Jiuxi

Chapter 806 804 [The crime is mine]

The ninth day of the third month in the second year of Dingzheng in the Great Qi Dynasty.

According to the calendar, peach trees are beginning to bloom.

At three quarters past three in the morning, Lu Chen slowly woke up from his sleep.

Bright candles were already lit in many places in the mansion. The personal soldiers living in the east wing were packing up, while the steward of the mansion prepared enough white flour buns, rice porridge and side dishes for these burly men.

This Duke's Mansion was the marquis' mansion bestowed by the late emperor. Lu Chen did not live here for a long time, so he did not decorate it specially, but just changed the plaque on the gate tower.

If nothing unexpected happens, the plaque will have to be changed again after today.

The old housekeeper Chen Shu seemed very excited. He was still running around at his age. Lu Chen couldn't help but laugh and said, "Uncle Chen, I'm not getting married, why are you making such a fuss?"

"Sir, you can't say that."

Chen Shu stopped and said with emotion: "Our Lu family is going to have a duke! It's a pity that the master is not here today, otherwise he would definitely be happier than me."

Lu Chen put down his bowl and chopsticks, stood up and said to the loyal old butler: "The title has not been decided yet, you should ask the people at home to calm down and not make others laugh at you."

"Don't worry, sir. I understand."

Chen Shu agreed with a smile.

Lu Chen then walked out.

After getting on the carriage, more than thirty guards, led by Qin Zilong, followed in front and behind, walking in the deep night, heading towards the direction of the imperial palace in the south.

About a quarter of an hour later, the carriage stopped outside the square of Henan Gate.

Many officials had already arrived at the square, standing in groups of three or four.

Lu Chen got off the carriage without paying too much attention to the gazes cast at him. He walked straight to the south side of the square and came to the area where the military heroes were.

"Meet the Lord."

In addition to Xiao Wangzhi, Zhang Xu, Chen Lanyu, Li Jingda, Tang Yong and others all bowed in greeting.

Lu Chen returned the gifts one by one. This time he did not cause trouble for Chen Lanyu again. After all, the other party had not done anything openly that would anger God and people. The previous questioning outside the capital was enough. Lu Chen could not go too far.

"You're in good spirits."

Xiao Wangzhi looked at him with a smile.

Lu Chen came to stand beside him and whispered, "He fell asleep at the beginning of the evening last night."

Xiao Wangzhi nodded slightly and said meaningfully: "It seems that we are ready to deal with today's grand court meeting."

Lu Chen was calm and asked, "Uncle Xiao, do you think there will be any unexpected situation today?"

This was certainly not the first time they had met.

Five days ago, Lu Chen had a not-so-intense argument with the emperor in the palace. He then spent a day making some arrangements, and then went to the Rongguo Mansion to visit Xiao Wangzhi the day before.

He trusted Xiao Wangzhi very much and naturally would not hide his dispute with the emperor, so Xiao Wangzhi's words at today's grand court meeting were meaningful.

Xiao Wangzhi stood side by side with him, looking up slightly at the majestic palace, and said softly: "It won't be that peaceful, but it won't be directed at you. Our Majesty can at least do a good job on the surface."

From this sentence, it can be seen that Xiao Wangzhi's dissatisfaction with Li Zongben is already obvious.

There may be saints in this world, but there can never be a famous general who commands thousands of troops and kills countless people.

Before entering the capital, Xiao Wangzhi could not have much trust in the court because of Yang Guangyuan's unjust death. This was also the case when the previous emperor was alive. This is the most fundamental difference between him and Li Tianrun.

After entering the capital, although he was nominally a duke and in charge of the Military Academy, in reality, Xiao Wangzhi's situation was very difficult because he was excluded and sidelined by Li Zongben, Zhang Xu, Han Zhongjie, Chen Lanyu and others. It was not until the defeat at Kaocheng and Lu Chen's military power as the governor of the three states in Jiangbei that his situation improved.

Even a clay man can have some temper, let alone a veteran like Xiao Wangzhi who has spent his entire life in the military. He only silently endured the grievances for the sake of the overall situation.

Just as Lu Chen was about to respond, he heard a few clear whip sounds in the distance, followed by the heavy palace gate slowly opening.

At that time, the sky was gradually getting brighter.

As the Fengyi Censor's voice sounded, civil and military officials entered the palace according to their ranks.

The military heroes were led by Xiao Wangzhi, followed by Lu Chen, and then Zhang Xu, Chen Lanyu, Li Jingda and others.

The civil officials were headed by the Left Prime Minister Xue Nanting, followed by the Minister of Personnel and Hanlin Academician Li Shizhi.

Lu Chen looked to the left calmly, his eyes fell on Li Shizhi's face, and saw that this favorite of the emperor looked straight ahead and had a proper appearance.

Just at this moment, the Left Prime Minister Xue Nanting suddenly turned his head and glanced at Lu Chen.

This look is very complicated and difficult to describe in words.

Lu Chen was slightly surprised. Although he and Xue Nanting were not close friends, he had a relationship with the old doctor Xue, so he knew the character of the left prime minister very well. Why could he see some guilt in Xue Nanting's eyes?
Before he could think about it, Xue Nanting had turned around, and all the officials walked towards the Duancheng Hall in front without stopping.

The grand music started, the emperor arrived, and all the ministers performed the ceremony as usual.

After a set of procedures, the hall returned to silence.

Li Zongben sat high on the dragon throne, looking around at the ministers below, without deliberately stopping at anyone's face, and said slowly: "My dear ministers, the situation in Jiangbei is now stable, and the Jing bandits dare not covet our borders. The war is temporarily over. For the soldiers who have made contributions in the war, I have ordered the Military Academy to formulate a reward charter, which will be gradually implemented in the next two months. At this point, we can make a summary of the war from the winter of the previous year to the summer of last year."

This opening remark puzzled many officials in the hall.

Isn't that battle over?

All the meritorious men were rewarded, except for Lu Chen, the Duke of Shanyang, who was the commander-in-chief. However, Lu Chen will definitely be rewarded at today's grand court meeting. In addition, those who made mistakes, such as Han Zhongjie, were also held accountable. Logically speaking, this is the end of the matter.

Li Zongben took in the reactions of his officials and continued, "This battle was divided into two phases. The first half was when our army marched northward and was defeated at Kaocheng. The second half was when Lu Qingjia was ordered to turn the tide and won the Yaoshan Pass, Taikang Pass, and Feiniao Pass. Although our army won the battle, the losses in the first half cannot be ignored. I have thought over and over again that the reason why we suffered a great defeat at Kaocheng and lost 50,000 elite soldiers in one battle was entirely because I misjudged the situation and launched the Northern Expedition too hastily."

When these words came out, the ministers were panicked, and some could not help but shout loudly: "Why did your Majesty say that?"

Li Zongben lowered his eyelids and said with guilt: "In the defeat of Kaocheng, 50,000 Daqi men died on the battlefield. Later, the defense line of Jingzhou was trampled back and forth by the enemy. Fourteen cities fell into the hands of the enemy army. Countless Daqi people were ravaged. How can I feel guiltless? Therefore, I decided to issue an edict of repentance and inform all the prefectures in the south and north of the Yangtze River."

The ministers were not unfamiliar with the words "reproach edict", but they were still shocked, because before the court moved south, Chengzong, who had made the people of the Great Qi live in misery and Li Zongben's grandfather, had never thought of issuing the next reproach edict.

Li Zongben did not give his ministers a chance to dissuade him. He then looked at Yuan Yuji who was standing solemnly on the side. The latter then walked to the imperial steps, spread out the imperial edict and read aloud.

"I am a man of great virtue, and I have inherited the throne. I wish to renew the world and restore the old ways of our ancestors. Unexpectedly, I relied on the wrong people, which led to the rampage of the Jingluo people..."

Yuan Yuji's voice echoed in the hall, and most of the court officials had solemn expressions on their faces.

Left Prime Minister Xue Nanting and Minister of Personnel Li Shizhi were relatively calm, not only because of their positions, but also because they knew in advance that this edict of apology would appear.

A few days ago, the two of them entered the palace together, and Li Shizhi put forward several suggestions, and the edict of repentance was one of them.

"I think of the people of Jingzhou who have suffered this disaster. Their houses may be burned to ashes, their fields may lose their plows and hoes, the old and the young may suffer from the disaster of losing their houses, and the young and the strong may suffer from the pain of being tied up..."

Yuan Yuji continued to read in a very steady tone.

The focus of this edict of remorse is on the first half of the battle. It is Li Zongben's summary and reflection on the hasty Northern Expedition, the defeat in Kaocheng, and the critical situation of Jingzhou.

At this time, many ministers suddenly remembered the memorial that had been secretly circulated not long ago.

It was written by Lu Chen, Duke of Shanyang County.

Even though some people suspected that this earnest memorial was not written by Lu Chen himself, it was not important at all. The key point was that the emperor actually turned a blind eye to such sincere advice from the commander of the border army, which would inevitably cause controversy in the court and the country.

Now that this equally heartfelt edict of repentance has been issued, it can at least appease the hearts of the people of Da Qi.

"As I govern the country, I naturally make many mistakes. But if I listen to advice, I will know my mistakes. I always think I am smart and fail to listen to advice. As the ancients said, a good merchant hides his wealth while appearing to be poor, and a gentleman of great virtue appears to be foolish. I have completely violated this saying, and this is my fault."

"I am deeply ashamed!"

At the end of the edict of self-criticism, Li Zongben admitted that he did not accept the advice of some ministers such as Xue Nanting, Lu Chen and Xu Zuo, which led to a big mistake.

Yuan Yuji put away the imperial edict and stepped back respectfully.

The whole hall was silent, and all the ministers were solemn.

They looked at the emperor sitting on the dragon throne. No matter what they thought in their hearts, at least there was respect on their faces.

As subjects, they certainly could not say foolish words like “Your Majesty is a good emperor if he admits his mistakes and corrects them.” So, under the leadership of the Left Prime Minister Xue Nanting, a round of praises rang out in the hall.

"Your Majesty is wise! This is a blessing for the Great Qi!"

Lu Chen was also among the crowd of people praising him, but he did not stand out.

When Li Zongben just said the edict of repentance, he remembered that day in the imperial garden of the palace. He told Li Zongben why he did not agree to reinstate Han Zhongjie. It had nothing to do with the power struggle in the court, but because he could not let those innocent soldiers die with grievances.

Of course, it is impossible that Li Zongben issued this edict of repentance just to respond to Lu Chen, but there was at least some intention behind it.

Lu Chen stood up, raised his eyes slightly, and happened to meet Li Zongben's gaze.

The emperor and his minister made eye contact, and because the distance was not far, Lu Chen could barely see the emperor's expression.

Li Zongben looked calm, and it was obvious that this edict of repentance was not done against his will.

The next moment, Li Zongben said: "Fortunately, the country has good generals who can protect the country. This is the blessing of Da Qi. Lu Chen."

"The minister is here."

Lu Chen stepped out of the classroom and bowed.

(End of this chapter)