Soon, officials of the third rank and above in the imperial court arrived in the Imperial Garden.
Crown Prince Ye Shen also rushed over.
Seeing Shen Jing also with Emperor Zhou, everyone was secretly curious but didn't have the time to think much about it for now.
Once everyone had arrived, Emperor Zhou ordered seats for all of them, then, with a face full of frost, handed the battle report to Ye Shen, saying, "Read!"
Ye Shen dared not delay and quickly took the battle report, reading it aloud to the court: "Your Majesty, your humble servant Cao Yuan respectfully presents..."
Humble servant!
For Cao Yuan to refer to himself in such a way, it must mean he suffered a defeat on the front lines.
As Ye Shen read out the contents of the battle report, the hearts of the officials tightened.
The night before last, someone secretly opened the gates of Yuping Pass.
However, when Cao Yuan led his troops into the pass, they were ambushed by the rebel army.
Cao Yuan's forces suffered over five thousand casualties, and Cao Yuan himself sustained minor injuries.
Furthermore, Cao Yuan learned from the rebel general who opened the gates that on the day Prince Ji raised his army, he had already sent people to contact the Qiang people to the west, intending to persuade them to take advantage of Su Prefecture's depleted forces and attack Su Prefecture.
When Ye Shen finished reading the battle report, the atmosphere instantly became solemn.
Shen Jing understood.
Clearly, Emperor Zhou had planted someone within Prince Ji's ranks to coordinate with Cao Yuan, hoping to breach Yuping Pass this way.
But Prince Ji was one step ahead, turning the tables, not only exposing Emperor Zhou's spy but also using the opportunity to inflict a heavy blow on the imperial army.
This meant that Emperor Zhou's spy within Prince Ji's ranks was essentially useless.
"Everyone, speak! What should we do now?"
Emperor Zhou's expression was not good.
The Qiang people were a tribal group in the southwest of Great Zhou.
In the past, when Great Zhou was strong, the Qiang people feared Great Zhou and voluntarily paid tribute.
In recent years, with Great Zhou facing internal and external troubles and its national strength greatly depleted, the Qiang people stopped paying tribute.
Although the imperial court had sent people multiple times to urge the Qiang people to resume tribute and even offered to reduce the tribute, the Qiang people always made excuses.
Though he was angry, considering that Great Zhou urgently needed to recuperate and could not afford another war, he could only forcefully swallow his anger.
Ye Shen frowned deeply and said in a low voice, "More than half of the troops attacking Qu Prefecture were transferred from Su Prefecture. Now Su Prefecture's forces are depleted. If the Qiang people take this opportunity to attack Su Prefecture, Su Prefecture will be in danger!"
Su Prefecture was located to the left and rear of Qu Prefecture.
The troops in Su Prefecture, though ostensibly to guard against the Qiang people, were actually there to guard against Prince Ji.
The Su Prefecture border army originally had less than fifty thousand men; over thirty thousand were transferred to Cao Yuan for suppressing the rebellion, leaving only a little over ten thousand men now.
Although the Qiang people were not numerous, by mobilizing their entire tribe, they could likely field five or six tens of thousands of troops.
If the Qiang people launched a large-scale attack, Su Prefecture's meager forces might not be able to hold out.
"There's nothing to fear from the Qiang people!"
Yao Jian shook his head. "What we fear most is that if the Qiang people make a move, the Yong Country might follow suit, and even Oirat and Xiliang might break tradition and invade during winter..."
Although Great Zhou's national strength was not what it once was, Yao Jian still didn't take the Qiang people seriously.
But what if those truly powerful enemies were stirred into action?
After all, if even the weak Qiang people dared to attack Great Zhou, how could those powerful enemies suppress their covetous desires for Great Zhou?
Even if his concerns were unnecessary, the Yong Country Delegation also had to be guarded against!
"Your Majesty, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should speak?"
At this moment, Right Prime Minister Lu Sui suddenly spoke.
"Speak!"
Emperor Zhou slightly reined in his expression.
"Is it possible that this is false information deliberately released by the rebels?"
Lu Sui frowned and said, "Prince Ji should also know the court's concerns. Releasing false information under such circumstances might force the imperial army to forcefully attack the city, thereby depleting the court's military strength and seeking an opportunity for a counterattack..."
As Lu Sui raised this question, Emperor Zhou and the officials couldn't help but ponder.
It must be said that Lu Sui's concern did have some merit.
"What Minister Lu said is not without reason!"
Emperor Zhou nodded, saying with a solemn expression, "But for some matters, it's better to believe it than not! The imperial court must take precautions!"
At this moment, he couldn't gamble that this was false information released by Prince Ji.
If he won the gamble, all would be well.
But what if he lost?
"Your Majesty is right!"
Pei Ji's eyes flashed with brilliance: "The most urgent task is to quickly suppress the rebellion! As long as the rebellion is quelled and the army returns to defend Su Prefecture, the Qiang people will certainly not dare to act rashly!"
Previously, he had thought that a month was too difficult for Cao Yuan.
But now, he wished the rebellion could be quelled within half a month, to buy as much time as possible for the anti-rebellion army to return and defend.
As Pei Ji's words fell, the brows of the important ministers furrowed even more tightly.
They had discussed this matter in court today.
But after much discussion, they only came up with some possible plans, but no plan could guarantee that the rebellion would be quelled within a month.
Now, bringing up the matter again, they couldn't think of a better solution.
Seeing no one speak, Pei Ji steeled his heart and gritted his teeth, saying, "I humbly request Your Majesty to allow me to personally go to Qu Prefecture to suppress the rebellion! I am willing to make a military pledge before the court: if I cannot quell the rebellion within one month, I will present my head!"
The rebellion of Prince Ji must be completely quelled before the Qiang people launch their attack!
Otherwise, Great Zhou is highly likely to face a new round of chaotic warfare!
He was the Minister of War, and he knew best the military strength of Great Zhou.
Although Great Zhou had recuperated for a few years, its vitality had not yet recovered.
If the surrounding countries attacked together again, Great Zhou might truly not be able to hold on.
The Crown Prince frowned, "Duke Qi wouldn't be thinking of using that inhumane strategy, would he?"
"I would not do that!"
Pei Ji shook his head, "Even if I personally lead troops to forcefully attack Yuping Pass, I would not do such a thing! I merely wish to go to the front lines myself to find an opportunity to defeat the enemy!"
Emperor Zhou thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Even if we send someone to the Qu Prefecture front lines, you don't need to go personally!"
Pei Ji's heart tightened, and he tried again, "Your Majesty..."
"Enough!"
Emperor Zhou raised his hand to stop Pei Ji, then turned to ask Pei Ji, "How many troops can still be mobilized in the vicinity of Qu Prefecture?"
"There are almost no troops that can be mobilized."
Pei Ji shook his head, full of worry, "Those that can be mobilized are mostly low-combat-strength county militias! To transfer troops from other places, it would take at least a month or more just to reach the Qu Prefecture front lines!"
"What about Su Prefecture?"
Emperor Zhou asked, "Can we urgently mobilize troops to assist in the defense of Su Prefecture?"
Pei Ji's face was filled with sorrow, "If we were to mobilize, it might only be from the Left and Right Martial Guard armies..."
Mobilizing troops from other places would simply not be fast enough.
Moreover, the troops in many places could not be arbitrarily mobilized.
"The Left and Right Martial Guard armies are for guarding the capital and absolutely cannot be arbitrarily mobilized!"
Yao Jian interjected, firmly stopping him.
"That's right! If the Left and Right Martial Guard troops are mobilized, and if trouble arises elsewhere, the capital will be in danger!"
"The Yong Country Delegation will arrive in the capital within half a month. If the Left and Right Martial Guard troops are mobilized, Yong Country will surely conclude that Great Zhou is in a difficult situation, and then the Yong Country Delegation will certainly take advantage of our misfortune!"
"No matter where we mobilize troops from, we cannot touch the Left and Right Martial Guard troops!"
The others all echoed their agreement.
Mobilizing troops from the Left and Right Martial Guards to assist in the defense of Su Prefecture would be nothing short of madness!
Faced with the fierce opposition from the officials, even if Emperor Zhou had intended to mobilize troops from the Left and Right Martial Guards, he could only temporarily abandon the idea.
However, this wouldn't work, and that wouldn't work.
The problem, however, still needed to be solved!
Just as Emperor Zhou was at his wit's end, Shen Jing's voice suddenly rang out.
"If the city walls of Yuping Pass were breached, the front-line army should be able to quell the rebellion within a month, right?"