You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 73 Cao Zhengchun immediately dispatched elite troops from the Eastern Depot to the four northwestern prefectures.
The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Looking at this Divine Martial Guard who held aloft the 'Eight Hundred Li Urgent Letter' until his death, Zhou Chen felt an indescribable admiration.

Such a loyal person deserves a proper burial.

The compensation for his affairs after his death should also be doubled.

However, these are not things Zhou Chen should be considering right now.

What Zhou Chen wanted to know most right now was what changes had occurred in the four prefectures of the Northwest.
Why did Grand Tutor Wen Zhong lead 30,000 Divine Martial Guards to quell a peasant uprising, resulting in the complete annihilation of his army?

How could Grand Tutor Wen Zhong have died in battle in Xi'an Prefecture?
Upon hearing Zhou Chen's words, Cao Zhengchun immediately took the blood-stained letter from the Shenwu Guard and hurriedly handed it to Zhou Chen.

Then, Cao Zhengchun ordered two eunuchs and guards to carry the already dead guard out.

After Zhou Chen took the blood-stained letter from Cao Zhengchun, he hurriedly tore it open and began to read.

Unfortunately, the letter was stained with an unknown amount of blood, and the writing on it was completely obscured by the dried blood.

Only a few words in the entire letter were legible.

But this was of no use to Zhou Chen.

"Damn it."

What exactly happened in the four northwestern prefectures?

Why were all 30,000 Divine Martial Guards wiped out?

"And why did the Grand Tutor die in battle in Xi'an Prefecture?"

Zhou Chen slammed the illegible letter onto the dragon desk, his face extremely gloomy.

Originally, Zhou Chen had hoped to find out what changes had occurred in the four northwestern prefectures from this urgent letter delivered by express courier.

But who would have thought that this urgent letter, delivered by express courier, was already stained with blood and could no longer be read?

Zhou Chen paced back and forth in front of the dragon desk with a gloomy face.

Cao Zhengchun, standing beside him, kept his head down, not daring to make the slightest sound.

At this moment, it was clear to everyone that Zhou Chen was on the verge of a dark moment.

If we dare to make a sound, wouldn't that be like walking into the line of fire?
After pacing back and forth a few steps, Zhou Chen looked up at Cao Zhengchun and said, "Cao Zhengchun, immediately send the elite of the Eastern Depot to the four prefectures in the northwest."

"I need to know what exactly has happened in the four northwestern prefectures?"

Why were all 30,000 Divine Martial Guards wiped out?

"How did the Grand Tutor die in battle in Xi'an Prefecture?"

"I need to know all of this."

Zhou Chen looked at Cao Zhengchun with a serious expression and said.

Although Zhou Chen was very unwilling to believe that all of this was true.

But the urgent message already explained everything: the 30,000 Divine Martial Guards were indeed completely wiped out, and the Grand Tutor had indeed died in battle in Xi'an Prefecture.

Zhou Chen had no choice but to believe it.

Upon hearing Zhou Chen's words, Cao Zhengchun's expression turned solemn, and he immediately bowed and said, "This old servant obeys the decree."

"besides."

"Immediately notify Fang Xuanling, Lü Bu, Marquis Weiwu, the Eighth Prince, and the Minister of War to come to the palace to see me."

Zhou Chen then spoke to Cao Zhengchun.

As the saying goes, one person's plan is short-sighted, but two people's plans are long-sighted.

Zhou Chen only has these five people he can and dares to use right now.

The entire 30,000-strong Divine Martial Guard was wiped out, and the Grand Tutor, a veteran of three dynasties, died in battle.

Such a significant matter required Zhou Chen to consult with these ministers.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Cao Zhengchun nodded and immediately left the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

After Cao Zhengchun left, Zhou Chen continued pacing back and forth, feeling extremely agitated.

The pleasant feeling I had just experienced after eliminating the hidden forces of the carefree King Zhou Qian had long since vanished.

What replaced it was a heart full of gloom.

"No wonder I've been feeling uneasy these past few days; it turns out something bad really did happen."

"It's still this kind of momentous event."

Zhou Chen's eyes flickered as he paced back and forth a few times before sitting back down on the dragon throne.

Zhou Chen had been feeling uneasy lately, thinking it was because he was looking through the backlog of memorials.

Now it seems, it's probably because of the complete annihilation of the 30,000 Divine Martial Guards and the death of the Grand Tutor. ...

After half an hour.

Fang Xuanling, Lü Bu, Marquis Weiwu, the Eighth Prince, and the Minister of War arrived together.

Each of them wore a look of doubt mixed with seriousness.

They already knew about the urgent message that had been sent to the palace.

As soon as the urgent message arrived at the palace, Zhou Chen immediately summoned them.

Clearly, something terrible has happened.

As soon as Fang Xuanling and his group of five entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation, they sensed that something was amiss.

When they saw Zhou Chen's gloomy face on the dragon throne, their hearts sank even further.

This seems to be a very big deal!

Otherwise, the person on the dragon throne wouldn't have such a gloomy face.

Fang Xuanling and the other four kept their thoughts to themselves, but they did not forget their manners.

"Your Majesty, we have come to pay our respects." Fang Xuanling and the other four bowed respectfully to Zhou Chen.

They wondered what major event had occurred that could cause the man on the dragon throne to have such a gloomy face.

"No need for formalities."

"I'm sure you all already know about the urgent message that just came from 800 li away."

"This came from the four prefectures in the northwest."

Zhou Chen glanced at Fang Xuanling, the Minister of War, and the other four people and spoke.

Fang Xuanling and the other four did not show much surprise upon hearing this.

The five of them knew about the severe drought in the four northern prefectures and the peasant uprisings in the four northwestern provinces.

In the eyes of the five of them, the only thing that could be sent by express courier at this time with an urgent message that could be related to matters concerning the four northern states and the four northwestern prefectures.

As expected, things went exactly as they predicted.

The Minister of War frowned, stepped forward, and asked, "Your Majesty, is it that the Grand Tutor's efforts to quell the rebellion are not going smoothly?"

"Is it still because the first batch of disaster relief funds brought by the Grand Tutor was insufficient?"

"If the disaster relief funds are insufficient, the Ministry of Revenue is currently well-funded and can immediately allocate another five million taels to the four northwestern prefectures for disaster relief and to help the people."

According to the Minister of War, with Grand Tutor Wen Zhong personally leading the campaign to quell the peasant uprising in the four northwestern prefectures, there should be no major problems.

The biggest problem was that the disaster relief funds they brought were insufficient.

The Ministry of Revenue's treasury is currently full, so this is not a big problem at all.

Zhou Chen glanced at the Minister of War, took a deep breath, and said, "Grand Tutor, lead 30,000 Divine Martial Guards to the four northwestern prefectures to quell the peasant uprising and provide disaster relief and life-saving assistance."

"As a result, all 30,000 Shenwu Guards were wiped out."

"Grand Tutor also died in battle in Xi'an Prefecture."

Zhou Chen tried his best to calm his tone and spoke slowly.

However, the low tone of his voice still revealed the unease in Zhou Chen's heart.

what?
Did the Grand Tutor die in battle at Xi'an Prefecture?
The entire army of 30,000 Shenwu Guards was wiped out.
Zhou Chen's words were like a thunderbolt, causing the expressions of Fang Xuanling and the other four to change.

They originally thought that something that could be delivered by express courier was a big deal, but they never expected it to be such a bolt from the blue.

The 30,000-strong Divine Martial Guard, sent to the four northwestern prefectures to quell the peasant uprising, was completely wiped out, and even the Grand Tutor, a veteran of three dynasties, died in battle.

How can this be?

In particular, the Minister of War, the Eighth Prince, and the Marquis of Weiwu were all ministers in the same court as Grand Tutor Wen Zhong.

They knew of Grand Tutor Wen Zhong's abilities.

Let alone leading 30,000 Divine Martial Guards to quell the rebellion of a group of rioters who had just put down their farming tools in the four northwestern prefectures, even leading 30,000 Divine Martial Guards to fight a major battle against foreign tribes outside the Great Wall would not result in a complete annihilation.

Not to mention that the Grand Tutor himself died in battle.

This is simply not possible.

The Minister of War, the Eighth Prince, and the Marquis of Weiwu all looked incredulous.

Unfortunately, whether they believed it or not, they could not change the final outcome.

The urgent delivery of goods over 800 li (approximately 400 kilometers) is no joke, and no one would dare to joke about such a thing.

(End of this chapter)