"Launch the attack ahead of schedule?"

Huang Zongsheng was quite surprised, "Didn't we say we'd wait until the common people were destitute before making our move?"

"We can't wait any longer."

A cold light flashed in Lin Shangzhi's eyes, "I originally thought we'd wait until then, with the national treasury being so empty."

"But judging from this incident, the Great Wei's fate isn't exhausted yet. We need to give it a helping hand."

"Otherwise, the Great Wei will pull through!"

Huang Zongsheng's expression changed. After hearing Lin Shangzhi's analysis, he also realized that if they continued to wait, they might miss the opportunity.

And once the Great Wei recovered, it would come after him.

"But what excuse do we use to start a war?" Huang Zongsheng asked.

Lin Shangzhi had already thought it through, "A fatuous ruler lacks virtue, promotes relatives, and is surrounded by corrupt officials, leading to a great drought sent by the heavens!"

Huang Zongsheng's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly.

"Good! The Great Wei uncovering so many corrupt officials this time is indeed a good excuse!"

"In that case, let's start the war!"

During the early court session, Jiang Chen was listening to the ministers reporting good news when Shi Ping suddenly called out from outside, "Your Majesty, urgent military matters!"

The ministers who were reporting were all stunned, finding it somewhat unbelievable.

Not to mention that they hadn't experienced such a situation, but in the entire history of the Great Wei, someone reporting urgent military matters during the early court session had never happened before.

The smile on Jiang Chen's face instantly disappeared. Military matters that required Shi Ping to report even during the early court session were naturally related to the Southern Army Camp!

"Speak!" Jiang Chen said sternly.

Shi Ping said loudly, "We have just received news that Huang Zongsheng, the general of the Southern Army Camp, has killed the governor of Liang and Guang, declared himself king, established the Great Sheng dynasty, appointed over a hundred civil and military officials, and established the capital in Duanzhou."

"哗——" (Hua)

As soon as Shi Ping finished speaking, the hall was in an uproar.

They thought it was just a rebellion, but unexpectedly it was a major event of declaring oneself king!

Jiang Chen's gaze also became extremely sharp.

He thought that the Southern Army Camp only wanted to gain leverage to negotiate with him, but he didn't expect that they would directly declare themselves king!

"Gentlemen, what do you think?" Jiang Chen asked.

On this matter, all the ministers' attitudes were surprisingly consistent, unanimously demanding to punish the rebels.

Jiang Chen naturally shared this opinion.

"Yao Shouxin, you are to immediately draw 150,000 troops from the capital garrison, the Northern Army Camp, the Western Army Camp, and the Southern Army Camp to go south and suppress the rebels!"

"This subject obeys!"

"Xu Changqing, announce this matter to the people of the world. From today onwards, disaster relief grain will be reduced by one-third, and will be restored on the day the rebels are suppressed!"

"This subject obeys!"

"Wu Zuo, from today onwards, north of Liang and Guang, anyone who seeks refuge in the Southern Army Camp will have their nine generations exterminated!"

"This subject obeys!"

One order after another was issued from Jiang Chen's mouth, and all the ministers in the capital were mobilized.

When the news of the Southern Army Camp's rebellion spread throughout the Great Wei, the people were also stunned.

The great drought was already deadly enough, and now there was a rebellion.

Wasn't this just not letting people live?

But when they saw Huang Zongsheng's so-called declaration of independence, the people couldn't help but laugh.

After Jiang Chen's "popularization," the people no longer believed in the punishment of the gods.

As a result, the people hated Huang Zongsheng even more. After hearing that the disaster relief grain was temporarily reduced by one-third, they hated Huang Zongsheng even more.

If it weren't for this bastard, everyone could receive enough disaster relief grain every day.

When Yao Shouxin led the army through various prefectures and states, the people even lined the streets to welcome them and cheer them on.

This situation surprised Yao Shouxin.

These situations were learned by scouts and passed on to Huang Zongsheng.

Huang Zongsheng was so angry that he directly tore the secret letter to pieces.

"Good! These lowly ants actually dare to scold me!"

Huang Zongsheng's face was ferocious, "When I attack the north, I will definitely give you the harshest corvée and taxes!"

Lin Shangzhi, who came to report matters, felt a slight sinking feeling in his heart when he heard Huang Zongsheng's words.

He regretted letting Huang Zongsheng declare himself king.

He thought Huang Zongsheng was ambitious and would launch an attack immediately.

But unexpectedly, Huang Zongsheng's first act was to declare himself king.

After declaring himself king, Huang Zongsheng didn't launch an attack immediately, but began to lavishly reward the previous generals of the Southern Army Camp, and then started large-scale construction to build a palace.

He even started selecting concubines.

He also said that the Great Wei emperor had countless beauties in his harem, and as the Great Sheng emperor, he naturally couldn't have fewer than the Great Wei emperor.

As for the Northern Expedition, he had mentioned it twice, but Huang Zongsheng had rejected it on the grounds that the Great Wei's fate was not exhausted.

Now, he even heard that Huang Zongsheng was going to increase corvée and taxes.

Where was this the way of a ruler?

Everyone said that the Great Wei emperor was昏庸无道 (hūn yōng wú dào, fatuous and incompetent), but only now did Lin Shangzhi realize that compared to Jiang Chen, Huang Zongsheng seemed even more so.

But he was already the prime minister of Great Sheng, and he and Huang Zongsheng were on the same boat. Even if he wanted to quit, it was impossible.

"Your Majesty, urgent news."

Lin Shangzhi presented the news that Yao Shouxin was leading 150,000 troops south.

Huang Zongsheng glanced at it and said, "I already know."

Lin Shangzhi then said, "Your Majesty, this subject believes that these 150,000 troops are drawn from different military camps of the Great Wei and have not yet merged into one. Our Great Sheng can seize this opportunity to defeat them!"

"As long as we defeat a small part of them, we can make them lose their fighting spirit. At that time, our Great Sheng army will be unstoppable, and we can capture the Great Wei emperor with a northern expedition!"

Lin Shangzhi spoke excitedly, even imagining the scene of occupying the Great Wei capital.

But Huang Zongsheng poured cold water on him.

"Don't rush. My Great Sheng is not as peaceful as the Great Wei. If they dare to come, I will definitely make sure they never return!"

The excited expression on Lin Shangzhi's face instantly faded.

He even looked at Huang Zongsheng in disbelief.

The Lingnan area was indeed different from the Central Plains, but the opposing general was the Great Wei Minister of War, Yao Shouxin!

Lin Shangzhi had previously studied Yao Shouxin and knew very well that Yao Shouxin was not an ordinary person.

Huang Zongsheng was clearly underestimating Yao Shouxin!

"Your Majesty, Yao Shouxin is the Minister of War of the Great Wei, he is no small matter!" Lin Shangzhi advised.

Huang Zongsheng looked disdainful and snorted, "Just a small Minister of War, Prime Minister doesn't need to worry so much."

"To be honest, I was previously the general of the Great Wei! I was in charge of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, how could I be worse than a Minister of War?"

Lin Shangzhi couldn't believe that these words came from Huang Zongsheng's mouth.

He was completely different from the Huang Zongsheng he knew!

It seemed that after declaring himself king, Huang Zongsheng was completely different from before.

"Your Majesty..."

Lin Shangzhi was about to persuade him again, but Huang Zongsheng waved his hand, "Alright, I'm tired and need to rest. You can go back first."

After speaking, Huang Zongsheng showed an indescribable smile and walked towards the harem.