Chapter 160: The Bitter Prime Minister, If Only We Could Cede Land for Peace!
Xue Qinghe stepped forward and gently patted Emperor Xue Ye's back. "Father Emperor, you must take care of your health. The Empire still needs you to govern."
Emperor Xue Ye looked at his Crown Prince with relief and satisfaction in his eyes, but it was a pity that Xue Qinghe was too young at the moment.
Once he collapsed, Xue Qinghe alone would not be able to control the princes and ministers below him.
"It's nothing."
Emperor Xue Ye's face was very grim, and his expression was gloomy. "Pass down my order: send an envoy to Spirit Hall to demand an explanation. Additionally, send a hundred thousand troops to Tianshui City. Since Tianshui City is a territory of the Heaven Dou Empire, it must not be lost!"
"It's impossible for me to allow the territory of Tianshui City to be incorporated into the Spirit Empire just because its City Lord and Sky Water Academy have pledged allegiance to Spirit Hall!"
"Yes!"
All the ministers accepted the decree.
The Prime Minister, who was the head of the civil officials, asked with some concern, "Your Majesty, if the Spirit Empire's attitude is very strong and they refuse to return the Tianshui territory, or even send troops to help, what should we do? Declare war?"
The Great General said, "If it's war, then it's war! Our Empire has a million troops— is that not enough to flatten the Spirit Empire?"
The Prime Minister loudly rebuked, "As expected of a military man—you have no brains at all! If only it were that simple! Do you know how many high-level combatants the Spirit Empire has? Not to mention those Titled Douluo-level powerhouses—do you know how many there are?"
"The Spirit Hall branches in all the main cities of the Two Great Empires—they're led by Hall Masters who are Soul Douluo. Some branch-halls even have Vice Hall Masters who are Soul Douluo. Do you want to count how many main cities there are in the Two Great Empires and all the great duchies combined?"
"Although you are the Great General, your cultivation is only that of an Advanced Soul Douluo. Adding other generals and the three great instructors of the academies—excluding the deans of Advanced Soul Master academies—the Soul Douluo directly under the Heaven Dou Royal Family do not exceed ten, and there is not a single Titled Douluo. Are you planning to fight with your head?"
"If you really want to fight, why don't you first go and eradicate the Spirit Hall branches within Heaven Dou City? Can you defeat Salas? Huh? Look into my eyes and answer me!"
The Great General: …
Indeed, although Salas is only a Soul Douluo, his strength is close to that of a Titled Douluo.
Moreover, since he can serve as the Hall Master of the Spirit Hall branch in Heaven Dou City, he must have some means.
After all, Heaven Dou City is the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, closest to the Heaven Dou Royal Family. Spirit Hall establishing a branch-hall here is actually a provocation to imperial power.
The Heaven Dou Royal Family must have secretly acted against the branch-hall in the past, but the Heaven Dou City Spirit Hall branch has always existed, and Salas still appears very arrogant when facing Emperor Xue Ye. This clearly shows he has extraordinary means.
"Your Majesty, I really don't want to speak idly, but there's something I must say!"
"If Spirit Hall is willing to fight a prolonged war with us, we can still cope with our large army numbers. But what if Spirit Hall carries out a decapitation strike?"
"We are not clear about the strength of Spirit Hall's other Titled Douluo, but Your Majesty should be very familiar with the abilities of two of their Titled Douluo, right?"
"Ghost Douluo and Bone Douluo!"
As soon as the Prime Minister said this, the entire scene fell into silence.
The strength of these two Titled Douluo?
Who among the high-ranking officials present wasn't aware?
These two are seasoned Titled Douluo who have been famous on the continent for a long time. The former possesses a bizarre assassination technique, capable of merging into darkness.
And Gu Rong—there's even less to say about him. Although he is the continent's number one defensive Titled Douluo, his Bone Dragon Martial Soul possesses spatial transfer ability.
It's just that there aren't many spatial-attribute Soul Beasts on the continent; otherwise, if Gu Rong had a few more spatial-attribute soul skills, he would directly become an all-rounder Titled Douluo!
After all, spatial attributes are diverse, including spatial transfer, spatial cutting, spatial compression, spatial shattering, and so on.
It's just a pity that Gu Rong only possesses one spatial transfer Soul Skill; he does not have corresponding soul skills for spatial defense or offense.
This is a bit regrettable.
Emperor Xue Ye, after being spoken to by the Prime Minister, felt a surge of repressed Qi in his chest and finally spat out a large mouthful of blood, falling unconscious.
Angered.
Holy crap!
When the Prime Minister saw this situation, he inwardly cursed—had he said too much?
Prince Xue Xing pointed at the Prime Minister's nose and angrily cursed, "Look at the good you've done! Couldn't you have told His Majesty in several parts? You had to say it all at once. Don't you know His Majesty's health has always been very poor?"
Now, after what you've said, His Majesty might not even make it through this ordeal!
The Prime Minister looked bitter, with unspeakable difficulties. "Your Highness, the national situation is now extremely urgent. How can I say it in parts? These are all overt crises."
"In a war between two nations, it's usually soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals, and kings not meeting kings. But you all know, this is under circumstances where the difference between the two sides is not great, or where the number of powerhouses is comparable."
"But what about the disparity between us and the Spirit Empire? Does anyone in the Empire have the strength to withstand a Titled Douluo?"
"Forget about Ghost Douluo and Bone Douluo; even a Soul Douluo skilled in stealth assassination—I fear no one would even discover them if they infiltrated the imperial palace!"
The Prime Minister was now also somewhat giving up, speaking without thinking.
"If the Spirit Empire were a bit shameless—sending a Titled Douluo powerhouse over—it could wipe us all out…"
"Enough!"
At this moment, a young voice spoke angrily.
Xue Qinghe!
Xue Qinghe's eyes were bloodshot, and his brows were tightly furrowed. "Now is not the time to talk about such things. Let's first cure Father Emperor! Other matters can be discussed later!"
The Prime Minister also knew he had said too much and lowered his head. "My apologies, Your Highness, the Crown Prince. This subject became emotional."
How could he not be emotional?
If it weren't for the Empire's current unstable public sentiment and the crisis of national annihilation, he wouldn't want to bother.
If the Empire were destroyed, his good days would also be gone.
He knew that he also had a noble title and a fiefdom, and he was second only to one person and above ten thousand. He, more than anyone, did not wish for the nation to fall.
If it were possible to cede land for peace, he would eagerly wish to do so.
Although it would damage the Heaven Dou Royal Family's face, it would allow them to linger on and secretly cultivate combat strength as much as possible.
But the Spirit Empire's ambition is obvious to anyone with eyes; they aim for the entire continent!
He couldn't even cede land!
Moreover, Emperor Xue Ye might not agree; otherwise, if Tianshui City announced its secession from the Empire to join the Spirit Empire, he wouldn't have been so agitated.
For Emperor Xue Ye, the Heaven Dou Royal Family's face might be even more important!
And this situation was not only unfolding within the Heaven Dou Royal Family; the Star Luo Royal Family also heard about it and held an emergency meeting.
Star Luo Empire.
In the imperial court.
The Star Luo Emperor looked at the officials below. "What are your thoughts on Tianshui City's submission to the Spirit Empire?"
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End of Chapter