After the rebirth, the queen took the Meiqiang tragedy script

Chapter 259 Refutation
Gu Shihai looked at Ye Qinghuai with a wary and unfamiliar gaze. He frowned, but couldn't immediately utter a rebuttal.

Just as he hesitated, Chen Yuansi, who was standing next to him, finally spoke.

"Your Majesty loves the people like your own children, which is a blessing for all the people under heaven. Tan Chunhui is favored by the Emperor, but he concealed the disaster and failed to report it. This is a case of being greedy for merit and reckless, as well as dereliction of duty. He should be dismissed from his post. As the chief minister of the court, I have failed to manage my subordinates strictly. I beg Your Majesty to punish me as well."

After saying this, he clasped his hands together, lowered his head, and made a gesture of admitting his guilt.

Ye Qinghuai looked at Chen Yuansi, his gaze darkening.

Chen Yuansi's words, seemingly an admission of guilt, were actually an attempt to downplay the seriousness of the matter and exonerate himself. According to Ye Qinghuai, Tan Chunhui was not only responsible for concealing the disaster but also for instigating the rebellion in Qing County. However, Chen Yuansi dismissed this with a simple "dereliction of duty," only issuing a dismissal. As for himself, he made no mention of secretly mobilizing the prefectural troops without the emperor's knowledge, merely downplaying his own mismanagement.

Ye Qinghuai understood his meaning. After a moment's thought, she said, "In the end, Qing County did not cause too much trouble. Tan Chunhui is the county magistrate, so the Grand Secretary need not blame himself for this."

Gu Shihai suddenly sneered: "Didn't cause too much trouble? The 8,000 elite troops of Yingzhou Prefecture were mobilized in full force under the pretext of suppressing the rebellion, and 100,000 soldiers and civilians in one county refused to leave the city in the face of the prefectural commander. Not only did His Majesty not take any action, but he also handed over the power to deploy the prefectural commander to Lu Yanchen, who openly opposed him, and entrusted Qing County, a vital granary, to Qi Liyi, who killed his superior and incited the people to revolt. Lu Yanchen is merely a civil official from the Taiqing Pavilion. He has been in the army for less than a year and is about to be promoted to commander-in-chief. Not to mention in our dynasty, it is unheard of in all dynasties! Is His Majesty going to entrust the foundation of our Great Jing Dynasty for two hundred years to a treacherous and immature brat? I hope His Majesty will reconsider!"

His words were harsh and even disregarded propriety; he even used the word "boy" in court, which showed that he was extremely angry.

But what he said did make some sense, and the court officials began to whisper among themselves. Then several officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, we second your opinion and hope that Your Majesty will reconsider."

Ye Qinghuai looked at the officials who were bowing and agreeing, but did not immediately start arguing with them. Her expression remained unchanged, very calm.

When she wrote the imperial edict bestowing honors upon Lu Yanchen in the Qing County government office, she had already envisioned this scene. In fact, there are even fewer officials standing up to refute her than she had anticipated.

She felt a strange sense of peace. This was the Gu Shihai she knew, the Gu Shihai she knew who held court early in the morning. The taciturn, indifferent Gu Shihai of the past few days had actually filled her with dread; sometimes she didn't even know who she was fighting against.

While she remained silent, Lin Yuxiu suddenly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, may I say a few words?"

Ye Qinghuai nodded and said, "Go ahead."

"I believe it is inappropriate for Grand Secretary Gu to describe General Lu as 'scheming and inexperienced'. In his letter to His Majesty, General Lu explained the situation: he chopped Tan Chunhui's sash because Tan had first raised his knife against him, intending to kill him. According to our dynasty's laws, one who is assaulted and whose life is threatened is not guilty of killing. General Lu's action should be considered self-defense, not disloyalty. Furthermore, at that time, General Lu was a third-rank commander, while Tan Chunhui was only a sixth-rank county magistrate. According to our dynasty's official system..." According to the law, even those in high positions can be acquitted. As for the confrontation with the provincial governor, General Lu did not engage in any direct conflict with him, and neither side suffered any casualties. So how can it be considered a confrontation? And speaking of being "wet-blooded," I heard that during last year's imperial examination fraud case, General Lu fought bravely at Donglin Gate to protect His Majesty. At that time, Grand Secretary Gu praised him in court, saying that he could fight against a hundred Imperial Guards single-handedly and was a talent rarely seen in a century. How can you now say that someone you once so highly regarded is "wet-blooded"?

Gu Shihai's mustache bristled at Lin Yuxiu's words. He glared at Lin Yuxiu, but couldn't utter a word for a long time. Ye Qinghuai couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Lin Yuxiu's sharp tongue was truly universally effective. Not only did it often annoy her, but now it seemed it could make Gu Shihai even more annoyed than she was.

Before Gu Shihai could speak, Ye Qinghuai said, "Minister Lin has voiced my doubts. Grand Secretary Gu, if I remember correctly, Lu Yanchen was merely a minor vanguard battalion commander in the Northern Expeditionary Army. His promotion to commander of the Western Army was due to the strong recommendations of Grand Secretary Gu and He Qingchang. If his promotion was too rapid, it was mostly because he gained Grand Secretary Gu's favor." These words caused the court officials to whisper among themselves. Even those who had previously echoed Gu Shihai's opinion exchanged bewildered glances, seeing only confusion in each other's eyes.

Everyone assumed that Lu Yanchen's appointment as commander of the Western Army was at the emperor's behest, but no one expected that Gu Shihai was also involved in pushing things along.

This was indeed quite unbelievable, leaving everyone baffled.

Of all the officials in the court, only one person quickly figured out the reason.

Chen Yuansi slowly turned his head to look at Gu Shihai, who was standing not far from him. His dull, lifeless eyes suddenly came to life, his gaze sharp beneath his heavy eyelids, fixed intently on Gu Shihai, his eyes full of warning and intimidation.

Just then, Gu Shihai turned around and met Chen Yuansi's gaze.

The two had served in the same court for over ten years and had been bitter rivals for three years, so it could be said that they knew each other very well. In a brief exchange of glances, they both understood each other's thoughts perfectly.

Gu Shihai felt a moment of guilt, his expression quickly shifting, but he soon regained his tough demeanor, the veins at the corners of his eyes twitching as he looked away.

"Grand Secretary Gu, there is one more thing you have misunderstood. I will not tolerate Qi Liyi's rebellion. However, considering that he sought justice for the people and that he is not a bad person, he will be spared the death penalty. He and the other instigators from the Qing County granary uprising will be exiled to the Western Army camp to atone for their crimes. The magistrate of Qing County and the granary will be replaced by new candidates recommended to the court by Su Lin, the prefect of Yingzhou." Ye Qinghuai added.

Gu Shihai looked up at the emperor, the fierce look in his eyes gradually fading. Ye Qinghuai, however, maintained her calm expression as she looked at him.

If he had previously only suspected that the emperor was colluding with Chen Yuansi, the emperor's words now confirmed his suspicions.

He originally intended to use the emperor to eliminate Chen Yuansi's power in Yingzhou, but after all this turmoil, Yingzhou was still Chen Yuansi's Yingzhou, but the army was no longer just Gu Shihai's army.

The emperor had clearly come prepared today, but he didn't know what the emperor had prepared. Given the current situation, it seemed that no matter how much he argued or resisted, he couldn't change the outcome of Lu Yanchen being promoted to the rank of First-Rank Grand General.

He gritted his teeth, as if to swallow the bitter pill of defeat.

Gu Shihai lowered his head and said, "Since Your Majesty has made a decision, this humble subject dares not offer any objections."