newbobooks Chapter 1202 The matter of the Western Expedition still needs to be considered in the long run.
Chapter 1202 The matter of the Western Expedition still needs to be considered in the long run.
Murong Yan's voice was icy cold and devoid of any emotion.
Yet it is filled with an unquestionable, absolute majesty belonging to an emperor!
The sadness and despair that had been there just moments before were gone from her beautiful phoenix eyes.
All that remains is cold, machine-like, absolute rationality!
She knew now was not the time to be sad.
It's not a time for fear.
She needs to calm down as quickly as possible.
Then make the right decision as quickly as possible!
Because of every second she hesitated.
Her husband, who was thousands of miles away, and the five thousand soldiers of the Divine Machine Battalion.
You're one step closer to death!
……
Inside the Zichen Hall.
Bright lights.
The atmosphere, however, was so heavy it was almost suffocating.
All the core ministers of the Great Qian Dynasty who had been summoned had arrived.
They sat upright, silent as if trembling with fear.
I didn't even dare to breathe.
They were all utterly terrified by the shocking news from the Western Regions.
They looked at the young empress sitting behind her desk, her exquisitely beautiful face covered with an aura of unyielding frost.
My heart was filled with awe and worry that words could not describe.
They didn't know that after losing His Highness the Regent, their pillar of support...
Could their young empress withstand the immense pressure that threatened to crush the entire empire?
"My beloved ministers."
After a long silence, Murong Yan finally broke the suffocating silence with her voice.
Her voice was very soft and gentle.
Yet it also carries a chilling and resolute quality that penetrates to the core.
"I presume you are all already aware of the affairs of the Western Regions."
"I have summoned you here today not to hear you wail and cry, nor to see you in a state of panic."
"I will only ask you one question."
Her gaze, like two sharp ice blades, slowly swept over everyone in the hall.
"It's come to this."
"What should we do?"
The hall fell into a deathly silence once again.
All the officials lowered their heads and looked at each other blankly.
But no one dared to speak first.
How to do?
How could they possibly know what to do?
Two hundred thousand Ottoman Turkish soldiers equipped with firearms!
That was an invincible army that even all the Western empires feared!
Their most elite 100,000 Anxi troops have been completely wiped out!
General Guo Ziyi was also seriously injured and his whereabouts are unknown!
What do they have left to fight against others?
Are we going to transfer the Guangdong and Fujian navies, which were just decimated in the Battle of Humen, to the Western Regions?
Isn't that a joke?!
Are we going to transfer Marshal Zheng Kedi's Northern Army, which is stationed in the northern desert, to this location?
What about the northern desert?
What if those grassland tribes that have just submitted take the opportunity to cause trouble?
Then their Great Qian Dynasty would truly have to fight on two fronts, north and south, be attacked from both sides, and fall into an abyss of no return!
For a moment, everyone was filled with a deep sense of powerlessness and despair.
They discovered that this was an unsolvable dead end!
Just when everyone was at a loss and in despair,
A loud, resolute voice, filled with iron will and determination, suddenly rang out!
"His Majesty!"
The newly appointed Minister of War was Yue Fei, who had just rushed back to Chang'an from Guangzhou overnight.
He stepped out from the crowd!
There was not a trace of fear or hesitation on his bronze, resolute face.
Only a raging, overwhelming fighting spirit!
He knelt on one knee before Murong Yan, his voice booming like a bell!
"The last general invites you to fight!"
"This humble general is willing to personally lead the last 300,000 troops of the Great Qian Dynasty's capital garrison!"
"Immediately launch a westward expedition!"
"Let's fight to the death against the 200,000-strong Ottoman Turkish army!"
"We will not return until Loulan is conquered!"
"This humble general swears to live and die with the Western Regions!"
Yue Fei's speech was filled with lofty aspirations and a determination to die for his cause.
Like a heavy hammer, it struck the heart of every civil official in the Zichen Palace, whose courage had already been shattered by fear and despair!
They looked at the young general before them, who, despite his young age, possessed a calm and composed demeanor like a mountain.
The fighting spirit and courage that had long been extinguished in my heart were rekindled once again!
Yes!
They are subjects of the Great Qian Dynasty!
Behind them are hundreds of millions of citizens of the Great Qian Dynasty!
With the nation in peril, how could they possibly cower and wait to die?!
"Your Majesty! The general is also willing to go!"
"Your Majesty! Although I am but a civil official, I am willing to follow General Yue on his western expedition! I will do my utmost to procure provisions for the army!"
The entire Zichen Palace was instantly filled with excitement!
Those civil and military officials who had previously remained silent were now acting as if they had been injected with chicken blood.
They eagerly stepped forward and volunteered!
Murong Yan looked at the faces of His Highness, which were now filled with renewed fighting spirit and passion.
A hint of relief and warmth finally flickered in those cold phoenix eyes.
She knew her Great Qian Dynasty was not over yet.
As long as people's hearts remain strong and their fighting spirit endures.
That country will never perish!
However, she did not immediately agree to Yue Fei's request to fight.
She simply watched him quietly and slowly shook her head.
"I appreciate your loyalty and bravery, Yue Aiqing."
"But the western expedition is not an option."
"What?!" Yue Fei was stunned upon hearing this!
The previously ignited atmosphere of excitement inside the hall was instantly abruptly halted.
Everyone looked at their unfathomable Empress with puzzled expressions.
I don't understand why she would reject this only viable way to break the deadlock.
"Your Majesty!" Yue Fei said urgently, "The Western Regions are in imminent danger! The Prince and the soldiers of the Divine Machine Battalion are trapped and their fate is unknown!"
"If we don't send troops to our aid immediately... the consequences will be unimaginable!"
"I know." Murong Yan's voice remained calm.
“But have you ever thought about it?”
"The 300,000-strong army of the Beijing Garrison is the last foundation of our Great Qian Dynasty."
"Once they are all transferred to the west."
"Then who will protect this vast Central Plains region of ours?"
"Who will defend Chang'an, the capital of this empire?"
"If at this moment, the 'Rakshasa Kingdom,' which has just retreated to the north, were to return."
"Or perhaps the Japanese pirate navy, which is entrenched in the East China Sea, will take the opportunity to invade."
"At that time, our three fronts—north, south, and east—will be in crisis simultaneously."
"That would be a true catastrophe!"
Murong Yan's analysis was calm and full of strategic vision.
Like a basin of ice-cold snow water.
It instantly sobered up the civil and military officials who were still immersed in their passion.
They then realized...
I was really too impulsive just now.
They were only thinking about rescuing the Western Regions and the prince.
However, they completely overlooked the fact that once they mobilized the entire nation's resources for a westward expedition...
Their Great Qian Empire, though seemingly powerful, was actually a vast empire riddled with problems.
What terrifying chain reaction will this lead to!
This is not a war that can be resolved with a desperate gamble!
This is a life-or-death game where every move affects the whole situation!
One wrong step and you're doomed!