"Hmph, Lord Gong is, after all, a civil official who has never been on the battlefield, so I don't blame you. But Lord Gong should also know that a commander-in-chief is responsible for arranging troops and directing the overall situation from the rear, not for personally fighting the enemy like a common soldier."
"Oh, so this is how Lord Cao acts as a general? Although I am a civil official, I know that His Highness Prince An always personally leads the troops into battle to boost morale. No wonder His Highness Prince An is known as the God of War, while Lord Cao is still just a sixth-rank general."
"You!" The young officer called Lord Cao was so angry that his face turned red.
"Alright, enough arguing! What's there to argue about? All of you, shut up! Prince An, Zhu Yu, is seriously injured. Sending him to the southern frontier again is indeed inappropriate. Do any of you ministers have other options?"
Another courtier stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Lu family army is nearby. We can send them back to reinforce us. Although the Duke of Zhenguo is seriously injured and unconscious, the young general Lu Shizi is also young and promising, and has great prestige within the Lu family army. Your Majesty can send him to lead the Lu family army and the Northern Army to attack from both sides and destroy Chen in one fell swoop."
Immediately, someone objected: "The tiny Chen Kingdom actually wants to mobilize two large armies of our Great Zhou, the Northern Army and the Lu Family Army. Isn't that giving them too much credit? What will Southern Liang and Northern Qi think of our Great Zhou? If they harbor rebellious intentions again, what army will we use to deal with them?"
"That's right, that's right. The Duke of Zhenguo is seriously injured and unconscious, and his life is in danger at any time. Sending the heir apparent at this time would be a violation of filial piety if something were to happen to him. Besides, the Emperor has decreed that the heir apparent should marry the daughter of the Marquis of Nanyang, and the wedding date is approaching. Does the Emperor expect the heir apparent to disobey the imperial decree?"
The Zhou Dynasty placed great importance on filial piety.
"Absurd! Is Prince Lu's marriage more important than the war?"
"Does Lord Gong mean that His Majesty should rescind the imperial decree ordering the Prince of Lu to marry in June? Ha, how can an imperial decree be treated like a child's play, changed so easily?"
"you!"
"Enough with the arguing. My Great Zhou has more than just the Northern Army and the Lu Family Army. Why get bogged down in this? Minister Xie is right. We must be wary of Southern Liang and Northern Qi. The Lu Family Army must not be touched," the old emperor said solemnly.
As soon as he finished speaking, a court official stepped forward: "Your Majesty, isn't the more than 100,000 troops of the Northwest Military Camp led by the Duke of Ying still stationed in Mucheng? Mucheng is also close to the Southern Frontier. Your Majesty can issue an edict to allow the Duke of Ying to lead these 100,000 troops to provide support."
"How can this be allowed? The Northwest Military Command is responsible for protecting the safety of the capital. It was already against the rules to send them to Mu City to suppress bandits. Now that the matter in Mu City is settled, an imperial edict should be issued to order them to return to the capital immediately. How can they be sent to the southern border to attack Chen?"
"Aren't there still 30,000 troops? The Imperial Guards number 10,000, and Annam City has 80,000 garrison troops. Our Great Zhou is peaceful and prosperous, and with these 120,000 troops protecting us, what is there to fear from enemy invasion?"
Upon hearing this, all the ministers in the court turned to look at the old emperor.
The old emperor seemed quite satisfied with the proposal: "Excellent! Immediately issue an edict ordering Duke Du Kaiyuan of Yingguo to personally lead an army of 100,000 to the south to aid the Northern Army. They will surely destroy Chen within three months!"
The old emperor made the final decision, allowing no one to object.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" The courtiers knelt and bowed, and the matter was thus settled.
The war was of utmost importance, and the imperial edict, delivered with utmost urgency, was immediately sent to Mu City.
After receiving the imperial decree, Duke Du Kaiyuan and Zhu Chen couldn't understand why the people at the morning court had all lost their minds to make such an absurd decision.
Before Zhu Chen and the Duke of Ying could submit their memorials explaining the pros and cons of the matter, the old emperor issued a second imperial edict.
In that case, how can we submit another report?
The imperial edict was not to be defied, so Du Kaiyuan had no choice but to immediately muster his troops and set off.
Zhu Chen stayed behind to handle the disaster relief efforts in Mucheng.
After a major disaster comes a major epidemic. The snow disaster was finally over, and Zhu Chen's injuries had almost healed.
Unexpectedly, people began to fall ill one after another. The disease came on fiercely, and dozens of people died in just a few days.
Zhu Chen submitted a memorial, which the old emperor took seriously. He immediately dispatched more than ten imperial physicians and transported epidemic prevention medicines to Mu City.
However, the outbreak in Mu City has many strange aspects.
Meanwhile, the day of the imperial examination finally arrived.
Even Li Feng, who rarely goes out, noticed that many unfamiliar faces had arrived in Shengjing City.
"Miss, Miss, this year's imperial examination is quite strange."
Zhu Yu was sitting in front of the dressing table, rummaging through the jewelry boxes, and upon hearing this, he didn't look up, only saying, "What's so strange about it?"
“There are so many more people. In the past, wealthy young men would bring one or two servants to serve them when they went to the capital for the imperial examinations, while poor scholars from less affluent families would come alone. But this year is quite strange. Almost every scholar is bringing four or five servants.”
“Some young masters, despite being dressed in very ordinary clothes, still bring two or three servants with them. They are here to take the imperial examination, not to have fun. Bringing so many people is inconvenient, and their daily food and lodging is also a big problem.”
Li Feng's little brain couldn't figure out what was going on.
Qi Yu said with a stern face, "Miss, should I go and investigate?"
Zhu Yu curled his lips and said, "No need."
As she spoke, she stood up, took a gold hairpin, and stuck it into her dark hair.
She didn't wear her usual elaborate, layered gauze dress anymore; instead, she simply wore a light blue dress with dark cloud patterns.
In this way, she loses some of her fragility and gains a more heroic and spirited feel.
As dawn broke, the city of Shengjing came alive with activity. A large number of students were already waiting at the entrance of the examination hall to have their identities verified before entering the examination room.
Many of them are ordinary families who came early in case of any delays on the way.
Some greeted each other loudly, some stopped their carriages and students jumped happily off the carriage shafts, and some gave various words of advice.
"Did you bring the nameplate? I prepared three pens for you, have you checked them all? Where's the ink and inkstone? Are they all in the exam basket? Quickly check them again."
"It's all settled, everything's been checked, Mother, don't worry."
"Erlang, do your best on the exam. Your father and mother are waiting at home for you to pass with flying colors."
"Young master, please go in and take the exam. I will wait outside for you and serve you a hot meal as soon as you come out."
"My husband, you only need to perform at your usual level and you will win first place. I will wait for you at home. You can focus on the exam."
"Don't push, don't push. Hey, miss, please move aside so my young master can pass. Thank you."
The streets were bustling with people, yet orderly, and everyone wore smiles. The family members and servants who came to send their children to the exams were even more friendly than before.
They wished each other good luck, wishing each other "a place on the honor roll" and "the best in the exam."
However, at this moment, dozens of carriages blocked the road on the east street of Shengjing City.
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