"Are you all right?"
After waiting a while, Chen Sanshi stepped forward and helped Fatty Wang to his feet.
"You heard it all?"
Wang Zhi's gaze was vacant. "That's right. I got Junior Brother and all those soldiers killed..."
"Then why didn't you lose your head?"
Chen Sanshi asked.
If a commander made a grave blunder that led to an entire Elite Camp being wiped out, the Main General would unquestionably be guilty of a capital crime.
"..."
Wang Zhi was silent for a long time before he finally said in a hoarse voice, "I had no choice back then. No choice. Do you understand?"
He dropped to his knees again and slumped onto the ground.
"Year 57 of Longqing.
"Under the instigation of Yan Liang and the Grand Chancellor's faction, the court summoned Lord Governor back to the capital on fabricated charges and threw him into the Imperial Prison.
"That same year.
"The Southern Xu Kingdom launched a massive invasion.
"The Eight Great Camps were dispatched to hold the line and counterattack.
"My original name was Tang Ruoshan. At the time, I was the Main General of Xuanwu Camp.
"But in that battle, it wasn't my command that went wrong.
"By then, the Southern Xu Kingdom had already occupied many strategic strongholds, including Lingchuan Prefecture.
"If we did not swiftly seize Lingchuan Prefecture, then once the Southern Xu Kingdom gained a firm foothold, the south would be beyond saving.
"But Lingchuan Prefecture occupied perilous terrain. It was easy to defend and hard to attack.
"The best way to take it was to first tear open a breach by capturing Kangning Prefecture to the east.
"But how could such a breach be torn open so easily?
"The best course was to wait for the rest of the court's troops to