Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 176 Calm down
The emperor and his minister exchanged several heartfelt words, and seeing that the atmosphere was pleasant, they began to discuss important matters.

"Your Majesty, the rumors circulating in the streets these past few days are truly unbearable. With the Prince of Binyang guarding the city, how could anything possibly happen to Yancheng?"

The speaker was Minister Hu of the Ministry of War. Although he had never served in the army, he had practiced martial arts and, in his youth, harbored great ambitions to lead troops and pacify the realm. And among all the military men in the land, there was none who did not admire the Prince of Binyang. Minister Hu was well aware of the prince's abilities and simply did not believe that Yancheng would be in trouble under his rule. It was precisely because His Majesty valued the Prince of Binyang's capabilities that he entrusted the crucial city of Yancheng to his jurisdiction.

Moreover, in his view, the rumors about Dajing lacking salt were spreading far too fast. In the past, even if a decree was issued, it would take quite some time for the sixty-four prefectures of the empire to become aware of it. But now? The speed was simply too fast. It would be strange if there wasn't something fishy going on!
It was not surprising that Minister Hu would say such a thing, but soon some people disagreed.

"That's not quite right. If nothing really happened in Yancheng, how could these rumors have spread? Besides, the Prince of Binyang hasn't taken any action against the rumors yet. Doesn't that say something?"

"What do you mean by this, Mr. Yun? Are you hoping something bad will happen in Yancheng?!"

“How could I possibly think that way? Minister Hu, I know you have a close relationship with the Prince of Binyang, but this is in front of His Majesty, and it concerns matters of state. Let’s put aside those personal feelings for now.”

"What do you mean by this? What private affair? My relationship with the Prince is genuine. Without the Prince guarding the city, who would feel safe in Yancheng?"

"The achievements of the Prince of Binyang are indeed evident to all, but those past achievements don't prove anything. Doesn't the rampant rumors and gossip prove this point?"

"I think you want to die!"

Minister Hu was forced into silence, especially when he saw his nemesis's smug face. He couldn't control himself and rushed forward to deliver a powerful punch!
"You dare hit me? You think I won't fight back? Come on!"

"Hey, Brother Hu, don't fight! And Brother Yun, let's not fight! We're all old men, what's the point of comparing ourselves to those youngsters? We can't fight, we can't fight! Oh dear, I was just trying to break up the fight, why are you hitting me too?!"

"Brother Wen, please don't interfere. I don't think they would have started fighting even without you..."

"You troublemaker! What did I do? Can't I even try to break up a fight? You think you're the only good person out there?"

Suddenly, the sounds of arguing, fighting, and trying to calm things down filled the Hall of Nourishing Life. Even the elderly Left Chancellor, with his white hair and beard, was trembling as he tried to break up the fight. Emperor Jingtai watched, worried that the old man might be caught in the crossfire.

Seeing that they were making a complete mess of things, Emperor Jingtai slammed his fist on the table.

"Enough! What would it look like if people outside saw this?! You are all high-ranking officials of the first rank, yet you dare to fight in front of me! Do you even respect me?!"

When the emperor was enraged, how could the people below dare to fight? One after another, they all knelt down.

Watching them exchange subtle glares, Emperor Jingtai was too lazy to say anything. Did they think he couldn't see anything? He saw everything perfectly clearly!
It's unclear whether the court officials are too martial, but it's not uncommon for political disagreements to escalate into physical fights in the court. However, it's usually young and inexperienced people who do such things, while it's rare to see older people like them engaging in such brawls.

It was clear that this event had a far more profound impact on everyone than they had imagined. Once everyone had quieted down, Emperor Jingtai recounted the entire situation in Yancheng, especially the salt lakes and wells contaminated with poison. Upon hearing that those salt lakes and wells would be unusable for at least eighty years, everyone frowned.

Their Great Jing currently has only enough salt stored up to feed the entire nation for one year. Even if they tighten their belts and halve their consumption, it won't last three years. What will they do after three years?
Those who showed up at this moment were no fools; they were all thinking the same thing, but they looked at each other and none of them wanted to be the first to step forward.

In the end, it was Emperor Jingtai who made the final decision and directly selected the person.

"Left Prime Minister! Tell me, what should we do now?"

The Left Prime Minister was getting old and had just been forced to watch a full-blown fight. He was feeling a bit weak and was quietly dozing off when His Majesty suddenly called out his name, which startled him.

He was a veteran official of two dynasties and rarely spoke about politics. When he was suddenly called out, he had to think for a while before remembering what he wanted to say.

“Your Majesty, the most important thing now is to quell the rumors. The Prince of Binyang has been stationed in Yancheng for many years. Even if he has not made any great contributions, he has certainly worked hard. Now is not the time to punish him.”

This was essentially saying nothing at all, but fortunately, the court officials were used to the Left Prime Minister's perfunctory answers and didn't pay much attention. Everyone knew that the most important thing now was to quell the rumors, but the problem was that they really didn't have that much salt.

Finally, Minister Hu suddenly blurted out a sentence.

"The northern barbarians and southern Miao must have salt, why don't we go and steal it back?"

“No! The Northern Barbarians are one thing, since we’re at war with them. But the Southern Miao haven’t fought against our Great Jing in recent years. If we rashly send troops, who knows how long the war will last? The people here have suffered enough; can’t we let them have a few years of peace?”

"You make it sound so easy. Everyone knows that you should avoid war if you can avoid it! But the problem is, the people don't have salt to eat, and we can't produce any either. How can this continue?"

In fact, these ministers were well aware of the consequences of continuing in this way. If a rebellion were to break out, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to Emperor Jingtai, the founding emperor?

However, no one dared to mention the worst possible outcome in front of His Majesty. But if they didn't say it, did Emperor Jingtai not know it himself?
He sighed deeply, silencing the ministers' argument.

"This commotion can't go on. Yunhu, forbid the people from discussing anything related to salt. Tell them the court won't let them go without salt. Huqing, investigate the situation in the Southern Miao. If I remember correctly, the Southern Miao discovered a salt lake two years ago, with a considerable yield. If we can trade salt with them, that would be best. If not, prepare for the worst. And Liqing, have your officials review the local gazetteers again! I refuse to believe that the Great Jing, with its vast territory, can't even find a few salt wells!"

Several ministers who had just had a disagreement immediately agreed. In this situation, they needed a pillar like His Majesty. If His Majesty could make a decision amidst the turmoil, they would have nothing to worry about.

Fortunately, His Majesty remained calm and composed at this critical moment.

(End of this chapter)