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Chapter 446: Border (I)

In the spring of the third year of Taihe, the people had just recovered from the drought, locust plague and epidemic, and they were actively buying grain, planting seeds, reclaiming farmland and starting spring plowing.

Unfortunately, God would not allow the court to be peaceful, nor would he allow the young Emperor Taihe to rest in peace on the throne. On the fourth day of March, the court received an urgent report from the border troops.

"The Rouran cavalry is invading the border!"

"The border troops were badly defeated, lost Pengcheng, and retreated to Sizhou."

"Pengcheng was burned down, all the money and food were looted, the adults were taken away, and the old, weak and children were slaughtered!"

The few words on the station bulletin, with a strong smell of blood, came straight at me.

Taihe Emperor Jun’s face turned pale, his body swayed, and everything in front of his eyes suddenly went dark.

Zheng Chen's face changed, and he quickly stepped forward to support Emperor Taihe: "Your Majesty, please calm down! Take care of your health!"

Wang Jin and others gathered around and moved forward, looking worried.

Emperor Taihe closed his eyes for a long time before reluctantly opening them. His eyeballs were red and his voice was trembling: "Pengcheng was massacred by the Rouran! Tens of thousands of people were either killed or taken away as slaves. How can you let me calm down and take care of myself!"

"Damn Zuo Feng! Damn it!"

Emperor Taihe's angry shouts echoed in the palace.

Wang Jin's heart suddenly sank. Zuo Feng was the name of General Zuo. Everyone knew that Prime Minister Wang was able to control the court because he had the support of a group of civil officials including Zhang Shangshu, Dai Shangshu and Zhou Shangshu, and secondly, General Zuo, who commanded 100,000 border troops, was Prime Minister Wang's man.

Daliang boasted an army of 400,000, of which the border troops accounted for a quarter. The annual military expenditure allocated to the border troops accounted for nearly 20% of the national treasury revenue.

Over the years, General Zuo has made great contributions, firmly guarding the border and blocking foreign cavalry such as Rouran from entering the border. Therefore, even if General Zuo is a little arrogant and greedy, just for this achievement, he is as stable as a mountain and no one can shake him.

Who could have thought that General Zuo would suffer a great defeat? Pengcheng was massacred, and Emperor Taihe was furious. Once the news spread, I wonder how many people would take the opportunity to impeach General Zuo. Prime Minister Wang and his party certainly couldn't sit idly by... Seeing the chaos in the court coming. And he, the secretary of the Central Secretariat, was once again caught between the emperor and his father, with a dilemma between loyalty and filial piety, and was neither a man nor a man.

As expected, Zheng Chen's angry voice sounded: "Your Majesty, the court allocates huge military funds to the border troops every year, and the border troops are extremely generous. Zuo Feng is really incompetent and suffered a great defeat! He failed to live up to the emperor's grace and lost Pengcheng! He must be severely punished! I ask Your Majesty to issue an order to immediately summon Zuo Feng back to the capital to question him!"

Wang Jin was shocked and blurted out his objection: "No!"

"Your Majesty, although the Rouran cavalry has retreated, they may attack again at any time. Summoning the commander back to court at this time will shake the morale of the army, which will create a good opportunity for the Rouran to send troops. For the sake of the stability of the border, I beg Your Majesty to calm down and think twice!"

"What a silver tongue Wang Sheren has!" Zheng Chen sneered coldly, "Zuo Feng has already retreated to Sizhou, how can the border be safe? According to Wang Sheren, could the massacre of Pingzhou have just passed quietly? Will we allow a foolish and incompetent general like Zuo Feng to continue to lead the border troops and continue to lose the territory of Daliang?"

Wang Jin tried his best to respond: "General Zuo has made a serious mistake and must be severely punished. Your Majesty, I mean to wait until the war situation stabilizes and then recall General Zuo..."

"Your Majesty, I think Zuo Feng is not worthy of leading the border army! Please send another general to take over the border army!" Zheng Chen interrupted Wang Jin in a deep voice. Jiang Yi immediately recommended General Fan: "General Fan is good at leading troops, brave and invincible, and can be of great use."

Li Boyuan also agreed: "I also think that we can send General Fan."

Wang Jin's heart sank.

There were obvious factions in the court, and the servants around Emperor Taihe were also divided into factions. He and Zheng Chen had always been in opposition. Over the past two years, Zheng Chen and Jiang Yi had been in close contact, and he had been trying to win over Li Boyuan. Li Boyuan had always remained neutral, and this time the Left General was defeated, and the blame was undeniable. Li Boyuan, a neutral faction, also sided with Zheng Chen.

Three against one, no need to think too much, he is the one who suffers the loss.

In fact, the furious Emperor Taihe refused to listen to Wang Jin's advice and said with a sullen face, "Come here, invite Prime Minister Wang, Duke Anguo, to the palace immediately to discuss countermeasures."

……

On that day, all the important officials above the third rank were summoned to the palace. A verbal battle lasted until the evening, but no conclusion was reached.

The angry, exhausted and powerless Emperor Taihe walked to Jingyang Palace with heavy steps.

As expected, Empress Dowager Zheng scolded Prime Minister Wang and insisted on summoning Zuo Feng back to the capital immediately to be punished.

Emperor Taihe had been angry for most of the day, but now that he was no longer furious, he regained some composure: "I wish I could recall Zuo Feng immediately, settle the blood debt with him in Pengcheng, and cut him into pieces. However, what Prime Minister Wang and the others said makes sense. Even if we want to hold someone accountable, we have to wait until the border army is stable. Otherwise, if the army is unstable and the Rouran cavalry takes advantage of it, the northern states will be in danger."

Empress Dowager Zheng said angrily, "If someone else were to take charge of the frontier army, wouldn't he be better than Zuo Feng? General Fan, General Bao, General Liu, General Song, anyone can do it?"

"Prime Minister Wang is selfish and wants Zuo Feng to stay here. After a while, if he wins one or two small battles, his merits will be used to atone his crime, and he can continue to lead the border troops. Even an old woman like me can guess this selfish calculation, but can't the emperor see it?"

Emperor Taihe was easily influenced, and after being talked about by Prime Minister Wang and others for a long time, his mind had been shaken. Now, after hearing what Empress Dowager Zheng said, he was shaken again.

After coming out of Jingyang Palace, Emperor Taihe went to see his mother, Empress Dowager Li.

Empress Dowager Li and Grand Empress Dowager Zheng had always been at odds with each other, but she could not defeat her mother-in-law and was always suppressed. However, Empress Dowager Li had learned all the ways of Grand Empress Dowager Zheng, who always wanted to intervene in everything. She said, "Whether it's Prime Minister Wang or Duke Anguo, they are the ministers and you are the monarch. How to deal with Zuo Feng is up to you, the emperor."

"You can hold back for a while or recall Zuo Feng immediately. Anyway, I am on your side."

The strategy of Empress Dowager Li was also very simple. She would always support her son in everything. After a long time, her son would know that the only person who cared about him wholeheartedly was his own mother.

The extremely tired Emperor Taihe was in no mood to accept his mother's kindness. He sighed and said, "For such an important matter in the court, I alone cannot make the decision. I must get the approval of my grandmother and Prime Minister Wang."

This is the tragedy of a young emperor. His team is too young and inexperienced. It's okay for them to give advice in private, but when it comes to important court affairs, he, the emperor, cannot carry out his orders.