Chapter 13 The Imperial Court This was the first time he realized that the imperial court was plotting against...
At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), in the Eastern Palace.
In the early hours of the first month of the lunar calendar, the sky was still dark, with only a few stars hanging in the sky, shining with extremely faint light. At this time, every household in the imperial city was closed and asleep, but the Eastern Palace was different.
Unlike the previous two days, the main courtyard was brightly lit today, and the servants were orderly, moving in and out without making a sound. Shen Yujiao and Mu Jin were helping Jiang Chen put on his court robes.
Watching her busy herself for him, Jiang Chen felt a little uncomfortable and said, "Go and rest. Why do you have to do these things yourself?"
Shen Yujiao straightened his court beads and then said, "The day before yesterday was your first time attending court after the New Year. I really haven't gotten up these past two days, so we absolutely cannot be negligent today."
As she spoke, she pressed Jiang Chen's head down and put his court hat on him: "It's only once anyway. I'm really not used to doing these things. Your Highness, you should leave it to Zhu Yu and the others to serve you."
Hearing her say that, Jiang Chen went along with her, then remembered something and asked, "Are you going to the palace to pay your respects today?"
“Hmm,” Shen Yujiao turned around and took the fox fur cloak from him, tying it on as she answered, “I need to pack up after you leave. It’s my first time paying respects at the palace after the New Year, so I can’t be late.”
"Then eat before you go, so you don't come back from drinking a bellyful of tea at the Empress's place again."
"Alright, don't worry about me anymore. In Kunyi Palace, would the Empress let me go hungry?"
Shen Yujiao turned him around, looked him up and down, and seeing that there was nothing wrong, she urged him to get into the carriage. After Jiang Chen left, she quickly tidied herself up. Before leaving, she had just stepped out of the main hall when she paused slightly and turned back into the hall to have Mu Jin pack a few cakes that the kitchen had sent in the morning.
Seeing that the cakes had gone cold, Mu Jin didn't dare to just take a few pieces. She immediately sent Mu Nan to the kitchen, where food like this was always kept on hand.
After the morning's chaos, the carriage stopped at the palace gate. Jiang Chen was in a daze. The hurried journey with Shen Yujiao in the morning gave him the illusion of being back in his senior year of high school.
Fifth Brother.
As soon as Jiang Chen stepped off the carriage, he encountered the approaching Prince Huan, Prince Zhao, and Prince Tai. Seeing Prince Huan walking at the front, Jiang Chen smiled faintly and said, "Eldest brother, fourth brother, sixth brother."
Once they met, they exchanged a few polite words and greetings until they reached the main hall, at which point the brothers parted ways.
The morning court sessions of the past two days were about the political arrangements for this year in Great Xia. The general direction of the relevant matters has been assigned one by one. Today's court session is mainly to discuss the conscription and tax adjustments.
The Great Xia has never been a military powerhouse, and its wars with neighboring countries have all relied on outstanding generals and strategists. As a result, the Great Xia has always been known for its excellent military skills. However, after several emperors, this has also accumulated certain drawbacks.
For example, military power is entirely in the hands of military generals, and even the imperial power cannot fully control it. Seventeen years ago, the entire He family, a century-old military clan, was wiped out, which brought a great shock to the military group of the Great Xia. This led to the return of some military power to the central government. In recent years, the troops stationed in various places have also adopted a policy of recuperation and development, but such silence is not a long-term trend.
The current emperor has long intended to reclaim military power from the generals and has always wanted to expand the number of new recruits in order to achieve the goal of strong soldiers and weak generals, with all military power in the hands of the emperor. However, the recruitment of new soldiers depends on the people, and the people are the foundation of the country. Even if the current emperor wants to reclaim power as soon as possible, he has to consider the people's livelihood and slow down the process. Therefore, the discussion on expanding the scope of conscription has been going on for who knows how many times.
Listening to the debate among the court officials, Jiang Chen pondered for a moment. In later generations, China, due to its strong national power and large population, did not lack new recruits. The well-trained army contributed to the powerful military force of that era. Although the Great Xia did not suffer from a decline in population, if the conscription rate was too high, it would inevitably affect agriculture and lead to a shortage of labor...
"Crown Prince, Crown Prince." The emperor's voice reached his ears, and Jiang Chen snapped back to reality and stepped forward: "Father, I am here."
"What is the Crown Prince's opinion on the matter of conscription?"
The entire court had been vying for power over this issue for years, and both sides had a large number of supporters. Jiang Chen could no longer gloss over the matter by simply acknowledging the majority. Moreover, he did indeed have his own views on conscription.
"Father, I would like to hear the opinion of the Minister of War again."
"Play."
After he finished speaking, a spirited old man stepped forward. Although the Minister of War had gray hair at his temples, he still looked quite imposing. This was the kind of demeanor that only generals who had returned from bloody battles on the battlefield possessed. Jiang Chen had always admired soldiers, so he bowed to Lord Sun.
"There are differing opinions within the Ministry of War. Wang, the Vice Minister, believes that adult men should be recruited in the spring as in previous years, while Zhao, the Vice Minister, believes that a batch of middle-aged men should be recruited in addition to adult men this year."
"Chengnan" refers to an adult male, aged 20 to 59, while "Zhongnan" refers to a male between the ages of 14 and 19.
Is this going to lower the age for military service? Jiang Chen disagreed. He pondered for a moment, considering how to persuade the emperor to abandon the idea, "Your subject believes that following precedent is not unreasonable..."
“Father,” Jiang Chen hadn’t figured out what to say next when he heard a voice behind him. He turned around and saw that it was King Jiang Yan of Thailand who had stepped forward. “Your subject disagrees with what Fifth Brother said.”
"Your subject believes that while strengthening border defenses, our Great Xia should pay more attention to the recruitment and training of new soldiers. If young men are conscripted this year, it will not only increase our dynasty's conscription this year, but also add new people to the reserve army."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky. The youngest of the middle-aged men was only fourteen years old, which would be considered a junior high school student in later generations. Sending a group of junior high school students to fight on the front lines was practically telling the enemy that the Great Xia had no one to fight with.
Although he harbored his discontent, there were quite a few people in the hall who supported the King:
"Yes, Your Majesty, it is easier for middle-aged men to increase the effectiveness of training compared to adult men."
"Your Majesty, if the number of new recruits in the army can be increased, it will be of great benefit to our dynasty!"
"His Majesty......"
Jiang Chen was so angry he almost laughed. What were these officials all up to? With this wave of young men being conscripted, the Great Xia Dynasty would be facing a severe shortage of able-bodied men for many years to come.
Seeing that Jiang Chen remained silent, the emperor asked, "What does the Crown Prince think?"
"Your subject believes—" Jiang Chen straightened up and replied, "Recruiting middle-aged men is inappropriate."
The hall erupted in an uproar, but the emperor quickly quelled the commotion, asking, "Oh? Why?"
"There are three reasons. First, the military service period in our dynasty is between ten and thirty years. If middle-aged men are recruited into the army, then if a family currently only has middle-aged men and no adult men, then there will be a shortage of a laborer for several years. For many farming families, it will be difficult to support their livelihood."
"Secondly, if we conscript men into the army, it will indeed increase the number of new soldiers in our country. However, Father, the total number of births in our country each year does not fluctuate much. If so many people are conscripted this time, what about next time? These men who should have joined the army next time will be missing."
"Finally, our army has its own training methods. The young men are still young, and even if they are conscripted, it is difficult for them to keep up with the training intensity of other soldiers. Moreover, young children are not strong-willed. If someone who is afraid of the battlefield shows fear on the battlefield, it will inevitably affect the morale of our army."
"Father, I believe that it would be better for the court to select capable people regardless of age. Although this plan is not the best, it is not necessarily more beneficial than harmful to forcibly conscript middle-aged men into the army."
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall fell silent. Everyone lowered their heads in deep thought. It was the emperor who first smiled and said, "The Crown Prince is right. It seems that since the wedding, the Crown Prince has indeed made great progress. Compared to before, he now has considerable insight into political affairs. These three points are also my concerns. Minister Sun..."
Jiang Chen didn't hear what the emperor was saying after that. He had indeed said too much today. Although he still didn't understand whether the original owner wanted to keep a low profile or was simply not talented, the situation was unclear, and his words and actions today were bound to attract attention from all sides.
But he did not regret it. Conscription was no small matter; it involved not only military affairs but also people's livelihoods. Although he had no interest in becoming the crown prince, since he was involved, he had no reason to stand idly by.
Because of the conscription, the morning court session that day did not cover tax adjustments. After the court session, as Jiang Chen walked out of the palace, he secretly decided that he would not interfere in the tax matter again tomorrow. After all, the emperor was still sitting on the throne, and unless he was a tyrant, he would not use the people's livelihood as a bargaining chip in political games.
Upon returning to the East Palace, Jiang Chen had barely stepped out of the carriage when he saw Shen Yujiao being helped into the residence by Mu Jin and Mu Nan. He quickly stepped forward to take her in, and seeing her pained expression, asked, "Weren't you going to pay your respects to the Empress? What happened?"
Shen Yujiao waved her hand weakly: "Don't mention it. The Empress was unwell today, and everyone knelt in the outer hall for more than an hour to wait. Because I am the Crown Princess, I was allowed to kneel on a soft cushion, but the other princesses and lower-ranking concubines were all kneeling on the ground. After a whole morning—sigh!"
She was only halfway through her sentence when Jiang Chen suddenly picked her up and carried her horizontally. "You've been kneeling all morning, what are you trying to prove? Can't you find a strong old woman to carry you inside, or have a few eunuchs carry you in a sedan chair?"
“You make it sound so easy,” Shen Yujiao said with a hint of grievance. “The Crown Princess’s status is like a golden pedestal. It’s impolite to have a servant carry her, and it’s disrespectful to have a eunuch carry her in. Even if you’re holding her now, I’ll still get a long lecture from the nanny later. She’ll say I’m not following the rules.”
Jiang Chen felt a surge of frustration upon hearing this. He wanted to say something, but then he thought about how he was in the same boat. Just these past few days, during the morning court sessions, in front of the emperor, the officials, and his brothers, every word and action of his was under the watchful eyes of everyone. He was afraid that if he wasn't careful, he would be implicated.
If the Crown Prince is like this, what about the Crown Princess?
Thinking about these things all the way, Jiang Chen carried Shen Yujiao and strode back to the main courtyard. As soon as he entered the bedroom, he put her on the bed and then asked Mu Jin to bring him safflower oil. Without needing anyone else, he washed his hands and massaged the bruises on Shen Yujiao's body.
"Okay, okay, that's enough, it really hurts too much!"
Shen Yujiao is the one who can't stand pain the most. Jiang Chen has a strong grip and is preoccupied with his own thoughts, so he didn't hear her cries for a moment. Shen Yujiao wanted to slap him a couple of times to stop him, but when she looked down and saw his gloomy expression, she forced herself to withdraw her hand. After Jiang Chen finished applying the medicine for her, he looked up and found that her eyes were full of tears and her lower lip had been bitten until it turned white.
Jiang Chen frowned and asked, "Why didn't you say it hurt?"
"Why didn't I say that? It's like you didn't hear me."
Seeing her looking so aggrieved, Jiang Chen lowered his head and sighed deeply: "I'm sorry."
He rarely showed such an expression, and Shen Yujiao couldn't bear to say anything after seeing it. After a long silence, she poked Jiang Chen's shoulder.
"Jiang Xiaochen, I'm hungry, let's go eat."
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