I play the role of Jiajing in Zongwu: What crime have I committed?

He vowed to purge the court of corrupt officials, execute treacherous ministers like Yan Donglou, and cleanse the court of corruption.

We hope that all loyal and righteous people in the world will join us in this righteous cause.

The proclamation was made known to all upon its arrival.

Chapter 143 Neither you nor I can stop it

Crown Prince Yuwen Quan issued a proclamation to the entire realm, and wherever the proclamation reached, every prefecture was shaken.

In Yuezhou, 100,000 border cavalry were assembled and marched south.

Most of the garrisons along the way were Gu Siling's old subordinates. They joined forces, ready to achieve their goal in one fell swoop.

The number quickly reached as many as 160,000.

"His Majesty!"

An old eunuch rushed into the imperial study, trembling as he handed over an urgent military report delivered over 800 li (approximately 400 kilometers).

"The Crown Prince and Gu Siling have rebelled."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Jian hurriedly snatched the military report, and after reading it, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

He immediately flew into a rage and tore the military newspaper to shreds.

"Qingjun side?"

"Rebellious sons, traitors, they actually dare to rebel! Aren't they afraid of being infamous for eternity?"

The old eunuch knelt tremblingly before the emperor, his voice urgent.

"Your Majesty, this is an extremely urgent matter. This old servant dares to suggest that you immediately summon the generals of the Zhenwu, Qinlong, and Konghe Guards to the palace for a meeting."

"Yes, yes, and Qinglong and Yan Donglou too, tell them to come quickly," Yuwen Jian hurriedly instructed.

In less than a moment, Qinglong, Yan Donglou, and three others hurried into the hall.

The three generals of the Dragon-Capturing, Crane-Controlling, and Martial-Suppressing Guards were all veterans who had fought on many battlefields.

They naturally realized the seriousness of the situation.

The atmosphere in the Imperial Study was exceptionally heavy at this moment.

Yuwen Jian suppressed his inner panic and said in a deep voice, "My dear ministers, an urgent report has arrived from Luozhou: Gu's 160,000-strong army has broken through three passes and will be at the Luo River within three days at the latest."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the five people in the hall.

"Does anyone have a solution?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Donglou stepped forward first, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, do not worry."

"Luozhou City has high walls and thick fortifications, and the Luo River provides a natural barrier; Gu Ni would find it difficult to breach the city in such a hasty manner."

"We can establish defenses layer by layer between Luozhou and the capital region, proceeding step by step."

"As the art of war says, 'Attack when the enemy is at its fifth point.' Only by holding our city and defending it can we ensure that the rebels never return."

At this moment, General Ye Chen of the Crane Control Guard frowned and took a step forward.

"Lord Yan, please don't overlook one point: the terrain behind Luozhou City is completely flat."

"Given Gu Siling's military prowess, he will not launch a direct assault on the city. Instead, he will likely cut off Luozhou's supply lines and besiege Luozhou. At that point, Luozhou will not be able to hold out for long."

The Dragon-Capturing Guard General nodded silently.

"Indeed, if Luozhou is besieged, the people will surely be in a state of panic. At that time, Gu Siling will only need to use a little trick, and I'm afraid the city will riot."

"And if Los Angeles falls..."

Before he finished speaking, everyone understood the consequences.

With the fall of Luozhou, the gates of the capital are wide open!

If Gu Siling's strength cannot be exhausted to the greatest extent in Luoshui, then even if the cities behind put up a strong resistance, they will not be able to stop the Gu family's advance.

Perhaps it won't be long before Gu Siling's troops arrive in the capital.

"What if we send an elite guard to garrison Pingdingshan?"

Yan Donglou pointed to the upper left corner of the corner map that the two eunuchs had brought over, which was Pingdingshan, located behind Luozhou City.

"This location forms a strategic triangle with Luoyang, which can both protect the supply lines and contain the rebel army."

"Ten thousand elite troops, stationed on the mountain, are sufficient to hold out."

"Disaster!"

Ye Chen shook his head and sighed.

"Pingdingshan has no natural defenses; if troops are stationed there, it will inevitably be met with a full-scale attack from the rebels."

"Even the most elite guards can only number ten thousand, which is hardly enough to stop Gu Siling's army."

Yan Donglou's eyes sharpened, and he shouted loudly.

"Even if we can't hold out, we must hold out! We must defend Pingdingshan to the death, delay Gu Ni's advance, and wait for the reinforcements to arrive so we can encircle him. Only then will we have a chance to win!"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone understood that going to Pingdingshan meant facing a near-certain death.

But if we do not defend it, Luoyang will surely fall, and the capital region will be in grave danger.

Yuwen Jian's gaze swept over the crowd, and he slowly said, "Who is willing to go to Pingdingshan to share my burdens?"

No one answered.

At that moment, Zhu Houcong commanded the Azure Dragon to step forward, his voice resounding and powerful.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the Imperial Guards to defend Pingdingshan to the death!"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Jian abruptly stood up and excitedly asked, "My dear minister, are you confident?"

Qinglong clasped his hands and said, "If Your Majesty grants me another five thousand soldiers, I, Qinglong, swear that I will make Gu Ni suffer a crushing defeat at the foot of Pingding Mountain."

Yan Donglou, who was standing to the side, immediately echoed his sentiment.

"Commander Qinglong is a Grandmaster; with him in charge, Luozhou will surely be able to be defended."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Qinglong with a complicated expression.

He already knew in his heart that Qinglong was definitely going to cause trouble, but he couldn't stop him.

In fact, Yan Donglou had really misunderstood Zhu Houcong this time; he genuinely wanted to help Yuwen Jian defend Luoshui City.

Only by doing so can we deplete the strength of both sides.

If Gu Siling were to quickly clear the level, wouldn't that be letting Yuwen Quan get the benefit?

"it is good!"

The emperor solemnly said, "The fate of Luoyang rests on your shoulders."

He immediately issued an edict.

The elite troops of the three guards—the Dragon-Capturing Guard, the Crane-Controlling Guard, and the Martial Guard—were all deployed to guard the area from the capital region to Luoyang.

The three guards collectively dispatched 5,000 soldiers, plus 10,000 soldiers from the Imperial Guard, for a total of 15,000 elite troops, led by Qinglong (Zhu Houcong), to garrison Pingdingshan.

He urgently ordered the reinforcements of the emperor in all prefectures and counties to assemble immediately and block the rebel army from advancing south.

In an instant, the entire Southern Chu was thrown into turmoil.

On that day, an unexpected guest arrived at the council hall of the Muwang Palace in Mizhou, Yunnan.

It was Xuanwu who had come all the way from the capital.

He had the token of the Eastern Depot hanging from his waist, clearly indicating that he was a member of the Eastern Depot.

He also brought along Prince Ling, Yuwen Xuan.

The atmosphere in the hall was unusually heavy at this moment.

Prince Yu, Xiao Jinghuan, sat in the head seat, while Hu Ruzhen and Mu Qing sat opposite each other in the lower seat.

Then there was Mei Changsu, who was quietly drinking tea to the side.

"Are you absolutely certain that the information your Eastern Depot received is accurate?"

“Of course!” Xuanwu chuckled. “We have people around Yuwen Jian, and we know exactly what he’s doing.”

He took out a corner map from his sleeve and spread it out on the table.

"Emperor Yuwen Jian of Southern Chu currently has only 40,000 troops available. 10,000 are stationed in the capital, 15,000 are stationed at Pingdingshan, and the rest are prepared to resist along the way."

"Gu Siling has 160,000 troops and has already besieged Luozhou City."

"A major battle is imminent."

Hu Ruzhen squinted at Yu Tu and immediately concluded that Pingdingshan could not be defended.

"The disparity in strength between the two sides is too great. The garrison of Luozhou will absolutely not dare to leave the city. Relying solely on the 15,000 troops on Pingding Mountain, they cannot hold out for more than three days."

"That's why I need everyone's help," Xuanwu said with a smile.

Hu Ruzhen narrowed her eyes upon hearing this.

"What does 'Eastern Depot' mean?"

Xuanwu said solemnly, "We hope that this battle in Southern Chu can last longer and be fought more fiercely."

Upon hearing this, Mei Changsu suddenly stood up. His face, which had been gentle and refined just moments before, was now slightly distorted with anger.

"So your Eastern Depot intends to use this internal strife to completely exhaust the vitality of Southern Chu?"

Xuanwu smiled calmly, "Mr. Su truly lives up to his reputation as a brilliant strategist; he is indeed intelligent."

"Have you ever considered how many people in Southern Chu will die as a result?"

Mei Changsu suddenly felt a surge of maternal instinct and raised his voice.

What about those innocent civilians?

"What wrong did those soldiers who were forced into conscription do?"

His chest heaved violently, as if he were back in the nightmare of the annihilation of the Red Flame Army.

Xuanwu's eyes suddenly turned cold: "Mr. Su, are you questioning His Majesty's grand plan?"

He slowly rose and looked down at Mei Changsu.

"Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs; the sage is ruthless, treating the people like straw dogs."

"The death of 10,000 people is a number, the death of 100,000 people or a million people is also a number, neither you nor I can stop it."

Chapter 144: I will take responsibility for the abuse

Then he raised his hand and gently stroked the corner map on the table, pointing to the border between Southern Chu and Yunnan.

He addressed the assembled crowd in the council hall in a deep voice: "His Majesty intends to annex Southern Chu, but our plan is truly to protect the lives of 100,000 men in Yunnan."

"Have you all considered that if a real war were to break out, how many of these 100,000 fine young men would be buried in foreign lands?"

"Gu Siling and Yuwen Jian's forces, along with the reinforcements sent to the capital, totaled more than 300,000 troops. Every day of fighting meant one less enemy for the soldiers of Yunnan."

"This is achieving the greatest victory at the lowest cost."

After saying this, Mei Changsu opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.

The 100,000 Yunnan soldiers were the entire fortune of the Mu family, and he naturally could not stand by and watch them be completely depleted.

They don't care if it doesn't concern them, and they can even stand on the moral high ground to condemn others.

If their own interests are involved, they immediately change their tune.

Throughout history, no one has been more virtuous than this.

Mei Changsu was the same.

At this point, Hu Ruzhen said, "Even if you have a way to maximize the attrition of Gu Siling's troops by the Pingdingshan garrison, what methods do you have to make the Pingdingshan commander obey your orders?"