Jiuxi

Chapter 825 823 [Flaws]

The atmosphere in Chongzheng Hall was a little depressing.

Lu Chen's behavior could definitely be considered rude, and if taken to a greater extreme it could even be considered contempt for the court.

But then again, Lu Chen did ask the emperor for permission before leaving, and Li Zongben did not stop or object.

There are reasons for both the positive and negative sides of this matter. It all depends on how the emperor and his ministers in the palace choose.

Of course, even if some court officials impeached Lu Chen for this reason, it would be difficult for Li Zongben to make a big fuss about it. After all, it was just a young minister who acted impeached by impulse. Would he be dismissed from his military post and stripped of his title because of this incident?
Xiao Wangzhi was just about to help Lu Chen make up for it, but someone got there first.

Xue Nanting, the left prime minister who had remained silent throughout the court meeting, stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, Duke Qin has always been a straight-forward person, and even had some inappropriate words and deeds in front of the late emperor. I remember the late emperor once said something. One day, Duke Qin was summoned to the palace to discuss matters. When talking about someone making up stories in private, Duke Qin bluntly said that it was done by a bastard. No one had ever dared to speak nonsense in front of the late emperor, but the late emperor did not blame Duke Qin, but only laughed and scolded him a few times. This shows that Duke Qin's character has not changed over the years, and today's behavior was definitely not intentional."

Li Zongben nodded slightly. To be honest, he certainly wanted to find something to hold against Lu Chen and suppress his momentum, but the matter had not yet reached that point.

Xue Nanting added, "However, what the Marquis of Yongding said just now is correct. The court has its own rules and regulations, and ministers cannot act arbitrarily. I dare to advise Your Majesty that you must issue an imperial decree to rebuke Duke Qin's actions today, so as to calm the controversy in the court and the public."

After hearing this, Li Zongben's expression softened slightly, but at the same time a strange idea came to his mind.

It is true that Lu Chen has a tough personality, but that doesn't mean he is a willful person. In fact, he is very sensible most of the time.

Zhang Xu's previous questioning in public might have made Lu Chen angry, but it would not make him lose his mind.

Knowing that the court wanted to slightly suppress his power, why did he make such a radical move? Isn't this just sending himself a pillow?
Thinking of this, Li Zongben put aside the idea of ​​using this topic to make a fuss and said calmly: "Prime Minister Xue's words make sense, so let's do as he says."

Xue Nanting felt relieved, and said, "Regarding the matter of Daiguo's request for help, I have some superficial thoughts. I hope Your Majesty and the others will correct me."

Li Zongben then remembered that after Lu Chen's disturbance, the most critical issue of today's court meeting had not been resolved. He couldn't help but feel a little headache, and said with some expectation: "Prime Minister Xue, please feel free to speak."

Xue Nanting looked at the military heroes on the opposite side and said slowly: "The concerns of Duke Rong and Duke Qin are in line with the principles of military strategy. The Emperor of Jing will not release the eagle until he sees the rabbit. Unless our dynasty uses the flesh and blood of tens of thousands of soldiers to flatten the outer defense line of Heluo City, it will not be able to shake the Emperor's determination. Our dynasty cannot afford such a loss now, and the national treasury cannot support a major war. But if we do nothing, after Jing defeated the army of Dai, it means that there is no worry at all, and they can deal with our dynasty wholeheartedly."

Li Zongben nodded and said, "That's why I hesitated."

"Therefore, I suggest that we may adopt a compromise approach."

Xue Nanting hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, you can order the Marquis of Yongding to lead 20,000 troops out of the capital, go west to Chengzhou, and then take the 30,000 troops of the Chengzhou Military Governor's Office to go west to Shazhou. I suggest that the Marquis of Yongding lead the army to stay at Feiniao Pass in Shazhou, and pretend to go north at any time, but do not advance easily unless it is absolutely necessary, so as not to fall into the enemy's encirclement. At the same time, let people spread rumors on the border and in the territory of Jing State, such as our army will recover Heluo, Qing Yugong intends to rebel, etc."

Xiao Wangzhi turned to look at Xue Nanting and praised him, "Prime Minister Xue's plan is very appropriate."

In fact, Xue Nanting's suggestion was just a combination of the opinions of the two previous military heroes, and then adding the strategy of spreading rumors. It might not necessarily make Emperor Jing hesitate, but at least it could give an explanation to the State of Dai.

As he said, the successive wars had put great pressure on the court of Da Qi, and the supply of money and grain had become unsustainable. If they were to risk everything for the sake of Dai and empty their family's coffers to fight a desperate battle with Jing, this was obviously not likely to happen.

Just do your best.

Seeing that the leaders of the civil and military forces had reached a consensus, Li Zongben looked at Zhang Xu and said, "Mr. Zhang, I hope you can tie down a part of the Jing army's forces, but don't fight rashly. You must put the overall situation first."

Zhang Xu's mood had calmed down a bit by now, and he immediately bowed his head and said, "I will obey your order and will live up to your Majesty's expectations."

"it is good."

Li Zongben encouraged him: "When facing the enemy, you should seize the opportunity and act accordingly."

Zhang Xu agreed again.

After the court meeting ended, Xue Nanting was the last one in the crowd. As he walked out of the hall, he looked at the calm figure not far away.

Minister of Personnel Li Shizhi.

Unlike Xue Nanting who finally stepped forward to resolve the dispute, Li Shizhi never spoke a word from beginning to end.

Whether it was when Zhang Xu and Chen Lanyu were arguing with Lu Chen, or when Lu Chen left the court on impulse, Li Shizhi never added fuel to the fire.

Could it be that the result of the recent imperial inspection forced this Minister of Personnel to stop his activities and temporarily conceal his edge?

Passing through the long doorway of Hening Gate, Li Shizhi seemed to sense the gaze behind him, so he slowed down his pace slightly, turned his head to look at Xue Nanting, and said respectfully: "Prime Minister Xue."

The official nearby saw this and walked away tactfully.

Walking in the bright sunshine, Xue Nanting asked softly, "Why didn't Minister Li say a word today?"

Li Shizhi said calmly: "I am not familiar with military affairs, and I have never been involved in logistics supply, so how can I make random comments? Besides, with Prime Minister Xue and Duke Rong in front, there must be a way to solve the major issues in the court." Xue Nanting did not comment, and said with emotion: "Duke Qin's temper... It's also thanks to your majesty's kindness, otherwise it wouldn't have ended so easily."

Li Shizhi narrowed his eyes slightly and said as he walked, "Prime Minister Xue, don't worry too much. Duke Qin is still young after all, and he will calm down sooner or later. Prime Minister Xue also said just now that Duke Qin showed his stubbornness since the first time he came to Beijing, and he has not changed after all these years. This shows that he is a genuine person and will not deliberately cover up or pretend. In fact, for Your Majesty, it is not a bad thing for Wu Xun to be more upright. It is better than the insidious people like Guo Congyi and Wang Yan."

"It makes sense."

Xue Nanting sighed and said slowly: "I hope that in the next month or so, our Duke Qin will not be angry again."

On the surface, this sentence was a criticism of Lu Chen, but Li Shizhi knew the left prime minister's deep meaning, so he said sincerely: "I believe it will be so."

Xue Nanting gave him a meaningful look.

Outside the square, the carriages from the two men's houses were already waiting, so they said goodbye and headed to the east and west sides respectively.

……

Duke Wei’s Mansion, the flower hall in the inner courtyard.

Li Bingxue personally carried the washbasin, while Gu Wan'er held a face towel, and the two walked in one after the other.

"Wash your face and wake up."

Li Bingxue looked at Lu Chen and said.

Lu Chen stood up flattered, and under Li Tianrun's smiling gaze, he smiled awkwardly and said, "Thank you, ladies, but I am really sober."

"In the more than one hundred years since the founding of the Great Qi, you are probably the first person to leave the court meeting without waiting for the emperor's reply. In addition, you are a military hero. Even if I have never dealt with the civil officials in the court, I know that a bunch of impeachment memorials against you will be sent to the palace tomorrow at the latest."

Li Bingxue placed the wash basin on the table and sighed, "You...can't you be a little more patient?"

"It's okay, don't worry."

Lu Chen really washed his face with clean water, and then took the face towel handed to him by Gu Wan'er.

Li Bingxue looked at her calm father, and gradually came to her senses. She said, "Forget it. You men always know what's going on. Let's talk about the matter."

Then he took Gu Wan'er and left the flower hall.

Lu Chen looked at their departing backs, then turned around and sat down.

"Since you have already made the decision, why don't you tell them?"

Li Tianrun clasped his hands in front of him and looked at Lu Chen gently.

"It was just a vague concept at first, and I hadn't figured out how to do it. It just so happened that Chen Lanyu and Zhang Xu bumped into me today, so I took advantage of the situation and did it."

Lu Chen's eyes were no longer filled with anger, and he said calmly, "The old prime minister has worked hard to maintain the overall situation in his twilight years, and even resorted to using Li Shizhi's confidant Pei Fangyuan, just hoping that I can get out of this quagmire. The old man has helped me a lot over the years, and to be honest, I can't bear to see him continue to suffer. In this case, I will be a little more presumptuous, and from now on, whether it is the impeachment of the censor or the reprimand of the emperor, I will honestly accept it all, I think this will make the person in the palace feel more at ease."

"It is a wise move to retreat in order to advance."

Li Tianrun nodded and continued, "Zhang Xu is a very awkward person. You can't really blame him for what you said in the court. In the past two years, although he has supported the emperor and Han Zhongjie, he didn't go too far and was fair most of the time. Otherwise, do you really think Brother Xiao is a man of clay? It's just that such a person wants to be loyal to the country and want to keep himself out of trouble, which has caused his embarrassing situation."

Lu Chen said softly: "Uncle Li, blind loyalty is often the biggest disaster."

"So I didn't say you did something wrong."

Li Tianrun's eyes were filled with a trace of snow and he continued, "As for Chen Lanyu... not to mention that I can't see through him, I'm afraid even Brother Xiao can't see through him. He was not a young man when he came to Beijing, so he wouldn't be easily corrupted or lured away. But after watching him for the past two years, I find that he is even more biased than Zhang Xu. Tell me the truth, is Chen Lanyu a hidden hand of Brother Xiao and you?"

Lu Chen met his deep gaze and said frankly: "I asked Uncle Xiao, and he said no."

Xiao Wangzhi would never lie to Lu Chen about this. Li Tianrun frowned slightly when he heard this and said, "In that case, deliberately stigmatizing yourself is indeed the best choice. The water in the capital is getting deeper and deeper. It's better for you to go north as soon as possible, so as not to be deeply trapped and unable to get out in the end."

Lu Chen slowly let out a breath and said thoughtfully, "I have fulfilled my promise to the old prime minister. As long as those people don't make trouble again, the twists and turns of the capital city in the future have nothing to do with me. I will let them do whatever they want."

Li Tianrun said with a sigh: "I hope so."

(End of this chapter)