Bang!
Li Anlan slammed the memorial in his hand onto the imperial desk, rose abruptly from his throne, and roared, "Seventy thousand men are no match for that brat Lin Yi's thirty thousand new recruits! What kind of battle is this?!"
This Li Sansi is utterly useless; he's even considering replacing him!
If the situation continues to deteriorate, the central region will be in danger, so Ningchuan Commandery must hold on.
Once they cross Ningchuan Commandery and the Great Ning River, their rear will be directly threatened.
Qin Li sighed, stepped forward, and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, changing generals on the spot is a major taboo. Besides, the Prince of Beining Commandery hasn't made any major mistakes. I believe that sending an elite force to provide support is sufficient!"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Although the Prince of Beining Commandery was struggling, he hadn't really made any major mistakes. Changing generals at the last minute would destabilize the army and probably cause even bigger problems.
"Actually, the best option is for Lin Yi to send troops to attack Tuoba Yu's rear. That's the best choice," Tan Cheng a deep voice, glancing at Wei Tong.
Wei Tong rolled his eyes. If Lin Yi wanted to, why would I need to come back and report?
Li Anlan also looked at Wei Tong and said in a deep voice, " Wei Tong, what did Lin Yi say?"
" Great General Divine Might said that Xiliang Commandery has suffered heavy losses and can only close the city gates to protect itself. If Tuoba Yu is angered, his troops will suffer heavy losses and he will be doomed without any support," Wei Tong said, forcing himself to speak.
"A sure thing, they're going to die!"
Li Anlan's eye twitched. This Little Wang was clearly trying to sow discord between me and the emperor.
What do you mean by "certainly doomed"? It's clearly implying that the Prince of Beining Commandery didn't support him, and that it was his own doing. This guy really has a sharp tongue. But he's also unreliable. It'll be good enough if he doesn't give Li Sansi a beating later.
That kid is hopeless!
He looked at Qin Li and said in a deep voice, "Grand Commandant, how many troops can the local authorities send to support us recently? Although Ningchuan Commandery still has the natural barrier of the Great Ning River, it will be difficult to take it back once it's been taken."
"Your Majesty, most of our troops have been deployed to Mountain and River Pass, and some are still at Liangshan Pass. We can only muster a few troops at the moment. Unless we mobilize the Imperial Guards, we probably only have a little over ten thousand soldiers," Qin Li said with a wry smile.
Li Anlan glanced at him. The troops at Liangshan Pass were there to defend against Lin Rusong, the Prince of Northern Liang.
The saying goes, "It's not the one in ten thousand that's worrisome, but the one in ten thousand." If this guy were to attack, the consequences would be unimaginable. Therefore, this force cannot be mobilized.
With troops from surrounding counties and prefectures redeployed to Mountain and River Pass, there were indeed no troops available to provide support.
He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "In that case, send 10,000 Imperial Guards to provide support, which, together with the remaining 50,000-plus Prince of Beining Commandery, should be sufficient!"
Ten thousand troops is already the limit. Although he has 500,000 imperial guards, 200,000 were sent from Mountain and River Pass and 100,000 from the southern chieftains. If more are drawn from the army, the dynasty will be left vulnerable.
The Imperial Guards were there to suppress the surrounding areas; if the central government were to become weak, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Qin Li was also aware of this problem, and nodded, saying in a deep voice, "Your Majesty is wise. I believe the Prince of Beining Commandery can defeat Tuoba Yu, and with the addition of these ten thousand imperial guards, victory is assured!"
snort!
Li Anlan glanced at him. He wasn't afraid of anything else now, but he was worried that Li Sansi wouldn't be able to hold on, which would be troublesome.
As long as the overall market doesn't fall, there's still hope.
He then looked at Wei Tong and asked, " Wei Tong, is there anything else?"
"Forehead!"
Wei Tong's face stiffened. Some things couldn't be hidden any longer; the Emperor probably already knew. He gritted his teeth and told him about the situation in Xiliang Commandery. So be it!
"What? Wafting Fragrance Pavilion has been exposed?"
Li Anlan slammed his hand on the table, grabbed a memorial, and threw it at Wei Tong, angrily shouting, " Wei Tong, can you explain this matter of the Wafting Fragrance Pavilion?! Do you know what Wafting Fragrance Pavilion represents? This is a capital offense!"
This was a secret plan he had been developing for nearly ten years, and Wei Tong had ruined it all! That guy deserves to die!
"Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Wei Tong was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground and forced himself to explain. He had no choice but to take the blame. He recounted the cement incident, explaining that he was doing it for the greater good.
A city wall four zhang high?
Everyone's pupils contracted; this was far too high. This was a small county town, and Lin Yi's creation of such a thing was quite intriguing.
Li Anlan's expression also turned unpleasant.
With such high city walls, it won't be easy to attack Xiliang Commandery in the future. This is probably not only to guard against Tuoba Yu, but also to guard against the emperor himself.
Good lad, this guy's really cautious!
Seeing the emperor's change in expression, Wei Tong swallowed hard and forced a smile, saying, "Your Majesty, it seems we have absolutely underestimated this Heir of Northern Liang. The changes in Xiliang Commandery are truly earth-shattering!"
If Xiliang Commandery used to be all thatched huts, now it's all brick and tile houses. The difference is just too great. At first, he even thought he had gone to the wrong place.
"You underestimated Lin Yi!"
Li Anlan glanced at him, her eyes devoid of joy or sorrow, revealing no emotion whatsoever. She simply asked, "This cement is so powerful, tell me, what exactly is it?"
"Based on my personal verification, this thing can transform the entire city wall into an impenetrable whole. Even my full-force attack could only leave a white mark."
"That amazing?"
"I dare not conceal this from His Majesty!"
Wei Tong pulled a piece of cement concrete from his pocket and handed it to Li Anlan. This was a piece of concrete that he had gone through great lengths to obtain.
However, its hardness was extremely formidable, so he took it back.
Snap!
After taking it, Li Anlan grabbed the inkstone next to him without hesitation and smashed it.
Click!
The concrete fragments are fine, but the inkstone is cracked!
"So hard!"
A commotion immediately erupted below. Even Qin Li, who had been watching earlier, couldn't help but be amazed. If this thing were used to forge the Mountain and River Pass, then probably nothing in the All Under Heaven could break it.
Let alone 200,000 troops, even 300,000 troops couldn't shake Great Ning.
"This..."
Seeing the undamaged fragments, a glint of light flashed in Li Anlan's eyes. This thing was really hard; if it were used to build a city wall, it would probably be impossible to break through.
"Your Majesty, these things are extremely important! If we use them to build border defenses, we won't need a large army to defend them; the enemy won't be able to breach these walls!"
"That makes sense. If we build a dam five or six zhang high, who could climb up there!"
"This is a valuable item; we absolutely must get our hands on it."
Li Anlan glanced at Wei Tong and said in a deep voice, " Wei Tong, since you have made a serious mistake this time, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself. Go and get me some cement!"
Holy crap!
Wei Tong, who had just escaped from Xiliang Commandery, froze instantly. Damn it, I just escaped back, and now they want me to go again!
He forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty, it is said that this was bought by the Heir of Northern Liang in the Western Regions. I'm afraid Lin Yi won't give it to us so easily."
"Then pay up and buy it!"
Li Anlan glanced at him and said coldly.