After rebirth, I joined forces with my mortal enemy to seek revenge.

Zheng Ou's anxious voice reached his ears. Soon, he stumbled in and repeated what he had just said.

After exchanging a glance with the Crown Prince, Pei Jiaoran said, "It looks like an urgent matter. I guess there is something unusual going on between Tubo and Nanzhao."

When the words fell into his ears, the prince lowered his eyes, flicked his sleeves and strode out. Seeing this, Pei Jiaoran also followed.

In front of the Lizheng Palace, they happened to meet Cen Xi and Su Jinghui, who came with them, as well as several other prime ministers from the Political Affairs Hall. The only person missing was Jia Gonglu.

Pei Jiaoran's eyebrows curved slightly as he looked at the people who were paying respects to the prince. If Jia Gonglu was not there at this time, he might have arrived first.

As she thought, as soon as she entered the Lizheng Hall, she saw Jia Gonglu and Yuan Zhengze standing side by side, while the Emperor of Wei was taking medicine beside them.

Pei Jiaoran glanced at Yuan Zhengze and relaxed his brows. Although Yuan Zhengze was only temporarily acting as the eunuch supervisor and his treatment was somewhat poor, he was favored by the Emperor of Wei. This allowed him to be on the same level as the high-ranking officials of the three ministries and to have a certain say.

"I pay my respects to the Crown Prince and all the gentlemen." Yuan Zhengze stepped forward and bowed.

Hearing his voice, Jia Gonglu turned around and said, "I pay my respects to the prince."

Looking up at the hunched-backed Emperor Wei, Pei Jiaoran smiled. He told her directly that the Emperor Wei did this on purpose to build momentum for Yuan Zhengze.

A eunuch with no real power could be above the three ministries. It seemed to tell them that even if the heads of the three ministries were the real prime ministers and held great power in the court, there was still a sky above their heads. They were the so-called sky bearers, and the only ones who could call the wind and rain were the sky.

After the two of them exchanged greetings, the Emperor of Wei slowly walked over, holding the eunuch's hand. Seeing this, Yuan Zhengze hurried forward to support him.

Taking Yuan Zhengze's hand, the Emperor of Wei said, "Yuan Zhengze, you go ahead and speak."

Although a little surprised by the Wei Emperor's partiality for him, Yuan Zhengze still spoke solemnly, "On October 6, Nanzhao killed the imperial envoys and joined forces with Tubo to launch a rebellion. They called themselves a coalition army of 200,000 people, divided into three groups, and have already conquered many counties. One group has already reached Qionglai Pass and is approaching Chengdu." He spoke calmly, "Tubo also killed the escorting delegation on the grounds that our dynasty was treacherous. It is also approaching Chengdu."

After hearing Yuan Zhengze's words, the expressions of Cen Xi and others changed suddenly.

After glancing at a few people, Pei Jiaoran looked at the prince and shook his head slightly.

"The news only reached Chang'an when the troops were almost at Chengdu." The Emperor of Wei said in a bad tone, "What are these governors in Jiannan doing?"

Jiannan has always been a smart man. Although the mountains are high and the roads are long, many government orders cannot be fully implemented, but he has been loyal to the court for so many years. Now the news has been delayed for a long time before it reaches Chang'an, which seems to be a protest. Thinking of the harsh measures taken by the court against Jiannan because of his advice, the delay of the news seems to have a legitimate reason.

Pei Jiaoran thought for a moment, then said slowly, "Jiannan has high mountains and dense forests. Qingxi and Qionglai Pass can both rely on the natural barrier of Dadu River, and they are located in a canyon with many mountain roads. Even if Tubo and Nanzhao have an army of 200,000, it will take time to break through the natural barrier. We should immediately send troops to Shu and join forces with the Jiannan Jiedushi to counterattack."

After Pei Jiaoran finished speaking, the Emperor of Wei looked even more solemn. Even though there were two natural barriers, Qingxi and Qionglai, the barbarians were coming in full force. Once they were able to break through these two barriers, they could go straight to Chengdu, occupy Chengdu and march deep into the heart of the Central Plains without any obstruction.

After a long while, the Emperor of Wei said, "How much money is available in Zuozang now?"

Since we are going to fight a war, military expenditure is a topic that cannot be avoided. And it is the top priority.

Glancing at Pei Jiaoran, Jia Gonglu said, "According to previous estimates, at least half of the funds will be used as military support for the expedition. If this is the case, other expenses will have to be cut. For example, your Majesty's birthday celebration will definitely not be the same as before."

Pei Jiaoran lowered his eyes and frowned. The two wars plus the actions of the Jingyuan rebels in the court had almost left the court with no money. Even with her successive reforms to fill the treasury for the court, it was still in a state of being just right. Now the battle with Nanzhao and Tubo is about to enter autumn. Whether it is food supply or other things, it is a huge expense.

After roughly estimating how much of the newly arrived taxes could be spent, Pei Jiaoran said, "Even if we reduce them on your Majesty's birthday, it will only be a drop in the bucket. I think the court should still provide 70%, and the remaining 30% should be provided by the provinces and prefectures themselves."

War is a monster that eats money. If the imperial court were to pay for all the expenses, the governors would probably become lazy.

After listening to this, the Emperor of Wei turned to look at everyone and asked, "What do you think?"

"I think what Prime Minister Pei said is very true. When the court is prosperous, it can still consume grain from outside the border. But this law has accumulated a lot of disadvantages. If this law can be abolished this time, it will be a good thing for the court." said the prince.

Pei Jiaoran looked at him in surprise. She had never thought that the prince would take this opportunity to remove the rule of eating out-of-bounds grain. But what the prince was thinking about was also a problem she had considered before. If the out-of-bounds grain supply of the various town lords was delayed for a year or two, the national treasury would be completely empty.

Seeing that the crown prince and vice-chairman of the court had spoken, Su Jinghui hurriedly said, "Of course, the court cannot pay for all the money. Prime Minister Pei's idea is better."

"I also have this idea. However, I still cannot directly express the court's intention to the governors." Cen Xi paused and continued: "First, on the grounds that the court is in difficulty, let the governors of various regions temporarily pay for the military expenses. As for the expenses on the road, the court will slowly make up for it."

The other people in the Council of State who held the title of Prime Minister looked at each other and seconded the motion.

"Does Mr. Jia have any other objections?" the Emperor of Wei asked in a deep voice.

Hearing this, Jia Gong Lu lowered his head and said, "I have no objection."

"The enemy is at hand and the country is in danger. I have no mood to celebrate my birthday. Let's cut the number in half as Jia Qing suggests." The Emperor of Wei turned his eyes to Pei Jiaoran, "The Secretariat will draft an edict immediately. The Right General of the Divine Strategy will lead 4,000 elite soldiers of the Divine Strategy to Shu. Jiannan and Longyou will each send 2,500 soldiers and horses to resist the barbarians in two routes."

"Yes." Pei Jiaoran said first.

Seeing Pei Jiaoran respond before him, Su Jinghui glared at her unhappily.

Although today's imperial meeting was shorter than expected, it finalized the most important issues. The ministers also knew that the war with Tubo and Nanzhao would break out sooner or later.

If we win this battle, we can naturally recuperate for a hundred years.

After returning to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Pei Jiaoran immediately summoned the secretaries of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to rush to draft the edict. After confirming that it was correct and stamped, it was sent to the Ministry of Personnel for review. Finally, the edict was sent to the Ministry of Shangshu.

In the official room of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Pei Jiaoran looked at the copy of the imperial edict in front of her with a smile in her eyes. She hoped that the court would win a great victory this time.