Chapter 455: Grass at the Wall

He snatched up the two battle reports on the desk and slammed them hard at Si Wushuang!

"Si Wushuang! Is this the flawless strategy you devised for me?! Is this the ironclad defense you swore would be unbreakable?!"

"Tongguan lost! The gates thrown wide! Next, should Han Xiao lead Beijiang barbarians to strike at my Luoyang Cheng?!"

The battle reports hit Si Wushuang's chest and then slid to the ground.

Si Wushuang did not dodge, nor even glance at the scattered papers; he simply lifted his head slowly and met Wei Wenlie's gaze.

In the depths of that gaze, beyond shock and fury, Si Wushuang clearly saw… panic.

"Minister… I am guilty."

Si Wushuang inhaled deeply, keeping his voice steady, "I underestimated Jiang Jinshi's resolve, underestimated the resilience of the Beijiang army, and further… underestimated the power of the 'Thunderous Sky'. The loss of Tongguan is a fault I cannot shirk."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Cui Yan and the others, their faces drained of color.

"But Tongguan may be lost, Luoyang still stands. The pressing priority is not to assign blame, but to hold Luoyang, gather the scattered troops from Tongguan, and stabilize the morale of the army and the people.

At the same time, we must immediately verify the battle situation at Lantian and Wuguan! If…"

"Report!!!"

A scream cut off Si Wushuang's words; a blood‑soaked messenger rolled and crawled into the great hall, collapsed on the floor, his voice trembling with sobs.

"Your Majesty! Military Advisor! Lantian… urgent report! General Tu Fa Yan… killed in battle! Lantian's main camp… breached by Zhang Honghong! Our army… completely annihilated!"

This terrible news was like a frost on snow; the crowd could hardly believe their ears.

"Tu Fa Yan… dead?"

Wei Wenlie's body swayed, and the last hint of color drained from his face.

Lantian also lost?

The messenger stammered, "Zhang Honghong… that mad woman… charged recklessly… General Tu Fa Yan was pierced by her… a single spear… the main camp… couldn't be held…"

"…everywhere are Beijiang troops… Wuguan direction… heard… heard that the supply route was also cut by Bai Ting… General He Lian Bubob… fate unknown…"

He Lian Bubob's fate is unknown!

One disaster after another left everyone in the hall speechless, or rather… they all needed time to digest the bad news.

Cui Yan felt a chill surge from his soles straight to his crown, his legs went weak, nearly collapsing, and Lu Wenchang held him firmly.

"It's over… completely over… Tongguan fallen, Lantian collapsed, Wuguan in peril… Xiliang… is there any way out?"

Cui Yan, in order to back Xiliang, even risked his own daughter and exhausted all his power to use public opinion to suppress Beijiang, and now this is the result he receives?

Si Wushuang closed his eyes, inhaled deeply; the game had now reached its final stage. He had suffered successive defeats, but… a gentleman does not speak of surrender lightly!

When he opened his eyes again, Si Wushuang regained his usual demeanor, no longer staring at the despondent Wei Wenlie, his gaze swept over the ministers in the hall.

"Prince! Everyone! Xiliang stands at the brink of life and death!"

Though Tongguan is lost, though Lantian has fallen, Luoyang Cheng's high moats are deep, still tens of thousands of elite troops! Jiangnan's grain and fodder still flow in continuously!

Jiang Jinshi may have won, but his front line is overextended, forces scattered, winter campaign far away, and his strength is waning like a drawn bow at its end!

As long as we are united, we hold Luoyang to the death, and wait for his reinforcements to arrive, we may yet turn defeat into victory!

Where do the reinforcements come from? Of course, they are the elite troops Wei Wenlie left at Xiliang's main base!!

Si Wushuang stepped forward, bowed deeply to Wei Wenlie, and said, "Prince! Please issue an immediate decree! Impose martial law over the entire city! Conscribe all able‑bodied youths to assist in defending the upper city! Gather the scattered troops from Tongguan and Lantian, and reorganize them strictly! Open the treasury, generously reward the defending soldiers!"

At the same time, dispatch elite troops from eight hundred li with utmost speed to rush aid to Luoyang! This is a fight with our backs against the river; we hope, Prince… rally!

Wei Wenlie looked at Si Wushuang, knowing this was the last resort.

After all, Tongguan is already lost; if he wishes to return to Xiliang, he must abandon the south, even the Shu region.

But he… is unwilling!!

Even if he returns to Xiliang, would Jiang Jinshi let him go?

He opened his mouth, about to speak, but finally only gave a despondent wave of his hand.

"Proceed… as the Military Advisor instructed… do it… do everything…"

"All obey the decree!" Si Wushuang and several senior ministers answered in unison.

The crowd hurriedly took the orders and left; Wei Wenlie slumped on the throne, staring at the leaping coals, his eyes hollow.

Tongguan lost, Lantian gone, Tu Fa Yan dead, Mu Rong Ke dead…

His decades‑long enterprise, his ambition to seize Zhongyuan, seemed at this moment utterly crushed by Beijiang.

"Jiang Jinshi… Jiang Jinshi…" he muttered, his voice filled with hatred.

If not for that man, he would have already ascended the throne and taken the title of emperor; why then endure today's plight?

After everyone left, a few gathered in secret, meeting inside a hidden chamber of the Cui Residence.

Cui Yan, Lu Wenchang, and two other influential Jiangnan magnates from Luoyang sat around a rose‑wood round table.

On the table there was no wine or food, only a few cups of tea long since cooled.

The news of Tongguan and Lantian falling spread quickly through Luoyang's upper echelons, the resulting panic more suffocating than the roars within the palace.

"Lord Cui!"

Lu Wenchang was the first to break the silence, "Now that it has come to this… Xiliang… seems its destiny is exhausted."

Seeing no response, he continued, "With Tongguan lost, Luoyang has no retreat, directly exposed to the Ming Army's sight."

Lantian's collapse leaves Luo Feng of Chang'an without any rear concerns.

Wuguan cut off, He Lian Bubob… sigh…

The three Beijiang armies have formed an encirclement. How long can Luoyang still hold?

One person interjected, "Military Advisor Si, though you speak of a fight with our backs to the river, the troops' morale is already scattered, the people's hearts are uneasy."

Though the city's provisions are ample, reinforcements… distant water cannot quench near thirst.

Moreover, Jiang Jinshi wields the momentum of a great victory, his troops' spearheads sharp…

He shook his head, said no more, but the meaning was already clear.

Cui Yan remained silent; he knows the internal weakness of Xiliang and Wei Wenlie's current condition better than anyone present.

The last time I saw his daughter Wangshu, she had several injuries, even bruises at the corners of her eyes.

Cui Yan understood that, at that time, Cui Wangshu, affected by the "internal traitor" incident, must have had a hard life inside the palace.

It wasn't until the "truth" came to light that Cui Wangshu felt somewhat better.

But with such a ruler and such an Imperial Court, what can one still expect?

"I understand your meaning," he said.

Cui Yan finally spoke, his voice slow, "When a tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when a wall collapses, everyone pushes it down. It has always been so since antiquity."

He lifted his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, "Is merely allying with Beijiang truly a sound strategy? Don't forget, Jiang Jinshi's new policies aim to sever the foundations of our Scholar‑Gentry elites!

Surveying fields, curbing mergers, abolishing patronage… which of these is not directed at us?"

"Under Beijiang's rule, how are the Guanzhong Scholar‑Gentry faring now? Haven't you all heard?"

Allying with Beijiang can indeed safeguard one's life and property for a time, but in the long run, the privileges and foundations upon which the family depends for survival will likely be uprooted.

Moreover, Cui Yan's words are also selfish, because he knows that Jiang Jinshi will never let him go!

Even if he were to surrender and accept all of Jiang Jinshi's regulations, the other side would not spare his or the Cui family's lives.

He originally left Beijiang, rejected the conditions Jiang Jinshi proposed, instead joined Xiliang, and used his influence to shape public opinion, constantly causing trouble for the Ming Army.

Jiang Jinshi has always employed iron‑blooded methods; could he suddenly develop a benevolent heart and spare him?

Thus, Cui Yan knows that Xiliang is currently in decline, yet he still tries to persuade everyone to stay under Wei Wenlie's command, for perhaps there remains a sliver of hope.