After Emperor Chihui Ding Zhaoyu abdicated to Xiahou Shi, Ding Yunyi quickly proclaimed himself emperor and continued the Chi Dynasty.
Faced with this drastic change, Xie Wenzhou and Chen Yunxuan had to ponder a question: Should they follow suit and claim the throne? Or should they remain loyal ministers for the time being and refuse to recognize Xia Houshi and Ding Yunyi's claims to the throne?
Or... surrender to one of them?
In Xunsang Mansion, Xie Wenzhou was thinking about this problem.
The battle of Xiangbei severely damaged Xie's army, and they were unable to launch external campaigns for a long time.
But now he is no longer thinking about expansion, but how to survive.
Xie Wenzhou risked breaking the alliance and ordered Ming Zishi and Yan Boyi to attack, but he ended up being the big loser.
Not only did they fail to capture the northern part of Xiangzhou, but they also suffered heavy casualties!
Among the four forces now, Xie Wenzhou's force is the weakest.
The strongest is still Xiahou Shi, followed by Chen Yunxuan, and then Ding Yunyi.
If Xia Houshi and Chen Yunxuan took advantage of the situation... then Xie Wenzhou might not be able to hold on to his position as the lord of Linzhou.
Just when he was having a headache, the defeated Ming Zishi, Yan Boyi and others finally returned to Xunsang Mansion to meet Xie Wenzhou.
"The guilty general pays homage to the lord!" Ming Zishi knelt down, and the other generals followed suit.
"...It's good that you are back... This battle is all my fault. If I hadn't ordered you to attack, it wouldn't have come to this." Xie Wenzhou walked down and helped Ming Zishi and Yan Boyi up.
At this moment, Bu Zhaozhang, the chief civil official who had a feud with Ming Zishi, stepped forward and admonished him: "My lord, these people have lost the battle and should be punished. If they are not punished, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince the people."
After hearing Bu Zhaozhang's speech, the other civil officials also echoed him.
"That's right! We put a lot of effort into collecting supplies for the attack on Xiangzhou!"
"I agree with what Master Tongxu said. How can we face the people of Linzhou if so much supplies were burned?"
"Your Majesty, many soldiers died in this battle. If no one is held accountable, it will chill everyone's hearts."
The problem that Xie Wenzhou was more worried about was the division of internal forces in Linzhou.
Previously, he had managed to balance the power of the civil officials and military generals factions with great difficulty. Now that the military generals faction has been defeated, the civil officials will certainly take advantage of this to cause trouble.
If this situation is not handled properly, Linzhou will fall apart from within without waiting for the invasion of others.
Yan Boyi stood up and decided to take the responsibility for the defeat: "My lord, the fault for this defeat lies with me..."
Before Yan Boyi could finish his words, Ming Zishi interrupted him: "Governor Yan has nothing to do with this matter. He has tried his best to reverse the defeat. All the blame lies with me."
"If the general had not forced Yan Boyi to lead his troops to attack Yu Changming out of personal grudge, how could our army have suffered such a devastating defeat!"
"Please judge wisely, my lord. I will punish this criminal according to the law! I am willing to die as an apology!"
Yan Boyi was shocked when he heard Ming Zishi's speech. Could it be that the other party wanted to take all the blame?
Such a major event as attacking the northern part of Xiangzhou must necessarily require the consent of Xie Wenzhou himself.
Without his approval, how could such a large-scale expedition be launched?
But Ming Zishi attributed the cause of the war to himself...
"..." Xie Wenzhou understood Ming Zishi's intention and had to suppress his grief as he issued an order: "Ming Zishi, since you have admitted your guilt... then this Marquis will grant you a quick death."
"Come here, take Ming Zishi out and hang him!"
After hearing the order, Ming Zishi felt at ease.
"My lord, please think twice. General Ming has made many military achievements. Moreover, even if he has no merits in this battle, he has worked hard!" The other soldiers followed suit and pleaded.
"Shut up!" Ming Zishi roared, "Are you trying to put our lord in an unjust and unkind position? No matter who you are, as long as you are a Linzhou soldier, you must abide by military law!"
Xie Wenzhou returned to his seat, sat down weakly, and continued to issue orders: "Everyone, there is no need to persuade me anymore. Just follow what I just said and punish the guilty general Ming Zishi."
"General Ming..." The young Yan Boyi looked at Ming Zishi and saw determination in his eyes.
"...Boyi, the lord's great cause will depend on you from now on..." Ming Zishi said in a low voice, and then he was calmly led out by the soldiers.
Xie Wenzhou looked at Ming Zishi's figure and felt guilty, but as a king, he could only do so.
Ming Zishi took the initiative to take the blame and took on Xie Wenzhou's part of the blame as well.
Xie Wenzhou was very grateful for this and decided to have someone take better care of Ming Zishi's family.
However, he had another person to deal with.
"Although Ming Zishi has been dealt with, the other generals still have unshirkable responsibilities."
“Yan Boyi is the commander-in-chief and is equally responsible for the defeat.
"Yan Boyi saved our soldiers during the defeat, thus making amends for his mistakes. Therefore, he was only stripped of his position as commander-in-chief."
"Considering that there is currently no one available to take over the position of Governor, Yan Boyi will continue to perform the duties of Governor."
"As for the other generals...they will be fined an amount corresponding to the severity of their crimes."
Because of the defeat, the general knew he was in the wrong and accepted Xie Wenzhou's punishment.
The civil officials, having achieved their goal, were delighted and shouted in unison, "Our Lord is wise!"
Unlike Qi Heyu, Mingzi came from a grassroots background and relied on his military achievements to climb to the top of the military.
Of course, the appreciation of Le Yuxian and Qi Heyu was also indispensable, and the latter even wanted Ming Zishi to take over.
However, the civil officials and military generals from aristocratic families all opposed it, and wanted to nominate a representative from an aristocratic family to take over the position of Grand Commander.
In order to avoid making things difficult for Xie Wenzhou and to implement the strategy of attacking Xiangbei, Ming Zishi took the initiative to give the post of Grand Commander to Yan Boyi, whom he favored.
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