"Are we going to sit back and watch Tokyo fall into enemy hands again? That's the country's capital!" Chen Gui responded angrily. "It shouldn't have been lost during the Jingkang Incident! It's not like I haven't been there before. It's such a big city, with so many soldiers and the treasury full of supplies. It should have been defended!"

"What's the point of talking about the past events of Jingkang now?" Hearing this, Lu Yihao clasped his hands and sighed, and once again stood with Liu Ziyu, his nominal subordinate. "Minister Chen, we all know that you regretted not being able to serve the king that day, and because you were gradually recognized by the world as being good at defending the city and knowing the army, you have always felt regretful. Now you even want to stay and guard Dongjing City in place of the emperor... But most of us have personally experienced the Jingkang Incident, and we feel that the current situation is ten or a hundred times better than during the Jingkang period. At least we don't have to suffer for our superiors, and then be tied up and sent to the Jin camp by subordinates without knowing why."

Chen Gui was slightly startled, and everyone else in the room fell silent.

However, Lu Yihao continued to clasp his hands and sighed: "What happened during the Jingkang period was a time when the country was about to perish and evil spirits appeared frequently. All kinds of incidents seemed to make sense at the time, but now looking from afar, they seem absurd... For example, fathers and sons quarreled, and brothers quarreled. Can you imagine that a person as accommodating as Yuwen Xianggong was also involved in it? And once you get involved in such a thing, what kind of absurd and ridiculous things can't you do? But what about him today?"

The room had already been completely silent, and everyone from Wang Boyan down seemed to be lost in thought or reminiscing about something.

"There is also a dispute between the new party and the old party..."

Lu Yihao continued to stand in front of the big case that had just been opened half a month ago and sighed slowly. "It is said that Lu Xianggong in Nanyang City is a three-line Xianggong, and Xu Xianggong in Xiangyang City is a pile of Xianggong. But as Zhang Deyuan said before on the Baihe River, during the siege of the city in Jingkang, it was these two who urged Yuan Sheng to change the teaching content of the Imperial College, pardon the Yuanyou Party, and remove Wang Shuwang from the worship of the Great Saint Teacher, so that the people in Dongjing City made up a joke to mock... I am old and can't remember it clearly. What did they say? Who still remembers it?"

"Reporting to the Prime Minister."

Wan Qixie, a newcomer to the Privy Council who had just returned, stepped forward and bowed. "I was in the Imperial College at that time, and I just happened to remember. So-called... I don't care about Taiyuan, but I care about the Imperial College. I don't care about the defense of autumn, but I care about the Spring and Autumn Annals. I don't care about the artillery stones, but I care about Anshi. I don't care about the Prince of Su, but I care about the Prince of Shu. I don't care about Yanshan, but I care about Nieshan. I don't care about Tokyo, but I care about Cai Jing. I don't care about the border of Hebei, but I care about the exemption of candidates. I don't care about Hedong, but I care about Chendong. I don't care about the second prince, but I care about the establishment of the prince."

"Yeah, that's it... it's really funny!"

Lu Yihao continued to clasp his hands and sighed again. "There is also the matter of the evil man Guo Jing, and the matter of the monk Zong Yin who was killed before. If you want to make sense, of course it makes sense... Tian Dan was trapped in Jimo, and every time he decided whether to send troops, he would consult divination to ask for good or bad luck, and then he won all the battles; even when Zong stayed in Hebei before, he also consulted divination every time he sent troops, but he was defeated all the time... Isn't it the same idea? In the so-called extraordinary times, when prestige is insufficient, ghosts and gods must be used to fool the people below, so as to reassure the people and encourage the soldiers. But throughout history, the only people who got themselves into trouble by doing these things and ended up using these things as a life-saving straw were the two incidents during the Jingkang period!"

There was complete silence in the barracks, and when Lu Yihao said this, he waited for a moment, then suddenly turned around and said to Chen Gui, "Minister Chen!"

"Mr. Lu." Chen Gui was shocked and quickly bowed to him.

"I ask you, what is the purpose of your outburst today?!" Lu Yihao seemed to be smiling, but he was clearly scolding. "You keep saying something about Jingkang, but what is the difference between your actions and those idle people in Jingkang who relied on the emperor's favor and did bad things when the disaster struck?!"

Chen Gui was dumbfounded and wanted to explain.

"You don't need to say more." Lu Yihao sneered. "Don't you just think you have the ability to do something? But the government didn't let you do it? A mere county magistrate with a degree in science and technology, first a pacification envoy, then a minister of war, and a purple robe in one year, how trustworthy is that? You said you can defend the city, but Nanyang is now the secondary capital, and the government and the central government are in your hands, aren't they?! Haven't they gradually transferred troops to Nanyang City in the past few days? In the past few months, haven't you been allowed to recruit civilians to rebuild the city defense at will? As for the overall military situation on the front line, dozens of people from the Privy Council live and eat in this military camp, working day and night. What methods have we not thought of? Even for today's matter, whether to go to support is just a matter of decision. How can you have the right to make a scene and question in front of two prime ministers and the entire Zhifang Department?!"

"I am ashamed." Chen Gui's face flushed and he looked embarrassed.

"You don't have to feel ashamed." Lu Yihao continued to clasp his hands and sneer. "If it were in the past, I would have driven you out of the court even if I had to give up my job as a husband, but the emperor has determined that Nanyang City will rely on you in the future, so I will let you go for now and see how you defend the city... Hurry up and mobilize your troops, don't let the emperor down."

Chen Gui had no choice but to bow his head respectfully and then say goodbye and leave.

Besides, as the saying goes, there is always someone who can defeat someone else. Chen Gui was nearly 60 years old and was the Minister of War. In fact, at that time, there were only two prime ministers in the military quarters who were older and had higher official positions than him and could teach him a lesson. But Chen Gui was the new favorite of the emperor, and Wang Boyan's temperament was not likely to offend him. So in the end, he fell into the hands of Lu Yihao, who was known for his harshness and brutality.

But it's not surprising.

Chen Gui came and left in a hurry, and the noise and arguments in the barracks resumed as before. Lu Yihao also closed his eyes and rested as usual.

Wang Boyan, who had been silent before, looked at the empty chair at the far end of the large desk, frowned slightly, and called out to Wanqi Xie in a low voice:

"How long has the official been out? Who has been accompanying him?"

"They have been out for an hour." Wan Qixie hurriedly replied respectfully. "Only Madam Wu accompanied them in her military uniform and sword, Deputy Commander Liu (Liu Yan) led the guards, and Scholar Xiaolin accompanied them. It is said that they saw that the weather was very good and it was the Double Ninth Festival, so they went to Yushan to climb the mountain... Maybe they were thinking about the two saints from afar."

"I'm not thinking about the two saints, I'm making a decision." Wang Boyan sighed. "You are young and have good legs. Go to the mountain and wait for the officials to come back."

"Yes." Wanqi Xie was eager to take on this task, so he responded and left immediately.

Wang Boyan kept shaking his head as he looked at Wanqi Xie's hurried back.