is that Feng Shu, an advisor to the Crown Prince of Yan, has only taken fifty-odd horsemen on an urgent mission to Bei Qi. He has already arrived in Hezhou and will reach Dapan City tomorrow.

Empress Murong naturally knew Feng Shu's purpose.

But she had no time to think about how to negotiate with Feng Shu.

She felt nothing but anger at being mocked!

cheated!

Both the Yan and Bei Qi states were deceived by the Ning people!

Bei Qi made ample preparations, mobilizing troops and transporting provisions, preparing to fight a major battle with the Ning army in Shuozhou, and to launch a surprise attack on Zhenzhou, or even the front-line fortress of Tiebi City in Weizhou, when the opportunity arises.

It turned out that this was actually a trick by Ning Jun!

Ningren's true target was the State of Yan!

The people of Ning have been preparing for the attack on Yan since last year!

None of them had anticipated Ning's scheme.

They only understood everything when all of Ningren's plans were exposed.

This feeling of being mocked made Empress Murong extremely uncomfortable.

However, she also felt somewhat fortunate.

Fortunately, Ningren's wicked schemes were not used against Beiqi.

Otherwise, the fate of Beiqi would probably not be much better than that of Yan.

However, Empress Murong suspected that Ning Ren might have used some trick on Bei Qi, but they hadn't figured it out yet.

Just like the Yan people who were kept in the dark by the Ning people!

"Think carefully about whether the Ning people have also used tricks on us that we haven't yet discovered!"

Empress Murong then addressed her ministers, saying, "I believe you can all guess Feng Shu's purpose! Tell me, what should we do now? Should we accept Yan's offer to attack Ning, or should we seize Yan's territory?"

The states of Ning and Yan have already started fighting.

Bei Qi would definitely not stand idly by!

If Bei Qi cannot gain any benefit from this battle, even she herself will feel that she is too incompetent.

"Your Majesty, if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold!"

Minister Han Cizhang was the first to speak out: "The Ning people have already occupied the Min state. If we allow them to occupy the Yan state as well, after they destroy the Chu state, our Northern Qi will find it difficult to contend with the Ning people!"

"Han Xiang's words make sense!"

An official chimed in, "Chu dares not provoke Ning now, as Ning can obtain large amounts of grain from Chu! If Ning were to occupy Yan as well, our Northern Qi would be in grave danger!"

As the two spoke, the courtiers also began to express their opinions.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend!"

"As long as the Yan state can offer us sufficient benefits, we will send troops to attack the Ning state!"

"Helping the Yan state is helping ourselves!"

"To allow the Ning people to destroy the Yan state, or even to help them destroy it, would be a losing proposition!"

"I'm not so sure! The Yan Kingdom is already on the verge of chaos. Even if we help Yan win this battle, it won't recover for at least ten years!"

"Instead of expending a large number of troops to fight a deadly battle with the Ning people, it would be better to seize more Yan territory before they do!"

"Exactly, you all know the nature of the Yan people! They can barely protect themselves, so all they do is try to jump back and forth between my Northern Qi and Ning Kingdom to seize benefits and strengthen themselves! Can we really expect them to restrain Ning Kingdom?"

Soon, the court officials split into two factions.

One faction firmly believed in the principle of mutual dependence and advocated attacking Ningguo, insisting that they could not allow Ningguo to grow too powerful.

Another faction advocated taking advantage of the opportunity to occupy the territory of the Yan state and gain enough benefits from this war!

Both sides have their own convictions and their own reasons.

However, those who advocate attacking Ningguo still constitute the majority.

After all, Beiqi and Ningguo are mortal enemies.

Although Beiqi recovered Shuozhou last year, eight of their states are still occupied by the Ning people!

They need to reclaim the eight provinces before they can be called the Great Qi!

If the Ning people grow too powerful, they will inevitably try every means to destroy the Northern Qi in the future!

Beiqi should not be blinded by immediate gains, but should take a longer-term view!

Faced with the two factions of ministers, Empress Murong was somewhat indecisive.

Both sides have valid points and are acting in the best interests of Bei Qi.

And she wanted more!

They didn't want Ningguo to have such a smooth run, and they also wanted to occupy more of Yanguo's territory!

If we can force the Ning people to hand over the Nine Dragon Pendant to sue for peace, that would be the best outcome!

However, how to fight, where to fight, and how to control casualties are all big problems!

Seeing that Empress Murong was also hesitant, Han Cizhang immediately suggested, "Your Majesty, why not wait for the Yan envoy to arrive and see Yan's sincerity before making a decision?"

"Yes! We don't yet know the sincerity of the Yan Kingdom. It's not too late to decide after we've observed their sincerity!"

Han Cizhang's words quickly gained the support of many ministers.

This included some ministers who advocated attacking the Yan state.

"Alright, let's take a look first!"

Empress Murong nodded slightly. "Let's conclude today's court assembly here! Chancellor Han, Chancellor Xiao, and the other high ministers, please remain!"

"yes!"

Those who were named accepted the order.

Afterwards, Empress Murong led several important officials to the Imperial Garden.

It was already close to September, and while places like Daning were still hot, the weather in Dapan City of Beiqi was already starting to cool down.

Most of the vibrant flowers in the Imperial Garden have withered, leaving behind a carpet of fallen petals.

Looking at the fallen petals scattered on the ground, everyone couldn't help but think of the State of Yan.

The Yan Kingdom today is just like these flowers that are almost completely withered!

Empress Murong invited everyone to sit in the pavilion in the middle, and without beating around the bush, she got straight to the point: "I'm wondering if there's a way to have the best of both worlds?"

A win-win situation?

The group exchanged bewildered glances, secretly surprised.

Is Your Majesty so greedy?

They wanted to occupy the land of Yan, but they also wanted to contain the Ning army's offensive.

Isn't she worried that she'll end up pleasing neither side?

"Actually, it's not impossible!"

Han Cizhang thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "If the Yan state were to cede a large amount of territory to us in exchange for our military assistance, wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"

"It's not that easy!"

Military Advisor Xiao Yanguang retorted, "At most, the Yan Kingdom will only cede the territory north of the Pan River! But if we fight for it ourselves, we might be able to occupy most of the Yan Kingdom!"

Han Cizhang shook his head and said, "Prime Minister Xiao, don't be greedy! If the Yan Kingdom really cede the land north of the Panjiang River, that's enough! The destruction of the Yan Kingdom will absolutely not benefit us!"

Han Cizhang sighed inwardly.

If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold!

Why do some people not understand such a simple principle?

"What do you mean by 'no benefit'?"

Xiao Yanguang sneered: "All these years, the Ning people have been on guard against the Yan Kingdom, haven't we been on guard too?"

"Once we destroy the Yan state, we can then confront the Ning people head-on without any worries about our rear!"

"Do you think the Ning people are unprepared for our attack, daring to launch such a large-scale offensive against the Yan state?"

"If we attack the Ning people now, even if we win, our losses will be devastating!"

"Most importantly, Northern Qi has no navy!"

"Once the Ning people occupy large swathes of Yan territory, their navy could strike our rear at any time!"

"Prime Minister Han, if that time really comes, how should we respond?"