Upon hearing this, tears streamed down Qin Zhong's face. He dropped to his knees and wept bitterly. "Duke of England, the great army fought Yesen's forces several times, and every battle ended in a crushing defeat. The soldiers suffered grievous casualties. Commander Guo did not dare let His Majesty know and ordered us to keep our mouths shut. But if we say nothing, how will His Majesty leave the reinforcements behind? What will become of Datong? Once Datong's defense line is breached, the Capital City will be in peril! The Ming Dynasty will be in peril!"
The Duke of England asked, "A crushing defeat? Did any Oirat forces break through the defense line?"
Qin Zhong raised his head. "Yes!"
The Duke of England's heart clenched. "Where are they?"
Qin Zhong said, "I don't know. Commander Guo may know, or perhaps... he does not."
The Duke of England shot to his feet in fury.
It was rare indeed to see someone wage war as disastrously as Guo Deng had.
The Duke of England took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and questioned Qin Zhong in detail about the several battles.
But Qin Zhong was only a battalion commander of West Third Post. Aside from the battles West Third Post had taken part in, he had only heard about the others and could not be completely certain.
The one thing he could be sure of was that, in the several engagements before the emperor arrived, they had suffered crushing defeats every time.
Guo Deng and Guo Jing had always wanted to win a battle, so they would not look too terrible after the emperor arrived. Unfortunately, they had not won even once.
With no reinforcements, they had no choice but to falsify things.
Qin Zhong did not know how Guo Deng had