twisted her fingers, her face contorted with remorse. "It's all my fault, your Majesty. I'm too cowardly and made the Empress Dowager laugh at me."Dugu Cheng looked at Feng Lingxi's apologetic look, t...Emperor Yuan Zhao's face turned green with anger. How could Dugu City, over the years, have been reduced to this degenerate state This cowardly behavior made him furious just looking at it.

"Starting tomorrow, you will attend court. I shall bestow upon you the title of 'Grand Marshal of All Military Forces,' commanding all three armies. This decree shall be issued forthwith."

Dugu Cheng raised his eyes, a look of panic on his face.

"Your Majesty, the minister is terrified and unworthy of such an honor. The position of Commander-in-Chief of the world's armies is far too great a responsibility for me to bear."

The distinction between a military general and the supreme commander of all armies in the world is significant. Dugu City does not want to be responsible for attacking every country under Emperor Yuan Zhao's command, helping him unify the entire world just because he was granted this title.

"Are you afraid You don't even have the courage"

In response to Yuan Zhaodi's question, Dugu Cheng explained calmly and confidently, "Your Majesty, although the current situation in the world is unstable, our dynasty has just been stabilized. The people are living and working in peace and contentment, and the soldiers have難得 a chance to rest from war. If we start a war now, it would be extremely detrimental to our dynasty."

"Are you teaching me how to do things"

獨孤城的臉色鐵青，他想複職，但不想當這個天下的兵馬大元帥。

"I dare not."

"So be it, I shall issue an imperial decree at once."

Emperor Yuan Zhao, disregarding Dugu City's opposition, said in a deep voice, "Prince Chen, you have received the imperial decree. I bestow upon you the title of 'Grand Marshal of the Army and Horses,' commanding the three armies. After your recovery, you shall immediately depart for the border to guard it and fight for me on the battlefield. There must be no mistakes."

Dugu Cheng was taken aback and hurriedly accepted the imperial decree, "Your subject obeys your command, thank Your Majesty for your grace, Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!"

Without the two characters "Tianxia" (meaning "the world"), Dugu City naturally agreed to the decree with pleasure.

"Rise up! From this moment forth, you shall be my Grand Marshal of the Armies. I bestow upon you the military command seals, hoping that in the future, you will defend our nation for me and, together with me, ensure the everlasting prosperity of the Great Yuan Dynasty!"

Emperor Yuanzhao seemed to see hope, and he regretted his decision not one bit.

"I obey your command."

Dugu Cheng raised his eyes, meeting Emperor Yuan Zhao's reassuring gaze. Worry flickered in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, I am worried that the Empress Dowager will not agree to this. Perhaps Your Majesty should discuss this with her first..."

"How so, do you think I don't even have this much right Is this Great Yuan Dynasty land owned by the surname Dugu, not the Empress Dowager"

獨孤城不敢再多說，這賜封的聖旨下來纔算數，皇上現在隻是口諭，還當不得真，畢竟這些年來太後掌控一切，他這個兵馬大元帥能否落實都是個未知。

"Go back first."

"I shall take my leave."

Emperor Yuan Zhao spoke, a touch of impatience in his voice due to Dugu City's recent words.

He just angrily bestowed upon Dugu City the title of General of Cavalry. This imperial decree will likely be difficult to issue, as the Empress Dowager is keeping a close eye on him recently. It remains to be seen whether his imperial decree will arrive before hers.

Du Gucheng came out of the palace, thinking of the appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Army. He couldn't help but frown. If he were really appointed to command the three armies, it meant that he would have to take some military power from Wang Yu's hands.

Given the King's current status, how could he possibly surrender military power, even if the Grand Marshal of the Army was bestowed upon him It's likely that this title wouldn't come with any real authority.

"Your Highness, how are things Did the Emperor give you any trouble"

Ye Xi hurriedly followed the king's footsteps, watching his own king come out of the palace with a tense face, his heart pounding.

"The Emperor has bestowed upon me the title of Grand Marshal of the Army, commanding all three armies. The imperial decree has yet to arrive."

"Congratulations to the Lord, your subordinate."

Ye Xi quickly expressed her congratulations, but her smile vanished in an instant. "Your Highness, why are you still not happy Isn't this what you wanted"

"Do you really think the Empress Dowager would allow the Emperor to bestow upon me the title of Grand Marshal of Military Forces Right now, Prince Yu holds control over a third of the military power. Although the Emperor is inclined to reclaim it, remember that these years, Prince Yu has only continued to wrest power from the Emperor's hands and shown no intention of relinquishing any."

Dugu Cheng paused for a moment, "Not to mention, Wang Yu's back is supported by the Empress Dowager. Besides, Wang Yu had been in Liangzhou for more than ten years before, so the troops in his hands must account for at least half of all the troops. Even if the emperor issued an imperial decree to bestow titles upon me, I would only have half of the military power, which is the 500,000 troops that I had handed over to the court back then."

"My lord now understands, this emperor simply cannot hand over the former troops. He only allows you to reclaim the 500,000 military powers you surrendered five years ago. Back then, General Li retired, and all the loyal soldiers to your Highness were replaced by the Emperor and Empress Dowager. Now these 500,000 troops are completely new. Even if they were given to your Highness, wanting them to revert to their former state would require starting from scratch."

"It's impossible to go back to the way things were."

Dugu City's voice was filled with heartache. When he handed over his military power, the Empress had promised not to make things difficult for his old subordinates, but in the end, she still targeted them. By the time he found out, it was too late. Over the years, he hadn't even known their whereabouts, let alone finding them.

"My Lord, you are not to blame for these things. It was the Empress Dowager who broke her promise. When you surrendered your military power, you had made an agreement with the Empress Dowager. You didn't expect her to go back on her word." Ye Xi remembered that when the Lord had pleaded with his subordinates, the Empress Dowager had agreed. Later, when the Princess disappeared, the Lord was so frantic searching for her that he neglected this matter. By the time he realized it, it was too late.

It was precisely because of this that the Prince had lived a very repressed life these past years, feeling guilty and remorseful towards his old loyal subordinates.

"This king should never have surrendered his military power."

Dugu City clenched his fists, "If the military power hadn't been handed over to the court back then, this king wouldn't have ended up like this. I betrayed their loyalty to me. Now, how can this king face those soldiers"

As Du Gu Cheng had expected, the Empress Dowager quickly learned about the news of bestowing Du Gu Cheng as the Grand Marshal of Armies. She quarreled with the Emperor, angering Yuan Zhao so much that he turned his face and rebuked the Empress Dowager on the spot. Unexpectedly, when they argued, Yuan Zhao Emperor fainted from anger.

All the imperial physicians of the Tai Hospital entered the palace and gathered in Emperor Yuan Zhao's sleeping quarters, each with an ashen complexion.

The Empress Dowager looked at Emperor Yuan Zhao lying on the bed, suppressing her anger. She shouldn't have argued with the Emperor like that, and now things had come to this. This group of officials would definitely cause her trouble.

"When will the Emperor wake up"

The Empress Dowager watched as one imperial physician after another approached the Emperor's bedside, but none of them were able to rouse him. She couldn't help but feel a growing panic in her heart.

"Your Majesty, we have administered medicine to the Emperor, and he will soon awaken."

The Empress Dowager looked at Emperor Yuan Zhao lying on the bed. Suddenly, a terrifying thought popped into her mind. Since she couldn't use him, why not just let him lie there Let him be sick, it wouldn't matter. She would wait until she had everything settled before making a decision.

"Imperial physician Zhang, the Emperor is unwell. Starting tomorrow, you must attend to him constantly. If anything should happen to the Emperor, I will hold you responsible."e Soup has been changed. The empress truly didn't know about it. However, this matter is also due to me. Empress will accompany you through this.”After Empress Shu finished speaking, Feng Lingxi hurri...