Chapter 511 Temporarily Avoiding the Edge?
No sooner had the censor finished speaking than another official pointed at Zhou Hanlin's nose and cursed, "If the emperor abandons the city and flees, what will the people think? If the King of Chu takes Luoyang and ascends the throne, won't the country be divided in two? If the country falls into internal strife, what will happen if the Tartars take the opportunity to attack us?"
Zhou Hanlin looked at the two gray-haired officials and pursed his lips: "Our troops are temporarily unable to return to defend the capital, and the King of Chu is attacking the city quickly. If we don't take His Majesty and temporarily retreat, what should we do? Are we just going to watch the King of Chu invade the capital?"
Once this was said, the crowd erupted into another uproar.
The argument below was about whether to retreat or not. In fact, everyone already knew the outcome of the battle. It would take at least half a month for the troops that were nearby to be recalled, but half a month was more than enough time for the King of Chu to enter the capital.
Retreating without a fight would sound bad, and the emperor actually understood that the method Zhou Hanlin had just suggested was the best one.
The King of Chu's goal in attacking was to capture and kill him. If he abandoned Luoyang and ran away, the King of Chu would not be able to catch him. If he didn't die, the King of Chu would not be the rightful emperor.
However, abandoning the city and fleeing sounded somewhat cowardly. The emperor made some mental adjustments and sighed softly amidst the renewed commotion below.
At this critical moment, there was no one of any useful talent left. However, he was also puzzled. This time, he had sent out both the Vice Minister of War and the Duke of Ji, so why did they still lose?
The emperor couldn't understand it. He rubbed his aching temples and listened to the incessant chatter in the court, which sounded like a marketplace. After a long while, his head was so throbbing that he smashed the inkstone on the table to the ground.
"Alright! Shut up! All of you, shut up!"
With a roar, everyone in the court was so frightened that they all knelt down.
The emperor rubbed his temples: "Alright, stop arguing. I personally led this expedition to settle things with Uncle Jiu."
After speaking, the emperor abruptly flung his sleeves and stood up: "Court adjourned!"
The kneeling crowd forcefully suppressed His Majesty's desire to reconsider, and sighed softly at the emperor's nonchalant demeanor.
A junior officer rubbed his slightly flushed face. He wasn't trying to mock His Majesty, but he had met the King of Chu a few times on the frontier. The King was not only strong and muscular, but also a master strategist and a fierce fighter.
Even if His Majesty personally leads the expedition, he might not be able to win. In fact, he thinks His Majesty is just going to deliver a dish to someone else.
After turning around, he found his two remaining colleagues and prepared to go to the Beijing Garrison for his duty after court.
The two junior generals exchanged a glance, both showing disbelief in their eyes, and the others in the court couldn't help but sigh.
An old official from the Censorate and Minister Wang exchanged a glance, both seeing helplessness in each other's eyes several times. Sometimes they really thought that His Majesty was mentally ill.
Even if the Duke of Ji couldn't defeat them, what use would it be for our Emperor to personally lead the expedition?
"Lord Wang, do you think our Emperor can win by personally leading the army?"
"Who knows? Our Emperor is always on a whim."
The two sighed softly and walked side by side down the path.
Several of the emperor's confidants went to the imperial study to ambush him immediately after court.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
"Your Majesty, the battlefield is dangerous. I beg Your Majesty to rescind your order, to muster the troops and generals to attack the King of Chu, and absolutely not to personally go to the battlefield."
Hearing the sounds of his trusted aides kneeling and screaming outside, the emperor sighed and invited them in.
"My mind is made up; there is no need to persuade me further."
After speaking, the emperor sat quietly on the dragon throne and began reviewing the memorials.
With morale low and limited troops, fleeing south is a good option, but who can say for sure whether the King of Chu will pursue them?
The soldiers under the King of Chu were all skilled warriors from the frontier. In a head-on confrontation, not only were they outnumbered, but even if they were capable, they might not be able to defeat those skilled warriors.
The emperor understood very well that the only solution now was to stall until the various armies of the court came to his aid. Fleeing south was not a good idea either. If he abandoned the people, even if he were to win the war again in the future, his reputation would not be good.
After much deliberation, he decided to personally lead his troops out of the city to meet with the King of Chu, partly to boost morale and partly to see his Uncle Jiu, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
Now that the King of Chu knows about the decree from back then, he will probably not let him off the hook again.
Now, I have no choice but to lead my troops myself, personally lead the expedition, and fight to the death.
Thinking of this, the emperor waved his hand and looked at his personal guards: "Go and summon the Duke of Qi and the Duke of Jin."
Although the Duke of Qi was not very capable and had messed up the tasks he was asked to do many times, he was still in a high position. His elder brother and father were also influential figures in the army.
Therefore, the emperor brought the two dukes along this time, and a desperate glint flashed in his eyes.
As he mentally assessed the surrounding forces, a dark glint flashed in his eyes. He waved for his personal guards to drive away the kneeling confidants, and then quietly summoned someone.
The emperor knew in his heart that the chances of winning this battle were slim, but he was in trouble, and the King of Chu was not going to have an easy time either.
After the emperor summoned a man, the two talked all night in the study. The next day, the man hurriedly left Luoyang and no one knew where he went.
The emperor then ordered the two dukes to prepare their troops for departure from Luoyang and head straight for Weihui to meet the King of Chu.
However, the total number of troops in the capital is only about 30,000, but according to news from the front lines, the King of Chu has at least 80,000 troops this time.
With 30,000 against 80,000, the odds of winning are slim.
Moreover, the King of Chu was renowned for his military prowess, and the emperor slumped weakly on his dragon throne.
Various thoughts flashed through my mind, but I could only hope that the people I sent out could get things done as soon as possible.
If things go well, there will be nothing to worry about this time, and even the King of Chu will be nothing to fear.
Just as the imperial court was reorganizing its military preparations to attack Weihui at Mengjin, another piece of news arrived.
"Your Majesty, the latest news from the front lines is that the grain supplies we're providing to the garrisons outside the Yellow River crossing have been intercepted by the King of Chu's men!!!"
The emperor, who was sitting on the dragon throne, suddenly stood up.
"What did you say?"
The soldier who came to report knelt on the ground and kowtowed tremblingly: "Your Majesty, the entire grain route from Yanjin to the border city has been ambushed by the enemy, and all the grain we sent to the garrison has been robbed."
The emperor felt a wave of dizziness. The grain route at Yanjin was the closest grain supply to the garrison. If the grain there was stolen, the time it would take for the garrison to arrive would be uncertain.
With only 30,000 men, he can't hold out for long.
Unlike the emperor, who was worried, Lin Changning had been living a very leisurely life these past few days. Who would have thought that after clearing the river and grain routes, he would actually run into the imperial grain transport team on his way to Yanjin?
That's right, it was Lin Changning who hijacked the garrison's grain this time.
"Commander! We have grain again!!!"
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