After Zhang Fu finished speaking, he walked outside and headed straight for where Emperor Zhu Qizhen was.
The generals who had just been inside the military tent also followed.
But they were immediately blocked by the eunuchs outside.
"Your Excellency, we have urgent news to report to His Majesty."
Zhang Fu, along with his generals, once again sought an audience with Emperor Zhu Qizhen.
"Why have you come again? Does His Majesty not wish to see you?"
Upon seeing the young eunuch emerge, Zhang Fu immediately produced a bag of gold and said:
“Father-in-law, we didn’t bring much money with us. Please take this as our gift to buy you a cup of tea.”
At this moment, Fan Zhong and the other generals behind Zhang Fu also showed expressions of frustration.
The young eunuch looked at the gold in his hand, weighed it in his hand, and said:
"Alright, I'll go and report back to you."
As he spoke, he went inside.
Emperor Zhu Qizhen, who was inside the house playing with crickets and having a great time with Wang Zhen, saw the young eunuch enter and said:
"They're here again?"
"Your Majesty is wise; they wish to request an audience with Your Majesty."
The young eunuch knelt at Zhu Qizhen's feet and spoke cautiously.
Zhu Qizhen impatiently put down the cricket jar in his hand and looked at the eunuch in front of him, saying:
"Alright, alright, let them in. They're driving me crazy every day."
Soon Zhang Fu and the others entered and saw Emperor Zhu Qizhen, who looked impatient.
Zhang Fu and the others immediately stepped forward, bowed, and said:
"Your Majesty, an urgent military situation has arisen."
He then took out the military report that Zhao Shuaizhen had submitted.
Zhu Qizhen looked at the urgent military intelligence report in front of him but showed no intention of taking it.
Instead, he said with extreme impatience:
"What happened this time? Just tell me."
You guys have been driving me crazy lately.
"They say this place is full of evil spirits? I've been playing here for so long, and nothing's happened to me!"
Looking at the emperor before him, Zhang Fu could only continue:
"Your Majesty, Governor Zhao of Jizhou has sent an urgent report that the traitor Li, in league with the Jurchen Tartars, has launched a surprise attack on the poorly defended Jizhou."
The Jurchens broke through the pass and entered, Jizhou fell, and the families of the Jizhou army were captured by the enemy.
The army of Jizhou outside Shanhaiguan is nearly mutinous, and is now dragging General Zhao Shuaizhen and others back to Jizhou.
Upon hearing the news of the fall of Jizhou, Zhu Qizhen sat up straighter.
However, he was completely oblivious to the danger and continued speaking to Zhang Fu and the others in front of him:
"If Jizhou is lost, we can just take it back. What's all the fuss about?"
Upon hearing the emperor's words, Zhang Fu and the other generals were stunned into silence.
Wang Zhen seemed to have thought of something, and then said to Zhang Fu:
"Could the Jizhou garrison threaten our route back to the capital?"
Upon seeing Wang Zhen speak, Zhang Fu was taken aback, then replied:
"Starting from Jizhou will indeed block our way back to the capital, but..."
"Okay, okay, I got it."
Wang Zhen interrupted Zhang Fu before he could finish speaking.
His expression changed, especially after hearing that the fall of Jizhou would prevent them from returning to the capital.
Wang Zhen then immediately said to Zhu Qizhen:
"Your Majesty, we must return to the capital immediately. If our route back is cut off by the rebels, we will be in grave danger."
Zhu Qizhen also showed unusual panic after hearing that he could not return to the capital.
He then immediately pointed to Zhang Fu and the others in front of him and said:
"Go quickly, prepare the troops, we're returning to the capital."
Zhang Fu, who was kneeling below, was stunned because he hadn't finished speaking yet.
That means that once his army is assembled, even the enemy will find it difficult to stop him.
However, it was clear that Zhu Qizhen and Wang Zhen had lost interest in listening to what they were saying.
They panicked after hearing that they might not be able to return to the capital.
Zhang Fu continued to advise Zhu Qizhen:
"Your Majesty, we brought a large army on this trip to punish the bandits, but the army has not even reached Shanhaiguan Pass yet, and has not seen a single bandit."
Should they just flee back to the capital in such a panic?
In that case, where is the dignity of the imperial court?
Moreover, once the army has come this far, it has been so arduous that every soldier is exhausted.
Now that they've been allowed to return to the capital without even finding a single thief, where is the morale of the army? Where is the fighting spirit?
Zhang Fu had barely finished speaking, and before Zhu Qizhen could say anything, Wang Zhen, who was standing next to him, immediately said:
"His Majesty has just issued the decree. Why aren't you carrying it out? Are you trying to defy the decree?"
Zhu Qizhen waved to Zhang Fu and the others and said:
"Go quickly, let's return to the capital now."
Hearing Zhu Qizhen's words, Zhang Fu and the others closed their eyes in despair.
Zhang Fu struggled to his feet, though he had previously appeared quite energetic.
At this moment, he unexpectedly revealed himself to be an elderly man in his seventies.
His once straight back became hunched over.
Finally, he could only sigh and say:
"Your humble servant obeys."
At this time, on the battlefield where Li Qin and Zhao Shuaizhen's Jizhou garrison were engaged in a decisive battle.
Li Qin looked at the rough arrangement in his hands.
We suffered nearly 3,000 casualties in this battle, half of whom were cavalrymen under Peng Jiahu's command.
Li Qin was deeply saddened by the casualties among the cavalry, because he knew how difficult it was to train a cavalryman.
These 30,000-plus cavalrymen were assembled by the original owner's father over several decades.
More than a thousand people were lost in this battle.
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