The old prime minister's voice trembled and spread in the air, like a feather, gently touching the beard of the tiger on the seat.
The ministers held their breath and prayed that they could quickly overcome this hurdle today.
The lazy tiger finally raised his eyelids, and seemed to be in a good mood today. He decided to let go of the group of frightened sheep under his seat for the time being.
"I also understand the difficulties you are in."
The ministers breathed a sigh of relief, but the emperor's second sentence followed immediately.
"Let's set a month's deadline. After a month, I hope you will all show your talents and offer good strategies to help Tiancheng quell this rebellion. For those who are at their wits' end, I won't force them. Please donate some food and money."
After he finished speaking, the person at the table stood up and left leisurely. The eunuch shouted, "Dismiss the court!"
This is a blatant threat.
The ministers lamented endlessly, and felt their steps becoming heavier as they walked out of the palace.
******************
The crowd that had left the court dispersed in twos and threes. The civil officials and military officers each had their own concerns. They knew that they were still in the palace, so it was not appropriate for them to gather together and discuss anything openly. They only exchanged glances when passing by each other. It seemed that the private rooms in the city's restaurants would be packed again tonight.
Xiao Zhun had something on his mind, so he walked faster and faster. When he reached the gate of Yuanhe Hall, he ran into Prime Minister Bai Zhaoyu.
Xiao Zhun raised an eyebrow. He had come straight here after leaving court. Running was forbidden within the Tiancheng Palace, except for those delivering military reports. Sprinting was strictly prohibited within the first palace wall, so he was just walking faster. But he was a military man after all, so his strides were longer than others. He hadn't expected the old prime minister to be much more agile than he looked.
Bai Zhaoyu raised his eyes and saw Xiao Zhun, then lowered his eyes again, gasping for breath and coughing twice. The heavy court robe on his body seemed to be suffocating him.
Xiao Zhun bowed his head and said, "Prime Minister."
Bai Zhaoyu calmed down and returned the greeting, saying, "General Xiao."
Xiao Zhun had two titles, one was Qinghuai Hou and the other was General of the Cavalry.
But in private, people in the court liked to call him the General rather than Marquis Qinghuai.
Qinghuai means holding the youth.
Qing is the name of the late Prince Xiao Qing of Shuo. When the emperor bestowed the title of marquis upon him, he had put a lot of thought into it.
It was just that this title was okay when others called it, but it always hurt Xiao Zhun's ears, so except for the person who was sitting in the court just now, most people only called him General or Marquis, and rarely mentioned the word "Qing Huai".
"General, are you here to see His Majesty? I wonder what you want?"
Xiao Zhun paused for a moment before answering truthfully, "I came here to send troops to Bijiang."
Bai Zhaoyu was an old fox who had become quite cunning. He asked just for the sake of formality. He had probably already guessed why he came.
Bai Zhaoyu coughed lightly and glanced at Xiao Zhun with a half-smile: "I heard that Qinghuai Hou came to the palace yesterday to ask for an audience with His Majesty regarding this matter. I wonder if His Majesty has summoned you in person to discuss this matter with you?"
Xiao Zhun was stunned when he heard this, and then fell silent.
He came into the palace before the hour of Yin yesterday, accompanied by Grand Marshal Xu You and Guard Commandant Ma Mengren. It would have been impossible for the Emperor to ignore any one of them, let alone three people coming together to ask for his help.
However, the emperor only summoned the three to a side hall, where he remained behind a curtain for about an hour, mostly watching them debate. After an hour, the emperor stopped talking but kept them in the hall for lunch. After noon, Xu You and Ma Mengren left one after another. He remained a little longer, only to be met by a eunuch who brought out a platform and said that if Xiao Zhun could unlock the exquisite niche on top of it, the emperor would be willing to meet him in person.
Exquisite niches have always been complex and changeable, and that one was particularly difficult to deal with. Xiao Zhun tried until dark but still failed. He requested to take it back to his house for study, but was told that it could not be taken out of the palace. In the end, he had to give up.
Now that I think about it, the emperor must have been deliberately making things difficult for me.
"To be honest with you, Prime Minister, Your Majesty has rarely discussed the issue of pacification with me in person recently. Even with the recent changes in the vassal kings, he did not discuss the issue of sending troops. Today, I finally brought it up in the court, but you did not allow me to lead the troops..."
"General." Bai Zhaoyu interrupted Xiao Zhun softly, "General, what you said is the decision of the emperor. Since it is a decision, it must have its own intentions. As a minister, the most taboo is to ask too many questions. Between the emperor and his subjects, the most taboo is to be suspicious. General, do you think so?"
Xiao Zhun looked at the old prime minister's shining eyes and was in a trance for a moment, as if he was seeing the scene when his father admonished him in the past. At that time, he was always arrogant and never learned to bow his head.
Now, he has changed a lot, but as long as it involves this matter, he still can't pretend not to care.
"Prime Minister, do you know why I am so upset?"
Bai Zhaoyu sighed secretly and looked away in an instant.
"The general's intentions are known to any three-year-old child in Quecheng, so how could His Majesty not know? The general's intentions are not difficult to guess, but His Majesty's intentions are difficult to guess. I hope the general will be careful. Well, I have invited His Majesty to have tea. Do you want to join us?"
Xiao Zhun thought again of the exquisite niche outside the side hall that day, and had his own ideas in mind.
"In that case, I'll trouble you, Prime Minister, to lead the way."
Bai Zhaoyu glanced at the man beside him, as if he was not aware of his thoughts at all, and walked forward with a smile.
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