Or rather, they don't entirely belong to the Empress Dowager's faction.
The young man in green robes belonged to the martial arts world, while the Empress Dowager, having lived deep within the palace for so long, could not possibly have such a deep connection with people from the martial arts world.
Even the eunuchs who served the Empress Dowager almost never left the palace their entire lives.
Gu Mu also investigated the officials who were affiliated with the Empress Dowager, and found that none of them had close ties with the martial arts world.
After all, the young man in green robes was no ordinary assassin. The fact that they could hire him at least indicated that the mastermind behind the scenes had some influence in the martial arts world.
The young man in green robes, a master of his craft, was abandoned by the mastermind behind the scenes after his mission failed, and thus never returned to the capital.
This also shows that the person behind the scenes has considerable power.
Who exactly is this big fish lurking in the shadows?
However, the big fish had not yet surfaced, so Gu Mu could only wait and see.
In the study.
Gu Mu flipped through the pile of memorials.
The candlelight flickered.
It was late at night, but he had no desire to sleep; instead, his brows furrowed even more deeply.
War broke out again on the frontier.
Shen Ci was stationed on the frontier, and there were frequent clashes between the two places. The Southern Dynasty suffered heavy losses, but the reason why it refused to back down was that it had already lost a city.
Further south on the frontier, there is a city of moderate size that originally belonged to the Southern Dynasty.
However, more than a decade ago, due to invasion by an enemy country, it was forced to cede territory.
Because we retreated a step back then, that city forever became someone else's. That's why the late emperor ordered that, under no circumstances should the generals stationed on the frontier retreat another step.
“Because penicillin healed the wounded, the frontier became even stronger. Logically, they shouldn’t dare to commit a crime…” Gu Mu sensed something unusual: “Moreover, in the original owner’s memories, there was no such large-scale conflict breaking out on the frontier at this time.”
The butterfly effect?
The memorial records that the Xia Kingdom in the east and the Si Kingdom in the south launched a joint attack with great momentum, storming the city at midnight and catching the border guards off guard.
In addition, their military strength is more than ten times that of the frontier.
The frontier suffered repeated defeats, and General Meng, despite being ill, rushed to provide support, but still had less than one-fifth of the enemy's forces.
He pleaded earnestly for the imperial court to immediately send troops to provide support.
This is precisely what puts Gu Mu in a difficult position.
The combined forces of the Xia and Si states to attack the city numbered over 100,000.
The border troops number just over ten thousand, and General Meng's forces are roughly the same.
The total military strength of the entire Southern Dynasty was only a little over 90,000, less than 100,000.
If all these troops were deployed to the frontier, it would undoubtedly make other parts of the Southern Dynasty a prime target for neighboring countries.
Gu Mu actually only had 20,000 troops that he could deploy to the frontier for support.
Any more than that, and it will affect the country's security.
With 40,000 troops, they faced the combined forces of the two countries, totaling 100,000 troops.
This is destined to be a large-scale war where the few are outnumbered and it is inevitable.
Sure enough, the next day, the imperial court was in an uproar over the porridge.
"Your Highness, shall we cede the city? The enemy is coming with great momentum and is well-prepared; we cannot defeat them!"
"Your Highness, if we confront them head-on, we will suffer heavy losses, and we might even lose our country!"
A group of peace advocates knelt in the main hall, looking dignified and self-righteous.
Gu Mu coldly observed these people, who resembled the faces of those who, during the famine in Jiangnan, encouraged him to abandon the people of Jiangnan and seek only personal gain.
"Since I am regent, I should be responsible for the world." Gu Mu had already made up his mind.
His country, once armed with millet and rifles, defeated the invading enemy and achieved a revival in just a few decades.
What reason does he have to subdue the enemy without fighting?
"Your Highness!" The officials, having learned their lesson, no longer threatened suicide, and could only wail incessantly, "The enemy army numbers one hundred thousand!"
"One hundred thousand men! Our entire dynasty's total military strength is less than one hundred thousand!"
Some patriots stepped forward at this time: "Your Majesty, I am willing to sacrifice my life for the country and lead the charge! If we retreat repeatedly after the city is ceded, the enemy will only think we are easy to bully and will become even more aggressive. Please grant me permission to go to the battlefield!"
"Your Highness, seeking peace will not solve the problem. Only by becoming strong can we deter enemy nations from attacking us!"
"Your Highness, those who advocate ceding the city are simply cowards who are afraid of death and have no regard for the country or its people. Your Highness must not be misled by their lies!"
"Enough. A bunch of civil officials shouldn't even think about going to the battlefield. Going there would just be suicide." Gu Mu had realized that his Southern Dynasty was still too weak, often bullied by other countries, and its military strength was too small. It seemed that after this war ended, he should expand his military strength.
"I will personally lead the troops into battle for this cause," Gu Mu said.
Only by personally leading the troops could he maximize morale and win a glimmer of hope for this war.
Following the famine in Jiangnan and the Empress Dowager's coup, the court underwent a reshuffle.
Although the officials occasionally disagreed, they no longer dared to disobey Gu Mu's wishes.
However, personally leading troops into battle is no small matter!
The historians, in particular, know that His Highness is the rightful successor of the late emperor. He has finally gained power. If he were to lead troops into battle and die on the battlefield, which of the princes could possibly become a second regent and so powerfully contend with the young emperor?
"Your Highness, you mustn't!" they all knelt down and shouted.
"Your Highness! Please reconsider!"
"Your Highness, you must not put yourself in danger!"
They knew that Gu Mu possessed extraordinary martial prowess, but facing an enemy army of 100,000 was no joke.
They felt that this was a war they were destined to be crushed.
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