Jiuxi

Chapter 759 [Crime and Punishment]

"A great victory at Asuka Pass!"

"Our border troops cooperated with the Shazhou troops to wipe out more than 30,000 Jing troops at Feiniao Pass!"

"Southwest Jingzhou is safe and secure!"

"The Jing army retreated hundreds of miles in the northern part of Jingzhou!"

"The Duke of Shanyang commanded the troops with great determination and used them like a god. He recovered fourteen cities in half a month and stabilized the overall situation in Jingzhou!"

These exciting words echoed in countless places in the capital, whether in brothels, taverns, cruise ships, pleasure boats, wealthy families or ordinary people's homes, people talked excitedly about the overall situation in Jiangbei, as if they were proud of it.

The news that the Northern Expedition Army suffered a major defeat in Kaocheng, the Jing Army advanced hundreds of miles a day, and the Jingzhou defense line was in danger shocked the people of the city. Some elderly people could not help but recall the tragic scene of the collapse of the city more than ten years ago. For a time, people were in panic and undercurrents surged.

Fortunately, Lu Chen turned the tide and reversed the situation almost single-handedly, allowing Jingzhou to remain safe and sound.

As long as Jingzhou is not lost, Jiangnan will naturally be safe.

The young and old men in the capital city know how to be grateful, especially the young scholars in the Imperial Academy. Recently, they always talk about the war in Jiangbei, and they especially respect Lu Chen who has once again made great contributions to the Great Qi.

It is said that some people were almost fanatical and even wanted to take off their blue shirts and join the army, following the example of the equally young Duke of Shanyang, and guard the border for the Great Qi with all their passion.

As people in the streets cheered and celebrated, officials in government naturally had to pay attention to their appearance and not dance around excessively.

In fact, after experiencing the initial joy, these people soon lost their leisure time, because after the war the border troops could rest and recuperate, but for the court it was just the beginning of a busy life.

The compensation for the injured and dead soldiers, the identification and reward of meritorious soldiers, and the recruitment of additional troops for the Border Military Governor's Office were all the responsibilities of the various departments in the court.

Fortunately, this is a happy trouble.

In the imperial garden of the palace, flowers are in full bloom, competing for beauty.

Li Zongben stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes narrowed, and he looked at the beautiful scenery in front of him expressionlessly. He said to the person behind him, "Tell me again what you saw and heard in Jiangbei. Be careful and don't miss any details."

Yuan Yuji, Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, did not dare to be careless. Although he had reported everything to the emperor in detail on the day he returned to the capital, he still repeated it word for word carefully.

From his arrival at Qingliu Pass in Dingzhou to his meeting with Lu Chen, the brief exchange after the reading of the imperial edict, to his trip to Jingzhou to stay with Liu Shouguang, and finally to his being politely invited back to the capital by Liu Shouguang, everything was told in great detail.

Li Zongben maintained his previous posture and listened without saying a word.

Yuan Yuji looked at the emperor's back and mustered up the courage to say, "Your Majesty, Commander Liu is selfless and considerate of the overall situation. He is a true loyal minister."

This statement was slightly beyond the rules, but Li Zongben did not rebuke him. He raised his lips slightly and said softly, "Of course he is a loyal minister."

Yuan Yuji didn't dare to say anything more.

At this time, another eunuch came to the Imperial Garden in small steps, stopped outside the pavilion, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the two prime ministers, Duke Rong and other ministers have been summoned to the palace and are now waiting in Chongzheng Hall."

"Flowers will bloom again..."

Li Zongben seemed to sigh lightly and uttered five words that puzzled Yuan Yuji, then he headed for Chongzheng Hall.

Inside the side hall, more than a dozen important officials, divided into two groups, civil and military, stood in silence.

This is the core power layer of the current Great Qi court. Li Zongben formulates various national policies with them, and then implements them from the capital to all parts of the country. As for the grand court meeting, it is more of a solemn ceremony. Its greatest significance is to allow those middle and lower-level officials to see the emperor.

Li Zongben walked to the dragon throne and sat down, looking around at the ministers and said, "Today, I summoned all the ministers to the palace mainly to discuss the rewards for the border army commanders."

This is the proper meaning of the title.

In the three battles of Yaoshan Pass, Taikang City, and Feiniao Pass, the performance of the Da Qi army was remarkable. Although the goal originally set by Li Zongben was not achieved and the Tongbai defense line was still in the hands of Jing’s army, the recapture of Yaoshan Pass and Taikang City was of great significance. The battle of Feiniao Pass, which killed more than 30,000 enemies, was also a great victory. The court certainly could not treat those soldiers who risked their lives unfairly.

"Your Majesty, I have a report to make."

The left prime minister Xue Nanting was the first to leave.

Li Zongben nodded and said, "Prime Minister Xue, please feel free to speak."

Xue Nanting stood straight, like a pine or cypress, and said calmly but firmly: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Shanyang led the border troops to repel the enemy, not only saving Jingzhou, but also taking Yaoshan Pass and Taikang City, two strategic points. The court should reward him according to his merits. But before that, I think we should first determine the guilt for the defeat in Kaocheng. Someone must be held accountable for this, and it cannot be passed off with just one word."

Li Zongben clenched his hands quietly in his sleeves.

Although there was no obvious change in his facial expression, a strong sense of disgust was already welling up in his heart.

He said patiently: "The defeat at Kaocheng was not due to our soldiers not being attentive, but because the enemy was too cunning."

Xue Nanting said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, the defeat at Kaocheng caused heavy losses to our army, which severely damaged the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office. If it weren't for the efforts of the Military Governor Liu Shouguang, the enemy would have swept Jingzhou before the Duke of Shanyang led his army westward. Even so, because of the chain reaction caused by the defeat at Kaocheng, the armies of Jingzhou continued to lose when facing the Jing army. According to the battle report sent by Liu Shouguang, the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office lost more than half of its elite troops in the past six months, and it will take at least several years to recover."

Li Zongben remained silent.

The other important officials were also silent at this time. Xue Nanting raised his head and said uprightly: "Those who have made contributions should be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes should be punished. This is the right way. I hope Your Majesty will understand!"

Li Zongben said expressionlessly: "Then according to Prime Minister Xue's opinion, how should I deal with it?"

Xue Nanting did not throw out nonsense like "it should be judged by the emperor". He faced the emperor's gaze and said, "The fault for the defeat in Kaocheng lies with the commander, Han Zhongjie, the Marquis of Yongyi. If he could see through the enemy's conspiracy in time on the battlefield, our army would never have fallen into despair. Considering that he was seriously injured while personally covering the rear of the army, I dare to suggest to Your Majesty that Han Zhongjie be dismissed from his post, demoted, and never employed again!"

In fact, Xue Nanting's proposal was not excessive. Normally, it was normal for the emperor to imprison and confiscate Han Zhongjie's property for a crime of this magnitude. After all, that battle resulted in the death of nearly 30,000 Qi soldiers, and more than 20,000 were injured and unable to continue fighting. It was the biggest defeat of the Qi army in border wars in more than ten years.

But Han Zhongjie has a good father.

The late Prince of Dongyang, Han Lingfu, made great contributions to the reconstruction of the Great Qi capital army. His character was impeccable and he could be regarded as a model of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

Unless Han Zhongjie rebelled, no matter who sat on the throne, he would not be able to issue an imperial decree to confiscate the Han family's property, nor would he directly execute Han Lingfu's eldest son.

It is also inappropriate to deprive him of the title, because Han Zhongjie's title did not come from his own merits, but from the legacy of Han Lingfu. In essence, it was the emperor's reward for Han Lingfu's hard work throughout his life.

Xue Nanting was just a man of upright character, and was no stranger to the treacherous nature of human nature. He asked himself if he had considered everything carefully for the emperor, and it was impossible that everyone in the court and the country had gone mad and completely forgotten the tragic defeat that almost endangered the country of Da Qi.

No matter what others think, at least Xue Nanting can't do that.

Someone has to step forward and give an explanation to those soldiers who died on the battlefield.

Due to various constraints, Xue Nanting had no way of asking Han Zhongjie to pay for their lives. He could only do his best to end Han Zhongjie's official career and prevent him from entering the court again.

There was silence in the hall.

Li Zongben hesitated.

The defeat in Kaocheng did indeed annoy him, so he was somewhat angry with Han Zhongjie. This defeat not only made his Northern Expedition plan come to naught, but also allowed Lu Chen to hold the military power of the three states in Jiangbei, completely disrupting his plan.

However, in the past ten years of suffering, Han Zhongjie was the only person who supported him and helped him do several crucial things.

Therefore, he kept the memorials impeaching Han Zhongjie and did not send them out, in order to test the intentions of the ministers in the court, simply wanting to end the matter in a dignified manner.

In his expectation, he could dismiss Han Zhongjie from his post as the commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp, retain his status as the Minister of Military Affairs, issue an imperial edict severely reprimanding him, and finally fine him two or three years' salary, which would probably be enough to cover up the matter.

Even though he was dissatisfied with Han Zhongjie, Li Zongben never thought of bringing him down. After all, he was his most trusted and almighty person.

Xue Nanting frowned when he saw this and asked, "Your Majesty?"

"Cough cough."

Li Zongben cleared his throat and said as calmly as possible: "There is nothing wrong with what Prime Minister Xue said, but this matter is of great importance. Please allow me to consider it further."

This is obviously a tactic of procrastination, but it also reveals the emperor's true attitude.

Then someone stepped forward.

Minister of War Ding Hui said, "Your Majesty, I suggest that we wait for Marquis Yongyi to return to the capital and let him give a detailed account of the Battle of Kaocheng. If it is indeed his fault, then it will not be too late for Your Majesty to make a decision."

Li Zongben nodded slightly, but his eyes swept over the Minister of Personnel Li Shizhi standing beside him, and he felt quite relieved.

He knew that Ding Hui was very close to Li Shizhi. When he was still the second prince, Minister Ding would visit the Li mansion every now and then.

As the emperor, he certainly did not like his ministers to form factions, but Li Shizhi never deliberately concealed his friendship with Ding Hui. In addition, the Minister of War did not have much power, so Li Zongben always acquiesced to their relationship.

Ding Hui stood up at the right moment. Although it was not necessarily a hint from Li Shizhi, it also showed that the two of them had secretly communicated with each other and would always stand by the side of the emperor.

However, before Li Zongben could say "that makes sense", Xue Nanting turned to look at Ding Hui and said in a deep voice, "When Gao Huan, the Minister of Justice, was dismissed for his crimes some time ago, does Minister Ding remember what he said?"

Ding Hui was stunned.

Facing the fierce gaze of the left prime minister, he swallowed nervously.

Xue Nanting didn't care about his silence and continued, "I remember very clearly that Minister Ding was so indignant that he wanted to personally strip Gao Huan of his official uniform. At that time, you didn't give Gao Huan a chance to calmly defend himself."

A few drops of cold sweat broke out on Ding Hui's forehead, and he stood there awkwardly.

Xue Nanting did not pursue him relentlessly. He turned around and looked at the emperor, bowed and said, "I am not saying that Your Majesty has wronged Gao Huan. He did accept some bribes, and Your Majesty's dismissal of him is in accordance with the law of the court. But I want to say that since Your Majesty governs the country according to laws and disciplines, and the defeat at Kaocheng is beyond doubt, why can't you treat everyone equally, and have to give Han Zhongjie a break?"

"As the Left Prime Minister of Great Qi, how can I remain silent when I see Your Majesty being biased?"

"Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to punish Han Zhongjie, otherwise the court will be sorry for the 27,409 Daqi soldiers who died for their country outside the outskirts of Kaocheng that day!"

The whole hall was in silence, with only Xue Nanting's sorrowful voice echoing.

(End of this chapter)