We'll have you impersonate the Crown Prince and create a prosperous era for the Great Qian Dyna

Huang Chen trembled all over!

They were already eunuchs, so under what circumstances would they be required to be castrated again?

This is not just physical torture, but also an insult to the soul!

He subconsciously looked at Steward Liu, who calmly picked up his teacup, as if what he was talking about had nothing to do with him.

At this moment, Huang Chen began to understand Steward Liu a little better.

Manager Liu put down his teacup with some emotion.

"There's not much to say. The Crown Prince has done far too many outrageous things."

"I told Tiancheng before that the Crown Prince's apparent evil is just the tip of the iceberg. I've been cleaning up his messes countless times."

"In short, I feel that I have done right by Her Majesty the Empress. Even if I die and see her again in the future, I will not feel bad about it."

"In your eyes, the Crown Prince is the Empress's child, innocent and adorable, as if he were a gift from heaven. But he is a complete scoundrel. I can't love him, but because of the Empress, I can't hate him either."

Manager Liu had no excuse.

He is indeed the son of an old friend, but he lacks the demeanor and virtue of that old friend, and instead becomes a demon who harms himself.

Steward Liu really didn't like it, so his death was no big deal.

On the contrary, the current King Yan, Zhou Tiancheng, is regarded by him as a junior.

Huang Chen looked at Zhou Tiancheng with a complicated expression.

"Your name is also Tiancheng?"

Zhou Tiancheng smiled and shook his head.

"It's not the 'cheng' (承), it's the 'cheng' (成) of success."

"By the way, Uncle Huang, did you come here to ask me to lead the National Protection Army to stop the barbarian army?"

"That might be a bit difficult."

"It's not that I don't care about the lives of the people of Daqian, it's that the National Protection Army needs to protect Beixia, and my son is still there, so we might not be able to spare him."

Huang Chen's hand trembled, and his voice was somewhat trembling.

"I heard that the Great Yue Pass was breached by the barbarian army?"

Zhou Tiancheng looked grave and sighed.

Yes, that's true.

"The key issue is that you arrived too early. If you had arrived even one day later, I would have led the northern frontier troops to attack the barbarian stronghold."

"If the Northern Frontier had restrained them before winter, the Northern Xia wouldn't be in such a passive position, and the Great Yue Pass should be in good condition by now."

"However, before I left, I told the Military Commission to quickly launch a surprise attack on the barbarian army's stronghold, but I don't know why they didn't go."

Huang Chen felt somewhat embarrassed.

He did know some inside information, after all, he was from the inner circle and had his own intelligence network.

He could only look intently at Zhou Tiancheng.

"Are you really unable to recall the National Protection Army?"

Zhou Tiancheng shook his head.

"I still have a son to protect. With the National Protection Army gone, I'm afraid the 50,000 men of Northern Xia won't be able to stop those barbarians."

Huang Chen seemed to age ten years in an instant. He nodded and took his leave with a dejected look on his face, saying that he had to go back and report to Zhou Rui.

By the time he returned to Kyoto, it was already midsummer.

Most of the land in the northern frontier had fallen to the barbarians, who raised a new banner and named it the Great Yuan.

They founded a nation.

The imperial court of the Great Qian Dynasty thus became even busier.

Some people suggested surrendering and establishing relations with the Yuan Dynasty.

Some argue that the founding of the Yuan Dynasty should not be acknowledged, and that troops from the western frontier should be dispatched to block the barbarian soldiers.

In short, there are all sorts of opinions, and everyone has their reasons.

The surrender faction has its reasons. If we can't even hold on now, are we going to wait until we lose the northern border before establishing diplomatic relations?

Hardliners have their reasons. Now that the Great Qian is suffering defeats, will those barbarians easily agree to sue for peace?

Shouldn't we at least fight a decent war before bringing up the issue of seeking peace?

Zhou Rui was driven crazy by their constant noise.

When Huang Chen returned, he asked about Zhou Tiancheng's attitude.

Huang Chen, with a complicated expression, recounted the events.

Zhou Rui felt inexplicably angry.

The Northern Xia kingdom was destroyed, so what? It was just one son. Why is Zhou Tiancheng so unreasonable?

His complaints made Huang Chen's expression even stranger.

This emperor of their own family seems to be a monster without emotions, or perhaps, his emotions have always been reserved for very few people, with only one or two people able to gain his approval.

One of them was the deceased empress, and the other was the deceased true crown prince.

As for the other princes, he regarded them as mere expendable resources.

This made Huang Chen's mind even heavier.

Left with no other option, Zhou Rui asked a question.

"Huang Chen, tell me, if I were to reinstate him as Crown Prince, what are the chances of stability for the Great Qian Dynasty?"

Huang Chen abandoned any bias and calmly gave his answer.

"This servant does not know."

Zhou Rui was like a deflated balloon.

"Then let the troops from the Western Frontier go. With the armies from both sides combined, they'll have to stop the barbarian army. We can't let them march all the way to the capital, can we?"

"We'll discuss peace talks once things have stabilized over there."

Zhou Rui also wanted to seek peace.

But he knew that he had to hold off the barbarians before he would be qualified to sue for peace.

So the imperial edict was issued, and troops began to be mobilized in the western frontier.

Seeing this, the Tibetans began to run rampant across the lands of Daqian without any restraint.

At the same time, local armies began to gather in the two major border regions of western and northern Xinjiang.

The result was disastrous.

The local army has not yet completed its military reform, and its combat effectiveness is even inferior to that of the previous Northern Xia army!

Compared to the barbarians, they were nothing more than a bunch of toys!

What kind of army would turn tail and run when they saw barbarians charging at them on horseback?

The answer is the local army.

They usually farm, and haven't fought a war in decades. The fiercest people they've ever seen are just a few dozen or a few hundred bandits.

Sending them to fight the barbarian army is a joke!

Moreover, they were part of the old military system.

In the eyes of their generals, the soldiers under their command were their private property, and they would feel heartbroken if even one of them died.

Later on, the local reinforcements simply started feigning illness.

Can I please not fight?

We can't beat them anyway.

As a result, the situation became more complicated and worse.

The barbarians' reputation gradually spread southwards; their fearsome name could even stop a child from crying.

It was this battle that finally made everyone in the court realize what a terrible, incompetent army the Great Qian Dynasty was.

They started to panic.

Will the Great Qian Dynasty be destroyed?

Zhou Rui suppressed these voices, but it didn't stop his pressure from increasing dramatically, and he looked much older.

You should know that on the day the news of the true prince's death was confirmed, he had already turned quite a bit of gray hair. Now, the torment he is experiencing has caused him to become even more disoriented, with clumps of hair falling out.

What should I do?

Is there any hope for the Great Qian Dynasty?

Zhou Rui summoned the Imperial Observatory.

When human power is insufficient, he can only ask fate for help.

The Imperial Observatory firmly gave its answer.

"Return the Crown Prince to his rightful place."

Zhou Rui fell silent again.