A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

When Huo Qingluan received the second urgent report, she had already opened the letter before her horse had even come to a complete stop.

"The eight princes joined forces and crossed the southern route of Chenqiao. Their vanguard was 130 li away from Golden City."

The scout who came to deliver the message knelt on the ground, his throat cracking.

"The Black Mountain Army and the Red Blade Army are the main forces, with elite troops from Bailu, Haidong, Baiyue, Tieling, Hedong, and Qinglong. They are said to number one million."

No one spoke inside the tent.

Huo Qingluan's finger stopped on the phrase "claimed to be worth millions," her eyes remaining calm.

million.

That sounds scary.

But her first reaction wasn't fear, it was calculation.

It's impossible for Han Dashan and Zhou Laodao to have truly emptied everyone's coffers.

The so-called million must have included newly conscripted men, laborers dragged along the way, and bannermen just to make up the numbers.

Even a discount would be enough to make Golden City feel suffocated.

Even worse, they actually didn't go to rescue Du Heng.

Your Majesty guessed correctly.

These people are not stupid.

They dared not confront Wei Zhao head-on in Guiping, so they bypassed him and attacked Huangjincheng, the gateway to the capital, and the weakest point in Xinwu.

Huo Qingluan closed the military report.

"Order the entire army to accelerate."

The lieutenant's face turned pale.

"Madam, many of the veterans are injured or ill. After two days of continuous travel, I'm afraid they won't be able to hold on."

Huo Qingluan glanced at him.

"Even if we can't hold on, we must hold on until we reach the City of Gold."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it made the lieutenant swallow the rest of his sentence.

Huo Qingluan knew better than anyone that she had not brought back a complete army.

The number of veteran soldiers from the Wei family army, the Imperial Guards, and the old soldiers trained after Pingyang was less than 400,000.

That sounds like a lot.

However, nearly half of them were injured.

Some had their arms in slings, some had arrow wounds that had just scabbed over, and some hadn't had a full night's sleep since being dragged out of the Pingyang street fighting.

They are veterans.

He was also a wounded soldier.

But this is exactly what the Golden City needs most.

The new army had passion, land deeds, and a reason to fight to the death.

But they have never seen a real million-strong army pressing in.

Huo Qingluan dared not gamble on whether the new recruits' legs would go weak when the banners of the Eight Princes were spread all over the city and the drums sounded.

So she has to go back.

Use these wounded veterans to hold up the bones of the Golden City.

Three days later.

The north gate of Golden City opened, and Huo Qingluan led her army into the city.

On the city wall, when the garrison soldiers saw those armored veterans, their previously tense faces finally relaxed a little.

The old flag of the Wei family army was raised again.

broken.

old.

There are also charred holes along the edge of the flag.

But as soon as that flag was put up on the wall, the people in the new military camp below fell silent.

A migrant from Qingzhou who had recently registered looked up at the flag and his throat bobbed.

"That's the Wei family army?"

The old soldier next to him chuckled; he had a scar on his face that ran from his brow bone to the corner of his mouth.

"Yes."

"Are they afraid too?"

The old soldier slammed his knife against the wall.

"Afraid."

The refugee was stunned.

The old soldier grinned as he looked at the dust rising in the distance outside the city.

"Be scared as you may be, just stay still. When the enemy gets close, you'll find that being scared is useless, just fuck them."

The refugee gripped his spear tightly, but his hand still trembled.

But this time, he did not bow his head.

When Huo Qingluan ascended the city tower, the garrison commander of Golden City had already spread out the military register.

"Madam, there are 396,000 soldiers in the city who are ready for battle. There are 190,000 former members of the Wei family army, 70,000 veterans of the Imperial Guard, and more than 80,000 veterans of the Pingyang and Guiping training camps. The rest are those who have recovered from their injuries and those guarding the grain supply camps."

The garrison commander paused.

"Wounded soldiers account for 40%."

Huo Qingluan looked down at the booklet.

Less than 400,000.

Injured.

There was plenty of grain, but the population was diverse, and there were also resettlement camps for millions of displaced people outside the city.

If it's really destroyed, the Golden City won't just be a simple city being destroyed.

The very foundation of the new military merit system must be severed.

She pressed her finger on the military register.

"Those who are too seriously injured to climb the wall will be assigned to the siege equipment team to carry arrows, lift stones, and guard the inner warehouse."

The garrison commander nodded.

"Minor injury?"

"Put on armor and climb the wall."

That's a rather cold statement.

But no one objected.

Huo Qingluan herself knew it was cold.

But now is not the time to be soft-hearted.

With the Eight Princes stationed a hundred miles away, Han Dashan will surely try to drive out the refugees, burn down soup kitchens, and disrupt the grain transport routes. If Golden City falls into chaos, the capital will panic.

The capital was thrown into chaos, and His Majesty was pulled back.

We must not let them succeed.

At least until Wei Zhao conquers Huainan, Huangjincheng must be held firmly like a nail.

"The soup kitchens outside the city are shrinking."

Huo Qingluan said, "The elderly, women, and children should enter the inner circle first, while the able-bodied should be incorporated into the militia. Anyone who dares to take advantage of the chaos to loot grain will be beheaded. Anyone who dares to spread rumors that Xinwu has abandoned the city will be beheaded. Anyone who dares to open the city gates and surrender to the enemy will be punished along with their relatives."

The garrison commander's eyelid twitched.

"Madam, there are too many refugees. If we kill too many..."

Huo Qingluan looked up.

"If we don't kill a few now, hundreds of thousands will die once Han Dashan hands over the knife."

The garrison commander shut up.

Correct.

That's an unpleasant thing to say.

But now Golden City is a pot of boiling water.

The firewood below is already burning.

When the Eight Princes arrived with a million men, the refugees were afraid, the new army was afraid, the grain merchants were afraid, and even the powerful families were afraid.

When fear reaches a certain point, some people will try to survive in chaos.

The knife must be laid out first.

Huo Qingluan walked to the edge of the city wall and looked towards the dust line to the north.

"Has the capital been notified?"

"It has already been sent by express courier."

She nodded.

Hopefully Li Huai will be quick enough.

No.

It's not hope.

Li Huai will be quick.

That old man was ruthless when it came to killing powerful families. If the Eighth Prince really forced him to the gates of the capital, he might just tear down the imperial court and burn it for firewood.

Beijing.

After reading the urgent report from Huangjincheng, Li Huai immediately smashed his teacup on the ground.

"Eight kings and a millionaires?"

The officials in the hall all turned pale.

Some people's lips trembled.

"Prime Minister Li, His Majesty's main force is still in Guiping. If Golden City falls, the capital will be in danger. Should we request His Majesty to withdraw his troops?"

Li Huai looked up at him.

"Should Your Majesty return to base?"

The official's throat moved.

"This is a prudent approach."

Li Huai smiled.

His smile sent chills down the spines of several people in the hall.

"safe?"

Li Huai stood up and flicked his sleeve.

"Han Dashan and Zhou Laodao attacked Golden City to force His Majesty to turn back. Now you're writing a memorial asking His Majesty to return, are you afraid the rebel king isn't quick enough, and want to give them a push?"

The official's face turned deathly pale.

"This humble official had absolutely no such intention!"

"Whether you have it or not, you know the answer yourself."

Li Huai was too lazy to continue rambling.

He understood perfectly well.

These people may not actually be colluding with the enemy.

But they were afraid.

They feared the fall of the Golden City, the chaos in the capital, and that the newly enthroned Emperor Wu would be reduced to nothing by the Eighth Prince.

I fear that in the end, I will instinctively want to call Wei Zhao back.

If Wei Zhao were to return, the previous system of military merit would be over.

If Huainan is not attacked, Du Heng can recover.

Having tasted success, the Eighth Prince will then focus his attention on the capital and the Golden City.

The most frightening thing in the world is not losing a battle, but letting the enemy know where you are vulnerable.

Although Li Huai was not a general, he understood people.

If you give Han Dashan even an inch of his head, he'll dare to dig up your ancestral grave.

"Issue the Prime Minister's order."

Li Huai slammed the urgent report on the table.

"Summon the six marquises to the capital to discuss military matters."

The officials below the hall suddenly looked up.

"The Six Marquises?"

"right."

Li Huai said coldly, "Of the eighteen rebel armies back then, ten rebelled, and eight followed His Majesty to establish states and be granted titles. Now that His Majesty is in Guiping and Golden City is under pressure, it's time for the remaining six marquises to make their move."

Someone whispered, "But the lords are stationed in different places. If they move, the area will be left vulnerable..."

Li Huai glanced over at it.

"It's better for the city to be empty than for the capital to be besieged."

No one dared to speak again.

Li Huai was seething with anger.

These marquises followed Wei Zhao because they saw that Lu Song was utterly corrupt, that the old Wei dynasty was beyond saving, and that Wei Zhao could win.

After being enfeoffed as marquises, they each guarded their respective territories, thus becoming the new military outcasts.

Now that the Golden City is under attack by the Eight Princes, it's a good time to see how tough these people are.

If you eat Xinwu's noble title, you have to take a knife for Xinwu.