Chapter 1215: The Princess Consort Whose Memories Were Altered (90)

"Your Majesty, I hear Prince Jing himself is leading the army this time. Why don't I personally serve as the supervising commissioner?" Yun Mujun voluntarily took on the role. The surrounding ministers silently rolled their eyes.

This time, Shangguan Jing was really going to suffer.

That crafty Prime Minister was not someone to be trifled with. Fortunately, all that cunning wasn't aimed at them.

"Granted."

Thus, war broke out between the two nations once more.

With Shangguan Jing personally leading the troops, the morale of Southern Shu's soldiers soared.

Unfortunately for them, Northern Yan's supervising commissioner was the exceedingly crafty Yun Mujun.

After several engagements, Southern Shu suffered defeat after defeat.

Of the original one hundred thousand troops, barely five thousand managed to escape.

Covered in blood, Shangguan Jing fled back to the imperial capital, his gaze still somewhat vacant.

"Why are there only five thousand left?"

"Imperial Brother… Northern Yan is simply too powerful," Shangguan Jing said with an ashen complexion.

Shangguan Yi's expression darkened, and just as he was about to speak, a voice suddenly rang out from outside.

"Urgent report!"

"Your Majesty, the army of Northern Yan hasn't stopped. They are continuing their advance!"

Shangguan Yi's face became incomparably ugly. He no longer had time to blame Shangguan Jing and immediately summoned the ministers to discuss countermeasures.

"Your Majesty, Northern Yan's army is unstoppable. Why don't we sue for peace?"

"After two wars, the national treasury is nearly empty. We cannot continue fighting."

The ministers pleaded one after another, but Shangguan Yi was unwilling to let things end like this.

"We'll discuss it again tomorrow."

Yet by the next day, an emergency report arrived—Northern Yan had conquered several more cities overnight.

Shangguan Yi finally had no choice but to agree with his ministers.

"Very well, we'll negotiate for peace. Who will go?"

Even the matter of selecting a peace envoy led to half a day of arguments before someone was finally chosen.

"Peace talks?"

Yun Mujun smiled.

"Tell them to wait. I must first report this matter to His Majesty. If His Majesty refuses, then we'll continue fighting."

In truth, the one he really wanted to consult was Her Majesty the Empress.

They could continue fighting, but Yun Mujun believed that after continuous campaigns, the soldiers were already exhausted. Southern Shu could not be conquered in a short period of time.

It would be better to take a brief rest, recover their strength, and, during the peace negotiations, fleece Southern Shu thoroughly.

When the time was ripe, they could resume the invasion.

After reading the report, Tang Guo said to Beitang Huo, "The Prime Minister's suggestion is excellent. Since they're asking for peace, we should demand a hefty compensation package. It can be used to subsidize the newly acquired cities."

"When the soldiers have recovered and those cities have been properly transformed, Shangguan Yi won't remain content. The moment an opportunity arises, he'll certainly stir up trouble again."

"Very well. We'll do as Guoguo says."

Beitang Huo nodded.

In truth, that had been his own thoughts as well.

Relentless warfare wasn't beneficial to Northern Yan either.

Their goal was to conquer territory while simultaneously transforming those new cities and letting the people of Southern Shu witness the prosperity and benefits of Northern Yan.

And so, the years passed.

Every few years, Shangguan Jing would launch another war.

Each time, he would be defeated.

Yet he refused to accept it.

After every defeat, he would seek peace, offering countless treasures to Northern Yan in exchange for a ceasefire.

Once Southern Shu had regained some strength, he would repeat the entire process all over again.

By then, all the surrounding nations had already seen through Northern Yan's intentions.

They were slowly devouring Southern Shu, one bite at a time.

Their fear of Northern Yan deepened with every passing year, and no one dared provoke them.

Especially as the territory marked as Southern Shu on the map continued to shrink, their dread only grew stronger.

Northern Yan was truly on its way to dominating the world.

Was the Emperor of Southern Shu an idiot?

Northern Yan was obviously toying with him.

Otherwise, how could they really agree to ceasefires and peace talks every time he requested them?

Dream on.