My chat group is full of female losers

Chapter 322 Progress
Beijing.

Changhong's counterattack began quietly. She didn't do anything earth-shattering; she simply strolled around restaurants and teahouses, exchanging a few words with all sorts of people. Yet, these seemingly casual remarks had a tremendous impact on Chu Lu's rumors.

"Hey guys, have you heard? His Majesty's blood sacrifice formation is complete nonsense! It's a grand scheme, a trap to lure the enemy into a snare!"

"Come on, you're trying to lure them into a trap. I think he's just chickened out, trying to scare those people from the Great Jiang Kingdom away by acting like an old opera singer!"

"That's right! If he had the brains, would he have been able to make a little palace maid lose her bearings? I think he's just out of ideas, so he's playing tricks here!"

…………

…………

The crowd's emotions escalated from initial skepticism to outrage. Chang Hong observed this, a faint smile playing on her lips, but there was no trace of smugness in her smile, as if she had merely kicked away some pebbles on the roadside—not only was she not pleased, but she didn't even need to care.

She turned and went back to the inn, ready to get a good night's sleep.

Since the rumors have already been sown, let them spread on their own.

In the imperial study room.

Chu Lu was listening to Huo Qi's report.

"Your Majesty, the plan is progressing very smoothly," Huo Qi said, bowing. "According to our people's observations, the wave of counter-rumor-mongering first started in the southern part of the city and then spread throughout the entire city. The scope has narrowed considerably."

“Very good.” Chu Lu nodded.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a flurry of hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall. Then, a chief eunuch practically stumbled in, his face deathly pale. He had abandoned all basic etiquette, his hands trembling as he held up a sealed report, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty! The border... an urgent dispatch from the border!"

Chu Lu took the military report, quickly glanced through it, and his face immediately darkened.

The military report stated that the allied forces of the Great River Kingdom had broken through the border. Due to the influence of the blood sacrifice rumors, the morale of the border troops wavered, and their combat performance was poor, resulting in a disastrous defeat.

In the ensuing panic, some soldiers even mutinied and deserted, resulting in a huge breach in the defense of a key pass.

Chu Lu's eyes narrowed, and he crumpled the military report in his hand into a ball. The situation was deteriorating faster than he had anticipated.

He took a deep breath and said to Huo Qi in a deep voice, "Time is running out. Start the second round immediately! Narrow down the scope for me!"

As a result, even more bizarre rumors began to circulate in the capital once again.

"The emperor's backup plan was not the blood sacrifice formation at all. Instead, he had secretly allied with the wolf lord of the Northern Barbarians to prepare for a three-pronged encirclement and annexation of the two countries in one fell swoop!"

Changhong quickly noticed this new trend, and she mocked Yun Que beside her, "Look, he's here again. Our Emperor is commendable for his perseverance, but he's not very bright and always puts his effort into useless things."

Yun Que covered her mouth and chuckled, "That's right, Princess. You can torment him half to death with just a few words, but he thinks he can turn the tables. It's hilarious."

“He likes to play, so I’ll play along.” Changhong picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said, “Anyway, it’s just a matter of saying a few more words.”

The entire capital city is in complete chaos.

One day, the storyteller in the teahouse was spitting as he recounted the emperor's brilliant plans to secure the country; the next day, street urchins were cursing the incompetent ruler for betraying the country and seeking personal gain. The people of the east city believed that there must be a wise man behind the emperor, while the people of the west city were convinced that the court was rotten to the core.

People argued endlessly over the facts they believed to be true, resorting to fists when verbal arguments weren't enough, turning the entire capital into a laughing stock.

Royal study room.

Chu Lu listened to Huo Qi's report once again. "Your Majesty, after these rounds of screening, we've narrowed it down to Le'an Ward in the south of the city." Huo Qi's tone was flat, but a closer listen revealed a hint of relief. This seemingly pointless mission was finally coming to an end. "Your Majesty, I humbly request that you order the final step!"

This so-called final step, to put it bluntly, was clumsy yet direct. Now that the net had shrunk to the size of a market town, Huo Qi was confident that he could use his trusted men to turn Le'an Ward into an airtight cage, where every move of everyone inside would be closely watched.

At that point, all it takes is one more rumor to expose the target.

"Alright!" Chu Lu slammed his hand on the table. "Let's do it!"

Huo Qi accepted the order, bowed, and withdrew.

"Qin Su," Chu Lu's voice was filled with excitement, "we're about to catch her!"

Qin Su nodded.

Meanwhile, in the inn room, Changhong was discussing in the chat group: "After this round of rumors, the emperor is clearly at a disadvantage. The morale of the troops at the front is low, and the enemy army is pressing in. It's only a matter of time before he's finished. Now, it's time to discuss how to deal with that secretive group admin."

As soon as these words were spoken, the group chat immediately became lively.

Consort Li: "The group leader only knows how to pull off sneak attacks. He definitely can't handle a large-scale battle between two countries! I bet he'll just run away with the emperor!"

Consort Zhuang: "That's right! So we should act in advance, control all the entrances and exits of the capital, and send people to stop him as soon as he tries to escape!"

Consort Wan: "When he sees that the emperor is about to be captured by us, he will definitely be so anxious that he will jump out to save him, and we will be able to capture him in one fell swoop!"

After some discussion, Su Wanqing summarized and asked, "Senior Changhong, what do you think of this plan?"

Chang Hong nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, but there are some oversights."

She slowly and deliberately pointed out: "It is indeed very possible that the emperor will escape, but what if he is surrounded by a large number of imperial guards? It will be difficult to stop him if we do not take action. Therefore, we must make some preparations in advance and find a way to create a situation where he is alone."

Upon hearing this, the leading ladies immediately feigned sudden realization, and a torrent of exaggerated praise poured forth.

"Senior Changhong is indeed farsighted! We didn't even think of that!"

"Yes! You've thought of everything so thoroughly!"

After another heated discussion, a seemingly flawless and complete plan was finally formed.

Changhong took a look but couldn't find any obvious flaws, so he accepted the plan.

After finalizing the plan, Changhong said a few more encouraging platitudes, then closed the chat group with a satisfied smile on his lips.

—In the end, he's just a male-oriented character, and that's all he's capable of. It's laughable that that good-for-nothing Si Ren was defeated by him.

She lay comfortably on the bed, thinking to herself: Once I catch the group leader, I'll go and make a good laugh at Si Ren.

She closed her eyes, preparing to fall asleep.

Just then, the chat group notification sounded abruptly; someone was messaging her privately.

Changhong opened the message with a puzzled look and found that it was from a female protagonist she didn't recognize. She didn't want to pay attention to it at first, but after seeing the message, she suddenly sat up.

Shen Yanchen: "Danger! The Emperor's plan is a trap!"

(End of this chapter)