Chapter 930: First Volume, Chapter 930: The Di Emperor

First Volume, Chapter 930: The Di Emperor's Teacher

The Ministry of War's Assistant Secretary grabbed Wang Xiaowei by the shoulder, his eyes wide with shock, nearly screaming.

"You… you're certain? This matter is of utmost gravity—if there's the slightest error, it's a capital offense."

Wang Xiaowei looked grim; who would willingly deliver bad news if not forced?

He quickly explained: "This is a Chen Family bodyguard who escaped—he spoke it himself. The man is already detained at the city gate."

Upon hearing this, the Assistant Secretary immediately waved his hand, signaling Wang Xiaowei to bring the man forth immediately; such a grave matter must be verified without the slightest oversight—if this was false war intelligence, it wasn't just a demotion, it was death!

Wang Xiaowei dared not delay; he rushed back to the city gate and ordered the Chen Family bodyguard brought to the Ministry of War.

By the time the man arrived, the Deputy Minister of War had already hurried over upon hearing the news; since the truth had yet to be confirmed, he had not informed the Minister of War.

The Deputy Minister of War stared fixedly at the Chen Family bodyguard and barked: "Do you know what punishment awaits for falsifying war intelligence?"

Facing the Deputy Minister's interrogation, the kneeling Chen Family bodyguard burst into loud sobs: "If I speak even half a lie, even if my nine clans are exterminated, I shall not utter a single word of complaint—but poor Grand General Chen Si, who trusted Qin Feng so utterly, was lured into the city and murdered!"

Seeing this, the Deputy Minister of War was already nearly certain—the truth was likely real.

The thought of Chen Si being lured and killed by Qin Feng pierced his heart like a knife; throughout the entire Imperial Court, Chen Si was the only "Protector General" capable of holding the line.

That bastard Qin Feng… he struck with such ruthless decisiveness…

The Deputy Minister of War, furious, shouted: "What exactly happened?!"

"Large-scale troop movements are strictly forbidden from entering or approaching any county city without explicit exemption from the Ministry of War and His Majesty—this basic rule, how could Grand General Chen Si not know?"

The Chen Family bodyguard wiped his nose and tears: "Qin Feng lied, claiming he needed coffins to collect the bodies of fallen soldiers. Grand General Chen Si, seeking to appease Qin Feng, made an exception—none of us expected…"

Hearing this, the Deputy Minister of War clenched his teeth: "What were you doing? Why weren't you guarding Grand General Chen Si at his side?"

The Chen Family bodyguard looked devastated: "The Grand General said we, clad in armor, must not enter the city and disturb the people—he and Qin Feng entered quietly. We can only blame the Grand General for trusting Qin Feng too much—Qin Feng Gouzei repaid kindness with betrayal—he deserves a terrible death!"

Naive! Foolish!

The Deputy Minister of War trembled with rage; what kindness had Chen Si ever shown Qin Feng? They were mortal enemies on the battlefield—given any chance, Qin Feng would strike down Chen Si without hesitation.

But this was not Chen Si's fault—it was Lü Li's doing. Had Lü Li not meddled, His Majesty and Qin Feng would already be negotiating.

Chen Si understood the people's suffering and knew the nation's strength was exhausted—he never wanted another great war during this once-in-a-century winter, so he took the risk to appease Qin Feng… and was seized by him.

The Deputy Minister of War pondered briefly, then swiftly ordered his subordinates: one group to notify the Minister of War, another to contact Li Yu.

As for seeking Imperial Audience, this duty should fall to two senior officials; though his GovernmentPosition was high, he had no desire to deliver such grim tidings.

If His Majesty seized upon him and he spoke wrongly, he risked certain death.

Half a Envoy later, the Minister of War and Li Yu met at the Palace Gate.

They exchanged a glance and sighed in unison; though filled with helplessness, knowing they must deliver this horror to His Majesty, they needed to align their stories first.

"Lord Li, how should we proceed?" the Minister of War asked cautiously.

Li Yu shook his head with a bitter smile: "What else can we do? Report the truth."

"Remember—no concealment. Follow all procedures strictly. Don't invite trouble."

The Minister of War nodded, no longer hesitating, and followed Li Yu straight toward the Imperial Study.

Just as they pushed open the door, preparing to report, they froze in shock at the scene before them.

The Di Emperor sat upon the Dragon Case, and two others stood below it.

One was Chen Si—who should have been dead—and beside him stood a black-robed Village Elder.

Li Yu stared in disbelief: "Grand General Chen, you… you weren't supposed to…"

Before Li Yu could finish, Chen Si sighed and answered: "Had Old Wu not saved me, I would already be headless."

"Lord Li, Minister, you've arrived just in time—let us jointly deliberate on how to punish Qin Feng."

Punish Qin Feng…

Hearing this, Li Yu's heart lurched; the one thing he most feared had come to pass—punishing Qin Feng meant all-in, and this Winter War was now inevitable.

But since the deed was done, Li Yu had nothing more to say—he stepped aside.

At this moment, the Di Emperor's face was grim; moments ago, he had been considering how to appease Qin Feng—yet the instant Old Wu entered the Imperial Study with Chen Si, he knew something had gone wrong.

Upon questioning, it was confirmed: Qin Feng and Great Di had irrevocably broken ties.

The Di Emperor seethed with hatred, wishing to whip Lü Li's corpse—he was a traitor who brought ruin upon the nation, a sinner through the ages!

But Lü Li was dead; better to spend no time on a corpse than to focus on the crisis before them.

The Di Emperor cut straight to the point: "The course of this Winter War hinges on Qin Feng. If we capture him early and hold him hostage, we gain the initiative and can resume negotiations with Liang. But if we fail to capture him, and the war spreads across the entire realm…."

The Di Emperor did not finish; this decision was Breaking the Cauldrons and Sinking the Boats—too risky. Had Lü Li not caused this chaos, he would never have chosen this path.

The Minister of War immediately offered advice: "Your Majesty, we must immediately dispatch Cavalry to pursue and kill him!"

"Qin Feng's group carries many wounded and corpses—they'll move slowly. If we intercept them before they reach Changshui County, there's still a chance."

Upon hearing this, Chen Si and Old Wu spoke in unison: "No!"

"Impossible!"

Chen Si frowned: "Qin Feng has proven time and again the combat effectiveness and unshakable morale of his troops. Sending a small cavalry unit will only increase casualties for no gain. Sending a large force would waste too much time."

"In my view, we should deploy the full Army directly toward Changshui County and strike hard while Qin Feng is still unsteady."

"Changshui is an inland county in the Jingji Region—its City Wall is low, and it has no strong defensive works. Under a fierce assault, it won't hold long."