Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

"Commander, please think twice. The dog emperor is dead, and you have already avenged your great enemy. If we continue fighting, none of us will have a good outcome. Moreover, Prince Chun has already ascended the throne and has gained the support of a group of court officials. Our chances of winning are not high."

Wang Wu patiently and earnestly advised him.

He was willing to join Song Chengwu in the rebellion purely because the emperor was a tyrannical and incompetent ruler who oppressed the people.

But the dog emperor is dead, and the newly enthroned Prince Chun is kind and gentle, and should be a wise ruler.

In comparison, Song Chengwu was just a reckless fool. If he were to actually ascend the throne, he would probably just be another dog emperor.

Zheng Quan hurriedly chimed in, "General Wang is right, and besides, there's Madam Shen. Madam Shen is highly skilled in martial arts, and she supports Prince Chun, so she must be right!"

"Father, please don't insist on going your own way anymore."

"Yes, Father, Madam Shen is..."

"Madam Shen, Madam Shen, Madam Shen!!" Song Chengwu was furious and embarrassed. "You all have Madam Shen on your minds, has she eaten your brains??"

"This is about conquering the world. If we win, you two will be princes, and the two of you will be founding heroes!"

"Then you'll enjoy endless riches and glory. Don't even mention one cook, I'll find you ten or eight cooks!!!"

Song Chengwu truly couldn't understand everyone's infatuation with Shen Qing.

All night long, these people talked about nothing but "Lady Shen" and "Lady Shen" all they did.

Now, the mere mention of "Shen Niangzi" makes him feel irritated.

No matter how capable Madam Shen is, if she doesn't help him, that's just trouble!

Big trouble!

Everyone: "..."

So all that talking last night was for nothing.

"I don't want to be a prince."

"I will not be a founding hero."

Song Leyue and Zheng Quan were quick to speak, and they started talking without thinking.

After hesitating for a long time, Song Anbang finally said, "Actually, Father... you can't continue fighting alone..."

"Who says I'm alone? I still have 100,000 Song family soldiers!!!" Song Chengwu shouted, slamming his fist on the table.

"...The Song family army was taken over by Black Hawk and Zhou Wentong yesterday."

Song Chengwu's eyes widened: "As long as I give the order..."

"Coach, coach—"

An excited shout came from outside the door.

"Madam Shen is inviting you to eat chive dumplings, right outside the City Lord's Mansion!!"

Song Chengwu: "??"

"Chive dumplings!!!" Zheng Quan shouted excitedly.

"I'm going to eat some chive pancakes now, I'm going to talk to you later!"

After shouting, Zheng Quan didn't care about anything else and dashed out of the study.

No matter how big or small the matter is, eating is the most important thing!

Song Chengwu's face turned pale, but before he could even get angry, Song Leye spoke up:

"Dad, I'm going to eat now. You should think it over carefully and not do anything rash."

"General Zheng, wait for me—"

They followed closely behind Zheng Quan.

Song Chengwu gritted his teeth, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

What a useless son!

All they know is eating.

Fortunately, he still has General Wang and his eldest son. If he tries hard, he might be able to persuade them.

"General Wang..." Song Chengwu looked at Wang Wu.

Wang Wu felt a little reluctant, but thinking of the braised pork with potatoes from yesterday, he steeled himself and said, "Commander, it's been a whole night, I'll go get some food first."

Braised pork with potatoes is delicious, so these chive dumplings must be just as good.

He'd better go early, or there won't be any food left, and he'll regret it.

So, with a heavy heart, he turned around and strode away.

Song Chengwu had no time to stop him, and could only look at Song Anbang with teary eyes:

"Anbang, thank goodness you're here. I knew that no matter what, you would always stand by my side. Your little brother is such a good-for-nothing..."

Tragic, utterly tragic.

Song Anbang opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to leave alone.

But he was really anxious.

He also wanted to eat Shen Niangzi's chive pancakes...

"Anbang, don't worry, once we capture the capital, you'll be the crown prince, the next emperor, and your little brother will be nothing!!"

"Father," Song Anbang couldn't contain himself any longer, "let's go eat some chive pancakes together."

Song Chengwu: "??"

Completely dumbfounded?

The eldest son, who is usually serious and steady, talked a lot, but I didn't get a definite answer. In the end, it was still chive dumplings.

Chive boxes, chive boxes, just rotten chives, what's so delicious about them?

"I don't want to eat it! I hate chives the most! The smell is so pungent, it's awful!!"

"Now I'm going to talk to you about the war, I'm getting down to business!!"

Song Chengwu was furious.

Song Anbang shook his head seriously: "Father, you've never eaten it before."

"Shen Niangzi's cuisine is absolutely heavenly and unparalleled."

They looked so serious, as if they were discussing some important national affairs.

"You—" Song Chengwu trembled with anger, he no longer knew what to say.

Song Anbang grabbed Song Chengwu's arm and pulled him towards the door: "Father, go and try it, you'll know once you try it."

"Let's put war aside for now, we need to hurry up and eat some chive pancakes."

Song Anbang was getting increasingly anxious.

If this drags on, who knows when we'll finally get to eat Lady Shen's leek dumplings.

"I told you I'm not going..." Song Chengwu kept pulling his arm away.

"Father, General Zheng and General Wang have all gone. Don't you want to taste what the food they're so crazy about tastes like? If you don't go, I'm not going to take care of you anymore!" Song Anbang was really angry. He threw down his hand and rushed out the door.

There was no other way; he had tried his best.

Even if his father doesn't eat, he has to.

Song Chengwu covered his face, sobbing, "Waaaaaah..."

"Even the eldest son is useless."

"Do you think it's easy for me, a lonely old woman?"

"Why is the whole world against me? My son, my soldiers, my throne..."

Song Chengwu howled for a long time, but no one paid any attention to him.

After a long while, he could only wipe away his tears and leave the study.

"Going to take a look is fine, consider it infiltrating enemy territory..."

This was the only option Song Chengwu had left.

He could only convince himself to first taste the leek dumplings, join the culinary army, then dismantle the culinary army from within, reclaim his son and soldiers, and finally launch a final assault on the throne.

With this mindset, Song Chengwu walked towards the entrance of the city lord's mansion.

He hadn't walked far when he smelled a fragrant aroma of oil, the kind that smells like pancakes, not overpowering or pungent, but very enticing.

"...This smell..." Song Chengwu stopped abruptly, sniffing repeatedly. "It actually...smells kind of nice..."