Li Feng's whole body swayed, and Chang Geng looked at him expressionlessly as he fell onto the throne of the Golden Palace. A kind of cruel pleasure suddenly arose beyond his rationality. However, he was very harsh on himself. After a moment, he pinched his palm calmly and suppressed the bloodthirsty pleasure - he knew that it was Wuergu's fault, not his true intention.

Chang Geng said insincerely, "Take care, my royal brother."

It was as if the person who kept saying "I want to kill Li Feng" behind his back was not him.

When King Yanbei said this, the stunned civil and military officials in the hall immediately reacted and followed suit, saying, "Take care, Your Majesty."

Li Feng's eyes slowly fell on Chang Geng - nominally, this was his only brother, but he didn't often notice him. Since the Fourth Prince Li Min was crowned king and entered the court, he hardly spoke in the court, nor did he deliberately make friends with court officials. He had never even taken advantage of Gu Yun's favor to talk to the military commanders, and only occasionally chatted with a few poor Hanlin scholars about poetry and books.

Chang Geng seemed not to notice his gaze at all, and said calmly: "General Zhao died for his country. The East China Sea is no longer protected. The foreigners can turn north and immediately reach Dagu Port. It is too late to say anything now. I hope my royal brother will put aside all distractions and make a decision as soon as possible."

Li Feng knew it very well, but his mind was in a mess and he couldn't speak for a while.

At this time, Wang Guojiu, who had been tossed around by rumors in the streets for days, glanced at the emperor's face and said boldly: "Your Majesty, there is only one Beidaying in the suburbs of Beijing, and the surrounding area is all plains. If we fight here, our troops will definitely be insufficient. Besides, Tan Hongfei's rebellion has not been concluded yet, and Beidaying has almost no one to lead it. If the Jiangnan group of dragons are wiped out, will Beidaying be able to do it? Who can still protect the safety of the imperial city? For now, it is better to... uh..."

Wang Guo didn't finish his words, because the eyes of all the generals in the hall were fixed on him like white arrows.

This old guy hasn't even cleaned up his own mess yet, and at the slightest sign of trouble, he dares to instigate the emperor to move the capital - if it weren't for the external and internal troubles, I'm afraid everyone would want to divide him up and eat him.

Wang Guo swallowed his saliva dejectedly, bent over and dared not get up.

Li Feng looked uncertain and was silent for a moment. He left Wang Guojiu aside and said, "Let Tan Hongfei return to his post and give him a chance to redeem himself... I called you here to discuss matters. If anyone talks nonsense again, get out!"

The emperor was so anxious that he even yelled out vulgar words. The whole hall was silent and Wang Guo's face turned red and white.

Li Feng turned to the Minister of War with a slightly irritable look on his face: "Lord Hu, you hold the Ministry of War and the order to beat the drum, so you say."

The Minister of War had a pale face that was two feet long, and his name "Hu Guang" sounded a bit like "gourd", so some people privately called him "gourd minister".

When Hugua wrote to Li Feng, he was so angry that his face was covered with bubbles and he became a bitter gourd. The order to beat the drum was nominally issued by the Ministry of War, but would the Ministry of War dare to issue it casually? He was just a pen in the emperor's hand, and could the pen dare to have its own ideas?

Hu Guang wiped off his sweat and said righteously with a lack of confidence: "Uh... Your Majesty is right. The capital is the trust of our Daliang country and the place where the people are heading. How can we let the foreigners barge in? What a disgrace! Even if we still have one soldier, we must fight to the death. If we retreat now, won't it shake the morale of the army?"

Li Feng was really impatient to listen to his repetitive nonsense, so he interrupted him and said, "I told you how to fight!"

Hu Guang: “…”

Everyone was staring at Wang Guo, but Wang Guo was right. If the commander of the Jiangnan navy had died for his country, who could be the commander of the East China Sea? How could they mobilize the army if the dragons were scattered?

If the foreigners head north, can Beidaying and the Imperial Guards withstand a few rounds of artillery fire?

In a sense, Wang Guo was courageous, because at least he spoke the truth that no one else dared to say.

Hu Guang suddenly became a rotten bitter gourd, and the cold sweat on his head looked like sour juice.

At this moment, Chang Geng suddenly spoke.

The young King of Yanbei stepped forward and said, "My Royal Brother, are you willing to listen to me?"

Hu Guang cast a pair of grateful eyes at Chang Geng, and Chang Geng smiled at him gently: "Brother, please calm down first. What has been done cannot be reversed, and the dead cannot be brought back to life. The plight of the four borders is an established fact. Arguing and getting angry is useless. Instead of losing our composure, we should first think about what else we can do to make up for it."

Perhaps because he had been among monks for too long, there was not a trace of worldly air about him. Standing in front of the temple, he looked like a handsome man, so calm that the boiling anger could not help but subside along with him.

Li Feng secretly exhaled, waved his hand and said: "You say."

Chang Geng: "Right now, the Central Plains is on fire. The troops have been dispatched, but the food and fodder have not been delivered. In order to avoid the problem of supply turnover, I ask my brother to open the treasury and transfer all the purple gold. This is the first option."

"Yes, you reminded me," Li Feng turned to the Ministry of Revenue, "Immediately order someone to coordinate..."

"Brother," Chang Geng interrupted him calmly, "I mean to send them all down. In this extraordinary period, the drumbeat order has become a hindrance. The generals still have shackles on their pawns. Brother, do you want to tie them up and take them to the battlefield?"

If anyone said this, it would be extremely offensive, but for some reason, when it came from the mouth of King Yanbei, no one could get angry.

Hu Guang, who had just been left aside, said hurriedly, "I second the motion."

Before Li Feng could speak, the Ministry of Revenue was already in an uproar. The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue said loudly, "Your Majesty, this cannot be allowed. Delegating the purple gold to the Ministry of Revenue can indeed solve the urgent problem, but I have to say something unpleasant. If this continues for a long time, and we cannot survive today, what will we do in the future? Are we going to eat up the food we have earned in the next year?"

The commander of the Imperial Guards probably wanted to tear the Minister's head off and control the water in it. He refuted in court: "The bandits have already come to our door, and you gentlemen are still thinking about living frugally. This general has really opened my eyes. Your Majesty, if we don't solve the urgent problem, how can we talk about 'long-term development'? If the four borders are trapped, we can't rely on the purple gold mines in our territory for long even if we dig three feet into the ground!"

Hu Guang, fearing that he would not be able to get a word in, shouted again with a red face and thick neck: "I second the motion!"

Before Chang Geng could say a word about how to repel the enemy, a big quarrel broke out. He himself remained silent, standing aside patiently, waiting for them to decide the outcome of the quarrel.

Li Feng's brain was about to split. He suddenly felt that all the "pillars" in his court were focusing on the trivialities of his small piece of land. The sum of their power was not even as big as a bowl. If they were all sent to the imperial kitchen, they might be able to argue and cook a new dish as majestic as the beautiful mountains and rivers.

"Enough!" Li Feng shouted.

The surroundings were quiet, and Chang Geng took over at the right time: "I haven't finished speaking yet. Second, my royal brother must be prepared to withdraw his troops."

As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers were in an uproar again. The emperor's rage could not suppress the uproar below, and several old officials looked like they were about to hit their heads against the pillars.

Li Feng's eyes twitched, and a mouthful of anger rushed to his throat. He barely suppressed it and didn't vent it on Chang Geng. He frowned as if holding his breath and warned in a low voice: "Amin, there are some things you should think about before you say them. My ancestors passed the country to me, not for me to give up land to feed the tigers."

Chang Geng said calmly, "I would like to ask my brother to touch your pocket. How much territory can our dynasty support with all its national strength? This is not about ceding land to feed the tiger, but about cutting off one's own arm. We must cut off when we have to. I am afraid we have to wait until the poison is deep and the whole territory has been beaten to pieces by the foreigners before we can cut off the territory."

His tone, as bland as reciting the Analects, was like a bucket of cold water, poured mercilessly on Li Feng's head.

Chang Geng did not raise his head to see the emperor's expression, and continued, "Third, Lord Wang is right. Right now, the Black Iron Camp is stationed in the northwest. Even if they suffer heavy losses, they can still hold on. What is imminent is the mutiny in the East China Sea. Once the foreigners go north, the combat effectiveness of the North Camp will be worrying. The reinforcements from far and near will all be tied up and may not arrive in time. What will my brother do then?"

Li Feng was instantly made ten years older by his words. After a long moment of dejection, he finally said, "Announce the decree... and invite the emperor's uncle to come."

When Chang Geng heard the decree, he didn't even blink, showing neither joy nor resentment, as if everything was as it should be and reasonable.

Zhu Xiaojiao responded without daring to make a sound. Just as she was about to leave, Chang Geng suddenly spoke up to remind her, "Your Majesty, it is child's play to only send Eunuch Zhu to announce the decree to arrest someone from the Heavenly Prison."

He instinctively distrusted any of the eunuchs around Li Feng, including this man who had been secretly helping Gu Yun in name only.

Li Feng said weakly: "It's already this hour, why are you still concerned about these empty formalities - Lord Jiang, run an errand for me."

Zhu Xiaojiao took small steps to catch up with Jiang Chong, and couldn't help but glance at Chang Geng from a distance.

He was an old man in the palace. There was no one in the court of Daliang who was not familiar to him, except for the King of Yanbei, who was closely protected by Gu Yun in the mansion since he was a child. After he grew up, he "did not do his job properly" and traveled around, rarely showing up. Except for attending court hearings with the crowd, he rarely entered the palace alone. At most, he would come with Gu Yun to pay his respects during the New Year and other festivals... Almost everyone knew nothing about him.

Knowing nothing means uncertainty.

Jiang Chong and Zhu Xiaojiao left the palace and headed straight for the prison. When they were almost there, Zhu Xiaojiao suddenly remembered something and said, "That's not right, Lord Jiang. The Marquis is going to the palace to see the emperor. How can he wear prison clothes? How about I ask someone to take a look at the newly made first-rank Marquis court robes and get one?"

Jiang Chong was filled with grief and indignation over the destruction of his country and his family, but the old eunuch's voice suddenly brought him back to his senses. He said with a smile, "Eunuch Zhu, it's already this hour, and you're still thinking about these trivial things. I..."

Before he could finish his words, he saw a man riding a horse towards him. In a blink of an eye, he was in front of him, dismounted and bowed. It was Huo Dan, the commander of the marquis's household guards.

Huo Dan clasped his fists and said, "Lord Jiang, Eunuch Zhu, I am a servant of the Marquis of Anding Mansion. I am here to deliver this to the Marquis on the orders of His Highness."

As he spoke, his hands touched a set of court robes and armor.

Jiang Chong's heart moved - although King Yanbei seemed to be a meticulous person, was he really so trivial?

Who is that prince guarding against?

Gu Yun in the Sky Prison was bored and holding the fat rat's tail to let him swing on the swing. Noticing that the wind direction behind him was wrong, he turned around in surprise and vaguely saw three figures rushing in from outside. The leader walked like the wind and seemed to be wearing court robes.

Then, the prison door was unlocked, and a special palace fragrance entered Gu Yun's nose, with a hint of Li Feng's unique sandalwood scent.

Gu Yun narrowed his eyes and recognized that the fat man with broad shoulders and a big waist was Zhu Xiaojiao.

If they wanted to interrogate him, there was absolutely no reason to send Zhu Xiaojiao directly. It was impossible for a man like Li Feng to go back on his word and arrest and release him at random. So it could only be...

The smile on Gu Yun's face disappeared, and he thought, "What happened?"

Jiang Chong said something quickly, but Gu Yun couldn't hear it at all. He just caught a few words like "enemy attack... Zhao..." and was completely confused. He had to pretend to be calm and composed, and nodded in response to the ever-changing situation.

Jiang Chong was infected by his calmness, and his heart was at peace for a moment. The anxiety and worry in his heart fell into his stomach, and he almost cried: "Daliang is lucky to have a pillar like the Marquis."

Gu Yun was completely confused and thought, "My dear mother, what are you talking about?"

On the surface, he just patted Lord Jiang on the shoulder and ordered neatly, "Lead the way."

Fortunately, Huo Dan stepped forward at this time, presented him with his court robes, and took off a wine jug from his waist: "Your Highness asked me to bring this to the Marquis to ward off the cold."

As soon as Gu Yun opened the lid and smelled it, he knew it was medicine. He heaved a sigh of relief as if he had been pardoned, and drank it all in one gulp.

Huo Dan quickly helped him change his clothes, and after they had packed up, the group headed straight to the palace. The deaf and blind Marquis Anding blended in with them. For the first time, he was hoping that the medicine would take effect quickly.

It was not until they arrived at the foot of the palace wall that Gu Yun's ears slowly regained consciousness as if they were being pricked by needles.

He calmly made a gesture to Huo Dan, who understood and hurriedly took two steps forward and whispered in his ear everything Jiang Chong had said in the Sky Prison.

Before Gu Yun could finish listening, his head, which was already in so much pain that it was about to explode, suddenly broke with a buzzing sound. A golden flower almost exploded in front of his eyes. He stumbled in panic. Huo Dan held his arm and said, "Marshal!"

Jiang Chong was startled. He didn't know what had happened to Marquis Anding, who was so calm just now. Seeing that Gu Yun looked as ugly as a dead man, he asked nervously, "My Lord, what's wrong?"

"More than half of the Black Iron Camp was destroyed", "The major passes in the northern border were lost one after another", "General Zhao died for his country", "The southwestern baggage depot exploded"... Those few words turned into a cluster of deadly blades, swirling and piercing into Gu Yun's limbs and bones. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and a fishy sweetness surged in his throat.

Veins on his forehead were slightly exposed, cold sweat was running down his temples, and his eyes were somewhat distracted. Although Jiang Chong knew that no one would dare to torture Marquis Anding even in the prison, he was still frightened: "What's wrong with the Marquis? Do you want me to call a sedan chair? Where's the imperial physician?"

Gu Yun's body shook slightly.

Jiang Chong: "The safety of Daliang now depends on you, Lord. You must not make any mistakes!"

These words passed through Gu Yun's ears like thunder. His three souls and seven spirits that were about to fly in all directions were violently shaken, and gathered back into the spine that reached the sky and the earth. Gu Yun closed his eyes and forced himself to swallow back a mouthful of blood.

After a pause, under Jiang Chong's terrified gaze, he laughed hoarsely as if nothing had happened and said, "I haven't seen the sun for a few days, and I have a slight headache - it's nothing serious, just an old problem."

As he spoke, Gu Yun lowered his head and slightly adjusted his light armor, then pulled his arm out of Huo Dan's hand, threw the gray-haired rat that had been nestling in his hand to him, and warned: "This is my rat brother who has shared my life. Find him something to eat, don't let him starve to death."

Huo Dan: “…”

After Gu Yun finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards the palace.

At this time, in the Golden Palace, Chang Geng's few words triggered a chaotic melee. When Zhu Xiaojiao's high-pitched and shrill voice shouted "Marquis Anding is coming to the palace for an audience", everyone fell silent and the hall was momentarily silent.

As soon as Gu Yun raised his head, he met Chang Geng's eyes. Their gazes met and then separated. He had already seen the turbulent atmosphere in Chang Geng's eyes that could not be described in a thousand words.

Then Gu Yun stepped forward to greet him as if no one was around, and he looked calm and unperturbed, as if he had not come from the Heavenly Prison, but had just slept in at the Marquis' Mansion.

Li Feng immediately announced the adjournment of the court and drove out the quarreling mouthpieces and the gluttons, leaving only Gu Yun, Chang Geng and a group of generals to discuss the rectification of the capital's defense overnight.

Lord Fenghan, who had been reflecting at home, had to come out again. The entire Lingshu Courtyard was brightly lit, and he worked overtime to organize the existing war preparations in the capital.

They stayed up all day and all night until the fourth watch, when the sky was already turning pale. Li Feng, whose eyes were dark from staying up late, finally let them go.

Before leaving, Li Feng called Gu Yun alone.

In the hall, everyone was dismissed, and only the emperor and his ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. Li Feng was silent for a long time, until the palace lanterns felt the sunlight and flickered out. With a "click", Li Feng came back to his senses, looked at Gu Yun with a complicated expression, and said vaguely: "...I'm sorry, uncle."

Gu Yun had a lot of polite words that he had memorized by heart, and he could blurt them out without even thinking about them.

Nonsense like "thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor" and "there is no injustice in dying for the country" have been seamlessly linked together by his smooth talk.

But suddenly, his tongue seemed to be stuck, and he couldn't speak after trying several times. He could only smile at Emperor Longan.

The smile was indescribably stiff and seemed a little awkward.

The two of them had nothing to say to each other for a moment. Li Feng sighed and waved his hand.

Gu Yun lowered his brows and eyes, then took his leave and left.