Seeing the escalating fighting between the various parties, the emperor was furious and quickly called a halt.
Emperor Mingguang looked at the head of the civil servants, that is, the three-dynasty veteran Ge Shoufu, who did not speak, and directly called on Ge Shoufu to answer what to do.
As expected of a veteran minister of three dynasties, Chief Minister Ge cut straight to the point and asked, "Did the Jiannu capture Muhe County?"
The soldier who came to report the news shook his head and said, "No."
"Since there is no such thing, let's just pretend it didn't happen."
How could we pretend it didn't happen? General Wen, the leader of the military commanders, said angrily, "If the Jiannu invade again, how will we fight them?"
Prime Minister Ge nodded slightly and said, "If I remember correctly, General Zhang and 50,000 border troops are still in the border camp, so there is no need to trouble General Wen to worry about it."
When the civil officials heard this, they all agreed. "Ge Shoufu is right. The court can't afford any more wars. We should maintain world peace and not fight wars."
The generals were unhappy and urged General Wen to get to the point. General Wen coughed and said, "Grand Minister Ge has lived in peace for too long and doesn't realize how powerful the Jiannu are. As far as I know, the Jiannu are naturally brave and good at fighting, known as a powerful nation on horseback. If Emperor Chengzu hadn't wiped out all the elite warriors of his ancestors, how could we have had peace in the future? I think the Jiannu have repeatedly invaded our borders, so we should have eradicated them while they were weak. How can we just ignore them? If we keep letting this cancer grow and not remove it, there will be endless troubles."
The emperor was also somewhat moved by this. "So, according to General Wen, is the court sending troops to completely wipe out the Jiannu?"
General Wen nodded. "Your Majesty is wise. Please send me 50,000 troops, and I will surely lead them back in triumph."
Prime Minister Ge spoke of the quintessence of the nation. "I'm dying of laughter. Didn't General Wen hear what the Ministry of Revenue just said? The treasury is already empty. Where would we get the money to allocate to you?"
General Wen blushed and said, "If the court cuts down on expenses and opens up fundraising, it will surely be able to raise funds for the military and strengthen the country's prestige."
"General Wen is all talk and no action, but he has no idea of the hardships of running a household. Even if each of the fifty thousand soldiers costs one ounce of silver per day, that's fifty thousand ounces of silver. Weapons are another significant expense. The carriages and horses also require maintenance, which is another expense. How much money will General Wen have to raise to fill this shortfall? Are you going to let me and the others retire and return home, using the money we save to buy peace in Dayan?"
Prime Minister Ge became increasingly agitated as he spoke, spitting all over General Wen's face. General Wen was furious, and a fight was about to break out, so Emperor Mingguang quickly called a halt. "Alright, stop arguing. Let me think about this."
The civil officials said they didn't want to fight a war because they had no money, while the military generals were eager for chaos so they could take advantage of it. The Mingguang Emperor's heart had long been tilted towards the civil officials, but when he thought about the fact that he had achieved nothing since ascending the throne, he felt a little worried.
At this time, he thought of someone, that was the eunuch Fu Yao.
Fu Yao is considered a close confidant of Emperor Mingguang. Since he is not supported by either side, what he says is somewhat credible.
"Fu Yao, how do you think I should handle this matter?"
Fu Yao, dressed in green official uniform, stood out among the dazzling array of civil and military officials. The moment he appeared, the entire audience fell silent, their gazes fixed on him, hoping he'd say something shocking so they could find fault and suppress him.
Fu Yao said calmly, "I'd like to ask who are the people who participated in the resistance against the Jiannu this time?"
The soldier replied. "To answer your question, sir, there are Liu Yuhe, the garrison commander, Yang Zhiming and Luo Ying, the general, Tie Niu, the magistrate of Muhe County, Jiang Xuqing, and others, as well as Lieutenant General Yue An and a group of soldiers who came to support them."
The civil and military officials on the stage were in uproar, and began to attack the generals above their level. The civil officials scolded the generals for being useless, saying that they had such a large army but couldn't even defeat the small Jiannu. The generals scolded the civil officials for being too meddling, saying that a small county magistrate could climb the city wall to resist the Jiannu, which was really unnecessary.
Seeing that the flames of war were about to ignite again, Fu Yao interrupted in time and extinguished the flames like a basin of water. "Who is the one who made the most effort?"
The soldier replied, "Jiang Xuqing, the magistrate of Muhe County."
Not far away, a member of the Jiang family, dressed in red official uniform, trembled, his heart agitated. Their Jiang family's second son had made it big. Even though he was relegated to a remote place, he could still stand out. It was truly a great honor for their ancestors.
No, it is not known whether smoke is coming out of the ancestral grave or he has caused a terrible disaster. He might as well pretend to be invisible.
Fu Yao asked again. "What are the military strengths of both sides and how is the battle going?"
The soldier said, "The Jiannu have over 5,000 men, and we have less than 1,000. Five hundred of them were borrowed by Magistrate Jiang from Shi Dianli."
Seeing that the two sides were about to quarrel again, Fu Yao learned her lesson this time and asked a quick question. "How did Jiang Xuqing resist the foreign enemy despite the huge disparity in military strength?"
You have to know that one thousand versus five thousand is a direct crushing defeat for the Jiannu. They are said to be brave and good at fighting, so how could five thousand soldiers not be able to catch up with the one thousand in the city? There must be a mystery.
The soldier said calmly, "After Lord Jiang arrived at the city wall, he issued two orders. One was to send a trusted young officer to light the beacon tower. If the border camp more than ten miles away from Muhe County received the news, they would surely rush to support them."
After hearing this, Prime Minister Ge stroked his beard and praised him in his heart.
Who was Jiang Xuqing? He was a Jinshi (Jinshi) of the current dynasty, a disciple of the emperor. Despite his low rank, he possessed a sharp mind. When the enemy approached, he didn't immediately flee. Instead, he calmly responded, devising the strategy of lighting a beacon tower to summon reinforcements. This sheer audacity instantly outshone a host of other Jinshi of the same era who were only good at theoretical calculations.
"Go on."
The soldier said, "The second order is for the general present to send a trusted young officer to accompany Magistrate Jiang's entourage to Baiji County to rescue the people."
"Wait." Fu Yao heard the flaw. "If you want to leave Baiji County, you must open the city gates. If you open the city gates, the Jiannu soldiers outside will massacre everyone inside. Isn't this a contradiction?"
The soldier said with cold sweat, "Your Excellency is right. General Yang and the others initially refused to agree, until Magistrate Jiang told us there was a narrow path that allowed us to bypass the city wall and reach Baiji County through Muhe County. To save time, Magistrate Jiang sent his attendants to accompany the young general in white robes to fetch reinforcements."
Fu Yao asked, "How many years has Jiang Xuqing been in Muhe County?"
This time, the soldier didn't need to answer. The Minister of Personnel, Shen Xing, who had received Jiang Xuqing's personal letter, stepped forward and said, "Jiang Xuqing has been the magistrate of Muhe County for a year."
Fu Yao's lips curled slightly, and her words stabbed everyone present like a poisoned knife, sending a wave of discomfort through their veins. "For an official who's only been in office for a year to know even the narrow paths of Muhe County, it proves that Jiang Xuqing understands geography well and is far more reliable than a military commander defending against foreign enemies."
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