Thief Emperor

Chapter 249 Lady Yuezhou!

General Su was very ill and could not even get up from his bed.

The doctors who came to the army to see him were helpless. Most of them said that it was a recurrence of an old illness and it was difficult to treat. Some doctors even said that General Su was on the verge of life and death.

Because he was seriously ill, he couldn't even stay in the army and had to be sent to Songzhou City to see a doctor for treatment.

The affairs of the army were directly placed on Jiang Yan's shoulders.

Although Jiang Yan's personal abilities were not strong, he was very self-aware. He knew very well that he did not have the ability to command tens of thousands of people in battle, let alone deal with hundreds of thousands of rebels. Therefore, he could only keep his troops in place and send the situation in the military camp to the capital at an urgent speed of 600 miles.

A few days later, the messenger sent by the court to announce the imperial decree to Su Jing had not yet returned, but Jiang Yan's report had already arrived in the capital, and was sent all the way to the Council of State and placed on the desk of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince saw the memorial, he flew into a rage and slammed the table in the Council Hall angrily.

"What are you doing?"

The prince slammed the table and said angrily: "Preserve your feathers or preserve your strength?"

"What does Su Jing want to do?"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gnashed his teeth and said, "Does he also want to be a military governor?"

After a few words, the other prime ministers all changed their expressions.

Cui Yuan coughed and whispered, "Your Highness, please calm down."

"At times like this, you must not rush."

Cui Yuan said in a deep voice: "If we allow Su Jing to advance at this time, he still has more than 20,000 men under his command, and there will definitely be heavy casualties. If we really send them all in at once, Su Jing's reputation as a famous general will be ruined in an instant and will no longer exist."

"Since ancient times, great generals have valued their reputation. It is not surprising that he is unwilling to lead the troops."

"Besides."

Cui Yuan looked at the prince and continued, "The 20,000 or 30,000 people he brought with him are soldiers from the south of the Yangtze River who are on the expedition. They have suffered heavy casualties, and many of them have died in a foreign land. Last time, Su Jing wrote a letter saying that the morale of the army was low. If the casualties continue, even if Su Jing wants to fight, he may not be able to continue."

Prime Minister Gu Yong nodded slowly and continued, "Your Highness, although the situation in the Central Plains is serious, the court must not be impatient and must cut off this stubborn disease piece by piece."

"If you are too impatient, you will not only fail to achieve your goals, but may also lead to other more serious consequences."

"What consequences?"

Crown Prince Wu Yuancheng looked at the Prime Minister and gritted his teeth and said, "What is happening right now that is more serious than the chaos in the Central Plains? Summer is almost over and autumn is coming soon. Will the Central Plains still collect the money and grain this year? Do we still want to do it?"

The Central Plains is one of the granaries of the imperial court. For the imperial court, it is a place of strategic importance. Moreover, every day the Central Plains rots, the imperial court's majesty is lost. It must be restored as soon as possible, otherwise the imperial court's majesty in the eyes of the people of the world will disappear.

However, this is only one reason.

The main reason why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is so impatient is that he wants to accomplish some big things as soon as possible to prove that his ability to govern is far stronger than that of his father.

If the trouble caused by his old father could be settled as soon as possible under his hands, then he would not have to find ways to kill his old father. He could even force his father to abdicate and become the emperor emeritus, and he could ascend the throne openly.

This is the best solution for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

That's why he is so impatient when doing things.

Cui Yuan shook his head slightly and said, "Your Highness, the current situation is critical. Although the court is short of money and food, we can no longer focus on the money and food in the Central Plains."

"At least…"

Cui Yuan whispered, "At least, in the past two or three years, it has been difficult to collect money and grain from the Central Plains."

The prince rubbed his brows and said, "Then Prime Minister Cui, what do you think we should do? You can't let me start raising taxes, right?"

He has just returned to power, and now is the time when he needs to win over the hearts of the people. He would never issue a policy like raising taxes, no matter how hard you try.

At least before he ascends the throne, it is absolutely impossible.

"We can only place our hopes on Jiangnan."

Cui Yuan said, "Jiangnan has always been rich. It not only has silk, but also salt roads, tea and other trade routes. I think the court should send an imperial envoy to inspect the salt roads and the administration of officials in Jiangnan."

"By inspecting back and forth, we can always find some money and food for the court."

The prince's brows relaxed and he asked, "Who do you think should be sent, Prime Minister Cui?"

Cui Yuan shook his head: "I don't know."

The prince thought for a while and said, "I feel that at this moment, ordinary ministers may not be able to do their job sincerely if they go down there."

"Let the King of Chu go down."

The prince looked at the prime ministers and said calmly, "The King of Chu is a man of outstanding ability among the royal family. At this time, the relatives of the Wu family are also needed to contribute a little to the country."

Several prime ministers looked at each other, all with dark and complicated expressions.

Prince Wu Yuanyou of Chu is the younger brother of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the second prince of the current emperor.

As the prince said, this is also the most capable person among the adult royal family members. Since he is so capable, he is naturally one of the strong contenders for the throne. This matter is too sensitive, even the prime minister Cui Yuan who proposed this suggestion did not dare to speak at this time.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Since everyone has no objection, then this matter is settled. In a few days, I will issue an imperial decree to the King of Chu in the name of the Political Affairs Hall."

Several prime ministers looked at each other, all speechless.

We didn't say anything, so you just assume we agree?
However, after the prince said this, they had nothing to say and could only bow their heads and say, "We obey your command."

"besides."

The prince slammed the table again and said angrily, "Su Jing's matter cannot be left unresolved like this. The Political Affairs Hall will continue to issue imperial decrees to him. If he dies, then it will be over. As long as he is not dead, the court's order to attack the rebels in the Central Plains must be carried out!"

After saying this, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stood up and left.

Several prime ministers stood up and bowed to see him off. After His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had walked away, Prime Minister Gu Yong smiled bitterly and said, "It would be nice if Brother Daqi was here."

The "Brother Daqi" he mentioned was the Prime Minister Wang Du. Wang Daqi had a straight-forward personality. Whenever he encountered something that he thought was wrong, he would fight to the end no matter who it was.

However, it was also because of this character that he offended the emperor, was questioned by the court, and was removed from his position as prime minister.

It was obvious that Gu Yong said this because he also disagreed with the policies and orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

However, he did not have the courage like Wang Du, so he just confronted him face to face.

The other prime ministers all felt the same way and couldn't help but complain a few words. Cui Yuan coughed and shook his head, saying, "Okay, the prince is also considering the current situation."

"I'll wait..."

"Just do your job."

Gu Yong looked at Cui Yuan and whispered, "How about asking Su Sheng to write a letter to Su Jing?"

Cui Xiang shook his head slightly and sighed: "Don't be nosy, don't be nosy."

"Everything shall be done according to the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

If you obey orders, it means you won't stick to the pan at all.

Several prime ministers nodded and looked at Cui Yuan, unable to help but sigh in their hearts.

No wonder you, Cui Yuan, are an evergreen in the Political Affairs Hall!

…………

Yuezhou.

A horse-drawn carriage was swaying slowly towards Yuezhou City.

There were three people sitting in the carriage, namely Li Yun, Xue Yun'er, and Xue's maid Dong'er.

Walking on the official road, Li Yun pointed to the crops on both sides of the road and said with a smile: "When my husband arrived in Yuezhou last year, Yuezhou had just experienced war and was still very desolate."

"I have issued a decree to redistribute the land throughout the state. Please see."

Li Yun pointed at the crops and said proudly: "There is almost no wasteland."

This is indeed a rare thing. For a state that has just experienced war and has suffered severe population losses, it would have taken at least several years to slowly resume production. However, Li Yun implemented it with an iron fist, and a series of measures were implemented by him in the form of violent guarantees, so the effect was very fast.

In just the first year, Yuezhou has basically resumed production.

This is actually a very fulfilling thing. Looking at the crops that can be seen at sunrise and will be harvested soon makes Li feel happy.

Xue Yun'er took his hand, looked at the radiant Li Yun, then looked at the crops on both sides of the road, and said with a smile: "Isn't this the credit of the governor and the local county magistrate?"

Li Yun's face turned serious and he said in a muffled voice: "When I arrived in Yuezhou, there was no governor in Yuezhou. There was only one county magistrate left in the six counties!"

Xue Yun'er was originally teasing Li Yun. She smiled with her hands covering her mouth when she heard what he said. Just as she was about to speak, a dozen knights came galloping over from a distance and lined up on both sides of the road. The knights dismounted and bowed and clasped their fists towards Li Yun's carriage.

"Meet Sima!"

"Meet Sima!"

Li Yun lifted the car curtain and saw that it was Deng Yang and the others. He smiled dumbly and waved his hand, saying, "Why are you making such a fuss? Go back, go back."

Deng Yang stepped forward with a smile, bowed his head again, clasped his fists, and saluted, "Meet the Madam!"

At this point, he paused and continued, "Sima, the brothers in Yuezhou Camp all want to see Madam. Please ask me to come over and ask if Madam can go to Yuezhou Camp to inspect it."

Li Yun turned around to look at Xue Yun'er and asked with a smile: "Madam, do you want to go to the city first, or to Yuezhou Camp first?"

"I…"

Xue Yun'er thought about it and gritted her teeth.

"Let's go to your military camp and take a look."

(End of this chapter)