At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

"Nonsense!"

Yang Wenzhao turned around abruptly and glared at Wei Zili.

"The imperial court sent out a total of 500,000 soldiers and horses! In less than a month, 80,000 have been killed! Xiao Zongnan cannot escape the blame!"

Yang Wenzhao was merciless in his words.

He was already angry, and he felt even worse because he failed to lead the troops into battle this time and Xiao Zongnan happened to be defeated.

At this moment, the empress sitting on the dragon throne also had an extremely gloomy look on her face.

Eighty thousand soldiers were completely wiped out!

Even though the imperial court was powerful and wealthy, it could not afford such a loss.

Therefore, when Yang Wenzhao was cursing in the court, the empress remained silent.

In the end, it was the Ninth Prince Xiao Yan, who was worried that Yang Wenzhao would get angry and walked past him without noticing, and took the initiative to step forward and hold Yang Wenzhao's sleeve.

"Marshal Yang, don't worry. Although the army was defeated, the initiative in the anti-Japanese war in Zhejiang is still in the hands of our army. We can just take our time in the future."

As soon as Xiao Yan opened his mouth, he appealed to Yang Wenzhao's emotions and explained the reason to him, and finally he persuaded him to stay.

"Lord Xu, how do you think this matter should be handled?"

When Yang Wenzhao returned to the queue, the empress spoke, her eyes fixed on the chief minister of the cabinet, Xu Jinsong.

"Your Majesty, I think the most urgent task now is to immediately send more troops to Zhejiang to ensure the stability of the southeast."

Xu Jinsong, who had already prepared a countermeasure, answered fluently without any hesitation in his voice.

At the same time, as soon as he finished speaking, several generals on the side of the court stood up immediately.

"I beg you to lead 100,000 troops to reinforce Zhejiang immediately!"

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead my troops to support Zhejiang immediately. I hope Your Majesty will approve it!"

"..."

Several generals spoke one after another.

At this time, Xiao Yan turned around and found that the several generals who had volunteered to serve were all disciples of Xu Jinsong.

Obviously, this was a drama that had been prepared long ago.

In order to stabilize the situation in the southeast, the imperial court had no choice but to continue to increase its troops.

In order to continue to control Zhejiang, the Jiangnan Party had no choice but to allow the generals who sent reinforcements to be its own people.

Sitting on the dragon throne, the empress also saw this.

If it were any other time in the past, she would have agreed to the generals' request to fight without hesitation.

However, this time, her heart was shaken.

Because according to the reports continuously sent from Zhejiang, this time the Japanese pirates invaded the southeast region on a large scale with extraordinary force and aggressiveness.

Especially the fact that the Japanese pirates were able to transport 200,000 soldiers into the Daliang Dynasty at one time made her feel a little frightened.

If the imperial court failed in its fight against the Japanese pirates, the consequences would probably be more than just the death of 80,000 soldiers and horses this time.

By then, the country will be overthrown, the society will be destroyed, and hundreds of millions of ordinary people will immediately fall into dire straits!

"What does the Emperor think we should do?"

After pondering for a moment, the empress shifted her gaze to the Ninth Prince Xiao Yan and asked.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan immediately responded and stepped out.

"Your Majesty, I recommend the immediate Governor-General Zhao Gongming to lead troops to reinforce Zhejiang immediately to eliminate the threat of Japanese pirates."

Xiao Yan expressed his thoughts without hesitation.

He did not fight for the right to lead troops for himself. After all, he was not good at mountain warfare at all, and the armored cavalry under his command could not exert their power in hilly areas.

However, Xiao Yan's words had just fallen and the empress had no time to respond.

In the court, someone immediately raised his voice of opposition.

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable!"

Among the civil and military officials, a middle-aged official wearing a bright red robe and a third-rank hat stepped out.

When everyone looked, they found that the man was Huang Huawen, the Minister of Public Administration.

"Why not?"

The empress raised her eyebrows.

"In reply to your Majesty, as the Governor-General of Zhili, Lord Zhao Gongming's duty should be to protect the capital."

"The barbarians are now in the north, and Zhao Gongming has just repelled the Tatars. Once he leads his troops to Zhejiang, the foreign tribes will attack again, and the capital may be besieged."

"Therefore, Lord Zhao Gongming must not leave Zhili easily. I beg Your Majesty to look into this matter and send another general to lead troops to reinforce Zhejiang."

Huang Huawen's words were sincere, and if someone who didn't know the truth was present, they would definitely be moved by his loyalty.

But who is Xiao Yan? How could he not see through Huang Huawen's little trick?

The other party suddenly stood up and advised Your Majesty not to let Zhao Gongming lead his troops to Jiangnan.

They were simply afraid that after Zhao Gongming left Zhili, he would be stuck in Zhejiang like a nail.

"Your Majesty, I think that Lord Zhao has been leading troops in battles for many years, so it would be most appropriate for him to lead the army to reinforce Zhejiang."

Xiao Yan spoke again and emphasized the importance of Zhao Gongming.

At this time, on both sides of the court, many civil and military officials belonging to the Jiangnan Party also wanted to step out of the queue.

Before these people could take action, the empress on the dragon throne spoke.

"Hurry up and send a message to Zhao Gongming, ordering him to lead his 200,000 elite troops to reinforce Zhejiang to eliminate the threat of the Japanese pirates in Zhejiang!"

In just a few words, the empress made the decision.

Xu Jinsong, the chief minister of the cabinet, seemed to stagger and was a little unstable the moment he heard the order.

But Xu Jinsong had been in the court for decades after all, and he quickly adjusted his mind.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Xu Jinsong was the first to speak and agreed.

Seeing this, the Jiangnan Party officials in the court, although still dissatisfied in their hearts, had to swallow back the words that were on the tip of their tongue.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

At that moment, all the civil and military officials in the court echoed in unison.

……

In just half a day, the empress's order in the court was delivered to the hands of Zhao Gongming, the governor of Zhili, via an express route of 800 miles.

At the same time, a middle-aged man in a royal robe also appeared in the residence of Zhao Gongming, the governor of Zhili.

"This time, Zhao is able to lead the troops to the battle. Thank you, Ninth Prince, for speaking for Zhao in the court."

Zhao Gongming held the imperial edict in his hand and looked at the Ninth Prince Xiao Yan who was sitting in front of him, with a hint of gratitude in his eyes.

If it weren't for the other party's argument in the court, given his awkward position both inside and outside the court, he would not have gotten the opportunity to lead his troops to Zhejiang at all.

"Lord Zhao, there is no need to thank me. The reason why I recommended Lord Zhao to go to war in the court was, firstly, for the sake of our Daliang Dynasty, and secondly, because of Xia Yun."

In front of Zhao Gongming, Xiao Yan made no secret of the fact that he had already known about the close relationship between Zhao Gongming and Xia Yun.

"Oh? I wonder what the Ninth Prince means?"

Zhao Gongming raised his eyebrows, not sure of the other party's intention for a moment.

"Haha, Lord Zhao knows it well, so why should I say more?" Xiao Yan laughed.

"Although Xia Yun has been promoted to the governor of Zhejiang and Southern Zhili, Xiao Zongnan still controls 400,000 imperial troops."

"If the Zhejiang Anti-Japanese War drags on for a long time, I am worried that Xia Yun might suffer a disadvantage."

Xiao Yan's expression changed immediately, and his eyes revealed a deep look mixed with worry.