Xue Daohong raged, "Don't talk to me about elite soldiers! Thirty thousand men and fifty warships, yet they couldn't beat a mere three thousand soldiers! Have all my military funds and provisions gone to feeding pigs? Useless! Every last one of them! This Tang Boxi calls himself a renowned general of Great Yong? What utter rubbish! Who told him to attack Eastern Liang Commandery? Did I issue that decree? If he hadn't chased grand achievements and recklessly rushed ahead for glory, how could he have made such a mistake? How could he have suffered such a crushing defeat?"
Huang Beishan dared not speak and attended cautiously at his side.
After venting his fury, Xue Daohong shook his head. "Two hundred jin of grain for each soldier. Hu Xiaotian must have gone mad from poverty. Give it to him. I'd like to see whether he lives long enough to eat it."
"Give it to him?" Huang Beishan asked.
Xue Daohong said, "Aren't there fifty thousand troops stationed in Shaoyuan? Why has Qin Yangming done nothing?"
Huang Beishan replied quietly, "I have already looked into this matter. It was because Tang Boxi never asked Qin Yangming to launch a joint pincer attack."
"He was afraid Qin Yangming would steal his credit! Bastard! An absolute bastard! If they were just a little less selfish, how could things have come to this?" Furious, Xue Daohong began pounding the table again.
Huang Beishan said, "Your Majesty, Hu Xiaotian is really nothing to worry about. Eastern Liang Commandery is surrounded by our forces. Taking it back will not require much effort."
Xue Daohong said, "Every one of you makes promises bigger than the heavens, but when it comes to doing anything, flaws spring up everywhere. You know perfectly well that those old ministers are all waiting