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The leader of the heavy cavalry immediately raised his hand to stop his soldiers from moving forward, and hastily dismounted, approaching the fallen soldier.

"I am He Ran, commander of the Azure Dragon Guard. Tell me, what happened in Youping County?"

Upon hearing this, the soldier on the ground hurriedly produced an intelligence report from his bosom and said, "Generals Zhan and General Xu have met with disaster."

After speaking, the soldier fainted. It was evident that he had hardly rested in his rush to deliver the report.

After listening to the soldier\'s words, He Ran\'s expression darkened instantly. He immediately said to a nearby soldier, "Take him to rest, and make camp right here."

As soon as he finished speaking, He Ran opened the report that the Messenger Soldier had just handed to him. Seeing He Ran scrutinizing something, the soldiers quickly brought over torches to provide better light for him to see more clearly.

Reading the content of the report, He Ran was immediately shocked. Their unit of heavy cavalry was heading north primarily to cover the retreat of Great Wu\'s main forces.

Unexpectedly, both Generals Zhan Hong and Xu Xingwen, two Grandmasters, had gone missing, and those two hundred thousand soldiers of Great Wu had actually surrendered. If this news were to reach the Capital City, the Martial Emperor would most likely fly into a furious rage.

Though the report said that Generals Zhan and Xu were merely missing, He Ran immediately guessed they must have encountered foul play.

The report also mentioned that their mission to Lingyun City was to execute a beheading plan to kill two of North Country\'s Master Level Military Generals. They entered the city but never came out again, which could only mean they had met with misfortune.

He Ran could not believe that these two loyal subjects of Great Wu, Generals Zhan and Xu, would defect to the North Country.

But to kill two Grandmasters, at the very least, North Country would need Grandmaster level forces in Lingyun City, or perhaps North Country already had weapons capable of killing a Grandmaster. If that were the case, North Country\'s true strength might be even more terrifying than they had estimated.

With this thought, He Ran couldn\'t help but look back at the heavy cavalry behind him.

The twenty thousand heavy cavalry he led, even if they reached the frontline, would probably just be crushed by the North Country\'s forces.

This information had to be reported to the court immediately. Thinking this, He Ran quickly started writing a report and gave it along with the earlier letter to several soldiers, instructing them to send the news of the misfortune that befell Generals Zhan and Xu back to the Capital City overnight.

Several days later.

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The Great Wu court.

Today, the Great Wu court was unusually quiet. The Martial Emperor sat on the Dragon Throne with a gloomy face, his mood worsening as he saw the ministers keeping silent.

"Normally you ministers love to quarrel in court. Why have you become mute at such a critical moment, unable to utter a single word?"

The most important issue for discussion in today\'s morning court was whether to continue fighting or to seek peace with the North Country.

Most ministers on the court favored peace negotiations, given the terrifying nature of North Country\'s secret weapons. If the war continued, Great Wu would sustain numerous casualties without any guarantee of victory.

If victory was not assured, they may as well seek peace quickly and find a way to steal the secrets of manufacturing those weapons from North Country.

Once Great Wu also possessed weapons like those of North Country, they could then launch an offensive against them.

Although this was what the ministers thought, no one dared say it outright, well aware that the Martial Emperor was a hardliner who would never compromise with the enemy. If anyone suggested peace negotiations at this time, it would likely enrage the Martial Emperor.

So the ministers simply kept quiet, dragging out the issue.

At that moment, the Martial Emperor\'s gaze fell upon Chai Jiliang. Ever since Princess Junwan\'s status had been revoked, Chai Jiliang hadn\'t been as proactive in his petitions as before.

Nowadays, officials from Princess Junwan\'s faction had largely defected to other princes, leaving Chai Jiliang\'s side noticeably depleted. However, it was precisely Chai\'s officials who were the doers, and with Junwan\'s fall, the number of active workers had significantly diminished.

The Martial Emperor then asked, "Chai, do you think the war should go on, or should we actively seek peace with the North Country?"

Hearing this question, Chai Jiliang stepped to the center of the hall and, bowing with his hands folded, said, "Your Majesty, at present, our only option is to seek peace."

Hearing this, the Martial Emperor\'s face grew even darker.

Chai Jiliang continued, "Your Majesty knows my deep respect for your ambition, but the power of North Country\'s weapons far exceeds that of Great Wu\'s. Continuing the war will only increase our casualties."

The Martial Emperor let out a mocking laugh and then said, "Seek peace? Do all of you ministers really think that if Great Wu initiates peace talks, North Country will immediately cease hostilities?"

At this point, Chai Jiliang said, "Your Majesty, following the occupation of Youping County, the North Country\'s forces have not advanced south. If they truly intended to attack Great Wu, they would have sent troops southward long ago. Given North Country\'s current military strength, it\'s not impossible for their forces to capture several more counties."

Just then, a minister stood up and angrily rebuked, "Mr. Chai, are you a subject of Great Wu or North Country? How dare you boost the morale of others while undermining the pride of Great Wu!"