In the Golden Throne Hall, the ministers seethed with indignation, denouncing Liu Shan one after another.
The officials of the Left Prime Minister's faction remained silent. Aside from a scant few, none dared voice a rebuttal.
"If Prime Minister Liu insists on this, then I shall lead an army to escort Void Sage Fang north," Chen Zhixu said.
The officials quieted down. Chen Zhixu was Jing Kingdom's grand marshal. Over the years, unless the kingdom faced destruction, he had rarely led troops outside the capital, at most traveling lightly with a mounted escort to visit or inspect the armies.
Once the grand marshal left the capital, regulations required at least a hundred thousand troops to accompany him, all elites of the Capital Army.
The Capital Army was now Jing Kingdom's last pillar of support.
If Jing Kingdom faced danger, the grand marshal could bypass the Grand Secretariat and lead troops out of the capital with an imperial decree alone.
After all, the grand marshal ranked on a par with the four prime ministers.
Gu Mingzhou said angrily, "Grand Marshal Chen, how can you say such a thing? If you leave, the capital will be defenseless. Should the barbarians launch a surprise attack on it, you will be a criminal against Jing Kingdom!"
"If Void Sage Fang goes to the front and is besieged by the barbarians, I will likewise be a criminal against Jing Kingdom!" Chen Zhixu said.
Liu Shan sighed. "Since Grand Marshal Chen feels this way, I shall take a step back. The capital has formed quite a few new armies recently. I suggest we let the Jade River Army and the Azure River Army accompany Void Sage Fang north. A hundred thousand troops should be sufficient."
The officials were delighted at first, but then began to consider