The "open" in an open stratagem lay in its having no solution.
You knew the blade was before you, yet had no choice but to walk into its edge.
For if you did not, you could not even keep your standing as a "warrior."
If you did, you merely died a little more honorably.
Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors killed not the three warriors' bodies, but their power.
The moment the peaches fell, the three warriors were warriors no longer.
"Your Majesty!!" Song Yue immediately asked to speak.
"For several years now, whenever autumn turns to winter, requests for military pay from the garrisons of the Nine Frontiers have flown toward the Capital like snowflakes.
"Every time, I mark them 'approved,' yet neither the timing nor the amount the Ministry of Revenue can provide has ever been sufficient.
"Since the fall of the Three Garrisons in Gansu, the Court has spoken of recovering them. But how many inches of land have we reclaimed? Not even a foot."
He paused, sorrow in his voice, then continued with a sigh.
"I do not want to tell the soldiers at the Border Passes to 'wait another year' again.
"I seek this silver not to fight for the Ministry of War's interests, but to win a breath of dignity for Great Zhou's Border Passes!!"
With that, Song Yue held his Court Tablet upright and formally declared:
"I second Wei Nisheng's proposal!!"
After his declaration, the Ministry of War officials and military nobles asked to speak in support, one after another.
Kou Yuan's expression finally changed.
Yan Zi's two peaches had killed fighting men.
Fighting men prized honor above life and would draw their swords to slit their own throats over a single disagreement. Thus, two peaches had been enough to kill them.
Wei