The Prodigal Son

Imperial City.

Zhao Luan sat on the throne, presiding over the court meeting absentmindedly.

Several days have passed since Lin Gong sent back the battle report.

Logically speaking, detailed battle reports should have been sent back long ago.

But after so much time has passed, apart from Lin Gong's extremely simple battle report, the imperial court has not received a single battle report!

What on earth are they doing?

Could something have happened?

Just as Zhao Luan was secretly worried, she heard Shangguan Youyi softly calling, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Zhao Luan snapped out of her daze and cast an inquiring glance at Shangguan Youyi.

"The Ministry of Revenue has requested the purchase of four million shi of grain from the State of Chu, and the establishment of additional official granaries in Jiangzhou and Lizhou to prepare for unforeseen circumstances!"

Shangguan Youyi reminded him in a low voice.

Zhao Luan pondered for a moment, "Four million shi is too little! Since this spring, many areas in Long, Ju, and Tong prefectures have experienced little rain. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau predicts a severe drought this year. If Chu is willing to sell, ten million shi is acceptable!"

Du Zhiwen's eyelids twitched.

He thought the figure of four million koku was too exaggerated.

As a result, Zhao Luan actually wanted to increase it to ten million shi?

It should be noted that although Ningguo has purchased a large amount of grain from Chuguo every year in recent years, the amount has been kept to around two million shi.

It was precisely because of the lack of rain in many places this year and the possibility of war with Bei Qi that he suggested purchasing four million shi of grain to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.

"Your Majesty, isn't this too much?"

Du Zhiwen frowned. "Purchasing large quantities of grain from Chu will inevitably harm the interests of our people! Moreover, transporting and storing such a large amount of grain will be problematic, and the court doesn't have enough silver to buy so much grain. I still suggest that we limit it to within four million shi..."

"Lord Du is right."

Song Zhuo also chimed in, "Our dynasty has been stockpiling grain for years, and there's still a lot of unsold grain from last year..."

"Just sell the old grain to the Yan state."

Zhao Luan interrupted Song Zhuo.

Song Zhuo's old face twitched slightly, and he was about to speak again when a voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall.

Good news!

"The great victory at Chenzhou..."

As the voice rang out, Song Zhuo and his ministers turned sharply to look at the palace entrance.

Although they all knew that Qin Yu had defeated the enemy army with a water attack, no one knew the specific process and results.

Now that the good news has finally arrived, everyone is eager to know how Qin Yu fought this battle.

Soon, messengers, led by palace guards, entered the main hall.

"Your Majesty, news of victory has arrived from Chenzhou!"

The messenger quickly took the letter tube off his back and carried it up, panting.

Shangguan Youyi immediately stepped forward, took the letter tube, and retrieved the report of victory. Just as he was about to present it to Zhao Luan, Zhao Luan spoke up directly: "Read it!"

"yes!"

Shangguan Youyi quickly opened the report of victory and read it aloud in a clear voice: "Your subject Lin Gong respectfully reports to Your Majesty..."

Qin Yu used the Chenzhou garrison as the main force, setting up defenses in the Shuimoshan and Majiahe areas respectively, and with the cooperation of Shen Jue, lured the enemy into Lianghekou.

On April 24, Qin Yu successfully stalled the enemy army with a feint, forcing them to set up camp at Lianghekou. At midnight that night, he ordered the Baojing Division to breach the dike.

In this battle, the enemy's nearly 60,000 troops were almost completely wiped out, and only a dozen or so soldiers of Da Ning were wounded by prisoners of war.

Preliminary statistics indicate that more than 19,000 people were captured.

According to reliable sources, the bandit leader Fan Bing died of anger after his defeat.

Following Qin Yu's plan, Shen Jue led the more than 6,000 deserters he had gathered and, with the help of experts, successfully recaptured Jin Suo Guan.

On April 28th, they launched an attack on the Nuoli tribe in southern Xinjiang with 8,000 cavalry, 5,000 infantry, and the troops of the Baojing Division. Within two days, they won three battles in a row, the leader of the Nuoli tribe was killed, and all of the Nuoli tribe's territory was incorporated into Daning.

In this battle, Daning suffered over 900 casualties, annihilated 6,000 enemy soldiers, and captured over 3,000 enemy troops.

General Lü Si stood out, not only leading from the front but also killing more than 150 enemy soldiers!

They are currently deploying defenses on the west side of Yanshan Mountain to guard against the Nanheili tribe, which is adjacent to the Nuoli tribe.

In addition, Wu Chi, the commander of the Chenzhou garrison, has led his troops to quell the rebellions in Chongyi and Lingqiu prefectures, and all the officials and local powerful families involved in the rebellion have been imprisoned...

Lin Gong's battle report was very long.

But to everyone else, it sounded very short.

The main problem is that there are still many things that the battle report didn't mention.

For example, how did they fight those three battles against the Nuoli tribe?

Also, how did Lü Si become a thousand-man general?

Is this Lü Si the same Lü Si they know, or just someone with the same name?

However, although everyone was filled with doubts, when Shangguan Youyi finished reading the battle report, the courtiers were still greatly shocked.

Not only did Qin Yu quell the large-scale rebellion in Chenzhou at a very low cost, but he also led his troops to conquer the Nuoli tribe at a very low cost.

This is a feat of territorial expansion!

On his first battlefield, he expanded the territory?

Is the Qin family's ancestral graves smoking?

After a long period of shock, Song Zhuo was the first to excitedly exclaim, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

As Song Zhuo's voice rang out, the courtiers finally realized what was happening.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

The courtiers all shouted in unison.

Lu Chunqiu's voice was particularly clear, as if his voice alone drowned out the voices of everyone else.

At this moment, Lü Chunqiu was so excited that his face turned completely red, as if he were drunk.

However, he is indeed a bit drunk right now!

I felt a little lightheaded!

Lü Si!

That must be his son!

Who cares how they got the claim of killing over 150 people!

This was specifically pointed out by Lin Gong in the battle report!

Lin Gong didn't mention any of the many people who had made contributions, but he specifically pointed out Lü Si's merits!

That's impressive!

That bastard finally managed to save face for once!

With the lady pregnant, even this good-for-nothing has gained face.

Now there's something to look forward to!

Hearing the congratulations from his ministers, Zhao Luan, who had been lost in thought, finally came to his senses and excitedly clenched his fist.

Expanding territory!

This is the first time that Da Ning has expanded its territory since I ascended the throne!

Although the land acquired was small, it was of great significance!

No wonder there haven't been any battle reports from Chenzhou yet; they were preparing a surprise for me!

That bastard Qin Yu really gave me a huge surprise!

"What a great piece of news! All these days of waiting have not been in vain!"

Zhao Luan stood up, his gaze piercing. "This is the first time I have expanded our territory since ascending the throne, but it will certainly not be the last!"

"That is how it should be!"

Song Zhuo raised his arms and shouted.

"That is how it should be!"

The courtiers shouted in unison.

After his initial excitement, Xue Chengdao offered another suggestion: "The newly acquired territory of the court is bound to be rife with chaos! I suggest that the court quickly send 10,000 elite troops to Chenzhou and gather grain to send to Chenzhou. Furthermore, I order Qin Yu and Lin Gong to consolidate the troops locally in order to guard against other forces in the southern border."

"Lord Xue is right!"

Song Zhuo nodded. "I believe that the court should select a site in Chenzhou to build a port. This would facilitate the transport of goods and strengthen the connection between Chenzhou and other places."

After a moment's thought, Lü Chunqiu quickly offered his advice: "The large-scale rebellion in Chenzhou this time has served as a reminder that the people of Chenzhou still need to be educated, and the court's control over Chenzhou is somewhat insufficient. I believe that the court should send capable officials to govern Chenzhou and the newly acquired territories as soon as possible..."

Su Yu: "Chenzhou has suffered from war; the imperial court should provide disaster relief as soon as possible..."

As the high-ranking officials spoke, the courtiers began to offer their opinions.

Overjoyed at the expansion of territory, the officials were more united than ever before, only wanting to restore stability to Chenzhou and the newly acquired lands as soon as possible and prevent any further large-scale rebellions.

Zhao Luan heard this and was secretly pleased, but also had a headache.

Qin Yu has made such a great contribution at such a small cost, how should he be rewarded?

To be granted a title of nobility?

Appointing a general?

Or perhaps, he could be given an official position within the inner palace?