CHAPTER 1509: CHAPTER 1426: REINFORCEMENTS WILL COME

Without transportation capacity, the circulation of goods is impossible, and without circulation of goods... all economic activities lose their vitality, and chaos spreads as a result.

On the other side, several ministers managing Wuyang City also sought out Ying Ke, as the military was attempting to take control of Wuyang City, which was soon to become the front line, escalating the conflict between civil and military governance.

Those ministers ignored the curses of the officers beside them, continuing to say, "Prime Minister, the military is trying to set up checkpoints to inspect everyone passing through, but both the refugees and the nobility have complaints; their checkpoints severely slow down passage speed."

"If the military does not control the roads, how can they build defensive fortifications? How can they recruit new soldiers? How can they mobilize resources?" The officer over there retorted forcefully, rendering the complaining civil ministers speechless.

Ying Ke only felt his head turning into two; he wanted to answer one person’s question, but now more and more people were throwing problems at him.

The whole country had already fallen into chaos, the enemy was already at the gate, and everything seemed to need resolving as soon as possible.

Next, an intelligence officer lowered his head to report the latest situation: "Someone claims that Tang Army spies have already infiltrated the city; should we replace identification documents to identify the hidden spy discs..."

But clearly, no one was paying attention to spies at that moment, so someone immediately mocked the officer, telling him to shut up: "At this time, who cares about spies... If the Guangmian incident is not thoroughly investigated, Wuyang City is certainly doomed! The Guangmian nobility, and those related to them... all need to be arrested! Not one can be spared!"

The so-called Guangmian incident referred to the Qin country’s nobility poisoning Chen Li in Guangmian. Due to the Tang Army’s swift occupation of Guangmian, the matter became somewhat convoluted, and Qin could not uncover the reasons behind it.

On one hand, the intelligence was indeed limited, and on the other hand, the nobility covered for each other, unwilling to cooperate. Once such a matter is proven, someone inevitably has to take responsibility.

And now, with the Tang Country soldiers pressing in, making it seem as though the sky might be falling, who would still be willing to take responsibility for such matters? Naturally, they paid lip service and spoke nonsense, hoping to let the Guangmian matter fade away.

Ying Ke also knew that now was not the time to pursue those issues. Previously, the pursuit of responsibility led to blaming officers studying abroad in Tang, causing a bloody incident with lingering negative effects; how could he make the same mistake again?

Therefore, he merely arranged for two ministers to casually investigate, just to give an account of the matter.

Soon, a minister inquired about reinforcements: "General Liu... An’s troops, where are they? If his troops counterattack in the south, the pressure on Wuyang will be alleviated... General An is loyal to Your Majesty; he will certainly return at a critical moment."

Another minister sarcastically remarked, "How many men can he bring back? 50,000? 100,000? Just a small number, how can it be enough? I think the most important thing now is to quickly let Your Majesty... and the families within the city evacuate swiftly!"

"Run? If our family members leave the city, do you believe that the citizens will crowd the roads out of the city by tomorrow; if trouble arises, who among us will be responsible for it?" But this minister’s proposal of fleeing was immediately opposed by others.

Allowing Emperor Qin Ying Duo to leave was one thing, but letting all the families and female relatives leave with them was another matter.

"Certainly not everyone can leave, grant each household a quota, and let the princely heir or eldest grandson be the one to leave." Ying Ke thought for a moment and gave his order.

His words immediately turned the faces of those around him pale, for this order effectively shut down the possibility of others leaving the Imperial Capital.

Immediately afterward, Ying Ke continued, "Everyone! Do not panic! Listen to me! I have already ordered General An to return to Wuyang with troops at all costs."

"A full 500,000 troops! As long as these troops reach Wuyang, the crisis of Wuyang will be resolved!" He extended his hand, concocting a somewhat reassuring number.

In reality, given the Qin Army’s already dwindling transportation capacity, even if there were 500,000 soldiers, they could not be transported back to Wuyang immediately.

In fact, Liu Zhian’s troops altogether only amounted to just over 100,000 that could be quickly mobilized, and that was with minimal ammunition and rations.

"Additionally! In the north, General Zhang Xuan has also gathered heavy troops! 300,000 troops are already approaching Wuyang!" To calm people’s hearts, Ying Ke told another lie: In actuality, Zhang Xuan’s troops numbered less than 100,000.

Some of these troops had actually already reached Wuyang, constructing defenses outside the city. It’s just that Zhang Xuan was very aware of the actual combat strength of his forces.

The Tang Army had already fought into the territory, and everyone could guess how much fighting strength the Qin Army had left. In correspondence to Ying Ke, Zhang Xuan clearly outlined his difficulties, saying: the troops were short on ammunition, mostly new recruits, difficult to hold, and sure to be defeated in battle.

In fact, he was considered relatively tactful in his words; the true situation was that Zhang Xuan’s troops had almost no heavy weapons, lacked anti-tank weapons, had no heavy artillery, and precious medical supplies were pitiably scarce.

He even directly suggested to Ying Ke that his troops be allowed to enter Wuyang, preparing to engage the Tang Army in street battles directly. But this request was denied, as Ying Ke dared not decide such matters on his own.

Thus, Zhang Xuan could only have his troops build trench defenses outside the city, conscripting nearly all surrounding citizens into the workforce. This is why a minister previously mentioned that the military began setting up checkpoints around Wuyang.

After hearing Ying Ke’s words, many ministers unaware of the insider details felt somewhat reassured, and the noisy voices subsided a lot, with many starting to whisper among themselves.

The ministers who knew the truth did not dare to publicly debunk the Prime Minister’s claims, so they too remained silent. They knew Ying Ke would be grateful to them, providing them some compensation in other areas.

Having stabilized the situation, Ying Ke continued, "The situation is difficult! Everyone must be united and sincere, defending against foreign threats together! Once back, perform your duties! No slacking off is permitted!"

"Yes, My Lord!" All the officials bowed their heads in agreement, and so this chaotic pre-battle meeting ended... not many solutions were discussed, and it left many feeling even more hopeless.