Chapter 364 Where It Comes From
This memorial clearly states that the war on the border is urgent.
Under the leadership of Tuoba Hun, the eldest prince of the Chi-Le, the Chi-Le army was invincible and advanced straight ahead. The general who had previously replaced Yuan Qifeng to guard the border had made mistakes one after another for some reason and had lost several cities. The soldiers stationed on the border suffered heavy casualties.
Du Shizhou stared at the memorial in his hand in amazement, his mind in a mess. The news he had received clearly showed that the border was peaceful. How could it be... How could it be...
After a long while, Du Shizhou's confused mind finally cleared up a little. He kowtowed to Emperor Wen of Qi and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have failed in my duty!"
Now, no matter what, he has to apologize first. As the Minister of War, he cannot accurately grasp the situation of the war on the border. No matter what the reason is, it is his dereliction of duty.
"Hmph!" Emperor Wen of Qi snorted heavily. "You're more than derelict in your duty. You actually concealed such a serious matter."
Emperor Wen of Qi slammed the table, causing Du Shizhou's heart to jump. "Your Majesty, I am not concealing the news, but I have not received any urgent news about the war on the border."
"You didn't receive it?" Emperor Wen of Qi narrowed his eyes and looked at Du Shizhou, as if judging the truthfulness of his words.
"Your Majesty, I swear on my head that I have absolutely no news of any emergency on the frontier." Du Shizhou naturally sensed the wrath of Emperor Wen of Qi. He knew that if he didn't handle the situation well today, he would lose his job, but he might even lose his head. "Your Majesty, please send someone to the Ministry of War to get the recent battle reports from the frontier."
Only by proving that he really did not conceal the truth can he save his life. As for the position of Shangshu, he no longer has any hope for it. No matter what, the war on the border is now tense, and he has to take the blame for delaying military affairs.
Emperor Wen of Qi looked at Du Shizhou for a long time before ordering Eunuch Liu: "Go, have someone fetch the recent border battle reports from the Ministry of War. I want to take a good look at them."
"yes."
Eunuch Liu quickly agreed and left the Qinzheng Hall to deliver the message.
Emperor Wen of Qi looked at Du Shizhou, who was still kneeling on the ground with cold sweat, and said coldly: "Lord Du, please kneel down first."
"Yes... Your Majesty."
Du Shizhou knelt trembling in front of the hall. He didn't dare to wipe the cold sweat beads on his head. They just fell to the ground drop by drop, and soon his head was wet.
Not long after, Eunuch Liu entered the Qinzheng Hall holding a stack of letters and respectfully placed them on the desk of Emperor Wen of Qi.
Emperor Wen of Qi ignored Du Shizhou and just read the letters one by one.
The letter was not long, and Emperor Wen of Qi finished reading it in no time. After reading it, he fell silent, and neither Eunuch Liu nor Du Shizhou dared to speak.
Emperor Wen of Qi frowned. The letters sent to the Ministry of War from the frontiers were indeed all peaceful, with no signs of any problems. These letters were obviously sent to the Ministry of War by generals stationed at the frontiers, and the memorial sent to him...
"Present the memorial." Emperor Wen of Qi said to Eunuch Liu.
"Yes!" Eunuch Liu hurriedly walked up to Du Shizhou. Du Shizhou was also obedient and hurriedly handed the memorial in his hand to Eunuch Liu.
Emperor Wen of Qi looked at the memorial handed back to him and then at the letter. It was obvious that the handwriting was different and it was obviously not written by one person.
That is to say, someone secretly handed over a memorial to himself without the knowledge of the general guarding the border, with the purpose of letting him know the real situation on the border?
"Who submitted this memorial?" Suddenly, Emperor Wen of Qi realized that he did not know who submitted this memorial. Generally, when ministers submitted memorials to Emperor Wen of Qi, they would sign their official titles and names on the back of the memorials.
Perhaps Emperor Wen of Qi was so shocked by the contents of the memorial that he forgot to see who submitted it. But now he looked at it and found that the back of the memorial was blank and there was no name.
"This..." Eunuch Liu took a look and quickly replied, "I don't know either."
"Go and check!" Emperor Wen of Qi ordered.
"yes."
However, after searching for a while, they could not find out how this memorial came to be on the desk of Emperor Wen of Qi. The eunuch who collected the memorial said that he had never seen a memorial with a blank back.
In other words, this memorial did not pass through the hands of the eunuch who collected memorials. Someone quietly placed it on the desk of Emperor Wen of Qi and mixed it in with a pile of memorials.
Emperor Wen of Qi did not show it on his face, but he was secretly frightened and suspicion began to arise in his heart.
Someone was able to come and go freely in the Qinzheng Hall where he reviewed memorials on a daily basis, and even placed such a memorial on his desk without anyone noticing. What was this person's intention?
What is the situation of the war on the border?
Will it be safe and sound, or will it be a series of defeats?
It seems that he needs to find someone to go to the border to take a look. His Xuanyuan family’s kingdom cannot be lost in his hands.
But who should we send?
Emperor Wen of Qi fell into deep thought. He had recalled Yuan Qifeng from the border because, on the one hand, the war on the border had stopped, and on the other hand, he was worried that Yuan Qifeng's reputation among the soldiers would be too high. If he had any ideas while far away at the border, it would be difficult for him to deal with it. It would be safer to recall him and keep him under his nose.
Therefore, after Yuan Qifeng came back, although he appointed Yuan Qifeng as the first-rank general of the country, he only let him be responsible for the training of new recruits in the Jingxi camp. As for the military seal in Yuan Qifeng's hand, he has not yet found a suitable opportunity to take it back.
Originally, Yuan Qifeng should have been sent to the border this time, but the prophecy made Emperor Wen of Qi feel uneasy, fearing that something unexpected might happen.
But, apart from Yuan Qifeng, who else could they send? In the Dali Dynasty, there were few generals who could really fight. Xuanping Hou was a fierce general, but he was seriously injured that year and was not fit to go to the battlefield again. However...
Emperor Wen of Qi thought of Huo Xifei...
With a plan in mind, Emperor Wen of Qi asked Du Shizhou, "Who is guarding the border now?"
"Your Majesty," Du Shizhou quickly replied, "It's Jian Changzhi."
"Jian Changzhi? A third-rank general?" Emperor Wen of Qi knew this person. He was also a third-rank general who protected the country. However, his abilities in all aspects were not as good as Yuan Qifeng's. He could be a garrison general in peacetime, but it would be a bit tricky if there was a war.
Thinking of this, Emperor Wen of Qi looked at the anonymous memorial and became more convinced of the news of the tense war on the border.
However, if the war on the border was really serious, why did the letters Jian Changzhi sent to the Ministry of War all show peace?
What went wrong in the process?
Is there something wrong with Jian Changzhi?
"Yes, Your Majesty, it is General Jian." Du Shizhou said hurriedly.
"Did you send this Jian Changzhi?" Emperor Wen of Qi narrowed his eyes and looked at Du Shizhou.
Du Shizhou was on edge the entire time, keenly sensing the displeasure in Emperor Wen of Qi's words, and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this Jian Changzhi was not sent by me."
Thanks to Huacong Lazy Review, liu, Yuanyuanma, Smart Lemon, Yakult, Yawu, Happying Woman, qq Xuanfeng, Snow Baby, Lengqing, User 240364673, Right Shoulder De Snuggle, Book Friend 854***509 for the recommendation votesヾ(▽)ノ
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
