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Upon hearing Wu Junwan’s words, Chai Jiliang said, “Since Princess Junwan has spoken thus, your servant feels at ease.”

At this moment, Wu Junwan gave Chai Jiliang a glance and then continued, “This palace is curious, Mr. Chai, why do you wish to have my imperial father end the war? Could it be that Mr. Chai has accepted silver from Great Sum?”

Chai Jiliang immediately replied, “Princess, the reason why your servant has advised His Majesty to end the war is purely because Great Wu can no longer bear the dire consequences of the conflict.”

“The people of Great Wu are now struggling to survive. With an army maintained at over a million men year-round, the number of peasants available for farming is ever decreasing. If the war drags on, it may not only incite a rebellion among the people, but Great Wu may also soon face a widespread famine.”

“The commoners have grown weary of the war, and so have the soldiers. Even with the acquisition of more land, there is no joy on their faces—only numbness and exhaustion.”

Hearing Chai Jiliang’s words, Wu Junwan let out a clear, ringing laugh, “Mr. Chai truly worries for the nation and its people, no wonder your hair has nearly turned white, though you are hardly much older than this palace.”

“However, this palace advises Mr. Chai it would be best not to defy my imperial father. He still tolerates you now, but if you continue to oppose him, Mr. Chai, stripping you of your position as Prime Minister might be the least of your concerns.”

“Since his accession to the throne, there have been five Prime Ministers, and none of them met with a good fate. Mr. Chai, you do not want to follow in their footsteps.”

Bowing deeply, Chai Jiliang said, “Thankyou for the warning, Princess. Your servant will be mindful in the future.”

At that time, Wu Junwan thought back to the earlier topic and continued, “Mr. Chai, what is your view on Great Sum’s fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry in the North Land? Many officials in court currently believe that these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry are the Sum Emperor’s private force, but from what this palace has gathered, it seems the Sum Emperor has always disliked the North Prince, and this dislike stems from the prince’s mother—it does not seem feigned.”

“This palace finds it hard to believe that the Sum Emperor would entrust such an important force of Heavy Cavalry to a son he does not favor.”

Upon hearing this, Chai Jiliang pondered for a moment before saying, “Your servant also thinks the appearance of these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry is somewhat sudden. Even if they are the Sum Emperor’s private force, producing armor for fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry would surely have attracted the attention of the Aristocratic Families within Great Sum. However, as far as your servant is aware, right before these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry appeared in North City, the Aristocratic Families within Great Sum were completely unaware of them.”

“Moreover, North City does not have the capacity to produce armor for fifty thousand men, not to mention it’s virtually impossible for the North Prince to have done so within just a year or so since arriving in his fief.”

In Chai Jiliang’s view, the Sum Emperor’s every move was under the scrutiny of the Aristocratic Families. If it were just a few thousand sets of armor, perhaps the Aristocratic Families could be unaware.

But producing the armor required by fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry is different; it requires a great number of craftsmen and a substantial amount of resources.

The Aristocratic Families of Great Sum control the economic lifeline of the empire and hold sway over its various resources; it is impossible that they would have not noticed the Sum Emperor creating armor for fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry.

Even if they had not noticed directly, there would always be some traces to follow.

But according to the intelligence collected by Great Wu, those Aristocratic Families of Great Sum were completely taken by surprise by the existence of a fifty thousand man Heavy Cavalry unit under the Sum Emperor’s command.

Hearing this analysis from Chai Jiliang, Wu Junwan placed the bamboo slip she held on the table and then stood up. At this moment, a breeze blew by, making her purple gown flutter and dance in the wind.

Wu Junwan, with a thoughtful look, asked, “So, Mr. Chai, you too believe that these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry are not the Sum Emperor’s private troops but rather under the North Prince’s command?”

Chai Jiliang replied, “Your servant does not think these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry are the North Prince’s private troops either. If the Sum Emperor were producing armor for Heavy Cavalry, it would be noticed by the Aristocratic Families. It doesn’t make sense for the North Prince to produce fifty thousand sets of Heavy Cavalry armor without the Aristocratic Families catching wind of it. Therefore, your servant believes that the fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry under the North Prince’s command may well come from another dynasty.”

With a smile, Wu Junwan said, “Mr. Chai’s conjecture is indeed interesting.”

“However, have you considered, Mr. Chai, if these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry came from another dynasty, how did they reach the North Land?”

“North of North City lies the Barbarian Tribe, the southwest corner is Great Jue, and to the east is the great sea. It is impossible that these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry could head to North City without any news at all.”

Chai Jiliang said, “Your servant has also been pondering this question recently. According to my analysis, it is most likely that these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry come from somewhere north of the North Land.”

“Only the Barbarian Tribe is in the North Land. What lies beyond the north of the North Land, even the major dynasties do not know. We have never explored it either. Hence, your servant suspects that there exists another kingdom to the north of the North Land, one that we simply do not know of.”

Hearing Chai Jiliang’s words, Wu Junwan fell into deep thought, murmuring, “The land north of the North Land…”

“This indeed is a place worthy of attention.”

“The winters in the North Land have even driven the Barbarian Tribe away, so I am rather curious about what kind of race could survive in the area north of the North Land, even to the extent of establishing a nation.”

“But then again, since both Mr. Chai and I do not believe these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry are under Great Sum’s control, Mr. Chai need not worry that these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry will appear on the battlefield between Great Sum and Great Wu.”

Chai Jiliang said, “Princess Junwan, even though your servant does not believe these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry are completely under Great Sum’s control, considering that these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry helped North City defeat a thirty thousand strong army of the Barbarian Tribe, clearly the master behind these Heavy Cavalry is biased toward Great Sum. Therefore, your servant still believes that these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry will appear on the battlefield, and Great Sum’s Aristocratic Family will certainly find a way to send these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry to the battlefield.”

Just at this moment, a maid entered the palace and walked straight to Wu Junwan’s side, whispering, “Princess Junwan, intelligence from Great Sum.”

With that, the maid handed over the intelligence to Wu Junwan.

Wu Junwan immediately took the report and glanced at it carefully, then, smiling at Chai Jiliang, she said, “Mr. Chai, now you need not worry about those fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry appearing on the battlefield. My people have sent news that the North Fre King is leading two hundred thousand troops southward, and the North Prince still needs those fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry to resist the North Fre King’s army.”

This…

Chai Jiliang was stunned for a moment.

He then asked with a skeptical tone, “Princess Junwan, how could the North Fre King head south in the winter?”

Wu Junwan replied indifferently, “This I do not know, but the Great Sum court has already dispatched twenty thousand Cavalry along with supplies to go north to support North City. This information has been confirmed by multiple sources.”

Seeing that Wu Junwan said so, Chai Jiliang felt somewhat relieved.

At this time, Wu Junwan said, “However, speaking of which, I am quite interested in this North Prince.”

“Despite being seen as a good-for-nothing by everyone, he manages to hold everyone’s attention.”

“To my knowledge, besides these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry, someone from the Mysterious Moon Palace also went to North City, and it was none other than the Palace Master of the Mysterious Moon Palace.”

“If he did not bear special value, the nation behind these fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry would not possibly dispatch fifty thousand Heavy Cavalry to North City to help the North Prince withstand a three hundred thousand strong Barbarian army.”

“And it’s even less likely for the Palace Master of the Mysterious Moon Palace to make a personal visit.”

I really want to know what kind of value he holds.”