"Summons! Go quickly to the city and inspect the livestock of a hundred households!"
"Yes!"
After the Empress issued the order, the entire government hall fell silent.
Everyone, except Chu Chen, waited uneasily.
Half an hour later, the dispatched imperial guards returned to the hall and reported, "Your Majesty, the livestock raised by the city's commoners have not spoken human words and turned into demons."
Upon hearing this, the Empress and the civil and military officials felt a significant relief from their unease.
"However, the chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs they raise have all undergone tremendous changes in size. According to my previous comparison, they are two fen larger and more active and energetic."
"Most importantly, I seem to have seen a trace of intelligence in their eyes. I wanted to kill one of the chickens to examine its internal changes, but as soon as I had this thought, the chicken seemed to sense the danger and ran away directly!"
"I only had the thought, and hadn't even drawn my sword yet!"
"..."
The Empress and the assembled ministers were shocked.
Such divine will, though not yet transformed into demons, was no different from demons, wasn't it? Even if livestock generally had a stronger sense of danger than humans, this was outrageously strong!
It was as if an outrageous mother had given birth to outrageousness, taking it to the extreme.
"Alas~"
The Empress sighed repeatedly in annoyance.
After finally overthrowing Chen Yuanliang, and finally having Chu Chen as a capable minister for governing, and with Chu Chen's policies making the imperial treasury very abundant, the Yunyue Kingdom was finally on the right track and about to become strong.
But why did such a troublesome matter arise again? Could it be that heaven did not want to see the Yunyue Kingdom develop and grow?
"Your Majesty! I believe that with the great changes in heaven and earth, if humans and livestock continue to live together, it may lead to a plague! I believe we should immediately make a decisive decision and order the five city garrisons to arrest all livestock in the city and concentrate them outside the city to build pens for temporary confinement!"
"Or directly cull them!"
Wei Zi, the Great General who protected the nation, saw a crisis of national destruction in this. He frowned and stepped forward, cupping his hands in suggestion.
"I believe this is inappropriate!"
Qian Jieren, the Minister of Revenue, was almost in tears. What was this? The national treasury had little revenue to begin with. If you truly culled the livestock raised by the commoners, how could they live? Did my Ministry of Revenue still expect to receive income?
"I believe that the livestock currently raised by each household are merely slightly changed in their system, becoming more agile. Their senses are only slightly stronger than before. Overall, they are still unintelligent livestock, and can continue to be raised by each household."
"If we were to follow the Great General's suggestion and围困 (surround and capture) and cull these livestock, wouldn't the commoners suffer losses? And wouldn't the city of Shuangyue have no meat to eat?"
"It is said that the path of qi and blood requires replenishment from meat to be sustained. If there are no livestock to supply meat, how can the soldiers in the army have the energy to continue cultivating and improving their realm and combat capabilities? And how can those in court have large portions of meat and fish?"
"Would the commoners be willing to do this without inciting public anger?"
Qian Jieren's words caused the other ministers to nod in agreement.
Are we, the esteemed officials, to eat only vegetables like the commoners? How can that be allowed?
Even many generals among the military officials inwardly disagreed, but due to their status and position, they found it difficult to speak out in rebuttal.
Wei Zi saw the opposing expressions of his colleagues and sighed inwardly. His face became stern as he said, "Everyone, in this time of great change in heaven and earth, are you willing to risk your lives for a bite of meat?"
"If the qi and blood in the army are insufficient due to lack of meat supply, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue can jointly increase the scale of soybean cultivation. Various bean products made from soybeans can be substituted. Don't you all know this? You still wish to indulge your taste buds?"
"The changes in the city are merely livestock that have inherited laziness and gluttony for generations. But the endless ferocious beasts in the deep mountains outside the city will not be like those in the city. Perhaps even now, there are tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves that can speak human words and turn into demons!"
"This is like the army outside the city sharpening their knives, ready to attack, while the city is rife with disloyalty. How can we afford to be complacent?"
Wei Zi's words could not convince Qian Jieren. After a moment of thought, he retorted, "Great General, this statement is flawed! The ancestors of the livestock in each household were also ferocious beasts, yet they were still tamed by us humans. Now they are merely showing a slight tendency to revert to their ancestors. We only need to retrace the path of our ancestors' taming."
"Kill those who are fierce and injured, and keep those who are docile and lazy. In just three to five generations, they will be transformed back into livestock, and their meat quality and quantity will also improve. Why should we treat them all the same and exterminate them?"
"Is it because the Great General holds military power that he can disregard public opinion? That he can refuse to eat human food?"
"Nonsense! This general is thinking for the country and the people! Even a fierce tiger needs full strength to hunt a rabbit. How can we underestimate this? And how do we know that the Emperor's Flowing Sap only has this effect?"
The two could not convince each other and began to argue.
Their argument gave the Empress a headache. Both sides had very reasonable arguments: one side was public opinion and human needs, the other was national security.
This left the Empress unsure how to choose, as both options were difficult.
She couldn't help but look at Chu Chen, who was frowning, and asked, "Prime Minister Chu, do you have any strategy for this?"
Chu Chen was stunned for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, both the Great General and Master Qian have valid points. I believe we can observe the livestock in the city for a while longer. There is no need to rush to confine or cull them, but we must order the three cities and nine gates to conduct strict searches, and not allow any foreign beasts to enter or leave."
"We also need to order the five city garrisons to arrange personnel to be on standby and patrol the main roads. If the poultry becomes aggressive and harms the commoners, they should be culled immediately. If there are no changes, we will observe for now."
"Compared to the cities, our Yunyue Kingdom has many mountains and forests. The wild beasts are the primary concern. I believe we should immediately order the three armies to prepare for war! To prevent ferocious beasts from leaving the mountains and ravines to roam the various prefectures and counties, attacking cities and devouring living people."
Chu Chen was also unsure of the effect of the Emperor's Flowing Sap, so he offered a moderate plan, intending to implement it for now.
However, his words gave Wei Zi a hint.
Wei Zi suddenly realized and quickly cupped his hands and bowed, "Your Majesty, I believe Prime Minister Chu's words are reasonable. I implore Your Majesty to order the three armies to prepare! And to transmit orders to the prefectural, county, and town soldiers to be ready for war!"
"I second this motion!" Qian Jieren also quickly said at this time.
The Yunyue Kingdom could not afford any more turmoil. Otherwise, he, the Minister of Revenue, would also be in trouble. As for the funds for war preparations... Didn't Your Majesty say she would subsidize from the imperial treasury? Then there would be no problem.
"Very well, let us proceed with this for now."
The Empress nodded, then ordered the chief eunuch to write the imperial decree and dispatch a large number of messengers to the various prefectures and counties to deliver the orders.
With this, the court meeting naturally adjourned. Faced with such a potential threat to the nation, everyone had no inclination to discuss other matters.
After the court adjourned, Chu Chen had not walked far before he was stopped by a eunuch.
He followed the eunuch to the imperial study and saw the exhausted Empress.
"Prime Minister Chu, please tell me more about this Emperor's Flowing Sap."
Chu Chen could only helplessly recount it again, adding some content he had seen in his previous life and making conjectures.