"He Aiqing, how are the Southern Military Region currently preparing?" Situ Mingyue thought about it and asked.

"When you go back to your Majesty, the fifth and sixth two legions have been reorganized and supplemented, and the organization of each of them has been restored and further supplemented; the Fourth Legion has entered the southern part of Hengzhou Prefecture, and the three independent divisions of the Southern Military Region are now stationed there; the three independent divisions of the Eastern Military Region have moved south through Jiujiang Prefecture and are now resting there, waiting for orders. Now the entire Southern Military Region has gathered a total of twenty army divisions, totaling about 480,000 people, and two naval divisions of the Eastern Military Region are also heading south at night. It is expected to arrive in Wenning Prefecture in the past two days, but their baggage transportation may be slower." He Zhiqiu is well aware of the movement of the troops.

"So, according to your opinion, if we fight a battle with the Maqikhans, how likely will we win?" Situ Mingyue's eyes were on He Zhiqiu's face.

"Your Majesty, the outcome of a war cannot be determined by the comparison of the number of troops. Although our army has a certain advantage in terms of quantity, most of our army has only arrived in the south now, and the situation is not familiar. To be honest, the morale is not high due to the failures some time ago, and the situation on the battlefield is ever-changing, so I dare not assert." He Zhiqiu expressed his opinion with difficulty.

Although He Zhiqiu's words were tactful, people who understand knew that when they heard it, they actually mean that the empire had no chance of winning, but they were just saying it obscurely. The silence in the hall was as dead as the silence, and all the ministers lowered their heads and chewed the meaning of these words, and did not dare to look up at the cold gaze of His Majesty the Emperor, for fear of getting angry. More than ten days ago, the miserable begging for mercy seemed to be echoing in the hall.

Seeing that His Highness and all the ministers were deliberately avoiding their gazes, Situ Mingyue felt even more angry, but when she thought of He Zhiqiu's analysis, the reality was there. If they were really asked to express their opinions, she would not know whether she would want to hear their words against their will or the truth that would go against their wishes?

The dull atmosphere lasted for a long time. Seeing that His Majesty the Emperor had not spoken, the ministers were even more terrified and all lowered their heads and kept silent. Finally, someone broke the deadlock: "Father, I have a suggestion from my son, I wonder if it is possible?"

"Oh? Lang'er, let's talk." Situ Mingyue's face relaxed a little.

"Since our hundreds of thousands of troops have entered the southern front, it is a bit unreasonable to forget it if we don't fight a war. I think the Maqi Khan is not afraid of the army of the empire, but now they have been forced to Liangshan, so they have no choice but to stand up like this. According to my opinion, I can order the army to advance south to the border area to maintain a certain pressure on the Maqi Khan, but I don't have to take the initiative to attack. I wait for a while to observe whether to fight or reconcile. After the Spring Festival, I will make a decision. Father, what do you think?" The ninth prince Situ Lang was the one who came out to smooth things over. Seeing that the ministers did not dare to speak under the pressure of his father, and the father was also a little reluctant to give up because it was related to the face of the empire. But it was not a solution to be frozen like this, so I thought of this kind of plan to reconcile.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Your Highness Ninth is right. Now that Jichun is approaching, I think the Maqi Khan will not take the initiative to attack us at this time. It would be better to observe it in time and make a conclusion." The ministers who came out to support Situ Lang were the sharp-faced and short-bearded ministers Tian Yi, the imperial finance ministers. His highness and all the ministers also scolded him in their hearts, while following the crowd to agree with his words.

Seeing that most of the ministers agreed with this view, Situ Mingyue sighed slightly, and had to go with the flow to agree with Situ Lang's proposal to ease the war on the southern battlefield. But Situ Mingyue suddenly felt unspeakable. Seeing that no one in the palace could share his worries, they were all mediocre people with a naughty face. A huge empire was actually brought to the door by a small barbarian country. No one in the court dared to take on this important task, and the generals appointed by him could only keep up with the status quo, but they could not come up with any way to the Maqi Khan. How could this not make him sad and disappointed!

All the ministers saw that His Majesty the Emperor was in a bad mood and felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles. They all hoped to end the court discussion as soon as possible so as not to be angry with His Majesty the Emperor and encounter unintentional disasters.

Situ Mingyue saw that His Highness was depressed and no one dared to write a letter to him. She was in a worse mood. She brushed her sleeves and wanted to end the court discussion, but she saw a gatekeeper running to inform the doorman and ran into the hall.

"Report to Your Majesty, the military and political governor of Northwest County, Li Wufeng, is waiting outside the hall to summon him to report his duties."

"Oh? He will arrive so soon? Xuan will enter the palace." Situ Mingyue's face relaxed and she coughed gently.

Wufeng, dressed in court uniforms, walked into Qinzheng Hall with steady steps. As soon as he entered the hall, he felt the atmosphere here seemed a little heavy and depressed, and he felt a little pounding in his heart, but don’t be so because of his own audience.

When he came to the middle of the hall, Wufeng bowed respectfully under the eyes of many ministers, "I am the military and political governor of the Northwest County, Li Wufeng, to meet Your Majesty! I wish my emperor a long life!"

"No gifts, calm down." Situ Mingyue looked at the seemingly obedient young man in front of her with a complicated expression, and her contradictory mood kept wandering in her heart.

"My memory, Li Wufeng, was ordered to return to Beijing to report his duties. Please give your Majesty a favor." Li Wufeng asked.

"Li Aiqing, you have traveled thousands of miles a long distance, so why not go back and rest for two days before talking about it." Seeing Wufeng's dusty look on his face, Situ Mingyue hesitated for a moment and said.

"I thank Your Majesty for your concern, but I think the country's affairs are of great importance, so I should finish the report before taking a rest." Wufeng bowed again.

"Okay, I and all the ministers want to hear about the situation in Northwest County over the past two years and the situation in which my dear minister sent troops to Luzon this time. Then you can talk about it." To be honest, Situ Mingyue also wanted to know how the northwest, which was originally remote and barren under Wufeng's management, has developed in the past few years. Although the officials he sent to know all said that the changes have been great, he, who already knows little about the northwest, still wanted to hear the report of the important officials in the specific management.

His Highness's ministers also quietly whispered to each other. While carefully looking at the young man standing in the center of the hall, it was hard to imagine that this guy was just an unknown corps-level officer in the city guards. How could he become a hot prince of the empire in a few years? Many ministers are not very familiar with Wufeng, many of them are just one-on-one friendship, and many have never seen Wufeng himself.

After obtaining the approval of Situ Mingyue, Wufeng asked the Duke of Ning Yuanwang, the first deputy minister in charge of the work in accordance with the procedures. Seeing that the Emperor had agreed, Ning Yuanwang naturally had no objection, so Wufeng made a detailed report on the government and military affairs of the entire Northwest region in the years since he served as the Military and Political Administration of Northwest County.

From agriculture, industry and commerce development to urban infrastructure construction, from the situation around the northwest to the public security situation within the territory, from the rectification of military preparations to the improvement of defense, from consolidating the regime to ease conflicts among ethnic groups, from suppressing rebellions and suppressing bandits to the war against the Luobei people, Wufeng divided the affairs of the past few years into five aspects. This was the material prepared by Xiao Tang and others for Wufeng in the northwest. Su Qin polished and modified the text. After Wufeng's clever speech, Situ Mingyue and the ministers and others felt that today's situation in the northwest was hard to come by.

Although Wufeng was dry and his lips were dry, he was secretly happy to see that His Majesty the Emperor and his ministers could hear what he was attentive. If he could gain the favor of His Majesty the Emperor and the ministers, his actions might be better off.

"Well, Li Aiqing was able to manage this barren Northwest in just two or three years, which is a great contribution. However, the economy of the northwest still needs to be vigorously developed and its defense needs to be strengthened. Why does Li Aiqing still have the energy to take care of the Luzon overseas?" After hearing Wufeng's report, Situ Mingyue asked slowly with a smile on her lips.

Wufeng was shocked. Although the old man in front of him was smiling, his question was quite meaningful. If he answered something wrong, he might be charged with a serious crime of despising the empire for his good war. The consequences were unimaginable. He calmed down and sorted out his thoughts, and then he replied calmly: "Report to Your Majesty, the reason why I have no choice but to send troops to Luzon without His Majesty's consent is that I have no choice but to do so."

"Oh? Difficulty? Reason? Let me tell you carefully. I and all the ministers are very concerned about the Luzon affairs." Situ Mingyue nodded with profound meaning.

"Your Majesty, this Luzon was one of the three powerful countries in the central continent. Its strength was almost the same as that of the two countries of Comini and Pasha. Its northwest territory bordered the Qingyang Prefecture territory of the northwest county of the empire. As early as the Luobei people controlled the northwest, this Luzon spied around the northwest and sent a large number of spies to appear in Qingyang and Jinzhou. However, the Luobei power was still strong at that time, and he was unable to compete with the Luobei people."

"The Northern Luzon has been a place where many ethnic groups live in a mixed place for hundreds of years. The ethnic composition is complex and diverse. In addition to the Andes, our Tang people have a history of reproduction here for hundreds of years, and there are other ethnic groups living in this land. It is a good thing if these many ethnic groups can live in harmony. However, since the day when the empress managed the northwest, the Andes in the Northern Luzon have repeatedly bullied and oppressed other ethnic minorities, including the Tang people, and the Tang people in the Northern Luzon have repeatedly asked the empress to help me. However, considering the relationship between the two countries, I just wrote a letter to the local government, asking them to treat the residents of all ethnic groups equally and not to oppress ethnic minorities, but the local government still ignores them."

Wufeng's reasonable and well-founded analysis made some ministers in the hall who were not very familiar with the situation nodded frequently, but most of the ministers remained silent.

"Two months ago, the empress learned that Pasha and Comini joined forces to launch a raid on Luzon. Due to lack of defense, the Luzons were about to collapse and their country was about to be destroyed. The Pasha Kingdom and the Principality of Comini were both Andes, especially the Comini people were xenophobic. The Andes in Northern Luzon also launched riots under the command of some Pasha and Comini spies, plundering and harassing the people of other local ethnic groups, including the Tang people, and it is becoming increasingly fierce. . The Tang residents of Northern Luzon reported three times a day to ask the ministers to protect their lives and property. Many Tang and other ethnic minority refugees have fled to Qingyang. At that time, if they want to obtain authorization from the court, it is indeed too late to go. What's more, I think that since Luzon is going to destroy its country, its territory will sooner or later be divided by Pasha and the Comineans. Instead of doing so, it is better for the empire to take over the Northern Luzon area, so that the Tang people on this land will have a ownership."

Wufeng pretended to behave and finally expressed his thoughts. He also knew that the ministers in the court, including His Majesty, were not actually not interested in the land of Northern Luzon, but that his unauthorized dispatch of troops violated the court system. If there is no suitable reason, it will never be explained.
Chapter completed!