Aspirations for Nation and Beauty: Section 7: The Court

While the entire Qingyang Mansion was immersed in the joy of victory, the imperial capital thousands of miles away was surrounded by an atmosphere of fear, anger and worry. After Tu Mingzhi of the Zhenguo Company was defeated and fled back to the main camp on October 8, it immediately caused the collapse of the entire army of the Western Expedition of the Empire. Kurdo and Geya led the main cavalry of Luobei and chased after them all the way. The imperial army had no way to go to the sky, no way to go to the earth, and fled in panic. After the imperial infantry was routed, Kurdo and Geya only sent a part of their troops to disperse them to prevent them from regrouping to pose a threat to their own troops, while the main force pursued the imperial cavalry led by Situ Mingzhi with all their strength. Situ Mingzhi had become a frightened bird. He fled overnight and entered the territory of Bonan Mansion. Kurdo and Geya followed him with his troops. Situ Mingzhi, who had not yet gained a foothold, had to lead his troops to flee again. He chased and fled all the way to Longdong, Kansai County. The enemy did not continue to pursue the mansion, and it was already October 10th.

----The exhausted Situ Mingzhi only rested for one night in Longdong Mansion. On October 11, he left tens of thousands of troops left behind. He hurried back to the imperial capital with only a dozen or so entourages. He knew The news of my disastrous defeat will soon be sent back to the imperial capital. If I don’t go back to the imperial capital and find a few powerful people who can intercede for me to work for me before His Majesty learns the news, my head will be under the wrath of the emperor’s brother. Whether or not it can be kept is still unknown. Thinking of this, he couldn't help regretting why he went back to wading through this muddy water. He even resented He Zhiqiu for coming, and hated why he didn't insist on letting himself be the coach of this battle.

---- Along the way, he was so anxious that he worked overtime every day to rush back to the imperial capital from Longdong mansion in only five days. However, the imperial intelligence agency stationed in Longdong was blocked until 10 due to Situ Mingzhi's blockade of news It was only on October 13 that the situation of the defeat of the empire's western expeditionary army was fully grasped. Through the express post report, it was reported to the imperial capital on October 15, which was also the time when Situ Mingzhi returned to the imperial capital.

----As soon as he returned to the imperial capital, Situ Mingzhi didn't even have time to take a breath, so he went to the residence of Tian Yi, the Minister of Finance of the Empire. Seeing this situation, Tian Yi quickly invited several ministers who had a good relationship with Situ Mingzhi After discussing it, Situ Mingzhi was asked to go to the palace immediately to intercede with the queen, and then to plead guilty. Just when Situ Mingzhi entered the palace to meet the queen, Emperor Situ Mingyue of the Tanghe Empire received the report from the military that the entire Western Expeditionary Army of the Empire was wiped out, and immediately ordered an emergency court meeting. It was already the afternoon of October 15th. It's time.

----"According to the current information, the Imperial Western Expeditionary Army attacked the enemy's main camp on October 8, and the entire army was defeated. The three prefectures of Qingyang, Bonan, and Guide in Northwest County all found the enemy Large-scale troops appeared, suspected to have been controlled by the Luobei people. An unknown number of enemy troops were also found in the area bordering Longdong Mansion in Guanxi County, and it was suspected that there was a possibility of continuing eastward. The remaining 30,000 cavalry of the empire are now deployed in Longdong Mansion, but it lacks weapons, equipment, food, grass and other logistics supplies, and its morale is not good." The head of the intelligence department of the military department reported that his voice became quieter.

---- "Very good, very good, the majestic Tanghe Empire's more than 200,000 Western Expeditionary Army has less than 30,000 troops left in a few days. Is this called war or suicide? It is unprecedented! "Situ Mingyue's face turned from red to white, from white to blue, her chest rose and fell sharply, and she stood up excitedly and walked back and forth in front of the imperial case. All the ministers in the palace lowered their heads one after another seeing that His Majesty was so angry. Silent like a cicada. "What about Situ Mingzhi?" Situ Mingyue tried to control his emotions and asked, "Master Zhen Guo is already on his way back to the imperial capital, and he may arrive soon." The person in charge of the intelligence department replied in a low voice. "So, he still has one life left?" Situ Mingyue asked fiercely, and there was a deathly silence in the hall.

---- "Qizou Your Majesty, Duke Zhen is seeking an audience outside the hall." The guard outside the hall reported, "It's just in time, let him go to the hall!" The anger that had subsided somewhat burned in his heart rise. I saw Situ Mingzhi bare upper body, with a few thorns tied on his back, knelt down and climbed into the hall, "I owe the emperor's brother a great trust, I deserve death, please punish me." The eyes of the molten steel were trembling with anger, and he stammered when he spoke, his head was buried on the ground and he didn't dare to lift it up.

----Heaved a long breath, Situ Mingyue put his hands behind his back, and his tone became much calmer, "What's your crime? What did you say? Do you still remember the repeated instructions from Mr. He in the military department here?"

----"The younger brother remembers."

---- "The great rivers and mountains in the Northwest were destroyed once, the Central Plains shook, and people's minds were in danger. Heaven's sins are still forgivable, and self-inflicted sins cannot be lived. If this is the case, don't blame the emperor's ruthless men. Come, immediately push Situ Mingzhi out of the city gate and behead him for public display, and hang his head on the city gate to thank the people of the country!"

---- A cold voice sounded like thunder in Situ Mingzhi's ears, "Brother Huang, spare your life, Brother Huang, spare your life!" He immediately announced his death sentence, and was so frightened that he begged for mercy repeatedly.

----The officials in the palace were also stunned, and they didn't even have time to react. This is the brother of the emperor's mother who was always close and intimate. He was beheaded by His Majesty himself. He begged for mercy, otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” The cruel voice sounded again, breaking Situ Mingzhi’s last hope, and several wolf-like guards rushed up, dragged Situ Mingzhi and walked out of the hall. There were a few of the officials who wanted to plead for Situ Mingzhi before they could say anything, but they were scared away by Situ Mingyue's last two words, leaving only Situ Mingzhi's miserable cry echoing in the hall.

----He Zhiqiu couldn't bear it anymore, he knew that His Majesty was really angry this time. His Majesty the Emperor has always had a bad temper. When he was young, in a fit of anger, he once ordered the guards to shoot two ministers who dared to disobey him. Under such circumstances, the other ministers were shocked. If I don't come forward to dissuade him, I'm afraid Duke Zhen will really lose his head.

---- "Slow! Your Majesty, please listen to my words. The failure of the Western Expedition was caused by various reasons, and I also have an inescapable responsibility." He Zhiqiu came out and knelt down.

---- "He Aiqing doesn't need to defend Situ Mingzhi, nor does she need to take the responsibility on herself, I make my own decision." Situ Mingyue was unmoved at all.

----"Your Majesty, I am indeed responsible for the failure of this battle. At that time, I thought that Lord Zhen Guo was not the best candidate for the commander of this battle, but after His Majesty decided, I also held There is a fluke mentality, thinking that maybe there will be no major problems, and not sticking to your own opinion, this is where the minister is negligent."

---- All the ministers in the hall also knelt down to plead for Situ Mingzhi, and Situ Mingyue sighed, "I also bear the responsibility of employing unworthy people in this battle. Who is more responsible than me in terms of responsibility?" Forget it, although the capital crime is spared, the living crime is inevitable, and Situ Mingzhi will be exempted from all official titles and titles, sent to heaven, and will be interrogated by the three judicial departments."

----After dealing with Situ Mingzhi, Situ Mingyue was still angry, "Everyone here, remember that when I appointed Situ Mingzhi as the commander of the Western Expedition Army, everyone was present except Mr. Lu who was absent due to illness. It seems that except for He Aiqing who once dissuaded me, you all agreed and supported me. Now that I think about it, I should bear the responsibility of employing people who are not good, but what kind of responsibility should everyone here take? Eat the king's salary, take the king's salary, I'm afraid it's not worth it. You should share your worries, I hope that everyone should reflect on themselves!"

---- All the ministers heard His Majesty's stern tone, and knelt down to plead guilty, "The current situation is so bad, what can He Aiqing do?" Situ Mingyue ignored him, "Return to Your Majesty, we need to understand the situation in the northwest region as soon as possible. , and then make arrangements. However, Yichen deduces that the Luobei people are not yet capable of marching into the Central Plains, and at most they will harass Longdong Mansion for a while, so please rest assured, the situation in other places is worth noting." He Zhiqiu replied cautiously.

----"Oh? Tell me your opinion." Situ Mingyue asked quickly.

---- "In my humble opinion, the purpose of the Luobei people's eastward march this time is mainly to rob food and grass for their own territory to survive the difficulties, and they are not ready to go eastward to the Central Plains. Otherwise, they can take advantage of the situation and rush forward. There is no need to stop at the border of Longdong Prefecture. Our army there has not made any preparations at all. Now we need to hurry up to understand the activities of the Luobei people in the northwest region so that we can take corresponding measures in the next step. It's just that we are The troops of Kansai and Heshuo counties are already very weak in order to guard against the threat from the southwest, while the war is raging in the Northern Terok Principality. Grand Duke Alan of the Terok Principality has sent envoys to us twice to ask for help, but our northern military region The army seems to be a bit powerless to deal with the attack of the Puer Kingdom's army, and there is no way to spare troops to reinforce them, let alone deal with the Luobei people. The Machi Khan in the south is still relatively calm, but its army strength has far surpassed ours Although there is no change in the military strength of the Southern Military Region, they must not be taken lightly. The only thing that can be mobilized is the Seventh Army of the Eastern Military Region." He Zhiqiu analyzed carefully.

---- "However, Mr. He, there is only one army garrisoned in Donghai and Jiangnan counties, and the Japanese are rampant now. I'm afraid the Seventh Army can't be transferred at will." A handsome young man came out and asked, This person is Situ Yuan, the seventh son of Situ Mingyue. He is inextricably linked with the local powerful factions in Donghai and Jiangnan Counties. The nobles also had special relationships.

----He Zhiqiu couldn't help but secretly frowned, her unintentional words actually touched the interests of the Seventh Prince. "Your Highness the Seventh Prince is overwhelmed. It's already late autumn. The Japanese generally won't make any big moves during this time. What's more, I don't have the idea of ​​sending troops from the east. After all, the distance is too far, and the distance can't quench my thirst."

---- "In your opinion, what should we do now?" Situ Mingyue's head ached from hearing this, and now there are wars everywhere, except for the northwest region, the north is also raging with war. The Kaman Empire, the natural barrier of the number one enemy in the north, can never stand idly by, but now it is short of troops and stretched.

---- "According to my opinion, the main purpose at present is to collect information. At the same time, you can order the other two divisions of the City Guards Army to prepare for battle, and to enter Heshuo County and Terok respectively. Principality, just in case." He Zhiqiu replied after pondering for a while.

---- "Then if you have any other suggestions, let me hear them." Situ Mingyue cast a sideways glance at the officials kneeling at his highness.

---- "The minister has played." Lu Wenfu, the Minister of the Interior, stood up and went out.

---- "Please tell me, Lu Aiqing." Situ Mingyue was still very polite to Lu Wenfu, after all, Lu Wenfu had nothing to do with the selection of the commander-in-chief, and he was quite popular among the officials.

---- "At present, there are a lot of discussions about the failure of the empire's western expedition, and rumors are spreading in many places, especially the imperial capital and Heshuo County ~IndoMTL.com~ causing panic among people. I would like to ask Your Majesty to agree to make an announcement , It is strictly forbidden for the common people to talk about it in private, and anyone who spreads rumors to confuse the public will be punished as an enemy spy." Lu Wenfu still looks like he is overwhelmed by Mount Tai and does not change his face.

----"Hey, isn't that what I am doing? Paper can't cover fire after all, let the people discuss it if they want to, but those who deliberately spread rumors and cause trouble must be severely punished, and traitors cannot be tolerated. " Situ Mingyue ordered with a long sigh.

---- "The minister obeys the order."

----The news of the defeat of the empire's Western Expedition was immediately circulated in the imperial capital, from the princes and ministers to the traffickers and pawns. Some say that the Luobei people captured all the more than 200,000 troops of the empire's western expedition and buried them alive; Some said that the Luobei people had united with the three kingdoms in the north of the empire, and they would invade soon; some even said that His Majesty the Emperor had left the imperial capital to inspect Jiangnan, in fact, they were afraid that the Luobei people would really attack the imperial capital and be surrounded. inside. These rumors are all told with a nose and eyes, as if these people saw and heard it with their own eyes at the scene.

----Guan Yingying, Hua Yumei, and Angel were all anxious after hearing the news, and they went around to inquire about Wufeng's news. People can't get the exact news, not to mention the fact that Wufeng led the fourth wing, even the imperial intelligence department didn't know it at the time. On the contrary, Gu Ji had already been mentally prepared, because when Wufeng left, he revealed to Gu Ji that he was not optimistic about the Western Expedition, and asked Gu Ji to take care of the three daughters, so Gu Ji told the three women to rest assured that Wu Feng Feng had been prepared for a long time, and he would notify them as soon as he had any news.