A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

From the perspective of the capital, in the imperial court

Lu Song stepped forward, holding his official tablet.

"Your Majesty, I wish to impeach the Wei family."

The murmurs that had just subsided in the Hall of Supreme Harmony suddenly rose up again.

The old matriarch stood at the head of the officials, leaning on her cane, without even lifting her eyelids.

She knew this old dog couldn't hold back.

When news of Wei Zhao leading his army south reached the capital, it would be strange if Lu Song didn't try to take a bite out of it.

On the dragon throne, Emperor Yuanxi rested his fingers on the armrests, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

"What does Prime Minister Lu intend to impeach the Wei family for?"

Lu Song raised his head, his voice not loud, but loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear clearly.

"Without the imperial decree, the Wei family army arbitrarily mobilized troops from the western border and headed to the south of the Yangtze River."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the old lady.

"May I ask, are all the troops in the realm Your Majesty's troops, or the private army of the Wei family?"

Upon hearing this, many civil officials in the hall immediately straightened their backs.

The term "private army" carries too much weight.

To put it mildly, it's arrogance.

To put it bluntly, it's treason.

The old lady gently tapped her cane with her fingers.

Lu Song, that old bastard, is very good at biting people.

He didn't mention the southern barbarians, the people of Jiangnan, or the fall of Jianmen Pass; he only focused on the phrase "without imperial decree" and attacked it relentlessly.

In the imperial court, rules were observed, and Lu Song laid them out.

The problem is, will the Southern Barbarians wait for the imperial court to slowly issue an edict?

By the time the six ministries jointly reviewed the case, the Ministry of War issued orders, and the Ministry of Revenue allocated grain, the blood on the city walls of Jiangnan had long since dried.

An elderly minister with white hair suddenly stepped out from the ranks.

"Lu Song!"

The voice was old, yet firm.

Everyone looked over and saw Zheng Anshi.

This old man had been retired for many years, and usually just stood and dozed off during court sessions, but today he actually spoke up.

Lu Song's eyelid twitched.

He wasn't afraid of military generals cursing him, nor was he afraid of the old lady standing up for him; what he hated most were these old ministers who were half-buried and had clean reputations.

You can't hit them, and if you scold them harshly, it will make you seem petty.

Zheng Anshi pointed at Lu Song, his hand trembling.

"Jianmen Pass has fallen, the Southern Barbarian elephant cavalry has already marched north, and if Jiangnan falls, the entire Central Plains will be wide open!"

"Instead of thinking about mobilizing troops to rescue Jiangnan, you're here obsessing over whether the Wei family received an official decree?"

He took a step forward, and the veins on his neck bulged out.

"Can you, Lu Song, bear such a sin that will be infamous for ten thousand years?"

Lu Song's smile faded.

Zheng Anshi hasn't stopped yet.

"Do you want His Majesty to be written into history books along with you, to be reviled by future generations?"

No one spoke in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Even the little eunuchs beside the imperial steps lowered their heads.

The old lady closed her eyes.

This old man is a loyal subject, and his heart is truly warm; he's just not good with words.

If you're going to criticize Lu Song, then criticize Lu Song. Why bring up the emperor?

On the dragon throne, Emperor Yuanxi's expression indeed changed.

He didn't care how many people in Jiangnan died, nor whether the gates to the Central Plains were opened.

What he cared about was history.

Later generations cursed them.

These four words were more painful for him than the sight of the southern barbarian elephant cavalry trampling at the gates of the capital.

Emperor Yuanxi slowly put down his teacup. The sound of the porcelain cup hitting the table was very soft, but it made several civil officials shudder.

Lu Song immediately seized this opportunity.

"Lord Zheng has quite the nerve."

He turned to face Zheng Anshi, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Are you saying His Majesty is incompetent and has ruined the country?

Zheng Anshi's face flushed red.

"When did I ever say His Majesty was incompetent?"

"Didn't you say?"

Lu Song took a step forward.

"Then what did you mean when you said you wanted His Majesty to be written into history books for posterity to curse?"

He turned toward the dragon throne, his voice suddenly rising.

"Your Majesty, I believe that Minister Zheng is old and senile, and dares to curse Your Majesty's name under the pretext of the war in Jiangnan. This is utterly presumptuous!"

Zheng Anshi was so angry that his beard trembled.

"Lu Song, you're slandering me!"

"I'm referring to the critical situation in Jiangnan!"

"Is it possible to threaten the court by invoking His Majesty's posthumous reputation when Jiangnan is in danger?"

Lu Song's sneer deepened.

"If the Wei family has mobilized troops without authorization today, can they also enter the capital under the guise of being commoners tomorrow?"

This statement is even more venomous than the one before.

Many people secretly glanced at the emperor.

Emperor Yuanxi remained silent.

But his fingers had already tapped the armrest for the third time.

The old lady sighed softly.

The sound wasn't loud, but it immediately caught Lu Song's attention out of the corner of his eye.

The old lady finally raised her eyes.

She didn't look at Zheng Anshi, nor at the emperor, but stared at Lu Song.

"Prime Minister Lu, there's no need for further words."

The old lady's voice was aged, yet very steady.

"I admit that the Wei family army marched south without waiting for an imperial decree."

The hall fell silent.

Lu Song's eyes lit up.

Admit it?

Once you acknowledge it, things will be much easier.

Just as he was about to speak, the old lady's cane tapped lightly on the ground.

"Because we can't afford to wait."

Five words cut off Lu Song's words.

The old lady took half a step forward.

The beaded curtain hanging from the phoenix crown swayed slightly, but her back remained ramrod straight.

"With the fall of Jianmen Pass, the Southern Barbarian elephant cavalry has already penetrated into the heart of the Great Wei."

"If Jiangnan Prefecture falls, the granary of the Central Plains will be gone."

"If the Central Plains granary is destroyed, the food supplies for all military towns in the north, west, and east will be cut off."

She looked at Lu Song with such cold eyes that the civil officials dared not raise their heads.

"I don't blame you for Lu Xiang's secure position in the capital."

"But the soldiers on the border have experienced hunger and know what it feels like to run out of food."

"The common people who escaped the disaster know what it's like for barbarians to enter the city."

The old lady said, word by word:

"I mobilized the Wei family army on my own initiative in order to defend Jiangnan and protect the people of the Central Plains from being trampled by foreign tribes."

"I admit to this crime."

Inside the hall, a military officer's eyes turned red.

They understand what I'm saying.

Because they had truly experienced hunger and witnessed what it looked like after the city fell.

That wasn't just a few lines of text on a memorial.

Those were corpses in the street, children in the well, and charred granaries.

Lu Song laughed.

He was waiting for the old lady to say, "I admit my guilt."

"The old lady's words are quite nice."

Lu Song slowly turned around and bowed to the emperor.

"For the people, for Jiangnan, for the Great Wei. But who knows if the truth is really like this?"

The old lady didn't even blink.

Lu Song continued:

"The situation in the Western Qiang region has not yet been fully ascertained."

"The Wei family's daughter-in-law, Tuoba Yue, although she claims to be the new queen of Western Qiang, is after all a member of the Western Qiang royal family."

"Who can guarantee she doesn't have ulterior motives?"

"Who can guarantee that the Western Qiang won't rise up again?"

As he got to this point, his speech noticeably quickened.

"Now the Wei family army is not guarding the western border, but instead heading south to Jiangnan. If the Western Qiang rebel, and the western border falls into chaos again, the Southern Barbarians may not be able to win."

He looked up at Emperor Yuanxi.

"Your Majesty, when the western and southern borders collapse simultaneously, how will Great Wei cope?"

That's a harsh statement.

It's not that the Wei family will definitely rebel, but rather that it might.

What the emperor feared most was the possibility of something going wrong.

The old lady knew Emperor Yuanxi all too well.

He wasn't afraid of the fierceness of the foreign tribes, but he was afraid of the strength of the Wei family.

He wasn't afraid of the people dying; he was afraid of being condemned by history.

He wasn't afraid of the perilous situation; he was afraid of someone gaining too much power.

Lu Song had figured this out, which is why he dared to act so unreasonably at this time.

Emperor Yuanxi's expression grew increasingly grim.

"Old Madam".

He spoke.

"What Lu Xiang said is not entirely without reason."

The old lady raised her cane and slammed it heavily onto the gold brick.

"If Your Majesty finds this inappropriate..."

Everyone looked at her.

The old lady's voice was not loud, but it drowned out the noise in the hall.

"I can sign a pledge."

Lu Song's smile froze for a moment.

Emperor Yuanxi's fingers also stopped.

The old lady raised her head, but her old eyes behind the beaded curtain showed no sign of yielding.

"We will surely win this battle."

She spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Within three months, the Southern Barbarians will surely be driven out of the Great Wei."