Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 265 Three Strategies to Save the Day
Zichen Palace.

The entire court was completely silent.

The massive dragon-carved pillars inside the hall were bathed in the dim light of the day, creating a very oppressive atmosphere.

Emperor Chongzhao slammed the memorial presented by Li Huan onto the imperial desk, making a loud bang.

"Excellent! What a brilliant work-for-relief program! What a clever and ingenious scheme! Even more ingenious is that it takes from the people and uses it for the people..."

The emperor pressed his palm heavily on the memorial, and his tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a little.

He looked around the steps, his voice booming.

"My esteemed ministers, what are your insightful opinions on these three strategies?"

The old ministers below exchanged surprised and uncertain glances, gripping their official tablets tightly.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhou Chongli, the Minister of Revenue, finally stepped forward and bowed deeply to the throne.

"Your Majesty, this plan is indeed ingenious, but with the grain supply blocked, the epidemic rampant, and refugees swarming like locusts... even if there is a good strategy, it is probably just empty talk and difficult to implement."

Li Huan glanced sideways, his gaze sweeping over the assembled officials with an undeniable sharpness.

"Minister Zhou is mistaken! Using public works as relief, turning displaced people into reinforcements, can not only clear roads and stabilize the rear, but also reassure the people."

"The secret operation of transporting supplies by ice sled is precisely to alleviate the urgent crisis at Black Wind Pass and rescue His Highness the Crown Prince from danger..."

"Confiscating stolen silver, establishing stabilizing granaries and public pharmacies are the foundation for securing the people's livelihood! These three measures are interconnected. Even if they cannot immediately turn the tide, they can alleviate the immediate crisis and provide a glimmer of hope!"

After he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his sleeve, gave a slight bow, and swept his cold eyes across the assembled officials.

"Do you gentlemen intend to sit idly by and watch our soldiers of Great Liang freeze and starve to death, watch our common people resort to cannibalism, and wait for the gates of the Western Frontier to be wide open? May I ask you gentlemen, aside from empty talk, what good strategies do you have?!"

Several ministers were intimidated by his imposing presence, exchanging bewildered glances with suspicion in their eyes.

Not to mention that the Crown Prince's faction suspects him of using this opportunity to seize power, cultivate his own clique, establish military authority, and eliminate political enemies.

Even those who support Prince Duan are unsure whether his actions are a rescue in a time of crisis or a plot to seize the throne.

With the crown prince trapped in the Black Wind Pass and the heir apparent changing hands, is there a better chance to seize the throne once and for all?
The officials and civil servants in the hall, each harboring their own secrets, remained silent as cicadas in winter.

Only the wisps of smoke from the crane-shaped incense burner at the corner of the hall twisted and distorted in the draft...

Emperor Chongzhao had sharp eyes and took in the reactions of his ministers.

"Prince Duan's strategy is well-reasoned and hits the nail on the head. It can be called a good plan for stabilizing the country and resisting foreign aggression! He should be rewarded!"

Li Huan, dressed in the royal robes of the imperial family, appeared even more upright and tall.

He met the emperor's scrutinizing gaze, took a deep breath, lifted his robe, and knelt down, his back as straight as a pine tree.

“Your Majesty, you are wise. These three policies, along with the attached prescriptions for the epidemic and the design of the ice sled, were not the work of your son or your staff. I merely presented them to Your Majesty on your behalf and dare not claim credit for them.”

The hall fell silent instantly; you could hear a pin drop.

The senior officials exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes scanning Li Huan with suspicion and uncertainty.

"Oh?" Emperor Chongzhao raised his thick eyebrows slightly, walked to the imperial desk, looked down at his kneeling son, and his eyes showed even more probing intent.

"Then... who is the one who offered this advice? With such extraordinary talent, why not summon him to the palace to serve the court?"

Li Huan raised his head, his gaze calm, and spoke each word with perfect clarity.

"The one who offered the advice is no ordinary person; she now lives a secluded life in the mountains, seeking no empty fame. Your son dares to suggest that once the predicament in the Western Frontier is resolved and the nation is out of danger, I will return to Your Majesty to petition for her credit. At that time, I beseech Your Majesty to remember her contributions to the nation and bestow upon her a generous reward to commemorate her virtue!"

"Good!" The emperor's voice suddenly rose, filled with a cheerful and enlightened laugh.

"Preach my will!"

He turned, his dragon robe billowing, stirring up a cool breeze. "Prince Duan, Li Huan, is hereby given full authority to oversee the work-for-relief program. The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue must cooperate fully and without fail! The ice sled designs are to be immediately sent to the armories of the western frontier prefectures, and skilled craftsmen are to be ordered to work day and night to produce them..."

"All the embezzled silver and grain involved will be used, in accordance with the policy, for the stabilization granaries and the benefit pharmacies!"

"Order the Imperial Medical Academy to prepare the medicine according to the prescription and transport it to the front lines and areas where refugees gather as quickly as possible!"

"Order the Ministry of War to select elite assassins and hunters familiar with the terrain of the Western Frontier, and at all costs, infiltrate Black Wind Pass to meet the Crown Prince!"

A series of imperial edicts, like thunderclaps, flew out of the Zichen Palace, shaking the capital city where people were filled with fear.

The following day, thousands of refugees gathered outside Anhua Gate.

They were emaciated, their bodies wrapped in patched-up cotton-padded coats, their eyes empty and numb. They surged toward the city gate like a tide, the air thick with despair and a sour smell.

However, when the imperial edict posted on the city gate was read aloud, and the decree of "exchanging labor for grain and granting land after the war" was read out, along with buckets of fragrant and thick hot porridge being carried out of the city gate, a long-lost, faint but real glimmer of hope was rekindled in those murky eyes.

"The imperial court...the imperial court hasn't forgotten us!"

"There's a way out! There's a way out!"

"Long live your majesty!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as if they had survived a disaster.

Many people knelt down excitedly and kowtowed in the direction of the imperial city.

Li Huan personally sat on the city tower, the cold wind whipping up his cloak, making it flutter like waves.

He looked down at the surging crowd below, and his tightly pursed lips finally relaxed slightly.

"Open the warehouse. Register the workers. Assign laborers!"

"We must ensure that the strong have the strength to contribute, the weak have porridge to eat, and that everyone is content with their lot."

The biting wind, whistling low, carried fragments of the notice and people's faint hopes, across this land long burdened by suffering, towards the quiet and secluded Shuiyue Temple, and also towards the distant western frontier...
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Western Xinjiang, Heifengkou.

Thick icicles formed on the steep rock face, like inverted sharp blades.

The biting wind howled through the canyon, whipping up the snow and lashing against the soldiers' frozen faces.

This place is a true hell on earth.

Li Zhao had his back to a frozen rock, his skin and flesh frozen to the armor plates beneath his black armor, and every breath he took was accompanied by a tearing pain.

The faint campfire had been extinguished for days, leaving only a few charred horse bones and cold ashes.

Guan Ya, leaning on a broken, chipped sword and dragging a frostbitten leg, trudged over.

"Your Highness, the medicine for wounds is running out, and the arrows... are almost gone too. The scouts report that Ashina's wolf cubs have gathered again at the mountain pass, and it looks like... they're about to surround us again..."

Yuan Cang slammed his frozen fist against the rock wall, sending ice shards cascading down.

He seemed oblivious to the pain, filled only with grief and indignation.

"You sons of bitches! I'll fight them to the death!"

The 30,000-strong army withstood the repeated attacks of Ashina's 100,000 iron cavalry, building this defensive line with their blood and flesh.

However, after a fierce war of attrition, only a little over 10,000 people remain, most of whom are wounded, pale-faced, and barely breathing.

Their military rations had run out half a month ago. They had gnawed on tree roots, chewed on animal hides, and cooked and ate horses that had died in battle.

Some even secretly scraped moss and soil from under the ice layer on the rock face to stave off hunger.

Despair spread like a plague.

(End of this chapter)