After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Southeast corner of the Meridian Gate.

Inside the East Pavilion, which serves as the Cabinet Office, dim lights flickered.

"The Tusi of Guizhou..."

"The An family of Shuixi..."

Gao Congzhe unfolded the urgent report in his hand, his heart skipped a beat, his face went blank, and he remained stunned for a long time.

Suddenly, a long-lost look of confusion and struggle appeared in his eyes.

Inside the East Pavilion, the Imperial Secretary and several clerks clearly noticed that something was wrong with the Grand Secretary. They all looked up from their desks, exchanging bewildered glances, wondering what was wrong with Grand Secretary Gao.

The eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, who was waiting to the side, called out softly:

"Grand Secretary Gao."

Gao Congzhe snapped out of his reverie, paused for a moment, closed the memorial, and said:

"Go and invite Grand Secretary Li, Minister of War Luan, and Vice Minister Yang to come and discuss matters."

It was too late, and Prime Minister Qin was too old to invite him.

Your Majesty is pregnant, and it is not appropriate to announce this at this time.

The Emperor Emeritus is far away in Fuzhou, and even if he were here, I'm afraid his health wouldn't be able to withstand it.

The eunuch asked, "Does Your Excellency have something urgent to discuss?"

Gao Congzhe shook his head:

"It's nothing important. Minister Luan should still be in office. There's no need for a big fuss when he invites these officials."

The calmer the scene, the more the eunuch's heart sank. He stopped asking questions and quickly nodded.

He immediately had to leave to arrange various matters.

But then Gao Congfu said softly again:

"The messenger who will deliver the message in the future shall be detained in the East Pavilion. Arrange a room for him and do not let him leave the palace."

The eunuch's pupils contracted slightly, and he nodded after a couple of breaths.

"Don't worry, Grand Secretary Gao."

After the eunuch left, Gao Congzhe looked at Gong Ding'an, the secretary of the Grand Secretariat, and the three clerks on duty in the inner cabinet, and said in a deep voice:

"Before the esteemed officials arrive, you should quickly go and fetch the map of Guizhou and the official documents of the various chieftains of Guizhou. Also, fetch the map of Sichuan."

The three clerks quickly got up and left respectfully.

Gong Ding'an was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the eighth year of the Tianqi reign. Although he was not a first-class graduate, he still entered the Hanlin Academy as a Shujishi (probationary official). After the new emperor ascended the throne, he was promoted to Zhongshu Sheren (secretary of the Imperial Secretariat).

Feeling uneasy, the young official, destined for a meteoric rise in rank, bowed and asked a question:

"Your Excellency, but... but Nian Gengyao has already arrived in Sichuan?"

Therefore, they wish to send aid from Guizhou?

Thinking of Nian Gengyao… Gao Congzhe sighed inwardly and shook his head, saying:

"No need to ask any more questions, just go and take care of your business."

Gong Ding'an responded and left.

Gao Congzhe placed his hand on the urgent memorial sent by the governor of Guizhou, his eyes slightly grave.

The southwest region has never been peaceful.

Each of the chieftains was more unruly than the last.

The An clan of Shuixi had rebelled against the Great Liang as early as the Ming Kai era. Emperor Kai of Ming sent Zhu Xieyuan to Guizhou to oversee the military affairs of five provinces. It took several years before he finally killed the ringleader An Bangyan and quelled the rebellion.

However, An Bangyan was from a collateral branch of the An clan and had usurped the throne and rebelled. As soon as he was killed in battle, the main branch of the An clan immediately surrendered.

At that time, the Northern Dynasty was besieging Liaodong. In order to quell the war as soon as possible, Zhu Xieyuan allowed the poison of the An family to linger to this day.

Huff... Gao Congzhe took a deep breath, his right hand resting on the table unconsciously clenching into a fist.

Just as the Northern Dynasty was advancing south, unexpectedly, the An family... would rebel at this time!

The memorial only mentioned the An clan's rebellion and did not mention other chieftains.

Although these chieftains sometimes fought over territory, they might not be afraid to respond if someone took the lead!

Gao Congzhe narrowed his eyes slightly.

What chilled him even more was that, according to the timeline, the An family should have established themselves as kings in Dafang County at the end of April and begun to consolidate the territory of the prefecture, eyeing Guiyang and making Guiyang feel as if it were facing a formidable enemy.

At that time, the Northern Dynasty had not yet declared war.

"In other words, the An family..."

Gao Congzhe lightly tapped his fist on the table.

"They might be colluding with the Northern Dynasty! They might even have agreed on a time to send troops!"

Maps and some documents were delivered one after another.

Gao Congzhe's breathing gradually became heavy.

The area occupied by the An family bordered Gulin in Sichuan. Back then, She Chongming, the chieftain of Yongning in Sichuan, who started a rebellion with An Bangyan, even sent troops to capture many important towns such as Chongqing and Luzhou, and besieged Chengdu.

If the An family were to invade Sichuan again this time...

Gao Congzhe felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and a chill ran through his body.

At that time, Sichuan will be beset by Nian Gengyao from the outside and the Shuixi rebels from the inside...

After a short while, the invited high-ranking officials arrived one after another by carriage.

Gao Congzhe drove all the clerks out of the East Pavilion, intending to discuss this extremely urgent matter privately with a few people to avoid disrupting the morale of the Nanjing army.

But then a eunuch came to report, "Zhang Qi, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, requests an audience with you gentlemen."

Just after the announcement,

Zhang Qi walked directly into the East Pavilion, followed by the East Pavilion eunuch who had been ordered by Gao Congzhe to invite a group of important officials late at night.

Gao Congzhe's heart sank.

It must have been this person who secretly told Zhang Qi.

"Grand Secretary Gao, esteemed officials," Zhang Qi nodded and said, "His Majesty has summoned you all to the Qianqing Palace for a meeting. The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has prepared tables, tea, and refreshments. We kindly request that you make your way there."

Luan Zongyuan frowned: "Does Eunuch Zhang know what this is about?"

Zhang Qi smiled slightly and looked at Gao Congzhe: "You'll have to ask Lord Gao about that."

He didn't know what it was about either.

At this time of year, let alone such an important place as the Grand Secretariat, he must inform His Majesty of even the slightest disturbance in Nanjing.

Otherwise, who would know who was secretly exchanging information in a small room at night?

the next day,

The city of Nanjing was thus opened to the Tartars.

Gao Congzhe sighed: "It is my fault for disturbing Your Majesty's rest."

Zhang Qi advised, "My lord, there is no need for such formality. His Majesty is wise and decisive. You may simply tell His Majesty what is on your mind."

Although Zhang Qi had prepared for the worst, such as hearing the news that Jiangpu City had fallen.

But to his utter surprise, the news that Gao Congzhe had suppressed was far more dangerous than he had anticipated!

The chieftains of Guizhou... have rebelled?

Zhang Qie was able to climb step by step to the position of Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, so he naturally knew that this was not a simple rebellion.

With the local chieftains, deeply entrenched in Guizhou, rebelling, the Guizhou governor alone would likely be unable to suppress the rebellion. If Guizhou descends into chaos, Sichuan and Huguang will be in real danger!

……

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Luan Zongyuan, his eyes bloodshot, stood up, swept his gaze across the crowd, and gritted his teeth, saying:

"In my opinion, the only option is to have the Sichuan Governor Ming Zhonghou and the Huguang Governor Gu Xichuan each send an army south to contain the Shui'an clan in Guizhou. We don't need to defeat them, just defend the pass."

He shouted:

"We must quickly recruit a new army and rush to quell the rebellion..."

The empress at the head of the table slowly shook her head:

"If we recruit soldiers... it will be too late..."

……

……

The next morning.

Yang Zhiyu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, along with several eunuchs and commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, arrived with an imperial edict bestowing upon Gu Xichuan the title of Governor-General of Guizhou, ordering him to oversee the two provinces of Huguang and Guizhou.

There was also an imperial edict that allowed Gu Xichuan and Marquis Mingzhong to recruit soldiers and gather provisions on the spot, which was hastily sent out of Nanjing.

The group traveled westward.