Jiuxi

Chapter 915 913 [Under the Noise]

In the first year of Yongning in the Great Qi Dynasty, it was late July.

When the news that Emperor Jing was leading the army in person reached the capital, it inevitably caused a panic.

The imperial court naturally would not announce the details of the border war, so all kinds of rumors began to brew among the people.

For example, if Jing's army came out in full force and Emperor Jing led a million troops to attack the northern border of Da Qi, the border troops would be unable to stop them and could only retreat step by step.

What's worse, some people spread rumors that Jingzhou had been lost, the defense line of Dingzhou had been breached, and Huai'an Prince Lu Chen was forced to lead his troops to retreat to Huaizhou.

These rumors spread widely. Although the government would not sit idly by, it was difficult to completely eradicate them. Even some officials in the court were affected.

Among them was an official of moderate importance, Qiu Jingfeng, a doctor in the Ministry of Works, who submitted a memorial of more than ten thousand words explaining the current situation.

He believed that facing the desperate posture of Emperor Jing's army, the Great Qi would find it difficult to resist, so it would be better to seek to stop the war and negotiate peace. As long as Emperor Jing could be persuaded to withdraw his troops or pay some gold and silver, at least the suffering of war could be avoided.

A reply came the next day after the memorial was submitted. Empress Dowager Ning, who had always been amiable since she took power, flew into a rage and accused Qiu Jingfeng of treason and betrayal, and said that he must be severely punished.

Even though many ministers pleaded for mercy, Empress Dowager Ning still directly dismissed Qiu Jingfeng from his official position and demoted him to the position of magistrate of Qu County, Taiping Prefecture.

Qu County was a lower-class county, the county magistrate was of the eighth rank, and the Langzhong of the Ministry of Works was of the fifth rank. Qiu Jingfeng could be said to have fallen directly to the bottom, and it was foreseeable that his official career had come to an end, unless there were earth-shaking changes in the court.

Even if such a turn of events occurs in the future, not many people will remember such a stupid little doctor.

After all, from the power granted to Lu Chen by Empress Dowager Ning to the court tightening its belt to absolutely support the border troops, it is clear that resisting Jing is the current trend. Who would dare to jump out and sing a different tune at this time?
When the news of the great victory of the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office was sent to the capital, Qiu Jingfeng became the target of merciless ridicule from all walks of life.

The officials and people in the south of the Yangtze River, who had been worried, felt relieved. Even if Jing Kingdom had a million tigers and wolves, Da Qi also had the Prince of Huai'an leading hundreds of thousands of border troops. What was there to fear from the enemy?

However, in the eyes of Empress Dowager Ning, although Qiu Jingfeng was stupid, he did not intend to provoke the court, but was just a scapegoat chosen by some people.

In short, the peace faction still exists in the court today. Whether they are afraid of the Jing army, or do not want to see Lu Chen's power grow, or are simply worried about military pay, they do not want the war between Qi and Jing to continue.

So they instigated Qiu Jingfeng to be the first to step forward, and through him observe the reaction of the core power in the court.

Empress Dowager Ning knew all this very well, so she would not let Qiu Jingfeng go easily. This move was to intimidate those weak-willed people in the court and to reassure Lu Chen.

but……

The great victory at Taikang certainly made her breathe a sigh of relief, but it also made her feel uneasy.

Because Lu Chen really seems to be invincible and victorious.

Queen Dowager Ning would not be as suspicious as her deceased husband, nor would she cause trouble for no reason. The problem was that the new monarch was only six years old, and it would take at least ten years for him to be able to rule the country.

A young minister who is unimaginably strong and firmly controls the most elite border troops of Da Qi, can he spend these ten years in peace?

Empress Dowager Ning was unwilling to assume the worst of others, but her weak shoulders bore a mountain of pressure.

"Mother..."

A cautious voice pulled Queen Dowager Ning out of her thoughts.

Emperor Li Daoming looked at his mother with concern.

Queen Mother Ning nodded slightly, turned her head and looked at the civil and military officials standing solemnly in the hall, quickly adjusted her mentality, and said with a smile: "Prime Minister Xue."

Xue Nanting bowed and said, "I am here."

Empress Dowager Ning said approvingly: "The powerful enemy is coming fiercely, and our soldiers are not afraid of life and death. Under the command of Prince Huai'an, they risked their lives to kill the enemy and achieved such an inspiring victory outside Taikang City. I am overjoyed. I asked Prime Minister Xue to draft an imperial edict on my behalf to comfort the soldiers on the frontier on behalf of me, the emperor and the court, and at the same time announce it to the world so that everyone can hear it."

Xue Nanting responded: "I obey the order."

Queen Mother Ning looked at Xiao Wangzhi and said, "Duke Rong, please formulate a reward based on the memorial of the Prince of Huai'an and submit it as soon as possible. In addition, the compensation for the casualties must also be determined, so as not to let the soldiers who fought for the country feel disheartened."

Xiao Wangzhi said respectfully: "I obey your order."

Queen Mother Ning thought for a moment, then turned her gaze towards the line of civil officials and said calmly, "Minister Gao."

Gao Huan, the Minister of Revenue, came out and said, "I am here."

Empress Dowager Ning asked, "Are there any difficulties in providing logistics for the soldiers on the frontier?"

Gao Huan was well prepared for this and said calmly: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. The Ministry of Revenue currently has the top priority of supporting the war, and we dare not make any mistakes."

"That's good."

Empress Dowager Ning smiled slightly. No matter how worried she was about the future, at least she had to get through the current predicament first. She knew what was important and what was not.

At this time, Xiao Wangzhi said, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Huai'an has requested that the Marquis of Linjiang lead the Jinwu camp to the north in the near future. Your Majesty, please make the decision on this matter."

The frontier was thousands of miles away, and most of the important officials in the court had only a vague concept of the war situation, not to mention that many people had only a superficial understanding of military affairs. Therefore, they subconsciously thought that Lu Chen was going to take advantage of the situation to counterattack.

Queen Mother Ning did not give an immediate reply, but asked, "What do you think, Duke?"

Xiao Wangzhi said calmly: "Your Majesty, although our army has won a great victory in Taikang and severely damaged the arrogance of the Jing army, the enemy's troops are still superior, and the next attack will definitely be more fierce. The Jinwu camp must move north. If we wait until the situation worsens, I am afraid that the long journey will delay military opportunities."

Empress Dowager Ning remained silent.

She looked at the two marshals of the Beijing camp standing side by side in the military honor train, the calm Chen Lanyu and the composed Li Jingda.

It had been a long time since the chaos that shocked the government and the public last year. With the wisdom of Queen Dowager Ning, she had naturally figured out the positions of these two people. Chen Lanyu was loyal to the Great Qi, while Li Jingda was clearly on Lu Chen's side.

She immediately understood the profound meaning of Lu Chen's request.

Zhang Xu and Chen Lanyu successively led their troops northward, leaving Li Jingda to lead the brave camp to continue guarding the capital. This was obviously based on some deeper considerations.

Empress Dowager Ning was troubled, but she remained calm and asked, "Where does the Prince of Huai'an want the Jinwu Camp to move north from?"

Xiao Wangzhi replied: "He hopes that the Jinwu Camp will go to Huaizhou first, and then make a decision based on how the situation changes."

Queen Mother Ning then asked Chen Lanyu, "Does Marquis Linjiang have any objections?"

Chen Lanyu bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have no objection."

There was another brief silence.

Empress Dowager Ning finally agreed and said, "According to the request of Prince Huai'an, Marquis Linjiang will lead the Jinwu Camp troops to set out north within three days and temporarily stop in Guangling Prefecture, Huaizhou. After crossing the river, Marquis Linjiang and his soldiers will accept the command of Prince Huai'an."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Chen Lanyu bowed.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

The other important officials had no objection to this. Since the court had decided to fight the Jing Kingdom to the end, these arrangements were only meant to be.

Only the right prime minister Xu Zuo, who had been silent all the time, looked up at the Empress Dowager Ning on the throne and sighed silently in his heart.

After court dismissal, Xu Zuo returned to his residence in Ruipingfang, South City. Soon he met a young disciple who came to visit him.

Xu Zuo admired this young man very much, even though they had known each other for less than half a year.

This relationship originated from this year's spring examination. According to the court's convention, the chief examiner did not need him, the right prime minister, to come in person, but the circumstances were rather special.

Firstly, he did not go through the traditional process to enter the central government. He had never served as a Hanlin scholar or led the Ministry of Rites, and had never presided over the imperial examination. Therefore, he did not have capable subordinates in the court like other prime ministers. Secondly, this year's spring examination fell at a very sensitive time. Empress Dowager Ning did not trust other people very much. After repeated consideration, she decided to let Xu Zuo be the chief examiner.

Xu Zuo then had a group of young and promising disciples, the most outstanding of whom was the new top scholar Jiang Hui and Jiang Shaoyang.

Xu Zuo's admiration for Jiang Hui was not only because of his talent, but more because he saw his own shadow in this young man.

They both came from poor backgrounds, had strong wills, and were both loyal to the Great Qi.

Jiang Hui, now a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, is almost the young Xu Zuo.

"How are you getting along with your colleagues in the Hanlin Academy recently?"

Time could not smooth out Xu Zuo's edges, but he knew that his appointment as prime minister was an accident. Under normal circumstances, with his temperament, he would at most be the Chief Censor for his entire life, and retire and return home with a title of Shangshu when he was old.

Therefore, he did not want Jiang Hui to follow his old path, because there would never be a second Emperor Gaozong in the world, and this path would not be feasible for future generations.

Jiang Hui lowered his eyes and said, "Thank you for your concern, Master. I am getting along well with my colleagues. They know Master's attitude towards me, so they are quite enthusiastic in their words. I have to be cautious and restrained so as not to bring shame to Master."

"Not that much."

Xu Zuo smiled faintly and said kindly: "You just need to keep a normal mind."

"Disciple, obey."

Jiang Hui was silent for a moment, then asked, "Master, I have a question that keeps lingering in my mind. I wonder if you can help me solve it."

Xu Zuo was a little surprised. Jiang Hui was not like the others who would deliberately seek personal gain, let alone flatter. Apart from visiting once every ten days, he never came to visit him at other times.

This young man had a strong heart. It was the first time Xu Zuo saw such a conflicted look in his eyes. He nodded and said, "It's okay to ask."

Jiang Hui looked directly into his master's eyes and asked, "I dare to ask what you think of the Prince of Huai'an?"

Xu Zuo looked at him steadily, and suddenly understood what the young man was thinking, and couldn't help feeling quite emotional.

He thought for a moment, then said succinctly: "Shaoyang, I cannot decide what others think, but at least I can stick to my heart and not go astray."

Jiang Hui thought about this sentence seriously. After a moment, he bowed and said solemnly: "Thank you for your guidance, Master."

"No need to be polite."

Xu Zuo looked at his clear eyes and couldn't help asking, "Do you believe that he will always be a loyal minister of Da Qi?"

Jiang Hui did not hesitate and nodded, "Disciple believes it."

Xu Zuo didn't ask any more questions.

After Jiang Hui said goodbye and left, Xu Zuo sat quietly in the study for a long time.

He thought back to the two years he had been in charge of Dingzhou, the several in-depth conversations he had with Lu Chen, and the entire story of the turmoil in the capital last year.

And now to the Qi-Jing battle, there is a slight ripple in the court.

The last thing that appeared in his sight was Jiang Hui’s young and resolute face.

The middle-aged prime minister whispered to himself, "I just hope your sincere heart can be fulfilled."

(End of this chapter)