After some discussion, no one could offer any good suggestions.
In fact, the defeat in this battle had left the few generals in the court in a state of turmoil, and for a time no one dared to step forward and volunteer for battle.
The generals who served as the backbone of the army in Jinling have almost all died on the battlefield. The generals in Nanze are no match for those under Jin Jianren.
Over the years, most of the most capable generals in the court had served under Kim Geon-in, but in the great battle outside Nanjing, none of these capable generals survived; they all died there.
Of course, the ones who died the most were the generals with the surname Jin. As for the generals with other surnames, the Huang family, for example, has lost all its members, and Xiong Qian was killed in the Battle of Bailiyuan.
If Kim Jong-hui hadn't volunteered for the campaign, it would have been difficult to find a suitable person willing to take the initiative to suppress the rebels.
Jin Fengluan no longer dared to say that he would personally lead the army. His gaze swept across the audience, and everyone lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes, for fear of being chosen to fight the next battle.
Seeing this, Jin Fengluan became even more furious, and she looked at Prince Qing again.
Prince Qing's face was somber, and he remained silent. Now that all his sons had died, Jin Fengluan knew that relying on him was futile. He probably hadn't recovered from his grief yet, and that coming tonight was already fulfilling his duty.
Then, she turned her gaze to the spot where King Jing should have been standing. King Jing had been sent to the southern barbarian lands and had not yet returned. The person standing there now was King Jing's younger brother, Kim Pyeongyong.
Noticing Jin Fengluan's gaze directed at him, a bead of cold sweat quietly trickled down Jin Pingyong's somewhat rounded temple. He cautiously shrank his large belly and lowered his head.
But what I feared most came to pass. The next moment, Jin Fengluan said in a deep voice:
"My dear ministers, although we have suffered a defeat, we must not be discouraged."
"The rebels must be suppressed at any time. Not to mention that they have already arrived here and are marching towards us. Although they are coming with great force, this is also the best time for us to suppress them."
After saying this, she looked at Kim Pyong-yong and said:
"How about we..."
Before he could finish speaking, an urgent report came from outside the hall.
Jin Fengluan raised an eyebrow and summoned him, saying that Jin Zhou had returned and requested an audience.
Upon receiving this news, Jin Fengluan was shocked and immediately ordered Jin Zhou to enter the palace to meet the emperor.
At this time, the moon had risen to halfway up the sky; it was midnight.
Before long, summoned by the eunuchs, Jin Zhou was brought to the palace without even taking off his dirty armor.
As soon as he entered the hall, Jin Zhou, with his disheveled hair, heard a cold shout:
"Tell me quickly! How did it get into this state?!"
Jin Zhou looked emaciated, his face was bloodless, and his chest was still stained with the vomit he had vomited earlier. His messy hair was something he had haphazardly pulled out on the way back, after all, he still had to put on a show.
Upon hearing Jin Fengluan's cold rebuke, Jin Zhou immediately knelt down with a thud. The words he had prepared came to his lips instantly, and he said with a face full of grief:
"Your Majesty, it is not that our army is incompetent, but rather that the rebels are too strong!"
"Hmm?" Jin Fengluan stood up abruptly, her face darkening with gloom. She pointed at Jin Zhou, who was kneeling on the ground, and rebuked him:
"Two hundred thousand troops! Ten thousand Shenji Battalion soldiers! Dozens of cannons!"
"Isn't that enough?!"
"Do you know how much silver it costs me to fire one cannon shot?! Even with all that, you still can't win? What are you doing?!"
"Once you're on the battlefield, are you just going to stand there and let the rebels attack you?!"
Jin Zhou, sweating profusely, hurriedly explained:
"The enemy's artillery is extremely powerful; it's impossible to get close, Your Majesty."
Jin Fengluan flew into a rage, flung his sleeves, and gestured wildly, shouting, "Isn't the Divine Machine Battalion here? They have cannons! Bombard them for me!"
"Otherwise, why send the Divine Machine Battalion over there?! Do I have to teach you this?!"
Jin Zhou shook his head repeatedly and said hurriedly:
"We can't break through, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, you don't know, although the enemy has far fewer troops than us, they have far more artillery than we do. They have at least... hundreds of cannons!"
"We only have a few dozen guns, and their range is shorter than ours. How can we possibly outgun them?"
These words caused an uproar. Even Prince Qing couldn't help but show surprise, and Jin Fengluan was shocked, her face turning ugly.
"Not only that, but compared to our one type of artillery, the enemy has a wide variety of artillery, including long-range heavy artillery and cannons that can fire dense shells, which makes them completely unstoppable."
Jin Zhou spread his arms and gestured, saying, "Once the war starts, it will be like the sky is falling and the earth is splitting apart!"
"Countless shells are raining down on us, Shenji Battalion..."
At this point, Jin Zhou turned to look at Prince Qing before continuing, "The enemy's firearms have completely overwhelmed us. The Divine Machine Battalion is utterly useless against them."
"In less than half an hour, the Shenji Battalion suffered heavy casualties and was unable to even fight back."
"We have almost lost all effective means of long-range attack."
Upon hearing this, Prince Qing's eyes widened, his face turning ashen. He could hardly believe Jin Zhou's words. Trembling, he pointed a finger at Jin Zhou and shouted:
"Impossible! Jin Zhou! You have suffered a crushing defeat. You must not speak nonsense before His Majesty to exonerate yourself!"
"How could my Shenji Battalion be as incompetent as you claim!"
"It must be due to your poor command!"
Faced with the accusations, Jin Zhou hurriedly looked at Jin Fengluan and said:
"Your Majesty, every word I have spoken is true, and there is not a single lie!"
"You can ask everyone who came back with me; they all experienced it firsthand. Besides artillery, the enemy also had countless rockets!"
At this point, Jin Zhou was overcome with grief, and his voice trembled with sobs:
"The enemy was indeed fierce, but my father had no intention of retreating and was determined to fight to the death. He ordered my elder brother and me to each lead a force to charge the enemy from the left and right flanks, hoping to break through the enemy's lines."
"Even with such a desperate fight, it was still difficult to stop the enemy's offensive. My poor brother was attacked by them with rockets and perished in the fire along with those soldiers."
"I originally intended to sacrifice myself and fight to the bitter end, but thinking of His Majesty's presence in Nanze, and that he still needs us to guard Nanze, I fought my way out and managed to escape the battlefield to report back to His Majesty!"
Jin Zhou was in tears, his face filled with grief, while the ministers were all shaking like leaves, their expressions filled with panic.
After all, his words clearly demonstrated that the rebel army that was attacking now possessed extremely terrifying combat power.
Jin Fengluan's body stiffened, her eyes widened like a bull, but a few words flashed through her mind:
"Nanze is in grave danger!"
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