Emperor: When will the Seventh Prince rebel? I will open the city gates to welcome him.

All the civil and military officials in the court were horrified.

Unexpectedly, the Seventh Prince had just agreed to accept the mission of the Northern Merchants' delegation in order to refuse and ask Emperor Dingwen for death.

Emperor Dingwen, sitting high on the dragon throne, felt as if shrouded in frost. His heart ached when he thought of Concubine Xiang, who was wrongly banished to the cold palace and died in depression after being wrongly accused by him.

Said in a softer tone

"Hongxuan! Stand up and speak! Why did you refuse to receive the Northern Merchants' delegation after hearing what Prime Minister Zhang said?"

The Seventh Prince Hongxuan slowly stood up, looked at the officials in the court, and said sternly, "Who wants to advocate peace? Why would you agree to such a crazy condition?"

The princes and ministers were stunned?

what's the situation?

They had never seen the Seventh Prince Hongxuan so angry. This was the first time that the princes and ministers saw the Seventh Prince in such a stern voice.

"Haha! This is not a request for peace! In my opinion, this is not only not a request for peace, but a sign of the country's demise. The disaster of my royal family's extinction begins from now on."

Hongxuan's words were like the sound of a drum, striking everyone in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, including Emperor Dingwen and all the ministers.

Hongxuan concluded from a strategic perspective that if he agreed to Beishang’s request, the result would be as he said.

Prime Minister Zhang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty! The Seventh Prince has lived in Qingyou Court for a long time and does not understand the current situation and the status quo of Dafeng. His words are just a dispute of will. Who in the court does not want to drive away the cavalry of Beishang? But the national strength of Dafeng is in front of us, and we do not have the right time, place, and people."

Emperor Dingwen looked at his son and said, "Hongxuan, I already know that you have some hidden intentions today. I will take what you said just now as your impulsive words. I will not pursue it. Go back and prepare the reception for the Northern Merchants' delegation with the Minister of Rites Zheng Pan and the Supervisor of Ceremonies Wang Hai."

The seventh prince Hongxuan straightened his back and his high voice resounded throughout the Hall of Supreme Harmony: "Father! If Dafeng fights, it will be peace. If Dafeng seeks peace, it will perish!"

The other ministers looked at the Seventh Prince with a thoughtful look on their faces. Is this the timid and cowardly Seventh Prince?

Keep a low profile and then make a surprise attack. If this puppet hadn't framed him, no one would have known that the Seventh Prince had such a powerful demeanor. This is the demeanor a prince should have.

"If Dafeng fights, then it will be peace? If Dafeng seeks peace, then it will perish?"

Emperor Dingwen chewed over the thought-provoking words spoken by his genius son.

The ministers also pondered over what the seventh prince said.

"Okay! Seventh Prince, Your Highness, what you said hits the nail on the head. Hahaha!" General Zhaowu De Nianzhi responded.

Prime Minister Zhang's face was as gloomy as water: "Seventh Prince! Since Your Highness is in favor of war! Let the Emperor and the ministers listen to Your Highness's opinion. If it is just a remark made in anger, this matter concerns the foundation of the country. The old minister will submit a memorial to impeach Your Highness for making false statements in the Hall of Supreme Harmony!"

Hong Xuan raised his lips and snorted coldly: "This prince advocates fighting, not an offensive battle, but a defensive battle! Let's not talk about this tactic for now."

Hongxuan used the term from his previous life.

"If you don't fight and beg for peace, and agree to the three shameless demands of the new ruler of Northern Shang, you will pay tribute of 10,000 taels of gold, 5,000 young girls, and cede the borderland of Shanqing County! Such an act will help the new ruler of Northern Shang gain a great reputation. With this power, he can eliminate internal conflicts in one fell swoop, and his power will be at its peak."

"Bei Shang will become stronger and more powerful under the leadership of the new leader,"

"After these three humiliating clauses, our great Feng country lost the three elements of time, place, and people, and lost the hearts of the people. He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world, and he who loses the hearts of the people loses the world. There is no need for this prince to elaborate on this truth!"

"After the rebels in Southern Xinjiang see that the imperial court has agreed to three humiliating conditions, they will surely spread the scandal. This prince is certain that even if the rebels in Southern Xinjiang don't spread the news, the ministers in the imperial court will spread the news. Then the rebels will take advantage of the situation and light beacons in all directions! The people will rise up and Dafeng will be destroyed."

Emperor Dingwen, who was sitting high on the dragon throne, had two beads of sweat on his temples. He felt a chill on his back after listening to it, and the whole Hall of Supreme Harmony was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Everyone thoroughly understood that if Dafeng went to war, it would be doomed, and if Dafeng sought peace, it would perish.

"Zhang Xianbin! Is this how you treat your position as Prime Minister? If my son had not spoken these words today, wouldn't our Great Feng Dynasty have been destroyed?"

After hearing this, Zhang Shoufu was sweating profusely and his back turned pale.

He immediately knelt on the ground and said, "This old minister deserves death! This old minister deserves death!"

Imperial Concubine Cao was completely dumbfounded. Was this the political shocking statement made by the timid and cowardly Seventh Prince? Compared with him, the Second Prince Hongxiong was almost incomparable.

Suddenly her heart felt as if it had sunk into an ice cellar. She had framed her mother, Concubine Xiang, and herself, yet she was so cruel.

[No! Don’t let him gain power! If he does, I will surely die.]

All the ministers were shocked by Hongxuan's remarks, which were full of wisdom and logic.

I understood it belatedly, as if waking up from a dream.

It is not as simple as asking the Dafeng Kingdom to pay tribute.

Ren Xiuwen, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, stepped out and said, "Your Highness, the Seventh Prince, if there is a war, how can we resist the 300,000 cavalrymen of the Northern Merchants? If we lead a large army to fight, the rebels in the southern border will take the opportunity to gather and attack the capital. What should we do? Nowadays, Dafeng has been suffering from famine for years and the people are living in poverty. How can we solve this problem?"

Hong Xuan said loudly: "Years of famine have made the people of Dafeng State live in misery. This is an excuse. The ones who should be held accountable are the Minister of Revenue, Lord Jiang, and the Minister of Works, Lord Tan. These two gentlemen have done nothing but harm the people of Dafeng State by sitting in the position of ministers without any achievements or ambition."

The Minister of Revenue Jiang Maolin and the Minister of Works Tan Baoyi were so frightened that they hurriedly stepped out.

They all knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Emperor Dingwen.

"I am terrified. I wonder what the disasters over the years have to do with us?"

"I don't know when I have offended His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

Hong Xuan said coldly: "Our great Feng Kingdom has a vast territory. Have you ever thought about developing productivity and production tools? You two adults are not doing your job. You are always thinking about collecting huge taxes and food, constantly squeezing the people. Have you ever thought about serving the people?"

“Serve the people!”

All the officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were in an uproar, including Emperor Dingwen who was sitting on the dragon throne.

"Serving the people?"

“What is serving the people?”

"Although I don't understand what the Seventh Prince said, why do I feel like I've been enlightened?"

The ministers were constantly discussing.

Hong Xuan's words were full of convincing majesty: "Let's not discuss this topic in depth for now. In short, serving the people can improve their enthusiasm for production. Standing in the court, you keep talking about the successive years of famine. I would like to ask you two adults, have you ever thought about the reasonable allocation and storage of water resources? Have you ever thought about improving agricultural production tools?"

The Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Works were speechless.

How could they possibly think of serving the people? The people are untouchables, just cattle and horses to be slaughtered at their will. How could they possibly think of improving their tools of production?

And the scheduling and storage of water resources was the first time I had ever heard of it.

Not to mention the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Works, even the other ministers felt as if they had been enlightened after listening to it.

If water resources can be dispatched and stored as the Seventh Prince said, how can there be a disaster year?

"Hahaha! I am so lucky to have such a son!"

It had been many years since the civil and military officials in the court had heard Emperor Dingwen praise the prince as happily as he did today.

Minister of War Yang Shou stepped out and said, "Your Highness, the Seventh Prince! I would like to ask, how can we resolve the attack from both the north and the south?"

Hong Xuan clasped his fists, knelt down, and said to Emperor Ding Wen loudly: "Father! I am willing to guard the border! I will make sure that the 300,000 cavalrymen assembled by the Northern Shang Lord Ba Xing will never set foot on the land of Dafeng in this life."

The princes and ministers were in an uproar.

Emperor Dingwen stood up from the dragon throne in shock.