Linglong drank the bowl of bitter medicine, and the aftertaste of the medicine juice was still spreading in her mouth.
Xi Yu looked at Linglong, and a complicated look flashed in his eyes.
After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, "It's time to tell you. I'm the Prime Minister."
As he said that, he took out an exquisite token, and the prime minister's logo on the token shone with a majestic light.
Linglong's face was full of shock.
She never expected that the person who had been by her side in front of her had such a noble identity. "This... how is this possible?" Her voice trembled slightly, and her heart was filled with disbelief.
Xi Yu sighed slightly and said, "I didn't want to tell you my identity so early, but now the situation is forced to let you know."
Linglong's thoughts were in chaos, and she didn't know how to face this sudden truth.
Linglong looked at Xi Yu with a firm look and said anxiously: "Sir, I came to the Han Kingdom to seek the help of the Prime Minister. I didn't expect to see you today. This must be God's arrangement. I beg the Prime Minister to help me send troops and attack Hesheli."
Xi Yu frowned slightly and looked solemn.
After pondering for a moment, he said, "This matter is not a small matter. Sending troops to attack Hesheli requires long-term planning. The power of Hesheli should not be underestimated. There may be risks when sending troops rashly."
Linglong's eyes showed disappointment, but she did not give up. "Prime Minister, Hesheli has done many evil deeds. If he does not attack, it will only cause more people to suffer. I believe that the military strength and wisdom of the Han Kingdom will definitely defeat Hesheli."
Linglong knelt straight towards Xi Yu with a "thump" sound, with tears in her eyes and a hint of begging: "Prime Minister, I know that you have a noble identity. Although I am a princess of a country, I am now desperate. The evil deeds in Hesheli are like cancers, harming my people. I can't watch but can't do anything. I came here this time just to borrow troops. In order to achieve this goal, I no longer care about dignity."
Seeing this, Xi Yu frowned, and a hint of unbearableness flashed in his eyes, but his tone was still firm: "Princess, you don't have to do this. This is not because I am unkind. It is really important to me and involve the fate of the two countries. Sending troops to attack Hesheli will affect your whole body. If you are not careful, you will fall into a place of doom. As the prime minister, I must be responsible for the people of the Han Dynasty, so I cannot agree to your request."
When Linglong heard this, tears burst out from her eyes and slid down her cheeks: "Master Prime Minister, can you bear to watch Hesheli continue to do evil? I can promise you any conditions, as long as you are willing to send troops."
Xi Yu turned his head away and felt very painful if he didn't look at Linglong's desperate eyes.
He knew Linglong's pain and helplessness well, but as the prime minister, he could not act impulsively because of his temporary compassion.
Xi Yu said with a serious expression: "Princess, that's the matter of your country of rest, and it has nothing to do with the Han Dynasty. I can't send troops rashly for a princess I've never met. You must know that once I send troops to fight, there will inevitably be casualties. In my eyes, every citizen and soldier of the Han Dynasty are extremely precious, and they are like my brothers. Even if one is sacrificed, this is something I don't want to see."
Linglong raised her face full of tears, and a hint of anger flashed in her eyes: "Prime Minister, how can you be so indifferent? Hesheli's ambitions will not be limited to the Anxi Kingdom. If his power grows, it will definitely pose a threat to neighboring countries, including the Han Kingdom. If you don't take action now, you will regret it in the future."
"Princess, this is just your guess. Without definite evidence, I cannot let the Han Kingdom fall into the quagmire of war and let the people suffer from war."
Linglong knew that it was not easy to convince Xi Yu, but she could not give up because it was her only hope for saving the Rest Kingdom.
Xi Yu looked cold and continued, "Even if Anxiong Kingdom has the intention to deal with the great man in the future, my great man will have enough strength to deal with it. You don't need to use this possible threat to lobby me."
When Linglong heard this, she felt like she was struck by lightning. She never expected that Xi Yu would be so heartless.
At this moment, she felt that the whole world had collapsed and she was completely in despair.
She smiled bitterly, her laughter filled with bitterness and self-deprecating: "When you tell me about your identity as prime minister, I am full of joy, thinking that God has pity for me and given me the gift of solving the crisis of the Rest Country. But I am so naive, it is not so at all. It turns out that in your eyes, the sufferings suffered by my country and my people have nothing to do with you, and my pleading seems to you as nothing but boring lobbying."
Linglong slowly stood up from the ground, the tears in her eyes had dried up, replaced by a decisive look.
"Since the Prime Minister is so decisive, I will no longer force it. I just hope that if there is really a day when the Absal Kingdom threatens the Han Dynasty in the future, the Prime Minister will not regret today's decision."
"Princess, since you have arrived in the Han Kingdom, I can protect you and allow you to live forever to ensure that you will not be threatened by the Silent Kingdom. And I can write a reply to tell the King of the Silent Kingdom that he should not look for the princess again. This is the limit I can do, and if you have other extravagant hopes, it is not possible."
Linglong was silent for a long time, but finally nodded helplessly.
"Forget it, let's talk about the future."
Xi Yu nodded slightly, "Since that's the case, I should leave too. I will issue an announcement across the country to inform everyone that you are protected in the Han Dynasty, so that you can avoid some unnecessary troubles."
Linglong shook her head quickly and said hurriedly: "Master, you must not. If you want to protect me, just protect me secretly. If it makes a lot of noise and let everyone know my identity, I am afraid it will cause more right and wrong."
Xi Yu thought for a little while and felt that Linglong's words were somewhat reasonable, "Well, the princess is right, this is OK. Then I will arrange for people to protect your safety in secret, so you can rest here with confidence."
Linglong bowed slightly.
"Thank you, Prime Minister."
She didn't know whether the decision was right or wrong, but there seemed to be no better way at the moment.
Xi Yu said he was leaving.
After Xi Yu left, he was also thinking about this series of changes along the way and the potential impact of the Anxi Kingdom on the Han Kingdom.
After learning that Xi Yu had left, Xu Dabao trotted and quickly came to Linglong's room.
As soon as he entered the door, he began to complain: "Madam, you don't know that I have suffered so much in the past two days."
He looked at Linglong with anticipation, longing to get some comfort from her.
However, Linglong sat on the chair and became stunned, and her crying at Xu Dabao seemed to have never heard of it.
Seeing this, Xu Dabao stopped crying, walked to Linglong with confusion, pulled her sleeve, and asked, "Madam, what's wrong with you? Why do you look like you have lost your soul?"
Linglong slowly came to her senses and said with a hollow look on her eyes: "Do you know? The person who came today is Prime Minister Xi Yu."
When Xu Dabao heard this, his eyes widened and his face was shocked: "What? Prime Minister? Madam, are you not kidding? He is actually the Prime Minister? This... this is really unexpected."
He was pacing back and forth in the room as he said, his expression on his face kept changing, obviously shocked by the news.
Xu Dabao suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly: "No wonder, no wonder the people around him are so powerful. It turns out that his identity is so extraordinary." However, he quickly frowned again, looked at Linglong, and asked curiously, "Madam, what is this prime minister doing?"
Linglong's mind changed and decided to tell a lie.
She didn't want her princess to be known by Xu Dabao, so she said, "The Prime Minister... He liked me and wanted to force me to be with him. But who am I? Although I am a woman, I am also a chaste woman. I firmly disagree. Seeing that I was tough, he did not force me anymore."
When Xu Dabao heard this, he was immediately indignant: "It's too much! How can this prime minister do this? Madam, you are right, we can't follow him."
Linglong felt a little guilty when she looked at Xu Dabao's reaction, but she felt that this lie was the best way at the moment.
She sighed secretly, hoping that this lie would not be exposed, otherwise she would not know how much trouble it would cause.
At this moment, a thrilling scene was taking place in Youzhou.
In a dark and humid cave, many terrified and uneasy people gathered, all of whom were plundered to this point.
Standing in front of them was a woman in strange costumes. She looked cold and had a strange light in her eyes.
She shouted to these trembling people: "Don't be afraid. I'll bring you there, it's not harmful to you, but the prerequisite is that you must be obedient."
There was a burly man in the crowd. He stood up with a bold voice and asked in a trembling voice: "What do you want us to do? We are all ordinary people, and there are still young people in the family who need to take care of us. What are your intentions to bring us?"
The woman showed an unpredictable smile: "Hmph, you don't need to know too much. As long as you do what I told you, you will naturally be safe. If someone dares to disobey..."
She didn't continue to say it, but the fierce light flashed in her eyes made the people present shudder.
The cave was filled with an atmosphere of tension and fear, and the people looked at each other, not knowing what fate would be waiting for them.
After a while, the woman walked to the stone table in the cave, picked up a brush, quickly wrote something on the letter paper, and then carefully folded the letter paper.
She looked around and her eyes fell on a young man, with unquestionable majesty in her eyes.
"Come here." The woman waved to the young man. Although the young man was full of fear, he did not dare to disobey and walked to the woman tremblingly.
The woman handed him the letter and said, "Don't make any mistakes when sending this letter to the Prime Minister's Mansion."
The young man looked embarrassed and said in a trembling voice: "I... why should I send you this letter?"
The woman sneered and glanced at the group of people tied in the corner, which were the young people's parents and children. "Hmph, because your family is here, if you don't come back, they will all die."
Despair flashed in the young man's eyes, but he could do nothing.
He gritted his teeth and asked again: "Why should I send it to the Prime Minister's Mansion?"
A cold light flashed in the woman's eyes, and her tone became even colder: "Don't ask if you shouldn't ask, you just need to do it, otherwise you will be responsible for the consequences."
Seeing this, the young man did not dare to say anything more, so he had to turn around and leave the cave with his letter.
He ran all the way, his heart full of concern for his family and fear of the unknown. He didn't know what this letter would bring to the Prime Minister's Mansion, nor did he know what his fate would be for him and his family.
The young man ran all the way and came to the Prime Minister's Mansion panting.
Just as he was about to step in, he was stopped by the majestic guard at the door. The guard looked at him with a vigilant look and asked loudly: "Who are you? What are you doing?"
The young man hurriedly replied: "I... I am here to deliver a letter. Many people in our village were caught in a cave, and the situation was very critical."
After hearing this, the soldiers couldn't help looking at each other, with a look of surprise in their eyes.
Seeing this, the young man hurriedly said, "I guess the woman who captured the villagers was asking the Prime Minister for something, so I asked me to send this letter to the Prime Minister."
One of the soldiers frowned and said, "The Prime Minister is not at home, and even if the Prime Minister is there, no one can enter the Prime Minister's Mansion. It is difficult to tell whether what you are talking about is true or false, and we cannot let you in."
When the young man heard this, he suddenly became anxious. His face flushed and explained anxiously: "What I said is true. You must believe me! Those villagers are still alive and dead now. If they cannot hand over the letter to the Prime Minister in time, there will be a big mess."
The soldiers were unmoved and remained at the door, without any intention of letting the young man in.
The young man was anxious, but had no choice but to do anything, and paced back and forth at the Prime Minister's Mansion, not knowing what to do.
The soldier frowned slightly and asked, "Where is the cave you mentioned?"
The young man hurriedly explained the location of the cave in detail.
After hearing this, the soldier said to the young man: "You go back first. We will deal with this matter and we will find a way to hand over the letter to the Prime Minister."
The young man looked hesitant, and he still felt that it was safer to hand over the letter to the prime minister in his own hands, but he couldn't get in at all in the strict Prime Minister's Mansion in front of him, so he had to helplessly give up this idea.
He bowed deeply to the soldiers and said gratefully: "Thank you, brothers, then I will go back first, and I hope the villagers can be saved as soon as possible."
After saying that, the young man turned around and left the Prime Minister's Mansion.
While walking, he looked back from time to time, his heart full of worry, hoping that the Prime Minister could receive the letter as soon as possible to rescue the abducted villagers.
The young man walked in a hurry and soon returned to the cave. The atmosphere in the cave was still depressing, and the people looked at him with anticipation.
The young man walked up to the woman and said, "I have handed over the letter to the soldiers of the Prime Minister's Mansion. The Prime Minister's Mansion is very cautious, and I really can't get in."
The woman nodded slightly, showing a look of satisfaction: "You're doing a good job."
Then, she faced everyone and said loudly: "Next, the fate of everyone depends on what the Prime Minister does. I hope he can make the right choice, otherwise..."
She didn't finish her words, but the threat in her eyes was self-evident.
After saying that, the woman winked at several of her subordinates.
The men knew and brought out some food from the corner of the cave and began to distribute it to everyone.
The people rushed forward, and their eyes showed a ray of desire.
However, these foods are pitifully small and can only make everyone fill their stomachs.
Everyone ate silently, feeling mixed in their hearts, and they didn't know what would be waiting for them.
The soldiers did not dare to delay any time, so they quickly whipped the letter to Gan Mei, and at the same time told in detail about the emergency situation of a large number of people being kidnapped.
When Gan Mei heard this, her face suddenly changed and she was shocked. She frowned and said with a puzzled look: "The Prime Minister is not at home now. I am a woman and I can do very little. I am afraid I can't care about such a big thing. In my opinion, it's better to hand over the letter to Zhuge Liang. He is resourceful and may have a way to deal with it."
The soldiers felt it was reasonable, so they hurried to Zhuge's Mansion with their letters.
Along the way, he was anxious and hoped that Zhuge Liang could find a way to rescue the abducted people. At the same time, he was worried about where the unknown variables brought by this letter would lead the situation.
Zhuge Liang focused on teaching his nephew Zhuge Qiao how to use military force. He held a military book and patiently explained the subtleties of it.
Zhuge Qiao stood aside and listened carefully, but a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes from time to time, looking like he was eager to speak but stopped.
Zhuge Liang quickly noticed his nephew's strangeness. He stopped to explain, looked at Zhuge Qiao gently, and said softly: "Jiaoer, you seem to have something to say? But it's okay to say it, don't worry."
Zhuge Qiao raised his head and looked at Zhuge Liang, his lips moving, as if he was considering the words.
He knew that his uncle Zhuge Liang was very wise and decisive in his daily life, but he didn't know whether he should say what he thought in his heart, for fear of disturbing his uncle's thoughts.
But under Zhuge Liang's encouraging gaze, he finally plucked up the courage.
Zhuge Qiao lowered his head slightly, and said respectfully but seriously: "Uncle, what you taught your nephew is indeed good, and your nephew has benefited a lot. However, you have a habit, which may be a problem. You are used to doing everything yourself and everything is arranged in advance. In this way, your nephew has no room for thinking in many cases."
Zhuge Liang was slightly stunned, then nodded, with a hint of praise in his eyes: "Jiaoer, it's great that you can ask this question. Uncle wrote it down and will pay attention in the future."
After saying that, he waved his hand gently and signaled Zhuge Qiao to retreat.
Zhuge Qiao saluted and turned around and left, leaving Zhuge Liang alone in the room.
Zhuge Liang sat down slowly, stroked his beard, and fell into deep thought. He realized that when dealing with many matters, he had planned all the paths for them without knowing it, but never thought that this might be really not conducive to their growth.
Chapter completed!