Empire

Jingji Province, the capital.

At dawn, the tall and heavy city walls were shrouded in a thin mist. The guards in armor stood solemnly on the walls of the capital. Teams of patrolling soldiers were patrolling back and forth, making the entire capital extremely guarded.

Although the city gates have not yet opened, countless people living in the villages and towns outside the capital have already pushed fruits and vegetables to the outside of the capital, waiting to enter the city.

The capital is the political and economic center of the Far East Dynasty. It has a population of nearly one million all year round and is the largest city in the entire Far East Dynasty.

Although the entire Far East Dynasty is now in flames, for the people living in the capital, it is no different from usual days.

The Far East Dynasty has been established for hundreds of years, and there have been countless rebellions and uprisings during this period, and each time it was able to turn danger into safety.

The capital has stood for hundreds of years, so whether it is the civilians of the capital or the princes and nobles, facing the corrupt situation in various places, they have no worries at all, because they feel that the dynasty's army can solve everything.

In the early morning, the small vendors pushing fruits and vegetables gathered early���The city gates of the royal capital are opened at a set time, and those smart vendors have also set up breakfast stalls outside the city to provide breakfast for people waiting to enter the city.

More and more people gathered outside the city, and those breakfast stalls were also steaming hot. The vegetable vendors were reluctant to pay for breakfast, but the business travelers were much more generous. They sat down in groups of three or five to eat breakfast and then waited to enter the city.

Now, most of the more than 20 provinces in the Far East Dynasty have rebelled. The war is spreading, and the situation is chaotic everywhere, causing the business of the merchants to deteriorate.

When eating breakfast at the small stalls, it is inevitable to talk about some recent state affairs, such as the governor of a certain province who wiped out the rebels, or a certain rebel army conquering the city.

In addition to chatting about the fighting between the rebels and the dynasty army in various places, the scandals of the princes and ministers in the royal capital have also become a topic of conversation.

A certain marquis married his 35th concubine, a certain prince was jealous of someone, etc.

Even more, high-ranking officials in the court secretly held a cockfighting competition, and the left prime minister won the first prize.......

While the merchants and travelers were chatting and the vendors pushing their carts of fruits and vegetables were anxiously waiting to enter the city, the sound of hurried horse hooves could be heard in the distance.

"Dada-da——"

Three cavalrymen in black armor quickly rushed out of the mist and appeared in everyone's sight.

The guards on the city wall also heard the rapid sound of horse hooves, and the cold crossbows protruded from the battlements.

"Get out of the way!"

"Get out of the way!"

"Eight hundred miles in a hurry!"

The three black-armored cavalrymen galloped all the way. Although there were many people gathered at the city gate, they had no intention of slowing down. They shouted from a distance.

"Eight hundred miles of urgent work! Open the city gate quickly!"

The city guard who was guarding this city gate saw the red flags on the backs of the three black-armored cavalrymen from afar, and his face suddenly changed.

Following the order of the city guard, more than a dozen garrison soldiers quickly ran to the capstan, and with a creaking sound, the suspended wooden planks were slowly lowered.

Soon, the heavy wooden planks were placed on the moat, and the three black-armored cavalrymen rushed across the moat and rushed into the royal capital.

The city guard saw the three black-armored cavalrymen galloping along the wide road in the city, rushing towards the towering palace complex, and his face looked particularly solemn.

The city guard has been on duty here for more than ten years. Except for the eight hundred miles of urgent work during the rebellion of the Eight Kings and the invasion of foreign enemies many years ago, he has not encountered the eight hundred miles of urgent war reports for a long time.

"Go to the residence of the right prime minister quickly. There is an urgent report from the east, which has been sent to the imperial city."

After a little thought, the city guard called a soldier and whispered a few words to him. The soldier left in a hurry.

Soon, the battle report was uploaded layer by layer, sent to the inner court, and directly presented to the old emperor Long He.

It has been more than 40 years since the old emperor Long He went from the position of crown prince to the successor emperor.

He has also changed from an ambitious young emperor to a frail old man who needs the help of eunuchs to walk. More than 40 years of hard work have exhausted his vitality.

""Read it."

When the report of the battle of 800 miles was delivered, the old emperor Long He, who was lying on the bed, seemed particularly calm, without any emotional fluctuations.

"Wu Zhan, the governor of Guiyi Prefecture, Qinghe Province, reported: Governor Zhou Wen, the Black Cavalry General Zhang Chao fought a decisive battle with the bandit army led by Zhang Dayuan, Chen Ru, Xu Fu and others in Guiyi Prefecture. The bandit army was powerful and our army was defeated. Governor Zhou Wen and General Zhang Chao and more than 30,000 officers and soldiers were wiped out......"

The eunuch quickly read out the urgent war report sent over 800 miles. After the old emperor Long He heard it, his frail face couldn't help but twitch a few times, and then he regained his composure.

If the old emperor was young, facing such a disastrous defeat, countless people would have lost their heads.

But now that he is old, he no longer has so much energy to get angry. He has gone through all the storms and has become more indifferent to fame and fortune.

"Your Majesty, the left and right prime ministers have arrived outside the palace, waiting to see you.

At this moment, a eunuch came in and respectfully reported

"Your Majesty, the four generals have arrived outside the palace, waiting to see you."

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived outside the palace, waiting for an audience."

After the old emperor heard the urgent war report from 800 miles away, the people from the Prime Minister's Mansion, the General's Mansion and the Crown Prince's Mansion who received the news hurried over.

They had learned some news from the flying cavalry, that is, the dynasty army in Qinghe Province suffered a disastrous defeat, and even the governor was killed in battle. This is something that has not happened in many years.

"Now that they are all here, let them come in together."

"promise——"

Soon, under the guidance of the eunuchs, the left and right prime ministers, four generals and the crown prince all entered the inner hall.

They saw the old emperor Long He lying on the bed with a somewhat pale face, and they all bowed and paid homage. Facing these important officials at the core of the Far East Dynasty, the old emperor waved his hand weakly and asked them to stand up and speak, and asked the eunuchs to read the battle report again.

Although they already knew the general situation of the matter, after hearing the battle report, the faces of these important officials of the dynasty were still very ugly.

Especially a general named Zhang in the general's mansion, because the fallen black cavalry camp general Zhang Chao was his nephew, he wanted him to gain some military merits, but who knew that he suffered a miserable defeat and died on the battlefield.

"Qinghe Province was defeated, what do you think should be done?"

The old emperor Longhe looked around at the crowd and asked

"Your Majesty, Governor Zhou Wen, the Black Cavalry General Zhang Chao has lost his army and humiliated the country. I think he should be severely punished to serve as a warning to others.——"The left prime minister was the first to speak out

"I second the proposal. Zhou Wen and his men were defeated by the bandits, who threatened the capital and the province, and shocked the king. They should be held accountable. The right prime minister also expressed his opinion.

Seeing that the people in the prime minister's office took the opportunity to make trouble, the four generals in the general's office also looked particularly unhappy.

"Your Majesty, the defeat of Qinghe Province was not caused by the war, but by the rampant corruption in the local county government, which led to everyone following the bandits. Zhou Wen and Zhang Chao led their troops to fight against the bandits and have sacrificed their lives for the country. If they are held accountable, it will chill the hearts of the troops. I hope they will be buried with honor."A general stepped forward and said.