Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 514 - 413: The Shock of the Court Official (Climax Request for Monthly Ticket)_1

Chapter 514: Chapter 413: The Shock of the Court Official (Climax Request for Monthly Ticket)_1

In the early morning, the Jianji Palace of the Forbidden City was filled with the cabinet officials, Minister of War Yu Jie, and many generals from the Five Army Dudufu. They were gathered to discuss the northern military affairs, guided by a map hanging on the wall.

All the court meetings related to military affairs in the Jin Dynasty were originally held on the ’platform’ behind the Jianji Palace, also known as the Platform Summoning.

However, a huge fire that occurred on the platform a few years ago left the inner court unable to spare funds for repair, and Jingtai Emperor had to hold this military meeting in the Jianji Palace.

In the palace at the moment, an old man dressed in armor and with white beard was frowning, "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, we must increase our troops by three thousand at Dushi Castle and strengthen the defense in order to be fully prepared!"

This man was Guo Cong, the Marquis of Fengcheng and the left Dudu of the Central Army Dudufu who was regarded as the head of all military ministers.

However, as soon as his voice fell, disagreements arose.

"I believe there’s no need. Dushi Castle is located in difficult terrain, with walls eight meters high. In terms of defense, it is unique among many choke points. Besides, its terrain is not suitable for a large troop movement."

"I also believe Marquis Fengcheng has overreacted. The Dushi Castle neighbors the Datan. If I were Yexian, how could I rest assured? Once the Datan cut their rear route, the Waci army would be trapped in north Zhili."

"This argument makes sense! Yexian’s Waci and Tuotuobuhua’s Datan have been distrustful of each other for a while. Currently, the fifty thousand iron cavalry outside Dushi Pass is mostly for show. The real danger lies in Xuanfu and Datong."

At this moment, Yu Jie found Jingtai Emperor lost in thought, he couldn’t help raising an eyebrow, "Your Majesty, are you worried about Jiangnan?"

Jingtai Emperor was awakened by his call and nodded slightly, "Indeed, I am worried about the water situation in Jiangnan. This morning, I received a secret book from the Xiuyiwei of Nanjing, saying that the water level near Jinling has risen another twelve feet, which is the highest since the fifth year of the Jingtai reign.

I wonder how Earl Jingan is doing now? If I am not mistaken, a war report should be sent back within one or two hours."

Upon hearing this, the court officials in the room were worried.

The Grand Secretary of the cabinet, Chen Xun, clenched his fist and said, "The cabinet also received a letter from the governor of Huguang, hoping to evacuate the people along the bank in advance and requesting to open the granaries in various places to accommodate the affected people.

I beg Your Majesty to make a decision early, otherwise it may be too late. Your Majesty, although Earl Jingan is brave, the court cannot put all its hope on him,"

"I do not oppose this proposal. The local granaries can be opened. But where does the money to accommodate the displaced people come from?" Minister of Revenue, Xiao Ci, was concerned, "Your Majesty, the treasury of the Ministry of Revenue is barely keeping up. The remaining 9 million patterned silver cannot be used lightly. Once something occurs in the north this year, this is the last fund of the court."

"The key is that the stored grain in various places this year is also not enough, Your Majesty! It is easy to evacuate the people, but if there is no money and grain to appease, there will be problems! The gathering of victims is likely to cause chaos. The incident in Shandong during the Zhengtong Era is a lesson."

Gaojie finished speaking and shook his head, "Your Majesty, you should not have acted so hastily. Although Earl Jingan is capable, his opponent this time is Wu Zhiqi and Xiangyue.

By letting Princess Changle and Helian Fulong guard the city of Yueyang, they could at least prevent the downstream situation from deteriorating to the worst. The wide area of Dongting Lake there can also accommodate a large amount of floodwater. But now——"

He sighed as if he couldn’t bear to say the next words.

However, among the officials in the hall, quite a few were unsatisfied with this.

"Your Majesty, Wu Zhiqi is not to be underestimated. Given the current water situation of the Han River, he is not an opponent even for three or five at the heavenly level. Holding on to the key points is the best way to deal with him."

"Helian Fulong is still recovering from his injuries, Princess Changle has Yin-yang Counterflow, and Xue Yunrou only borrowed the power of an artifact. All these heavenly level people have their own shortcomings, what could they possibly help in a field battle?"

"It’s hard to say, didn’t the Qintian Bureau say that the heavy rain in Chuanshu and Huguang is likely to last for more than a month? If it rains again for three days, Yueyang may not be able to hold off the joint efforts of Wu Zhiqi and Xiangyue."

"I still hold yesterday’s view, holding on to Yueyang, at least we can buy time for the downstream."

After hearing this, the Jingtai Emperor couldn’t help but frown slightly. He still had expectations for Li Xuan’s actions.

If he didn’t agree with Li Xuan’s judgement, he wouldn’t have granted his request yesterday.

But at this time, the discussions of the officials made the Jingtai Emperor feel not only displeased but also a little bit nervous. He worried about Li Xuan and his team making a mistake——

At this point, the Jingtai Emperor noticed that among the officials, Huangfu Xuanji, the Dudu Tongzhi of the Left Army Dudufu, who had strongly opposed the night’s military meeting, now had a cold face, with dull and absent eyes.

The expression of the Jingtai Emperor changed slightly, and he looked over with curiosity, "Lord Huangfu, why are you so quiet in today’s military meeting? Didn’t you think last night that Earl Jingan’s decision to lead the attack placed Jin in danger and that he deserved to be arrested and executed?"

Huangfu Xuanji was stunned for a moment, then he bowed slightly to the Jingtai Emperor, "After careful consideration last night, I believe that although Earl Jingan’s decision to lead the attack was risky, given the current flood situation in Jiangnan, holding on may not necessarily be the right strategy.

If the water level upstream accumulates and breaks through the defense line of Yueyang, then the entire 300-mile coast of south Zhili will be hardly kept safe. We might as well risk it now,"

The Jingtai Emperor felt even more perplexed, thinking that Huangfu Xuanji indeed had a different opinion yesterday. Just as he was about to continue his inquiries, a man carrying a sword at his waist strode in.

Everyone in the chamber turned to look and saw that it was Zuo Daoxing of the Xiuyiwei. The man with a glowing complexion half-knelt before the emperor and announced: "Your Majesty, there has been news from Tongbai Mountain. The seal there has been restored, and the Law Body of Wu Zhiqi’s split body has been killed."

Suddenly, a buzz filled Jianji Palace, everyone, including Gao Gu, the Cifu, was invigorated.

Yu Jie’s eyes also lit up with the news that Wu Zhiqi was gone, which meant that the threat of flooding downstream of the Yangtze River could be reduced by at least thirty percent.

The tension in the Jingtai Emperor’s spirit relaxed slightly and he remarked, "Truly worthy of my Earl Jingan."

The Grand Secretary, Chen Xun, was puzzled and asked, "Sir Zuo, what did Earl Jingan do exactly? With the forces he has at hand, could he seal Tongbai Mountain?"

Zuo Daoxing inclined his head slightly and explained, "Earl Jingan used Li Chengji, Helian Fulong, Princess Changle, and Jiang Yunqi, the four heavenly-level frost mages, to suppress Wu Zhiqi’s original body and the water energy around Tongbai Mountain. Earl Jingan himself, along with his Colonel Luo Yan, killed Wu Zhiqi’s Law Body.

He glanced up at the Jingtai Emperor, "Both are highly capable in the Light Thunder Method, and they work in perfect sync. United by the Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Combination Combat Technique, their combat power is equal to that of a heavenly-level mage."

Following his statement, the entire hall fell silent. All present exchanged surprised glances.

After a moment, Gao Gu broke the silence with another question, "So, where are Earl Jingan and the father and son Li Chengji now? Are they heading for reinforcement at Yichang?"

However, upon hearing this, Zuo Daoxing’s expression changed, "They are not heading for Yichang. According to Zhonglangjiang Pang, the representative of Liudao Division at Tongbai Mountain, they are likely en route to Jinsha River."

"Jinsha River?" Some of the ministers present were perplexed, "The military situation in Yichang is already urgent, why is Earl Chengyi not going for reinforcement? What is he going to do at Jinsha River?"

Yet most of the people present had already understood Li Xuan’s intention and hence showed varied expressions.

It took the Grand Secretary, Chen Xun, a moment before he sighed in admiration, "Earl Jingan is truly daring, displaying the spirit of a tiger dominating the landscape."

On the other hand, Gaojie frowned with worry, "Does he plan to intercept and kill Bashe Changze at Jinsha River? That seems too risky."

"Not necessarily!" Guo Cong, the left Dudu of the Central Army, and Marquis of Fengcheng, disagreed as a glint flashed in his eyes, "There hasn’t been any rain along the Jinsha River for ten days; this would be the best place to eliminate this monster.

If Bashe Changze passes Jinsha River and borrows the power of the upstream Yangtze River, he might be able to reach the middle heavenly level in one fell swoop! There are more than a dozen peak Fourth Gate underlings under the Demon Lord of Tongtian. At that time, progressing one or two sub-heavenly levels would not be difficult. They would only become more terrifying.

So, I have never agreed with defending Yueyang. That was only a last resort. Now that Earl Jingan possesses such combat power, why not give it a try?"

The Jingtai Emperor had complicated feelings; Li Xuan didn’t mention this move in his previous memos.

At the moment, he was both eager and anxious.

As the Jingtai Emperor continued to worry and consulted with his officials for half an hour more about the military matters, another bird with golden-red feathers, seeming as if it was enveloped in flames, flew in from outside the hall.

The Jingtai Emperor recognized it as the ’Fire-Eye Crow’ raised by the royal family of Jin. It was taken from Tian Mountain by the Great General Lan Yu at the beginning of the Jin era and has been raised ever since.

This time, Helian Fulong and Princess Changle each took one for emergency communication.

The ’Fire-Eye Crow’ wasn’t skilled at discerning human aura and could only be used for fixed-point communication. However, it boasted the ability to span fifty thousand miles in two hours.

--In terms of speed, the Fire-Eye Crow was even above the Three-legged Red Raven raised by the Liudao Division.

It wasn’t until the fire bird landed in front of the Jingtai Emperor when he recognized that this one belonged to Helian Fulong.

The next moment, the Emperor’s complexion turned flushed as his eyes gleamed with excitement, "It’s news from Mr. Fulong. Earl Jingan has personally killed Bashe Changze and together with the others, has eliminated over forty thousand water demons from the Tongtian River! The army of the Tongtian River water demons has been routed."

Upon hearing these words, all the court officials present visibly relaxed and then showed their unguarded joy,

Only Huangfu Xuanji, although smiling, it was a very strained smile.

Guo Cong, the Left Dudu of the Central Army, and Marquis of Fengcheng again saluted to the Jingtai Emperor, "Your Majesty, it gives me great pleasure to offer my congratulations! Two of the three sources of the water disaster in Jiangnan are now gone, and the remaining one, Xiangyue, shouldn’t be much of a problem any longer. The Court can now focus on the northern battlefront."

"It’s still premature to decide anything at the moment. Without dealing with Xiangyue and the mastermind behind this incident, I’ll always be restless. However, I have faith in Earl Jingan; he will not disappoint me."

The Jingtai Emperor sounded solemn, but a hint of relief already showed on his face, "Send orders to the patrol of Yunyang, Huguang, the Xingdu Division of Huguang as well as the naval forces in Huguang and Sichuan, they are all temporarily under Earl Jingan Li Xuan’s command. Command all local officials to fully support Earl Jingan Li Xuan in repelling the enemy. Earl Jingan shall have all the power to command, and no one in any place shall shirk their duties. Those who disobey shall be beheaded!"