I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Night fell as expected.

After arranging everything for his army, Qin Feng led a small number of men to the Empress.

Inside the central command tent, upon seeing the Empress, Qin Feng took the initiative to clasp his hands in greeting: "Greetings, General Ever-Victorious."

The Empress stood up and returned the greeting, saying, "It should be this humble general greeting His Highness the Seventh Prince."

One is a prince, the other is a general. No matter how you look at it, the general can't compare to the prince, unless the general is all-powerful and the prince is a good-for-nothing.

But clearly neither is true. The current Qin Feng is no longer the Seventh Prince of the past, and the current Empress is merely an ever-victorious general.

"Seventh Uncle, you're here! I've missed Huayang so much!"

Upon seeing Qin Feng arrive, Hua Yang leaped forward and happily threw herself into Qin Feng's arms.

Qin Feng reached out and pulled her into his arms, then stood up and spun around several times.

Before going to the Buddhist Kingdom, he often accompanied Huayang to play.

Of Hua Yang's uncles, he had the best relationship with Hua Yang, even better than the second brother, Qin Han.

For this reason, Qin Feng often showed off to others.

"Big brother, you're willing to let Huayang come along too?" Qin Feng couldn't help but ask.

You should know that the safest place right now is not the capital city, but Xuanque Pass.

The Empress said, "What can he do if he's reluctant? It's me who can't leave Huayang."

After saying that, the Empress beckoned to Huayang, telling her to get off Qin Feng and not to be so disrespectful.

Before she was around, Huayang was led astray.

"It's alright, it's alright." Qin Feng wanted to get closer to Hua Yang, after all, he also wanted to have a daughter like her.

After playing for a while, Qin Feng sat down and asked, "What should we do next?"

Although there were two large armies, Qin Feng understood clearly that the two armies could only have one voice, and that was the Empress.

Wang Long was no ordinary man; he was the King of Liangzhou, and only the Empress could rival him.

As for him, he should just follow the Empress's orders, otherwise he'll suffer sooner or later.

The Empress, without any ceremony, sat down and said, "What we can do now is to surround the city without attacking. The capital is the capital of our Great Zhou Dynasty and cannot be damaged. Moreover, there are many important people in the city, so we cannot attack!"

Not only were all the civil and military officials, the empress, and the imperial concubines in the capital, but Qin Feng also got married within three years, and his wife was also in the city.

Their safety cannot be guaranteed if they attack the city without authorization.

This is one of the reasons why Wang Long, despite having fewer troops than them, did not choose to abandon the city and flee upon hearing of their arrival.

Because Wang Long has countless hostages, he has a wealth of resources to rely on.

"Is it merely a matter of besieging without attacking?"

Qin Feng asked.

If this is all we can do right now, we're being far too passive.

The Empress said, "Have the army make way for us."

Qin Feng said, "Is it to give Wang Long a chance to escape? A siege must have a gap?"

The Empress nodded. "That's exactly what I meant!"

If the capital is completely besieged, all of Wang Long's escape routes will be cut off.

Wang Long will surely lead his troops in a desperate resistance, unleashing astonishing fighting power.

However, deliberately leaving a gap will have a very different result.

Knowing there was a way out, Wang Long wouldn't have gone to such extremes.

"Okay, I understand. I'll go arrange it right away."

After saying that, Qin Feng was about to get up and go down to make arrangements.

"Wait a moment!"

The Empress called out to Qin Feng.

Qin Feng stopped in his tracks, turned around, and asked, "Is there anything else?"

The Empress asked, "Seventh Prince, you have been in the capital for many years. Do you know of any secret passages leading to the capital?"

They are completely unaware of the situation in the city; they are utterly clueless.

That won't do; they need to know the situation in the capital before they can take any further action.

Qin Feng shook his head and said, "There used to be. There was a section of the city wall that had fallen into disrepair over the years, and wild dogs had dug holes in the wall that small people could squeeze through. But since my elder brother ascended the throne, the city wall has been rebuilt, and the dog holes have been filled in."

"If you want to get in now, you either need to grow wings and fly in, or you need to dig a tunnel in."

"Okay, I understand."

The Empress nodded, her thoughts unknown.

However, Qin Feng returned not long after he left.

The empress, after the incident, frowned, her willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment.

Why did you come back so soon after leaving? Could it be that there's something else going on?

Just as he was about to ask a question, he saw several people following Qin Feng in.

The Empress immediately understood what was going on.

It turned out to be Wang Long's messenger.

The envoy was none other than a pivotal figure in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Prime Minister Xiao Yuanlu!

There were three other people following behind him, all of whom were unfamiliar faces.

However, according to the Empress's guess, they should be Wang Long's three confidants.

Three trusted confidants came together, presumably to broaden their horizons.

The Empress snorted coldly, thinking to herself that Wang Long was really something.

What time is it? How can they still be training the three of them?

it is good.

You want to train them, right? You want them to succeed, right? But she won't allow it.

It should be known that some forms of training can help people become successful.

Some forms of training can shatter one's Dao heart, casting a shadow over one's entire life.

After Qin Feng came in, he was about to speak when he mentioned that he had just gone out and encountered these people, who were envoys sent by Wang Long to negotiate. So he led the way and brought them here.

Before he could speak, the Empress raised her hand to interrupt him, saying, "I know everything. Please take a seat."

After everyone was seated, Xiao Yuanlu spoke first.

He cupped his hands in front of the Empress and said with a smile, "I have long heard of the Empress's elegance, but it was a pity that I could not meet her. Now that I have seen her, I can see that she truly lives up to her reputation."

In truth, the Empress's reputation in the world is even more renowned than Qin Li's.

People of the world, both men and women, worship him to the extreme.

Even Prime Minister Xiao Yuanlu was no exception; after all, humans are creatures who admire strength.

The fact that an empress could become the emperor of Northern Mang while being a woman is unique in the world.

For this achievement alone, she can be remembered in history.

The Empress smiled and said, "Prime Minister Xiao, you are too kind. Those are all things of the past, so let's not mention them. It is Prime Minister Xiao who has remained firmly in the court for decades, standing firm without falling from power. That is truly admirable."

The Empress wasn't just being polite; she meant it sincerely.

If she could have learned from Xiao Yuanlu, she wouldn't have been dragged off the throne while she was still a good emperor.

Being an emperor is not something to be praised for; being able to hold onto the throne is what deserves praise.

Xiao Yuanlu was quite pleased with the Empress's praise and laughed heartily.

The following time was spent exchanging compliments across the border.

Logically speaking, neither of them were like that, but they just kept talking and talking. Everyone was amazed that they could come up with so many flattering words without repeating a single one.

As time went on, some people started to get upset. They were there to negotiate, not to listen to the two men praising each other.

"Prime Minister Xiao, don't forget why the Prince sent you here," Night Owl said, squinting.

Xiao Yuanlu glanced at him, displeased, and said, "I'm speaking with the Empress. Who gave you the right to interrupt? Don't you have any manners?"

Upon hearing this, the night owl became even more displeased.

Now the entire capital is in the hands of the prince, who holds the power of life and death.

Xiao Yuanlu was nothing more than a pawn in the prince's hands; the prince could kill him at will if he was displeased.

But who knew that Xiao Yuanlu really thought he was something special, daring to bare his teeth and grin in front of him.

But before the night owl could react, Judge Wu stretched out his arm to stop him.

There's a reason why Night Owl is relegated to the third among the three sworn siblings.

Given the Night Owl's temperament, without them and the Prince, they wouldn't even know how they died if they went out.

Having stopped the night owl, Judge Wu, holding a pen in one hand and a book in the other, smiled at Xiao Yuanlu and said:

"Prime Minister Xiao, please continue. However, I will record your every word and action in this book!"

Xiao Yuanlu couldn't help but snort coldly, how could he not know the threat in Judge Wu's words?

He said, "Write if you want. If you want to go into detail, write that I had a very pleasant conversation with the Empress and we almost drank together. If you don't write that I look down on you, then write that I did."

Upon hearing this, Judge Wu paused, looking at Xiao Yuanlu.

What's wrong with this fat man? He was supposed to record everything that everyone did and said in the enemy camp today; it was his duty.

He did his job well, what's wrong with that?

Judge Wu said nothing more, but simply gestured for him to proceed.

Xiao Yuanlu did as he pleased; he was going to record everything truthfully anyway, and Wang Long would see all of it.

As long as Xiao Yuanlu goes back, he is not afraid of Wang Long's punishment. He can say whatever he wants and do whatever he wants, and no one can stop him.

Seeing that Judge Wu had stopped speaking, Xiao Yuanlu gave up his verbal attack on him.

Turning his gaze back to the Empress, Xiao Yuanlu asked, "Why didn't Your Majesty return with you?"

"Ahem!"

The one coughing was neither the Night Owl nor Judge Wu, but the Shadow Serpent, the only female among the three.

She couldn't help but cough twice, reminding him, "What Your Majesty? That's just a traitor who seized power by imprisoning his father!"

Xiao Yuanlu ignored her and looked at the Empress.

The Empress answered truthfully: "After the great victory at Xuanque Pass, Murong Qingcang hastily broke camp and retreated north. Your Majesty is leading your generals in pursuit, preparing to occupy the grasslands in one fell swoop. It is estimated that he will not be back for at least two or three years."

Xiao Yuanlu nodded.

The three siblings behind him nodded.

It turns out Qin Li won't be coming back; he won't be back for two or three years.

This is important news; they must go back and tell the prince.

"By the way, didn't you come here to negotiate? What do you want to talk about?" the Empress asked.

Xiao Yuanlu remained silent, glancing at his three siblings behind him, signaling them to speak.

Anyway, what we need to discuss are the conditions, but he's too embarrassed to say them out loud.

"Qin Li murdered his brother, imprisoned his father, and persecuted loyal officials; his ascension to the throne was illegitimate. My lord, in accordance with Heaven's will, is purging the court of corrupt officials!"

"I'm giving you one chance: lay down your weapons, surrender, and submit to the Prince. He may forgive your past transgressions. But if you remain obstinate, you will be executed without mercy!"

"That's what the night owl said."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent except for the three siblings couldn't help but laugh.

Even Xiao Yuanlu couldn't help but laugh. Before coming, when he learned that Wang Long had these conditions, he really didn't want to come.

Because it's nothing more than bringing shame upon oneself!

They've surrounded the capital with their troops, and you're no match for them. Why would you expect them to lay down their arms and surrender?

Someone must be out of their mind to say something like that.