Chapter 804

How is that possible?

Everyone felt it was somewhat unbelievable; the Great Tang mission was wiped out just like that, for no apparent reason?

"Weren't there two thousand elephant troops? How could they be defeated by the Qin army so easily?"

Li Er was still somewhat unwilling to accept it.

Pei Ji used his own wisdom to exchange for two thousand war elephants with only two thousand green radishes.

If these war elephants could have returned to the Great Tang smoothly...

This mission by Pei Ji would definitely have been a successful mission that would be praised for a thousand years!

It would have helped the Great Tang gain a huge advantage.

How could they not have returned?

"The Qin army appeared too suddenly, and there was a fierce general who immediately intimidated those elephant drivers from the Harsha Empire."

"They didn't resist at all and surrendered completely!"

These words left the civil and military officials in the court silent.

This was the first battle regarding elephant troops they had heard of.

No resistance...

Heaven knows what those soldiers of the Harsha Empire were thinking?

Li Er sat powerlessly on the dragon throne.

He had just realized that Great Qin had won the first battle and captured two thousand elephant troops. How did such a magical battle record come about? It turns out that those captured were all the elephant troops the Great Tang had just bought back.

They didn't even have any combat effectiveness yet!

What loyalty could these elephant troops sold by the Harsha Empire have?

Although they were only exchanged for two thousand green radishes, it still made his heart ache!

"Your Majesty, Lord Pei and his son in the mission were all captured. Please, Your Majesty, find a way to save their lives!"

A wail shattered everyone's fantasies.

The civil and military officials in the court could not help but begin to worry about the future fate of the Harsha Empire's army.

Li Er felt a bit dizzy.

He had originally held great fantasies about Pei Ji.

Now it's fine; the entire mission was captured, and now he doesn't even know what agreements were discussed with the Harsha Empire?

"My lords, who will go to negotiate with Great Qin? To discuss the reparations and the redemption of Pei Ji and his son?"

No one answered!

It is easy to clamor in the court, but let's see who dares to truly face Great Qin?

When negotiating, one doesn't need to think to know that it will definitely be groveling. Which official of sufficient rank is willing to lose their face like that? The silence in the hall made Li Er's anger flare up.

Why does he have such a group of ministers?

When causing trouble, everyone has their reasons. When solving problems, no one dares to step up.

"This trouble was caused by your four major noble families. The one million taels of silver in reparations will be shared by your four major noble families!"

Li Er was truly furious.

If he continues to indulge the noble families, the Great Tang might really perish.

At a time like this, why care about the face of the noble families?

He directly threw the matter of reparations onto the four major noble families.

"Your Majesty, the country is in trouble, and we noble families should also contribute. But we cannot let our four families bear it all!"

"Your Majesty, if you force the noble families like this, I fear it will chill the hearts of the hundred officials!"

Li Er slammed the dragon desk and stood up abruptly.

He pointed at the few people who were speaking.

"I haven't even settled the accounts of the last imperial examination with you yet! Why were the candidates on the list all people from your major noble families?"

"Do you want me to announce on the spot that the results of the last imperial examination are void?"

Seeing that the Emperor was truly furious.

Although the noble families often dared to contradict the Emperor.

But when the Emperor was truly anxious, they had to back down. After all, the Emperor is the supreme ruler and holds the highest power.

Forcible confrontation is equivalent to rebellion.

Zhangsun Wuji also did not want to see the Emperor and the noble families evolve into an open confrontation at this time.

He hurriedly came out to smooth things over.

"Now the Great Qin army is on the other side of the river; we should think carefully about how to respond. Otherwise, there is a real danger of the country perishing!" If the Great Tang perishes, it will be good for no one.

It is a well-known fact that noble family forces are not welcomed in Great Qin.

Not to mention the imperial clan, they will inevitably be suppressed in a bloody manner!

Li Er saw that the people from the noble families were all keeping their mouths shut.

He was so angry that he waved his hand and got up to leave.

"You all go down and think about it carefully. If you don't pay, we will all perish together!"

He left the civil and military officials in the hall looking at each other.

With things having reached this point, everyone felt a sense of sorrow in their hearts.

How did the prosperous Great Tang reach this point today?

The four major noble families pulled Zhangsun Wuji along and left the Imperial Palace together.

They indeed needed to discuss carefully what to do about this matter now.

At this point, they couldn't care about avoiding suspicion. Several people went to the Zhangsun Prefecture together.

"Lord Zhangsun, what do you think we should do about this?"

... Begging for flowers... 0

"When doing things, we were all together; now we can't let only our four families bear the consequences, right?"