Luo Zhao only lost face, but the whole Yan court was shocked.
The five feudal vassals could be said to be the last support of the Yan Country. But they were still defeated by the rebel army, which shocked the Yan Country.
The people of the Yan Country were in a panic, as if the Yan Country was about to be destroyed. The people of the Yan Country could not help but ask, if even the five feudal vassals were not the opponent of the rebel army, then who could be the opponent of the rebel army?
The court was in a mess.
Some people suggested that the army be transferred from the border to suppress the rebellion, but it was firmly opposed by another group of people. The reason was that the border was the last line of defense of the Yan Country. Once the assembled army was withdrawn, the Han and Song armies would inevitably take advantage of the situation to invade. Those who insisted on the transfer of the army believed that if the army did not withdraw, no one inside could stop the rebel army. If the Yan Country collapsed, could the border army still hold? To resist the foreign attack, one must first stabilize the internal situation!
Some people also suggested that the Southern Region should be dispatched to suppress the rebellion.
This issue was also controversial. The biggest doubt was that the Southern Region even dared to intercept the army provisions of the imperial court, would they listen to the order? What if they joined forces with the rebel army? Xue Xiao must contain the Southern Region troops at all costs in the Southern Region.
While the court was quarreling, the movements of the three major sects behind the court were also not small. The relevant high-level personnel of the three major sects were all urgently summoned to a hall in the palace.
The Sect Leader of Xiao Yao Palace Long Xiu, the Sect Leader of Purple Golden Cave Gong Lin Ce, and the Sect Leader of Spirit Sword Mountain Meng Xuan, the three sect leaders stood side by side with calm faces.
Behind Gong Zhou was Elder Yue Yuan of Purple Golden Cave; behind Tu Zhou was Elder Yuan Long of Spirit Sword Mountain; behind Fu Zhou was Elder Zu Ande of Spirit Sword Mountain; behind Hao Zhou was Elder Shi Sheng of Xiao Yao Palace; behind Chang Zhou was Elder Nong Fengting of Xiao Yao Palace.
Behind Bo Zhou was Elder Qiao Tianguang of Purple Golden Cave, behind Qi Zhou was Elder Bi Yuntao of Spirit Sword Mountain, behind Qi Zhou was Elder Yuan Long of Spirit Sword Mountain. Behind Fu Zhou was Elder Zu Ande of Spirit Sword Mountain, behind Hao Zhou was Elder Shi Sheng of Xiao Yao Palace, behind Chang Zhou was Elder Nong Fengting of Xiao Yao Palace, these five Elders stood in a row.
Behind Bo Zhou was Elder Qiao Tianguang of Purple Golden Cave, and behind Qi Zhou, Elder Bi Yuntao of Spirit. Because Bo Prefecture and Qi Zhou were heavily guarded by Army, these two Elders were not here.
The rest of the people, including the disciples, were all ignored. Only the people present at the scene, their intentions were very clear.
Gong Lince broke the silence and said with a cold face, "I'm sure everyone knows about the situation of the five feudal vassals quelling the rebellion. There are no outsiders here today, so let's not beat around the bush. Now that the situation has come to this, it's a matter of life and death for the three sects. Once we lose Yan, the three sects will become stray dogs and run to other places where no one will accept them. The decline of the three sects will be like a thousand miles away. The foundation laid by the previous masters cannot be destroyed in the hands of our generation. Otherwise, we will let down the previous masters and the disciples of the sects."
Long Xiu continued, "Today, the three of us only need a word from the five of you. Can you command the five feudal vassals under your control to work together to quell the rebellion?"
Nong Fengting of Xiao Yao Palace sighed and said, "Sovereign, it's not that we didn't try our best to supervise them, but it's hard to predict a person's heart!"
Long Xiu was furious. "Try my best to supervise? Do you think we're blind and deaf? The cultivators of Jin, Wei, and Qi Country are on the verge of falling out with us, yet the five feudal vassals didn't even try their best to fight. They just ran away as soon as they came into contact with the enemy. How could this be called trying their best? "
Yue Yuan of the Purple Golden Cave said, "Don't be angry, Palace Master Long. It's not what you think. Elder Nong's so-called unpredictable people doesn't refer to anything else, but the morale of the army. The officers and soldiers of the five feudal vassals don't want to work for the imperial court. Without morale, how could they fight this war?"
Shi Yuanlong of Spirit Sword Mountain also nodded. "Yes! The three Sect Leaders also know that these five feudal vassals are the former subordinates of King Ning. If they were not desperate in the past, they wouldn't have raised the army. "
Another Elder of Spirit Sword Mountain, Zu An, also said, "That's true. In the past, when the imperial court was massacred, they still harbor resentment. How could they work for the imperial court? Do the three Sect Leaders know what the soldiers are saying? They said that even if we die for the imperial court, we won't get the slightest mercy from the imperial court. Instead, we'll be regarded as traitors by the imperial court. Why should we fight? "
Shi Sheng, the Elder of Xiao Yao Palace, let out a hum. "The soldiers of Haozhou also have the same mentality. When the war is arranged, the troops are pushed to the top. But when the war starts, the troops immediately turn around and run away. Who can stop them? Let alone tens of thousands of people, even tens of thousands of pigs can't stop them. They just don't want to work for the imperial court, so we can't just kill them, can we? "
Nong Fengting sighed. "We're also anxious about this matter."
The five people's words were reasonable and well-founded, which made the three Sect Leaders speechless.
Meng Xuan, the Sect Leader of Spirit Sword Mountain, said with a dark face, "According to what you said, isn't this the end of Yan State, and the end of our three sects?"
Nong Fengting hastily waved his hand. "You can't say that. Even if there's still a glimmer of hope, we still have to try our best. Things haven't reached the point of no return. Don't we still have the Southern Region troops?"
Yue Yuan immediately said, "Yes, in the past, the Yan State's heroic Wu Lie Graud awed the world. Right now, he's in the hands of the Southern Region. In the battle against Zhou Shouxian and Xue Xiao, he showed off his ability. On the battlefield, I'm afraid the Southern Region troops are second to none. We should urgently dispatch the Southern Region troops to suppress the rebellion."
Shi Yuanlong nodded. "Indeed, I agree."
Zu Ande said, "Yes, it's time for them to go on the field."
Shi Sheng said, "I think so."
These five Elders have long known the Southern Region's eagerness to go on the expedition. Otherwise, how could the allied forces be defeated so easily? In the end, they knew that some people were willing to be the scapegoat and wanted to preserve their own strength. The current defeat made them restless. They had long been eager for this day to come, so that the Southern Region troops could go on the expedition as soon as possible.
Even if the Southern Region troops couldn't defeat the rebel army, they could still greatly exhaust the rebel army's strength. When the time came, they could come out and clean up the mess. They wouldn't have to pay any price, either.
For this reason, the five Elders didn't hesitate to deceive their superiors and subordinates. None of them took out Meng Shanming's letter. They destroyed the letter long ago. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to explain the allied forces' defeat.
Long Xiu said, "Easy for you to say. The Southern Region intercepted the imperial court's military supplies and has long been in contact with Han and Song. I'm afraid they already have intentions of rebelling. It's too late to suppress them. If the Southern Region troops join hands with the Cangzhou rebel army, the consequences will be unimaginable!"
Shi Sheng said, "Sect Master, with the current situation in the Yan State, it's understandable that the Southern Region wants to accumulate some strength. I don't think they will rebel."
Shuai Yuanlong agreed. "Shang Chaozong is, after all, a member of the Yan State's royal family. He's also a man of character. If he really rebelled, how could he face his ancestors?"
Seeing their expressions, Meng Xuan said in a low voice, "What do you mean? Did I hear wrongly? You're all speaking up for the Southern Region. Did you all discuss this beforehand? "
Long Xiu and Gong Lince also looked doubtful.
The five elders looked at each other. They really hadn't discussed this beforehand, but they were well aware of what was going on.
Nong Fengting sighed. "Sect Master Meng, is there still a need to discuss the situation at this point? The morale of the five feudal vassals is low. Are we just going to wait for death? Even if there's a chance, we still have to try! "
"That's right, that's exactly it. If we don't try, how will we know what the Southern Region's attitude is?"
The five tried again and again, trying their best to persuade the three Sect Masters to let the Southern Region send troops.
Now that the situation had reached this point, they had no choice but to try. But the problem was that when the Southern Region troops rushed to the battlefield, there was no telling what would happen to the rebel army. In the end, the five elders promised that they would personally oversee the battle and try their best to let the five feudal vassals hold the rebel army back …
In the guest courtyard, Ghost Mother and Yun Ji met happily while Niu Youdao watched from the side.
This ghost and demon were both twice Guan Fangyi's age, but they looked much younger than Guan Fangyi. Especially Mother Ghostmother, whose appearance seemed to be forever frozen in her early thirties, frozen at the age when she passed away.
Ghost Mother had already arrived with a thousand ghost cultivators from Mount Pitfall. Together with the Cloud Crossing Mountain's demon cultivators, they were all secretly stationed around Thatched Cottage Villa. Together with the troops stationed outside and the three sects inside, it was almost impossible for outsiders to get close to Thatched Cottage Villa without being discovered.
After the two sisters caught up, Ghost Mother suddenly looked at Niu Youdao and sneered. "I heard that you and Yun Huan are sworn brothers?"
She had only found out about it after going to Cloud Crossing Mountain.
Niu Youdao was instantly embarrassed. He rubbed his nose and said, "Big Sister, I really didn't know about your relationship with Cloud Crossing Mountain."
Ghost Mother sneered. "What do you think about seniority?"
Yun Ji had a mocking look in her eyes. With her seniority, she wouldn't be at a disadvantage anyway.
Fortunately, Guan Fangyi arrived at this time and urgently reported, "Daoye, Long Xiu is here." At the same time, she handed over a letter.
Hearing Long Xiu's name, Ghost Mother and Yun Ji's expressions turned cold. Slowly, Niu Youdao turned back to look in the direction of the villa. Slowly, he said, "He's finally here!"
He took the letter and read it. It was a letter from Quan Taifeng, saying that Cang Prefecture's rebel army had conquered another prefecture and asking when Nan Prefecture would be mobilizing.
Niu Youdao directly tore the letter into pieces, then excused himself to the two sisters and left …
In the waterside pavilion of the villa, Long Xiu stood leaning against the railing. Niu Youdao hurried over and cupped his hands in greeting from afar. "Palace Lord has come personally. Niu Youdao has failed to welcome you from afar. Please forgive me, Palace Lord!" He approached and bowed.
Long Xiu looked back and scanned him coldly. He snorted. "Forgive me? Do you still have any respect for me? "
Niu Youdao was surprised. "Palace Lord, why do you say that?"
Long Xiu replied, "Are you playing dumb with me?"
Niu Youdao paused for a moment and suddenly slapped his forehead. "I understand. Palace Lord, are you talking about that batch of military rations? It has been prepared here and can be sent out at any time. "
Long Xiu asked, "How? Will another group of bandits appear and burn the carriage again? Or will the carriage break down again? "
Niu Youdao replied, "Impossible. Nan Prefecture has already prepared a solid carriage of grain. This time, Nan Prefecture has personally sent an army to escort the grain to Dingzhou and will not allow any more mistakes. If there are any mistakes, Palace Lord can hold me accountable. I will not refuse!"
It was unbelievably satisfying. Long Xiu was speechless.
However, he had not come for this matter today. Thus, he changed the topic and lightly asked, "Have you heard about the battle to suppress the rebellion?"
"Haha!" Niu Youdao was amused. With a face full of disdain and mockery, he said, "A bunch of idiots!"
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