Chang'an is good

What spread back to the capital from Jiangnan was not just the good news of the recovery of the three states.

Only a few days later, another urgent report came back from Runzhou - a fisherman was killed along the East China Sea. General Chang often led people to investigate and concluded that it was Japanese pirates.

This report made all the officials in the court furious.

In the past ten years or so, Japanese pirates have rarely caused trouble. Now, at such a juncture, the sudden killing of fishermen by Japanese pirates is definitely not an accident. Most likely, as the urgent report said, this must be a path-finding move by the Japanese army. !
After the spies, there must be ambitious Japanese soldiers!

"...The Japanese have always been shameless, but they want to take advantage of this opportunity to offend me!"

"I think back then, His Royal Highness the Prince led an army to repel the Japanese pirates, and beat them on the East China Sea until they paid tribute and begged for mercy! Now these Japanese pirates have healed their scars and forgotten the pain, and they dare to overestimate their own capabilities and try to covet them!"

"..."

Listening to the disdainful or angry words from those officials, Wei Shuyi raised his eyebrows slightly.

Like Wei Shuyi, more officials were silent for a while and their expressions were not optimistic.

The past glory has long been countless, and the fact before us now is that the Jiangnan and Donghai areas are exhausted and weak, at the time of post-war chaos, but those Japanese soldiers who have been recuperating for more than ten years must be well prepared.

Soon a minister came forward to state the facts and interests.

"...Your Majesty, the Japanese army has always been cunning and vicious, so this matter must not be treated carelessly!"

"Please ask the sage to order Runzhou, Yangzhou and Chuzhou to respond early, and order Huainan Road to fight against the Japanese pirates!"

"You can't resist Japanese pirates just by talking!" A military attache frowned and said: "In places like Runzhou and Yangzhou, everyone from officials to common people was bloodbathed by Xu Zhengye. The civil strife was not settled at all, and most of the official positions were vacant. , the military affairs are in a mess, how can we talk about resisting Japanese pirates?"

Didn’t the Japanese pirates just spot this empty opportunity and dare to attack now?

The military attache said: "It won't work on their own. The imperial court must take charge of the overall situation as soon as possible!"

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the top priority is to select a usable anti-Japanese commander and clean up the defense of the East China Sea as soon as possible!"

The Holy Emperor looked at the military officers who spoke one after another: "In this case, do you have any candidates?"

These days, due to frequent wars, many generals, large and small, have been promoted from various places.

But fighting against Japanese aggression on the water is different from other wars, and not everyone can do it.

Listening to the recommended candidates, the Holy Emperor has yet to express his position.

Wei Shuyi tried to speak: "In terms of experience in fighting against Japanese invaders, General Chang Da, who once accompanied His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to defeat Japanese pirates, is the best candidate to serve as the head coach this time. Why should we sacrifice the near and seek the distant?"

The military attaché who spoke first was somewhat familiar with Chang Kuo, and he sighed at this moment: "Shilang Wei doesn't know something. General Chang has an old ailment in his legs that worries him the most about the cold and wet, and he may not be able to support fighting at sea for a long time."

Anyone who has fought in a naval battle knows that once a ship goes to sea, people have to float on the sea all the time. Moreover, the Japanese pirates are extremely cunning, and it is impossible to completely drive them away in a short period of time.

A civil servant frowned: "Japanese pirates are currently a matter of national security. How can personal injuries and losses be an obstacle worth mentioning?"

The military attache sneered: "Then if General Chang makes a mistake in the middle of the battle and the morale of the army is weakened, can Mr. Zhu bear the consequences?"

The two sides exchanged words with each other and were about to start fighting when suddenly a servant came into the palace to report that the imperial envoys and supervisors who had been ordered to go to Jiangnan this time had turned back and were now asking for an audience outside the palace.

The Holy Emperor announced the people in.

The military eunuch entered the palace and saluted.

Historically, the eunuch who oversees the army is responsible for monitoring the progress of the war. When the war is over, the eunuch oversees the army's return.

At this time, the eunuch who was supervising the army brought back the latest urgent report about the Japanese pirates - outside Runzhou, on the East China Sea, traces of the Japanese pirate army had been detected, and they were approaching with great force and had already passed Tamna.

The officials' expressions changed upon hearing this... As expected!
An official was surprised and said: "It has already passed Tamluo... Then why don't you retaliate for Tamluo?"

Tamna Island has always been a vassal state of Dasheng.

"Don't talk about Xiao Xiaodan Luo..." Ma Xingzhou said in a cold tone: "Japan is so powerful that it cannot be silent. There is only a strait between Dongluo and Japan, so they are also silent, right? ?”

Dongluo is an ally of Dasheng, and the two sides have always maintained friendly exchanges. Xi Zhiyuan, who was educated in the Imperial College before, is a native of Dongluo.

"Dongluo actually knew it but refused to report it!"

"Sure enough... people who are not of my race must have different minds!"

Underneath the sound of crusade, there is a frightening undercurrent. The Japanese invaded, but Dongluo did not report... This means that Dasheng has lost control of the entire East China Sea and Yellow Sea waters.

Some officials suggested that Dong Luo should be questioned, and the majesty of the great country must not be lost.

Under the mingling of voices, the Holy Emperor looked at the supervisor who reported the report and asked: "Now that the movements of the Japanese army have been detected, does General Chang have any suggestions or good strategies?"

"General Chang didn't say much and only asked the servant to report the truth to the Holy One." The supervisor hesitated for a moment before saying, "But General Ning Yuan has something to say and wants to seek the Holy One's consent..."

Wei Shuyi heard this and looked at the supervisor who was speaking.

Usually when he was brought to court, he always choked a few words, but today, Taifu Chu, who had never said a word, just concentrated for a moment after hearing the words.

After receiving the permission from the Holy Emperor, the eunuch who oversaw the army continued: "General Ning Yuan said, at the moment of the Japanese invasion, she is willing to stay in Jiangdu with General Chang to lead the army to repel the Japanese invaders to protect Dasheng's territory and sea. !”

Mr. Chu's eyebrows twitched, oh, he's definitely not coming back.

When all the officials heard the offer of invitation, they all had different thoughts.

General Ningyuan had just made a great contribution, and he was supposed to return to Beijing with his father Chang Kuo to receive the reward. Chang Kuo could have refused the fight against the Japanese on the grounds of old illness...

Although no one said it, everyone present knew that fighting Japanese pirates was time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the sea was always more dangerous, and given the current situation, even from a war perspective, it was really not a good job.

This General Ning Yuan is really young and energetic. When encountering any battle, she wants to come forward and fight. Judging from his past style, this act of taking the initiative to ask for military service at this moment gives people the impression of "Ah, here is There are rebels, let me fight them. Hey, there are Japanese pirates here. I haven’t fought them before, so I’ll give them a try." He felt like a newborn calf jumping around.

This competitive spirit makes it difficult to evaluate, but this person's ability, judging from the Bianshui battle, although it must be exaggerated, there should be some ability...

Since there is currently no better candidate for this hard job, a minister tried to say: "Your Majesty, this proposal is not a bad idea... Although General Ning Yuan is young and lacks experience, having General Chang by his side can just make up for his shortcomings."

Several people echoed.The Holy Emperor was noncommittal and still asked the eunuch: "Besides, what else did General Ning Yuan say?"

Wei Shuyi is also waiting.

The military eunuch looked hesitant when she just answered. If she had just asked for an order to resist the Japanese, such a commendable thing would never have caused this eunuch to react like this.

really--

"Yes..." The eunuch lowered his head and said, "Before I left this time, your Majesty had told me that after I saw General Ning Yuan, I asked you on your behalf whether General Ning Yuan had any intention of achieving such great achievements. If the reward you want is not available for the time being, you can think about it carefully first, and you can explain it to His Majesty in person when you return to Beijing to receive the reward the next day——"

Asking meritorious ministers what kind of rewards they want is a manifestation of the emperor's love and respect for meritorious ministers, which has always been not uncommon.

But as a meritorious official, when faced with such inquiries, most of them would only make some symbolic requests that are not important, or say "I dare not invite rewards for things that are within my scope of duties."

But seeing the demeanor of the military eunuch at this moment, most of the officials were vaguely aware that something was wrong, and their instincts told them that they might hear something unusual coming next——

This military eunuch first met Chang Sui Ning in Runzhou.

At that time, the three states were all at peace. Facing this greatest hero, he was naturally respectful and flattering in every possible way. Naturally, he said what the emperor wanted him to convey.

In the eyes of the eunuch who oversees the army, the so-called "General, does he have the reward he wants?" is actually not a true question, but a message of great pleasure from the emperor.

At that time, the girl in armor nodded to him and said - [Thank you, father-in-law, I will think about it carefully. 】

Faced with these kind words, the eunuch of the Supervisory Army smiled and nodded. Up to that time, everything was still normal.

But what he didn't expect was...she really wanted to.

And it can be seen that she really thought about it "very carefully".

"Before Nu Lin returned to the capital, General Ning Yuan asked Nu to take a message..."

The eunuch of the Supervisory Army tried his best to speak in a normal tone: "General Ning Yuan said that the fight against the Japanese was not achieved in a day, and she might not be able to return to Beijing to receive the reward within a year or two... and to facilitate the coordination of the follow-up anti-Japanese affairs. And thinking, therefore, boldly wanted to ask the saint for an official position..."

There were already faint discussions everywhere, and the Holy Emperor asked calmly: "So, does she have the official position she wants?"

"General Ning Yuan said..." The eunuch who oversees the army said in a low voice: "She should be qualified for the post of governor of Jiangdu, Yangzhou."

The Holy Book Emperor's eyes moved slightly.

Those low voices of discussion exploded in an instant.

——The governor of Jiangdu!
——She can do it?

What a big breath!
He just took the initiative to seek an official position, but what he wanted was the position of governor, and the crucial governor of Jiangdu!

I don’t know whether she is young and naive and does not know the depth of things, or is she relying on this youth and naivety to carry out grand schemes in a grand manner?
How many serious officials have been in office for most of their lives, but they still can't get to the position of governor!
Listening to those comments that were either shocked or angry, the Holy Emperor said slowly: "Even if I don't mention the merits of praying, I have indeed promised before that whoever can take the head of Xu Zhengye will be awarded the third rank of official -"

The governor of a state is a third-grade official.

It was obvious that this request had been seriously considered and no opportunity was wasted.

Immediately, an official came out and said: "A saint should be rewarded based on his merits. Of course he deserves it! But the position of Jiangdu governor is very important. Besides, in our great dynasty, there has never been a precedent for a woman to be the governor!"

What's more, this woman is only 17 years old!
"There is no precedent for the achievements she has made as a woman! Counting back, there are precedents for people with such merit as her, who have been promoted from a ninth-grade official to a high-ranking military governor in a few months - —" Taifu Chu snorted coldly: "When it was time to perform meritorious service, we did not follow precedents. When it was our turn to give rewards, we used the precedents of men and women to talk about matters. We opened our mouths and shut up to deny them because we were women. Such sarcastic remarks are actually made laughable by everyone. !”

The civil servant's face froze when he heard this, but he became even more jealous by accident.

"I never expected that now that the Xu thief is dead, the acid thief is hard to get rid of." Taifu Chu looked at those who spoke against him and sneered: "The acid thief should not be underestimated. Over time, his sarcastic words and sour water will be used. Corrupting the pillars of the dynasty is also the foundation of the country!"

The officials who were dubbed "sour thieves" had different expressions for a while.

Because many of the old master's quotations were written down by some casual people, and then compiled into a book and circulated, most people did not want their names to appear in that book, and they were scolded——

However, political disputes cannot be retreated from this trivial matter. It is just that when they are defeated, they inevitably choose to change their tactics——

"The Taifu's words are reasonable. This matter should not be discussed in terms of men and women." Someone chose to say in a roundabout way: "It is of great significance to only discuss the governor of one state... At present, the position of Jiangdu governor is vacant. When it comes to qualifications and abilities, Isn't there anyone else more qualified?"

How could this important position in the world be like a piece of cabbage carried in an old farmer's basket? Why should she be allowed to choose it at will?

"This is exactly the reason... the position of Jiangdu governor is not just based on military merit. If you want to properly manage the affairs of a state, you must have qualifications."

"That's right, General Ning Yuan's qualifications are too young..."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Chu did not rush to refute, but said: "This is true. In terms of qualifications, she is indeed not as good as a bird outside this hall -"

Immediately afterwards, he went to ask the eunuch who was overseeing the army: "General Ning Yuan claimed to be qualified, but did she say how she could be qualified? Why can she surpass those who are more qualified than her?"

Her own student knows that if she dares to threaten the position of governor of Jiangdu, there must be some objectionable remarks - judging from experience, no one else can comfortably get what she can't get. .

Seeing that the saint acquiesced in his continued words, the eunuch who oversaw the army said again: "General Ning Yuan said... What Jiangdu needs most at this time is not someone with qualifications, but someone with the ability to defend Jiangdu, and even the entire Jiangnan. Huainan Road, and people from the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea..."

"General Ningyuan said that as long as she is in Jiangdu for one day, she can ensure that no one dares to invade Jiangdu, and that Japanese pirates will never be allowed to step into Dasheng's territory - "

There were faint sneers everywhere - who doesn't know how to speak beautiful lies?

The next moment, the eunuch was heard to say: "General Ning Yuan promised that if she makes a mistake as she said, she will bring her head to see her!"

There was a slight silence.

The eunuch said again: "General Ning Yuan also said that if someone thinks that she can do this and dares to make a promise that Jiangdu will not make any mistakes again, she will never fight and is willing to give in."

There was a moment of stagnation everywhere.

She set up a gambling table... and put her head on it first!
If others want to be on the table, they must put their heads on the table like her!
After Wei Shuyi was stunned, he fell into silence.

Taifu Chu said in a fair and open tone: "In that case, you can recommend me, or you can recommend yourself!"

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