There is a progress bar in my cultivation of immortality

Wuchen Palace.

Empress Dowager Liu Qing sat on a high seat in the hall. In the center of the hall there was a young man wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, about eleven or twelve years old. At the moment he looked very nervous, with a fine layer of cold sweat oozing out.

This was the new emperor chosen by Liu Qing, the second son of Emperor Jiande, named Wang Nian. When Liu Qing looked at him nervously, he would turn his head to glance behind him from time to time. There was a door curtain behind him, and outside the curtain was kneeling a woman in gorgeous clothes. She was his biological mother, the empress of Emperor Jiande, and also the niece of Liu Qing's mother's family.

"The country is in danger now, but your elder brother has already become a monk. Now only you can take on this responsibility."

Liu Qing said this quietly, and without waiting for Wang Nian to reply, he instructed a eunuch beside him, "Go prepare a yellow robe for him. Tomorrow morning he must go to the Council Hall to receive the worship of the court officials."

"Yes!"

The eunuch agreed, walked quietly to Wang Nian's side, and whispered, "Your Highness, follow me."

Upon hearing this, Wang Nian bowed and said, "Grandmother, I will take my leave."

"Go."

Wang Nian then retreated behind the door curtain, bowed to his biological mother and said goodbye, then followed the eunuch out of the hall. In the courtyard outside the hall, a group of purple-robed ministers had been waiting there for a long time.

Soon, another eunuch came out and greeted the ministers: "The Queen Mother invites you~"

The Da Chen entered the hall one after another according to their status, and stood outside the door curtain, bowing in unison, saying, "I have seen the Queen Mother. Long live the Queen Mother!"

"Let's talk about the matter. I heard that the rebels have penetrated into Shangjing City and will arrive at Shangjing City soon?" Liu Qing asked casually while leaning on the couch, as if he didn't care much about this issue.

The meeting started off very smoothly. The Ministry of War first reported the established facts and the subsequent plan for encircling and suppressing the rebels, and then the Ministry of Revenue discussed the issue of logistics and food.

Finally, the Ministry of Rites reported on the funeral arrangements of Emperor Jiande. This was originally the most important issue at the moment, but it was not welcomed by the ministers because this emperor was destined to not even have a temple name.

After all the reports were completed, Wu Jingcai, the Minister of Works who had just been promoted by Liu Qing to the position of Assistant Minister of State Affairs two hours ago, came out and said, "Yesterday, Yao Wei, the military officer of Pingzhou Road, sent a letter to me saying that he had been classmates with Yuan Qin, the current leader of the rebels in Qingpu Road. He said that he was confident that he could bring peace to Yuan Qin, as long as the court was willing..."

"We absolutely cannot do this. If we issue an imperial decree to pacify Yuan Qin before the late emperor's body is cold, how will people in the world view us?" Someone interrupted Wu Jingcai before he could finish.

"Master Wu, if I remember correctly, Yao Wei is your disciple. Do you and your master want to gain fame through this?" Another big hat was put on him.

All the ministers started to criticize Wu Jingcai at once, even the puppet Miao Nian controlled by Wang Ping. He was promoted to the Minister of Justice two hours ago because a large number of important officials died in Xiaguan, and was qualified to attend meetings in front of the palace.

Unlike the young Emperor Jiande, Empress Dowager Liu Qing was particularly patient. She just listened to the ministers' quarrels quietly until they were exhausted. Then she said, "We are all for the country, for the world, and for the people. There are no traitors here, only loyal ministers."

She kind of named Wu Jingcai, the Minister of Works, and then ordered: "Take back Xiaguan as soon as possible, and order Pingzhou Road and Beiyuan Road to gather heavy troops and food. In addition, Hu Min, the governor of Beiyuan Road, failed to rescue in time when the battle at Xiaguan was unfavorable. The Ministry of Justice will consider one crime and arrest him."

This is not considered as taking the blame. At that time, the 100,000 troops on Beiyuan Road were only a few kilometers away from Qingpu Road. If they had decisively moved south, they might have established great achievements. Unfortunately, when Governor Hu Min heard that the emperor had died, he was so frightened that his heart was broken, and the first thing he chose was to retreat.

"Okay, everyone, please leave. This mess is disturbing."

The ministers then stopped criticizing Wu Jingcai, subconsciously isolated him, and quickly left the hall.

Qianmuguan.

Lord Rongyang and Zhigong Taoist had already left. Wang Ping sat at the tea table in front of the old locust tree in the bright sunshine, experiencing the unique court meeting with great interest. Afterwards, he used the "Dongtian Mirror" to connect to other puppets he arranged in Shangjing City, preparing to investigate Wu Jingcai.

"Is there something wrong with him?"

Yu Lian asked quietly.

Wang Ping said in a nonchalant tone: "I just don't understand why this person would be so stupid as to ask for peace at this time. After all, Emperor Jiande didn't even leave behind his body."

"Why can't I mention it?"

"The current humanitarian doctrine is dominated by Jiang Cun's 'ritual' theory. The scholars in the world pay attention to the word rite. The rebels are a typical example of treason and corruption of ritual theory to the ministers of the court, especially when they learn that the leader of the rebels is now a juren recognized by the court."

"I see. Does this mean that the rebels and the imperial court are already in a situation where they will fight to the death?"

"How is that possible? Although the ministers of the court pay attention to humanity and etiquette, they value their own interests more. People who really study cannot reach their position. When both sides are deadlocked, they will each take a step back."

"From your tone, do you think the rebels will have a chance?" Yu Lian's eyes were full of doubt.

"The court's three-pronged attack this time may seem like a thunderbolt, but you should know what the government soldiers are like. They are good at defending the city, but if they attack the city, they will just deliver weapons and food to the rebels. However, if the court can adopt some gentle strategies with its overwhelming momentum, perhaps many rebels will surrender when the army is at the gates of the city."

"In that case, why didn't you remind the Queen Mother?"

"Don't forget what we want!"

"Luring Ao Bing into the trap?"

"Yes, Ao Bing is probably also practicing divine arts, and it has reached the most critical moment. He wants the Central Plains divine weapon to help him practice faster."

Upon hearing this, Yu Lian probed her consciousness into the 'Dongtian Mirror' and connected with Wang Ping's soul to observe the puppets in Shangjing City.

In just three days, the background of the Minister of Works was thoroughly investigated. It was found that there was indeed something fishy about him. He was a pawn bought by Linshui Prefecture, and his previous rash mention of the imperial edict was also at the instigation of Linshui Prefecture.

The purpose of Linshui Prefecture is very simple. They want to arrange their disciples through Yuan Qin to infiltrate Qingpu Road to preach, and then slowly erode Pingzhou Road and Liangjiang area.

The court issued an imperial decree to Yuan Qin to temporarily ease the situation, which would be more beneficial to them.

Of course, they also understood that the imperial court would not agree so easily. The reason they let Wu Jingcai say it in advance was to leave the imperial court with such an option. In this way, the imperial court would think of this option whenever it suffered losses in subsequent wars.

"This Ao Bing really underestimates you!"

Yu Lian commented.

Wang Ping didn't take it seriously and responded with a smile: "Isn't this a good thing? However, we can't underestimate these old guys who have lived for thousands of years."

After he finished speaking, he summoned the Qiyun array and prepared to deduce again. (End of this chapter)