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Chapter 267 Defeat ()

The battle report is finally here!

The prince stood up suddenly: "Bring it here quickly."

Zheng Chen also stood up.

After a while, the expressions of His Royal Highness and the Young Master changed after reading the battle report.

"The Yingwei battalion encountered an ambush as soon as they entered Pingzhou territory. They fought in a hurry and the Yingwei battalion was defeated! More than 1,300 people were killed in the battle, and as many as 400 people were slightly or seriously injured!"

The bad news in the station newspaper was simply shocking.

"The Yingwei camp actually lost the battle!" His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was furious and threw the battle report in his hand to the ground with great force: "You bastard! I have to ask Prime Minister Wang now! What should I do next!"

Zheng Chen also looked extremely ugly.

In the previous life, there were indeed civil unrest and wars in the north of Daliang. Tan Sheng, the self-proclaimed king of Pingzhou, was indeed the first to rise up and proclaim himself king.

However, the imperial court sent troops to quell the rebellion, and Tan Sheng was quickly killed, suppressing the rebellion. He knew it well, so he never took Tan Sheng seriously.

Who would have thought that General Wei led 20,000 elite troops and suffered a huge defeat as soon as he entered Pingzhou? The variables in between are shocking.

Zheng Chen quickly calmed down and reached out to hold the furious prince: "Your Highness, please do not act rashly. Before this battle report was sent to the East Palace, it must have been sent to the Zhaohe Palace. Prime Minister Wang may not be less angry than Your Highness now."

"Your Highness, there is no need to rush to question Prime Minister Wang. Let's see what he says first."

The prince snorted coldly and left the study with a livid face.

Wang Jin, Li Boyuan and Jiang Yi, who were also in the East Palace, all rushed over after hearing the news. Everyone looked solemn.

The imperial court sent troops to quell the chaos, but was defeated in the first battle, which was really embarrassing. More importantly, the strength of the Pingzhou rebel army far exceeded expectations.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince glanced at Wang Jin and said in a tight voice: "I want to go to Zhaohe Palace, you guys should come too."

Wang Jin was shocked when he saw it, and he handed over his hand.

Zheng Chen secretly raised the corners of his lips.

In the Zhaohe Palace, Prime Minister Wang, who got the news earlier, was even more angry than the Crown Prince.

General Wei was the general he appointed at his command, and he recommended him to send troops to Pingzhou this time. Now that General Wei has suffered a huge defeat, he, the prime minister, has become disgraced and disgraced.

Prime Minister Wang held his hands beside Emperor Taikang's dragon bed to plead guilty.

Emperor Taikang frowned and struggled to say a few words: "The Prime Minister is not to blame for this."

Prime Minister Wang looked sad and blamed himself: "I don't know the person well. This Wei Peng has really betrayed the emperor's trust and caused the court to lose face."

"It's just that it's taboo to change generals before the battle. The British Guards camp suffered nearly 2,000 casualties, and there are still 18,000 elite soldiers. I asked the emperor to order more troops, and sent the order to General Wei, asking him to quickly lead the troops to quell the peace. state."

As soon as he finished speaking, His Royal Highness came with a group of companions.

The prince was angry, and he was not polite when he spoke to Prime Minister Wang: "Prime Minister Wang has decided to increase the army, can you dare to guarantee that General Wei can win the battle? If he loses again, let alone pacify the rebel army, the court has spent countless money to raise it. I don’t know how many of the Yingwei camp have their bones buried in Pingzhou.”

Prime Minister Wang's brows moved and he looked at the prince: "Is your highness questioning my vision or your loyalty?"

"I naturally hope that General Wei will put an end to the chaos as soon as possible, so I propose to increase the number of troops. If not, the generals will have to be replaced on the battlefield. By then, if the morale of the army is unstable, morale is low, and if another defeat occurs, who is to blame?"

The prince was looked at by Prime Minister Wang's sharp eyes, and suddenly felt a little panicked. He subconsciously turned his head to look at Emperor Taikang on the dragon couch.

Emperor Taikang did not speak, and motioned the prince to shut up with his eyes. The prince shut up angrily.

Wang Jin watched from the side, feeling frightened.

The prince is the crown prince and the future emperor of Liang. His Highness the Crown Prince couldn't be happy that his father was so strong and domineering. When the prince ascends the throne in the future, will his father still be able to remain the prime minister safely?

Prime Minister Wang turned around and raised his hand to Emperor Taikang: "I would like to ask the emperor to issue an order to summon six ministers and generals to the palace to discuss reinforcements."

"Accurate!" Emperor Taikang spoke concisely: "The prince issued the decree on my behalf."

The prince handed over his hand.

Half an hour later, a group of important officials from the imperial court entered the Zhaohe Hall with solemn expressions.

This emergency military meeting went very smoothly. The ministers were concerned about Prime Minister Wang's face and did not criticize General Wei for his defeat. Recommendations for reinforcements were quickly adopted.

General Du led the remaining 30,000 elite soldiers of the British Guard Battalion to Pingzhou for reinforcements.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Finance went to the Hubu Yamen with a sullen face to settle accounts and transfer money. Anguo Gong, Minister of the Ministry of War, had to prepare food and supplies, and his headache was no less severe than that of Minister of Ji.

The other ministers were not in a good mood either.

Seeing that the emperor's dragon body was getting worse day by day, drought and war continued in the north of Daliang, and the rebels proclaimed themselves king, the people of Pingzhou actually supported the rebels and rushed to report the news privately. Otherwise, how could the rebels accurately ambush and attack, and how could General Wei lose the battle?

……

That night, An Guogong was busy until midnight, then returned home with a tired look on his face.

Then, he saw Zheng Chen waiting in the study.

An Guogong was busy all day and midnight, and his throat was so dry that he could hardly speak.

Zheng Chen poured a cup of warm tea and sent it to An Guogong. Duke An Guo took it and drank it in one gulp. His voice finally became clearer and clearer: "You are not staying in the East Palace, why are you back?"

Zheng Chen whispered: "I do have an important matter."

Although Zheng Chen is young, he is extremely intelligent, calm and sharp, with sharp eyes. Duke An Guo was quite proud of his eldest son, and privately he listened to his words. Hearing the words, he said, "Please tell me."

Zheng Chen first dismissed everyone, and then whispered a few words in An Guogong's ear.

An Guogong: "..."

An Guogong was shocked and looked at Zheng Chen without saying anything for a long time.

It was as if he could see his young son's true face for the first time.

Zheng Chen looked calm and allowed An Guogong to keep a close eye on him: "I know that my father can't turn around for a while. However, this is indeed our best chance."

"The Emperor's dragon body is declining and cannot survive for long. Between the Queen Mother's father and Prime Minister Wang, the Emperor trusts and relies more on Prime Minister Wang. Now in the court, everything is decided by Prime Minister Wang. If this continues, we Zheng It’s hard for a family to turn around.”

"Now that the Yingwei camp has lost the battle, Prime Minister Wang cannot absolve himself of the blame. As long as General Wei is defeated again and again, or even completely loses Pingzhou, Prime Minister Wang is the initiator and must bear the heavy responsibility for the loss of territory."

An Guogong was still in shock and subconsciously added: "But that is an entire state, and there are tens of thousands of elite soldiers from the British Guards Battalion, all of whom are elites from the Liang Dynasty..."

"The lost territory can be recovered later." Zheng Chen's face was cold and his voice was cold: "The Yingwei camp, from General Wei to General Du, are all members of Prime Minister Wang. With the help of the rebels, we can get rid of the Yingwei Camp is equivalent to cutting off one of Prime Minister Wang's arms."

"Father, please think carefully and make an early decision!"