Although it was already night, the Nanze Palace was brightly lit. Ministers who should have been asleep were arriving at the palace in slightly disheveled clothes, either by carriage or on horseback.
Outside the palace gates, servants from various households gathered in large numbers, whispering among themselves, their heads bowed, looking anxious and uneasy.
Just as the sun was setting, Prince Qing, who had fled back from Nangang in a panic, immediately led his men into the palace. At the same time, he ordered his guards to rush to the homes of the ministers and command them to come to the palace as soon as possible.
Although the specifics are still unknown, this urgent summons undoubtedly indicates that something major has happened in Nan'gang.
At that moment, the ministers entered the hall and immediately saw Jin Fengluan, who was not sitting on the dragon throne, but standing with her hands behind her back, her face cold and frosty.
Below him, on the left and right, stood Prince Jing, Jin Pingwu, and Prince Qing, Jin Weizun, both with extremely gloomy expressions.
Prince Qing glanced around and, seeing that all the officials had arrived, took two steps forward and said in a deep voice:
"Gentlemen, I have just returned from South Port, and I have hastily summoned you all tonight because..."
Before she could finish speaking, a cold shout came from Jin Fengluan's mouth:
"The traitors, with over a thousand warships, arrived at South Port just before noon today!"
boom!
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone was in an uproar.
The ministers were all stunned. A chill ran up their spines and instantly reached their minds, causing them to shudder.
"How...how could this be?!"
"How could this be?!" The Minister of Revenue exclaimed in a panic, his small, beady eyes wide.
Jin Fengluan raised an eyebrow and said angrily, "Did you think I was joking?!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yong's forehead instantly broke out in a cold sweat, with beads of sweat the size of soybeans streaming down his brow. Most of the people around him were the same.
"But... but where did they get warships? Thousands of them? They... shouldn't have a navy! Didn't our East China Sea Navy already sink to the bottom of the sea in the battle against Japan?! It couldn't be them!"
“This…this is absolutely impossible!” someone else exclaimed.
"Who are you asking? Are you asking me? I'd like to ask you the same question!" Jin Fengluan shouted, pointing at the man.
"If you ask me, the only way he could possibly do this is by conjuring up these thousand warships! There's no other way!" She flicked her sleeve, her expression growing increasingly cold.
Prince Qing continued, picking up where Jin Fengluan left off:
"It is absolutely true that the traitor landed at South Port with his fleet; after all, I saw it with my own eyes."
"Although we don't know where he came from, he has now landed at South Port with his fleet, heading straight for an attack on Nanze. If we can't stop their offensive, I'm afraid..."
Jin Fengluan flicked her sleeves and immediately shouted:
"Where are our reinforcements?!"
"I've granted those foreigners whatever they want, but where are they? How could I let those traitors land in Nangang so brazenly?"
"Don't they also have warships? Why don't they stop them at sea?" she asked Prince Qing with a cold glare.
Prince Qing shook his head and sighed, “Your Majesty, the rebels are coming with overwhelming force, and their number of warships is simply too great. Although the foreigners also have warships anchored in the port, compared to them, the gap is simply too large.”
"How can we possibly withstand this? Even a skilled cook can't make a meal without rice. Their fleet hasn't arrived yet."
As soon as he finished speaking, a general stepped forward and questioned Prince Qing:
"So what?!"
"The foreigners made various demands before, and the court has already given them all. Why do they turn a blind eye when the traitors and rebel army arrive?"
"If they choose to ignore it, then wouldn't all the conditions we promised them be a complete joke?!"
The speaker was none other than Jin Zhengxi, the veteran general who had volunteered to lead his troops from Nanze to attack Jinling.
Despite his full head of white hair, Kim Jeong-hee's eyes were bright, and his face was filled with undisguised anger. He stared intently at Prince Qing, his gaze as sharp as a knife.
Prince Qing frowned and said coldly:
"General, you are mistaken. The incident happened suddenly, and no one expected this outcome."
"It's not that the foreigners are unwilling to help us, but their fleet hasn't arrived yet. If they arrive at Nangang first, there's no doubt they will be able to intercept the rebels smoothly."
Kim Jong-hee immediately shouted:
I disagree!
"If you ask me, they never genuinely wanted to suppress the rebels for our sake!"
"These guys came to us with nothing but their own agenda! This makes it clear at a glance, and you're still fantasizing that they'll give us help?"
"Completely wrong! If you ask me, we shouldn't have agreed to their demands from the very beginning. Outsiders can't be trusted after all!" Kim Jeong-hee said angrily.
Prince Qing narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a deep voice, "General, you've gone too far."
Kim Jong-hee raised an eyebrow and said angrily, "Then why was it only you who led the men to escape back to Nanze? What about them? What about those foreigners?!"
"What are they waiting for in South Harbor? The traitors and their rebel army have already arrived. What are they doing staying there? It's because they've never considered themselves our reinforcements!"
"The traitors landed with a large army. They stayed there and are already planning to distance themselves from us!"
"In that case, all the compromises we made in order to seek help were not only useless, but also made the whole world disheartened by the imperial court!"
"What...what are we like now?!"
"Our imperial court is simply..."
Before he could finish speaking, a young soldier immediately interjected, "Father! That's enough! Stop talking!"
It was Kim Jong-hee's son, Kim Tam.
"well!"
Kim Jeong-hee clenched his fists and sighed heavily, his face filled with grief and indignation.
After he finished speaking, the faces of the officials turned extremely ugly, and Jin Fengluan's face was as cold as ice. Jin Zhengxi's words were like a slap in the face to her in public.
The imperial court treated foreigners so well, giving them whatever they wanted, but now that the rebels have arrived, they have simply withdrawn, showing no sense of responsibility whatsoever. This is nothing short of blatant deception.
Thinking of this, Jin Fengluan became even more furious and couldn't help but look at Prince Qing.
The specific details of the treaty signing were led by the Qing Prince's mansion. However, now that Jin Jianzhong is dead and Jin Jiande is indifferent to the matter, and the Qing Prince has fled back from Nangang in a sorry state, she has lost face even more.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and Jin Fengluan couldn't help but let out a cold snor
"General, there's no use talking about this now. Right now, let's think about how to defend against the rebels," King Jing said coldly.
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