Socially anxious people transmigrate to another world; living in seclusion is too difficult.

Su Yang flew with Qin Wei to Huaijing. After several rests, they finally arrived in Huaijing at noon on the second day. It was at this moment that a message completely overturned the sky of the empire.

Different messengers hurried between the military headquarters and the palace, carrying message boards. Wei Bin, looking at the message in his hand, almost lost his balance. He trembled as he handed the message board to Qin Meng beside him, then walked to the window, looked at the gloomy sky outside, and said sadly, "It's over..."

After reading the message on the communication board, Qin Meng gasped in disbelief and exclaimed, "How is this possible?!" The battle report on the communication board clearly stated:

"The night before, the 29th, 30th and 50th Armies of Xiaohushan were completely wiped out. Yesterday morning, the central front discovered that the enemy was withdrawing, so they divided their forces and advanced. The 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 17th and 18th Armies, a total of 140,000 troops, attacked forward, while the 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd Armies, a total of 100,000 troops, attacked Pingwei and Luoyi in the rear."

"Unexpectedly, the enemy forces in Pingwei and Luoyi have inexplicably increased to 100,000, and more than 100,000 enemy troops from Xiaohushan are also about to arrive. The rear is in grave danger. The vanguard returned to rescue, but was pursued and slaughtered by 100,000 enemy troops, suffering countless casualties. By the afternoon, all ten armies in the central region were surrounded near Pingwei and Luoyi, and by evening, they were all wiped out. Now the enemy has split into three routes: one is advancing towards Huaijing, one is attacking to the north, and the other is attacking to the south. Huaijing is in grave danger!"

Chu Jingwu, who was in the palace, also received the battle report. He was furious and smashed the communication card in his hand to pieces, shouting, "Go and find Wei Bin for me!"

Before long, Wei Bin arrived alone in the main hall. Yang Chaoxiu and Nangong Xiangwen were already waiting there. Upon seeing Wei Bin, Chu Jingwu questioned him: "Wei Bin! What exactly is the military doing! The Shence Army has been assigned to you. When the army was redeployed, you swore that there would be no accidents. Now, the central front has suffered a major defeat, Xiaohushan has been besieged, and in just one day and night, the empire has lost nearly 400,000 troops. What use are you to me?!" Then, he swept the documents on the table away and glared angrily.

Knowing he was powerless to explain, Wei Bin could only kneel down and beg for forgiveness: "It was all due to my improper command. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

"Alright! Men, come here!" Chu Jingwu roared.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!" Yang Chaoxiu and Nangong Xiangwen hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him: "Your Majesty, with a great battle imminent, you must not execute generals on the battlefield!"

"Then what do you suggest we do!" Chu Jingwu sat down, extremely angry.

After a moment's thought, Yang Chaoxiu said, "We have suffered a major defeat on the central front. The original northern and southern troops are in danger of being surrounded. We should withdraw them first and transfer the remaining troops from the east to the large prefectures around Huaijing to protect them. There are still more than 800,000 troops left in the country. We should use the strength of the whole country to resist the Demon Kingdom and seek support from other countries."

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Nangong Xiangwen added, “According to the battle report, the enemy has lost more than 150,000 troops, while the Empire has lost more than 600,000. Such a high exchange of casualties, coupled with the fact that the leader of the Demon Kingdom is quite cunning, we cannot defeat the enemy head-on no matter how hard we fight. Moreover, the support from other countries has been delayed, which is to weaken our country. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider before they send troops to support us.”

While Chu Jingwu was considering, another messenger requested an audience. After hearing the report, the guard quickly walked to Chu Jingwu's side and said, "Qin Wei, the commander of the 50th Army, requests an audience."

Chu Jingwu roared, "He dares to come back! Summon him!"

Outside the hall, Qin Wei walked in alone, knelt down, and loudly proclaimed, "Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Yang Chaoxiu looked at Qin Wei kneeling on the ground and cursed him in his heart for being so foolish as to come to pay his respects at this time. Chu Jingwu would definitely kill him, but he also admired his character. Any other general would probably have run away by now.

Chu Jingwu glared at Qin Wei and roared, "What else do you have to say?!"

"Your Majesty, I beg you to punish me!" Qin Wei repeated the same words, seemingly unprepared to offer any explanation.

"Somebody come!"

Before Chu Jingwu could finish speaking, Yang Chaoxiu hurriedly said, "Your Majesty!"

"what happened again!"

"Your Majesty, now is the time when we need capable men. Qin Wei is known for his strategic acumen. He once captured Cai Ran, the commander of the Demon Kingdom. The great defeat at Little Fox Mountain was due to a problem with troop deployment, not Qin Wei's fault. Your Majesty should send Qin Wei to the front line to atone for his mistakes and fight Cai Ran again."

After learning of the battle report, Yang Chaoxiu studied it carefully. At first, he wondered why Qin Wei went to Little Fox Mountain without permission. But after looking at the map, he understood Qin Wei's intention. Therefore, he deeply admired Qin Wei's courage and decision-making. If he had made sufficient preparations, he would have surely thwarted the Demon Kingdom's scheme. So, out of a sense of treasuring talent, he spoke up to plead for Qin Wei's life.

But the stubborn Qin Wei, upon hearing Yang Chaoxiu's plea for him, especially the explanation that the defeat was due to troop deployment issues, immediately thought of Qin Xiyun. Everyone in the army knew that the army's redeployment was the work of the Shence Army. If Chu Jingwu agreed with Yang Chaoxiu's viewpoint, then his niece Qin Xiyun would inevitably be implicated. Therefore, he loudly proclaimed:

"This defeat was not due to any strategic blunder; it was entirely my fault. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

At this moment, Yang Chaoxiu was so anxious that he wanted to slap his head. He had risked his life to plead for him, so why was he so eager to die? He quickly understood Qin Wei's intention and had no choice but to shut his mouth and wait for Chu Jingwu's decision.

Chu Jingwu had also managed to control his anger. After calming down, he carefully considered Yang Chaoxiu's and Qin Wei's words. Thinking of Qin Xiyun, the current commander of the Shence Army, Chu Jingwu understood why Qin Wei was so eager to die. Then, recalling Qin Wei's heroic deeds when he first ascended the throne, he sneered, "Hmph, want to end it all with death? Qin Wei, that's too easy on you!"

"Issue the decree!" Yang Chaoxiu's heart leaped into his throat. Chu Jingwu then loudly proclaimed, "Defeated general Qin Wei, due to his ineffective command, led to the annihilation of his entire army. He is demoted to a thousand-man commander and incorporated into the 31st Army. The Shence Army's deployment errors resulted in a major defeat on the central front. Commander Qin Xiyun is dismissed and incorporated into the Tiger Might Army. Military Minister Wei Bin, due to his incompetent leadership, is demoted to Army General. Qin Meng will temporarily assume the position of Minister."

Upon hearing the imperial decree, Yang Chaoxiu and Qin Wei were relieved. Yang Chaoxiu worried that Chu Jingwu might unleash a massacre in a fit of rage, which would surely demoralize the generals. Qin Wei was concerned that his brother and niece would be implicated. Therefore, the people present quickly thanked the imperial decree.

"Nangong Xiangwen," Chu Jingwu continued, "Quickly send letters to all countries requesting support, stating that the Empire's military strength has been reduced by more than half and it is no longer able to resist, and requesting that all countries come to its aid immediately."

He carefully considered Nangong Xiangwen's words and found them to be reasonable. At present, the Beast Kingdom had withstood the sudden invasion of the Demon Kingdom. With the strong fighting power of the Beastmen, they would not be quickly defeated by the Demon Kingdom. All countries would definitely hope that the war would drag on as long as possible until the Empire and the Beast Kingdom had exhausted most of their military strength before they would provide support. Although he still had most of his army, he could not let the plans of all countries succeed. He had to get all countries to join the war as soon as possible.