Chapter 199: Untitled

As Zhan Nancheng frowned, Meng Fuyao made a huge turn and said in a loud voice, “Your Majesty, both suggestions must not be used!”

The entire court of officials was taken aback. Xie Yu, Commander of the Imperial Army, smirked and asked, “Captain Meng, what’s your brilliant opinion?”

“My brilliant opinion is,” Meng Fuyao spoke without looking embarrassed at all, “Traversing 60 miles to fight at River Dan is equivalent to placing Pandu City in a precarious situation. Once the enemy attacks from two different routes, Pandu will be in danger. Furthermore, Pandu is one of the most guarded cities, and our strong walls and powerful bombs make it easier for us to defend than to attack. Setting up the defense at River Dan instead of Pandu? Absurd!”

Zhan Nancheng nodded, and those older officials who highly supported the idea of fighting at River Dan tried to rebuke her. “Don’t you just mean setting up the defense at Pandu? There’s nothing new!”

“How we defend also requires thinking!” Meng Fuyao shook her fist at him. “Has any of you carefully analyzed the makeup of Zhan Beiye’s rebel army? It’s true that his main strength lies with his soldiers from the desert, but he still has two armies belonging to Commanders-in-chief Jin Yan and Ming Lun, who were his early followers. This two rebels are very loyal to rebel Zhan and are vital to his army’s strength. Don’t tell me that you didn’t know that?”

“So what if we knew?” some muttered. “No matter what, the Black Dragon army is still the main force, and their strength…”

Meng Fuyao spat on the ground. “That’s boosting the enemy’s morale and declaring our own defeat! If we can’t counter them by force, why can’t we win them by wits?”

Another official retorted. “And what wits do you have?”

“To defeat a general, you have to crush his army’s morale. Jin Yan and Ming Lun are generals who are regional governors, and according to tradition, their families are all in the city…” Meng Fuyao smiled creepily. “Bring them onto the city gates and slaughter them!”

Silence fell upon the court… this lad was evil!

An official questioned, “What if both Commanders-in-chief place righteousness before family… no, not care about the lives of their family members? Moreover, they are just supplementary forces, and even if they left, it wouldn’t change the overall situation…”

“Eh? How does that concern the Commanders-in-chief?” Meng Fuyao opened her eyes wide. “The person I’m exerting pressure on is Zhan Beiye. Don’t they all say that the Black Dragon soldiers are northerners, and are brave and fierce men who are also strongly righteous? When the families of the two Commanders, whom he is indebted to, are held captive, how will he choose? If he retreats, his plans will be totally foiled because of that final step. If he doesn’t, even if the Commanders are not resentful and are still loyal to him in the future, what right does he have to command the thousands of brave soldiers? How is he going to face his brothers who have shed their blood and tears, and had their families ruined because of him? How will the hotblooded soldiers under him still be willing to risk their lives for such a heartless ruler?”

Everyone sucked in their breaths and stayed silent. What a wicked and sinister man to pull off a trick to exterminate all of Zhan Beiye’s forces!

The guileless Heaven Demon had always respected real men who were upright and magnanimous. Though there was never too much deception in war, such an act of using the innocent as a bargaining tool had always been despised by Heaven Demon generals. Other officials might have thought of such a strategy, but they were aware that once they raised such a suggestion, their names would go down in history as bywords for infamy. Furthermore, as officials, whoever became the Emperor wouldn’t have that much of an impact on them. Hence, the thought might have run past the minds of the more calculative ones, but no one chose to say it.

Unexpectedly, the idiotic Captain raised it so outrightly in court.

However, Xie Yu laughed coldly. “You think that both Jin Yan and Ming Lun are fools? That they won’t know to fetch their families before the war?”

Meng Fuyao stared at him from sideways. “From your tone, you seem to have visited the residences of the Commanders-in-chief? And you didn’t see anyone? If you already had such a strategy in mind, why didn’t you tell His Majesty beforehand?”

Xie Yu’s face paled while Zhan Nancheng looked over.

Meng Fuyao laughed again. “Actually, it doesn’t matter even if their families are not in the city. I can casually tie a few women and children on the city gates and say that they are the family members. If the Commanders-in-chief don’t admit that they are real, I’ll make the women cry, ask the children to call “father” and the old ladies to call “beloved son”, and make the act seem as real as possible. The Commanders are always away from their families when they go on military expeditions, right? They can’t be sure whether their families are safe or not, am I right? Humans tend to believe what they see, and in front of the tens of thousands of soldiers, with such a seemingly real crying scene, how can they not believe that they are the true family members? Under that situation, if the Commanders refuse to admit, they are just placing righteousness in front of personal ties, and are compromising for the big picture. But if Zhan Beiye refuses to admit, what does that make him? Hah, if we can force Zhan Beiye into a dilemma because of fake family members, won’t we able to make him vomit blood in anger?”

With lively expressions and upbeat movements, she concluded her explanation. “Wouldn’t that be great!”

Amongst the silence in the court, everyone looked at each other in dismay. A common consensus was quickly established – never offend this lad in the future!

Highly skilled in manipulative strategies to control the minds of others, and also utterly shameless!

The audacious Meng Fuyao grinned from ear to ear. “This is much more effective than holding Zhan Beiye’s own mother as hostage. He can not care about his mother for the sake of the others, but he can’t ignore the mothers of others… Anyway, the families of the Commanders-in-chief are already in my hands.

“In your hands?” Zhan Nancheng immediately looked at her.

“Your Majesty.” Meng Fuyao straightened her back. “Ever since rebel Zhan started to make noise and Jin Yan surrendered a city, I sensed that they might be in the same camp. Hence, I strengthened the city’s defense as a precaution, and my brothers from the Flying Fox camp captured the families of the Commanders-in-chief. They are currently locked in my residence. I want to teach Zhan Beiye a tough lesson under the city gates of Pandu, to let those wavering regional governors understand who’s the real boss!”

“Good!” Zhan Nancheng was delighted. “You’re truly loyal to the country!”

“Since I receive my salary from you, Your Majesty, I am obliged to shoulder your worries.” Meng Fuyao pointed to the sky and swore, “I’m willing to be the lackey, to stand on the frontline and slaughter the Zhan camp for you!”

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“You’re a talent. How can you be the lackey?” Zhan Nancheng laughed in joy. “Send my orders!”

“Former Commander of the Imperial Army, Xie Yu, shall become the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War. The position of the Commander,” said Zhan Nancheng and paused, looking affectionately at Meng Fuyao.

As the court turned silent, Meng Fuyao raised her head innocently.

“Shall be taken over by former Deputy Commander of the Imperial Army and Captain of the Flying Fox camp, Meng Fuyao!”

“Your humble servant thanks you!”

…

“I’ve seen shameless people, but no one as shameless as you.” Ya Lanzhu ran her commentary with a chopstick. “You actually used your mouth to swindle the Emperor and become the Commander of the Imperial Army at the very last moment! Wow, the Imperial Army is the strongest armed force in the city, and the three camps have about 100,000 soldiers in total. You’ve hit the jackpot!”

Wearing an apron and reeking of oil, Meng Fuyao placed the last dish on the table like a dead dog. Ever since Zhangsun Wuji started to heal his injuries, she had been cooking. General Meng had slightly unique talents; she knew nothing of the four arts – zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting – but she was not bad in day-to-day skills like cooking and sewing. As such, when the cooks in Meng Fuyao’s kitchen cooked, those few royals would refuse to eat, because their taste buds were too accustomed to Meng Fuyao’s cooking.

Once, Yun Hen asked her, “Fuyao, you don’t seem like a very capable one, but why is your cooking so brilliant? Even the most average vegetables taste great.”

As Meng Fuyao’s heart ached, she thought, ‘If you also had an ill-stricken mother live by empty pockets, hesitate in the wet market with your meagre earnings, diligently try to balance between medical fees and food costs, and still be able to take care of the taste of the food on top of these… you can likewise make 18 variations out of a single vegetable.’

Sitting miserably at the edge of the table, she took her chopsticks and was ready to eat. However, she realized that she had only taken off her apron, and the dishes on the table had already switched places. ‘Why did my sweet and sour pork rib, hot and spicy beef, and cabbage steamed in three vegetables break off from my magnificent camp, and become the subordinates of the enemy?’

The “enemy” sat high and mighty, with the ribs on her left, the beef on her right, and the cabbage positioned in front of her. On her sides, the handsome lads poured alcohol and grabbed the food for her.

The vicious-tongued man grinned widely as he picked up vegetables for Queen Ya, and his attitude towards her was so much better than that towards Meng Fuyao, causing someone to stare until her eyes turned red with envy.

Meanwhile, Yun Hen shifted all the good dishes towards Ya Lanzhu. As such, there was a highly disproportionate ratio of meat and non-meat dishes on each side of the table. When the space in front of her was full, he stacked the plates until they were three-stories high. Thanks to his skills, the stack was like a rollercoaster that did not fall, and someone gritted her teeth in anger.

That someone placed her hopeful gaze on the loyal Crown Prince, who smiled at her in response. Then… he personally filled up Ya Lanzhu’s glass.

Meng Fuyao had a mental breakdown.

‘A bunch of dogs who forgot about friends when they saw beauties, forwent righteousness in front of personal gains and ignored the cook when the dishes were up!

‘They can’t be so biased!’

Boiling with anger, Meng Fuyao slammed the chopsticks on the table and started scolding, “I have to work in the morning, cook at night, and still change medicine and do massages during midnight…” Suddenly, she shoved the chopsticks in her mouth. ‘Urgh, I just blurted that out.’

Leaning casually on the chair, Zhangsun Wuji raised his eyelashes to look at her, and his expression was one of delight.

‘Very good, such accidents should happen more often.’

Not willing to give up, Meng Fuyao changed her content and continued scolding, “Every day, I have to cook for you guys, and you lazy bunch still want me to wash the dishes… wash the vegetables… wash…”

“It’s Princess Ya’s birthday today.”

Opposite her, Zong Yue’s one-liner shut her up.

Meng Fuyao opened her mouth, but her tongue seemed to be twisted in knots. As she stood dumbfoundedly, the birthday girl had already placed both her hands on her heart and lamented in a bright but melancholic tone. “I’m truly dumb, really I am. I thought that everyone would be very happy to celebrate my birthday, but I didn’t know that there would be an exception…”

The corner of Meng Fuyao’s lips twitched, and she raised her sleeves to cover her face in shame. ‘I’m truly dumb, really I am. One has to know that one who tricks others can be fooled by anyone. The consequence of the birth of a legendary scripture is to be hoisted by my own petard.’

When she put down her sleeves, her expression had already changed to flatter Ya Lanzhu. Standing up, she personally placed the last dish of spicy diced chicken in front of Ya Lanzhu. “Aish, Zhu Zhu, why didn’t you tell me earlier that it was your birthday? Otherwise, how would I know that it’s your lucky day? Look, now that I know, I’m super elated and excited…” Using her bum to nudge away Yun Hen, Meng Fuyao passionately sat beside Ya Lanzhu and asked, “Zhu Zhu, what do you want as a birthday gift? What kind of presents did you receive in the past? Let’s have a special one!”

“Last time…” Ya Lanzhu tilted her head, and her wide eyes blinked successively. “Last year at this time, I had just arrived in Taiyuan. That night, there was a wedding in a residence not far away from my inn, and the firecrackers were all over the place, so I sat on the rooftop with a bottle of alcohol. Every time a firecracker sounded, I would give myself a toast, sight how lively that was…”