Senior Grand Secretary Li Banghua stepped out of the ranks and said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has already been out of the capital for a day and a night. Liu Fangliang will certainly not be able to catch up to him. The most pressing matter is to keep a close watch on Liu Fangliang's main army. Once we discover them advancing toward Juyong Pass, we must immediately dispatch troops to intercept them, or else Tang Tong and Juyong Pass will be lost."
What Li Banghua spoke of was precisely what Emperor Chongzhen feared the most.
The problem was that the Capital was already critically short of experienced generals and troops; who was left to block Liu Fangliang's tens of thousands of elite soldiers?
Chapter 45