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If it were not for the fear that Great Sum might retaliate against Great Wu at this time, the Martial Emperor might have directly transferred those elite soldiers from the Great Sum border to attack the southwest rebels.

Chai Jiliang belonged to the peace faction in the imperial court; he intended to resolve the southwest turmoil with the least cost and peacefully.

In his view, the reason why those commoners rebelled was because the Martial Emperor had been waging wars abroad for years, making life difficult for the common people. This allowed some schemers to exploit the situation, stirring up the commoners’ hatred towards the imperial court.

Therefore, if the Martial Emperor wanted to resolve the civil unrest, the best way would be for him to first issue a self-incriminating edict and make some promises to the commoners, pacifying those among the rebels and persuading some who were on the fence about rebelling to abandon their cause.

However, it was very unfortunate that the Martial Emperor would absolutely not publish a self-incriminating edict. He never believed he was in the wrong, and as the Emperor, how could he admit his mistakes so readily.

But in order to resolve the unrest in the southwest, the Martial Emperor still heeded some of Chai Jiliang’s suggestions and sent envoys to convey some peaceful intentions to the rebels.

The Martial Emperor’s envoys told the rebels that as long as they surrendered and stopped rebelling, he would pardon all their crimes, and he could even confer the rank of general upon the rebel leaders.

It was a common method to quell rebellions by using interests to entice the leaders of the rebels and then persuade them to lay down their weapons.

Nonetheless, it seemed the rebel leaders were not swayed by what the Martial Emperor offered. They had greater appetites and wanted much more, which resulted in many envoys being sent to negotiate with them without reaching a satisfactory result for both sides.

This made the Martial Emperor somewhat impatient. As an Emperor, he had already made such significant concessions, yet these obstinate people were still not content, still wanting even more.

If negotiations failed, then it was simply time to fight.

Just then, they received news that Great Sum had deployed troops to the south.

Anyone could see what Great Sum intended by sending troops southward; it was evident that Great Sum would soon be in great turmoil, and at that time, Great Wu would not need to worry about retaliation. Moreover, Great Qian was currently impacted by an epidemic and could not spare the effort to trouble Great Wu.

As for Great Jue, the relationship between the Yue Emperor of Great Jue and Wu Junwan was like that of sisters, very close. And with the Barbarian Tribe putting pressure on from the north, it was unlikely that Great Jue would take advantage of someone’s predicament at this time.

Since there were no external threats, the Martial Emperor had nothing to worry about; he planned to recall those elite soldiers guarding against Great Sum and resolve the southwest rebellion within two months.

The Martial Emperor’s decision put Prime Minister Chai, very much in an awkward position, since he had initially advocated for a peaceful resolution to the turmoil in the southwest. After dragging on for half a year, it had come down to a military solution in the end.

After hearing Wu Junwan’s words, Chai Jiliang said, “If Your Majesty really uses force to suppress the rebellion, it will only create opportunities for the Seigniors within Great Wu’s territory. The ones who most want to revolt are not the commoners, but those Seigniors with control over substantial forces. The reason the southwest turmoil remains unresolved is precisely because someone is causing trouble in the shadows.”

“If Your Majesty cannot keep his composure and sends troops now, it’s very possible that those Seigniors will also choose this moment to rise.”

Wu Junwan gave a soft laugh, then said, “My father the Emperor isn’t burdened with as many concerns as Prime Minister Chai. Anyone who dares to make a move, their end will surely be heads rolling on the ground.”

Just as Wu Junwan’s voice fell, Chai Jiliang was about to say something when a maid entered the hall, “Princess Junwan, intelligence from North Country!”

Upon hearing this, Wu Junwan immediately stood up, straightened her body, “Bring it here.”

The next moment, the maid presented the intelligence from North Country to Wu Junwan, who took it and quickly glanced over the document.

Her brows furrowed, and she muttered to herself, “I thought Zhuge Zhongguang would go to Great Jue, but he unexpectedly went to North Country…”

Seeing Wu Junwan’s expression darken, Chai Jiliang asked, “Princess, what has happened? Why does your face look so troubled?”

Without responding, Wu Junwan folded the intelligence in her hand and sent it flying towards Chai Jiliang.

Chai Jiliang caught the intelligence that came flying from Wu Junwan and after quickly scanning it, he sunk into contemplation.

Wu Junwan said with a smile, “Prime Minister Chai knows so much, so why don’t you analyze for this palace why Zhuge Zhongguang refused me and didn’t stay in Great Jue but went to North Country instead?”

Hearing Wu Junwan’s question, Chai Jiliang regained his focus and directly said, “This official does not know.”

The current situation in North Country is very peculiar, not only might there be a mysterious superpower there, but Mysterious Moon Palace is also in North Country, and nobody knows how long the Palace Master has stayed there. Now that Literature Saint Zhuge Zhongguang has also gone to North Country, nobody knows what they want to get from it.

Wu Junwan said teasingly, “It’s unexpected that there’s something in the world that Prime Minister Chai doesn’t know about, this is indeed surprising to this palace.”

At this point, Wu Junwan stood up and walked slowly to the center of the hall. Looking out at the sky beyond the hall, she said, “With Zhuge Zhongguang added to the equation, there are now two Grandmasters in North Country. It wouldn’t be surprising to me if the North Prince declared independence, but I am curious, what exactly is it about North Country that makes them come one after another.”

Having said this, Wu Junwan told the maid, “Write to Qianhai Commercial Association immediately, and tell them they may get a bit more active.”

Hearing Wu Junwan’s words, Chai Jiliang expressed his dissatisfaction, “Princess, the rebellions within Great Wu have not yet been resolved; is there a need to concern ourselves with the affairs of North Country?”

Wu Junwan asked with a smile, “Aren’t you the least bit curious, Prime Minister, about what North Country has?”

Chai Jiliang said, “If there truly is something in North Country that attracts all the major powers, it won’t be long before news leaks out. The most important matter for Great Wu at the moment is to quell the rebellion.”

“If the Princess desires that position, quelling the rebellion is the best opportunity. Unless enemy nations invade Great Wu, what happens in other countries right now isn’t important.”

Listening to Chai Jiliang’s words, Wu Junwan stated indifferently, “Prime Minister is right, then I will trouble you to come up with a way for this palace to get involved in this matter.”

Chai Jiliang said unhurriedly, “Please don’t worry, Princess, the opportunity will present itself soon.”