#562 - Even a wicked king has loyal ministers

When Li Huaizhong walked warily into the quiet room, he felt as if he had suddenly been transported to an ice cellar in the dead of winter.

The chilling air filled every corner, surrounding Ning Yongnian like a ferocious beast.

Having served two emperors and been by Ning Yongnian's side for over a decade, this was the first time Li Huaizhong had ever seen the latter so distraught.

Even after the imperial army suffered a crushing defeat at Niutou Mountain, this unfathomable Emperor of Da Ning had not reacted as he just had.

It was as if Ning Yongnian should always have a personality that never revealed his emotions.

But now it seemed his emotions could no longer be suppressed.

"..."

Not daring to look into those eyes that seemed capable of devouring people alive, Li Huaizhong kept his head lowered, his voice trembling slightly.

"Your... Your Majesty..."

"This old... Old servant is guilty, Your Majesty, please..."

"Enough nonsense!"

Before Li Huaizhong could finish his plea for forgiveness, an enraged voice interrupted him.

"What's the situation?!"

"..."

The chilling air almost solidified into dry ice, and in the extremely tense atmosphere, Li Huaizhong swallowed hard.

If he could, he would rather die than provoke Ning Yongnian at this moment, but the matter was of great importance, and he couldn't not report it. In the end, he had to brace himself and answer in a trembling voice:

"Reporting... Reporting to Your Majesty..."

"This old servant has conveyed your decree to the eight prefectures near the capital, but... but..."

Ning Yongnian's face turned even colder in an instant. He took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing his anger, and asked again, "When did they say they would send troops?!"

"Glug."

Swallowing another mouthful of saliva, Li Huaizhong's expression was as unsightly as could be.

"Your... Your Majesty..."

"The Tan and Lu prefectures claim they have no soldiers to spare, so..."

"They... They will not send troops to the capital..."

"..."

"Bang!!!"

With a deafening crash, the yellow willow wood desk instantly exploded into countless splinters.

But that wasn't the end of it.

Ning Yongnian suddenly began to wave his palms madly, smashing everything in sight to pieces in an instant.

In that moment, it was difficult to find a single intact object within the quiet room. All that remained were fragments and dust swirling in the air, and the frenzied, sweeping true energy.

Fortunately, both Li Huaizhong and Wu Ding were Second Rank martial artists. If it had been a martial artist of a slightly lower realm, even without being deliberately targeted, they probably wouldn't have been able to withstand such an indiscriminate storm of true energy for long.

"Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

Muffled sounds rang out continuously as countless fragments, whether porcelain or wood, shot out in all directions.

Li Huaizhong and Wu Ding didn't dare to move, nor did they dare to advise Ning Yongnian to calm down. They simply stood there, allowing the fragments to strike their bodies.

They both knew that if they spoke at this moment, Ning Yongnian's next palm would very likely be directed at them.

After all, the latter was clearly in a state of being consumed by rage... one could even say he was going berserk.

In fact, Li Huaizhong and Wu Ding could somewhat understand Ning Yongnian's feelings.

Yesterday, the latter had ordered the eight prefectures surrounding the capital to immediately send troops to retake the capital.

But until now, after half a day had passed, only Tanzhou and Luzhou had responded, making excuses to refuse.

The other six prefectures hadn't even bothered to make excuses, choosing to simply ignore the order.

Without a doubt, even if these eight prefectures hadn't explicitly expressed support for Ning Wenjun, they were definitely trying to act expediently, waiting to see how the situation developed before making a decision.

As for the remaining twenty-odd prefectures, they would likely adopt the same attitude.

And this meant that Ning Yongnian had basically no way to mobilize a single soldier within Da Ning.

In just two days, he had been usurped by his own son, and in the blink of an eye, he had lost control of Da Ning.

Only those who had experienced it could understand the feeling of "losing everything" overnight.

However, the "everything" that ordinary people could lose was probably a different concept from the "everything" that Ning Yongnian had lost now.

After all, what the latter had lost was a country.

For Ning Yongnian, a king with ambitions of "unifying the world" and who could also be considered a brilliant strategist, this was undoubtedly completely unacceptable.

However...

"Your Majesty!"

Suddenly, as if having made up his mind, Wu Ding abruptly raised his head and shouted, his face flushed red:

"Don't forget that you still have 400,000 troops in Da Feng!"

"The First Prince's foundation is still unstable! Even if the prefectures dare to disregard the imperial decree, they will certainly not obey the First Prince's command!"

"Therefore, as long as you lead the army back, retaking the capital will not be difficult!"

"As long as you re-enter the palace, we can settle accounts with these treacherous officials and rebels one by one!"

"Your Majesty! Everything is not yet set in stone! The situation is far from irreversible!"

"Now is the time for you to be calm! !"

"Your Majesty! Do not let anger cloud your judgment! !"

"..."

Kneeling upright on the ground, Wu Ding fearlessly looked directly at Ning Yongnian, his words sharp.

The flying debris struck his general's armor, making "clanging" sounds, but they could not cover up his roar of "offering advice with his life."

Without a doubt, Wu Ding was taking a huge risk by doing this.

However, he still did it.

Although from a God's-eye view, he could be considered the number one accomplice to Ning Yongnian's countless crimes.

But from another perspective, he was also a loyal subject with a red heart, wholeheartedly devoted to his lord.

At least compared to Li Huaizhong, Wu Ding was definitely much more devoted.

Perhaps, the minds of military generals were inherently "simpler."

"..."

The roar of offering his heart's blood still echoed in the quiet room, each word like a club, as if giving Ning Yongnian a head-on blow.

The violent true energy suddenly stopped, and a trace of clarity returned to the latter's bloodshot eyes.

Ning Yongnian lowered his head and stared fixedly at Wu Ding, then slowly closed his eyes after a few breaths.

The billowing dragon robe fell, and his trembling hands also became steady.

"You're right."

"I lost my composure."

"..."

I lost my composure.

This was the first time Li Huaizhong and Wu Ding had heard Ning Yongnian "admit his mistake."

And this undoubtedly meant that the latter had finally regained his reason.

"General Wu."

Sure enough, when Ning Yongnian opened his eyes again after a moment, the blood color in his eyes had faded, leaving only a calm hiding a sinister intent.

"Order the soldiers still stationed in Da Feng to immediately break camp and march east in forced marches to catch up with us."

"Also, order the soldiers in Huailing City to immediately prepare their weapons and equipment."

"Tonight, I will personally lead the army back to the capital!"

Using the 100,000 troops stationed in Huailing City as the vanguard, and the 300,000 troops scattered throughout Da Feng as the rearguard, Ning Yongnian was actually going to lead the army back to the capital tonight.

His choice seemed a bit rash, but in reality, it was very reasonable.

After all, the longer the situation in Da Ning dragged on, the more variables there would be, and the more disadvantageous it would be for him.

Therefore, retaking the capital as quickly as possible was definitely the most correct decision.

Of course, this also meant that the plan to "disrupt Da Feng" had basically failed.

Not to mention the "Huailing Alliance" that had not yet been signed, even the most basic "ceding territory and paying reparations" was now gone.

But fortunately, the imperial bloodline of Da Feng was still in his hands...

"Your Majesty, what should be done with Li Qi and Li Wutong?"

On the other side, Li Huaizhong saw that Ning Yongnian had regained his "sanity" and finally dared to speak.

"Should they be taken back together for further consideration?"

"Take them back?"

Ning Yongnian glanced at him, his tone icy cold.

"Li Wutong may still be useful in the future, so spare her life for now."

"As for Li Qi... Execute him in the downtown area in one hour."