Late Ming Dynasty: Starting with the overthrow of the county magistrate, a rebellion was launched to

The generals were getting a little impatient by this point.

Could it be that Commander Yang has been reading too much? Is his old eye failing him? Why does he need to read this battle report so many times without even reading it aloud? Is he just enjoying it by himself?

The generals present were all rough men, and Yang Sichang, regardless of whether he was happy or sad, preferred to keep a straight face and feign composure.

Unaware of the turmoil in Yang Sichang's heart, the generals noticed a subtle tremor in the hand holding the letter...

Having served in the imperial court for many years, Yang Sichang voluntarily discarded the tens of thousands of words in the battle report containing passages that shirked responsibility, spread falsehoods, appeased the court, were arrogant and empty, confessed in fear, and cited classical texts.

Finally, he simplified it down to the last piece of information:

Huang Chaoxuan suffered a defeat at Shaoyang, losing 70% of his soldiers, burning his supplies, and fleeing back to Wugang.

Deputy soldier Zhou Fengqi underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly, ambushing them in the county town. He was defeated and killed in battle.

The rebel Zhang Da seized a large number of horses, weapons, and armor, greatly increasing his power. He defended the city to the death, becoming increasingly arrogant.

The military campaign by the Hubei and Hunan government forces ended in complete failure, suffering heavy losses and returning in disarray.

Every word struck Yang Sichang like a heavy hammer, making him dizzy and almost unable to stand.

Even now, Yang Sichang is still unsure how many years Zhang Da studied or whether he is literate at all.

How could such a country bumpkin, struggling to make a living, have caused the government troops to suffer such a crushing defeat?

Yang Sichang slowly closed his eyes, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and handed the report to his personal guard, his voice hoarse and dry as if he hadn't drunk water for days.

"Read it aloud, so that all the generals can hear it, and listen carefully."

The guards took the report from the watchtower, stood up straight, and read it aloud. The details of the defeat, the death of the general, the burning of the supplies, and the growth of the rebels were all conveyed to everyone's ears, word by word...

After the guard finished reading, the huge hall fell into a deathly silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

All the generals were stunned, frozen in place, their faces filled with disbelief. No one dared to utter a sound, no one dared to move.

The air seemed to freeze, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe. Only the candlelight flickered in the wind, casting flickering light on everyone's faces, creating an extremely eerie atmosphere.

They just couldn't understand it. There were thousands of government troops! Even if they weren't the main force in suppressing the bandits, they were still government troops! How could they be defeated by an unknown village head who had rebelled in the city? And they even lost so badly that their horses and weapons became spoils of war for the rebels.

Amidst this deathly silence and shock, the most relaxed and secretly pleased person was Xiong Wencan, the former premier of six provinces, standing in a corner of the lobby awaiting trial.

Since Yang Sichang was dressed casually and didn't act arrogantly, Xiong Wencan naturally didn't dare to be presumptuous. He was dressed in plain clothes and already looked haggard, but now that everyone was watching him, he kept his head down, and one could vaguely see a hint of schadenfreude in his expression...

His defeat back then was against Zhang Xianzhong, who was powerful and famous throughout the land. It can't be considered a glorious defeat, but at least he can still offer some explanation, right?

But what about Yang Sichang? Yang Sichang was a military advisor personally promoted by the emperor. He held the imperial sword and was in charge of suppressing bandits throughout the country. He was extremely powerful. As soon as he took office, he criticized Yang Sichang's strategies from back then as worthless and showed him no respect whatsoever.

And what was the result? The first military action he ordered after taking office was to send regular soldiers to fight an unknown country boy. They lost and suffered a crushing defeat!

The thought of this made Xiong Wencan inwardly burst into laughter, almost to the point of laughing out loud. Helpless, he could only suppress it, keeping his head down and feigning a worried expression, sighing softly and shaking his head as if grieving for the government army's crushing defeat.

Lose some more! Lose even more! Maybe His Majesty will remember my good deeds and reinstate me!

As if he had heard Xiong Wencan's thoughts, Yang Sichang stood up, took a few steps toward the generals, passed by Vice Generals Zhang Yingyuan and Wang Yunfeng, and walked to the side of Generals Meng Ruhu and He Renlong.

Then, expressionless, Yang Sichang, in front of all the generals, tore down the huge map that recorded Zhang Xianzhong's movement route, the surrounding terrain, and the encampments of various officers and soldiers, rolled it up, and threw it aside.

"With this strategy, you all need to stop discussing how to encircle and annihilate the likes of Zhang Xianzhong. Today, I will send someone to the governor of Huguang and have him bring me the map of Shaoyang. You generals and deputy generals, stop eating and sleeping and spend your days and nights studying how to deal with that Zhang Da."

Provoked by Yang Sichang's words, the deathly silence in the hall grew heavier and heavier, so oppressive that it became unbearable...

Unable to bear the atmosphere any longer, General He Renlong of Shaanxi took a step forward, the sound of his armor clashing breaking the silence.

"My lord, I am guilty! I deserve to die!"

As soon as He Renlong spoke, the generals all came to their senses and focused their attention on him.

He Renlong continued, "Back in Nanyang, when the commander-in-chief ordered troops to be divided to attack Zhang Da, I felt it was inappropriate and advised the commander-in-chief to focus on besieging Zhang Xianzhong first, and not to divide troops to deal with the minor rebels, so as not to lose sight of one thing and the other."

But now the war has reached this point... It's all because I underestimated the enemy, which led to heavy losses, defeat, and the burning of supplies! I beg the Commander-in-Chief to punish me; I have no complaints!

As soon as He Renlong finished speaking, the other generals who had also advised against dividing the troops stepped forward and knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

"We, your humble servants, are guilty of causing the government army's disastrous defeat. We beg the Commander-in-Chief to punish us!"

Yang Sichang looked at the kneeling generals, then at the defeat report in his hand, slowly closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

This sigh was filled with weariness, helplessness, despair, and sorrow.

When Wei Zhongxian wreaked havoc on the court, I couldn't bear it any longer and resigned to return to my hometown. But when Wei Zhongxian fell from power, I was invited back to serve in the court. Some people even specifically advised me to join them in taking advantage of Wei Zhongxian's misfortune and set him up for revenge...

Yang Sichang refused

He disliked post-mortem retribution; it was pointless. Besides, Zhang Da's actions weren't serious enough to warrant the dismissal of all the generals present.

The same thing happened today. He didn't speak or punish anyone. He just stood there quietly, a thought that chilled him to the bone echoing in his mind: "Is the fate of my Great Ming Dynasty really over?"

The Ming Dynasty had only been established for a little over two hundred years, but it covered a vast territory and had hundreds of millions of people. It was once incredibly powerful and majestic.

Is it going to perish after only two hundred years?

Internal bandits rose up everywhere, attacking cities and seizing territories;

The Later Jin dynasty was eyeing them covetously from the outside, and the border was in dire need of attention.

Factional strife was rampant in the imperial court, and officials were corrupt.

Nowadays, even the soldiers and officers in this army are so cowardly and lack discipline, making them easy targets. Even a group of soldiers raised by a country boy can defeat the government army, kill generals, defend cities to the death, and be repeatedly suppressed!

Yang Sichang opened his eyes, staring blankly at the sky outside the hall.

The autumn wind howled, stirring up clouds of dust and making the flags in the camp flutter loudly. The candlelight flickered, illuminating his aged face, which was filled with deep despair.

Fine, if a thousand soldiers can't annihilate them, then ten thousand will do!

Just as Yang Sichang was about to shift his focus back to suppressing Zhang Da...

Another guard came to the tent, still carrying a letter...