Chapter 4 Morning Assembly

  The imperial palace, on the desk of Emperor Qin's throne, there were two urgent military reports from Mi Die and Xibei Bian Guan, both marked "Top Secret" - within a few days, the land west of Wuwei had been occupied by the Mongols, and 126,000 elite soldiers had been annihilated! In nearly ten years, in several small-scale skirmishes with the Fengyun Empire, the empire had never suffered such heavy losses!

  Yang Quan, fifty-five years old this year, because of his lustful nature, his complexion seemed pale, but sitting on the throne, he had an air of dominance over the world. At this time, his eyes were fixed on the group of officials in the hall, not saying a word, but making the officials feel an invisible pressure, not daring to breathe a word.

  "What opinions do you have, gentlemen? Don't hold back, speak freely." After reading the military report, Yang Quan tried to calm down his anger as much as possible. The sudden arrival of the urgent military report had made him extremely angry, forcing him to come out and deal with state affairs amidst the feminine charm.

  Zuo Xiang Muyong Mingfeng stepped forward and said: "I beg to report to Your Majesty. As I am not well-versed in military affairs, I dare not speak rashly. However, the loss of the northwest region means that the 12 million taels of silver that should have been contributed by the various regions in the northwest have all fallen into enemy hands. The loss of military equipment and warhorses is also substantial. I fear that the empire's financial resources will be greatly affected. Furthermore, the three auxiliary regions will soon fall under the iron hooves of the Mongols, and the safety of several million people west of Chang'an needs to be addressed."

  Murong Ming, 52 years old this year, is the Left Prime Minister. He holds a high position and has great power, and is actually the most influential civil minister in the imperial court. In terms of appearance, he is far inferior to Yang Quan, slightly on the short and stout side, with some gray hair, often wearing a smile on his face, soft and pleasant voice, thick lower jaw, not fat but sturdy, having the confidence and ease of a noble family, not annoying at all. He doesn't know what Yang Quan thinks in his heart, only discussing matters as they are, stating facts clearly.

  The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Lin Mengfu, attached and said: "This year's domestic harvest is poor, several places have suffered from disasters and famine, and the expenditure is not small. The people are rising up in all directions. One hundred and twenty million pieces of white silver can only provide military pay for one army for a year, which is not easy to make up."

  The Daqin Empire's military is divided into two types: local defense forces and regular imperial troops. Due to the vast territory and numerous cities of the Daqin Empire, the total number of local defense forces reaches 1.5 million. However, due to geographical differences, the equipment and combat effectiveness of local defense forces also vary. Local defense forces in border areas are not much different from regular troops, but those in inland areas can be described as a mob.

  The regular army of the empire is also very large, with a total of ten legions and one million troops. The ten legions are: Blue Feather Legion, Fierce Tiger Legion, Peacock Legion, Phoenix Legion, Hunting Leopard Legion, Fire Lion Legion, Silver Fox Legion, Green Bull Legion, Male Deer Legion, and White Crane Legion. According to the different situations of the empire, the ten legions are distributed on the defensive lines of the empire. In addition, the empire also has two imperial guards, the Imperial Forest Army and the Forbidden Guard, with a total of 200,000 troops.

  The Minister of War, Yang Chengwei, said: "The Blue Feather Army and the Northwestern Border Army have always been known for their bravery and martial prowess. This time, they were defeated by the Mongols and lost their troops and land. I think there must be other reasons behind this. Perhaps someone is secretly collaborating with the enemy, and if we don't investigate thoroughly, it will lead to even more severe consequences later on. Please, Your Majesty, investigate clearly."

  Yang Chengwei is the younger brother of Emperor Yang Guang, and has always had a good relationship with his brother. He was enfeoffed as Duke of Huguo and currently holds the position of Minister of War, with enough power to restrain Left Chancellor Murong Mingfeng, making him one of the core figures in the Yang clan's power structure. He is mature and steady, and in the midst of the princes' open and secret struggles, he remains impartial and his stance is unclear.

  "Please tell me in detail, brother." To this younger brother, Yang Guang had never had any suspicions. Yang Guang was already 52 years old and held the highest position among officials. For decades, the brothers had worked together with one heart, managing the empire amidst strong enemies and making it as solid as gold. If someone were to say that his own sons would rebel, he might have believed it. But if someone were to say that Yang Guang would betray him, he wouldn't believe it even in death.

  "Your Majesty, Lanzhou is a strong city, and next to it are the natural barriers of Mengyin Pass and Jiayuguan. With 100,000 Blue Feather Army troops and 50,000 border troops, even if the Mongolian army has an army of one million, they will not be able to take down Lanzhou, Mengyin Pass, and Jiayuguan in such a short period of time... unless..." He looked up at Yang Quan, who seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

  "It doesn't matter what you say."

  "Yes." Yang Chengwei looked at Yang Quan and said, "Unless the Mongolian army attacks from behind Lanzhou, Mengyin Pass, and Jiayuguan. Only then can we take down Lanzhou, Mengyin Pass, and Jiayuguan without Blue Feather Army and Northwestern Border Army being on guard."

  "The words of the Duke of Guo, I dare not agree with. To the west of Lanzhou there is Mengyin Pass, to the north there is Jiayuguan Pass, how can the Mongolian army enter the rear of Lanzhou?" said Right Chancellor Wang Wei.

  Wang Wei was a gloomy-looking old man, over fifty years old, with a pair of small eyes that occasionally gleamed, his movements were steady and calm, looking very dignified.

  "Wang Xiang must not forget that there is still the Death Zone. If the Mongolian cavalry crosses the Death Zone, it's entirely possible for them to appear behind Lanzhou. Without Lanzhou, the natural barriers of Mengyin Pass and Jiayuguan would be unable to stop the Mongolian iron cavalry." Yang Chengwei retorted.

  "Alright!" Seeing Wang Wei still wanting to refute, Yang Guang spoke up: "Forget about how Lanzhou was lost for now, the main thing is how to resist the Mongols' hundreds of thousands strong army."

  "Your Majesty, now our Great Qin has tens of thousands of troops stationed in the northeast and south. The capital Luoyang only has the Imperial Guard, the Forbidden Troops, and the City Garrison - three armies that are barely enough to defend the city, let alone send any westward." said Yang Chengwei, Minister of War.

  "Huguo Gong, are you going to watch as the northwestern lands fall into the hands of the Mongols? You should know that once the northwest falls into their hands, Chang'an, the western gateway of Luoyang, will be under the iron hooves of the Mongols. Not to mention the tens of millions of people in the northwest, even the imperial court would have to station at least 200,000 troops in the Chang'an area to prevent the Mongol army from advancing eastward. At that time, the Central Plains will surely be shaken, and what face will the imperial court have left?" said Right Chancellor Wang Wei.

  "Your words are quite different, let's not talk about whether the Mongolians have the ability to move east now. Even if they do, there are still strong cities like Wuwei, and the Mongols are not good at attacking cities. It's not easy to take them down. Moreover, our main forces are currently concentrated in the south and northeast. If we withdraw our troops westward now, the Great Qing Empire in the northeast and the Windy Empire in the south will invade our Great Qin. At that time, our Great Qin will be attacked on three sides. Have you thought about how our Great Qin should deal with it?" General Wang Fei said.

  He was a seventy-year-old man, with a strong and robust body, tiger eyes and leopard head, with a beard covering his entire face, adding a few points of majesty, this is the great general of Qin, Wang Fei.

  "Everyone must remember, apart from the Mongol Empire in the northwest, there is also the Caesar Empire in the west. The Caesar Empire, as the overlord of the west, has always been eyeing the Central Plains. Now that our Qin state's land has already been lost, if the Caesar Empire captures the Jili Fort at this time, both the Guanzhong Plain and the Chengdu Plain will be attacked by the Caesar Empire." General Wei Zhan spoke up at this moment. General Wei Zhan was a man in his forties, tall and majestic with an awe-inspiring presence. As one of the two top generals along with Wang Fei, he had a faction within the imperial court due to his sister Rongfei's influence.

  "Hmph, the Hilt Fortress is not like the Mengyin Pass or the Jiayuguan. With the 100,000 elite troops of the Hilt Fortress, even if the million-strong army of the Kaisar Empire came, they would be powerless." Wang Fei immediately countered.

  "What do you think, General?" asked Wang Wei, the Right Chancellor, as he saw General Wang Fei come out to ask questions. General Wang Fei was the maternal grandfather of the Crown Prince, and Wang Wei was close to the Crown Prince, so he couldn't refute General Wang Fei's words.

  "Your Majesty, I think we should dispatch a team of Imperial Guards and a person of high status to take command of the army in Wuwei, and after the war in the south is over, lead the army westward." After finishing speaking, Wang Fei gave a wink to Prime Minister Wang Wei.

  "Your Majesty, the second prince is both literary and martial, with outstanding talents. He is the most suitable candidate." Seeing General Wang Fei's gaze, Prime Minister Wang Wei hastily said.

  "The words of the Right Chancellor are quite different. The eldest prince deeply received the true transmission of King Da Jiangjun, and the strategy and tactics of the army are all above the second prince. This time, I think the northwest trip is more suitable for the second prince." General Hong Huan said.

  "Your Majesty, I think the Grand Crown Prince..."

  "Your Majesty, I think the two princes..."

  Looking at the people arguing below, he raised an eyebrow and slightly frowned. In his heart, it was clear that no matter which of the four princes went to the northwest, they would lose their position as crown prince. However, among his four sons, except for the fourth son, the others had considerable power behind them. If one of the other three were sent, it would inevitably cause turmoil in the imperial court, which was something he did not want to see.

  "Your Majesty, I think we should ask a few of the princes." The Minister of War, Yang Chengwei, spoke up with a cold gaze, noticing the emperor's slightly furrowed brow.

  "The words of Gong are reasonable, come on, pass it on to the four princes."