The commander of the Imperial Army perhaps truly wanted to cut down the head of the minister to wrench out the water in his brain, he instantly retorted: "The enemies are already pressing onto our door, but all that's in the heads of you gentlemen are careful calculations for meager daily expenses, this general's eyes have truly been opened.

"Your Majesty, if we do not extinguish this fire, how could there be a 'tomorrow'? In the case when all four sides are trapped in a dead end, simply relying on the few small Ziliujin mines in the territory of our country, even if we turned over three feet of land, we will not be able to last for long!"

Hu Guang seemed to fear that he could not have an input. With his face red, he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Your subject agrees!"

Chang Geng had only said one thing, he hadn't had the chance to speak of how to suppress the enemy, yet a chaotic argument had already broken out. He did not speak up and patiently stood still on the side, waiting for them to finish their battle of words.

Li Feng's brains seemingly wanted to crack open. Suddenly, he came to a realization. These 'pillars' of the court could only ever care about the measly matters belonging within the one square of land they stood on. If they all were to be fired and sent to the kitchen, perhaps they could argue out a table full of new dishes as vast as a nation.

"Enough!" Li Feng burst out.

The surroundings were silenced, Chang Geng continued his words in a timely manner: "Your subject had not finished yet, for the second matter — Your Majesty, please be ready to retract back our forces."

As soon as this statement came out, the ministers once again boiled up. Even the wrath of the Son of Heaven could not hold back the noisy commotion in the hall. Several older men seemed to be ready to smash their heads against the pillar.

Li Feng's eyes twitched; the flame of anger rushed to his throat. He could barely hold back from lashing out on Chang Geng. He frowned, trying to suppress his anger, whispering a warning: "A Min, there are certain things you must think of carefully before you speak, the ancestors passed down this nation to my hands, not for me to cut the land to raise the tigers."

Chang Geng remained unchanged: "Your subject would like to ask Royal Brother to please feel the pockets. Using all of our nation's resources right now, how many territories will we be able to save? This is not 'cut the land to raise the tigers', but instead, a warrior cutting his hand. Not cutting when it should be cut, but waiting until the poison has soaked deep, until after we have been utterly defeated by the Westerners, would we decide to cut it only then?"