“No? Why not?” Sun Mian asked.
Li Hu's shout just now was entirely subconscious; he hadn't even thought of a reason for it.
The Empress's eyes were as cold as ice, and although her face was expressionless, her teeth were clenched tightly.
“Minister Li, tell me, why is it not possible?” Wei Maozhen pressed.
"This...this..." Li Hu hesitated, then stopped. "This humble subject believes that the King of Shu is spouting nonsense! He simply does not have the ability to defeat the barbarians of Dos!"
"Huh? General Li, what are you saying?" Sun Mian almost laughed out of anger. "Back in the court, who was it that said the King of Shu was the God of War of the Great Xia, and that ten thousand elite troops could surely defeat the barbarians of the Dos tribe for a hundred miles?"
Now you're saying he's talking nonsense? What kind of logic is that?
Li Hu's eyes were as sharp as knives. At this moment, he simply stopped pretending and said coldly, "Lin Mo has quite the ambition to conquer the entire Dos Grassland."
Hmph, in my humble opinion, this is merely an excuse for him to amass military power. Moreover, the report of annihilating over 100,000 barbarian hordes is entirely fabricated!
More likely, it was Lin Mo who killed civilians and took credit for it!
"Your Majesty, based on these facts alone, I have reason to believe that Lin Mo is suspected of treason..."
Before he could finish speaking, Sun Mian's face flushed red with anger. He roared, "Your Majesty, does General Li have any evidence for what he said?"
"Evidence? The reason I proposed sending reinforcements was precisely to gather evidence!" Li Hu said.
"So that's all?" Sun Mian said sternly. "What? When has my Great Xia ever decided to send troops to annihilate a border vassal king who has just made great achievements based on mere speculation?"
Faced with that furious gaze, Li Hu's expression changed, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he felt extremely uncomfortable.
But before he could react, Sun Mian continued, "Your Majesty, since things have come to this point, even if it costs me my life, I will tell you everything!"
The day after receiving the imperial edict, the King of Shu, without the slightest delay, rushed to Shuyong Pass and then swiftly annihilated the Dos barbarians! But do you all know...?
At this point, Sun Mian deliberately paused, then raised his voice: "No sooner had the King of Shu set off than the barbarians of Duosi marched straight in from Shuyong Pass and plundered more than ten towns in Shu."
General Li, I would like to ask, is the Shuyong Pass of my Great Xia Dynasty merely a decoration?
These words caused everyone to fall into a deep silence, and Li Hu's face turned ashen.
Sun Mian did not point out in court that Li Hu had colluded with the Duosi people, but Li Hu was the Grand General of the court, and the border town was so easily captured by the Duosi people, so Li Hu could not escape blame.
"Hmph!" Sun Mian snorted heavily. "Perhaps it's not that the border soldiers are incompetent, but that someone in the court is colluding with the Dos people to deliberately transfer the border troops away!"
As he spoke, Sun Mian gave Li Hu a meaningful look.
Li Hu was already drenched in sweat, his face alternating between red and white.
"Lord Sun, why are you looking at me like that? What, do you think I'm colluding with the Dos people?"
Sun Mian smiled and said, "He knows perfectly well who colluded with the Doss people!"
"You..." Li Hu was so angry that he couldn't speak.
At this moment, Wei Maozhen, sitting on the dragon throne, had an icy expression on his face, his fingers tightly clenching the dragon robe into a ball.
Despite her anger, she couldn't bring herself to speak.
Suddenly, an idea popped into her head, and she spoke up.
"My two ministers need not argue. I know very well that the King of Shu is devoted to the country and its people!"
Upon hearing this, Sun Mian and Li Hu immediately shut up.
"Since the King of Shu is so confident that he doesn't need reinforcements, then I will grant his request!"
"Your Majesty..." Li Hu said anxiously.
"Minister Li, step back!" Wei Maozhen said, looking at Li Hu with a meaningful expression.
The two exchanged a glance, and Li Hu instantly understood, "His Majesty has a backup plan!"
Then, the Empress spoke again, "The King of Shu requested that I allocate provisions and military pay for his troops. I grant it!"
Sun Mian, who was standing to the side, didn't react for a moment. "This old minister thanks Your Majesty on behalf of the King of Shu."
"No need for formalities!" Wei Maozhen said. "Minister Li, you have been leading troops in battle for many years, you should know the importance of military supplies. As the saying goes, 'An army marches on its stomach!'"
Therefore, to ensure the safe delivery of provisions and military pay to Shu, I hereby order you to select a capable general to escort them along the route without fail.
"What? Your Majesty, you mean to send it from the capital?" Sun Mian immediately realized, "Your Majesty? Wouldn't it be better to have the military provisions allocated from neighboring provinces in Shu?"
Li Hu immediately understood. "Lord Sun, you are unaware of something." He chuckled slyly, "This year, the neighboring provinces of Shu have suffered poor harvests, and I'm afraid we won't be able to spare any extra military provisions."
"Rest assured, I, Li, will dispatch my most capable men to ensure the safe delivery of the supplies to Shu."
Sun Mian, standing to the side, was now ashen-faced, glaring angrily at Li Hu.
This isn't sending troops and supplies; it's clearly a roundabout way of sending troops to cause trouble for Lin Mo.
Lin Mo is in the Dos Grassland. Your sending a large army there is obviously an attempt to take the opportunity to capture Xichuan City, leaving Lin Mo unable to return home!
The Empress's face was ashen, her phoenix eyes fixed on the ministers below the platform. Then, she sighed softly, "Minister Li is right, I grant your permission!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" the ministers responded in unison.
Upon seeing this, Sun Mian felt as if his heart was bleeding.
The fact that Li Hu colluded with the Duosi people was blatantly ignored.
Lin Mo received no reward for his merits, and troops were even sent to assist him...
Thinking of this, Sun Mian was still furious, so he said, "Your Majesty, I have something else to report!"
Wei Maozhen knew exactly what Sun Mian wanted to say. She took a deep breath, her hands already clenched into fists, but her expression remained unchanged. Trying to calm herself, she asked, "Is Minister Sun referring to the matter of someone in the court colluding with the Duosi people?"
“Exactly!” Sun Mian said. “Your Majesty, the King of Shu wrote in his letter that during the previous bandit suppression, it was discovered that the bandits were colluding with the Shu general. Furthermore, several barbarian tribes have subsequently entered Shu territory…”
At this point, Sun Mian turned his head, his sharp gaze falling on Li Hu.
Sun Mian wanted to continue speaking, but the Empress interrupted him, "Minister Sun, I am already aware of this matter." She said coldly, "Rest assured, I will investigate thoroughly."
"How dare I ask Your Majesty, who will be sent to investigate, and when?"
At this point, Sun Mian had already gone all out.
Li Hu could no longer remain calm. "Lord Sun, how dare you speak to His Majesty in such a tone?"
“Minister Li!” Wei Maozhen said sternly.
Upon hearing this, Li Hu felt a chill run down his spine, and his back was already soaked with cold sweat. He looked up and saw Wei Maozhen's icy gaze fixed on him.
That sharp, knife-like gaze was already a warning to him to stop talking nonsense.
"As the Grand General of the Great Xia Dynasty, you bear the undeniable responsibility for the fall of Shuyong Pass to the Duosi people. Therefore, effective immediately, you are demoted one rank to the second grade and fined three years' salary!"
As for the matter of collusion with the enemy, I have decided to appoint the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice as Imperial Commissioner to conduct a thorough investigation in Shu!
The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was Li Hu's mortal enemy.
Hearing this, Sun Mian nodded. He knew that this was the biggest concession the Empress could make.
He immediately knelt down and bowed, exclaiming loudly, "Your Majesty is wise!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
