Meng Tinghui was stunned. She had thought Di Nian was sent to the northern border to deploy troops, but he was following imperial orders to reduce the imperial army!

Upon reflection, considering the Emperor’s character, this wasn’t surprising.

After the late Emperor and King Ping unified the four countries, to prevent rebellion in the conquered territories, the imperial troops and regional armies were only increased, never reduced. Over the years, military affairs became unwieldy, and the Three Departments of the court had spent considerable effort just on provisions alone.

Moreover, wasn’t the Wang Qi case initially triggered by the monthly silver for the Qingzhou garrison? And wasn’t the Liu Banner Imperial Guards’ mutiny caused by the Chao’an Northern Route Transport Commission’s attempt to reduce their provisions?

Furthermore, the northern border had numerous imperial troops. Chao’an alone had eight garrisons, and not all soldiers were elite fighters. There must have been many who merely filled the ranks. It made sense to reduce and reorganize the three routes of imperial troops.

She slowly lowered her eyes, annoyed at herself for misunderstanding him for so long.

If he wished to nurture the common people, he would naturally want to reduce some of their tax burden. The profits from the northern border markets could be used to reclaim wasteland and purchase land, helping those demobilized imperial soldiers settle down and establish themselves.

When he went to inspect dozens of garrisons on the northern border, he must have already planned to do this. His anger at the deteriorating condition of the garrisons wasn’t because he wanted to use military force against Northern Jian, but because he worried whether the northern border would remain as secure as before once troops were reduced.

She had originally thought he would be like his father, King Ping, believing that only through conquest and territorial expansion could he establish his imperial authority. But his heart was with the world—how could he be someone who only knew to indulge in excessive military aggression?

She had presumed to understand him, yet now needed others’ words to see his true intentions—truly shameful.

In this light, the requests in Northern Jian’s state letter presented a difficult problem for the Emperor and the two departments.

If they rejected the requests, who could guarantee Northern Jian wouldn’t cause trouble at the border? But if they granted the requests, where would Great Ping’s national prestige stand?

As she thought about this, her heart felt as if gnawed by insects, and she too found the Northern Jian Emperor Xiang Deqian truly hateful.

“I really can’t swallow this insult!” Jiang Ping continued, waving his hand. “Why don’t we strongly urge the Emperor tonight? In any case, if we deploy troops for a major campaign, we might break through their capital within a year or so, forcing Xiang Deqian to come out of his palace in mourning clothes to kneel and call us ‘grandfather’…”

Fang Kai immediately interrupted: “Northern Jian relies on its advantageous border terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. They had the upper hand from the beginning. Over these twenty years, they have further nurtured their strength and prepared their military—how can we underestimate them? Our Great Ping was established after the fires of war with four countries. Now the livelihood of the people has only just begun to recover. How can we cause the commoners’ blood to stain the plains due to the generals’ desire for fame and merit? Moreover, the areas south of the northern border are former Central Wan territories. If there is a large-scale military conflict at the northern border, do you know whether the subjects of those conquered territories might not take the opportunity to revolt?”

This argument was reasonable, and Meng Tinghui nodded silently in agreement. Given Northern Jian’s current national strength, even if troops were deployed, victory was far from certain. Moreover, even if victorious, how many soldiers and civilians would lose their lives in the process…

Fang Kai paused, then continued in a low voice: “On this matter, the Emperor has considered things thoroughly. You shouldn’t use the same approach you used to gauge King Ping’s thoughts to gauge the Emperor’s. The Emperor and King Ping are vastly different.”

“General Fang speaks wisely,” nodded An Maolin, a Drafting Military Secretary nearby, in agreement. He then said to Jiang Ping: “General Jiang, don’t be hasty. When we see the Emperor later, let’s first ascertain his thoughts before proceeding.”

Jiang Ping was about to speak again with furrowed brows when the door outside creaked open, and a young eunuch leaned half his body in, looking at everyone as he said: “What important matter are you generals discussing? You can’t even hear my announcement, and you don’t come out to welcome the imperial carriage?”

Everyone instantly rose, and Meng Tinghui also hurriedly stood up.

Before everyone could walk out, the young eunuch pushed the door open and stepped aside respectfully. Ying Gua entered the room against the backdrop of a snow-white cold light.

Those inside all bowed their heads in respect, saying: “Your Majesty.”

Fang Kai stepped forward two paces and respectfully said: “May Your Majesty forgive us for the offense of late welcome.”

Ying Gua raised his eyes and slowly swept his gaze around everyone present. Only then did he remove his snow-covered cloak and hand it to the young eunuch, saying: “It’s no matter. The snow is heavy tonight. I didn’t summon you all to the palace precisely because I didn’t want to trouble you with the cold wind and snow.”

The young eunuch carefully closed the door, moved a chair to the table, poured a cup of hot tea, and then silently retreated to stand in a corner of the room.

Ying Gua sat upright and raised his hand, gesturing for everyone to sit as well. He said directly: “I came here after discussing with the Secretariat.” Seeing the generals’ expressions change, he didn’t allow them to speak and continued: “The Secretariat unanimously voted to reject Northern Jian’s requests. But I want to ask you, if so, what about the imperial troops along the northern border?”

Di Nian had just left, and now such a matter had arisen in the capital—truly difficult to decide.

If they rejected Northern Jian’s requests, to prevent them from causing trouble, they could not significantly reduce the northern border imperial troops. But this way, the court’s burden could not be lightened, and Northern Jian would gain the advantage either way.

Fang Kai and others were clearly both surprised and satisfied with the Secretariat’s unanimous decision to reject Northern Jian’s requests, but no one spoke immediately. All were thinking with furrowed brows, trying to devise a perfect strategy.

Meng Tinghui, new to military affairs, didn’t dare to speak carelessly on such a significant matter. She quietly retreated to a table at the side and silently began grinding ink.

Seeing no one respond, Ying Gua’s brow furrowed slightly, and he said: “I intend to grant half of their requests.”

Everyone was shocked, and Meng Tinghui’s hand movements also paused.

His face darkened slightly as he continued: “Grant their request to jointly reduce border troops, but not their request to re-establish an alliance with the rituals of friendly relations between enemy states. Grant their request to reduce annual tributes, but not their request to be addressed as ‘brother.'”

Fang Kai frowned. “This…”

But he couldn’t continue.

Everyone present knew that this was the best strategy. Although it conceded somewhat to Northern Jian, reducing the annual tribute by several tens of thousands, Great Ping would still benefit from border trade. The northern border troop reduction could proceed as planned, and national prestige would not be diminished.

Jiang Ping, unable to restrain himself, said from behind: “Your Majesty’s plan is comprehensive, but what if Northern Jian harbors a wolf’s heart and changes its mind in the future?”

Ying Gua closed his eyes briefly. When he reopened them, his gaze was exceptionally sharp: “I came here tonight to redefine the northern border troop reduction with you all. Given the current situation, we must reduce the originally planned troop cuts, and rebuild several large fortresses, and we cannot avoid the matter of consolidating troops across the three routes.”

Everyone’s expressions were solemn as they listened carefully.

He continued: “This way, although we will reduce troops according to the agreement, we can prevent sudden changes at the northern border. The troop reductions on the eastern and western fronts will be temporarily suspended. If there is a need in the future, we can dispatch troops from the eastern and western routes northward.”

These were plans he had already thought through, and no one present objected.

He turned to the side with cold eyes and said: “Bring the map.”

Someone immediately presented a map. He stood up, and with a sweep of his long arm, the huge map of military garrisons and defensive strategies was spread across the table.

Meng Tinghui quietly approached, placed the prepared ink on the table, and handed him a brush.

He glanced at her without showing any reaction, taking the purple-bristled brush from her hand in an extremely natural manner, then dipped it in ink and marked the northeastern corner of the map.

But this extremely natural interaction between him and her caused several people present to exchange puzzled glances.

How was this like the relationship between an emperor and his subject?

It was almost identical to the way the late Emperor and King Ping had interacted in the past.