Chapter 154: Weakness

"Coward!"

"This is for the sake of the common people of the world."

"Those fallen soldiers will not be able to close their eyes in death."

"……"

In the imperial court, officials and generals with differing political views were arguing in a chaotic mess.

Zhao Heng rubbed his temples in pain.

He looked at Dou Wei, who had remained silent throughout, and said, "What does the Prime Minister think?"

"The Ningjindusizhizhan has left our Great Song with its vitality yet to recover; this subject believes we must not lightly initiate a war."

"This subject seconds that," a purple-robed official stepped out; he was the Minister of War, Han Zheng.

Another purple-robed official also stepped out at this moment, "This subject seconds that."

He was the Minister of Revenue, Xie Duan, the current Imperial Uncle.

"This humble general seconds that," a general stepped out; it was the General Protecting the State, Xiao Cheng.

"This humble official seconds that," the Minister of Rites, Fan Xinglun, said loudly.

"This humble official seconds that," the Minister of War, Wang Zi'an, stood out.

"……"

Seeing this, Zhao Heng already had a plan in his heart.

More than half of the Eight Great Influential Clans did not approve of using force.

The Liang Family and the Ma Family did not approve, but they did not oppose it either.

As for those who were fiercely pro-war, they were the generals and officials who had experienced that battle.

"Since that is the case, immediately escort Kutu and the other two to Yanguan," Zhao Heng said loudly.

Deep down, he, like the influential clans, did not want to fight.

He did not have enough confidence to defeat the Northern Di people.

The influential clans thought the same as he did.

Rather than that, it would be better to hand over Kutu and continue the peace and prosperity of Great Song.

This was also the unanimous thought of the pro-peace officials, and they would even agree as long as the Northern Di did not move south.

They were willing to sign a treaty with the Northern Di and offer silver every year.

……

Heavenly Prison.

When the jailer opened the prison cell door, Kutu felt a moment of tension.

But when he saw an official approaching with a smile, and the jailer behind him carrying brand-new clothes, he suddenly let out a breath.

He vaguely felt that he would no longer have to stay in this pitch-black prison.

Charha and Tamu came behind Kutu, staring vigilantly at the official.

"What do you want to do?" Charha asked with wide eyes.

The official was not angry; instead, his manner was respectful, "King Kutu, you may return to the Grassland."

Kutu was shocked, and he said excitedly, "What did you say?"

"You may return to the Grassland; the Imperial Guards will escort you to Yanguan," the official repeated.

Confirming this news, Kutu looked at Charha and Tamu, and smiles appeared on the faces of the three.

"Why?" The long-standing dejection on Kutu's face was swept away.

The official did not directly mention that the Northern Di army was at the city gates, but instead said, "This is the request of your Khan. The Emperor is benevolent and cannot bear to destroy the friendship between Great Song and the Northern Di, so he is letting you go back."

"Khan..." Kutu murmured, his face full of shame.

Then his gaze suddenly became sharp, and he said to Charha and Tamu, "Change into the clothes; we must return to the Grassland to beg for the Khan's forgiveness."

Charha and Tamu nodded.

He pushed the official aside and took the gorgeous clothes from the soldier's hands.

The official did not react in time, fell to the ground, and his official hat fell off.

"Hahaha..." Charha laughed, feeling even more contempt for the Song People in his heart.

He knew very well that the proud Khan could not possibly beg the Emperor of Great Song.

It must be that the Northern Di army had scared the dog Emperor of Great Song.

Now, not only were they safe, but no one dared to do anything to them.

Putting on the clothes, the three pushed past the soldiers and walked out of the prison.

They saw that three horses had already been prepared outside the prison.

Hundreds of Great Song Imperial Guards were waiting on the side.

The three mounted the horses and followed the Imperial Guards into the main streets of Jinling City.

When they arrived, their prison cart was covered with black cloth, so they had not seen the prosperous Jinling City.

Now sitting on horseback, they were immediately attracted by the prosperous clamor within Jinling City.

"King, look," Charha pointed at a beautiful woman buying rouge by the roadside, his eyes revealing a primitive ambition.

Kutu had been to Jinling ten years ago, so he was no stranger to this place.

However, compared to ten years ago, it seemed even more prosperous here.

"This is why I have always advised the Khan to move south. If we seize the Great Song's empire, every Northern Di person could sleep on a bed paved with silver," Kutu said.

"When that time comes, I want a hundred Great Song women to bear my children, hahaha," Charha laughed.

Tamu said, "You only have that much ambition. If it were me, I would definitely make the Khan divide the people into four classes: Northern Di people as the first class, people from other tribes on the Grassland as the second class, vassal states like Gaoli as the third class, and the Song People as the lowest fourth class, to be our slaves and servants for generations to come."

"Hahaha..." Kutu laughed loudly.

They spoke without any restraint, completely disregarding the Imperial Guards beside them.

Some Imperial Guard soldiers clenched their fists, feeling deep humiliation.

But this was an imperial order; they could not disobey.

"Is that Kutu?" On the third floor of a restaurant facing the street.

Nine young men in fine clothing sat by the window.

At this moment, as they watched the procession pass by, a young man in a white robe asked.

"Mm, that is him. If he returns, a war will be avoided," the young man in the blue robe said.

"Your Yuan Family must be so scared they've wet themselves," the young man in the black robe opposite the blue-robed youth remarked mockingly.

After the officials left the morning court, the news of releasing Kutu spread through Jinling like the wind.

People in the Capital City were naturally sensitive to politics.

Moreover, the status of these nine individuals was extremely exalted.

As the commoners mockingly put it, they were not Imperial Princes, but they were better than Imperial Princes.

"Nonsense! In Yanzhou, who has my Yuan Family ever feared? In the imperial court, whose family among yours actually advocated for war?"

The person mocked by the black-robed youth was none other than Yuan Ce, the eldest son of Yuan Li.

He had been studying at the Imperial Academy, though calling it studying was merely passing the time.

After staying for three full years and passing the Palace Examination, he would be able to enter the court as an official.

Of course, the Palace Examination was merely a formality.

Speaking of the Palace Examination, the Emperor Zhao Heng did not actually participate; he only needed to give his approval in vermilion ink.

Like him, the eight people before him were all Imperial Academy Students.

They were either the eldest or second sons of the Eight Great Influential Clans.

After all, if one were not of the nobility, one could not enter the Imperial Academy.

Usually, he hung around with them, but he was often looked down upon by them.

Although the Yuan Family was currently red-hot in the Great Song, in the eyes of these influential clan descendants, the Yuan Family was nothing more than an upstart.

Yuan Ce could naturally feel this, and now, being so humiliated by Liang Zhe, the second son of the Liang Family, his temper suddenly flared.

In the past, he would have just endured it, but today, a poetry gathering was being held in this restaurant.

Sitting in the other half of the room, separated from them by a beaded curtain, were the famous young ladies of Jingshi, and even a few Princesses were present.

For Liang Zhe to speak of the Yuan Family this way made him lose face.

As his words fell, the previously lively restaurant suddenly went quiet.

A woman's clear and graceful voice rang out softly, "Yan Wang led troops to fight in blood, finally capturing Kutu and upholding the might of the Great Song. If he knew Kutu was being returned to the Grassland, I wonder how heartbroken he would be. By comparison, there is not a single man in this Jinling City."

Hearing this, all nine of them looked embarrassed.

Yet, surprisingly, they did not dare to utter a single word.

This was the Changle Princess, who was famous throughout Jinling and showered with thousands of favors.