While the entire Qingyang Mansion was basking in the joy of victory, Yanjing, thousands of miles away, was surrounded by an atmosphere of fear, anger, and worry. After the Zhenguo Company was defeated and fled back to the main camp on October 8, it immediately triggered the collapse of the entire army of the Imperial Western Expeditionary Army. After the imperial infantry was defeated, Kurdo and Geya only sent a part of their troops to disperse them to prevent their assembly from posing a threat to their own troops, while the main force pursued the imperial cavalry led by Situ Mingzhi with all his might, Situ Mingzhi had become a frightened bird, fled overnight, and entered the territory of Bonan Province, Kurdo and Geya led their troops to follow, and Situ Mingzhi, who had not yet gained a foothold, had to lead the troops to escape again, so he chased and fled, and fled into the territory of Longdong Mansion in Guanxi County, and the enemy did not continue to pursue, and it was already October 10――

The exhausted Situ Mingzhi only rested in Longdong Mansion for one night, and on October 11, he left behind the remnants of tens of thousands of troops, and he only took more than ten followers and hurried back to Yanjing, he knew that the news of his fiasco would soon spread back to Yanjing, and if he did not return to Yanjing before His Majesty the Emperor learned the news and find a few powerful people who could intercede for him to do the work for him, it was unknown whether his head could be kept under the wrath of the imperial brother. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but regret why he went back to wade into this troubled water, and he even resented He Zhiqiu for coming, hating why he didn't insist on not letting himself be the commander of this battle at that time-

Along the way, he was anxious, working overtime every day to hurry, and it only took five days to rush back to Yanjing from Longdong Mansion, and the imperial intelligence agency stationed in Longdong did not fully grasp the defeat of the imperial army of the Western Expedition until October 13 due to Situ Mingzhi's blockade of the news, and it was transmitted to Yanjing on October 15 through the express post, which was also the time when Situ Mingzhi returned to Yanjing.

As soon as he returned to Yanjing, Situ Mingzhi didn't even have time to take a breath, so he went to the palace of Tian Yi, the Minister of Finance of the Empire, Tian Yi saw this scene and hurriedly invited a few ministers who had a good relationship with Situ Mingzhi to discuss, and asked Situ Mingzhi to enter the palace immediately to plead with the queen, and then take the blame. Just when Situ Mingzhi entered the palace to meet the empress, Situ Mingyue, the emperor of the Tang River Empire, received the battle report reported by the military department that the imperial Western Expeditionary Army was annihilated, and immediately ordered an urgent court meeting, and it was already the afternoon of October 15th.

"According to the information currently available, the Imperial Western Expeditionary Army attacked the enemy's main camp on October 8, and the whole army was defeated, and a large number of enemy troops were found in the three prefectures of Qingyang, Bonan, and Guide in the northwest counties, and it was suspected that they had been controlled by the Luope people, and an unknown number of enemy troops were also found in the border area with Longdong Prefecture in Guanxi County, and it was suspected that there was a possibility of continuing to advance eastward. The remaining 30,000 cavalry of the empire are now deployed in Longdong Mansion, but they lack weapons and equipment, grain and grass and other logistical materials, and their morale is not good. "The more the head of the intelligence department of the military department reported, the quieter his voice became.

"Very good, very good, the dignified Tang River Empire's more than 200,000 troops of the Western Expedition are actually less than 30,000 people left in a few days, this is called war or suicide, it is really unprecedented!" Situ Mingyue's face turned from red to white, from white to blue, his chest rose and fell sharply, and people also stood up and walked around in front of the imperial case excitedly, and all the ministers in the palace saw that His Majesty the Emperor was so angry, and they all lowered their heads one after another, silent. "What about Situ Mingzhi?" Situ Mingyue asked as she tried her best to control her emotions, "Lord Zhenguo is already on his way back to Yanjing, and he may arrive soon." The head of the intelligence department replied in a whisper. "So, he still has a life left?" Situ Mingyue asked viciously, and there was a deathly silence in the hall.

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Zhenguo is asking to see you outside the palace. The guards outside the temple gate reported, "It's just in time, announce him to the temple!" The anger that had already subsided was burning in his heart again. I saw Situ Mingzhi bare his upper body, with a few thorns tied to his back, kneeling and crawling into the main hall, "The younger brother has the great trust of the imperial brother, and the crime deserves death, please punish the imperial brother." Situ Mingzhi trembled under Situ Mingyue's eyes full of anger that was enough to melt steel, and he stammered when he spoke, and he didn't dare to raise his head when he buried his head in the ground.

With a long breath, Situ Mingyue put her hands behind her back and her tone was much calmer, "What are your crimes? Do you remember what I said to you when I appointed you as the commander of the Western Expeditionary Force? Do you still remember the repeated admonitions of Lord He of the military headquarters here?"

"Brother Chen, remember. ”――

"The great rivers and mountains in the northwest are destroyed in one fell swoop, the Central Plains is shaken, people's minds are in danger, the heavens are evil, they are forgivable, they are self-inflicted, they can't live, since this is the case, you don't blame the emperor's brothers for being ruthless. Someone came, and immediately pushed Situ Mingzhi out of the city gate and beheaded the public, and hung his head at the city gate to thank the people!"

The cold voice sounded in Situ Mingzhi's ears like thunder, "Brother Huang spare your life, Brother Huang spare your life!" Situ Mingzhi never expected that Brother Huang didn't even ask the opinions of the ministers in the palace, and directly announced his death sentence, so frightened that his head was like garlic, and he begged for mercy again and again.

The ministers in the palace were also stunned, and they didn't even have time to react, this is the younger brother of His Majesty the Emperor's mother, who was usually close to each other, was actually beheaded by His Majesty's personal order, "No one is allowed to intercede for him, otherwise, Hugh will turn his face and be ruthless." The cold voice sounded again, breaking Situ Mingzhi's last ray of hope, several wolf-like guards pounced, dragged Situ Mingzhi and walked out of the hall, the ministers in the hall originally wanted to intercede for Situ Mingzhi before they could say it, they were frightened back by Situ Mingyue's last two words, leaving only Situ Mingzhi's miserable scream echoing in the hall-

He Zhiqiu couldn't hold back any longer, he knew that His Majesty was really angry this time. His Majesty the Emperor has always had a bad temper, when he was young, he was angry and ordered the guards to kill two ministers who dared to disobey his will in the main hall, in this case, the other ministers were shocked, if he didn't come forward to dissuade him, I am afraid that the head of Zhenguo Gong would really fall to the ground-

"Slow, Your Majesty, please listen to the minister, the failure of this western expedition is caused by many reasons, and the minister also has an unshirkable responsibility. "He Zhiqiu came out of the column and knelt down-

"He Aiqing doesn't have to defend Situ Mingzhi, and he doesn't have to take the responsibility on himself, I have my own decision. Situ Mingyue was unmoved-

"Your Majesty, the minister is indeed responsible for the failure of this campaign, and at that time the minister thought that Zhen Guogong was not the best candidate for the commander of the campaign, but later after His Majesty decided, the minister also had a fluke mentality, thinking that maybe there would be no big problem, and did not insist on his own opinion, which is where the minister's dereliction of duty lies. ”――

The ministers in the palace also knelt down to intercede for Situ Mingzhi, Situ Mingyue sighed, "In this battle, I also bear the responsibility of being useful and unvirtuous, if you want to talk about responsibility, who is more than me? ”――

After dealing with Situ Mingzhi, Situ Mingyue was still angry, "Everyone here, I remember that when I appointed Situ Mingzhi as the commander of the Western Expeditionary Army, everyone except Lord Lu did not arrive due to illness, the rest were all present, it seems that except for He Aiqing who had dissuaded me, you all agreed and supported, now that I think about it, I should bear the responsibility of employing people who are not virtuous, but what kind of responsibility should everyone here bear?

Hearing His Majesty's stern tone, the ministers knelt down one after another to plead guilty, "The current situation is so bad, what good plan can He Aiqing have?" Situ Mingyue ignored it, "Back to Your Majesty, we need to understand the situation in the northwest region as soon as possible before making arrangements." However, Yichen deduced that the Luobei people did not have the strength to enter the Central Plains at present, and at most they would be disturbed in Longdong Mansion for a while, so please rest assured, but the situation in other places is worth noting. He Zhiqiu replied cautiously-

"Oh, tell me what you think. Situ Mingyue hurriedly asked-

"In the humble opinion of the ministers, the purpose of the Luobei people's eastward advance this time is mainly to tide over the difficulties for their own territory and grab grain and grass, and they are not ready to go east into the Central Plains, otherwise, they can take advantage of the situation to break through, and there is no need to stop at the border of Longdong Mansion, and our army on that side has not made any preparations at all. At present, we need to seize the time to understand the activities of the Rope people in the northwest so that we can take the next step in response. It's just that our forces in the two counties of Kansai and Heshuo are already very weak to guard against the threat from the southwest, and the war is raging in the northern Principality of Gerook, and Grand Duke Allen of the Principality of Gerok has twice sent envoys to us for help, but the troops of our Northern Military Region are a little unable to cope with the attack of King Poole's [***] team, and they are unable to draw troops to reinforce them, let alone deal with the Luopes. Maqi Khan in the south seems to be relatively calm, but the strength of his army has far exceeded the strength of our Southern Military District, and although they have not changed their movements now, they must not be taken lightly. The only one that could be mobilized was the Seventh Army of the Eastern Military District. He Zhiqiu carefully analyzed the words -

"However, Lord He, there is only one legion stationed in the two counties of Donghai and Jiangnan, and the Japanese are very rampant now, so I am afraid that the seventh legion cannot be transferred at will. A handsome young man came out and asked, this person is Situ Mingyue's seventh son Situ Yuan, he is inextricably linked with the local powerful factions in the East China Sea and Jiangnan counties, and his mother is a great nobleman from the Milan Kingdom, so he also has a special relationship with the nobles in power in the Milan Kingdom.

He Zhiqiu couldn't help frowning secretly, his unintentional words actually touched the interests of the Seventh Highness again. "Your Highness the Seventh has been worried, it has now entered late autumn, and the Japanese people generally do not have major actions during this time, not to mention that I don't have the idea of transferring troops from the east, after all, the distance is too far, and far water can't quench the thirst of the near. ”――

"Then in your opinion, what should be done now?" Situ Mingyue had a headache when he heard this, now there is smoke everywhere, except for the northwest region, the north is also in the midst of continuous wars, and the Principality of Gerlok is a natural barrier to block the Kaman Empire, the number one enemy in the north, that must not stand idly by, but now the troops are insufficient, and they are overstretched.

"In the opinion of the ministers, the main thing at present is to collect intelligence, and at the same time, the other two divisions of the City Guard Corps, except for the first division, can be ordered to prepare for battle, and enter Heshuo County and the Principality of Gerlok respectively, just in case. He Zhiqiu pondered for a long time before replying-

"If you have any suggestions, please tell them for me to hear. Situ Mingyue glanced at the ministers kneeling under His Highness—

"There is a play. "The Minister of the Interior, Lu Wenfu, got up and went out of the ranks-

"Lu Aiqing, please speak. "Situ Mingyue is still very polite to Lu Wenfu, after all, Lu Wenfu has nothing to do with the selection of the coach, and he is also quite popular among the ministers-

"At present, there is a lot of talk about the failure of the empire's westward expedition in various places, and rumors are even spreading in many places, especially in the jurisdiction of Yanjing and Heshuo County, which creates panic in sincerity and benevolence. The minister would like to ask His Majesty to agree to issue a proclamation that it is strictly forbidden for the people to talk about it in private, and if there is any rumor to confuse the public, they will be punished as spies of the enemy country. "Lu Wenfu is still the same as the one who does not change color when Mount Tai is pressed against the top-

"Alas, isn't that a way to cover my ears and steal bells? After all, paper can't contain the fire, and if the people want to talk about it, let them talk about it, but those who deliberately spread rumors and cause trouble must be severely punished, and they cannot be tolerated and annihilated. Situ Mingyue let out a long sigh and ordered-

"Obey. ”――

The news of the defeat of the imperial conscription in the west immediately spread throughout Yanjing, from the princes and ministers to the peddlers and pawns, all of them were discussed, and the more they spread, the more they spread. Some say that the Luope people have captured all the more than 200,000 troops of the empire's westward expedition and buried all these captives alive; some say that the Luope army has occupied the entire territory of the six prefectures in the northwest county and captured all the imperial court officials; some say that the Luope people have united with the three northern kingdoms of the empire and will soon enter the country; and some even say that His Majesty the Emperor has left Yanjing to inspect the south of the Yangtze River, but in fact they are afraid that the Luope people will really attack Yanjing and be surrounded in it. These rumors are all spoken with noses and eyes, as if these people were at the scene to see and hear with their own eyes.

Guan Yingying, Hua Yumei and Angel were all anxious after learning the news, and asked around for news of Wu Feng, because the imperial authorities kept the details of the empire's defeat strictly secret, so the three of them could not get the exact news, not to mention that the situation of Wu Feng leading the fourth wing was not known to the imperial intelligence department at that time. However, Gu Ji had already been mentally prepared, because when Wu Feng left, he revealed to Gu Ji that he was not optimistic about this western expedition, and asked Gu Ji to take care of the three daughters, so Gu Ji told the three daughters to rest assured, saying that Wu Feng had already prepared, and he would notify them as soon as he had news.

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