This great defeat wiped out most of the joy brought about by General Lian's victory over Zhangde City.
Hearing the bad news, the officials were also filled with a shadow.
After fighting for several months, everyone knew the strength of the troops in Hejing City. There were 40,000 vassal soldiers. With the court's 100,000 troops, it was only a matter of time before he captured Hejing City.
These 30,000 elite soldiers seemed to fall from the sky, catching the Divine Guards by surprise and making the officials feel uneasy and frightened.
What to do next?
Should we send troops for reinforcements?
Or should we order the Divine Guards to rest where they are and not attack the city easily again?
No more elite soldiers will appear in the future!
If they were defeated again or completely defeated, how would the imperial court lose its dignity?
No matter how quickly this battle report was sent, it was still more than ten days ago. What happened to the Divine Guards in the past ten days?
After dawn, the imperial meeting was held as scheduled.
All the officials frowned and gathered together to discuss the defeat of the Divine Guards. Some people inevitably said some depressing words, such as, "Zhou Yong is too young and has no qualifications to take on the important task of being a general."
Disharmonious words such as "A calm and steady military commander would never suffer such a defeat".
It was not until the emperor came to court that all the officials stopped talking and respectfully welcomed the emperor.
Sheng Hong had stayed up all night, and his eyes were bloodshot, and there was some stubble on his chin. He had a kind of down and out handsomeness... However, no one had time to pay attention to this.
At the beginning of the court meeting, Sheng Hong ordered Zhao Qi to read out the battle report sent to the palace last night: "The Divine Guards suffered a huge defeat. Zhao Zhongshu ordered the general to read out the battle report to avoid any confusion in the minds of the ministers.
"
Zhao Qi, who also stayed up all night, also had a lot of bloodshot eyes, and read out the battle report with a solemn expression.
After hearing this, all the officials looked strange, and some of them had panic expressions on their faces.
The emperor, who was sitting on the dragon throne, glanced at the faces of the ministers and said in a deep voice: "Victory and defeat are common matters for military officers. General Zhou led his troops to attack Hejing City, and the military camp in the rear was attacked, which was really unexpected. This defeat was also
It is not the fault of General Zhou alone."
"Ministers are not allowed to criticize in private."
"I and all the old cabinet ministers have agreed on countermeasures last night and are preparing to send troops for reinforcements."
The Pingfan clan is at a critical juncture, and we must not withdraw our troops at this time. We can only send reinforcements! It is not unusual for the emperor to make such a decision. However, who does the emperor intend to send to lead the reinforcements?
Before the civil servants could say anything, the military generals had already taken the initiative to ask for help: "The last general is willing to lead troops to reinforce!"
"I sincerely request Your Majesty to allow General Mo to lead the troops. General Mo is willing to issue a military order to attack Hejing City within three months!"
"The general is also willing to go!"
The military generals were vying for help, and the public sentiment was passionate, not all for meritorious deeds, but more for the unshirkable responsibility and sense of mission to turn the tide.
Sheng Hong saw this scene in front of his eyes, his blood surged in his heart, and he wished he could lead the troops in person.
However, the emperor had to sit in the court and wanted to personally lead the troops to pacify the vassal state. All the civil and military officials would probably jump out to oppose it.
Sheng Hong suppressed this impulse and said slowly: "The Divine Guards were defeated and suffered heavy casualties. I don't know what the situation is now. To be on the safe side, I would like to ask General Yin to lead the troops in person!"
…
The civil and military officials were stunned, and all looked at the man standing at the head of the generals.
This man is over forty years old, but his body is still strong, but his right arm is slightly weak. He can no longer kill enemies with a knife, nor can he draw a bow and shoot arrows.
It is General Yin.
General Yin has been recuperating in his mansion for the past few years and has almost never entered the military camp again. He only shows up to the court during court meetings.
However, General Yin's reputation in the military was not damaged.
The emperor opened his mouth and sent General Yin to lead the reinforcements. The first reaction of the generals was that there was indeed no one more suitable than General Yin.
The Divine Guards suffered a defeat, and Zhou Yong, as the commander-in-chief, has to bear the main responsibility. It is hard to say whether he can stabilize the morale of the army. With General Yin going, at least the morale of the army can be stabilized immediately.
Furthermore, it is enough for the general to lead the troops and command them. It is not necessary to lead the troops into battle in person. It is also fine for General Yin to sit in the middle tent.
"I am willing to lead the troops there."
General Yin took a step forward and bowed his hands in response. The sound was like a loud bell, which made people's ears hurt.
Sheng Hong summoned General Yin to the palace last night to discuss reinforcements with General Yin. At this time, he formally issued an order at the court meeting, ordering General Yin to lead troops to Hejing.
Sheng Hong said solemnly: "Thank you for your hard work, General Yin."
General Yin responded sternly: "As a military general, it is only natural for me to lead troops to kill the enemy. I was seriously injured and have been recuperating in the mansion these years. Today, I have been favored by the emperor and entrusted with important tasks. I will definitely live up to the emperor's trust. I don't dare to
Thank you for your hard work! Please give me half a year, and I will lead the troops to pacify Hejing City, and use the blood of King Hejing to commemorate the thousands of dead soldiers!"
These words were resounding and exciting. They also made the panicked officials calm down and relax their brows again. No one questioned the half-year period.
General Yin said that he can definitely do it, and Hejing will be pacified in half a year!
This is the deterrent power of the number one general in the army!
Even Sheng Hong felt much calmer.
General Yin began again in a deep voice: "The origins of these 30,000 elite soldiers are quite suspicious. King Hajing has such an extraordinary army, why has he not moved it? I think that these 30,000 elite soldiers are not King Hajing's private soldiers at all.
!”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.
A cold light flashed in Sheng Hong's eyes: "I also think this matter is quite fishy. Where did these 30,000 elite soldiers come from? If you have any thoughts, please tell me."
The Minister of Household Affairs cupped his hands and said: "King Zhangde is dead, and King Yingchuan has no time to take care of himself. These 30,000 elite soldiers must have nothing to do with them."
Sheng Hong nodded slightly.
Mr. Zhao Ge also handed over his hand and started: "I think this matter may have something to do with the vassal princes who have returned to the capital. I sincerely request the emperor to order a thorough investigation of the vassal princes' mansions."
The vassal princes also attended the meeting, and immediately exploded upon hearing this.
The vassal kings are all descendants of the Sheng family. In the past, they could do whatever they wanted in the vassal territory. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they were emperors. Being summoned to the capital by an imperial edict to hand over the vassal soldiers, I felt that I was very wronged. At this time, I heard such suspicions and accusations.
How to be willing to give up.
At that moment, one of the feudal lords retorted angrily: "We returned to the capital with the order, and we are loyal to the emperor. We have never had any second thoughts. What you said not only chilled our hearts, but also put the power of God in the wrong place!"
"Bah! I am so loyal, how can I be humiliated like this by you!"
"You old man! You just poured dirty water on our vassal king's head without any evidence! I can't spare you today!"
Some of the more violent and irritable ones pointed at Mr. Zhao Ge's nose and cursed, and in their excitement, they started to speak obscene words. Among them, King Jiang Xia reacted the most violently and cursed him so much that he foamed at the mouth.
