Ouchi Cat Controlling, starting with the Ten Tiger Forms!

Princess Ankang left Jingyang Palace after having a fight with her royal brothers and sisters.

Li Xuan still occupied a good position in Princess Ankang's arms, while Yu'er followed them with other attendants.

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and everyone in the palace is busy.

I heard that the New Year's dinner is the largest banquet in the palace in a year, and it also has the largest number of invited guests.

In addition to the large and small officials in the officialdom, relatives of the emperor, and famous families, there were also representatives from various countries who would stay in the capital and representatives from the affiliated states who came specifically to pay tribute.

It is conceivable that the scale of this banquet will be much grander than the previous Double Ninth Festival banquet.

There are still several hours before the official start of the New Year's dinner, but Princess Ankang and others went to the main venue of the banquet, Tai Chi Palace Square, early.

Due to the large number of guests today, the Eighth Prince said that people have started to arrive one after another.

It's just that those who entered the venue so early were lower-status guests.

But to say that the status is low is only in relative terms. People who can be invited to the Daxing Dynasty's New Year dinner are not ordinary people.

The eighth prince wanted to take his friends to watch the excitement.

The guests were looking forward to the excitement of the New Year dinner, and they, the princes and princesses who had lived in the palace for a long time, wanted to see the excitement of the guests.

The Eighth Prince came to the city wall around the Taiji Palace Square with familiarity. He briefly negotiated with the commander of the imperial army, and the other party gave them a look of embarrassment and gave way to them.

But as they climbed onto the imperial city wall, a group of forbidden troops firmly protected them in the middle, guarding the surroundings.

"Don't worry about them, let's watch our fun."

The Eighth Prince waved his hands to everyone, indicating that they didn't need to pay attention.

Speaking of which, this is the first time Princess Ankang and others have climbed up the imperial city wall.

The same goes for the fifth prince and seventh prince.

Although they could see the tall city wall that separated the inside and outside of the palace every day, they only found out when they climbed up that the wall was so tall.

When they looked out, they could see the entire capital at a glance.

The Eighth Prince watched the other people being intoxicated by the scenery in front of them, and just smiled, admiring it together.

The first time he landed here, he was equally shocked.

Standing here can make them realize how strong and how thin the boundaries between the inside and outside of the palace are.

"The capital is so big."

Princess Ankang couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, this is the country of Daxing." The fifth prince said this and couldn't help but sigh.

It was rare that the Seventh Princess did not doze off during the day today.

She knew that everyone would stay up all night at the New Year's dinner tonight.

Thinking of having so many people watching the stars with her tonight, the Seventh Princess was so excited that she couldn't sleep.

She also looked at the daytime landscape, which was rare to see once, and saw the crowds of people in the street market from a distance, and actually found a bit of fun in stargazing.

After looking at the scenery of the capital on the imperial wall for a while, they remembered the purpose of coming up.

The Yongan Gate, Chengtian Gate and Changle Gate in Taiji Palace Square have all been opened, and people are lining up and filing in.

Outside these three city gates, many people were already standing ready to enter.

"Wow, are so many people going to the New Year dinner?"

"Even Taiji Palace Square can't hold so many people, right?"

Princess Ankang looked at the huge crowd and asked in surprise.

"Some people just walked through the Tai Chi Palace Square and then attended banquets in other places. Some banquet venues were even outside the palace."

"These people will spend most of the night traveling back and forth, which is not really a pleasure."

"But rules are rules, and you must follow them."

The fifth prince explained to everyone.

"Look." The Eighth Prince suddenly pointed in a direction among the crowd.

A lot of exotic people were gathering there.

"Those are the tribute teams from hundreds of countries in the Western Regions. I heard that they were a few days late this year and arrived in the capital almost on New Year's Eve."

The eighth prince couldn't help but snorted coldly as he spoke.

The fifth prince on the side also chimed in: "Although the hundreds of countries in the Western Region are all small countries, under the rule of the Holy Fire Cult, they are a powerful force when united."

"It's just that they are more focused on trade and have no intention of competing in the world."

"But now the anxious situation between Daxing and Damo has gradually given them a lot more to worry about."

The fifth prince sighed, his helplessness evident.

Li Xuan couldn't help but turned his head and glanced at the two brothers in surprise.

"Lao Wu and Lao Ba have been staying in the palace, so they know the situation in the outside world very well."

Even though the Eighth Prince was always out of shape on weekdays, he still paid attention to these things.

Li Xuan thought about it carefully, and it made sense.

There are really not many princes and princesses who are pure idiots.

Although they are not very young, they are already exceptionally outstanding compared to their peers.

Coupled with the current situation in the court, they had to be more sensitive.

After all, they are all the flesh and blood of Emperor Yongyuan. If things really change, King Zheng will not let them go.

Unless the mother-in-law's family is strong, they may be able to save their lives in a changing situation, but they will have to be in constant panic for the rest of their lives.

Therefore, the princes and princesses were very concerned about the structure of the court, secretly or covertly, for fear that they would suffer disaster along with it.

The Third Prince established himself in the army early, and he also had these considerations.

Only by making his influence large enough can he have the ability to protect himself at a critical moment.

Otherwise, if he just leaves it to fate, it would be too passive.

The Eighth Prince then pointed out some tribute teams and complained that their tribute to Daxing was becoming more and more perfunctory.

Except for a few countries, this phenomenon is almost universal.

Now that Daxing and Damo are fighting evenly, these vassal states that were originally very respectful to Daxing have changed their attitudes.

This change made the Eighth Prince very unhappy.

"Old Eighth, the advance troops led by Duke Hu have arrived at the front line for several months. I wonder how the battle is going now?" asked the Fifth Prince.

The Fifth Prince had no channels to obtain this kind of confidential information, so he could only ask the Eighth Prince at this time.

In this regard, the Eighth Prince did not hide it.

"After the advance troops arrived, there were wins and losses at first, but then the desert became more and more passive, and now they have completely adopted a passive defensive posture."

"The cities on the front line are fortresses that are easy to defend and difficult to attack. Attacking the cities is not worth the loss for both sides."

"After the advance troops arrived at the front line, the war situation cooled down and even became calmer."

The fifth prince couldn't help but frowned and said, "Wouldn't it be in vain?"

The eighth prince shook his head and said, "It's not in vain. It cost a lot to form the advance troops this time. The nobles will definitely not accept the result of returning empty-handed."

The fifth prince was tactful and didn't ask more questions. The people on the city wall couldn't help but become silent.

At this time, the eighth prince asked Princess Ankang:

"Ankang, what do you think?"

"Hmm?" Li Xuan felt something was wrong and squinted at the eighth prince.

On weekdays, the eighth prince rarely talked about such serious topics.

He took his friends to the city wall early today, saying that they were going to watch the fun, but soon he directed the topic to the general situation, and he rarely discussed such issues with Princess Ankang.

"What does the Eighth Prince want to do?"

"Are you asking for the nobles?"    "I've been too busy recently, and I forgot to ask the little girl whether she has fulfilled her role as the spokesperson for the nobles during this period."

After Princess Ankang participated in a Cuju exchange match in the army, she was jointly recommended by the four dukes to become the spokesperson for the nobles to promote communication between the nobles and Emperor Yongyuan.

Li Xuan was busy dealing with Zhu Wufeng and the Western Region Fire Demon before, and he was often not in Jingyang Palace.

The Eighth Prince's sudden question today reminded Li Xuan of this.

Princess Ankang just smiled slightly when she heard the Eighth Prince's question:

"Me?"

"Of course I hope there will be no more wars in this world."

Princess Ankang's answer was very general.

"Ankang, you have put in a lot of effort to form the advance army. It doesn't matter if we return without success?" The Eighth Prince seemed a little unconvinced.

Before, Princess Ankang reorganized the government offices in various parts of the capital, and filled the hole in the treasury as the royal silver and money envoy.

Although they knew these things a long time later, everyone can now see clearly how much impact Princess Ankang has caused.

Princess Ankang listened to the Eighth Prince's words of disbelief, still keeping a smile on her face, retracting her eyes from the tribute teams, and turned to look in the direction of the capital.

"My dear, I still say the same thing."

"If returning without success can calm more conflicts, I am willing to accept such a result."

"Of course, if the Dukes have made up their minds, I will report it to my father truthfully."

When Li Xuan heard this, he looked up at Princess Ankang with a serious face.

She really had contact with the nobles during the period when Li Xuan was busy.

This made Li Xuan worried. He wondered if Princess Ankang showed any fear when facing several dukes alone.

Seeing Princess Ankang's determined expression, the Eighth Prince sighed:

"Ankang, you are more suitable as the spokesperson than me and the Third Prince."

Princess Ankang still faced the Eighth Prince with a smile.

The Fifth Prince was thoughtful, his eyes moving back and forth between Princess Ankang and the Eighth Prince.

The Seventh Princess didn't care much about their conversation, she just lay on the wall, watching the endless stream of people passing through the city gate.

"They will come to you tonight."

"Ankang, since my grandfather went to war, the old guys have already made plans."

"Returning empty-handed is an impossible outcome."

"The nobles don't want to drag it on any longer!"

The Eighth Prince looked extremely serious, and Princess Ankang gradually put away her smile and showed a helpless expression.

"Is that so..."

Li Xuan listened silently, but there was always a bad feeling in his heart.

"What did the nobles talk to the little girl about?"

"It sounds like the nobles want to break the current situation?"

"What can they rely on?"

"Rely on the 100,000 advance troops?"

Li Xuan swallowed his saliva, feeling that something big was going to happen.

The front line was too far away, and even if Li Xuan really knew something, he would be powerless to change it.

He only hoped that the nobles would have a positive influence on them.

Otherwise, the situation that was finally turned around might be lost in one day.

"Meow?"

Li Xuan looked up and called out to Princess Ankang with concern.

Princess Ankang lowered her head and touched Li Xuan's head, explaining in front of everyone:

"Since the dukes have made up their minds, there is no need to hide it."

"Fifth brother, Seventh sister, please keep what you are going to hear secret."

The Fifth Prince nodded, and the Seventh Princess didn't care what they were saying at all, but stared at a certain direction under the city wall, as if she had discovered something interesting.

Princess Ankang didn't care about the Seventh Princess either, and continued:

"Ah Xuan, a few days ago, several dukes came to visit Jingyang Palace after attending court."

"They want to propose to my father to continue to increase troops on the front line, and give Duke Hu, who leads the advance army, greater operational autonomy."

Li Xuan was stunned.

The Eighth Prince said before that the front line has temporarily calmed down.

In this case, what does Duke Hu do with more authority to make decisions?

Just now, the Eighth Prince said that it is impossible to return without success.

Then it's either back or forward.

The nobles wanted the front to continue to move forward...

"No, it's hard to take down the strong cities on both sides of the front."

"So, are we going to raid the heart of the desert?"

The geographical environment and living customs of the desert are very different from those of Daxing. There are large areas of desert and grassland, so the number of cities is far less than that of Daxing, and most of them form a tribe by building tents and living together.

If the desert is raided with surprise troops and several tribes are destroyed, the front can indeed make a lot of contributions and even expand the conflict.

Even if the desert wants to be patient, it will definitely not be able to endure in this situation.

But the risk of doing so is undoubtedly huge.

It is possible that the advance army and even the backbone of the front line will be lost.

The nobles planned to take a gamble from the beginning!

Princess Ankang wanted to persuade them to take a more moderate approach, but it seems that she has failed.

The nobles had their own plans as early as when the advance army was successfully assembled.

It would be best if Emperor Yongyuan agreed to increase the troops.

But if Emperor Yongyuan does not increase the troops, Duke Hu on the front line can also directly use the advance troops to gamble.

But this method of killing first and reporting later is impossible to make Emperor Yongyuan happy.

It may even cause great disgust to Emperor Yongyuan. Li Xuan can also understand why Princess Ankang wants to persuade the nobles to accept the result of "returning empty-handed".

"Ankang, if it were me and the third brother, I'm afraid we would have passed on the proposal of the Dukes long ago."

"Our position is not as fair as yours after all."

The Eighth Prince knew very well that if he were in his place, he would definitely favor the nobles, that is, the family of his mother.

But in this way, wouldn't it be a betrayal of their father?

The Eighth Prince was sincerely grateful at this time that he didn't have to make such a painful decision himself.

Princess Ankang silently stroked Li Xuan's head and said nothing more.

The Fifth Prince stepped forward and silently patted the Eighth Prince on the shoulder, and then cast an encouraging look at Princess Ankang.

Princess Ankang and the Eighth Prince seemed to be in great glory, but they also had to shoulder corresponding burdens.

At this time, the Fifth Prince was glad that he was not caught in such a position.

But when they turned around and saw the Seventh Princess immersed in her own world, they felt that she was the luckiest one.

"Hey, look."

"The ornaments on those people are so strange!"

"When combined together, they can actually form the Gaochang New Moon Twelve Stars Map."

The Seventh Princess looked at it for a long time and suddenly pointed to the crowd below and said.