Jiuxi

Chapter 585 [Young man’s passion]

Qing Yugong is not in the palace at the moment, and of course even if he was there he would not care about the storm.

Compared with his current situation, the commotion outside the palace could almost be ignored.

After all, no one in the world was bold enough to curse loudly in front of the palace, but now one minister after another stood up and bluntly impeached him, the Marshal of the Southern Court, in front of Emperor Jing and all the civil and military officials. Some of the words they used were so harsh that it was rare.

"Your Majesty, the defeat at Yongqiu is the greatest humiliation since the founding of Dajing. Not only did it fail to thwart the ambitions of Southern Qi, but it also caused the loss of a large area of ​​territory that our dynasty had worked hard to build for nearly ten years! If we do not punish the commander-in-chief for such a tragic defeat, how can the court maintain its laws?!"

The Jinglian nobleman with an indignant look was named Wusara, a very brave general of the Juntugu clan.

Nominally he belonged to the Dajing North Courtyard, but everyone knew that he and Sa Gai were not on the same page.

Wusara did not mention Qing Yugong at all, but he kept talking about him and did not hide his attitude at all.

Wusara was not the only one who had similar thoughts.

As soon as he finished speaking, another Jinglian clan military hero named Asi Zhun said in a gruff voice: "Your Majesty, those civil officials often say that rewards and punishments should be clearly distinguished. This is the most important rule of the court. In the past, the Changshan County King had made contributions, and Your Majesty gave him various rewards, and no one could say no. Now that he has suffered such a big defeat and has lost face for our Great Jing Dynasty, I think we cannot let him off easily!"

"That's right, if you lose the battle you should be punished!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I think the Prince of Changshan must be held responsible for the defeat at Yongqiu!"

"Your Majesty cannot favor the Prince of Changshan!"

"Prince Changshan, you lost so miserably this time, shouldn't you take the initiative to apologize to His Majesty?"

"that is!"

"Apologize immediately!"

Inside the hall, the sound of drums surged like waves, and the overall scene presented a strange polarized scene.

Those who were calling for the killing of Qing Yugong were all Jinglian nobles who held real power. Although nobles like Sagai, whose status was almost equal to Qing Yugong, had not yet stood up, this surging wave would give even Emperor Jing a headache.

The Jing Dynasty was founded on military power. Although the current strength of the Jing Army cannot reach the peak of more than ten years ago, it still advocates the spirit of blood and courage in its bones.

The current chaotic scene is not unusual. If it were during the reign of the previous emperor, I'm afraid a fight would have broken out in the palace by now.

Thanks to Emperor Jing's vigorous promotion of Qi Dynasty culture after he ascended the throne, these fierce and honest nobles, although still fierce in their words, at least have learned some basic etiquette.

However, these civil servants who were considered the most knowledgeable about etiquette by the Jinglian nobles were now as silent as saw-mouthed gourds.

The two sides can be said to be clearly divided.

At the head of the military honor column, two marshals stood side by side.

Sagai looked down at the ground, as if there were something strange on the ground, and seemed unaware of the movement behind him.

On the other side was the protagonist of the siege by the Jinglian nobles, Qing Yugong, the Prince of Changshan, the Marshal of the Southern Court, who controlled the Xiashan Army and the Fangcheng Army, and was known as the God of War.

His expression was not absolutely calm. After all, everyone would express emotions outwardly, especially since he had been the Marshal of the Southern Court for more than ten years and had fought for the Great Jing Dynasty for half his life. But now he was being attacked by all the military heroes in the palace. It was unrealistic to say that he was as calm as water.

But it would not be wrong to say that he was extremely angry or panicked. Instead, the expression on his face looked more like deep fatigue and a bit of melancholy.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Emperor Jing, who turned forty this year, quietly watched the chaos below. He neither spoke out to defend Qing Yugong nor accepted the fierce impeachment of those military heroes.

It seemed as if he didn't know how to decide.

However, Qing Yugong knew his majesty's character too well, and his silence at this moment was actually a kind of bias.

If he intended to protect Qing Yugong, he could have calmed the situation by either shutting up those military heroes or punishing Qing Yugong. However, it was this silent attitude that made the conflict escalate.

In theory, Qing Yugong could also speak up to defend himself, saying that the defeat at Yongqiu was due to many factors and there were no major problems with his own command.

But he also said nothing.

Among the civil officials, Shangshu Ling Zhao Siwen had extremely complicated feelings.

As a descendant of the Qi people, his words as the head of the civil officials actually do not carry enough weight. At least at the moment, those Jinglian nobles who are madly attacking Qing Yugong are not really afraid of him, but he still wants to say a few words for Qing Yugong.

When the news of the defeat at Luwu Mountain was reported back to Dadu, he suggested to Emperor Jingdi that the battle of Yongqiu be postponed and it would be best if Qing Yugong could lead his troops to retreat and temporarily switch to a defensive posture.

It’s a pity that Emperor Jing did not adopt his advice, and Qing Yugong was powerless to resist the imperial edict.

To be fair, Zhao Siwen knew what the emperor was thinking, and there was nothing wrong with using the Southern Qi border troops to consume the power of the Qing Yu clan. After all, Qing Yugong's reputation in the market was too high, and the Qing Yu clan was too powerful. This would not be a good thing in the long run.

However, as the Shangshu Ling who was in charge of the court's government affairs, Zhao Siwen was very clear about the significance of Qing Yugong to Dajing.

If we allow those barbaric Jinglian nobles to trample Qing Yugong into the mud, it will be detrimental to Dajing.

Do you want to stand up?
Zhao Siwen quietly raised his eyes to look at Emperor Dajing sitting on the dragon throne and sighed in his heart.

He couldn't guess what the emperor was thinking now.

In his expectation, the emperor would use the defeat at Yongqiu as an excuse to admonish Qing Yugong and then slightly reduce his power, and that would be enough.

Zhao Siwen had been waiting for the right opportunity to come forward, but now it seemed that the emperor did not want to stop at that level. "Why is it so? Your Majesty is too impatient..."

Zhao Siwen muttered to himself, his brows furrowed.

All the important figures who could influence the situation remained silent without exception, but the surging waves of noise in the hall did not stop.

In the mouths of those Jinglian and Wuxun, it seemed that if the emperor did not punish Qing Yugong, the country of Jingbian would be in danger of collapse at any time.

Amidst the chaos, a clear voice came out like the morning sun, instantly drowning out the noise of the heroes of war.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

The hall suddenly became quiet.

The ministers looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young prince step forward and pay homage to the emperor.

It was the fourth prince, Alihehaige.

Behind him, Crown Prince Nalan and Third Prince Wuyan looked surprised, as if they wanted to stop Brother Hai but failed.

"You have this song too?"

Emperor Jing, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke, and an invisible pressure enveloped the Fourth Prince.

He held his head high, looked at the emperor sitting on the dragon throne, and said decisively, "Yes, father."

Emperor Jing's deep gaze swept over Qing Yugong below, and said indifferently: "Stand up and talk."

"Thank you, Father!"

The fourth prince took a deep breath, stood up and continued, "Your Majesty, I think someone is responsible for the defeat in Yongqiu. As the commander-in-chief, Prince Changshan has an unshirkable responsibility. However, to put all the blame on Prince Changshan alone is an indiscriminate slander! The victory or defeat of the Battle of Yongqiu was not just determined by that battle. In fact, from the day Prince Changshan led his troops south, our army's chances of winning have been decreasing. As for the details of that battle, I think Prince Changshan made no mistakes in his command, and this defeat was not caused by the war!"

It is decisive and decisive.

Crown Prince Nalan looked at the Fourth Prince's back and felt somewhat relieved. This was indeed the Fourth Prince's style.

The Queen has three legitimate sons, and the Fourth Prince is the youngest. He is upright, courageous, simple and direct, and has always been favored by Emperor Jing. Even Crown Prince Nalan finds it difficult to feel fear and alienation towards him, unlike his indifference towards the Third Prince Wu Yan.

Nalan actually knew the root cause of the chaos in the court today.

The emperor did not want to bring Qing Yugong down to the ground, but the halo of this military god of Dajing was too strong, and he had to take this opportunity to weaken it a little.

Although it was heartless and cold-blooded, Nalan could fully understand the difficulties of his father on the dragon throne.

It’s a pity that the fourth child obviously doesn’t understand…

Emperor Jing fell silent again, but this time his eyes were slightly complicated as he looked at the Fourth Prince who was standing proudly.

In the silence, Wusara said loudly: "Your Highness, in the battle outside Yongqiu City, the total strength of the Qi army was more than 140,000, while our army had nearly 100,000 troops. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are evenly matched. As a result, more than half of our troops were killed or wounded, far more than the Qi army. Doesn't this show that the commander made a wrong decision? Your Highness must have been deceived."

"deceive?"

The fourth prince turned to look at him, and shouted angrily in front of the entire court: "I have a pair of eyes that can see clearly. General, do you want to say that I am a fool who can't even tell right from wrong?!"

Wusara was startled.

Even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to say that the prince is a fool.

Seeing that he had retreated, the Fourth Prince did not continue to argue with him. He turned to the Emperor and said, "Father, I have reviewed the situation several times afterwards. Originally, our army had already gained the upper hand and was about to defeat the left wing of the Qi army. However, at this time, 30,000 elite soldiers of the Southern Qi capital army and thousands of elite soldiers from the seven tribes of Shazhou rushed from the north to our rear, which led to our defeat! I want to know how the people under Marshal Sagai were able to defend the western front and allow tens of thousands of people to enter the territory of Yan right under their noses, thus causing the main force outside Yongqiu City to fall into a desperate situation!"

"If we really want to determine the responsibility for the defeat at Yongqiu, I think the generals on the western front should bear at least 30% of the responsibility. Marshal Sagai also bears 30% of the responsibility for his poor judgment of people!"

These words stunned the vast majority of court officials.

Looking at the young prince who was full of passion and spirit, many ministers could not help but feel amazed.

Apart from anything else, this courage alone is impressive.

You know, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince didn't dare to say a word, even though he knew that today's siege formation against Qing Yugong was obviously a bit strange.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Emperor Jing looked at the Fourth Prince who was holding his head high and chest out, then slowly sat up straight.

"Are you done?"

"I have finished speaking."

After a brief conversation, Emperor Jing said slowly, "Now that you have finished speaking, you can leave now."

The Fourth Prince was stunned and looked at Emperor Jing in disbelief.

The next moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "Father, I am not wrong!"

(End of this chapter)