Because Zhu Dan was injured, the matter of the imperial examination was handed over to the Right Chancellor Bu Feizhang.
After the palace coup, Bu Feizhang became much more restrained and dared not make any moves in the selection of personnel. As a result, the people he selected were all truly talented.
The overall level of this year's candidates is higher than that of any previous year.
One of the students, Guo Shaoning, not only received unanimous approval from all the examiners and was rated as first-class, but even the old emperor praised his essay and ranked him first among the three classes, that is, the top scholar.
Zhu Dan took out Guo Shaoning's exam paper to look at it. This person was indeed talented and learned, but unfortunately, the rigid eight-legged essay style buried his talent.
No wonder Zhu Heng tried every means to force him to pledge allegiance.
On this day, the envoy from the Chen state who was to deliver the letter of surrender also arrived in Shengjing.
In just six months, the two neighboring states of Northern Qi and Chen were brought underfoot, and for decades no one has dared to wage war against the Great Zhou.
The envoy from Chen State had witnessed the lives of the people of Great Zhou on his journey here, and felt extremely resentful.
After entering the city gate, I thought that as the imperial city of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it should be even more prosperous.
Unexpectedly, Shengjing City, which had just experienced a great upheaval, was in ruins everywhere, a scene of utter devastation.
They rode on horseback, watching everything with cold eyes, a contemptuous smile playing on their lips.
Although the envoys from the Chen Kingdom entered Shengjing City, the old emperor was not in a hurry to receive them.
The reason was simple: he still harbored resentment over the assassination attempt during the Lantern Festival. If it weren't for the Fifth Prince's persuasion, these people wouldn't even have had the chance to set foot on the land of the Great Zhou.
During the morning court session, the ministers argued fiercely about whether to accept the surrender of the State of Chen.
"Your Majesty, this old minister believes that the Chen Kingdom harbors wolfish ambitions and dares to collude with Zhu Heng to assassinate the Emperor of our Great Zhou. We must annihilate the Chen Kingdom to vent our hatred and absolutely cannot accept their surrender!"
"Your Majesty, war requires money, but the national treasury is almost empty," said Yang Shiqun, Minister of Revenue, anxiously.
Another minister stepped forward and said, “It is your dereliction of duty, Minister of Revenue, to fail to obtain the silver! If we let Chen go because of this, it would be a great disgrace! If Northern Qi and Southern Liang follow suit, do they really think our Great Zhou can be bullied? Minister Yang, don’t forget, they want to kill the Emperor of our Great Zhou!”
"You!" Yang Shiqun was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged. These brutes were quite good at talking.
However, the national treasury was empty, and the money for the war was flowing out like water. Just supporting the two-month war with Chen had already cost a lot of money, and even the reparations sent by Northern Qi had been used up. If the war with Chen were to continue, there would really be no extra money to come up with.
Lu Xiaoyun stood quietly below, her hands tucked into her sleeves.
Bu Feizhang raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "I wonder what brilliant idea Your Highness, Prince An, has?"
Bu Feizhang's question was quite tricky. If Lu Xiaoyun said to fight, then shouldn't His Highness Prince An take out some money? Others might not know, but he knew that Prince An had plenty of money.
If she says she won't fight, oh, your own sovereign and father have suffered such a great humiliation, yet you, as their son, want to let the enemy go; it's clear you have ulterior motives.
Lu Xiaoyun smiled faintly: "What does the Right Chancellor think?"
"I... this old minister would like to hear Your Highness's wise opinion, after all, Your Highness is the God of War of our Great Zhou!"
The old emperor also stared intently at Lu Xiaoyun.
Lu Xiaoyun said, "Father, in my opinion, this war should not be fought for the time being!"
These words caused an uproar in the hall, and the ministers who had always followed Bu Feizhang pointed and whispered behind his back.
The old emperor said coldly, "I'd like to hear what your brilliant ideas are."
Lu Xiaoyun spoke slowly and deliberately: "The Great Zhou Dynasty has been established for more than forty years, and it is full of devastation. The national treasury was not abundant to begin with. In addition, there have been constant large and small battles with the Northern Qi in the past ten years, and the national treasury is in a deficit."
"At the end of last year, Mu City suffered a snow disaster, and now it is also hit by a major epidemic. More than one million taels of silver have been allocated to Mu City. Lord Yang is tightening his belt every day. You officials are not in charge of the country and do not know the cost of firewood, rice, oil and salt. Why don't you ask Lord Yang how much money is left in the national treasury?"
Yang Shiqun wiped away a tear, finally someone understood his suffering: "Less than fifty thousand taels."
"Ah!" The hall erupted in uproar. A great nation like ours couldn't even come up with 50,000 taels of silver in its treasury! Would anyone believe this if it were said out loud?
"Furthermore, Zhu Heng's rebellion has caused immense damage to our Great Zhou. Shengjing City is now full of ruins, and reconstruction will require money."
Yang Shiqun nodded vigorously in strong agreement.
The ministers then fell silent.
Lu Xiaoyun smiled lightly: "Of course, the Great Zhou will never let the Chen Kingdom off easily for such a heinous act. But a gentleman takes his revenge even after ten years. What's wrong with waiting another ten years, until the Great Zhou is prosperous and strong, to wipe out the Chen Kingdom!"
"Excellent!" The generals were filled with excitement. "Ten years from now, we will lead our army to wipe out the Chen Kingdom!"
But a civil official sneered: "That sounds nice. If we wait another ten years, our Great Zhou will be prosperous and strong. Won't the Chen Kingdom also be able to recuperate and become prosperous and strong by then?"
Lu Xiaoyun disdained to answer such foolish words.
"Fifth Prince, what do you think?" The old emperor's head was buzzing from the noise. He was unwilling to let Chen Kingdom off so easily, but he also knew that he was a poor emperor. Fourth Prince was right.
Zhu Dan gave Lu Xiaoyun a deep look. In this court, in the entire Great Zhou, only he understood Yun'er.
He stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I agree with my fourth brother that we can accept the surrender of the Chen Kingdom. However, since they provoked us first, we must make them pay a heavy price, enough to deter them from attacking our Great Zhou for ten years, to teach them a lesson!”
The old emperor narrowed his eyes: "Tell me."
"Five million taels of silver, ten cities in the area from Qingzhou to Shuzhou, and a prince from Chen Kingdom to my Great Zhou as a hostage are required."
The ministers gasped. This was asking for far too much. The State of Chen wasn't stupid; would they agree to it?
Furthermore, the area from Qingzhou to Shuzhou borders the southern border of the Great Zhou Dynasty and is one of the most prosperous cities in the Chen Kingdom. Would they be willing to cede it?
"What if the State of Chen does not agree?" a minister asked.
"They have no choice but to agree. The 200,000-strong Lu family army led by the Duke of Zhenguo is stationed there, and the 120,000-strong army of the Duke of Yingguo arrived a few days ago. Moreover, the Northern Army can be dispatched to the southern border at any time."
Lu Xiaoyun bowed and said, "Father, if the Chen Kingdom does not agree to these conditions, your son is willing to lead the army into battle!"
"Very well! I will entrust this matter to the Fifth Prince and the Fourth Prince, both of you, to handle together."
Just as Zhu Dan was about to respond, Qi Shaocheng stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, although the rebels have now been executed, Shengjing has suffered a severe blow and urgently needs to be rebuilt and repaired."
"Minister of Works Qiao Guangda and more than ten of his subordinate officials from the Ministry of Works are involved in a rebellion. The Ministry of Works is leaderless and needs His Highness Prince An to take charge. Furthermore, His Highness the Fifth Prince is exceptionally talented and will be more than capable of handling the envoys from Chen."
Zhu Dan glanced at Qi Shaocheng.
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