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Moreover, the Sum Emperor’s response was too direct; those were fifty thousand heavy cavalry, how could they be wiped out so easily? Others ministers, as well as the aristocratic families, will hardly believe such news when spoken aloud.

It was precisely because the message was too direct that Lin Gaoyuan felt it might not be false. Just like the initial annihilation of three hundred thousand from the Barbarian Tribe in North City, the more something seemed like false information, the more it became likely not to be.

Snapping back to reality, Zhao Wenhan immediately stood up and asked, “Your Majesty, has it been confirmed that the news is true? After all, that was fifty thousand heavy cavalry; how could they be so easily defeated?”

The Sum Emperor indifferently replied, “My Shadow Guard has confirmed the truth of this news. I too was unwilling to believe it at first, but the State Preceptor reminded me that, although North City has fifty thousand heavy cavalry, these forces were newly established and not very strong in battle.”

“When facing the Barbarian Tribe, their greatest advantage was only their heavy armor. It is very normal for these fifty thousand heavy cavalry to be destroyed by the army of the North Ere King.”

“However, it cannot be said that they were defeated. The North Fre King has already retreated to the grasslands, and North City is now safe. The mission of the fifty thousand heavy cavalry is thus considered complete. The royal court can now focus all its attention on the war with Great Wu.”

Although the Sum Emperor said this, all the ministers present knew very well that they had not been concerned with the warfare in the north; they had been focused on the hostilities between Great Sum and Great Wu from the very beginning.

As for what happened to North City, it was of no concern to them; in their view, the fifty thousand heavy cavalry of North City were the Sum Emperor’s private forces. Their combat effectiveness was supposed to be very strong, and they should have had no significant problem dealing with the North Fre King, so the ministers had not bothered with events in the north.

But now the Sum Emperor was telling them that the fifty thousand heavy cavalry of North City had been almost entirely annihilated, leaving only some wounded soldiers behind.

Of course, to most of those present, this was good news, but they were not yet able to confirm whether the Sum Emperor’s assertion was true or false.

If it was true, in the eyes of the Aristocratic Families, the Sum Emperor would have lost a power base, and after the war between Great Wu and Great Sum ended, the Sum Emperor would not have the courage to act against the Ancient Families.

The key was the reliability of this news.

If true, the Aristocratic Families would all rejoice.

But if it was false, it would mean that the Sum Emperor was hiding his strength, proving he hadn’t given up and still aspired to act against the Ancient Families. He probably just felt that he might not have a chance in the following years, so he chose to bide his time.

The Sum Emperor’s greatest skill was enduring humiliation and biding his time. He had compromised with the Aristocratic Families countless times, but after each compromise, his hatred for them deepened, increasing his desire to eliminate the Ancient Families. The Ancient Families naturally understood that the Sum Emperor could no longer tolerate them after multiple compromises.

But even though the Sum Emperor could no longer tolerate them, he still needed strength. He couldn’t eradicate all the Ancient Families alone; without weapons, they would not be afraid of him.

At this point, the Minister of War, Chu Qinwu, said, “Your Majesty, the western front is under severe pressure. Now that the northern warfare is concluded, should we consider recalling General Lin?”

The Sum Emperor glanced at Chu Qinwu, just about to say something, when Lin Gaoyuan suddenly spoke up, “Although the North Fre King’s army has withdrawn to the grasslands, according to the reports from the North Land, soldiers of the North Fre would still periodically attack Tianguang City.”

“Now the North Prince hardly has any soldiers left under his command, and Tianguang City is defended by twenty thousand troops of the royal court. Relocating these forces now would be tantamount to abandoning the north.”

As Lin Gaoyuan’s words fell, he passed the campaign report he was holding to Zhao Wenhan. Zhao Wenhan took it from Lin Gaoyuan’s hands and read it carefully.

At this moment, officials from the Aristocratic Family faction eyed Zhao Wenhan, wanting to gauge his reaction.

After giving the campaign report a quick browse, Zhao Wenhan remarked, “If what General Lin’s report states is true— that the Barbarian Tribe’s cavalry still sporadically attack from the south—then the royal court’s twenty thousand soldiers indeed should not be recalled so promptly.”

The Sum Emperor then said, “Enough about the northern warfare; I have summoned you today mainly to discuss peace talks with Great Wu.”

In name, the war between Great Sum and Great Wu was instigated by Great Sum. Since it was Great Sum who initiated it, it is naturally up to Great Sum to propose an end to the hostilities by initiating peace talks.

Although the Sum Emperor was reluctant to engage in peace talks, if the war were to continue like this, Great Sum’s military strength would be further weakened, and then how could he take care of the Aristocratic Families within Great Sum?

Even though quite a few Seigniors had dispatched troops to the front line, their soldiers were one worse than the other with hardly any combat ability. The western front was currently being held solely by Great Sum’s troops.

If only the Seigniors’ forces were left on the front line, it wouldn’t be long before Great Wu’s million-strong army would advance towards the Capital city of Great Sum.

For Great Sum at the moment, the best outcome would indeed be peace talks.

The Sum Emperor also understood that engaging in peace talks meant that he would have to compromise once again with the Aristocratic Families. It was highly likely that this war had been initiated by the Chu Family in collusion with the Great Wu dynasty. The Chu Family belonged to the Aristocratic Families of the South, and by now, they had completely sided with Prince Lu Shuyun. His compromise would likely result in declaring Prince Lu Shuyun as the Crown Prince.