Chapter 82

Another day passed, and the Son of Heaven in Luoyang received an urgent report from Nanyang. He learned that Wancheng in Nanyang had fallen and the Administrator Chu Gong had been killed.

"Scoundrel!!"

The Son of Heaven, Liu Hong, flew into a rage: "That good-for-nothing Chu Gong! Nanyang is the greatest commandery under heaven, a place of such vital importance. I trusted him and entrusted it to him, yet he managed to lose it for me in just a few days?"

"If he weren't already dead, I would have loved to execute him myself."

Liu Hong threw quite a tantrum before finally calming down a little.

Then, he saw the battle report from Dengxian, and his expression softened. He spoke up: "The Magistrate of Dengxian and his son are quite capable, actually. They managed to hold Dengxian relying only on the county soldiers and merchant guards of a single county."

"Not only did they clear out the ten thousand-plus Huang Jin bandits within Dengxian, but they also annihilated the 20,000 Huang Jin bandits sent by Zhang Mancheng. Very good!"

At this point, the Son of Heaven, Liu Hong, looked around at the gathered officials below and said: "I have always believed in punishing faults and rewarding merits."

"Since Chu Gong is dead and the situation is critical, I intend to promote Su Lie to Administrator of Nanyang, responsible for clearing out the Nanyang Huang Jin bandits and recovering the lost territory. What do you ministers think?"

The officials looked at one another.

Some even whispered and discussed it among themselves.

"Your Majesty! That must not be done!"

The next moment, Yuan Feng was the first to step out and voice his opposition: "As Your Majesty said, Nanyang is the greatest commandery under heaven and cannot be lost."

"It must be retaken as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if the Huang Jin bandits occupy it for long, with the money and grain there, their military strength will likely multiply exponentially."

"Furthermore, there is a vital road north of Nanyang leading directly to the capital, Luoyang. Its location is too critical; it cannot be lost."