The Demonic Crown Prince

Even Xu Rui, a minister known for his infighting, couldn't help but get angry. Pointing at Huyan Gucang, he roared, "How dare you! This isn't a plea for help; it's outright robbery!"

"What you think is your business. I'm just here to convey the decree of our Western Wilderness Emperor."

Huyan Gucang laughed heartily and said indifferently.

Emperor Jinglong pressed down on his hand, and the entire hall fell silent.

He looked at Huyan Gucang, "What if my Great Ye doesn't give it to me?"

"That means war. After all, if we can't survive, we'll have to go out and rob."

And you, occupying the most resource-rich region of Daye, are naturally our primary target.

Huyan Gucang grinned, as if he considered robbery a perfectly normal thing to do.

"This is absolutely outrageous!"

Emperor Jinglong was furious, but he dared not start a war lightly.

Keep in mind that the rebellion in Yanbei Road hasn't been resolved yet. Li Yuan alone definitely won't stand a chance; we'll just have to see if he can prolong the situation.

Once the wrangling in the imperial court is over and everything is agreed upon, a large force will definitely be dispatched to quell the rebellion.

But at this critical juncture, if another battle were to break out with the Western Wilderness, the pressure on the imperial court would be immense, potentially leading to its collapse.

Therefore, despite his anger, Emperor Jinglong dared not directly engage in battle.

Those damned people of the Western Wilderness really know how to seize opportunities to plunder when things are in trouble!

Huyan Gucang seemed to have figured out what he was thinking, and laughed, "Your Majesty, I advise you to think twice."

After all, Yanbei Road is in utter chaos right now. If our Western Wilderness were to seize the opportunity to send troops, with internal and external troubles threatening your Great Ye, your situation would be dire!

"Do you think I'm really afraid? At worst, we can wage war with the whole country, and the outcome is still uncertain."

Emperor Jinglong roared angrily, but he was clearly outwardly fierce but inwardly weak.

As for the officials standing nearby, they all remained silent. The military generals were furious and eager for battle, but the civil officials looked solemn and fearful of war. The two sides did not share the same opinion.

"Fighting is no problem. If we lose, we can just retreat back to the Western Wilderness."

But Your Majesty, what will happen after you've finished fighting? The country will be riddled with problems; there will likely be even more rebels and the situation will be even more dangerous.

Huyan Bone Storage Road.

Before Emperor Jinglong could speak, he rolled his eyes and said again, "However, Your Majesty, my Western Wilderness Empire is not a warlike country. Unless absolutely necessary, we do not wish to start a war lightly."

Therefore, the best solution is to resolve the dispute directly through a martial arts competition.

Each country sends three powerful warriors to fight. The country that defeats all of the opposing warriors wins.

If we lose, then Your Majesty, please pay according to the terms.

If we lose, then pretend we never came, and there will be no more wars for ten years.

how?"

The hall was completely silent.

Minister of War Liu Yuwen's beady eyes darted back and forth, then he turned to look at Duke of Qi, Xu Rui, who was also looking at him.

The two men's eyes darkened.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the martial arts competition is worth considering. If we win, we will not have to waste national resources and military strength to start a war. It is the best way to resolve the problem and the dispute."

Xu Rui held his official tablet and said.

"I second that opinion. Our great Ye, a vast and powerful nation, is teeming with talented individuals. How could we possibly fear a mere western wilderness?"

Liu Yuwen also held his tablet and spoke.

However, because he was missing two front teeth, his speech was slurred and unclear, which sounded somewhat comical.

"Indeed."

At this moment, Prime Minister Zhang Yue also nodded slowly.

He had been unwell for half a month and had been handling official business from home. Today, when the Western Wilderness delegation came to court, he dragged his ailing body to the court.

"Since that's the case, Your Majesty, then grant the request! Has our Great Ye ever feared that barbaric nation?"

"The Privy Councilor Zhao Shanhe snorted angrily."

He had been ill and out of the house for nearly half a month, handling official business from home, and only went to the palace today.

At this moment, a group of civil and military officials reached a consensus, holding their tablets in unison, "Your Majesty, please grant our request. We will surely let the people of this barbaric country witness the heroic bearing of the warriors of our Great Ye."

Emperor Jinglong said, "Since that's the case, I approve of this proposal. Tomorrow at 9:00 AM, at the training ground in the capital, we will compete in martial arts. The loser must accept the outcome!"

"Your Majesty's courage and decisiveness are truly admirable!"

Huyan Gucang laughed heartily, turned around and left, returning to the post station.

……

At this moment, Li Yuan and Jiang Zhanyue were completely unaware of what was happening inside the palace and were still rushing towards it.

Jiang Zhanyue remained silent the entire way, his mind still replaying the scenes from earlier, while Li Yuan leisurely enjoyed the scenery along the roadside, seemingly in a very good mood!

As soon as Li Yuan entered the city, he happened to run into Wang Wanquan.

At that moment, he was ordering dozens of large carts to head back, but his expression did not seem very pleasant.

Upon seeing Li Yuan, he quickly ran over to greet him.

"What's wrong? You seem to be in a bad mood?" Li Yuan asked, somewhat amused.

"This humble general went to the Arsenal on the Prince's orders, but the people there said they didn't have that many suits of armor. They only gave me a bunch of crossbows, which were old and I don't know which unit they had discarded."

They did provide plenty of arrows—a total of 100,000 of all types—but not a single piece of armor, and large ranged weapons like crossbows and catapults were nowhere to be found. This was simply outrageous.

Wang Wanquan said indignantly.

"Oh well, if we don't get it, we don't get it. We weren't really hoping for much anyway. It's better to get it than not to get it."

Li Yuan comforted him.

In fact, he knew perfectly well that the Ministry of War and the enemy in the shadows were watching him, so how could he possibly get so many weapons so easily?

However, it's okay, getting it is better than not getting it at all.

"Where are the craftsmen?" Li Yuan asked.

"We haven't found a single one. Either they're registered as artisans and can't get out, or they've all joined the military. There are very few artisans left in the civilian population."

Wang Wanquan sighed.

"Are you planning to build a workshop?"

Jiang Zhanyue, who was standing next to him, asked.

"Can you help?" Li Yuan turned to look at her.

"I can't help. People registered as artisans are strictly managed and their movement is strictly restricted. They must be reviewed by multiple government departments, including the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works."

Jiang Zhanyue shook his head.

Li Yuan let out a sigh of relief, somewhat disappointed, and turned to look at Wang Wanquan, "You should have bought all the things I asked you to buy, right?"

"That's true, we bought everything, not a single thing was missing. That's the good thing about the capital, you have everything, you can buy anything."

Wang Wanquan grinned.

"That's good!" Li Yuan nodded.

Once you've acquired all the necessary tools and materials, creating a new type of weapon shouldn't be too difficult.

However, being a craftsman is indeed a very troublesome thing.

In that era, a skilled craftsman was indeed hard to find, unlike in later generations when a GG brand knocks down ten people on the street, seven of whom are science and engineering graduates.

"Skilled craftsmen are indeed too scarce. If all else fails, we should ask the emperor for one."

Forget it. First, I might not be able to give it to them, and second, it's easy to cause unnecessary speculation and let those flies buzz around trying to obstruct things. No point.

Li Yuan let out a long sigh; this was a bit of a problem for him.