Inside the palace, Li Anlan frowned deeply. The recent situation was too tense, and he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.
He was especially war-torn in the north, and kept a close eye on the situation. To this end, he specially dispatched the Blood Guard so that they could receive news as soon as possible.
" Wei Kuang, Lin Rusong has also started sending troops now, hasn't he?"
"Your Majesty, Lin Rusong has dispatched 300,000 troops to attack Liangshan Pass. However, with General Bai Tianwang's 300,000-strong army at his disposal, Northern Liang should be unable to invade for the time being!"
What about the Western Regions?
" Pang De from the Western Regions has headed straight for the three prefectures of the Northwestern Circuit, presumably to eliminate any future troubles."
Bang!
Upon hearing that Lin Yi was plotting to seize the entire Northwestern Circuit, Li Anlan slammed his fist on the table and roared, "What an enormous appetite Lin Yi has! He actually wants to swallow the entire Northwestern Circuit whole! Does he really think he's the Northern Emperor?!"
"Your Majesty, with the addition of the Prince of Northern Liang's 300,000 troops, Lin Yi is attacking from almost four directions. We must consolidate our forces, otherwise we will be defeated one by one!"
Qin Li took a deep breath and said with a bitter expression.
The territory of Great Ning is too vast, so its military forces are relatively dispersed. Faced with an attack by Lin Yi's large army, it has no power to fight back and will instead be defeated one by one.
These words immediately caused an uproar in the imperial court.
If they were to reduce their troop strength, it would be tantamount to voluntarily abandoning the Northwest and other regions, which would be a huge loss for Great Ning and completely unacceptable.
This is a place we fought so hard to win back; it's really hard to give up now.
Chancellor Zhang Zhiwei took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the Grand Commandant is right. Our forces are too scattered, which is actually detrimental to our defense. With Lin Yi's army of 100,000, no prefecture can withstand them!"
Although the border counties were defended, they were simply unable to withstand such a full-scale attack.
Click click click!
Li Anlan clenched his fists so tightly they cracked. He aspired to become the emperor who would unify the All Under Heaven, but now he was being forced to cede some territory. This was utterly humiliating.
"Your Majesty, patience brings peace, and retreat opens up new horizons. If we continue to be defeated one by one, Great Ning will be finished." An old minister couldn't help but step forward, kneeling on the ground and pleading.
In an instant, half of the court officials knelt down and began to plead.
Your Majesty, stop showing off!
The North is acting aggressively now; we really can't win!
Forehead!
Looking at the people kneeling on the ground, Li Anlan finally gave in.
He was well aware of the problem, but he was too ashamed to admit it. Now, however, he had no choice but to be shameless.
He looked at Zhang Zhiwei and said in a deep voice, "In that case, concentrate the troops from the northwestern prefectures at Liangshan Pass. We only need to defend Liangshan Pass! After I defeat Lin Yi, everything can be taken back!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that the Emperor listened to their advice.
If he remains stubborn and headstrong, he's probably beyond saving.
Li Anlan listened to the flattery of the crowd, but his face showed no joy. He said in a deep voice, "Where is Ma Chao? Is he still blocking our reinforcements?"
These days have been very difficult for him. Ma Chao's 100,000 Xiliang Iron Cavalry are like leeches; as soon as he mobilizes a large army to wipe them out, they immediately flee.
As soon as they relaxed their guard, this guy rode up on his warhorse, specifically to intercept the reinforcements coming from the south, which made things difficult for them.
If things continue like this, he'll never get any reinforcements.
"This..."
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
Those cavalrymen are elusive, appearing and disappearing without a trace. We can't catch up with these running guys.
The troops in the northeast are now too afraid to withdraw, as they must guard against the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and the White Horse Volunteers. That's why Ma Chao can do whatever he wants.
One of the generals, surnamed Zhou, couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward, angrily saying, "Your Majesty, Ma Chao is a monstrous villain. I beg Your Majesty to give me 200,000 troops, and I will go and fight him one-on-one!"
Damn it, yesterday Ma Chao swept through several of his estates overnight, looting all his stored grain. He won't be at peace until that damned bastard is dead!
Now that war has broken out, food prices have skyrocketed—that's all money!
"Get lost!"
Li Anlan's forehead veins twitched. "If I still had 300,000 troops, why would I let you fight one-on-one? That's utter nonsense."
Suppressing the urge to beat Zhou up, he chuckled dryly, "Your courage is commendable, but this matter needs further discussion."
Everyone couldn't help but want to laugh. Old Zhou was notoriously stingy, and this time he had taken the grain from several of their farms. It would be strange if he didn't fight back fiercely.
Just then, a spy suddenly appeared, breaking the silence.
"Report!"
"Your Majesty, the traitor Lin Yi has led an army of 300,000 to launch a fierce attack on Wuning Commandery, and the two sides are currently engaged in fierce fighting."
"Three hundred thousand troops?"
The court was in an uproar, and many ministers couldn't help but show their worry; this was definitely not the news they wanted to hear.
After annihilating Ning Kun with an army of 500,000, Lin Yi was still able to muster an army of 300,000 to attack Wuning Commandery, which was simply outrageous.
"This is simply unbelievable! Is Lin Yi truly the chosen one?" Tan Cheng murmured, looking utterly dejected.
This is already an army of 800,000. It is said that Lin Yi also has 200,000 troops in the Western Regions. This is a total of one million troops. It is really terrifying.
This is way better than the emperor!
At this point, everyone stopped worrying about Ma Chao. This guy was another ruthless one at the gate. If he could break through Wuning Commandery, then Ma Chao would have brothers.
"Your Majesty, this matter is of utmost importance. If Wuning Commandery falls, the capital will inevitably be the first to suffer, and I'm afraid it will be impossible to defend it," said Zhou Zifeng, the Commandant of the Guards, with a bitter expression.
Qin Li also stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to reinforce Wuning Commandery. Otherwise, once Wuning Commandery is breached, Lin Yi could attack the capital at any time!"
If Wuning Commandery falls, life in the capital will become even more difficult.
Li Anlan nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "What you say is absolutely right. I have decided to send an additional 200,000 troops into Wuning Commandery. As long as we defeat Lin Yi's 300,000 troops, the enemy's offensive will surely be slowed down!"
Right now, the enemy is just a force of nature. If we can eliminate that force, then Xiliang won't be so ferocious.
Next, all we need to do is slowly nibble away at Xiliang.
But this is the most painful thing; this is the last 200,000 troops.
He had previously tried to persuade the aristocratic families to help him, but the result was not ideal. Only a small number of aristocratic families were willing to help Great Ning, and that's how the 200,000 troops came about.
Now that he's being transferred out all at once, Ma Chao can continue to do whatever he wants!
No one objected to the Emperor's decision, since there was no other choice at the moment; if they didn't defend it, Great Ning would be in trouble in the future.
However, the officials each had their own agendas at this moment.
Now that Great Ning is teetering on the brink of collapse, it presents them with an opportunity to reshuffle the deck. If they don't make the right judgment soon, they'll likely suffer a terrible fate.