Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 1083 - 1080_1

Chapter 1083: 1080_1

In the Imperial Court, the ministers were shocked when they heard about the Emperor’s plan to attack Nangong Country.

People from the Conservative faction strongly disagreed with the idea.

While the radical faction was just short of hopping off their feet in support!

The morning court session was lively today, with officials almost tearing the roof off in their heated debate. Spittle was flying everywhere in the court.

The Emperor sat on his dragon throne, quietly listening to their arguments without saying a word.

Conservative faction: "Your Majesty, attacking Nangong Country is utterly reckless. Nangong has dominated this continent for so many years, their power is nothing to scoff at. It is not something we can easily overcome! Even if we are lucky enough to conquer them, both sides will suffer great losses! Do we still have the strength to govern such a vast territory afterwards? We would need to deploy a significant number of soldiers just to guard the borders! When the nation is lacking manpower, wouldn’t that give other countries a chance to take advantage of us?"

Radical faction: "Your Majesty, it’s good to attack Nangong Country! The country is located in the south, the land there is vast and rich, their rice can yield two to three harvests a year, and they have abundant fruits, vegetables, and aquatic products, even their water supply is more abundant than ours! In the future, if we create a canal system, even if we suffer from drought here, we won’t have to worry about a lack of water!"

Shangguan Xuanhao seemed very impressed by hearing this, he hadn’t even considered the advantage of having more water resources!

Conservative faction: "Creating canals? Nangong Country is thousands of miles away, is it that easy to construct canals to there? That would take an eternity! Your Majesty, please reconsider. Nangong is a powerful country, it would probably take at least ten years to conquer them! Ten years of wasting our resources, hurting our people. Even if we do manage to conquer Nangong, we won’t be able to hold onto it. The loss of so many soldiers would be a severe blow to our nation’s foundation!"

Radical faction: "You’re being shortsighted! Even though creating canals would take several years, it is a project that will benefit many future generations! I am considering the long-term victory for our kingdom! Your Majesty, I also believe that Nangong Country must be conquered. Now that a new emperor has ascended to the throne in Nangong, it is a time of political instability for them. Therefore, now is the best time to attack Nangong, otherwise, we will have to wait for another ten or more years!"

Shangguan Xuanhao: This official and my sixth brother are on the same page! Promising!

Conservative faction: "You are only focusing on your own achievements! What about considering it for the sake of our future generations? What if we fail in attacking them, and we get conquered by Nangong instead, then there won’t be any future generations to speak of! Do you think Nangong Country is just a small state like Xiyue? Nangong is a major country on this continent! They have all the soldiers we have and then some! There are countless subjects, even if we kill each other one by one, they would still have countless subjects left over! What would be left for us then? All that remains would be the sadness of brave soldiers never returning!"

Radical faction: "You’re simply inflating others’ aspirations while diminishing our own! Our kingdom is rapidly developing! Apart from having a slightly smaller population, where else can’t we compete with Nangong? Our soldiers are exceptionally brave, there are many among them who can fight off ten opponents single-handedly. Our Prince Rui, King of Qi, General Di, and other generals are skilled warriors who have repeatedly won outnumbered battles! Even if Nangong has more people, they will still be wiped out by our elite troops! Your Majesty, Nangong must be conquered, the benefits are immense! Even if it takes ten years, we must fight! A small population won’t be a problem, we now have plenty of food, let’s just let the masses and the civil and military officials have more children, in ten or so years, won’t that be a great tactic?"

Conservative faction: "You’re spoiling the big picture! Children don’t just pop up because you want them to, even if they are born, with years of warfare, how will they survive! Your Majesty, you simply cannot do this!"

The Emperor looked at them without saying anything. He wanted to see who would be the last man standing in this battle of words!

Radical faction: "You are the ones who are complacent, fearing life and death! Why do you think the people would be displaced and suffer the hardships of war, our kingdom is going to attack Nangong, not the other way around. If we don’t strike them while they’re down, once Nangong recovers, we will not have the opportunity to seize their land! Your Majesty, seize the opportunity while you still can! Let us discuss the attack strategy to conquer Nangong as soon as possible, no need to waste more time!"

Conservative faction: "You are the ones who are stubborn and short-sighted! We are aware that an attack on Nangong is imminent, but don’t you ever think that Nangong has plans to attack us as well? Wouldn’t our people suffer from the turmoil of war then?!"

Radical faction: "You know that Nangong will attack us, it’s only a matter of time. Henceforth, we must attack Nangong when they are at their weakest, thus substantially increasing our chances of winning!"

Conservative faction: "Don’t you have a shred of self-awareness? Do you know the disparity between our military strength and that of Nangong? Even though Nangong is relatively weak right now, it doesn’t mean we can deal with them!"

Radical faction: "Why can’t we deal with them? Are you willing to bet with me? If we can conquer Nangong, what will you do?"

Conservative faction: "If you can do that, I will give you my three-story mansion in the east of the city. What if we can’t achieve that? What will you do?"

Radical faction: "If we can’t, then the country will be torn apart and our families will be destroyed. Naturally, I will share the same fate with the Imperial Court. If you still want my belongings, just take them all, I have no objections!"

Conservative faction: "..."

Seeing these officials red-faced and hoarse from arguing, even resorting to personal wagers, the Emperor thought that it was getting out of hand. So he said: "Enough, all of you be quiet! Do you think this is a gambling house? Making bets indeed! Conquering Nangong does indeed have many benefits, but the main reason I decided to wage war on Nangong is because they have been making relentless attempts to steal the breeding method for our super rice. Moreover, they are secretly recruiting soldiers and buying food from overseas countries. It’s clear that the Nangong Emperor is preparing to attack us! Now we really need to take the initiative before Nangong gets fully prepared!"

Radical faction: "Did you hear that? If we don’t attack now, they will soon be at our doorstep. Waiting for them to be fully prepared and launch an offensive would decrease our chances of victory. It is better to catch them off guard and seize the opportunity to surprise them!"

After hearing these words, the Conservative faction had nothing to say. It seemed that the Emperor had finally made up his mind to attack Nangong. Well, it’s understandable. Since the other side is already preparing for war, of course, we should strike them when they least expect it!

"Does anyone else have a dissenting opinion?" The Emperor glanced at the people below the court.

No one else opposed.

"Since everyone agrees with the offensive against Nangong Country, after this morning’s court session, the King of Qi, Prince Rui, Marquis Zhongyong, Commander Zhao, and the Minister of War... come to the study room to discuss the martial plan! Come up with an operation plan as soon as possible so that we can send out troops next spring!" The Emperor called out a series of names.

Those who were named promptly stepped forward and acknowledged with a "Yes".

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