After the rebirth, the queen took the Meiqiang tragedy script

Chapter 261 Yile
Jingshou Palace, Qinxian Hall.

The Qinxian Hall was converted from a warm pavilion and wasn't very large. On one side by the window, there was still a bed and a kang table, while on the other side, a row of tall bookshelves lined the wall. After the war began, Ye Qinghuai hung a map covering the entire wall opposite the bed. In front of the map was a long table, which was somewhat cluttered. Maps, memorials, and writing materials were scattered all over the table, which contained important documents from the Great Jing Dynasty. The attending eunuchs dared not tidy it up.

After court, Ye Qinghuai often summoned his ministers here, mostly for one-on-one exchanges. Occasionally, when there was something to discuss, it would be two or three people. But now, this small Qinxian Hall was packed with people. All seven members of the Cabinet were present. Except for Chen Yuansi, who was given a seat by Ye Qinghuai because of his age, the others were standing, but it still felt a bit crowded.

The real reason is that in the past six months, Ye Qinghuai has added two more seats to the original five seats in the cabinet, namely Lin Yuxiu, the vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Li Wenqing, the censor-in-chief.

"I've summoned you all because of an urgent report from Yizhou." Ye Qinghuai handed the memorial in her hand to everyone for them to read in turn. After the memorial was returned to her, she asked, "What do you all think?"

Chen Yuansi spoke first: "In my opinion, whether it is war or peace, our dynasty should recognize Yile as the prince of the Northern Di and treat him as a foreign guest."

He Qingchang said, “Your Majesty, since Luodi ascended the throne, the Northern Di have been expanding their military, and I am afraid they still have designs on the territory of our Great Jing. Now that the war with the Western Rong has been quelled, I urge Your Majesty to make preparations for the northern frontier as soon as possible.”

Ye Qinghuai nodded and asked, "Do you know how popular this Yile is among the people of Beidi?"

“Ile was born to the former Northern Di King’s first wife, while Lodi was born to a concubine. Although his mother succeeded to the throne after the first wife passed away, in the tradition of the Northern Di, Ile’s status is higher than Lodi’s. In addition, I have heard that Ile’s governing philosophy is the same as that of the old Northern Di King, and his policies toward the nobility are mild, so he has a certain reputation among the Northern Di nobles,” Wen Xinzhong explained.

“Ile’s mother was from the Kugler tribe. After Lodi took control of the royal court, the Kugler tribe, together with several other tribes, launched a war against Lodi. They were defeated some time ago and were exterminated by Lodi. Now Ile has no military support in the Northern Di,” He Qingchang said.

Ye Qinghuai understood He Qingchang's concerns and shook his head, saying, "I do not expect to rely on Yile's own power. If he truly still had troops and advisors at his disposal, he would not have come to Dajing alone. Although Luodi enjoys high prestige in the Northern Di army, he is seen as a bandit and a wolf by the Northern Di nobles. I have heard that he has levied a lot of the nobles' private wealth to fund his military expenses, and the nobles dare not speak out against him. If I were to announce to the world that I have reached an alliance with Yile to help him reclaim the throne, I am sure these nobles would not allow Luodi's military expansion to proceed too smoothly."

After Ye Qinghuai finished speaking, Gu Shihai gave her a wary look.

What he cared about was not Ye Qinghuai's decision, but rather that Ye Qinghuai's intelligence on the Northern Barbarians far exceeded his expectations.

Gu Shihai had maintained correspondence with Xu Ye, the military governor of Yunzhou, but this was the first time he had heard of the conflict between Luodi and the Northern Di nobles. It was clear that the emperor's intelligence sources were not scouts from the northern frontier.

It's probably that newly formed Embroidered Uniform Guard.

“Your Majesty is wise. In my opinion, we should first bring Yile to the capital and then make a decision once we have evidence to prove that Lodi is plotting a rebellion,” Chen Yuansi added.

Ye Qinghuai nodded and said, "Grand Secretary Chen is right, and I agree. Since everyone is here today, I will explain it to you all clearly. Now is the time when our dynasty's army is strong and well-equipped, and we have won the first battle in the west, eliminating the threat from the Han Sea. This year, the Ministry of War's expenditure is more than double that of previous years. This money cannot be wasted. We must fight this battle against the Northern Barbarians, if not this year, then next year. I am determined to recover the three counties of Yunzhou that were lost north of the Baishui River, and I also ask you all to prepare for a long-term war." Ye Qinghuai's determination to fight was not new, and the others already knew the emperor's intentions. Hearing her say it now, no one objected. Only Chen Yuansi said, "Your Majesty, this year the national treasury is short of funds, and most of the savings accumulated during the Shunping era have been used up. If the Ministry of War's expenditure is as high as this year, I'm afraid the court will not be able to sustain itself."

"This year's expenses are mainly due to the defeat at Baishuihe last year, coupled with the fact that we haven't fought a war for many years, so many fortifications need to be repaired. These expenses can be saved next year, and the military farms that were reorganized this year should produce some grain next year, which can make up for some of the food shortages," Ye Qinghuai said.

Since she said so, no one objected.

"Alright, Wenqing, send a team to Qingtang City in Yizhou to bring Yile to the capital with the courtesy due to a foreign guest. Qingchang, send a team to accompany them as well, just in case anything goes wrong on the way," Ye Qinghuai instructed.
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Qingtang City is more than a thousand miles away from Shengjing. The journey is long, and Ye Qinghuai was worried about it, so he asked Tao Yuan to send a troop of Imperial Guards to set off ahead of time.

However, just as the Ministry of Rites' welcoming party for Yi Le set off from the capital, Ye Qinghuai received another urgent report from Yizhou, stating that Yi Le had died suddenly in Qingtang City, and the cause of death was still under investigation.

The urgent report came suddenly and strangely.

This rendered all of Ye Qinghuai's previous plans and schemes futile.

But Ye Qinghuai quickly realized that she was probably not the only one caught off guard; the Yizhou prefecture was likely even more bewildered than she was.

The fact that these two urgent reports were only five days apart shows that Yile's death was also unexpected by the Yizhou prefecture. As for the statement "the cause of death is still under investigation," it was probably just a delaying tactic to avoid conflict, as they hadn't yet agreed on an explanation to submit to the court.

Ye Qinghuai dismissed everyone, leaving only Shen Guiyi. After everyone had left, Ye Qinghuai took out paper and ink from a hidden compartment beside his desk and quickly wrote two lines. As the ink dried, the writing gradually faded. Ye Qinghuai folded the paper twice and handed it to Shen Guiyi, saying, "Go out of the palace now and give this to Eagle Head. Tell him to take care of it immediately."

Shen Guiyi entered the palace less than a year ago, and was promoted by Ye Qinghuai to the sixth-rank position of registrar. Not only did she frequently serve Ye Qinghuai, but she also possessed the emperor's gold token, allowing her to freely enter and leave the palace. Although she currently had only five maids under her command, it was clear to everyone that Shen Guiyi was, besides Aunt Fanghua, the emperor's most trusted and favored female official. Therefore, the eunuchs and maids in the palace would respectfully address her as "Aunt Shen."

Only Shen Guiyi knew that the emperor valued her because of her identity as a member of the Eagle Guard.

After more than six months of purges, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has now been completely replaced by the Eagle Guard.

Ye Qinghuai had proposed bringing the Eagle Guards back into the open, but Tao Yuan believed the time was not right. He insisted on keeping most of the Eagle Guards hidden, with only about a hundred Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) on the surface. He himself used the alias "Chen Wanshan" to hold the position of General of the Guard within the Jinyiwei, and whenever he needed to discuss matters with the Emperor, he would enter the palace under this identity. However, if Ye Qinghuai wanted to contact him, he still had to go through Shen Guiyi to deliver the message.

Happy New Year to everyone~