Upon hearing the call to war, everyone was numb. Lacking money and resources, how could they fight?

Lin Xiang felt utterly bewildered. God knows how shocked he was when he saw a flying paper crane speaking human words to him, nearly scaring him stiff. But what shocked him more was the message conveyed by the paper crane.

A great battle in the northwest is imminent.

Facing war with an empty national treasury is indeed a disaster.

Even without Qin Liuxi’s words, he already sensed the nation’s impending chaos. After all, the nation’s fortune had been declining for a year, coupled with constant disasters. Even a full treasury couldn’t withstand such strain, let alone an empty one.

With the difficult situation, he couldn’t help but think that foreign enemies might seize the opportunity, whether due to disasters or long-held coveting desires. This was a great opportunity since it’s already so challenging within the borders, not to mention outside them.

The saying goes, "Without farsightedness, there must be immediate troubles." He, holding a high position, had long seen this major hidden danger but never expected it to come so quickly.

When Lin Xiang presented the memorial predicting potential war in the northwest during the morning court session, urgent news arrived the next day. Yang Pass was raided by alien races, capturing a city, causing five thousand casualties among our soldiers. The night the alien races attacked the city, City Guardian Liu An was drinking in a brothel with several subordinates, missing the military opportunity, leading to the fall of the city.

The entire court was in an uproar.

That Liu An is a cousin of Prince Zhao, the eldest son of the Liu family serving as the current Governor of Shuntian, and Lady Shu’s nephew.

Prince Zhao paled immediately, kneeling to confess. Losing a city due to indulging in female pleasures—this crime was huge. He had managed to arrange for this guy to join the Northwest Army but didn’t get a chance to use him before being dragged into this mess. What a fool!

General Quan’s face turned livid with anger. Having guarded the northwest for years without losing a city, he returned to the capital for honors and relaxation only to find a city lost within two years.

He knew well that these pampered young men were useless on the battlefield, only exerting effort in women’s affairs, merely jockeying for merit and power.

Pah!

General Quan, sharply eyed, glanced at Prince Zhao and requested permission from the Saint to go out to battle, determined to drive the Turkic devils back to their grandmothers and reclaim Da Feng’s territory, not losing a single city or town.

The Saint stared at Prince Zhao with a gaze cold as ice, preparing to hold a sacrifice to heaven but now receiving urgent news of war in the northwest and a lost city. If he didn’t send troops to reclaim it, wouldn’t he be branded a coward?

But in war, before soldiers move, provisions are mobilized. This year, frequent natural disasters led to poor grain harvests, yet war demanded silver.

The sacrifice to heaven required a substantial amount of silver. Money was needed everywhere. Who would provide it?

The city was lost due to Prince Zhao’s cousin. Even if that Liu An wasn’t executed under martial law, he’d be quartered. Now that he’s dead, it’s just right; the Liu family would be confiscated to replenish the national treasury.

The Saint first cursed Prince Zhao harshly, then issued a decree: Liu An, as the commanding general, was negligent and corrupted, indulging in women, resulting in the loss of a city and the death of soldiers. His corpse shall be whipped. Liu Fucheng failed in educating his son, and abused power for personal gain during his term; he is stripped of his position and whipped thirty times. All Liu family men are exiled three thousand miles, while the women become official prostitutes, and their assets confiscated into the national treasury to compensate the deceased soldiers.

Prince Zhao’s face turned ashen; the confiscation and exile were bad enough, but making the women official prostitutes included his aunt. Father Emperor left him no face, nor did he leave any dignity for his maternal family, Dingxi Marquis Mansion.

This was not over. The Saint ordered him to personally lead the team to raid the Liu family, adding, "It’s heard that some merchants tried to curry favor with Mrs. Liu, sending over fifty thousand taels of gold and silver. I want to see all those bribes, not a single one missing."

Prince Zhao trembled slightly; he knew the Liu family didn’t have such silver, but if Father Emperor said there was, there had to be. If it wasn’t enough, who would fill it? Naturally, it was him, assigned a "heavy responsibility."

At a time when the national treasury was desperately short of money, who else but his maternal family could it target?

Silver is a minor matter compared to losing Father Emperor’s favor. As for the throne, does he still have any hope?

The Ministry of Revenue, upon hearing of the confiscation, Minister Qian immediately signaled his subordinates. Cui Shixue promptly stepped forward, first passionately condemning Liu An’s conduct, then expressing his willingness to accompany Prince Zhao to raid the Liu family, promising that not a single copper coin would remain, all entering the national treasury.

To kill and strike the heart!

Prince Zhao glared hatefully at this Cui person, fearing his covert mercy or hidden wealth for the Liu family.