One piece of bad news after another pierced Li Jingang's heart like a sharp knife.
He staggered backward, slumped onto the dragon throne, and suddenly burst into laughter, a laugh as shrill as an owl's:
"Good! Good! They've all rebelled! They've all surrendered! My kingdom, my empire... Hahahaha!"
As I laughed, tears welled up in my eyes.
This ruthless warlord who seized the throne through rebellion now appears so old and helpless.
"Your Majesty, please take care of your health..." Ma Zongliang kowtowed.
Li Jingang stopped laughing, his eyes flashing with a crazed, bloodthirsty light: "Take care? What do I have to take care of? Zhao Muyun is almost at the capital! Tell me, what should we do now?!"
The hall was deathly silent.
No one dared to answer.
"Speak up!" Li Jingang grabbed the inkstone from the table and smashed it hard against Feng Liang.
Feng Liang dared not dodge, and blood immediately gushed from his forehead.
"Your Majesty!" Cui Mian crawled forward on his knees. "The best course of action now is to hold the capital and wait for a turning point."
"Wait? Can I afford to wait?" Li Jingang roared. "The city's food supplies are only enough for half a month! After half a month, are you expecting my Imperial Guards to eat dirt while defending the city?"
He coughed violently, and the eunuch hurriedly offered him ginseng soup, which he pushed away.
Ma Zongliang took a deep breath, looked up and said, "Your Majesty, I have a plan."
"speak!"
"After Zhao Muyun's great victory in Wancheng, he did not press his advantage to take the capital directly, but instead held back his troops in Dengzhou. There must be a reason for this."
Ma Zongliang analyzed, "In my opinion, he is waiting for the results of the battles on all sides—waiting for Wu Shangzhi of the Western Regions to return, waiting for Liu Song of Jingxiang to surrender, waiting for the change of ownership of Youzhou in Hebei, and waiting for the Northern Di of Yunzhou to withdraw their troops."
Li Jingang's eyes narrowed: "You mean... he doesn't dare to make any rash moves now?"
“Exactly.” Ma Zongliang nodded. “Zhao Muyun is always cautious in his military tactics. He won’t risk attacking a city unless he’s 80% sure of victory. This is our opportunity.”
"What opportunity?"
"Gather all available troops, launch a preemptive strike, and catch them off guard!"
A ruthless glint flashed in Ma Zongliang's eyes. "The Imperial Guards number 50,000, plus the 50,000 that Li Hu retreated from Wancheng, making a total of 100,000. Then order Li Biao and Li Bao to abandon Hebei and cross the river south to join forces."
"If we can unite our forces, we will still have more than 200,000 troops, and we may not be unable to fight Zhao Muyun!"
Feng Liang exclaimed, "Minister Ma, this plan is too risky! If we suffer a defeat in open battle outside the city, the capital..."
"Can we really hold out by simply defending the city?" Ma Zongliang retorted. "We only have enough food for half a month, and we've lost all our external support. Continuing to defend will only lead to our demise! We might as well fight to the death; perhaps there's still a chance of survival!"
Li Jingang remained silent for a long time, the madness in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by the resolute determination of a trapped beast.
“What you say, Minister Ma, is reasonable.” He slowly stood up. “Since I raised my army, I have fought countless battles, and every time I have won by the skin of my teeth. Although we are in dire straits now, I still have troops and the fortified city of the capital. I may still be able to turn the tide!”
He looked at Ma Zongliang: "Brother Ma, I hereby appoint you as the Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces of the Realm, overseeing all troops except the Imperial Guards of the Imperial City. Feng Liang and Cui Mian, you two will assist Minister Ma in procuring provisions and weapons."
The three knelt down: "Your Majesty, we obey!"
"Issue an imperial edict to Li Bao and Li Biao, ordering them to cross the river and head south to the capital within ten days. If they disobey... bring their heads to me!"
"yes!"
Li Jingang walked to the front of the hall, looked south, and gritted his teeth:
"Zhao Muyun, you think you can wait until all sides are at peace before taking the capital? I won't let you have your way! In this battle, I will fight you to the death!"
......
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