Gu Zheng acted quickly. The next morning, during the court session, Xue Zhidao publicly stated his stance. His words served as a catalyst, prompting countless officials to rally behind him, creating a force that could not be ignored. Even Wang Tong, who had initially advocated for appeasement, was weakened by the situation.
This completely uncontrollable change made the Empress Dowager very unhappy, and the morning court did not last long before it was dispersed.
Because the Empress Dowager had simply walked away in a huff, there were naturally no further arrangements. The important officials stood in the hall, staring at each other for a moment, before Xue Zhidao stepped forward and had the eunuch on duty convey a request to proceed to the Ziping Hall to make an appearance.
The Empress Dowager had just finished changing and was drinking tea when she heard the eunuch's words. She was so angry that she threw the cup in her hand and said, "Go tell Xue Zhidao that I will not see anyone today!"
The attitudes below were so uniform that the Empress Dowager had completely grasped the threat.
The pressure from the court officials gave her, despite her high position, a strong sense of crisis. While she might appear to be in charge of government affairs, in reality, she could only rely on the court officials to handle these matters. If their ideas conflicted, the court officials were fully capable of forcing her to change her mind.
This was the first time the Grand Empress Dowager had experienced such a terrible feeling. Even though she knew she was not the true Supreme, she was still filled with shock and anger.
At this time, she could not meet with the court officials calmly, so it was better not to meet them.
After the eunuch who delivered the message left, she sat down again, raised her hand and pinched her eyebrows, feeling a severe headache.
He Qing had been following this matter closely, and had almost come to ask for an audience on time. The Empress Dowager, thinking that she had considerable insights into many matters, summoned her to meet with her.
The broken porcelain on the ground hadn't been cleared yet, which made it a perfect starting point for He Qing. "This is the Empress's favorite set of porcelain. Could it have been accidentally dropped? That would be such a shame. This set was made during the reign of Emperor Hui, and later generations never achieved such fine colors."
As she spoke, she squatted down, picked up a piece of broken porcelain, placed it in the palm of her hand, shook her head and sighed.
"Can't you see I'm angry? Instead of trying to comfort you, you're just looking at the porcelain." The Empress Dowager scolded her. But after being interrupted by He Qing, her mood calmed down a little.
He Qing then asked with a smile, "Who made the Empress Dowager so angry? She deserves to be punished!"
The Empress Dowager's voice sank. "The law doesn't punish everyone. He's got a good plan! I was just angry for a moment. If he really punishes me, I'm afraid I won't be tolerated in this court anymore!"
"What do you mean?" He Qing showed a bit of panic. "Your Majesty, are you worried about the affairs of the court?"
"It's about the Ruizhou incident," the Empress Dowager said. "It's a civil uprising. Since it has a cause, it just needs to be resolved. Wouldn't a real war be a waste of money and manpower? Yet, the ministers at court all seem to think war is necessary. They don't consider that the court is now somewhat stable, and if war breaks out, I'm afraid new trouble will arise."
"So it's about this." He Qing put down the broken porcelain pieces in his hand and said to the Grand Empress Dowager, "I don't understand what's going on outside, but if Your Majesty is not angry, I have something to say."
"What?"
"This battle really needs to be fought."
The Empress Dowager's face turned pale with anger. "Why, you're the one who's trying to persuade us?"
"I'm an outsider, and a woman at that. Who would ask me to be their lobbyist? Your Majesty, please listen to my explanation," He Qing said calmly. "Regardless of external affairs, it is precisely because the court is currently unstable that this battle must be fought."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Perhaps because He Qing was not a person with a vested interest, the Empress Dowager was more patient.
He Qing said, "During the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu was one of the Five Hegemons and a powerful nation. However, King Zhuang of Chu died young due to illness, and the ten-year-old King Gong of Chu ascended the throne, plunging Chu into crisis. To stabilize the situation, the Queen Mother, acting as the acting governor, consulted with the ministers and decided to ally with Qi to attack Lu. I've also heard that to alleviate internal divisions and conflicts, the grassland peoples often band together and launch military operations against the Central Plains. Grand Empress Dowager, please consider why this is the case."
The Empress Dowager had also read a great deal of history, so she naturally understood the meaning of the music. "Having a common enemy outside can smoothly divert conflicts, which is actually conducive to internal unity."
"That's right," He Qing nodded. "Ruizhou is certainly a minor problem, but if it can boost the prestige of the court and rally the ministers to work together, then even if we mobilize a large force, what's the harm? We need to mobilize a large force, so that everyone knows that the country remains stable."
Such important news naturally could not be explained in words. The postman took out the token and the memorial of apology from the prefect Tang Lichen and presented them. Only then, under the questioning of everyone, did he tell what had happened in Ruizhou.
The cause of the incident was indeed the friction between the Han and Bai peoples.
The two ethnic groups live together, and their living habits and beliefs are quite different from each other, so conflicts are naturally a long-standing issue.
The Bai people excel at riding, shooting, and hunting, and possess considerable combat prowess. However, the local Han people of Ruizhou are equally fierce and ruthless, and will not give the other side an advantage. Consequently, friction has persisted over the years. However, because both sides are aware of each other's strength and desire long-term development, they have held back, preventing the situation from escalating.
In addition, the government has always been a smooth-talker in such matters. As long as they can live in peace, they don't care about anything else. Over time, there is a certain tacit understanding between them.
When to make trouble, how many people to send, and to what extent... these subordinates may not know, but the leader is sure to know. Occasionally, the two tribes will even work together to deal with and deceive the authorities.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
