#421 - Choose one of four
Great Feng, Fengyuan City.
The continuous firelight, angry roars, collapsing rubble, and desperate wails... The cruel war scene composed of light and sound had not stopped for two days.
Over 400,000 Da Ning soldiers, nearly 300,000 Great Feng defenders.
Seven hundred thousand people had been fighting fiercely in the four directions of southeast, northwest for two whole days. Severed limbs and blood could be seen everywhere on and off the city walls, as terrifying as purgatory.
Bearing the “same” hatred for the Yuanzhou City massacre, the soldiers on both sides had gone bloodshot, only wanting to send all the “culprits” to the underworld.
At this moment, the truth of who killed the three million people of Yuanzhou City was no longer important.
Whoever loses will be the inhuman demon.
Whoever loses, their name will be firmly nailed to the pillar of shame in history by the historians, and cursed by countless future generations.
Therefore, this is no longer just an invasion war determining the life and death of a country.
It is more of a struggle for the power to "write history."
And now, the balance of this battle, which was already tilted to one side, was once again heavily tilted towards Da Ning's side due to Li Qi's serious injury and coma.
Although it has not truly hit the bottom, it has reached the final juncture.
Dozens of court officials in official robes gathered here, and the person sitting in the first seat was actually a haggard-looking woman.
Dressed in black, her long hair was styled into a bun, with a strand of hair falling beside her ear, swaying slightly in the candlelight.
“Gentlemen.”
“You…”
Listening to the distant, incessant roar and looking at the group of court officials discussing in the hall, Li Wutong wanted to say something, but perhaps because her voice was too soft, no one noticed her at this moment.
“Gentlemen, I wonder if you would listen to me for a moment.”
Clenching her fists tightly under the table, Li Wutong took a deep breath and raised her voice slightly.
However, the noisy arguments in the hall still did not stop.
Shifting responsibility, accusations, seeking peace, fighting to the death, retreating west...
Every purple-robed official was arguing with his colleagues, their faces red and necks thick, but not a single person looked up at Li Wutong.
Although after Li Qi was seriously injured and fell into a coma, the latter began to preside over the court in accordance with the law and indeed sat in this position.
But for these court officials, they actually only needed Li Wutong to sit there.
What knowledge could a woman have?
How could she possibly make decisions on state affairs?
Restrained by the deeply rooted idea of "male superiority and female inferiority" in this world, almost everyone thought so.
What's more, Li Wutong was only a woman in her early twenties.
Therefore, at this time, no one cared what Li Wutong was thinking or wanted to say.
They had actually heard those two sentences long ago, but they all pretended not to hear them.
They were not even willing to give Li Wutong the time to say a few "nonsense" words.
And the latter seemed to have lost the courage to speak a third time.
“…”
The fists resisting her knees trembled slightly. Li Wutong slowly lowered her head and closed her eyes tightly.
She especially wanted to shout and tell everyone to shut up.
But she also understood that even if she really did, she would not be able to say anything useful.
Because even if everyone listened to her, she would not have the courage to make a decision as a "ruler."
She was afraid of choosing the wrong option.
Only at this moment did Li Wutong understand how difficult it was to be someone with great power.
She finally understood Li Qi, understood Wei Changtian.
Understood the heavy pressure that every choice they made would determine the life and death of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of people.
And now, when the heavy burden was on her shoulders, this feeling of walking on thin ice made Li Wutong almost breathless.
“…”
Her long skirt swayed for a moment, and Li Wutong silently stood up from behind the desk, bypassed the screen, and left through the side door of the hall.
The noise behind her continued, and no one cared.
Leaving Tianlu Pavilion and walking along the corridor for a while, she passed through a courtyard.
A quarter of an hour later, Li Wutong once again came to Li Qi's bedroom alone.
The heavily armed guards respectfully saluted her, which could be regarded as finally "making up" for a little dignity.
Li Wutong勉强挤出 一丝 笑容, and then this smile faded away little by little after walking into the hall.
“Grandpa Zhu, how is Father Emperor?”
Arriving in front of the bed with floating clouds and carved dragons, Li Wutong looked at an old man guarding the bedside and softly asked a question that had been asked countless times.
And the answer was still the same.
“He is still in a deep sleep.”
The old man shook his head, his eyes filled with helplessness and self-blame.
His name was Zhu Tianhong. He was a retainer of the Li family and also the person with the highest cultivation level who guarded Li Qi when he ascended the city tower.
At that time, it was also he who blocked the sudden attack of the "ordinary soldier," so that the latter did not die on the spot.
An unknown second-rank master disguised as an ordinary soldier attempted to assassinate Li Qi and failed. Zhu Tianhong originally thought that this matter would pass without any danger.
However, the move that clearly did not hit Li Qi caused the latter to fall unconscious after a few breaths.
Although surprised, everyone initially thought the problem was not serious.
After all, the Great Feng royal family had reserves of various natural treasures. Everyone thought that it should not be difficult to cure Li Qi.
Things like Yunmu Zhi were not only available to Ning Yongnian and Wei Changtian, but also to Great Feng.
However, the fact was that no matter what treasures were used or how many imperial physicians were brought to see him, Li Qi, who had no external or internal injuries, just remained unconscious.
And although he was not injured, his life fire became weaker and weaker, and now only the last trace remained.
No one had ever seen this kind of disease, let alone cure it.
Then, what awaited Li Qi might only be dying in a coma like this.
“…”
Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes again. Li Wutong bit her lip and stopped looking at Li Qi, who seemed to be asleep, but hurriedly wiped away her tears and slowly sat down opposite Zhu Tianhong.
“Grandpa Zhu, if Father Emperor doesn’t wake up, what should Great Feng do?”
“Alas.”
Zhu Tianhong sighed deeply: “Princess, did those court officials say something to you again?”
“No, no…”
Li Wutong’s eyes flickered: “Yes, I wanted to hear your opinion.”
“…”
Shaking his head, Zhu Tianhong seemed to have guessed something.
However, he did not point it out, but slowly explained all the options to Li Wutong.
In short, there were only four paths in front of Great Feng, or rather, the Li family.
First, defend Fengyuan to the death, never escape, even if it means fighting to the last soldier.
Second, seek peace through ceding territory, but Ning Yongnian, who has the advantage, is unlikely to agree. Even if he does, the price Great Feng has to pay will definitely be unimaginable.
Third, abandon Fengyuan and continue to retreat west. Judging from the current battle situation, it would at most be prolonging the agony.
Fourth, abandon the entire Great Feng. Take advantage of the fact that Da Ning has not yet broken the city, take all of the Li family's wealth and escape, start over in another place, and perhaps have the possibility of restoring the country in a few years.
Without a doubt, each of these four options was filled with despair.
However, as Zhu Tianhong said, no matter how much those court officials discussed, in the end, they would only choose one from these four.
So...
“Princess, which one do you choose?”
“……”
“Grandpa Zhu, I want to go to the city wall and take a look.”
