Chapter 432
Once across the Yellow River, the enemy troops would be less than ten miles away from the capital and the fall of the nation would be close at hand.
The imperial court suddenly exploded in pandemonium. The capital had just transferred 100,000 garrison troops to support Taiyuan and the remaining troops were no more than 100,000. However, the capital was a place that was not easy to defend and difficult to attack, relying only on natural phenomena as protection. Once the capital fell, the Emperor and the royals would fall, leading to the ruin of the dynasty.
The emperor summoned the courtiers into the palace overnight and all the ministers were all over the place, unable to calm down for even a moment. They all hailed from a literati background, which explained their panic. One of the old ministers said, “Your Majesty, for the current plan, we can only evacuate and move the capital immediately before Ye Luji crosses the river. The capital can be rebuilt if it is destroyed and if the green hills remain, there will be no worries about firewood. As long as Your Majesty is here, there will be a day where the city can be rebuilt. As long as we survive this period of time and send troops to serve the Emperor, Your Majesty will be safe.”
The voice of the old minister sounded and everyone fell into silence. The Emperor’s heart sank when he heard that— had they already reached the point of needing to abandon the capital city? Once the capital was moved in haste, the decades of accumulation of several central plains courts and the prosperous foundation of the city would be completely destroyed.
The Emperor really couldn’t bear it and asked in a deep voice, “The people in the capital live and work in peace and contentment. Plus, we are a population of millions. I really can’t bear to abandon the people. Apart from moving the capital, is there no other way to go about it?”
After the Emperor finished speaking, he was silent for a long time. There was only silence until the old minister bowed his hands deeply and said, “Besides moving the capital, there is another plan.”
“We revitalise His Highness Prince An.”
Mu Mingtang’s long hair was scattered on the pillow. The beauty seemed so tired that she didn’t even have time to tie up her long hair before proceeding to sleep soundly.
On the crimson brocade quilt, strands of dark, raven hair were limply drooping. It was also slightly damp like dews falling from tree leaves after a pour of rain. However, it was also lustre and bright, as if it drew an infinite reverie.
Mu Mingtang was so tired that she fell asleep. She didn’t know how long she had remained asleep when she finally woke up afterwards.
Upon waking up, she found that Xie Xuanchen was not there. She mustered her strength and turned around, touching the part of the bed beside her with her slender fingers before realising that it was icy cold.
It seemed that he had been out for a long time. Or rather, he hadn’t returned at all.
Today, during curfew, Zhu Yanghong came to visit rather abruptly. Not long after he was seated, he talked about the situation outside.
The east road was lost and Ye Luji had led an army of 100,000 to the riverside, which meant that the capital was in danger.
Zhu Yanghong certainly wasn’t one to say such words casually. In fact, even arriving on their doorstep today was no small matter.
Zhu Yanghong worked in the Privy Council. Although he was in an embarrassing situation because he neither belonged to the civil nor military forces, he was in the centre of power after all, so he was in close contact with civil officials every day. Since the news of the defeat came yesterday, officials from the empire have been arguing endlessly about how to resolve the situation.
It wasn’t like they weren’t able to discuss the outcome of the situation. After everyone heard the news, an answer immediately appeared in their hearts. However, no one dared to say it.
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