There was a faint thunder outside, and lightning flashed across the dark night sky, seeming to split the sky.
The patter of rain could be heard clearly from the window.
From slow to fast, it hit the window lattice and made a crisp sound.
The lights in Jiyi Hall are brightly lit.
"On August 13, the army received a report that the bandits led eight thousand troops and wanted to attack our rear army. We sent the obedient Marquis Wu Kezhong to lead five thousand officers and soldiers to break up the rear. The two sides fought at Leijia Station and were completely wiped out by the enemy."
"At the time of Shen, the army reported to the central army. The superiors were furious and sent the Duke Zhu Yong and Yongshun Bo Xue Shou to lead an army of 40,000 to pursue the bandits."
"Zhu Yong was greedy for merit and rushed forward. He chased the thieves to Yao'erling and was ambushed by more than 30,000 thieves. Zhu Yong and Xue Shou were both killed in the battle. More than 20,000 of our officers and soldiers died in the battle. The remaining people retreated to the central army. Wang Zhen As the army suffered repeated defeats, we hastily ordered the army to retreat.”
Yu Qian stood among the ministers, holding a military report in his hand. His face was straight and upright, showing no emotion or anger, and his voice sounded extremely calm.
It was the first time for many courtiers in this palace to see this kind of military report without any abridgements.
Listening to it now, I just feel dizzy.
Normally, even if they were defeated, it would only be a small-scale battle involving thousands of officers and soldiers.
The highest level of generals who died in battle was no more than a general.
But now, Shan Shan just read it out from Yu Qian.
The losses exceeded 20,000 people.
Not to mention, a duke, a marquis, and an earl were killed in battle.
These are all hereditary high-ranking relatives!
Although most civil servants have no favorable impression of these arrogant and domineering military officials.
However, for Ming Dynasty, it was a great shame and humiliation for a relative of this rank to be killed by the enemy!
Suddenly, the calm atmosphere in the hall became vaguely boiling again.
But this time, the officials were indignant.
Angry Wala!
The Mobei barbarians, who were chased and beaten by Taizu and Taizong, and who fearfully submitted to the military might of the two former emperors, dared to offend the great power of Ming Dynasty in this way.
At the same time, I am also angry at Wang Zhen!
With more than 200,000 fighting officers and troops, forget it if you can't win.
He actually suffered such a huge defeat.
To describe him as incompetent is to praise him!
Of course, there may still be people who are angry at the emperor...
Angry that he favored the sycophant and insisted on doing whatever he wanted.
It's just that at this time, no one dared to speak.
Zhu Qiyu looked at the boiling atmosphere in the hall and sighed secretly.
This is just an appetizer, why can’t you accept it?
However, there were 20,000 casualties, and only three high-ranking relatives died.
In the past few decades, the Ming Dynasty has indeed never suffered such a defeat.
But compared with the real drama that comes next, this is nothing!
I just hope that the nerves of these courtiers can be a little stronger.
Zhu Qiyu raised his hand and pressed it down, and the faces of several elders sitting beside him also darkened.
The lively atmosphere in the hall slowly calmed down.
Yu Qian also stopped. He stood closer to Zhu Qiyu, so Zhu Qiyu could clearly see that the veins in his hand holding the military newspaper were vaguely bulging.
He was trying his best to control his emotions. Under this calm appearance, there was endless anger hidden.
After he calmed down slightly, Zhu Qiyu motioned for him to continue.
Yu Qian's voice became calm again and said.
"Due to the hasty retreat, the army's thousands of baggage vehicles failed to catch up."
"On August 14th, the car drove to the civil fort twenty miles outside Huailai City. Wang Zhen ordered to camp on the spot and wait for the baggage vehicles to follow."
"Kuang Ye, the Secretary of the Ministry of War at that time, strongly advised that in order to protect the safety of the saint, he should rush into Juyong Pass as soon as possible. He was angrily rebuked by Wang Zhen and ordered to be expelled. No one of the accompanying ministers dared to remonstrate."
"The land of the earthen fort was high and there was no water. Our officers and soldiers dug wells several feet high, but there was no water. At that time, a large army of thieves and bandits pursued them and established a camp by the river. Our soldiers and horses were hungry and thirsty, and their morale was low."
"That night, the bandits increased their troops from Mayukou, hoping to form an encirclement."
"The generals guarding Mayukou commanded Guo Mao to lead the officers and troops guarding the pass to fight vigorously and kill more than a thousand enemies. However, the bandits continued to increase their troops. Guo Mao died in battle and the officers and troops guarding the pass were destroyed."
"At this point, the bandits have formed an encirclement. Our army's supplies of food and fodder have been cut off by the enemy. There is no danger to defend the place where we are stationed. At the same time, the water source has been cut off, and people are panicking."
Many ministers present had closed their eyes in pain.
The baggage was robbed, the water source was cut off, the enemy surrounded us, and there was no danger to defend...
They could almost imagine what would happen next.
What's more.
He was already yelling at Wang Zhen in his heart.
He can kill himself by beating too many, what a talent!
The ministers accompanying him were also weak.
Just one Wang Zhen scared you all.
If the Holy Driver makes any mistake, you will all be sinners of the Ming Dynasty!
good.
At this point, the officials present finally realized a terrible fact.
How can there be any reason to be invincible in such a bad situation?
Before contacting Yu Qian, he said that the Chinese army was defeated by bandits.
It seems that the army's defeat is certain.
So, what happened to the Holy Master in the Central Army?
All the officials present became unusually quiet.
Throughout Jiyi Hall, you could hear needles dropping.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Yu Qian.
Yu Qian took a deep breath and said.
"On August 15th, our officers and soldiers were trapped for two days. Our troops were trapped and their horses were exhausted. They wanted to retreat to Huailai City. However, the bandit army was stationed five miles away. They sent their cavalry around the camp and kept watching. Our army made several attempts. All stood out and were repulsed."
"That night, the captors retreated. Wang Zhen immediately ordered the army to march out. After traveling for two miles, the captors clashed with each other from all sides. Our army was defeated."
"In this battle, the number of casualties among our officers and soldiers has been confirmed to be more than 170,000. The number of casualties among the civilian laborers in the logistics has been confirmed to be over 120,000. Thirty thousand remnant troops have been gathered in each pass city, and 50,000 civilian laborers have been scattered in all directions. There are a total of 110,000 people whose lives and deaths are unknown."
"The accompanying ministers, those of third rank and above, less than five survived, have been sent back to the capital. Those below third rank are not counted. A list of the dead is attached."
Despite all the previous preparations, all officials present have repeatedly raised their estimates of casualties in this war.
But when I actually heard it, I still felt extremely heavy in my heart.
The army went out with 500,000 people, and could fight more than 200,000 officers and soldiers.
According to military reports alone, more than 170,000 officers and soldiers have been confirmed dead.
With such casualties, it can be said that the entire army was wiped out!
That's an army of hundreds of thousands!
Hundreds of thousands of pigs were surrounded and killed by the bandits.
He would have to kill for several days and nights.
All the ministers thought in their hearts and scolded Wang Zhen fiercely.
But they also knew that at this time, scolding Wang Zhen would not solve the problem.
Yu Qian has been talking for so long, but there is still one most important key that he has not said.
All the ministers present held their breath and stared at Yu Qian, as if if he said the wrong word, they would pounce on him and skin him alive.
Yu Qian glanced at the elders who were sitting firmly, calmed down, and said in a deep voice.
"The holy driver was well, but he was captured by bandits and headed north. Except for one of the internal ministers named Xi Ning, all the accompanying officials, including Wang Zhen, died in the accident."
No one cares about Wang Zhen's death at this time.
But I heard that the holy driver was captured by thieves...
There was silence for a moment.
Suddenly there were two muffled sounds.
Zhu Qiyu followed the sound and looked over.
But I saw two gray-haired old men.
He fell to the ground on the spot, unconscious...
