Just as the entire Qingyang Prefecture was immersed in the joy of victory, the imperial capital, which was thousands of miles away, was surrounded by an atmosphere of fear, anger and worry. After the Zhenguo Company Tu Mingzhi was defeated and fled back to the main business on October 8, it immediately triggered the collapse of the entire imperial army. Koldo and Geya led the main cavalry of Luobei to chase them all the way, and chased the imperial army without a way to heaven and no way to enter the ground, and fled in panic. After the imperial infantry was defeated, Koldo and Geya only sent one

The branch dispersed them to prevent them from gathering to pose a threat to their own troops again. The main force pursued the imperial cavalry led by Situ Mingzhi with all their might. Situ Mingzhi had become a frightened bird and fled overnight and entered the territory of Bonan Prefecture. Koldo and Geya led their troops to follow him. Situ Mingzhi, who had not yet gained a foothold, had to lead the troops to escape again. He chased and fled, and kept fleeing into Longdong Prefecture, Guanxi County. The enemy did not continue to pursue. It was October 10th.

The exhausted Situ Mingzhi only rested in Longdong Prefecture for one night. On October 11, he left behind tens of thousands of troops. He hurriedly returned to the imperial capital with only more than ten followers. He knew that the news of his miserable defeat would soon be transmitted back to the imperial capital. If he did not return to the imperial capital before His Majesty learned the news, he would find several powerful people who could plead for him to do work for him. It is unknown whether his head could be kept in the rage of the emperor. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but regret why he went back to this muddy water. He even resented He Zhiqiu, hating why he didn't insist on not letting him serve as the commander of this battle at that time.

Along the way, he was anxious and worked overtime every day. It took only five days to rush back to the imperial capital from Longdong Prefecture. The imperial intelligence agency stationed in Longdong was not fully grasped until October 13 because of Situ Mingzhi's blockade. Through the express post, it was spread to the imperial capital on October 15, which was when Situ Mingzhi returned to the imperial capital.

As soon as he returned to the imperial capital, Situ Mingzhi didn't even breathe, so he went to the imperial finance minister Tian Yi's mansion. Seeing this situation, Tian Yi quickly invited several ministers who were good at Situ Mingzhi to discuss, and asked Situ Mingzhi to go to the palace to plead with the queen immediately, and then apologize for guilt. Just when Situ Mingzhi entered the palace to meet the queen, Situ Mingyue, the Emperor of the Tanghe Empire, received the report of the entire imperial expedition army reported by the military headquarters that the entire imperial expedition army was wiped out, and immediately ordered an emergency court discussion. It was already the afternoon of October 15th.

"According to the information currently in place, the Imperial Western Expedition Army attacked the enemy's main camp on October 8, and the entire army was defeated. The three prefectures of Qingyang, Bonan and Guide in the northwest counties all found large-scale enemy troops, suspected that they had been controlled by Luo Bei people. In the area bordering the Longdong Prefecture of Guanxi County, an unknown number of enemy troops were also found, and there was a possibility of continuing to advance eastward. The remaining 30,000 cavalry in the empire is now arranged in Longdong Prefecture, but there is a lack of weapons, equipment, food, and grass, and the morale is not good." The head of the military intelligence department said the less the report.

"Very good, very good. The more than 200,000 troops of the Tanghe Empire's Western Expedition were left in just a few days. Is this called fighting or suicide? It's so unprecedented!" Situ Mingyue's face turned from red to white, from white to blue, and her chest was dripping rapidly. People stood up and walked around in front of the imperial case. Seeing His Majesty the Emperor was so angry, the ministers in the palace lowered their heads and were silent. "What about Situ Mingzhi?" Situ Mingyue tried his best to control his emotions and asked, "The Duke Zhenguo is already on the way back to the imperial capital, and may arrive soon." The head of the intelligence department replied in a low voice. "So, he will still have his life?" Situ Mingyue asked viciously, and the palace was filled with death-

"I'll tell your Majesty, the Duke of Zhenguo is asking for a visit outside the hall." The guards outside the hall reported, "It's just right, I'll go to the hall!" The anger that had already calmed up was ignited in his heart. Situ Mingzhi exposed his upper body, with a few thorns tied on his back, and knelt down and climbed into the hall. "My brother is responsible for the heavy entrusting of the emperor's brother. He deserves to die. Please punish him." Situ Mingzhi shivered under Situ Mingyue's anger that was full of enough to melt steel. He also stuttered in his speech, and he buried his head on the ground and dared not lift it up at all.

With a long sigh, Situ Mingyue carried her hands on her back, and her tone became much calmer, "What are you guilty? Do you still remember what I said to you when I appointed you as the commander of the Western Expedition Force? Do you still remember the repeated instructions from Lord He, the military headquarters here?"—

"I remember."—

"The great rivers and mountains in the northwest are destroyed by once, and the Central Plains are shaken. People are in danger. If the evils are committed in heaven, they can still be forgiven. If they commit sins, they will not live. If this is the case, don't blame the emperor's subordinates for being ruthless. The person who came, immediately pushed Situ Mingzhi out of the city gate and beheaded the public, and hung his head at the city gate to thank the people!"—

A cold voice sounded like a thunderclap in Situ Mingzhi's ears, "Brother, please spare me, please spare me!" Situ Mingzhi never expected that the emperor's brother had not asked the opinions of the ministers in the palace, and directly announced his death penalty. He was so scared that he was pounding garlic and begging for mercy.

The ministers in the palace were also shocked and had no time to make any reaction. This was the close brother of His Majesty, who had always been in love with His Majesty, who was actually ordered to beheaded by His Majesty himself. "No one should plead for him, otherwise, I will not blame me for turning against him." A cold voice sounded again, breaking Situ Mingzhi's last glimmer of hope. Several guards, like wolves and tigers, pounced on them, dragged Situ Mingzhi out of the hall. The ministers in the palace had already wanted to plead for Situ Mingzhi but had not yet spoken, but were scared by Situ Mingyue's next two words, leaving only Situ Mingzhi's miserable screams echoing in the hall-

He Zhiqiu could no longer hold it back. He knew that His Majesty was really angry this time. His Majesty the Emperor had always had a bad temper. When he was young, he ordered the guards to kill two ministers who dared to go against his wishes in the hall. In this case, the other ministers were shocked. If he did not come forward to dissuade him, he would probably have the heads to the ground.

"Slowly! Your Majesty, please listen to me. The failure of this Western Expedition was caused by many reasons, and I also have an unshirkable responsibility." He Zhiqiu went out of the line and knelt down—

"He Aiqing does not have to defend Situ Mingzhi, nor does he have to take responsibility on himself. I have a decision." Situ Mingyue was unmoved at all--

"Your Majesty, I am indeed responsible for the failure of this battle. At that time, I thought that the Duke of Zhenguo was not the best candidate for the commander of this battle. However, after His Majesty decided, I also had a lucky mentality, thinking that there might not be any major problems and did not stick to my own opinions. This is where my duty was dereliction of duty."—

The ministers in the palace also knelt down and pleaded for Situ Mingzhi. Situ Mingyue sighed, "I also bear the responsibility of using people in this battle. If you want to say the responsibility, who is more serious than me? Well, even if the death penalty is exempted, the crime of living cannot be escaped. All official positions and titles of Situ Mingzhi will be exempted from the heavenly prison and will be tried by the Three Ministry of Justice."—

After dealing with Situ Mingzhi, Situ Mingyue was still angry. "Everyone here, remember that when I appointed Situ Mingzhi as the commander of the Western Expedition Army, everyone except Lord Lu did not arrive due to illness, the rest were present. It seems that except for He Aiqing who had persuaded me, you all agreed and supported me. Now, I think about it, I should bear the responsibility of being unvirtuous, but what kind of responsibility should you bear? Eat your salary and get your salary, and I am afraid you should share your worries. I hope you all should reflect on yourself!"—

The ministers heard His Majesty's tone and knelt down to apologize, "The situation is so bad, what good plans does He Aiqing have?" Situ Mingyue ignored him, "Reply to Your Majesty, you need to understand the situation in the northwest region as soon as possible and make arrangements. However, according to my inference, Luo Beiren does not have the strength to enter the Central Plains at present, and at most he harassed Longdong Prefecture for a while, so please be content with your Majesty. The situation in other places is worth noting." He Zhiqiu answered cautiously-

"Oh? Tell me what you think." Situ Mingyue asked quickly-

"In my opinion, the purpose of Luo Beiren's advance eastward is mainly to overcome difficulties and grab food and grass for his territory, and he has not prepared to advance eastwardly to the Central Plains. Otherwise, they can take advantage of the situation and advance without stopping at the border of Longdong Prefecture. Our army has not made any preparations at all. At present, we need to hurry up and understand the activities of Luo Beiren in the northwest so that we can take corresponding measures next. However, our troops in Guanxi and Heshuo counties have become very weak to prevent the threat from the southwest, and the Duchy of Telok in the north are in the territory of the Duchy of Telok in the north.

The war was in full swing, and the Grand Duke of the Trilock Kingdom, Alan, had sent envoys to us twice for help, but our Northern Military Region troops seemed a little overwhelmed in dealing with the attack of the Puer Kingdom army, and could not withdraw troops to reinforce, let alone deal with Luo Beiren. Maqihan in the south seemed relatively calm, but his army's strength had far exceeded the strength of our Southern Military Region. Although they had no abnormal movement, they must not be taken lightly. The only thing they could mobilize was the Seventh Army of the Eastern Military Region." He Zhiqiu analyzed carefully -

"But Lord He, there is only one legion in the East China Sea and Jiangnan counties. The Japanese are very rampant now, so the Seventh Legion may not be mobilized at will." A handsome young man asked, asking, this man was Situ Mingyue's seventh son Situ Yuan. He has a close relationship with the local powerful factions in the East China Sea and Jiangnan counties. His mother was a great nobleman from the Kingdom of Milan, so he also had a special relationship with the powerful nobles in the Kingdom of Milan.

He Zhiqiu couldn't help but frown secretly. His unintentional words actually touched the interests of the Seventh Prince. "The Seventh Prince is too worried. It is now late autumn. The Japanese generally won't take major actions during this period, let alone I have no idea to draw troops from the east. After all, the distance is too far, and the distance cannot quench near thirst."—

"What should we do now in your opinion?" Situ Mingyue felt ache when she heard this. Now there are wars everywhere. In addition to the northwest region, the north is also full of war. The Principality of the Trilock is a natural barrier to block the Kaman Empire, the number one enemy in the north. It must not be idled by, but now it is short of troops and is in short supply.

"According to my opinion, the main focus is to collect intelligence. At the same time, the other two divisions of the City Guard Army, except the First Division, can be ordered to prepare for combat and enter Heshuo County and the Principality of the Jeroke, just in case." He Zhiqiu pondered for a while before answering-

"Then you have any suggestions? Let me tell me what you have." Situ Mingyue glanced at the ministers kneeling on His Highness-

"I have a report." Interior Minister Lu Wenfu stood up and took the lead-

"Lu Aiqing, please speak." Situ Mingyue was still very polite to Lu Wenfu. After all, Lu Wenfu has nothing to do with the election of the commander, and it is quite unfavorable among the ministers-

"At present, there are many discussions about the failure of the empire's western expedition, and many places even rumors are everywhere, especially the imperial capital and Heshuo County, which has caused panic. I would like to ask Your Majesty to agree to issue an announcement that people are strictly prohibited from talking privately. If anyone spreads rumors and confuses the public, he will be treated as a spy from the enemy country." Lu Wenfu still looked like he was pressed down on Mount Tai and did not change his color.

"Oh, can't I be so robbed? After all, the paper cannot contain the fire. If the people want to discuss, let them discuss it. However, those who intend to spread rumors and cause trouble must be severely punished and cannot tolerate evil spirits." Situ Mingyue sighed and ordered-

"I obey the order."—

The news of the defeat of the empire's conquest was immediately spread throughout the imperial capital. From princes and ministers to peddlers and pawns, all of them were discussed, and the more they spread, they became more and more magical. Some said that the Luobei people captured all the more than 200,000 troops of the empire's conquest and buried all the prisoners alive; some said that the Luobei army had occupied the entire territory of the six prefectures of the northwest county and captured all the imperial court officials; some said that the Luobei people had united in the three northern countries of the empire and were about to invade soon; some even said that the Emperor had left the imperial capital and went to Jiangnan for inspection, because they were afraid that the Luobei people would really attack the capital and be surrounded inside. These rumors were all said, as if these people had seen it with their own eyes and heard it with their own ears-
Chapter completed!