A barrage of questions made the kneeling man even more uneasy.
How would they know?
I had only heard that the Northwest Army's gunpowder weapons were powerful, but I never imagined they were this powerful!
Most importantly, Prince Yong's army also brought gunpowder weapons, but they were no match for the enemy. They were wiped out in a single encounter, and Prince Yong's whereabouts and fate remain unknown.
If the Yongwang Army was in such a state, then those armies without gunpowder weapons were even more in a worse state.
In just seven days, the Northwest Army captured two prefectures, Linzhou and Qizhou.
It was only at this time that the imperial spies brought back news that the Northwest Army had split into eight routes and was heading towards the capital!
"Now you all need to think carefully about how the court should respond next!" Emperor Jingqing clutched his chest, almost unable to breathe.
He glanced at the kneeling man, then frowned and asked angrily, "Where is Prime Minister Su?"
An official said in a trembling voice, "The Prime Minister is unwell and unable to get out of bed, so he cannot enter the palace to meet the Emperor."
Emperor Jingqing waved his hand, scattering the writing brush, ink, paper, and memorials from his desk all over the floor. "Insolence! The court is in dire need of capable people, and this old scoundrel dares to claim illness and refuse to leave the palace?"
He took two deep breaths in anger, then said, "Issue my decree: summon the women of the Su family to the palace to accompany the Empress Dowager. Prime Minister Su must enter the palace to meet the Emperor tomorrow!"
His chief eunuch immediately went to find someone to announce the imperial decree.
After Emperor Jingqing unleashed his fury, he turned to the Minister of War and asked, "Does the Ministry of War have any countermeasures?"
Minister Yu said dejectedly, "Your Majesty, the national treasury is empty. We have no money to do anything, and the people we forcibly conscripted are all running away... Your humble servant is truly powerless!"
He had a bellyful of bitter tears with nowhere to shed them. Now that Prince Yong had made such a huge mess, they simply couldn't handle it!
Emperor Jingqing cursed the incompetent a few more times, but he knew in his heart that the national treasury was truly empty, and not only the national treasury was empty, but his private treasury was also about to run out of money.
Just as Emperor Jingqing was getting increasingly agitated, someone timidly suggested, "Your Majesty, perhaps... we should negotiate peace with the Prince of the Northwest?"
Emperor Jingqing glared at him, "Say that again?"
Upon seeing his expression, the man was so frightened that he dared not utter another word and pressed his face to the ground.
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