After the rebirth, the queen took the Meiqiang tragedy script

After the court session, as soon as Ye Qinghuai stepped out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he asked Li Baoquan beside him, "Has the Chancellor entered the palace?"

Li Baoquan replied, "Your Majesty, they are already waiting in Wenxuan Hall."

Ye Qinghuai nodded without saying anything, but quickened his pace.

Sixty-four-year-old Wang Lisong was in good spirits. In the past six months, the emperor had invited him to the palace from time to time under the pretext of "studying the classics and asking questions," mostly in the Wenxuan Hall. He was not surprised by this.

However, the emperor's invitations to him were never for simple lectures; they were always for consultation on matters of state. But recently, no major news had been circulating in the court, and he had no idea what the emperor wanted to discuss with him today.

"I have just finished court and have kept the Chancellor waiting." Ye Qinghuai gave him a half-bow.

Ye Qinghuai always maintained a student-like attitude towards Wang Lisong.

Wang Lisong returned the full bow and said, "Your Majesty is too kind. This old minister is humbled."

"You may all leave." Ye Qinghuai dismissed everyone from Wenxuan Hall.

"I have summoned you, Chancellor, today because an important matter has occurred in the court. I am unsure of what to do and would like to ask for your guidance." Ye Qinghuai did not even discuss scholarship with Wang Lisong today. Instead, he went straight to the point and succinctly explained the cause and effect of the Yile incident to Wang Lisong.

Wang Lisong listened attentively without interrupting her.

After finishing his story, Ye Qinghuai paused, frowned, and said, "Does the Grand Master still remember that I once told you that when Gu Haiwang was defeated in the North, the two million taels of silver notes he was carrying were stolen by Luodi? Although we tried our best to recover them, we still lost 1.7 million taels of silver."

"This old minister remembers," Wang Lisong said.

Ye Qinghuai nodded and continued, "But there is one thing I have never told the Chancellor. After Gu Haiwang returned to the capital, he recuperated in the palace for a period of time due to his leg injury. During that time, he mumbled a sentence while he was unconscious. He said, 'Luodi, you ungrateful wretch.'"

Ye Qinghuai paused here, raised his eyes and looked at Wang Lisong meaningfully.

Wang Lisong, being exceptionally intelligent, immediately understood what the emperor meant. His expression changed drastically, his eyes widening in shock. He lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, this is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family." He left his words unfinished, hinting at the gravity of the matter, but his eyes and tone conveyed a sense of seriousness. After all, such a heinous crime would require even the most ruthless criminal to consider carefully.

“I understand. I have sent people to investigate in the north for a long time, but we have never found any direct evidence. Therefore, I have never mentioned this matter to the Grand Master.”

She paused, then thought, "I bring this up today because the matter of Yile is very likely related to this. I have reliable intelligence confirming that Yile was killed by Gu Haiwang in Qingtang City. Before the fight between him and Yile in Bafang Garden, they had a verbal altercation. Based on their arguments, I speculate that when Gu Haiwang was leading his army to fight the Northern Di, he secretly negotiated with Luodi, attempting to bribe him with a huge sum of money to withdraw his troops. However, Luodi did not keep his promise, leading to his defeat at Baishui River and his own capture."

Ye Qinghuai did not look at Wang Lisong, but instead paced slowly in front of the desk with her hands behind her back and her head down. Her voice was calm yet cold.

"Gu Haiwang suffered endless humiliation in the Northern Di camp, even having his leg broken. Although he was later able to walk and run after recuperation, he would never be able to ride a horse again. After being demoted to a commoner, he blamed everything on the 'betrayal' of Lodi and the broken leg of Niga, and hated the Northern Di people to the bone. Therefore, when he heard that Yile had gone to Dajing and was living in Bafangyuan, he took his trusted followers and went to settle accounts with them."

After listening, Wang Lisong frowned and shook his head, saying, "Such a pig was once a first-rank commander in our dynasty. If the world knew about this, I wonder how uproar the people would be."

"Ever since I learned of his dealings with Lodi, I have wanted to get rid of him. But what the Grand Master said is also something I have always been wary of. If I were to punish him for treason and announce it to the world, I fear that it would not only anger Gu Haiwang himself, but also the court that selected this scoundrel and entrusted him with such an important position."

Wang Lisong nodded, looking at Ye Qinghuai with a hint of satisfaction, and said, "Your Majesty's concerns are quite valid. Moreover, the Bafang Garden is directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, and its location is within the capital's administrative area. Its security measures are on par with those of a prefectural military camp. Gu Haiwang, now a mere commoner, was able to commit murder in public within the Bafang Garden, assassinating an honored guest, and has yet to be apprehended. This demonstrates that the Gu family still wields immense power in Yizhou. Although he is a commoner, he is no ordinary commoner."

Ye Qinghuai's eyes turned cold, and worry appeared in them. He sighed almost imperceptibly and said, "Although he has stepped down as the Chief Secretary of the Capital Garrison, he is still Gu Shihai's only son. Gu Shihai... is the god of Yizhou Prefecture."

"Since the fall of Wushi Pass last year, the court has been waging war in the north and west for nearly a year and a half. During this year and a half, I have been thinking about why the court is having such a hard time waging war. The Ministry of War's annual expenditure is far higher than that of the other ministries, yet the country's military strength is so weak. The Northern Barbarians have invaded three of our prefectures, and the country is in grave danger. I want to send troops to reinforce them, but the prefectural governors keep making excuses for me."

Wang Lisong looked up at Ye Qinghuai, his eyes revealing a mixture of surprise and awe. He vaguely guessed what the emperor wanted to say, which gave him a premonition that the emperor's summons to the palace this time did not seem to be to seek his opinion, but rather that he already had a sure thing in mind, and that this idea was likely to be a groundbreaking one.

Ye Qinghuai didn't look at him, but stared at the floor, her gaze deep yet revealing an undeniable light.

"I have carefully studied the historical records. When the founding emperor established the country, military power was actually completely controlled by the capital. It was not until later, when the Qing prince conquered Zhangzhou and Taiwan, that Tanzhou was established on the southwest coast. Tanzhou was far away, and at that time, there were frequent attacks from sea pirates. News travel between Tanzhou and the capital was too slow, which often delayed the opportunity to fight. Therefore, the founding emperor implemented the Fubing system in Tanzhou, allowing the Qing prince to raise a force of no more than three thousand men locally. All expenses and military power were handed over to the Qing prince to manage himself."

"Later, the Fubing system was also implemented in some remote areas of other prefectures, but the total number of Fubing registered was no more than 10,000. Until the end of the Yanzhao era," Ye Qinghuai paused, his brows furrowing slightly, and sighed softly, "there hadn't been any major battles for over a hundred years, yet the number of people holding military posts had surged. The capital couldn't afford to support these military households, so the 'Jiedushi Order' was issued. Only the Jingji Guard, with 120,000 men, was retained in the capital. Other prefectures and counties were to establish Fubing in their local areas, with each prefecture appointed as a Jiedushi. The Jiedushi was responsible for the recruitment and training of local troops and retained limited military authority. Correspondingly, the imperial court was only responsible for half of the military expenses of each prefecture and county." (End of Chapter)