Chapter 632: Complete Extermination
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Yu Youyao gasped. “He had an army of 800,000 which was almost half of the country’s troops, and they still lost in the end?”
Zhou Linghuai nodded. “Initially, it was the emperor’s first time leading an army, so he was willing to listen to Duke Nings suggestions and arrangements. After winning a few battles, it was inevitable that the emperor would become arrogant. In a small battle, he was accidentally besieged by the Di Army. Duke Ning led his troops to save him, but he was ambushed by the Di people and died on the spot. The heir of Duke Ning risked his life to save the emperor, but he also died from his serious injuries.”
Yu Youyao was in disbelief. “Since Duke Ning and his son died to save the emperor, why did the Ning Residence get punished later?”
No matter what crimes the Ning Residence had committed, they should be punished lightly because Duke Ning and his son sacrificed their lives.
“If that’s all, then Duke Ning and his son were naturally loyal officials. After that, the emperor will definitely give them a posthumous title. However…” At this point, Zhou Linghuai’s tone was also a little emotional. “Duke Ning and the heir have extremely high prestige in the army. As a result of their deaths, the morale of the army became unstable and the hearts of the people collapsed. There were rumors in the army that they were dissatisfied with the emperor…”
With that said, Yu Youyao understood. “The dog emperor was too petty. When he heard these words, he would definitely be embarrassed and angry. Not only will he not feel guilty towards Duke Ning and his son, but he will also blame them.”
He was really heartless.
“That’s right.” Zhou Linghuai changed the topic and continued, “Three days later, the leader of the Di Army led a 200,000-strong army to the city. The emperor sent troops and fought in a panic. The 800,000-strong army was completely wiped out. At that time, Duke Xu, who was the general of the expedition to the north, risked his life to lead 1,000 elite troops and escort the emperor back to the capital.”
At this point, Yu Youyao could already guess why the Ning Residence was sealed later. “As the ruler of a country, he personally led an expedition, but in the end, he was completely wiped out. He was like a dog that had lost his family and fled in panic. If news of this gets out, it will be a great humiliation to the emperor. Not only will it damage the dignity of the royal family and the emperor’s reputation, but it will also cause the people’s hearts to be unstable, and there will be many consequences.”
At this point, Yu Youyao’s entire body was already cold. Her voice seemed to be stuck in her throat. She used all her strength to say, “Therefore, the fault of leading the expedition personally can’t fall on the emperor. Someone needs to take all the blame to protect the dignity of the imperial family and the emperor’s face!”
Her voice began to tremble, and she felt a lump in her throat. “That was an army of 800,000 people. It’s not 10,000 or 100,000. They used more than half of the country’s troops, but they were completely wiped out just like that. How can anyone take the blame? Only a general’s mistake can cause such tragic consequences.”
Therefore, all the mistakes in the end became Duke Ning and his son’s.
The 800,000-strong army had been completely wiped out. The emperor had to give an explanation to the world. Even though Duke Ning and his son were already dead, the emperor still had to punish the rest of the Ning Residence to put on a show.
Poor Duke Ning and his son who were actually so loyal. After their deaths, their reputations were tainted. Even the Ning Clan ended up being exiled.
Zhou Linghuai knew that she was feeling terrible. “After returning to the capital, General Xu Jun, the general of the expedition to the north, participated in the reporting about Duke Ning and his son. He said they delayed the military opportunity, misdirected the troops, and did not supervise the battle well. They committed more than ten crimes.”
“He pointed out that Duke Ning and his son made a mistake in their intelligence, causing the emperor to be surrounded by the Di people and be in deep danger. To put it bluntly, although Duke Ning and his son risked their lives to save the emperor, they could be exempted from the crime of making a mistake in their intelligence.”
“However, because of the death of Duke Ning and his son, the morale of the army was unstable and the hearts of the people collapsed, causing the 800,000-strong army to be completely wiped out. This crime could not be tolerated.”
Yu Youyao was so disgusted that she wanted to vomit.
Although Duke Ning and his son had taken on the responsibility of personally leading the expedition, the court officials knew very well that the Ning Residence had already taken on all the mistakes for the emperor. If the emperor did not treat his wife well, it would be intolerable.
This was the fundamental reason why the dog emperor did not need to rebuild his power.
Just as her cousin had said, the reasons she had thought of previously were all obvious.
The dog emperor had used the entire Ning Residence and the Empress to establish a deeply loyal image for himself. It was simply disgusting.
Zhou Linghuai continued, “After that, General Xu rose all the way to the position of Duke Xu because of his contribution of saving the emperor. It was also because of this battle that the treasury was emptied, causing the strength of the country to decline. The foundation that the previous emperor had accumulated for many years was destroyed.”
The number of soldiers, rations, swords, armor, horses, and so on of an army of 800,000 was usually not a small number.
In war, the losses would increase exponentially.
Furthermore, as the emperor was personally leading the expedition, all of them had to be equipped with the best equipment. If anything went wrong, they would lose their heads.
If they won a battle, they could also plunder the enemys swords and horses to nourish themselves in battle.
Once he suffered a defeat, he would be the one being plundered. At that time, less than 10% of the herbivores, soldiers, knives, armor, and so on survived.
Fortunately, it was 800,000 against 300,000, and they had the best equipment and the most elite army. They also defeated a lot of the Di people’s troops, causing them to be injured and weak.
Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
However, the aftermath of the war was a huge problem.
The 800,000-strong army had been completely wiped out. After that, they needed a large sum of money to compensate the families of the soldiers. The emperor had just ascended the throne, so he could not be careless in such matters.
After losing 800,000 troops in the country, he also had to recruit new and train them. They needed a large number of rations, equipment, and so on.
This was another huge sum of money.
Fortunately, later on, Yu Zongshen suggested that the sea ban be lifted. Later on, with the help of Madam Xie, the lifting of the sea ban went smoothly and reduced the burden of the treasury.
However, maritime trade was only enough for the Imperial Court’s expenses.
Yu Youyao sneered. “It’s already like this. The vassal lords haven’t rebelled, and the Imperial Court hasn’t fallen into chaos. Fortunately, the dog emperor has a good younger brother who’s willing to work hard for him.”
If it weren’t for the fact that King Li of Zhou had guarded Youzhou, defeated the Di people, and intimidated the vassal lords and the court, how could there have been a good day for the dog emperor to stabilize his position? However, in the end, King Li of Zhou was only another Duke Ning!
It was extremely ridiculous.
Zhou Linghuai smiled but said nothing.
Yu Youyao calmed the anger in her heart. With a thought, she couldn’t help but ask, “What happened after that? How did the Eldest Prince die young?”
Emperor Gaozu was born in the countryside and was very orthodox. The eldest son of the first wife was an orthodox Confucian. Therefore, if there was no eldest son of the first wife, the eldest son of the second wife would be considered and so on.
Firstly, the dog emperor was not the eldest son of the first wife, secondly, he was not the eldest son of the second wife, and thirdly, he was not even the eldest son of the third wife. This was also the biggest reason why his status had been unstable since he ascended the throne..
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