Before Sheng Jiangli entered the capital, the young emperor received two battle reports from the Jiaodong front line.
The first battle report stated that Li Muge led 100,000 southern troops to escort Song Yinghuai to the capital, leaving 200,000 southern troops and 30,000 Hu cavalry to defend Jizhou.
There were also 200,000 follow - up reinforcements of the southern troops who landed across the sea and camped outside Jizhou City, surrounding the Jiaodong front line tightly and blocking the way for the Yan army to attack cities southward. The Yan army had retreated to Yanjing for defense.
The young emperor heaved a long sigh of relief and perked up. He ordered the Eastern Depot to take the imperial edict to greet Li Muge and prepare to reward him.
However, not long after the people from the Eastern Depot left the capital, the second battle report arrived.
This battle report said that just ten days after Li Muge's army and the prisoner cart left, the Yan army secretly set out from Yanjing and launched a night attack on the 200,000 reinforcements outside Jizhou City.
The Yan army brought a large amount of gunpowder and firearms and advanced irresistibly. When the 200,000 reinforcements fled into the city in a hurry, more than half of them had been lost.
Inside Jizhou City, because Sheng Jiangli had been urgently recalled to the capital and Li Muge was eager to claim credit and personally escorted the prisoner cart, there was no leader in the city. The troops were like a mob. When they let the reinforcements into the city, the Yan army took advantage of the chaos to sneak in.
Suddenly, the sounds of battle shook the city. The temporary commander of Jizhou City saw the situation was bad and led his troops to surrender. As for the Hu cavalry, they took advantage of the chaos to leave the city and disappeared without a trace.
The young emperor sat on the dragon throne, stunned like a wooden chicken. The battle report in his hand fluttered to the ground and rustled in the wind.
More than 300,000 southern troops... had surrendered!
The young emperor felt a chill running through his body. His scalp went numb, his face turned ashen, every part of his body trembled, and his hands and feet became as cold as ice.
He didn't know where things had gone wrong.
Clearly, Song Yinghuai, the supreme commander of the Yan army, was about to be brought to the capital for trial, but the Yan army still seemed well - organized and led. They captured Jizhou in a lightning - fast manner and were now marching southward in full force to attack cities.
Didn't they care about Song Yinghuai's life and death anymore?
If Song Yinghuai died, did they plan to proclaim themselves kings and continue their rebellion?
The mere thought of this possibility made the young emperor break out in a cold sweat.
He didn't even hear Eunuch Cen reporting that Sheng Jiangli was waiting for the imperial edict outside the study.
"Your Majesty!" Eunuch Cen shouted loudly in his ear. "General Sheng is here!"
The young emperor woke up as if from a dream. He mechanically opened his mouth. "… Summon, summon…"
Sheng Jiangli strode in. To the young emperor's surprise, Lu Baiwei came in with him.
Seeing the young emperor's dejected expression, the man curled his lips slightly, and a hint of contempt flashed in his eyes.
If you don't have the ability, don't take on difficult tasks.
If you said he wasn't suspicious, he had urgently recalled him to the capital, just like the former dynasty recalling General Yue with twelve golden orders.
If you said he was suspicious, he was completely devoted to Li Muge and had absolute trust in him.
Everything Li Muge wrote in his memorial was fragrant.
Lu Baiwei also looked angry. Before the young emperor could recover, she spoke first. "Your Majesty is so imposing. After just one victory, you've already thrown your promise to me behind your back!"
"Jizhou only successfully defended for half a month, and you and Li Muge couldn't wait to counter - attack... Now you see, Xuan Yao pretended to surrender to deceive you and had General Sheng transferred away. The Yan army advanced irresistibly, and the entire Jiaodong front line has collapsed."
"Your Majesty! You've fallen into Xuan Yao's trap. Your kingdom is doomed!"
The young emperor suddenly woke up. He looked up at the furious Lu Baiwei, then suddenly stood up and staggered forward. He grabbed his mother's hand and cried.
"Mother! Your son didn't have such thoughts!"
"Your son thought what Li Muge said was true... That scoundrel, that scoundrel... He deceived me!"
In a hurry, the young emperor shifted all the blame to Li Muge. "It was all his nonsense in the memorial. He said General Sheng only defended and didn't attack, and that he had colluded with the Fourth Uncle to wear down the southern troops!"
"I, I didn't see it with my own eyes. As soon as I saw this news, I panicked and recalled General Sheng without thinking..."
The young emperor looked at Sheng Jiangli nervously and forced a smile. "General Sheng... Actually, I didn't recall you to punish you. I just wanted to know what was going on. I still rely on you to defend the kingdom of Daye!"
Sheng Jiangli's eyes sparkled. There was a half - smile on his face as he said,
"When the king wants the subject to die, the subject has to die. Your Majesty is just eager to know the military situation on the front line. I will surely obey."
Seeing that Sheng Jiangli didn't seem to be dissatisfied with him, the young emperor heaved a sigh of relief.
But the next second, Lu Baiwei's words hit him like a thunderbolt. "Your Majesty, unfortunately, because you replaced the commander during the battle, the front line has been defeated. Although this is not the time to assign blame, Your Majesty must think of a way to remedy the situation quickly."
"Otherwise, once the Yan army crosses Pengcheng, the capital will be in great danger!"
The young emperor jumped up in shock and said nervously, "… No, it's impossible for them to cross Pengcheng, right?"
"Why is it impossible?" Sheng Jiangli said mercilessly. "On my way back to the capital from Jiaodong, I was constantly chased by the Princess of Nan'an. She didn't stop until Pengcheng."
Sheng Jiangli even seemed to gloat a little. "Your Majesty, Pengcheng is the hometown of the Duke of Dingguo. Once the Xu family rebels... Pengcheng will be easily taken."
The young emperor felt a blackout in front of his eyes and slumped back onto the dragon throne. "Mother! General Sheng... Please save me..."
Sheng Jiangli asked, "May I ask if Second Master Xu is still in the capital?"
Now, the only ones who could control the Xu family were Xu Ziyi and Lan Jinxiang who were in the capital.
The young emperor's vision became even darker. "He, he... He asked for leave from me ten days ago and took Miss Lan back to Pengcheng to visit his relatives..."
Now that he thought about it, it was all a conspiracy!
It had been planned by Song Yinghuai long ago!
Pengcheng was probably going to fall.
Lu Baiwei also looked pale and worried. "Now, we can only hope that Li Muge can successfully escort Xuan Yao back to the capital..."
"If Xuan Yao enters the capital, Your Majesty, I order you not to be impolite. You must treat him well and persuade him to submit again!"
Unexpectedly, the young emperor cried loudly. "Mother! It may be too late!"
"Li Muge said in his memorial that before escorting the Fourth Uncle to the capital, he tortured him severely. General Sheng was ordered by him to pierce the Fourth Uncle's shoulder blades!"
"With such a deep - seated hatred, how could the Fourth Uncle not seek revenge?"
Boom!
Lu Baiwei felt as if a thunderbolt had struck her mind!
Her body swayed violently. Maid Mei beside her quickly supported her, and she barely managed not to fall.
"Sheng Jiangli... You pierced Xuan Yao's shoulder blades?" Lu Baiwei asked sharply.
Sheng Jiangli shrugged indifferently. "I didn't want to either, but Li Muge insisted that I do it. Your Ladyship knows that he is the supreme commander, and I'm just his assistant. When he said to do it, I had no choice but to obey."
Lu Baiwei felt a sense of despair welling up in her heart.
Before entering the imperial study, she had still fantasized that when Song Yinghuai was escorted to the capital, she would negotiate with him and persuade him to surrender.
Now... It had all been ruined by that bastard Li Muge!
"I'm going to kill that bastard Li Muge!" Lu Baiwei shouted angrily. "Your Majesty! Please issue an imperial edict immediately to dismiss Li Muge from his positions as the Minister of War and the supreme commander of the three armies. Order the deputy commander of the southern troops to arrest him and bring him to justice!"
The young emperor now regretted his actions deeply. He nodded repeatedly in agreement and then asked pleadingly,
"General Sheng... Now, what are our chances of victory?"
Sheng Jiangli said with a solemn face, "No chance at all."
You might as well just sit in the capital and wait for the Yan army to break through the city gates!
Lu Baiwei's fingertips trembled slightly. She forced a smile, and her eyes were sharp. "General Sheng, last time Qingqing secretly sent you the antidote once. You still need it five more times to be completely cured... If General Sheng can't fight this battle, then there will be no more antidote."
Sheng Jiangli smiled faintly and was not afraid at all.
"Your Ladyship is so calculating. Last time, I spent a great deal of effort to defend the city. I used Shu'er's marriage to lure the King of Yan into a trap and capture him... In fact, I've already completed Your Ladyship's task, and you should have given me all the antidote.
"Now it's that stupid Li Muge who has messed things up. What does it have to do with me? You should give me all the antidote now!"