The ministers dared not object. In any case, the Vermilion Bird Army, the only significant military force in Nanxin, was under his command, and it was he who had covertly negotiated for reinforcements from Dongji.
Since there was nothing else for the others to do, they were content to let the newly appointed young emperor deal with the mess. Nanxin’s national strength was already weak, and almost all of its civil officials had been executed by Li Tianzhuo previously—either for corruption or for conspiring with the Eldest Princess and the Yuan Clan to plot a rebellion. The number of military generals was even more limited; there was only General Nangong.
If Li Tianzhuo wanted to win this war, he not only needed to borrow soldiers from Dongji but also generals! The Emperor of Nanxin had realized this early on; otherwise, he never would have consented to the union between Li Tianzhuo and Deng Youning. His intention was essentially to have his son become a son-in-law to the Dongji imperial family, clinging to their influence and begging his in-laws to help preserve Nanxin. As for whether Nanxin would become a vassal state, that no longer mattered. As he himself had said, becoming a vassal to Dongji was far better than being swallowed by Xilei. The Li Clan might not hold the throne forever, but the people of Nanxin could not live their days enslaved by the Xilei. Only under the protection of Dongji could they find peace and live in prosperity.
Chapter 367