The best county magistrate

"War or peace?" Emperor Jianwen asked doubtfully.

Yang Xuanchen bowed his head again, "That's right!"

"North of Haiyang Pass, there are sixteen states in the Liao Kingdom, which are larger and richer than our Dayan land. They are not afraid of a protracted war."

"If our southern part of Great Yan is stable, then we have nothing to fear when we use our military strength to go out to meet the enemy!"

As he said this, he bowed to the generals to express his respect for them, and the generals smiled in return, indicating their approval of his actions.

"However, the Thunder Pass in Chenzhou is currently worrying. If the Liao Kingdom intensifies its offensive at Haiyang Pass, and we, Dayan, are attacked before and after, there will definitely be turmoil in the country."

"Among the Three Kingdoms, we have to admit that Bei Liao is the strongest, followed by Great Yan, and the last is Nanman."

"If Beiliao and Nanman collude and work together..."

With a snap, Emperor Jianwen slapped the table, "How dare they!"

"Your Majesty, Yang Xuanchen is right, it is very possible! Otherwise, why would they send troops to my Dayan almost at the same time?" The speaker was Qin Chongrong, Minister of War.

"There are no permanent enemies or permanent friends in the world, only eternal interests!" Yang Xuanchen's words aroused everyone's attention.

"In fact, fighting is similar to doing business. They are both for territory, population, and resources. The reason for this is profit."

"As long as there are enough benefits, I believe that Bei Liao will withdraw its troops."

His words made everyone present frown and think. It was not that they had not considered this issue, but what were the interests Beiliao pursued.

Will Bei Liao and Nan Barbarians really collude?

"No! If I bow my head to Beiliao, I won't be able to raise my head for the rest of my life!" Emperor Jianwen blocked Yang Xuanchen's next words.

As soon as his words came out, Qin Chongrong and several generals' eyes lit up.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to be the vanguard and go out to kill the enemy!" The speaker was Zuo Xiaoqiu Guard Han Changping.

Immediately afterwards, several other generals also clamored to leave the border to attack Bei Liao. Their whistling noises made the civil servants in the imperial study room one head and two heads big.

Seeing their appearance, Yang Xuanchen naturally knew in his mind that these generals must be the ones who followed Emperor Jianwen all the way to the throne.

They are all militants. They have lived peacefully for more than ten years, and their desire to fight on the battlefield has not died in their hearts.

However, everyone knows that now is not the time to fight Beiliao.

Emperor Jianwen calmed them down for a while, letting the generals' voices gradually calm down, and then asked.

"Yang Xuanchen, you said war at first, but then you said peace. What do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, I never said that I wanted peace. I thought that I, Dayan, needed a strategic truce!" Yang Xuanchen replied in a neither arrogant nor humble manner.

Next to Mary, several generals began to curse inwardly.

This is the first time I have heard a civil servant seeking peace use this term to play a word game. Isn't a truce just asking for peace?

Han Changping was the first to jump out, pointing at Yang Xuanchen's nose and shouting: "Young-mouthed kid, your hair isn't all grown up yet. Are you afraid of death? Grandpa Han is not afraid of death!"

Emperor Jianwen wanted to stop him, but unexpectedly Yang Xuanchen stepped forward to greet him.

He quickly untied his belt and prepared to take off his official uniform, "Come on, come on, let me show you, who is hairier on you or me!"

"You can take it off if you can. Don't let your little earthworm meet grandpa's big green dragon..."

With a bang, a cup of tea hit his body, and the tea splashed all over his official uniform.

"Presumptuous!" Emperor Jianwen roared, stopping the farce.

Yang Xuanchen straightened his official uniform and bowed, and continued: "Beiliao and I, Dayan, will eventually have a battle, but not now. What is more important for us now is to deal with the Southern Barbarians!"

"Therefore, I advocate a thorough investigation into the mysterious death of the Northern Liao ambassador. Even if nothing is found, we must make up a reason to retreat the Liao army outside Haiyang Pass first."

"Even if we can't retreat, we still have to let them have a truce first!"

Immediately afterwards, when he was about to say something, he was stopped by Emperor Jianwen's eyes, "I order you to thoroughly investigate the death of the Northern Liao ambassador within one month, and find a way to retreat the Liao soldiers before the spring plowing."

"Can you do it?"

Yang Xuanchen looked at Emperor Jianwen in disbelief, staring at the boss with eyes that could fit two eggs into his mouth.

Sorry, this case can be found out through investigation?

Is it possible for the troops to retreat just by saying they want to retreat?

Are you a foolish mother-in-law, just patting your head and thinking about problems?

"Your Majesty, what do you mean? I am Shao Zhan, and I have no control over Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice, let alone the Yushitai."

"Even if I have some friendship with Fu Yin, his six doors will not all obey my command!"

"minister……"

Emperor Jianwen waved his hand, but now he laughed, "You just said it yourself, even if you can't find anything, you can just make up a reason to retreat."

When Yang Xuanchen heard this, he really wanted to slap himself a few times. Damn, he really shot himself in the foot.

He raised his head and glanced at Emperor Jianwen with a hint of resentment, as if there were thousands of grass and mud horses running through his heart.

"I accept the order!" He had no choice but to accept the reality.

Of course, the battle in the north cannot fall solely on Yang Xuanchen. Regardless of whether it is war or peace, Haiyang Pass cannot be lost.

Emperor Jianwen once again emphasized the issue of military pay and food, and even adopted Yang Xuanchen's suggestion of reporting three times a day.

The meeting in the imperial study room lasted until noon.

After all the ministers resigned, Emperor Jianwen saw that Yang Xuanchen was still not leaving, so he joked: "Are you waiting for me to call you to have dinner with you?"

Hearing him calling him, Yang Xuanchen stood up immediately, with a smile on his face: "It would be great if Your Majesty would like to enjoy the meal."

"Oh, you stupid boy, you are so shameless!"

Emperor Jianwen smiled and pointed at Yang Xuanchen, and continued: "If you have something to say, just say it and let it go as soon as possible. I don't believe you are here to wait for dinner."

"Hehe, Your Majesty is truly a wise master, with civilized martial arts..."

"Ah, stop, stop, let's get down to business!"

"Your Majesty, I have been chatting with the old master for a long time these days." Yang Xuanchen frowned, "From the Jing Dynasty to Dayan, our armaments have always been inferior to those of the Northern Liao Dynasty..."

In the following time, he combined the military information he had obtained with his own thoughts.

"The reasons why I do not advocate war are the above points."

"There were so many people just now, I don't know who can be trusted and who can't be trusted, so I didn't say something..."

After Emperor Jianwen listened patiently, he nodded seriously, "You are very good. You know what to say and what not to say."

"But, do you have any way to improve or solve what you just said?"

"Your Majesty, there are ways to solve the problem. Whether it is armaments or sergeants, they can be improved." Yang Xuanchen replied.

Then, he turned to Wu Dahai and said, "Eunuch Wu, can you fetch my dagger and some swords from the palace guards?"

Wu Dahai asked Emperor Jianwen for instructions, and it didn't take long for him to get a dagger and some swords.

"Eunuch Wu, now use my dagger to chop these swords..."

After several clanging sounds of weapons clashing, Emperor Jianwen and Wu Dahai both widened their eyes in shock.

"Is this... is this the legendary Wu Feng?" Emperor Jianwen took the dagger from Wu Dahai's hand and stroked the blade carefully.

"Your Majesty, this is not Wufeng. The material used to make this dagger is called steel. If this material is used to forge weapons and armor..."

Hearing what Yang Xuanchen said, Emperor Jianwen's eyes sparkled.

"Say! What do you need? I can give it to you!"

"I need it, I need it to be used on the battlefield, for the soldiers of Great Yan!"

"Your Majesty, this matter must be carried out secretly. It is not yet time to promote it to the entire army." Yang Xuanchen persuaded him earnestly.

Emperor Jianwen came to his senses and couldn't put it down, playing with the dagger in his hand, and the smile on his face never disappeared.

"What Aiqing said is that I am impatient."

"I think it would be better for Your Majesty to gather some trustworthy people to secretly build armaments and train sergeants..."

"What do you mean?" Emperor Jianwen asked, staring into his eyes.

"Whatever your Majesty means, I mean whatever you want." Yang Xuanchen said and laughed.

Emperor Jianwen looked at him for a while, then sheathed the dagger and stuffed it into his arms, his smile even wider, "This is a very good idea!"

Yang Xuanchen cursed in his heart: Damn you, this is my dagger, give it back to me, hey!