Inside the central command tent, after who knew how long of silence, the place finally erupted into uproar!
"Wait, is this decree fake? Could the Northern Barbarians have swapped it out?"
"Did I hear that right? This is the perfect moment to press our advantage and wipe out the Northern Barbarians in one go, yet we're being told to cease fighting and head south to pick lychees?"
"And it says the lychees are fresh and juicy, and only by picking and eating them on the spot can they reward the soldiers of the three armies? Is this fucking joke?"
"Fuck! Which idiot came up with this rotten idea? Those barbarians have ravaged Great Zhou's northern frontier for centuries—how can we abandon such a golden chance to exterminate them!"
"..."
Uproar!
Boiling fury!
Utter disbelief!
The Divine Phoenix Army's commanders were all shouting over one another, cursing without restraint!
As for Ding Hao, he said nothing.
Yet his bewilderment and rage were no less than anyone else's!
It was not merely that sending the army south to pick lychees was absurd. More importantly, if the Northern Expedition ended here—
he would never again have a chance to gather the four great military merits and cast off his death-row prisoner status. What awaited him might even be execution on the spot!
Fuck, fuck, fuck! This had to be that bitch Empress's idea!
Only she—only she—could do something this absurd!
In an instant.
Ding Hao had already guessed the mastermind behind this matter!
Sure enough, Luo Shenhuang said the next moment, "This decree bears Great Zhou's imperial seal. That seal is held only by the current Empress. There is absolutely no possibility that it was swapped or forged!"
All the commanders fell silent!
In other words, this was an edict personally issued by Great Zhou's reigning Empress!
Absurd!
Utterly absurd!
At that moment, everyone wanted to curse aloud, but for the sake of the heads on their shoulders, they had no choice but to hold it in, leaving their expressions almost comical!
Who would have thought that Luo Shenhuang merely waved her hand. "If you want to curse, then curse. In my army, no one will hold it against you!"
"Fuck!"
"Holy fucking shit!!"
"Goddamn it, this is stupid—so fucking stupid!!"
"How much pig brain did she eat to issue an edict like this?!"
Curses instantly flooded the entire central command tent.
Ding Hao did not join in. It was not that he did not dare, but that he knew that, with things having reached this point, cursing could not solve anything.
In truth, judging by the five thousand years of history from his previous life's nation, the core logic behind this decree was not that Empress Weiyang was incomparably foolish, but that Luo Shenhuang's achievements had overshadowed her sovereign!
One had to know that Luo Shenhuang already held immense power. Simply crushing the Northern Barbarians had raised her prestige to a terrifying height. If she went on to wipe out the barbarian tribes of the north in one fell swoop—
then her merit would soar to the heavens. Given Xia Weiyang's calculating nature, how could she possibly allow such a thing to happen!
Thus, sending them south to pick lychees as a "reward" was not mere absurdity, but Xia Weiyang's scheme to suppress Luo Shenhuang!
As for this.
Luo Shenhuang, Ding Yishan, and some of the other commanders had clearly realized it as well!
But they were unwilling to accept it!!
For centuries, Great Zhou had suffered the harassment and invasions of the northern barbarian tribes!
Now, they had finally gained the chance to completely sweep away this festering tumor, yet the Empress was making them abandon that opportunity simply out of fear!
She had clearly never considered the lives or safety of the people along Great Zhou's northern frontier!
"Everyone!"
After who knew how long, Luo Shenhuang finally spoke!
The moment she opened her mouth, the curses in the tent immediately ceased!
"I summoned you here today because I wish to ask you this: are you willing to accept this decree, or not?"
At those words, Ding Yishan was the first to shout, "Of course we're unwilling!"
"Right, we refuse!"
"This is the first time Great Zhou has ever had hope of exterminating the barbarian tribes. How can we give up halfway!"
"Yes! During the thirtieth year of the Former Emperor's reign, my entire family was slaughtered by the barbarians. I joined the army so that one day, I could sweep the Northern Barbarians clean!"
Many commanders spoke up in succession, all voicing their fury!
Then Zhang Dalong's voice rang out. "Everyone, calm down!"
"This is an edict—an edict from the Empress, stamped with Great Zhou's imperial jade seal!"
"It is not something we can refuse simply because we do not wish to accept it. Refusing it means defying an imperial decree!"
"And defying an imperial decree means beheading, even the extermination of nine generations of one's family!"
Once Zhang Dalong said this, some of the commanders began to agree with him.
"That's right. We are soldiers of Great Zhou. A soldier's foremost rule is obedience!"
"Everyone, I too want to wipe out the Northern Barbarians for good, but I don't want my entire family to be executed with me!"
"Think carefully. We must think carefully. Defying an imperial decree is far too grave a crime!"
Watching the two sharply divided factions argue within the command tent.
Though Ding Hao had many thoughts, he did not step forward to speak.
After all, he was only a death-row prisoner. Some had already objected to him merely attending as an observer; he was not about to make trouble for himself by stepping forward to offer advice!
As for Luo Shenhuang, at this very moment, her heart was clearly as tangled and hesitant as the two groups of commanders arguing before her!
So much so that she sat at the command desk and watched the two factions quarrel for the better part of the day without making any decision!
Only at the end did she secretly glance at Ding Hao before waving her hand.
"Enough. Stop arguing!"
"Allow me to consider this matter. You may leave for now!"
"Remember, do not spread word of this matter yet, lest it stir up some disturbance!"
Once Luo Shenhuang spoke, whether Ding Yishan, Zhang Dalong, or the others, they could only stop arguing, rise, and leave the command tent!
Ding Hao had originally intended to leave as well, but Luo Shenhuang stopped him at the last moment.
"Does the Commander have any orders?"
"Tonight is destined to be sleepless. Could you take a walk with me?"
"Alright!"
Thus, Ding Hao followed Luo Shenhuang out of the central command tent.
Eventually, they left the Divine Phoenix Army's camp and arrived at a hillside.
The evening breeze drifted by, stirring their hair and robes. When they turned back, they could see camps stretching for ten li, their lights blazing brightly!
"Ding Hao, as this year's newly crowned Top Scholar, your talent overflows. Could you compose a poem for me based on today's events and this scene?"
Luo Shenhuang suddenly asked!
"Uh... alright!"
Ding Hao froze.
How could he know how to write poetry? But the next instant, he still agreed. He could not compose one himself, but he could—copy one!
With five thousand years of poetry and prose from his previous life's history, could he not find a fitting poem?
Very quickly, his eyes lit up. He had made his choice, and he began: "Drunk, I trim the lamp and gaze upon my sword; in dreams, I return to horn calls blowing through the linked camps!"
As soon as the first line left his lips, Luo Shenhuang's beautiful eyes trembled!
Then Ding Hao's voice grew ever more impassioned and stirring. "Eight hundred li, I share roasted meat among my men; fifty strings strike out the sounds beyond the frontier, as troops are reviewed upon the autumn battlefield!"
"My horse flies swift as the famed Dilu; my bow resounds like a thunderbolt, its string startling the air. To fulfill my sovereign's affairs beneath Heaven, to win a name before and after death... alas, white hair has grown!"
At the final line, all the passion turned into a mournful sigh!
Beside him, the commander of the Divine Phoenix Army, who commanded more than a hundred thousand troops, had already fallen into shock and prolonged silence!!
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