Chapter 1023: Delay the Military

Translator: Atlas Studios     Editor: Atlas Studios

In the end, General Hu Wei was furious. He was so angry that his anger almost seeped out of the paper. “The Liang resistance army delayed military matters. The garrison in Xiangyang used the terrain advantage to not fight the Liang bandits head-on and deal with them. When the Liang resistance army arrives in Xiangyang in advance, we can cooperate from the inside and out to form a siege against the Liangs.”

“Why should we worry about not getting rid of Thief Liang?!”

“Now, the reinforcements haven’t arrived. It’s because the heavens haven’t blessed me. It’s also because I’m inferior to Thief Liang, and it’s also a

calamity for the Marquis of Yongle.”

“However, my death is not worth pitying. I beg the Imperial Court to punish the Marquis of Yongle severely.”

“Otherwise, the Great Zhou Dynasty will be in danger.”

When a person was about to die, their words were kind.

When General Hu Wei wrote this blood letter, he already had the intention to die. He threw away all his scruples when he was alive and warned the Imperial Court.

Every word shed blood, causing the entire court to be shocked speechless.

The Liang resistance army set off from Rehe in September. If they were fast, they would reach Hubei in a month. If they were slow, it would take two months. Even if they crawled, they could reach Xiangyang in November and meet up with General Hu Wei.

The reason why this situation had happened was because the Marquis of Yongle had enlarged his army, gathered rations, and stopped every now and

then.

Even the arrogant Duke Xu did not dare to speak.

General Wei Hu t s blood letter was ironclad evidence that the Marquis of Yongle had delayed the military’s advance. In addition, after the army set off, it was undeniable that they had swaggered all the way through the city.

Xiangyang City only had 70,000 troops. In addition to the government office, the city defense, and so on, they actually had less than 100,000 troops. They were far inferior to the Liang army. It was really tragic that General Hu Wei could last for so long and fight until not a single soldier was left.

Yu Zongshen sneered and said, “The Marquis of Yongle has been recruiting troops along the way. He’s really ostentatious. He wants to rely on the prestige of the Liang resistance army and the advantage of their military strength to intimidate Thief Liang and attack their morale. Firstly, Thief Liangs army will become timid, resulting in an increased chance of winning against the Liang army. Secondly, if the Liang bandits are afraid of the Liang resistance army’s prestige and take the initiative to retreat, they can also avoid a direct confrontation.’

This was understandable.

However, the Marquis of Yongle had neglected the fact that after Thief Liang fought their way into Hubei, many areas of Hubei would be controlled by them. News from the Xiangyang garrison could not be spread. Even if news could be spread, there was a possibility that it was fake.

As the main general of the Liang resistance army, the military plans from

Xiangyang had to pass through him. Thief Liang had reached Xiangyang, and General Hu Wei was fighting alone. Where was the Marquis of Yongle?

Had he actually not noticed anything amiss?

General Hu Wei had really not wronged him by accusing him of delaying military affairs.

In the emergency meeting of the cabinet, Yu Zongshen stared at Duke Xu.

“There will definitely be a battle when the two armies intersect in Hubei. Changing generals before the battle is a huge taboo in the military. I’ll have to trouble Duke Xu to personally go to Hubei to oversee the Liang resistance army.”

Although the Marquis of Yongle had made a mistake, now was not the time to pursue this matter.

“The Marquis of Yongle was recommended by Duke Xu and is also a general under you. Duke Xu, you have to give an explanation to the Imperial Court for your mistake this time. Otherwise, how are you going to answer to the hundreds of thousands of loyal souls guarding Xiangyang? How are you going to answer to the generals in the Imperial Court who are loyal to the Imperial Court? This time, your merits will be offset.”

“Thief Liang is coming aggressively and has occupied the Xiangyang Fortress, forming a situation where he can retreat and defend himself against the capital. The capital is in danger. Duke Xu has received the emperor’s grace. We are in danger. Please take out your treasured saber and protect the Great Zhou.’

“In this battle, we don’t have to fight the enemy head-on. We can only restrain them. According to General Hu Wei, in this battle in Xiangyang, it was the

King of Liang who personally led the main force to resist. Although the

Xiangyang garrison was defeated, they also severely injured the Liang army.

Thief Liang has lost his troops and his vitality. I don’t think he will act rashly.”

Yu Zongshen spoke. Many civil officials in the court who couldn’t stand Duke Xu also persuaded him.

Even some loyal generals felt that Duke Xu was the best candidate to oversee

Hubei.

For a moment, Duke Xu became the target of public criticism.

Duke Xu shut his mouth and did not agree easily.

Yu Zongshen did not force him. He only said, “Tomorrow, I’ll enter the palace to meet the emperor and ask for an order. Duke Xu, please make a decision as soon as possible.”

Duke Xu couldn’t take it anymore. “Who doesn’t know that the emperor is seriously ill? Whose decree is this? It was you, Yu Zongshen, who imitated Cao Wei and held the emperor hostage, causing the dukes to…”

Yu Zongshen smiled. “Duke Xu, please be careful with your words. If there’s no evidence, you can’t spout nonsense.” He swept his gaze across the ministers in the Imperial Pavilion and saw their flickering and obscure gazes. “When the calamity of Thief Liang is settled and the border defense is stable, I’ll naturally return co the court ana resign.”

These indifferent words pushed Duke Xu into the limelight.

Grand Secretary Yu had forced Duke Xu to return to politics and leave the court. If Duke Xu did not agree, he would be disregarding the righteousness of the country and disregarding the rise of the country. Under the public opinion of the world, he would have nowhere to hide.

However, Duke Xu was still resisting stubbornly.

Yu Zongshen continued, “If Duke Xu refuses to make this trip, please hand over your military power. The cabinet will choose another general to go to Hubei.’

With just one sentence, he had cut off Duke Xu’s escape route.

The reason why the Third Prince could be let off so easily was because he had military power in his hands. If he handed over his military power, with Yu

Zongshen’s personality, Yu Zhongsheng would definitely take it. If the Third Prince and Imperial Consort Xu started fighting, the Xu Residence would be destroyed in a day. If Duke Xu did not go to Hubei, he would definitely lose his military power.

Duke Xu had no way out.

At the same time, after the Imperial Court issued the war support documents all over the country, the first batch of military supplies prepared by the Imperial Court was also sent to the North. Accompanying them were more than ten officials, including the Imperial Censor of the Imperial Court, and Eunuch Li, who had previously issued an imperial decree for Yu Youyao. They were Eunuch Zhu’s trusted aides and his eyes and ears in the palace.

The first batch of military supplies included 2,000 sets of cotton armor, 2,000 sabers, 1,500 bows, five carriages of medicinal herbs, 150 warhorses, and some miscellaneous items.

It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

General Li, who was in charge of escorting the military supplies, was a general under the Marquis of Zhenguo and had been through hundreds of battles.

“As the military situation is urgent, the military supplies won’t be able to be produced in time. This is already the last batch of supplies. The Imperial Court has diverted another batch of armor that has been replaced from various places. Although the armor is old and damaged, it’s still possible to dismantle and repair the armor. Considering that Liaodong is bitterly cold and it’s snowing heavily, the Ministry of War has gathered 2,000 kilograms of cotton and 80,000 pieces of cotton cloth. They’ll hand them over to King Yue Fei so that the soldiers can quickly wear cotton clothes to resist the cold.”

Sensing the sincerity of the Imperial Court, Yin Huaixi couldn’t say anything. “Thank you, General Li.”

General Li couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief, and his tone became a little more sincere. “There aren’t many things. The Imperial Court is still thinking

of a way to prepare. The second batch of military supplies will be sent to Liaodong in about ten days. King Yue Fei, please inform me what supplies the army lacks. I’ll go back and send a memorial to the Imperial Court to see if I can focus on preparing some..”

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