CHAPTER 1508: CHAPTER 1425: THE ABNORMAL EMPEROR

Although the troops of Qin Country are numerous, they cannot quickly concentrate at one point. After the main force in Guangmian was inexplicably annihilated by the Tang Army, Qin Country had no way to continue gathering a large number of troops toward the north for the time being.

The backbone that survived from previous troops could no longer function effectively, so the assembled troops of the Qin Army could not rely on these veterans to enhance their combat capability.

The hastily gathered Qin Army was no match for the Tang Army; they were encircled and annihilated. Surrounded during maneuvers, they had no time to react at all.

Theoretically, the Qin Army could barely maintain the situation now, but most of the troops were in the South near Shu Mountain and couldn’t possibly rush to reinforce their Imperial Capital, Wuyang City.

After receiving orders from Emperor Qin Ying Duo, Liu Zhian promptly led all the units he could find to advance northward. He even disregarded the defenses in regions like Shu Mountain and Nanjiao and directly led troops toward the Imperial City.

He had no choice; if his troops did not return in time, then the Imperial Capital would have no chance of winning at all.

"Your Majesty." In the grand hall of the Imperial Palace, Ying Ke looked at Ying Duo, whose face was haggard but still very excited. He was worried about his monarch because he felt that Ying Duo was in a very peculiar state of excitement.

This was not a healthy excitement but a pathological one that made people uncomfortable. In this state, Ying Duo’s mind seemed somewhat unclear.

Yet he was still very excited, with dark circles under his eyes, speaking somewhat unclearly. He frequently waved his arms as if driving away the flies around him.

"What... do you have to report?" After a few seconds, Ying Duo finally instructed Ying Ke, as if there was a network delay when speaking to him.

Ying Ke bowed his head and suggested: "Your Majesty, the situation is extremely critical now. I urge Your Majesty to retreat westward to preserve the foundation of the Empire."

He suggested that Emperor Qin Ying Duo immediately leave the Imperial Capital and head to a city further west where it would be safer. After all, the situation was extremely perilous, and the Tang Army had already begun attacking the cities surrounding Wuyang.

Although the Tang Army could not threaten Wuyang immediately, everyone knew that the cities along the way could not stop the Tang Army’s advance.

The elite of Qin Country had been completely lost, and the regional defense troops simply had little combat power. Some even rumored that those who opened Guangmian City to surrender were local troops and rebellious nobility.

"I won’t leave! I’m fine here..." Ying Duo regained some awareness, looking at Ying Ke with a wooden expression. Although he could still speak, his condition was indeed very bad.

"I ask Your Majesty to seek medical attention! Your Majesty, your condition..." Ying Ke lowered his head with difficulty, bringing up the matter once more.

A few days ago, he had already urged Ying Duo to have his medical team thoroughly check his health. But Ying Duo refused Ying Ke’s suggestion, criticizing him for meddling.

This time, Ying Ke had steeled himself to persuade once more, because not only himself but other ministers had already noticed that Ying Duo was acting very abnormally.

The Emperor’s decisions repeatedly had issues, and his mental state was visibly poor, which was very dangerous during wartime. They hoped Ying Duo could carefully check his health status.

But Ying Duo knew exactly why he had become this way. Waving his arms rigidly, he once again refused Ying Ke’s kind offer: "I’m fine! No need for a doctor! You all... now, assemble the troops... quickly assemble the troops! Defend Wuyang! Don’t worry about me! Don’t mind me!"

When he spoke, his tongue was a bit stiff. Seeing his orders, Ying Ke’s eyebrows involuntarily raised. He felt that Emperor Ying Duo had indeed lost his ability to make decisions, at least until he recovered his good state; state affairs should not be handed over to him.

Ying Duo seemed to realize his condition was somewhat off. His consumption of Black Crow had been increasing. He knew he seemed to have a problem.

But the allure of that drug was too great. Whenever he wanted to put down the pills, he felt like countless ants were crawling all over him.

Countless things chewed at his heart, twisting him on the bed like a large shrimp. Yet as long as he took more Black Crow, it was as if all the pain would end.

So Ying Duo forced himself up, waving his arms as he instructed: "Just reach a conclusion among yourselves... I... I need rest! Notify me of the decision, that’s all."

As he talked, he awkwardly stumbled out of the grand hall, leaving a group of ministers looking at each other, clueless on what to do.

After a few seconds of silence, the scene suddenly became chaotic. A minister grabbed Ying Ke’s hand, loudly saying: "Prime Minister, the economy has collapsed, prices are soaring, people in the city are panicking, there must be a solution."

With the defeat of Qin Country, the economy completely collapsed. Even this year’s farming went unattended. Farmers were conscripted into the troops, lands left barren, and crops crucial for maintaining industries not even sown.

Even without the Tang Empire’s troops attacking, Qin Country would fall into darkness due to its poor economy. Nobody cared about the people’s survival, for the nobility and high officials couldn’t even manage their own lives.

Before Ying Ke could respond to that official, another one loudly complained: "The movement of supplies has nearly stopped. Our railway was bombed by the Tang Army, engine heads damaged without repair, and rail transport almost paralyzed, road transport also has issues."

Qin Country had been dedicating significant transportation resources to reinforce the front line, leaving very few locomotive engines behind.

In this situation, the transfer of supplies became extremely difficult. As the front line approached, air transport near Wuyang City became a luxury.

Qin Country lacked air superiority, so taking off planes near the front line was risky. Without air transport, the capability to deliver supplies was minimal.

Lacking workers, component factories, and raw materials, damaged locomotive engines couldn’t be repaired swiftly, further straining Qin Country’s transportation capacity.