Emperor Yuanhe felt a throbbing in his temple. Before the soldier even entered the palace, he was already kneeling at the palace gate, urgently saying, "Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Two hundred thousand troops have amassed on the border of Xining and are invading the Great Jin. They are coming with overwhelming force and unstoppable momentum. In just half a month, the Great Jin has lost two cities. I beg Your Majesty to immediately gather troops and go to their aid!"
Emperor Yuanhe's face darkened, and he rose with a cold, angry gaze: "What did you say?"
The soldier repeated: "Two hundred thousand troops have been assembled on the border of Xining to invade Da Jin. Da Jin has now lost two cities. Please order Your Majesty to immediately dispatch troops to provide support."
Emperor Yuanhe flicked his wide sleeves and hurriedly left Fengxiang Palace.
The officials who had already left court were urgently summoned back.
The battle report traveled all the way from the city gates to the palace. Some court officials had already gathered in the court without Emperor Yuanhe's order, so when Emperor Yuanhe appeared in the Golden Palace, most of the court officials were already in place.
Unlike the usual calm, the main hall was now filled with noise, all of which was about Xining's advance into the Great Jin Dynasty.
Emperor Yuanhe flicked his dragon robe and sat down on the dragon throne with an air of majesty.
The officials quickly lined up and were about to bow in respect when Emperor Yuanhe waved his hand and said, "My dear ministers, you may leave it at that."
He frowned and said, "I'm sure you all know about Xining's invasion of our Great Jin. What are your thoughts on this, my dear ministers? Please speak freely."
After he finished speaking, the ministers looked at each other. One minister stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, Xining and Dajin have always kept to themselves and their borders have been peaceful for decades. Why would they suddenly invade? I think this matter needs to be investigated.”
"How much more do you need to investigate?" The Minister of Justice frowned angrily. "Could the battle report from the 800-mile front be false? The Great Jin has already lost two cities. By the time you find out, the army from Xining will probably be attacking the capital!"
After he finished speaking, another minister stepped forward and reported: "In my opinion, the most urgent task now is to immediately send troops to reinforce and reclaim the territory of the Great Jin. I hope Your Majesty will make a decision immediately!"
Upon hearing this, all the ministers unanimously pleaded, "Your Majesty, please immediately dispatch troops to reinforce us and reclaim the territory of Great Jin!"
"Who is willing to lead the troops?" Emperor Yuanhe asked, looking at the crowd in the hall.
A military officer stepped forward: "Your subject is willing to fight!"
The ministers looked up, and someone immediately objected: "General Wang, let's just forget about it. Haven't you suffered enough defeats already?"
General Wang's name was Wang Shan. He wore an eye patch on his face, and his left eye was completely blind due to injury.
In his early years, he served as a vanguard in the army and was known for his bravery and skill in battle, often taking on ten opponents at once. He was thus awarded the rank of general.
Unexpectedly, after becoming a general, he suffered repeated defeats, possessing only brute force when dealing with the enemy, but lacking any strategic thinking whatsoever.
Fortunately, the battles he fought were all minor skirmishes, and there were no major losses.
His enthusiasm was dampened, and Wang Shan said with a look of dissatisfaction: "Victory and defeat are common occurrences. Those bandits are cunning. What can I do? I just lack experience."
He volunteered: "Your Majesty, let me go this time. I will definitely beat that old scoundrel from Xining to a pulp and reclaim the city."
Emperor Yuanhe took a deep breath; clearly, he also felt that Wang Shan was unreliable.
At this moment, Su Shiyan stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and reported: "Your Majesty, two cities in Xining have been captured. The recovery of our territory is of utmost urgency. Sending reinforcements from the capital will inevitably delay things for many days. I suggest that we first send troops from the southwest to support the army in Xining and slow down their advance. Then we can send troops from the capital to assist them and deter the enemy."
"I second that proposal." As soon as Su Shiyan finished speaking, another minister immediately seconded it.
"I believe Lord Su's plan is feasible, and I second it!"
"I second that opinion!"
Emperor Yuanhe asked, "Who is guarding the southwest?"
"It is General Yang Chui."
"Excellent!" Emperor Yuanhe was very satisfied with Yang Chui, who was also a master of leading troops. "Issue an order for General Yang to immediately assemble 100,000 troops and head to Zhongyan to support the border army, recapture the city, and..."
He pointed to a general: "General Zhao Ze!"
Zhao Ze was a veteran general in his fifties, but he looked quite healthy. He stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your humble servant is here."
"I hereby bestow upon you the military seal of the Tiger Cavalry. Immediately proceed to the military camp, assemble 100,000 troops, and within five days, proceed to Zhongyan to provide reinforcements."
Zhongyan is the western border, the city where the border troops have now retreated to.
With 100,000 border troops and 100,000 troops under Yang Chui to support them, plus 100,000 Tiger Cavalry troops dispatched by the imperial court, their combined strength was absolutely overwhelming that of the Xining army.
This shows that the Jin Dynasty is not weak.
However, this is just the beginning.
Not long after Xining launched its attack on the Great Jin, the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Yue seemed to sense something unusual and both bid farewell to the Great Jin.
After the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Yue left, the Eastern Sea also inexplicably had the idea of returning. Not long ago, the Eastern Sea had a major falling out with the Great Jin because Yu Nanqing had injured them.
Now that they left so decisively, Emperor Yuanhe felt that a storm was brewing in places he couldn't see.
Emperor Yuanhe's concerns were not unfounded.
On August 16th, a report came from the frontier that Xining had invaded the Great Jin and captured two cities in succession.
On September 15th, a month after the last battle report, news also came from the border between the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Vietnam that a large army was gathering. Whether it would attack the Great Jin Dynasty was still unknown.
But assembling troops at this time is probably not a good thing.
Only five days later, the East Sea sent a declaration of war, stating that the Great Jin had not properly handled the matter of Yu Nanqing injuring Feng Lingxiao and Feng Yao, and that the East Sea was formally declaring war on the Great Jin.
Suddenly, the four neighboring countries of the Great Jin Dynasty seemed to have conspired to put pressure on it together.
Emperor Yuanhe's face has been pale every day these past few days; his mood is even worse than the day he saw Princess Yu Tingyi die.
Leaving aside the East China Sea, why did Xining go to war with the Great Jin? They had been at peace for decades, and trade between the two countries had never stopped. Why would Xining suddenly send troops to the Great Jin?
Because it had maintained peaceful relations with Xining for many years, its military deployment was the weakest there.
The South and North Vietnam are making moves, it's unclear whether they want a share of the pie or are just observing.
News from the border reached the capital in a time difference, and Emperor Yuanhe was so worried that his hair turned white. No matter how strong the army of the Great Jin Dynasty was, it could not withstand the joint attack of the four kingdoms.
Late September, approaching October.
Another early winter is approaching.
Emperor Yuanhe eventually received confirmation that the purpose of the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Yue's visit to the Great Jin Dynasty was because they had received a letter from the Eastern Sea that mentioned the incident in the capital of the Great Jin Dynasty, so they specially sent people to investigate.
How did Donghai offend the capital city during the Beijing Incident?
Is Yu Tingyi's matter part of their scheme?
Inside the palace, Emperor Yuanhe looked at his secret confidant with a troubled expression, feeling as if something was about to be revealed, yet he couldn't find the answer.
Suddenly, he leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath.
Liu Rencai brought over a nourishing ginseng soup: "Your Majesty, this was sent by the Empress. She instructed that Your Majesty should take care of your health."
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