Outside the capital, dozens of disheveled cavalrymen had been running all night.
They finally arrived outside the capital city.
The leader was so exhausted that he was slumped over the horse's back, with several ropes tied around his body.
He was tied to the horse to prevent him from falling off.
Upon seeing the city walls of the capital, the leader immediately untied his ropes.
Get off the horse.
However, as soon as he dismounted, he collapsed to the ground due to exhaustion.
After being helped up by the knight beside him, he then said:
"Finally, we've arrived in the capital. I, He Xiuwu, have finally made it to the capital alive."
Noon, in the Forbidden City.
He Xiuwu had changed into clean clothes and was kneeling outside the palace.
After handing over a thick bag of gold to Wang Zhen, he knelt outside the palace, awaiting the imperial decree.
Although he was kneeling outside the palace, his undergarments were already soaked with sweat.
He knew exactly what he had done: he had lost Shanhaiguan.
After he fled Shanhaiguan, he originally planned to go into hiding, but the thought of the life of hiding and sleeping in the open was too much for him, as he had been pampered since childhood.
Moreover, his family members, wives and concubines, are all in the capital. If he runs away, they are doomed.
In the end, he decided to return to the capital and take a gamble to see if he could save his life.
Before entering the palace, he had pawned all the valuables in his house and used the money to bribe Wang Zhen, the emperor's favorite eunuch.
I hope he can save his own life.
Just as He Xiuwu knelt outside the palace awaiting his fate.
Wang Zhen tossed the bag of gold in his hand, thinking to himself, "This He Xiuwu truly lives up to his noble birth."
They're really well-off. They gave me a huge amount of silver notes this morning, and now they've brought out a bag of gold as a gift as soon as we meet.
Forget it, let's just protect him this time. So what if we lost a battle?
Over the years, I've lost count of how many generals like him who have suffered defeats I've protected.
After he saved them, they were all extremely grateful to him and became his staunch supporters.
After some time, he would reintegrate those generals who had been defeated and defected to him back into their troops.
This is a way to expand one's own power.
After carefully putting away the bag of gold in his hand.
Wang Zhen entered the palace, where a huge map was displayed.
Many of the cabinet ministers and top nobles were present.
Among them, he even saw Duke Zhang Fu, who was a highly senior general who had followed Emperor Taizong on his expedition to the northern deserts.
He was a pillar of strength among the nobility.
I never expected that he would also come here.
Emperor Zhu Qizhen sat on the dragon throne in the main seat, watching the people in the palace constantly discussing and debating.
They were discussing how to quell the Li Qin Rebellion.
As for how to quell Li Qin, Emperor Zhu Qizhen had already made up his mind: he would personally lead the expedition to quell this treacherous minister.
However, he knew absolutely nothing about how to deploy troops or how to engage in battle.
After all, he had been in the deep palace since childhood, receiving the so-called imperial education.
Although he hadn't fully grasped the so-called art of rulership, he was quite knowledgeable about military strategy.
He had read quite a few miscellaneous books about leading troops into battle since he was a child.
In his mind, a representative figure is someone who, after strategizing and planning, easily defeats the enemy.
But today, for the first time, he began to hear these detailed military facts.
But I found it incredibly boring.
He discovered that those so-called famous generals, including Zhang Fu, had no interest in what strategies or tactics they should use to quell Li Qin's rebellion.
The opposition argued endlessly about trivial matters such as the army's food, supplies, tents, and winter clothing.
Those nobles were constantly arguing with the cabinet elders over various supplies.
Depending on the number of routes and the areas the army passed through, local governments were required to provide supplies, the amount provided, and the number of laborers conscripted.
They requisitioned large carts from various places to transport supplies to the army along that route.
They estimated how long the war would last and how much they needed to prepare.
He started to feel sleepy listening to all these complicated matters.
Just then, he saw Wang Zhen, who had just gone out, walk back in.
He then immediately beckoned to Wang Zhen, signaling him to come over.
When Wang Zhen saw Zhu Qizhen waving at him, he immediately ran over.
Zhu Qizhen looked at Wang Zhen, who was jogging over, and asked with a bored expression:
Where have you been?
After thinking for a moment and organizing his thoughts, Wang Zhen said to Zhu Qizhen:
"Your Majesty, He Xiuwu has arrived."
Zhu Qizhen was taken aback by Wang Zhen's words, and then asked:
"Are you talking about He Xiuwu, the garrison commander of Shanhaiguan?"
Why is he in the capital if he's not in Shanhaiguan?
"I didn't issue an edict ordering him to return to the capital!"
The palace was originally filled with discussions among numerous nobles and cabinet ministers.
Upon hearing that He Xiuwu, the garrison commander of Shanhaiguan, had actually arrived.
They were all very surprised.
Meanwhile, Yu Gan, the second-in-command of the cabinet among the palace officials, heard that He Xiuwu, the garrison commander of Shanhaiguan, had suddenly arrived in the capital.
He immediately had a bad feeling.
Wang Zhen then continued his report to Emperor Zhu Qizhen:
"Your Majesty, He Xiuwu reported that Li Qin used the imperial edict that summoned him to the capital to trick the city gates of Shanhaiguan into opening them."
He then led his army into Shanhaiguan, where he personally led his troops in a fierce street battle with Li Qin.
He nearly drove Li Qin's army back out of Shanhaiguan several times, inflicting heavy casualties on Li Qin's troops.
However, the incident happened too suddenly, and he was outnumbered and forced to break through the encirclement.
He arrived in the capital to report this urgent military situation to His Majesty.
After Wang Zhen finished speaking, everyone present, including the cabinet elders, responded.
All the nobles and generals present were stunned and stood there dumbfounded.
The news that Wang Zhen revealed deeply shocked them.
For a moment, the entire palace was completely silent.
Everyone learned an extremely important piece of information from Wang Zhen's words.
That means Shanhaiguan was lost.
Shanhaiguan has actually failed.
You must know that Shanhaiguan was the shield of the capital.
With Shanhaiguan occupied by Li Qin, doesn't that mean he has already opened up a direct route to the capital?
It can be said that as long as Li Qin wanted to, starting from Shanhaiguan, with the plains stretching out before him, the iron cavalry of Liaodong could quickly reach the walls of the capital.
It's even highly likely that Li Qin has already set off, and the iron cavalry of Liaodong is already on its way to the capital.
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