Chapter 972: The Great Rout

A rout.

A great rout.

The entire Li Dynasty was filled with wailing, and a sense of despair began to spread.

With this, not only was Chungcheong Province breached following the surprise attack by the Wa pirates, but the province, now devoid of troops, instantly fell into panic; here at Qinghe Town, it was yet another great rout.

Li Tun and Li Xuanya in Hancheng were also nearly in despair.

The civil and military officials were also anxious.

Li Hang, Min An, and the others, who had previously been locked in long-term infighting and friction, were all united and busy at work.

Mobilize troops and dispatch generals!

Mobilize troops and dispatch generals!

The Li Dynasty had reached a moment of life and death!

"Quick, quick, quick, how many troops and horses are left over there?"

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"What about the grain and fodder here, the provisions!"

"And the swords, the arrows, the arrows! You bunch of useless fools!"

When the nest is overturned, are there any intact eggs?

If the Li Dynasty were gone, what use would it be to fight over this power?

"Your Majesty!"

The entire Cabinet was in chaos; everyone was constantly issuing orders, and these orders were then sent out via various letters and post stations.

Nationwide mobilization.

The Li Dynasty of today was truly more united than people had ever seen before. These old ministers no longer attacked one another, nor did they engage in backstabbing or deceit.

Li Tun chuckled and waved his hand: "My dear ministers, I no longer concern myself with state affairs; you may continue your discussions."

He waved his hand, and the people from the imperial kitchen of the inner palace walked in one after another; it turned out he had come to bring warmth and late-night snacks to these ministers working overtime.

"Hahaha, thank you, Your Majesty! I really am hungry now!"

"Your Majesty."

Li Tun walked in slowly, looking at the people working through the night, a gratified smile appearing on his face. Yes. This kind of Li Dynasty was the Li Dynasty he wanted; this kind of court was the court he wanted. Minister Liu, oh Minister Liu, truly formidable. It was just that this unity had to appear under such tense circumstances, yet he was also fortunate that, at this moment, they had finally united.

As soon as he walked in, the group stood up one after another to salute.

Li Tun wanted to ask something, but hesitated.

"Your Majesty, the situation is actually not that pessimistic."

Li Hang knew what Li Tun was worried about and smiled faintly.

"I'll have some to eat too!"

The atmosphere at the scene began to become harmonious.

In the gaps of tension, they could finally rest for a moment.

"And what else?"

Li Tun continued to ask.

Li Hang continued: "Haha, and, unexpectedly, this time, those martial artists from Huajin Manor have actually organized a martial arts team. They call themselves the Martial Arts Commando Unit, and the combat power of these people is quite impressive! Your Majesty, this commando unit has at least ten thousand people, and they have already begun calling on all martial artists to resist the Wa pirates; the number of those responding is countless."

"Oh?"

Li Tun looked over, puzzled.

Li Hang chuckled: "Although one hundred thousand Wa pirates have already entered Chungcheong Province, the people of our Li Dynasty have this time actually organized behind-enemy-lines resistance forces, playing these evildoing Wa pirates for fools. If these Wa pirates want to rendezvous with the main Wa army, I fear it will take some time. And—"

Good, good, good!

Li Tun was instantly moved to tears.

The Li Dynasty today was truly too united.

"Is that true?"

Only then did Li Tun's face fill with great joy.

Martial artists! These guys who had almost always been at odds with the court had actually spontaneously organized to resist the Wa?

"Your Majesty, General Li has fallen ill."

Li Tun slowly closed his eyes, unable to stop the tears from flowing out.

General Li had it too hard.

"General Li, what do you think?"

He took a deep breath and asked.

The crowd looked at one another.

Li Hang sighed and said.

Only then did Li Tun say with gratification: "Good, good, good, my dear ministers, I shall return first."

He tried his best to hide the weariness and sorrow in his voice.

It was truly too hard. Although this rout was primarily his own fault, he was, for the time being, the strongest famous general of the Li Dynasty. He was already nearly sixty years old, and he had stubbornly led his soldiers to hold on until now. If there was no merit, there was at least toil; that was what people like Li Zhenzhu were.

The others were sighing and groaning as well.

"However, General Xiao woke up that same day and resumed control of the battle situation; the situation today has finally stabilized."

In Longyan, it was not at all under Minister Liu's command, yet under Minister Liu's command, there were even more famous generals! For instance, that Qin Zhangfeng; for instance, Jiang Xuan, who settled the Ottoman issue in one battle and whose reputation had long since spread back; for instance, the naval commander Su Qi; for instance, the young yet militarily brilliant Zou Sheng, and so on and so forth.

A fountain of talent, indeed.

How could the Li Dynasty be mentioned in the same breath as the Li Dynasty?

That is so.

Throughout the entire Li Dynasty, there was no longer a single famous general who could compare to this Xiao Qian from Longyan.

Yet, what of this Xiao Qian?

"The General has woken up, the General has woken up!"

At this moment.

On the encampment, it was another busy night.

Desolate.

But fortunately, the Li Dynasty was now about to take flight, provided that these beasts of the Wa nation were driven away.

"General Li."

Xiao Qian hurriedly said, "General Li, what are you saying? Old General Li, with a single shout, held Qinghe Town for over half a month; Xiao has always felt admiration for this."

This statement was indeed correct.

At that time, Li Zhenzhu had stubbornly led the soldiers under his command to resist the attacks of the Wa nation's great army; the entire Qinghe Town had been razed flat. If not for that stirring speech Li Zhenzhu gave before the battle lines, Qinghe Town would have been lost long ago.

A group of people surrounded Li Zhenzhu's bed, calling out one after another.

Xiao Qian also walked over slowly.

Li Zhenzhu, at this moment, looked as if he were on the verge of death, decrepit and worn out, his eyes already sunken in, as if he had aged a dozen years in an instant. Seeing Xiao Qian looking on with concern, he could no longer hold back his tears and cried out, "General Xiao, I am useless, I am useless, I fell for the trap of that treacherous villain Mizuno again!"

Only him.

This time, the Longyan Army had suffered direct losses until only twenty thousand remained.

This was the point for which he felt most guilty toward Xiao Qian. Likewise, he also knew the combat effectiveness of the Longyan Army; twenty thousand, only twenty thousand left—what kind of concept was this? The Li Dynasty was in danger, truly in danger.

"But, but..."

Li Zhenzhu did not know what to say.

He knew that he still lacked the demeanor of a great general; at critical moments, he was prone to being rash, and his repeated mistakes were all for this reason. But there was no Method; the Li Dynasty truly had no one left. The young generals were incapable of taking on heavy responsibilities, and the old generals did not dare to take charge one by one.

This old general was truly not easy.

Knowing full well he could not defeat the Wa army, he still had to fight. Sometimes, this kind of courage and this sense of responsibility were what people admired most!

"Good, very good."

"Old General Li need not worry. As long as one man of my Longyan Army remains, we will not let the Wa army invade Chungcheong Province by even half a step!"

Xiao Qian held back his hot tears.

In reality, his impression of Li Zhenzhu had long since reversed at this moment.

"Also, Vice Minister Liu will arrive at the front line soon."

Xiao Qian said.

"What?"

Li Zhenzhu could no longer shed tears.

His lips had begun to turn dry.

Speaking even these few words seemed very difficult.

Everyone became excited.

Li Zhenzhu's eyes also lit up.

Although he had not had much interaction with Vice Minister Liu, and although these people had not yet seen Vice Minister Liu once, a person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree. To the entire Li Dynasty, this Vice Minister Liu was the person who could turn the tide, the person who could save the situation. It seemed that once he arrived, the morale of the army would be stabilized; as long as he arrived, there would be high spirits.

"That's great!"

"He is coming?"

"This..."

The Horse Carriage was still traveling through the mud.

Liu Zheng could not sleep.

This day.

It rained in Qinghe Town, and the battle situation ended early.

Li Zhenzhu could finally have a good rest for once.

Still troubled him.

A quick battle to force a quick decision.

In his heart, he wanted a quick battle to force a quick decision.

Just as he had expected, along this journey, he was very safe. Escorted by three thousand Divine Crossbow Guards, he did not encounter any assassins or the like. He knew that the hearts of the officials and the people of the Li Dynasty had already settled down.

It was just...

This great battle.

This was what he was considering now.

There were two possibilities: one, one side appeared with absolute suppressive power. In the era of cold weapons, that meant an absolute advantage in numbers. But clearly, the Li Dynasty could not achieve this at present. For this great battle, the Li Dynasty had almost emptied its nest; otherwise, Chungcheong Province would not have been tormented so badly by those Wa pirates these past few days.

Two, that was to take action from the Wa nation's home territory.

Unfortunately.

No matter how one looked at it, this was a Protracted War; at the very least half a year, or even a year, was possible.

How could it be accelerated?

But the key point is.

The Wa nation's control over Gyeongsang Province was currently very firm.

If one wanted to stir up trouble in this aspect, one could only find a Method within the Wa nation's home territory.

Home territory.

Either some change occurred within the Wa nation, or the Wa nation's grain and fodder were insufficient, or its source of troops was inadequate.

This is still possible; after all, the Wa army is engaged in a long-range campaign, and it is very easy for problems to arise in this regard.

He began to fix his eyes once again upon the Ryukyu Islands.

The key to this war situation, it seems, lies with Xie Chengqian.

However, the current sentiment within the Wa nation is very supportive of Mizuno Masashige's war.

What to do?

What to do?

Changsun Qingrong also knew that His Majesty had encountered a difficult problem, a problem that was hard to decide upon.

Honestly speaking.

She had also read that piece, Persuading the Nanyang King.

Xie Chengqian had locked himself inside the Yangxin Hall and had not come out for several days.

He would not see anyone who requested an audience, including Gu Long.

This had never happened before.

How to launch a Northern Expedition?

A Northern Expedition means death.

But they were unwilling to just settle for developing this tiny patch of land in Nanyang.

Brilliant in literary talent, this Vice Minister Liu has very clear logic and great eloquence. Moreover, he easily strikes at the heart of a person.

Nanyang is indeed in a very awkward position right now.

To fight, they certainly cannot defeat Longyan; with the rapid development of Longyan, they have become even more desperate.

It can be said that this Vice Minister Liu scratched the very itch in His Majesty's heart with just a few words.

Where does the value of a person's life lie?

Through what means does an emperor need to prove himself?

Then what to do?

Conquest!

Conquer the Wa nation, conquer other places!

With this, everything is resolved.

Suddenly.

The door to the Yangxin Hall was opened.

First, govern the state.

Second, expand the territory.

Three, conquest.

Everyone knelt.

Xie Chengqian, with a low voice and a hoarse tone, gritted his teeth and said, "Mustering troops, five hundred thousand!"

"Your Majesty, long live, long live, long, long live!"

Xie Chengqian, sporting dark circles under his eyes, appeared before everyone.

"Your Majesty!"

The entire scene.

Was deathly silent.