The frail counselor you said, you fight against three heroes alone?

Linglong drank the bowl of bitter medicine, and the aftertaste of the medicine still lingered in her mouth.

Xiyu looked at Linglong, a complicated look flashing in his eyes.

After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "Now is the time to tell you. I am the Prime Minister."

As he spoke, he took out an exquisite token, the Prime Minister's emblem on the token flashed with majesty.

Linglong's face was filled with shock.

She never expected that the person who had always been by her side would have such a noble status. "How...how is this possible?" Her voice trembled slightly, and her heart was filled with disbelief.

Xi Yu sighed slightly and said, "I didn't want to tell you my identity so early, but now the situation forces me to let you know."

Linglong's mind was in a mess and she didn't know how to face this sudden truth.

Linglong looked at Xiyu firmly and said anxiously: "Prime Minister, I came to the Han Kingdom to seek your help. I didn't expect to meet you today. This must be God's arrangement. I beg the Prime Minister to help me send troops to attack Hesheli."

Xi Yu frowned slightly, looking solemn.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "This matter is of great importance. We need to think carefully before sending troops to attack Hesheli. The power of Hesheli should not be underestimated. Sending troops rashly may be risky."

Linglong's eyes showed disappointment, but she did not give up. "Prime Minister, Hesheli has committed many evils. If we do not punish him, more people will suffer. I believe that with the military strength and wisdom of the Han Empire, we will be able to defeat Hesheli."

Linglong knelt down in front of Xiyu with a plea in her eyes, "Prime Minister, I know you are of noble status. Although I am a princess of a country, I am now desperate. Hesheli's evil deeds are like a cancer, harming my people. I can't just watch and do nothing. I came here only to borrow troops. In order to achieve this goal, I no longer care about my dignity."

Seeing this, Xi Yu frowned, a trace of pity flashed in his eyes, but his tone was still firm: "Princess, you don't have to do this. It's not that I'm unkind, it's really a matter of great importance, involving the fate of the two countries. Sending troops to attack Hesheli will affect the whole body, and if you are not careful, you will fall into an irretrievable situation. As the prime minister, I have to be responsible for the people of the Han Kingdom, so I can't agree to your request."

When Linglong heard this, tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks: "Prime Minister, can you bear to watch Hesheli continue to do evil? I can agree to any condition of yours, as long as you are willing to send troops."

Xi Yu turned his head away, not looking at Linglong's desperate eyes, but his heart was also filled with pain.

He was well aware of Linglong's pain and helplessness, but as prime minister, he could not act impulsively because of momentary compassion.

Xi Yu said solemnly, "Princess, that is your Parthian Kingdom's business and has nothing to do with the Han Dynasty. I can't rashly send troops for a princess I have never met. You know, once troops are sent to fight, there will inevitably be casualties. In my eyes, every citizen and every soldier of the Han Dynasty is extremely precious, they are like my brothers. Even if only one person is sacrificed, it is something I don't want to see."

Linglong raised her tear-stained face, a trace of anger flashing in her eyes: "Prime Minister, how can you be so indifferent? Hesheli's ambitions are not limited to the Parthian Empire. If his power grows, he will definitely pose a threat to neighboring countries including the Han Empire. If you don't take action now, you will regret it in the future."

"Princess, this is just your guess. Without solid evidence, I cannot let the Han Empire fall into the quagmire of war and let the people suffer from the chaos of war."

Linglong knew that it would not be easy to convince Xiyu, but she could not give up because it was her only hope to save the Parthian Empire.

Xi Yu looked stern and continued, "Even if the Parthian Empire intends to deal with the Han Dynasty in the future, the Han Dynasty has enough strength to deal with it. You don't need to lobby me with this possible threat."

Linglong was struck by lightning when she heard this. She never expected Xiyu to be so heartless.

At this moment, she felt as if her whole world had collapsed and she fell into complete despair.

She smiled bitterly, her laughter full of bitterness and self-mockery: "When you told me that you were the prime minister, I was overjoyed, thinking that God had taken pity on me and gave me the gift of resolving the crisis of the Parthian Empire. But I was so naive, it was not the case at all. It turns out that in your eyes, the sufferings of my country and my people have nothing to do with you, and my pleas are nothing but boring lobbying in your eyes."

Linglong slowly stood up from the ground, the tears in her eyes had dried up, replaced by a resolute look.

"Since the Prime Minister is so determined, I will not force you. I just hope that if the day comes when the Parthian Empire threatens the Han Dynasty, the Prime Minister will not regret your decision today."

"Princess, since you have come to the Han Empire, I can protect you and let you live here permanently to ensure that you will not be threatened by the Parthian Empire. I can also write back to the king of the Parthian Empire and ask him not to look for the princess anymore. This is the limit of what I can do. If you have other extravagant wishes, that is not allowed."

Linglong was silent for a long time, and finally nodded helplessly.

"Forget it, let's talk about the future later."

Xi Yu nodded slightly. "In that case, it's time for me to leave. I will issue a notice across the country to inform everyone that you are protected in the Han Kingdom. This will also help avoid some unnecessary trouble."

Linglong shook her head and said hastily, "Prime Minister, you must not do that. If you want to protect me, just do it in secret. If you make a big fuss about it and let everyone know my identity, I'm afraid it will only bring more trouble."

Xi Yu thought about it for a moment and felt that Ling Long's words made some sense. "Well, Princess is right, this is also fine. Then I will arrange for someone to secretly protect your safety, and you can rest assured and stay here."

Linglong bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Prime Minister."

She didn't know whether this decision was right or wrong, but there seemed to be no better way at the moment.

Xiyu said that he was leaving.

After Xi Yu left, he was thinking about this series of changes and the potential impact that the Parthian Empire might have on the Han Empire.

After learning that Xiyu had left, Xu Dabao trotted quickly to Linglong's room.

As soon as he entered the room, he began to cry and complain: "Madam, you don't know how much I have suffered in the past two days."

He looked at Linglong with full anticipation, hoping to get some comfort from her.

However, at this moment Linglong was sitting in the chair in a daze, as if she didn't hear Xu Dabao's crying.

Seeing this, Xu Dabao stopped crying, walked up to Linglong with a puzzled look on his face, pulled her sleeve, and asked, "Madam, what's wrong with you? Why do you look like you've lost your soul?"

Linglong slowly came back to her senses and said with a somewhat empty look in her eyes: "Do you know? The man who came today is Prime Minister Xi Yu."

When Xu Dabao heard this, his eyes widened in shock. "What? Prime Minister? Madam, are you kidding? He is actually the Prime Minister? This... This is really unexpected."

As he spoke, he paced back and forth in the room, his expression changing constantly, obviously shocked by the news.

Xu Dabao suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly: "No wonder, no wonder the people around him are so powerful, it turns out that his identity is so extraordinary." However, he soon frowned again, looked at Linglong, and asked curiously: "Madam, what is the prime minister doing here?"

Linglong thought for a moment and decided to tell a lie.

She didn't want Xu Dabao to know her identity as a princess, so she said, "The prime minister...he took a fancy to me and wanted to force me to be with him. But who am I? Although I am a woman, I am also a chaste and heroic woman. I firmly disagreed. Seeing my firm attitude, he stopped forcing me."

When Xu Dabao heard this, he was immediately filled with righteous indignation: "This is too much! How can the Prime Minister do this! Madam, you are right, we can't obey him."

Linglong looked at Xu Dabao's reaction and felt a little guilty, but she also felt that this lie was the best solution at the moment.

She sighed secretly, hoping that this lie would not be exposed, otherwise she didn't know how much trouble it would cause.

At this moment, a thrilling drama is being staged in Youzhou.

In a dark and damp cave, many terrified people gathered. They were all looted here.

Standing in front of them was a woman in strange clothes. She had a stern look, but there was a strange light in her eyes.

She said loudly to the trembling people: "Don't be afraid. I brought you here with no intention of harming you. However, the prerequisite is that you must obey me."

There was a burly man in the crowd. He bravely stood up and asked with a trembling voice: "What do you want us to do? We are ordinary people. We have elderly and children at home who need to be taken care of. What is your intention in kidnapping us?"

The woman showed an unfathomable smile: "Humph, you don't need to know too much. Just follow my instructions and I will naturally keep you safe. If anyone dares to disobey..." She did not continue speaking, but the fierce light that flashed in her eyes made the people present shudder.

The cave was filled with an atmosphere of tension and fear. The people looked at each other, not knowing what fate would await them.

After a while, the woman walked to the stone table in the cave, picked up a brush, quickly wrote something on the letter paper, and then folded the letter paper carefully.

She looked around and her eyes fell on a young man with unquestionable majesty in her eyes.

"You, come here." The woman waved to the young man. Although the young man was filled with fear, he did not dare to disobey and walked tremblingly to the woman.

The woman handed him the letter and said, "Send this letter to the Prime Minister's residence without any mistakes."

The young man looked embarrassed and said in a trembling voice: "Why should I help you deliver this letter?"

The woman sneered and glanced at the group of people tied up in the corner. They were the young man's parents and children. "Humph, because your family is here. If you don't come back, they will all die."

There was a flash of despair in the young man's eyes, but he was helpless.

He gritted his teeth and asked again: "Why should we send it to the Prime Minister's Mansion?"

A cold light flashed in the woman's eyes, and her tone became even colder: "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, you just need to do it, otherwise, you will bear the consequences."

Seeing this, the young man didn't dare to say anything more and had to turn around and leave the cave with the letter.

He ran all the way, his heart filled with worry about his family and fear of the unknown. He didn't know what this letter would bring to the Prime Minister's Mansion, nor did he know what the fate of himself and his family would be.

The young man ran all the way and arrived at the Prime Minister's Mansion panting.

Just as he was about to step in, he was stopped by the dignified guard at the door. The guard looked at him warily and asked loudly, "Who are you? What do you want to do?"

The young man quickly replied: "I... I came to deliver a letter. Many people in our village have been captured in a cave, and the situation is very critical."

After hearing this, the soldiers looked at each other with surprise in their eyes.

Seeing this, the young man hurriedly said, "I guess the woman who took the villagers away wants to ask the Prime Minister for something, so she asked me to deliver this letter to the Prime Minister."

One of the soldiers frowned and said, "The Prime Minister is not at home, and even if he is here, not just anyone can enter the Prime Minister's Mansion. It's hard to tell whether what you said is true or false, so we can't let you in."

When the young man heard this, he became anxious. His face flushed, and he explained eagerly: "Everything I said is true, you must believe me! The villagers are now in danger of death. If the letter cannot be delivered to the Prime Minister in time, I am afraid there will be a big mess."

The soldiers remained unmoved and continued to guard the door, with no intention of letting the young man in.

The young man was extremely anxious but helpless. He paced back and forth at the door of the Prime Minister's Mansion, not knowing what to do.

The soldier frowned and asked, "Where is the cave you mentioned?"

The young man hurriedly described the location of the cave in detail.

After hearing this, the soldier said to the young man, "You go back first. We will handle this matter and find a way to deliver the letter to the prime minister."

The young man looked hesitant. In his heart, he still felt that it would be safer to hand the letter to the prime minister personally. However, he could not enter the Prime Minister's Mansion which was so heavily guarded, so he had to give up the idea reluctantly.

He bowed deeply to the soldiers and said gratefully: "Thank you, brothers. I will go back first. I hope the villagers can be rescued soon."

After saying this, the young man turned and left the Prime Minister's Mansion.

As he walked, he looked back from time to time, his heart full of worry, hoping that the prime minister would receive the letter as soon as possible and rescue the abducted villagers.

The young man hurried back to the cave. The atmosphere in the cave was still depressing, and the people looked at him with expectant eyes.

The young man walked up to the woman and said, "I have already given the letter to the soldiers at the Prime Minister's Mansion. The Prime Minister's Mansion is heavily guarded, and I really can't get in."

The woman nodded slightly, revealing a look of satisfaction: "You did a good job."

Then, she turned to the crowd and said loudly: "From now on, everyone's fate will depend on what the prime minister does. I hope he can make the right choice, otherwise..."

She didn't finish her words, but the threat in her eyes was self-evident.

After saying that, the woman winked at her subordinates.

The men understood, brought out some food from the corner of the cave, and began to distribute it to everyone.

The people rushed forward with eagerness in their eyes.

However, the food was pitifully small and could barely fill everyone's stomach.

Everyone ate in silence, with mixed feelings in their hearts, not knowing what would be waiting for them.

The soldier did not dare to delay for even a second and rode the letter to Gan Mei at full speed, while also describing in detail the emergency situation in which a large number of civilians had been kidnapped.

Gan Mei's face suddenly changed when she heard this. She frowned and said with difficulty: "The Prime Minister is not at home now. As a woman, I can only do so little. I am afraid I can't do anything about this kind of big thing. In my opinion, it is better to give the letter to Zhuge Liang. He is resourceful and may have a way to deal with it."

The soldier thought it made sense, so he hurried to Zhuge's mansion with the letter.

Along the way, he was extremely anxious, hoping that Zhuge Liang could find a way to rescue the abducted people. At the same time, he was also worried about where the unknown variables brought about by this letter would lead the situation.

Zhuge Liang was teaching his nephew Zhuge Qiao the art of warfare with a focused expression. He held a military book in his hand and patiently explained the subtleties of the book.

Zhuge Qiao stood aside, listening attentively, but a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes from time to time, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Zhuge Liang soon noticed his nephew's strangeness. He stopped explaining, looked at Zhuge Qiao gently, and said softly: "Qiao'er, you seem to have something to say? But you can say it, don't worry."

Zhuge Qiao raised his head, looked at Zhuge Liang, and moved his lips as if he was considering his words.

He knew very well that his uncle Zhuge Liang was extremely wise and decisive, but he didn't know whether he should say what he was thinking out loud, for fear of disturbing his uncle's thoughts.

But under Zhuge Liang's encouraging gaze, he finally mustered up the courage.

Zhuge Qiao bowed his head slightly, and said respectfully but seriously: "Uncle, what you taught me is indeed good advice, and I have benefited a lot from it. However, you have a habit, or perhaps a problem. You are used to doing everything yourself, and everything is arranged in advance. As a result, I often have no room for thinking."

Zhuge Liang was slightly startled, then nodded, with a hint of approval in his eyes: "Qiao'er, it's good that you can raise this question. Uncle has made a note of it and will pay attention to it in the future."

After saying that, he waved his hand gently, signaling Zhuge Qiao to leave.

Zhuge Qiao bowed and left, leaving Zhuge Liang alone in the room.

Zhuge Liang sat down slowly, stroked his beard, and fell into deep thought. He realized that when dealing with many affairs, he had unconsciously planned all the paths for them, but he never thought that this might really be detrimental to their growth.

Just like a bird, if it is always locked in a cage and carefully cared for, without experiencing wind and rain, how can it learn to fly freely? (End of this chapter)