Chongzheng Hall.
At this time, all the civil and military officials had taken their places. Due to the large number of people attending the court meeting today, the huge Chongzheng Hall was somewhat crowded.
Apart from the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, whose positions were somewhat better, the other officials were packed together like sardines, much like the scene during the Lunar New Year in the early 1990s.
"Hey hey~ Stop pushing! Watch out, you stepped on my foot!"
"Hey, you guys in the back, stop pushing forward! My feet are already off the ground!"
"Who? Who took the opportunity to touch my chest?"
"It wasn't me... You know me!"
"I know you well..."
The officials, huddled together, were all complaining and creating chaos.
"quiet!!"
Hearing the chaotic scene behind him, Chen Fan frowned, turned around, and began to reprimand the civil and military officials.
The original Chongzheng Hall was large enough to accommodate all the civil and military officials. However, today, not only did officials who had returned to the capital from other places come here, but many upright officials who were usually absent also suddenly poured in, which caused some chaos in the hall for a while.
Following Chen Fan's reprimand, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices led his men to maintain order in the hall, and soon the hall quieted down.
However, with the palace doors wide open, gusts of cold wind still blew in, which made the officials who were closer to the palace entrance suffer, their bodies shivering from the cold wind.
"His Majesty has arrived!"
"The Empress Dowager has arrived!"
Before long, with Zhao Zhong's shout, Liu Hong and Dou Miao came out from the back hall, with Lü Qiang following behind them.
Liu Hong slowly walked to the throne, glanced at the officials, and then sat down on the throne, with Dou Miao sitting beside him.
"Your Majesty, we pay our respects! We pay our respects to the Empress Dowager!"
After the two sat down, all the officials in the hall bowed to Liu Hong and Dou Miao.
"Gentlemen, you may dispense with the formalities!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, Empress Dowager!"
After the ceremony was completed, some sharp-eyed officials noticed that the Emperor and Empress Dowager had also changed into new cotton-padded clothes. They glanced at Chen Fan, Cao Song, and the others, and a pang of sadness welled up in their hearts.
Liu Hong, sitting on the throne, first looked at Chen Fan and asked, "Grand Tutor, how is the resettlement of refugees in various places progressing?"
Chen Fan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the first batch of 130,000 refugees gathered from Jizhou, Xuzhou, Qingzhou and other places have arrived in the Guanzhong region and have been properly resettled! The gathering and resettlement of subsequent refugees is still proceeding in an orderly manner!"
Liu Hong nodded and said, "Pass the word down to Zhang Zhen and the local officials along the way, making sure to prepare enough food, and absolutely no one else starves to death!"
"I obey the decree!"
Chen Fan respectfully responded and then returned to his position.
Liu Hong then looked at Li Ying and asked, "Grand Commandant, what's the situation in the border regions lately?"
"Your Majesty, I received a report yesterday from Marquis Duan Jiong of Dingbian that the Liangzhou army has already set up camp in Jincheng."
However, Duan Jiong reported in his memorial that the Qiang people in Jincheng seemed to be showing signs of unrest, and some disturbances had also occurred among the Shaodang Qiang!
Liu Hong's expression shifted, and after a moment of contemplation, he looked at Li Ying and said, "Send an order to Duan Jiong to keep a close eye on the movements of Jincheng and the Shaodang Qiang. Grant him the authority to make decisions on the spot. Jincheng must not be allowed to descend into chaos!"
"promise!"
Liu Hong continued, "What's the situation in Youzhou and Bingzhou?"
Li Ying respectfully reported, "According to Lu Zigan's report, the Southern Wuhuan and the Northern Wuhuan have clashed several times because the Northern Wuhuan seized the grain and salt purchased by the Southern Wuhuan. The Southern Wuhuan were no match for them, so they asked the army in Youzhou for help, hoping that the Han Dynasty could send troops to help them defeat the Northern Wuhuan!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Hong turned to the other civil and military officials and asked, "What are your opinions?"
General Dou Wu stepped forward and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, I believe we can grant the request of the Southern Wuhuan. After all, the Southern Wuhuan have always been subservient to the Han Dynasty. They have been bullied, and we should stand up for them! Moreover, this can also be used to hone the fighting capabilities of the new Youzhou army!"
Cao Song also stepped forward and bowed to Liu Hong, saying, "General, what you say makes sense. However, the supplies and provisions needed by the reinforcements should be provided by the Southern Wuhuan people, since we are going to help them fight!"
One official couldn't help but ask, "But does the Southern Wuhuan still have that much grain and supplies at this time?"
Cao Song smiled and said, "If they don't have it right now, they can owe it to us. They'll have it next year, right? Besides, if we win, we'll have so many spoils of war! Enough to pay off their debts."
"Hehe~ The Grand Minister of Agriculture is right!"
Liu Hong couldn't help but laugh, then looked at Dou Wu, "General, you can order the Protector of Wuhuan Lieutenant General to send Huangfu Song with 5,000 cavalry to support the Southern Wuhuan. Just defeat the Northern Wuhuan, and don't go too deep into enemy territory to avoid greater casualties!"
"promise!"
Dou Wu bowed in response and then returned to his position.
After discussing the matter in Youzhou, Li Ying continued, "There's nothing going on in Bingzhou, but the Northern Xiongnu and the Western Xianbei's Tanshihuai have had several clashes. The Northern Xiongnu have suffered more defeats than victories and have suffered heavy losses!"
As Li Ying finished speaking, a scholar-official stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is a good opportunity! I believe we can take this chance to unite with the Xianbei and wipe out the Northern Xiongnu!"
"That's right! The Northern Xiongnu have been a menace for a long time, perhaps we can take this opportunity to wipe them out completely!"
With that upright official taking the lead, other officials also voiced their agreement, all believing that this was a good opportunity to eliminate the Xiongnu.
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