The Empress’ Livestream

Launch the battle in winter?

Upon hearing the news, Feng Gui though that there was something wrong with his ears. He must have heard wrongly.

He asked Feng Jin in private, “It’s the dead of winter now, close to New Year. Mobilizing the troops at such a time, isn’t it rather…”

Feng Gui swallowed the remaining words, but Feng Jin already understood what his elder brother was trying to convey.

Feng Jin gave out a long sigh. He said very resignedly, “The emperor requested all the warlords to send troops to protect him. As a subordinate, our lord can’t disobey the royal decree. But if we obey the order and send troops to protect the emperor, our lord’s previous efforts will definitely go to waste. The people of Wanzhou cannot enjoy a peaceful life unless the toxic Red Lotus Group is gotten rid of. To have the best of both worlds, we have no choice but to choose to launch the battle now. We will do everything in our power to make it quick so that we can deploy some troops to Chenzhou to respond to the emperor’s request.”

Even when facing his own elder brother, Feng Jin worded everything nicely.

The way he put it, Jiang Pengji chose to launch the battle in winter neither for personal gain nor for territorial expansion, but for the good of the people of Wanzhou. She had a sincere, patriotic heart and was a wise and loyal high-ranking minister, the kind rarely found in Dongqing!

As for the truth, errr — All would be good as long as they both knew it in their hearts.

Feng Gui’s lips curled up into a slight smile, with a hint of mockery. “Protect the emperor…”

To the royal family of Dongqing, regardless of whether attempts to protect the emperor were successful or otherwise, in the end, it wouldn’t change the fact that they were nearing their end.

How could a dynasty with rotten roots continue?

Who knew whether their request for protection would drag on the royal family’s pathetic existence or hasten its death?

Feng Jin frowned, a contemplative look on his face. “This time around, our lord is also compelled to take such a course of action. If not for the interference caused by the request of protection, our lord would probably have acted according to the plan and conquered Chengde County only after the spring plowing. Now, we can only push everything forward and give it a shot.”

Feng Gui lowered his eyes for a moment. He tentatively probed, “Huaiyu, how confident do you think Liu Lanting is regarding this battle?”

If she won, Jiang Pengji, whose territory had once again expanded, would be able to turn back and deal with the local nobles of Shangyang County, then control Wanzhou completely.

If she lost, the local nobles of Shangyang County might complicate the issue and cause her some trouble.

As the idiom goes, “Man struggles upwards; water flows downwards.”

Noble houses could continue to exist for hundreds or even thousands of years, not just because of excellent family traditions and values, but also because of wise choices in investment and side-taking.

If the nobles couldn’t see a future with her, Jiang Pengji would need to beware of backstabbing.

“While I dare not say 100 percent, we have at least a 90 percent chance of winning.” Feng Jin stirred his tea with one hand, while his other hand held his sleeve back. The brothers sat opposite each other by the window, making tea and warming wine, discussing politics. “Although the incident arose suddenly, our lord has always liked to start preparing early. The harvest from the fields was not bad this autumn, and the grain depot has long been filled with grain. The army has sufficient food resources, the horses are strong and healthy, and the troops are well-trained and have extremely high cold tolerance. In comparison, the Red Lotus Group is just a mob that isn’t up to standard. With such a vast difference between the capabilities of the two, as long as our lord doesn’t commit an act of self-destruction, we will definitely win.”

When he heard that, Feng Gui quietly took a deep breath.

He wouldn’t even estimate such a high likelihood of winning a battle if the person in question was the reincarnation of the god of war. After all, the outcome of a war was highly dependent on the opportunities of time, the advantages of the situation afforded by the Earth, and the union arising from the accord of men.

After hearing Feng Jin’s analysis, Feng Gui could somewhat understand where his confidence came from.

Feng Gui said, “Based on what you said, I indeed underestimated Liu Lanting…”

Feng Gui and Feng Jin sat opposite each other, sipping tea. The tea kettle beside them was boiling and hot, white steam pouring out of it.

The two were silent for a while.

Feng Jin spoke and broke the silence in the frozen atmosphere.

He said, “The emperor’s request for protection this time around could definitely gather all the heroic warlords of Dongqing. Are you planning to go and have a look, brother?”

Nansheng had been destroyed, and Dongqing was nearing its end. Zhongzhao had started declining, and the remaining two, Beiyuan and Xichang, were chaotic as well. The whole world had been dragged into the whirlpool of war. Unless a wise lord united the world, it would once again descend into chaos, just like it had in the era of the 16 countries.

Since House Feng wanted to continue their legacy forever and overcome this challenge, they would definitely have to join the fight.

There were noble houses that had lasted for a millennium, but no royal family had ever lasted for so long. House Feng had no interest in the throne, and they would choose a lord to aid.

As the future head of the household, regardless of whether he was willing to or not, Feng Gui would definitely have to pick someone with the potential to succeed and serve as the latter’s advisor.

Soon, all the famous heroes and warlords would gather at the emperor’s request for protection. Why shouldn’t Feng Gui go and have a look?

Feng Gui’s eyes were rather cold. He said calmly, “If you take a look at the situation in Dongqing, you’ll see there are only a few forces that have potential, albeit barely. The main one would be Liu She and his son. The remaining ones play insignificant roles, and they either harbor ambitions far greater than their capabilities, or are unlucky and lack stable foundations. The most they can do is to stir up some trouble in their own territory… In my opinion, it would be difficult for them to achieve anything great. I don’t think there’s much point in going.”

There’s a saying that goes, “Don’t look for a boyfriend in a dumpster.”

For Feng Gui, he similarly refused to pick a wise lord from a bunch of insignificant players.

To put it even more bluntly, amid all these warlords, other than a select few, the rest were not up to standard, and Feng Gui didn’t even need to consider them.

The world was so huge, why should he have to constrain himself to pick someone from Dongqing?

Feng Jin somewhat agreed with what his elder brother said.

In that era, battles were not something that could be launched immediately. The preparations that must be made beforehand were very tedious.

Jiang Pengji sent orders to Fengyi County, and at the same time ordered her spies to secretly contact An Cui and ask him how things were going over there.

Her advisors initially thought that they could take a rest during the New Year holiday, but they were naive.

Upon receiving the news, Qiguan Rang and the rest all thought that they had hallucinated as a result of not getting enough sleep the previous night.

Xu Ke passed the letter around. Jiang Pengji had explained clearly in the letter that there was no other choice but to launch the battle this time around.

Yang Si’s mouth twitched. He said, “Such a bother.”

Who would start a battle near New Year?

Xu Ke knew that Yang Si had been easily irritated recently. After all, who was to blame for the fact that the government affairs and responsibilities of the Chengan District were all being shouldered by Yang Si?

The kitchen supplied them with four to five meals a day, but Yang Si had still rapidly and visibly lost all the weight that he had just gained. That was how busy he was!

Qiguan Rang said, “Our lord ordered us to discuss the matter with the military officers first. We need to settle on which of the soldiers will be setting foot on the battlefield.”

Xu Ke managed the logistics. He was basically in charge of all the preparations of the food resources for war and the maintenance of supplies.

From the look of Jiang Pengji’s letter, she wasn’t asking for their opinion, but merely informing them of a decision.

As her trusty advisors, at this juncture, they could only do their best regarding the preparations they were in charge of.

Yang Si gave a long sigh and rolled his eyes.

Qiguan Rang and Xu Ke were busy preparing for the war. This meant that he would have to shoulder most of the government affairs and responsibilities of Fengyi County.

At this rate, he was going to die from exhaustion.

He told his attendant, “Risking my life over a meal… Your employer, me, is really dumb…”

Yang Si rolled his eyes, looking like a dead fish. The documents on his desk had quickly accumulated over time, forming a high pile. The shadow it cast shrouded his entire body.

The attendant had work piled on him by Yang Si. Who could understand the pains he suffered as he progressed from stumbling along to being skilled in the handling of government affairs?

He struggled as he heaved a large stack of bamboo slips over, putting them down by the desk and causing a loud crash. Panting heavily, he supported himself with one hand on the pile of bamboo slips.

After catching his breath, the attendant was filled with righteous indignance.