"Lord Chen, your Ministry of War is in charge of the army?"
I issued an imperial decree to recall four armies to the capital.
Where are these four armies now?
Upon hearing this, Chen Ping'an's heart skipped a beat.
These four armies have been basically destroyed.
They retreated towards the capital from the four passes of Jianmen Pass, Hulao Pass, Jiayu Pass, and Yumen Pass.
As a result, they were all ambushed.
These four armies suffered heavy losses.
Each army suffered more than half its losses.
The remaining troops were completely routed and fled in panic, not knowing where they had gone.
"This..." Chen Ping'an hesitated for a long time, unsure of how to answer.
"Speak without hesitation."
"Your Majesty, where are these four teams now? I truly do not know. However, I will certainly investigate as soon as possible."
“Your Majesty,” said Zhou Chaoxian, the second secretary of the cabinet, “our cabinet has indeed received news that the 200,000 troops were deliberately ambushed during their retreat to the capital.”
The 200,000-strong army suffered heavy losses; they were routed and had no idea where to go.
All the officials in the court were stunned when they heard this.
Soon, the crowd began to discuss it again.
"If these 200,000 troops were transferred back to the capital, they would definitely be able to protect the safety of the capital."
"If this army of 200,000 suffers heavy losses, and the other dozen or so rebel armies attack the city together, what should we do?"
"Who exactly is this person? How could they have such ability to ambush our imperial army during its retreat?"
General Zhou Jian of Dingyuan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, how did the people in the cabinet know so much?"
"Your Majesty, the 200,000-strong army has been withdrawn to the capital in four routes. This is a military secret of the Ministry of War."
"Lord Chen of the Ministry of War is unaware of this matter, yet the cabinet already knows?"
"Your Majesty, I believe there are traitors among the officials and civil servants."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ping'an snorted coldly: "General Dingyuan, you belong to the Ministry of War, and our cabinet is in charge of the Ministry of War."
Our cabinet is naturally aware of the troop movements.
"But you, a mere general, dare to spout nonsense? Do you have the right to do so?"
General Dong Dahai of Pingyuan: "Your Majesty only has four or five thousand troops guarding the capital. The 200,000-strong army has now disappeared without a trace. We must think of a way."
Otherwise, if the dozen or so rebel armies were to unite and attack the capital, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
In recent years, the imperial army has been dispatched to various places to quell rebellions and suppress bandits.
The only force the imperial court could muster was its 200,000 troops, which have now been wiped out.
The entire court was thrown into a panic.
"Of course, this matter is definitely related to your cabinet."
“Grand Secretary Pang has been bedridden lately, and I think he’s just faking it,” Dong Dahai said bluntly. “If I’m not mistaken, he must have leaked the route for these troops to the capital to the rebels.”
Zhou Chaoxian was furious upon hearing this: "Grand Secretary, you have devoted yourself to the country, the court, and His Majesty, working day and night to the point of falling seriously ill. General Dong not only has no sympathy for you, but also smears you."
"Slinging mud...???" Zhou Jian chimed in, "Your cabinet is getting more and more involved now. Every troop deployment by the imperial court has to be approved by your cabinet."
His Majesty doesn't even know the movements of the various troops, yet your cabinet does.
"The imperial court once maintained an army of 500,000, but in recent years, it has suffered heavy losses in battles against the rebels."
Countless pillars of the nation died on the battlefield.
Countless peerless warriors are buried far from home.
"If it wasn't your cabinet that leaked this information to the rebels, then who did?"
The crowd immediately started arguing in the court.
Everyone chimed in with their own comments.
More and more people are criticizing several cabinet ministers.
Minister of War Chen Ping'an's face flushed red and then turned pale.
Empress Qian Renxue sat there motionless, watching the crowd argue.
The noise at the scene grew louder and louder.
The argument went on for a full half hour.
Qian Renxue felt like her ears were about to explode.
"Everyone," Qian Renxue suddenly slammed her hand on the armrest of the dragon throne and stood up, "I am not here today to hold you accountable. I want you to come up with some ways to defeat the enemy."
"Although the three rebel armies of Li Zicheng, Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang have been defeated, the threat to the imperial court still exists."
We must find a way to protect the safety of the capital.
The scene fell silent.
They're good at arguing, but they're completely incapable of coming up with solutions to problems.
Everyone stood there, frozen like wilted eggplants, not uttering a single word.
Qian Renxue walked down the steps.
He looked at his civil and military officials.
General Zhou Jianping and General Dong Dahai, who had just been launching a full-scale attack on the cabinet, remained silent at this moment.
When they saw the Empress approaching, they all lowered their heads.
The Empress sighed.
Qian Renxue knew that these people were completely unreliable.
This young and beautiful woman ascended the throne five years ago, when she was just a 12-year-old girl.
However, the late emperor always raised her as a boy.
Five years have passed.
This little girl has grown to be 17 years old.
However, in the past five years, the imperial court has suffered from continuous famine and has also encountered three years of severe drought.
This young girl was under more pressure than anyone else present.
The rebels marched to the capital.
These civil and military officials abandoned their posts and surrendered to the rebels, yet they were still able to live quite well.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
