After scanning the area, Ye Lingfeng looked towards Chu Nantian, the prefect of Fengwu City.
"Lord Chu, how did you know that everyone on Fulong Island had been killed?"
Chu Nantian froze. Although he had done nothing wrong and had a clear conscience, the Emperor's voice carried a chilling pressure that filled him with unease and panic. He quickly stood up and replied, "Your Majesty, two residents of Fulong Island escaped, but they were on the verge of death when they reached Fengwu City. They came to report that everyone on Fulong Island had been killed. The killers were all dressed in black and veiled, so no one knows who they are. However, quite a few people have come."
Ye Lingfeng raised his thick, dark eyebrows, his eyes filled with an overwhelming aura of bloodlust, cold and indifferent.
Those sitting in the hall dared not utter a single word; the Emperor was furious about what had happened.
What are your thoughts?
When Ye Lingfeng pressed further, Ji Shaocheng stood up and said in a deep voice, "The deaths of the residents on Fulong Island were clearly the work of Feng Zixiao of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It is hateful that they are still covering their faces and trying to deceive themselves. I believe that we should immediately send someone to issue an edict to expose the actions of Emperor Feng Zixiao of the Great Zhou Dynasty to the world."
As soon as Ji Shaocheng finished speaking, everyone in the hall looked at Feng Zihe and Feng Qian, their eyes filled with a hint of annoyance.
Feng Qian and Feng Zihe were well aware that while they hated their elder brother, they also faced condemnation from others. Most importantly, the Great Zhou Dynasty and Northern Lu were about to go to war, a war that would destroy not only the Great Zhou Dynasty but also the people of the world.
They felt a deep heartache, especially Feng Qian, who was filled with self-blame. Her delicate, jade-like hands clenched tightly into Helian Qianxun's palms, and only by exerting such force could she restrain her near-madness of anger.
All the sins we have committed today are her doing. If she hadn't taken her brother out of Shuangxi Town back then, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way. It's all in vain to say anything now.
Inside the main hall, everyone shifted their gaze from Feng Qian and Feng Zihe to the Emperor at the head of the table, wondering if the Emperor would accept General Ji's suggestion.
Ye Lingfeng raised an eyebrow, pondered for a moment, and then ordered: "Wenbin, immediately issue a proclamation, not only to Beilu, but also to other countries, so that everyone knows about Feng Zixiao's actions against Beilu and what he did to the residents of Fulong Island."
"Very well, I will take care of it immediately."
Wenbin stood up, accepted the order, and went to do it himself, while the rest of the people remained seated in the main hall to discuss matters.
Inside the hall, seeing that no one was speaking, Ye Lingfeng raised his eyebrows and glanced at everyone before finally speaking coldly: "I have decided to enter Red Snow Lake and attack the Great Zhou Dynasty. Since Feng Zixiao dares to do such a thing against the will of the people, we are determined to take down the city of the Great Zhou Dynasty in one fell swoop to appease the spirits of the dead in heaven."
As soon as Ye Lingfeng finished speaking, everyone in the hall changed their expressions. General Pei stood up immediately and said anxiously, "Your Majesty, this is absolutely not allowed. There are no blueprints for Red Snow Lake, so we can't get in at all. If we rush in, we will only face certain death."
"Are we just going to stand by and watch Feng Zixiao kill everyone on Fulong Island and do nothing about it?"
Ye Lingfeng questioned him sternly, but General Pei remained calm and replied, "We, Bei Lu, can attack the Great Zhou Dynasty from the border."
This kind of competition is all about having a strong and well-equipped army. Right now, the soldiers of Northern Lu are much stronger than those of the Great Zhou Dynasty, which is why General Pei said that.
However, Ye Lingfeng disagreed with this. Although the troops of Beilu were stronger than those of Da Zhou, attacking Da Zhou from the border would still result in significant losses for their own troops, even if they captured a city. Feng Zixiao's killing of the people of Fulong Island indicated that they had tampered with things there. If they abandoned Hongxue Lake, they might come back from Hongxue Lake again to kill the people of Fengwu City.
“We attacked from the border between the two countries and suffered heavy losses. Now, the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty are lying in ambush on the other side of Red Snow Lake. They killed the people of Fulong Island, which was a heavy blow to us. If we do not confront them head-on, they will become even more aggressive. Next, Fengwu City will probably suffer.”
General Pei thought for a moment, then continued, "This humble general is willing to lead 100,000 elite troops to guard outside Fengwu City. Your Majesty can lead troops to the border between the two countries and then conquer the other side's city. In this way, Kebin will be without any loss."
General Pei insisted on this because he did not want the Emperor to put himself in danger. The current Emperor was someone he respected and who was devoted to the people. If something happened to the Emperor, Northern Lu would be thrown into chaos again. Therefore, no matter what, he only wanted to protect the Emperor.
"General Pei's intentions are exactly the opposite of mine. I have decided to send General Pei with 10,000 elite troops to the border between the two countries to assist General Feng in guarding the border and prevent a single soldier of the Zhou Dynasty from entering Beilu, in order to prevent any trickery."
"emperor."
General Pei never expected that the Emperor would transfer him to the border between the two countries, a place far more dangerous than the other.
"emperor."
"This is an order, General Pei. Remember, you must guard the border well."
"Your humble servant obeys the decree."
General Pei accepted the order, thought for a moment, and had no choice but to leave to muster his troops and lead them to the border to guard the eastern gate of Beilu. He was determined not to let Feng Zixiao enter through the eastern gate.
Inside the hall, Helian Qianxun slowly spoke: "This matter should be discussed at a more thorough time."
Red Snow Lake is indeed a dangerous place; there would be risks if one were to enter rashly.
However, Helian Qianxun, Feng Qian, and the others were unaware that Ye Lingfeng and Heng possessed a map of the internal structure of Red Snow Lake. That's why they felt safe enough to enter Red Snow Lake. As for the map of the internal structure of Red Snow Lake, Heng did not tell Helian Qianxun, Feng Qian, Feng Zihe, and the others. In any case, they were ultimately people of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Sometimes, a single thought can lead to complete defeat, regardless of anything else.
They must win this battle, or they will be letting down the innocent people who died on Fulong Island.
Ye Lingfeng insisted, "I have made up my mind. We will immediately deploy troops to Red Snow Lake and attack the Great Zhou Dynasty."
With the matter settled, no one dared to say anything more and remained silent. Feng Zihe and Feng Qian wanted to say something, but considering their current status, they knew that if they spoke, others would only think they had ulterior motives, so they said nothing.
Ye Lingfeng then instructed Ji Shaocheng and several deputy generals in the army to begin mobilizing manpower. From the 90,000 soldiers, a group of soldiers familiar with water were selected. Those who were named all went down to prepare, while the others stood up in a panic, waiting for the emperor's orders. Ye Lingfeng ordered the prefect to arrange accommodations for Helian Qianxun, Feng Qian, and the others, and that he and the empress also needed to rest.
After days of non-stop travel, Ye Lingfeng was able to keep up, but Ling'er was finding it a bit too much. Ye Lingfeng turned around and looked at Heng with tenderness and affection in his eyes. He reached out and took Heng's hand as they walked out.
The prefect of Fengwu City immediately arranged accommodations and meals for these important figures.
Ye Lingfeng and Heng went to rest. When they woke up, it was already dark. Shi Mei, Shi Lan and others were waiting outside the door. They brought in dinner. After dinner, Ye Lingfeng ordered Shi Mei to summon Ji Shaocheng, Wen Bin and several generals from the army to the main hall for a meeting.
Shi Mei immediately went to summon General Ji and the others, while Ye Lingfeng and Heng also got up and went to the main hall.
Soon, the people who had been summoned entered the main hall. These people were all meritorious officials of Beilu. Ye Lingfeng had reason to believe that they would never betray Beilu, which was why he had them come over to study the blueprints of Red Snow Lake with him.
As for Helian Qianxun, Feng Qian, and the others, they did not come over to avoid suspicion and quietly stayed in their own places to rest.
Inside the main hall, everyone sat down, and Ye Lingfeng first asked Ji Shaocheng how many soldiers familiar with water had been selected.
Ji Shaocheng's face darkened slightly, and he slowly said, "Your Majesty, there are not many elite soldiers who are proficient in water, only a little over ten thousand. Even among these ten thousand people, they are not very familiar with it, and can only be said to have a superficial understanding."
Ye Lingfeng raised an eyebrow. The arrow was on the bowstring and had to be released. Even with only a little over ten thousand soldiers with water, they had to attack the Great Zhou Dynasty from Red Snow Lake.
Fortunately, they had the map of Red Snow Lake, which prevented them from suffering too much loss. Otherwise, with only 10,000 naval troops, they wouldn't have been able to cross Red Snow Lake at all. Since Ye Lingfeng had served as the prime minister in the Great Zhou Dynasty, he naturally knew that to the south of the Great Zhou Dynasty was the Southern Ling Kingdom. A small part of the Great Zhou Dynasty's territory was water, so there were many soldiers and generals in the army who were proficient in water. Moreover, it seemed that they had also trained a naval army. However, their northern lands were different from the Great Zhou Dynasty. Because they were mostly dry land, they rarely used naval forces, so they did not strengthen their training in this area.
"Your Majesty, what do you think of this matter?"
Ji Shaocheng and several of his deputy generals knew that this was a major taboo in military strategy. They did not have a navy that was proficient in water, and they were not very familiar with the internal structure of Hongxue Lake. If this matter was not handled well, not to mention attacking Beilu, tens of thousands of soldiers could be destroyed.