Chapter 448: The Golden Throne Hall

Yange City, the capital of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty; in the Golden Throne Hall, the ministers were distraught and in a panic.

On the northern grasslands, a generation's mighty lord, the "Great Khan Yewang," had unified the Barbarian Race tribes and had already led a massive Barbarian army to breach Shanhai Pass, burning, killing, and looting all the way, capturing cities and seizing strongholds as they headed straight for the capital.

The imperial army had been defeated time and again, beaten until they were in total disarray.

The allied forces of the southern Jiuli Tribe had also occupied tens of thousands of miles of territory in Liangguang; after obtaining a large amount of weapons and equipment, these tribal warriors were like tigers with wings. According to reliable intelligence, the Jiuli Tribe was already preparing to establish their own Jiuli Kingdom in Liangguang.

The Western Yi Tribe had already occupied the entire Western Regions, and the Central Plains were also suffering from famine and roving refugees; the rule of the entire Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty was teetering on the brink of collapse, which left the Emperor, in the prime of his life, feeling exhausted and worn out.

Ever since the Emperor ascended the throne at the age of eighteen, he had inherited this very mess; even though he worked from dawn till dusk and was diligent in state affairs, the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty still went from bad to worse, declining with each passing day.

Sometimes, the Emperor even wondered if the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty's fate had run its course; otherwise, how could there be three years of drought and invasions by powerful enemies from all four directions all at once?

If it were only a domestic drought, the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty could open the granaries to distribute food and pacify the people; even if the national treasury truly lacked grain and starving people rebelled, the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty would still have the strength to suppress them.

If there were peace within the country, even if powerful enemies from all four directions invaded simultaneously, the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty would still have a way to resist.

At the very least, it would not be as stretched thin as it was now, having to quell domestic rebellions while simultaneously dispatching troops everywhere to fend off foreign enemies.

"I am not a monarch of a fallen state, absolutely not." The Emperor muttered in his heart; if he were to become a monarch of a fallen state, he would have no face to meet his ancestors even in death.

Seeing the ministers whispering to each other in the hall without a single practical strategy, the Emperor could not help but fly into a rage; he slammed his hand on the dragon desk and said, "My esteemed ministers, if you have any good strategies to repel the enemy and pacify the people, please speak plainly; there is no need to discuss it in whispers below."

Hearing the Emperor's inquiry, the ministers who had just been whispering fell silent, as if they were clay statues; because solving the predicament of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty was too difficult, and they had no perfect strategy, speaking up to offer advice at this moment would easily bring disaster upon themselves. Silence is gold—that was the essential survival skill of these bureaucrats.

"Useless," the Emperor shouted in anger; this group of ministers were all useless, playing deaf and dumb at critical moments—having these ministers was not as good as raising a pack of dogs.

At the very least, dogs would know how to loyally protect their master when an outside enemy arrived.

"Yang Anqi, you are the Minister of War; military matters are under your charge. The grassland Barbarian Race of Great Khan Yewang is approaching the capital; what good strategy do you have to defeat the enemy?" The Emperor began calling names directly, forcing the ministers to offer strategies.

Yang Anqi was a white-haired old man of over sixty; since the Emperor had called his name, he could not remain silent, but given the current situation of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty, he was unable to repel the enemy either, so he could only say, "This old minister suggests immediately sending an envoy to negotiate with Great Khan Yewang; even if it means ceding territory and paying reparations, we must first stabilize him."

"Ceding territory and paying reparations again! When the Western Yi Tribe invaded, you said to cede territory and pay reparations; when the northern grassland Barbarian Race invaded, you again said to cede territory and pay reparations. Besides ceding territory and paying reparations, what else can you do? You are the Minister of War, not the Minister of Ceding Territory and Paying Reparations."

The Emperor was so angry he cursed aloud; he had truly had enough. Yang Anqi was too incompetent as Minister of War; he didn't know how to think of ways to strengthen the military and defeat the invading enemies from all four directions in a dignified manner, only thinking of humiliating the nation by ceding territory and paying reparations. What was the use of such a Minister of War?

Yang Anqi sighed, bowed respectfully in a grand ceremony, then took off his official hat and said, "This old minister is aged and useless; I beg the Emperor to grant me permission to retire."

"Granted!" The Emperor agreed on the spot; this was a very disrespectful way to handle it.

Because according to the rules of the officialdom, when a high-ranking official resigns, it is customary for them to request it three times and for the Emperor to refuse three times, before the Emperor reluctantly agrees, which allows the high-ranking official to save face.

The Emperor agreed directly, which showed that his anger had reached a point where he no longer wanted to hide his dissatisfaction with Yang Anqi.

"Feng Zichang, you are the Right Vice Minister of War. With Yang Anqi resigning, you shall act as the Minister of War. If you perform well, I will promote you to Minister of War. Do you have any good strategy to repel the enemy?" The Emperor called out again.

Feng Zichang's face was twisted in conflict, as if he had eaten a lump of dog shit; if it were normal times, being promoted to Minister of War would be like a pie falling from the sky—a great thing. But in the current situation, making him Minister of War was like pushing him into a fire pit.

Facing the Emperor's inquiry, Feng Zichang pondered for a moment, then said with some difficulty, "Your Majesty, you are of ten-thousand-gold status and cannot be in danger. This old minister suggests that Your Majesty temporarily avoid the sharp edge of the enemy and first relocate to the Southern Capital; once Great Khan Yewang retreats, we can return to the capital."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor was so angry his nose was crooked; the Minister of War suggested ceding territory and paying reparations, and the Right Vice Minister of War suggested relocating to the Southern Capital—was this not asking him, the Emperor, to flee with this group of ministers?

If the Emperor and the ministers all ran away, would the tens of thousands of miles of northern territory be abandoned? Would the hundreds of millions of northern people be abandoned? It was only through the arduous efforts of his ancestors that this magnificent landscape was secured; how could it be given away for nothing?

"Useless, you are also useless! My mind is made up: the Son of Heaven guards the national gate, and the monarch dies for the state. I will not flee, and you are not allowed to flee either! Anyone who dares to speak of ceding territory, paying reparations, or moving south will be executed without mercy!" The Emperor roared.

"This minister is useless; I beg the Emperor to grant me permission to retire." Feng Zichang also knelt on the ground and took off his official hat.

The Emperor was so angry his hands were trembling; this group of ministers were truly useless. At a critical moment, they all wanted to resign and leave; they truly deserved to be killed. The Emperor very much wanted to order the execution of all these useless people in the court, but he could not do that; otherwise, if all the ministers were killed, who would govern the country for him?

"Granted!" The Emperor granted Feng Zichang's resignation, then spoke again: "Left Vice Minister of War, do you have any good strategy?"

"This minister has no good strategy," the Left Vice Minister of War said; he was already prepared that if the Emperor were to blame him again, he would also request to retire.

"You..." Just as the Emperor was about to scold him, a eunuch walked over quickly and handed him an urgent memorial.

The Emperor's expression was grim; during this period, whenever there was such an urgent memorial, it meant another city had been lost or how many more soldiers had died. There was never any good news, and it gave him a headache just to see an urgent memorial.

He didn't want to look, but he had to; the Emperor frowned, opened the memorial, skipped the boilerplate language, and looked directly at the content.

"Eh! Luolong County has dispatched troops to attack the Spirit Stone Mine at Jiguan Mountain in the Ten Thousand Mountains?" the Emperor said in disbelief.