Amidst the chaos, the imperial physician was summoned at lightning speed. After a tense rescue effort, Li Jingang slowly regained consciousness.
He lay on the dragon bed, his eyes initially blank, then filled with immense pain and rage.
He pushed away the eunuch who was wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth and struggled to sit up.
"Your Majesty, your health is of utmost importance; you need to rest and recuperate!" Feng Liang quickly advised.
"Rest in peace?"
Li Jingang's voice was hoarse, and his eyes were bloodshot. "Wuzhu's cavalry is about to be right under my nose! How am I supposed to rest and recuperate?"
He abruptly swung his arm, pointing north, and shouted, "140,000 troops are gone! That useless Ma Zongliang! He ruined my plans! He ruined my empire!"
His chest heaved violently, followed by another bout of coughing, which terrified the imperial physician and the eunuch.
But Li Jingang forcefully suppressed the metallic taste in his throat, his gaze sweeping over the kneeling civil and military officials before the bed, and said, word by word:
"Issue the imperial decree! Assemble all available troops from the capital garrison! I will personally lead the army to fight Wuzhu to the death!"
These words shocked everyone in the room.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't! You absolutely mustn't!"
Feng Liang was the first to kowtow and dissuade him, his voice trembling with tears, "Your Majesty is of paramount importance, your life is tied to the safety of the nation! Now that you have just suffered a defeat, morale is low, and the enemy's power is at its peak, how can Your Majesty personally venture into such a dangerous situation?"
"Yes, Your Majesty! The capital garrison is weak and still needs to protect the capital. If Your Majesty makes another mistake, the foundation of the country will be shaken, and the situation will be hopeless!" Another minister echoed with tears streaming down his face.
"Your Majesty, I second that suggestion! Please reconsider!"
"Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to stabilize public sentiment, defend the capital, and rouse all forces to come to the aid of the emperor!"
Voices of dissuasion rose and fell.
Looking at this group of ministers who usually talked big but now only kowtowed and offered advice, Li Jingang felt a surge of anger rising within him.
He struggled to get off the bed, shouting angrily, "Not leading the army in person? Then tell me! Who can lead the army to fight Wuzhu now? Who?"
His gaze was like a sharp sword, sweeping over everyone.
The ministers all lowered their heads, none daring to meet his gaze, and none able to offer an answer.
Even a seasoned general like Ma Zongliang suffered a crushing defeat. Who else in the court could shoulder this heavy responsibility?
Finally, Li Jingang's gaze settled on Right Chancellor Feng Liang:
"Feng Liang! You've always been resourceful, so tell me! What should we do now?"
When Feng Liang was called out, his body trembled slightly, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
He stammered, his lips trembling for a long time before finally managing to say with difficulty, "Your Majesty... this matter... this matter is of great importance, please... please discuss it carefully with my colleagues..."
"Discuss? By the time you've reached a conclusion, Wuzhu's horses will have already trampled this Ziwei Palace!"
Li Jingang interrupted him mercilessly, his tone filled with disappointment and sarcasm.
Seeing that the emperor and the right prime minister were at an impasse, the ministers below were even more flustered.
Someone stepped forward and proposed, their voice trembling:
"Your Majesty, the Northern Barbarians are too powerful to be defeated by force... It would be better to... better to temporarily avoid their advance, move the capital to Jinling, and rely on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to devise a plan for the future..."
"Absurd!" someone immediately retorted. "To flee before even fighting would only invite ridicule from the world. Besides, relocating the capital is a matter that affects everything; it's not an easy task!"
Another person timidly suggested, "Perhaps...perhaps we could send envoys to negotiate peace with the Northern Barbarians? Promis them gold and silver as annual tribute, and order them to withdraw their troops..."
"Peace talks? Wuzhu has just won a great victory and his arrogance is at its peak. How could he easily give up? This is like asking a tiger for its skin!"
The pro-war generals immediately spoke up in rebuke, even though they themselves did not know how to fight.
In the imperial court, the faction advocating for relocating the capital, the faction advocating for peace talks, and the faction advocating for war who were at a loss argued endlessly, creating a complete mess, but they could not come up with any practical solutions.
An atmosphere of despair, like a thick fog, enveloped everyone's heart.
Just then, a clear and firm voice rang out, drowning out the noisy argument:
"Your Majesty! I believe that moving the capital or negotiating peace are both undesirable!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Prince Li Yuan, who had gone to Fenglingdu to negotiate with Zhao Muyun.
He stood out from the crowd, his eyes unusually bright.
Li Jingang looked at his younger brother, who never concerned himself with politics, and frowned: "Brother Yuan, what are your thoughts?"
Li Yuan bowed respectfully and said clearly, "Your Majesty, Wuzhu's goal is clear: to repeat the siege of the capital last year, and even intend to annex our Great Feng!"
"Moving the capital is a sign of weakness. Once the capital is moved south, the northern territory will be lost, the morale of the people will collapse, and it will be difficult to recover!"
"Peace talks are wishful thinking. With Wuzhu's great victory, what price will our dynasty have to pay? I'm afraid it will be ceding territory and paying indemnities, losing sovereignty and national humiliation, and even that will not be enough to fill the void!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the assembled officials before finally settling on Li Jingang: "The only course of action now is war! And victory is imperative! Only then can we salvage this precarious situation!"
"Hmph, easy for you to say!"
Feng Liang couldn't help but speak up, "Your Highness, even Marshal Ma's 140,000-strong army has been routed. Now, who else near the capital can lead troops into battle? Who can withstand Wuzhu's advance?"
Li Yuan seemed to have anticipated this question. He raised his head and looked intently at Li Jingang:
"Brother, don't forget, haven't we already made peace with Zhao Muyun and joined forces to resist the Di?"
"Originally, Zhao Muyun cut off Wuzhu's supply lines and captured Youzhou after Wuzhu was defeated. However, he abandoned Youzhou, which allowed Wuzhu to focus all his efforts on fighting our army without any worries about his rear."
"Therefore, Your Majesty should first issue an edict to announce to the world that Zhao Muyun has broken the alliance and ordered him to immediately send troops to participate in the battle."
yes!
Immediately, a clamor erupted in the court, with everyone angrily denouncing Zhao Muyun for his lack of martial ethics.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
