Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 464 Relying on Favor (9)

Yan Zhen feigned ignorance: "What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?"

"Stop pretending! What did you say to Hong Fu?"

"To tell her the truth, I told her about my situation in the manor. As a woman myself, Miss Hongfu felt pity for me."

Zhao Yuan looked her up and down, then suddenly grabbed her chin: "Are you a spy sent by the Great Liang?"

Yan Zhen: "...Who would send a spy to serve their own princess? Are they afraid you won't recognize them?"

"What if you do the opposite?"

"Good idea, don't guess randomly next time."

Yan Zhen brushed his hand away, took two steps back, performed a standard bow, and then carried the packed items out.

Zhao Yuan watched her retreating figure, his face thoughtful.

As night fell, a subordinate brought news from a scout to the Prince's residence to discuss the war with Zhao Yuan.

The maid on duty tonight is not feeling well, so she asked Yan Zhen to make her a few cups of tea and bring them to the study.

Yan Zhen brought in the tea, knelt down beside the desk and offered the teacup, and heard the general to his left analyzing the current battle situation.

Yan Zhen overheard a bit of this and learned that the general advocated attacking the neighboring Yunzhou, taking advantage of the fact that the Yunzhou commander had been shot by an arrow, and launching a night raid to catch them off guard.

Yan Zhen listened attentively, and his hands slowed down.

Until I felt a gaze coming from the side.

She turned her head and saw Zhao Yuan staring at her with a frown, his eyes full of warning.

The generals in the council noticed Zhao Yuan's gaze and followed it to look at Yan Zhen.

For a moment, everyone in the study focused their attention on Yan Zhen.

Despite the stares of several grown men, Yan Zhen smiled instead of being intimidated: "I think that given the current situation in Tingzhou, it is not advisable to initiate a war."

One of the generals, not expecting her to interrupt, frowned upon seeing her dressed as a maid and asked, "Who are you?"

Yan Zhen glanced at Zhao Yuan and said meaningfully, "I am the master's man."

The generals, seeing her graceful figure and beautiful appearance, did not doubt her words, but were quite displeased with her interruption.

"Since when has it become a woman's place to interfere in the war in Tingzhou?"

"That's right, finish serving the tea and get out of here quickly!"

At this moment, Zhao Yuan raised his hand to stop the generals from chasing people away, and stared intently at Yan Zhen: "Tell me your opinion."

Yan Zhen carefully considered his words and said, "Tingzhou only has 60,000 troops, while Yunzhou has 80,000. We are at a disadvantage in terms of both manpower and supplies."

If we win this battle, occupy Yunzhou, and incorporate the remnants of the Yunzhou army, the demand for food and supplies will further increase.

To satisfy the soldiers' demands, there will only be one option left: after capturing each city, slaughter the local population and plunder their wealth and food to support the army. This is not a sustainable solution.

Zhao Yuan narrowed his eyes: "So, according to your idea, what should I do?"

"Cease fire, withdraw all soldiers, defend Tingzhou City, and conserve our strength."

As soon as these words were spoken, several generals below began to stir.

"A woman's view!"

"Nonsense!"

"My lord, the commander of Yunzhou is seriously injured, and the Yunzhou army is in a state of low morale. If we don't attack now, when will we?"

Zhao Yuan raised his hand, and the men immediately shut up.

"Conserve your strength?" Zhao Yuan sneered. "Tingzhou is located in the northwest, and the land is barren. Even if you close the city gates and conserve your strength for ten or eight years, you will still be poor. Without money and food, your soldiers will be exhausted and your horses will be thin. Tell me, how do you plan to conserve your strength?"

"There are many ways to conserve energy and build up strength; it depends on whether you listen or not, and whether you follow the advice if you do listen," Yan Zhen said.

"On the contrary, if we attack Yunzhou now and lose, we will be annexed by Yunzhou and you will surely die! If we win and annex Yunzhou, it will attract the attention of the other vassal kings and make Tingzhou the target of everyone's attacks. With Tingzhou's current grain reserves, how long can this war last?"

As the great man said, "Never fight a battle you are not prepared for, never fight a battle you cannot win. You cannot even guarantee the most basic food and military supplies. Relying solely on brute force and recklessness to rashly expand your territory, what difference is there between you and suicide?"

These words thoroughly enraged the generals who were already dissatisfied with her, and even Zhao Yuan's face turned extremely ugly.

"Get out! Go kneel in the yard as punishment!"

With a loud bang, the study door opened and closed, and Yan Zhen was kicked out by Zhao Yuan.

She picked up the tray, clicked her tongue, and very consciously walked to the spot where she had been forced to kneel during the day, and sat down.

It was mid-June, and Yan Zhen hugged his knees, looking up at the full moon hanging in the sky.

She hummed a song to pass the time while refining the plan in her mind.

If Zhao Yuan doesn't listen to her advice, she might have to find someone to help her.

Yan Zhen thought of Hong Fu.

Perhaps she would be a good helper.

Yan Zhen sat for almost an hour before the steward came to tell her to go to Zhao Yuan's room to serve him.

Although it was supposed to be serving, Yan Zhen was ordered to kneel by the bed to keep watch at night. She knew that Zhao Yuan was making things difficult for her again.

Zhao Yuan changed into black undergarments, sat on the couch, and looked at Yan Zhen with a fierce gaze: "Don't doze off, don't be distracted, you're not allowed to get up unless I tell you to!"

Yan Zhen knelt upright and honestly replied, "Yes."

Zhao Yuan gave a soft hum, then lifted the curtain and lay down.

But Zhao Yuan was clearly not sleepy, and tossed and turned on the couch for a long time without falling asleep.

After a while, his voice came from inside the tent: "I am thirsty, go and pour me a cup of water."

"Yes." Yan Zhen got up and went out to pour water.

After serving Zhao Yuan water, a quarter of an hour later, he remembered that he needed to relieve himself that night.

Yan Zhen went out to fetch the chamber pot.

After urinating, Zhao Yuan lay down for less than 15 minutes before patting the edge of the bed.

"My legs are sore, give me a massage."

After he finished speaking, he casually stuck one leg out of the tent.

Yan Zhen rolled her eyes silently, got up and went over, sat on the footstool and began to massage Zhao Yuan's legs.

"Put some effort into it. Didn't you eat enough for dinner?"

"A little to the left."

"Too left, a little to the right."

Yan Zhen was getting a little impatient with him, so she quietly touched the inside of his calf and pressed hard on the Sanyinjiao acupoint, which is three inches above the tip of his inner ankle.

Zhao Yuan cried out in pain and instinctively kicked Yan Zhen.

Yan Zhen was prepared and leaned back to dodge.

The next moment, a hand reached out from inside the tent, grabbed Yan Zhen by the back of her collar, and pulled her into the tent.

Zhao Yuan pinned Yan Zhen to the couch, one hand gripping her neck, his face contorted in pain: "You dog slave! How dare you! Believe me, I'll kill you right now!"

"I advise you not to."

Zhao Yuan looked at her coldly: "Why?"

“I am a princess sent by the Great Liang to marry a foreign ruler in the Northern Jurchens. If I die in Tingzhou City, what if the Great Liang uses this as a pretext to join forces with the Northern Jurchens to deal with Tingzhou? Given Tingzhou’s current situation, can it withstand an attack from both sides?”

Zhao Yuan: "..."

It must be said that Dan Junzhuo is very good at judging the situation.

This is also why he repeatedly tolerated this woman's antics in the mansion, openly and secretly provoking him.

Zhao Yuan gritted his teeth: "Tan Junzhuo, what exactly do you intend to do by coming to Tingzhou!"