Jiuxi

Chapter 952: Gao Huan's Joy and Sorrow

In Chongzheng Hall, dozens of important officials were still not calmed down from the shock.

Based on Lu Chen's past undefeated record, the ministers had no doubt that he could stop the more than 100,000 troops under Emperor Jing. However, even an optimistic person like Li Jingda believed that Lu Chen might at most win one or two small victories and force Emperor Jing to stop his advance, which would be a remarkable achievement.

As for repelling the Jing army and completely stabilizing the situation on the border, it is the limit of everyone's fantasy.

Unexpectedly, when the good news came, the main force of Jing's army was almost destroyed, and Emperor Jing died directly on the battlefield. The impact of this news on the officials in the court was terrifying.

Everyone was ecstatic at first. The death of Emperor Jing meant that the Jing army would have to retreat. This national war would end with the victory of Qi, and the Qi army would definitely be able to go north and recover large tracts of their homeland.

As a person from Qi, how could I not feel something like "I am so happy and excited when I read poetry and books" when I think of this?

But they are still high-ranking officials in the court and the actual managers of the dynasty. Of course, they cannot consider issues only based on personal emotions.

After the ecstasy, many people felt sad.

Lu Chen has made such an amazing contribution, the court definitely cannot just give him a few trivial rewards. But now he is a powerful prince and is also in charge of Jiangbei military affairs. How else can the court reward him?

Fortunately, most people have no say in this matter. Ultimately, it is a problem that the Empress Dowager and the two prime ministers should worry about.

When Yuan Yuji finished reading the long victory report, the ministers finally knew the general process of the Battle of Lei Ze.

“This firearm…”

The new Minister of Personnel Yao Chong turned his head and looked behind him, and asked, "Minister Chen, where did this firearm come from?"

Minister of War Chen Xincai was confused and said blankly: "I don't know anything about it."

Yao Chong looked at the Minister of Military Affairs Li Jingda and asked, "May I ask the Marquis of Nanxun, when did the government offices under the Military Academy develop such a powerful weapon? Why are we all unaware of it?"

Li Jingda didn't mind helping Lu Chen take the blame, but the problem was that he didn't know what was going on, and he hadn't received Lu Chen's letter in advance. Facing the gazes of the ministers, he coughed and said, "Minister Yao, this is the highest secret in the army. Only the Prince of Huai'an and the Duke of Rong know the inside story. I think the Prince will present a secret memorial to the emperor later."

At this point, he could only get away with it temporarily. At the same time, he was very confused as to why Lu Chen insisted on writing this matter down in the victory report?

The Minister of Rites and former Hezhou Governor Kong Yingdong pondered and said, "Since it is a top secret in the army, it is understandable that it is not disclosed to the public. Moreover, now that such a sharp weapon has been used on the battlefield to decide the outcome of the war in Jiangbei for the Great Qi, it is okay to skip over those minor details. However, such a sharp weapon should be dispatched by the court. What do you think, gentlemen?"

This is the proper meaning of the title.

Lu Chen had great power and made great contributions, so it was already abnormal for him to research new weapons in private. The ministers had no choice but to accept it. However, how could such a powerful weapon be in the hands of a private person?
Kong Yingdong was originally a provincial governor and had not been back in the court for long. He had not even met Lu Chen in person. In addition, as the Minister of Rites had great hopes of entering the Secretariat, he felt it was natural for him to bring up this topic.

At one time, many people agreed.

Li Jingda sneered in his heart, unwilling to argue with these learned people, mainly because he had suffered a few losses before, anyway...

If you can snatch it from the prince, I will write the word "Li" backwards!
After a period of commotion, the ministers gradually quieted down because they found that the Queen Mother Ning on the throne had no intention of speaking from beginning to end.

These important officials obviously could not have imagined that Empress Dowager Ning was in a trance at this moment.

Empress Dowager Ning had a very clear vision of this national war. She knew that internal conflicts must be put aside temporarily. Once the Jing army defeated the border army, the Great Qi would be destroyed, because the enemy would definitely come with the intention of destroying the country and the race.

Therefore, from last autumn to this winter, she kept communicating with the two prime ministers, doing everything possible to give absolute support to Lu Chen and the border army, and even did not hesitate to destroy Qu Hongyi and even the Qu family with heart-breaking words - you have to know that he was one of the few loyal ministers left by her husband, and he was in charge of the extremely important Ministry of Personnel, which could have been her arm to control the court.

She dismissed Qu Hongyi, executed Zhu Ruiqian and thirteen other officials, and uprooted the two noble families who colluded with Jingguo's spies to tamper with the logistics of the border troops. She did all this to reassure the border troops and did not want any mistakes to occur in the border war.

Originally, it was thought that as long as Lu Chen could keep the enemy out of the country, not to mention that he and Emperor Jing would both suffer losses, as long as a roughly balanced situation was maintained, Empress Dowager Ning would have enough time to adjust the court and create a safer growth space for the young emperor.

Who knew that the young prince was so powerful...

At this moment, Empress Dowager Ning finally understood her husband's troubles.

She only felt the pressure on her thin shoulders increasing, almost making it hard for her to breathe.

"Mother."

Li Daoming shouted in a low voice.

Empress Dowager Ning immediately came to her senses, looked at the ministers who were eagerly waiting in the hall, and then glanced at Yuan Yuji who was standing solemnly beside her. The latter then lowered his head and briefly repeated the ministers' discussions in a low voice.

"Regarding matters concerning new firearms, the Prince of Huai'an attached a secret memorial to the victory report."

Empress Dowager Ning perked up and said calmly, "He stated in the secret memorial that the new firearms were the private property of the Seven Stars Gang in the north. Because of the relationship with Princess Lin, the Seven Stars Gang is willing to offer them to our border troops for use." The whole hall was silent.

Li Jingda suddenly understood and thought to himself, so that's how it is. The word 'private property' can at least shut up some people.

In fact, this matter is very simple. Everyone knows the relationship between the Seven Star Gang and Lu Chen himself. This reason can barely deal with it. After all, it is because the court does not have the means and confidence to control Lu Chen.

Queen Mother Ning looked around at the ministers and continued, "He also said that the benefits of firearms are enough to change the world, and the court should set up a firearms supervision and a divine machine camp. He will try to get the Seven Stars Gang to present the technical specifications of various firearms to the court, but at least we have to wait until this war is roughly settled before making a decision."

Kong Yingdong shook his head slightly, but didn't know what to say.

"The Prince of Huai'an stated at the end of his secret memorial that the Jing army is now fleeing, and our army should make a concerted effort to drive the Jing army back to the north of the Jing River, and take the opportunity to recover Jiangbei Road, Heluo Region, Henan Road, and Weinan Road. He has already assembled his army and is heading north, hoping that the court will continue to support him. In addition to the compensation for the casualties, the rewards for the army can be temporarily recorded, including his own, and will be rewarded after the war."

Queen Mother Ning finished her speech in one breath and said slowly: "My dear ministers, please feel free to speak freely on this matter."

The ministers were silent.

Now, except for the 40,000 imperial guards guarding the capital, all the other troops from various parts of Da Qi are already in Jiangbei and are under the control of Lu Chen.

Of the three major camps of the Beijing Army, Zhang Xu led 30,000 infantrymen from the Wuwei Camp to Shazhou more than a year ago, and was later transferred to Jingzhou to assist in the defense, and has never returned since.

Although Li Jingda, the commander of the Brave Camp, remained in the capital, Xiao Wangzhi took his troops with him when he went north.

As for the Jinwu Camp, Chen Lanyu had led his troops north half a year ago.

There is no need to explain the situation of Chengzhou Army, Jingzhou Army and Dingzhou Army.

In short, Lu Chen holds the military power of Da Qi, and if he wants to continue fighting, it seems no one can stop him.

After a moment, Right Prime Minister Xu Zuo looked at a senior official in purple behind him and said slowly, "Minister Gao."

Gao Huan, the Minister of Finance, bowed and said, "I am here."

Xu Zuo asked directly: "How much silver is in the treasury now?"

In the cold winter, Gao Huan actually had a few drops of sweat on his forehead. He said with great difficulty: "Replying to Prime Minister Xu, I have personally counted the silver in the past two days and was about to report to Your Majesty that the silver in the national treasury is now... less than 7.5 million taels."

There was an uproar in the hall.

Empress Dowager Ning's expression also changed.

Warfare is inseparable from money. How much does the 300,000 troops in Jiangbei spend every day? It all depends on the court to pay for support, otherwise the soldiers will have to go hungry and fight with the Jing army.

Gao Huan was in deep pain at this moment.

When the Longlin Gao family was implicated in the imperial mausoleum assassination case, he immediately surrendered to Lu Chen and managed to save the Gao family's fortune.

Later, Li Shizhi used the Ning Bugui case to instigate Li Zongben to take action. Yuan Yuji took the palace secret guards to Longlin and arrested Gao Huan and his brother Gao Que. It was Lu Chen who restored order and solved the rebellion headed by Li Shizhi.

From that time on, the Longlin Gao family was marked by Lu Chen's lineage. Gao Huan knew that he had no other choice but to work wholeheartedly for Lu Chen.

Based on this relationship, Lu Chen did not forcibly interfere in the court arrangements despite holding great power, and only let Gao Huan be in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. This was an unspoken understanding between him and Empress Dowager Ning.

Upon hearing about the great victory in Jiangbei, Gao Huan couldn't help but be overjoyed. The higher and more stable Lu Chen's position became, the brighter the future of the Gao family would naturally be.

What followed was endless anxiety and headaches.

The reason is simple: the court is running out of money.

If the Minister of Revenue was someone else, perhaps he might have deliberately held back the border troops at this time and tried every means to hinder Lu Chen. However, who in the court and the public didn't know that Minister Gao was a supporter of the young prince?
Even he admitted that the treasury was empty, so the border troops couldn't possibly harbor resentment, right?
Left Prime Minister Xue Nanting frowned and said, "Minister Gao, taxes from various states have been delivered to the capital since September, and it has only been three months. How come there are only more than 7 million taels of silver left in the treasury?"

Queen Mother Ning also said, "Minister Gao, I know that the people's livelihood is difficult and the court is in trouble. In order to cope with this national war, I ordered the palace to cut various expenses and took out more than 9 million taels of silver accumulated over the years from the inner treasury and transferred them all to the national treasury. Why did it come to this?"

"Your Majesty, how dare I speak nonsense in front of you?"

Gao Huan's old face showed an expression of wanting to cry but not being able to. He said in a deep voice: "I am willing to guarantee with my life that there is no problem with the account books of the Ministry of Revenue. Your Majesty can send people to the Ministry of Revenue to check at any time. According to your majesty's order, the court began to prepare for the war in the early winter of last year. As of the end of November this year, the national treasury has allocated a total of 24.6 million taels of silver for the supply of the Jiangbei army alone!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole hall fell into dead silence.

(End of this chapter)