Chapter 294 Sudden Incident
The next morning, Changxi shouted as usual that he had something to report and did not want to leave the court.
The Minister of Works stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Liang has already delivered the cement, but only 5,000 denarii."
After saying this, he didn't dare to look at the emperor's face.
When Rongyu heard that there were only 5,000 dan, his chest swelled with anger.
Rong Ye simply didn't take his imperial edict seriously.
He said in a gloomy tone: "Why only send 5,000?"
The Minister of Works said: "The Prince of Liang sent someone to say that cement is hard to come by and this is all they can muster."
Zhang Gelao immediately stepped forward and asked, "What the King of Liang said shouldn't be necessary. Lord Ye, are the five thousand dan of cement not enough? As far as I know, there's no flood in the south, only the dikes are a little loose. Isn't this enough to build two dikes?"
The Minister of Works wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied, "Five thousand dan plus sand and gravel should be enough.
"In that case, the cement sent by the Prince of Liang is correct," Zhang Ge Lao looked at him. "Master Ye, the dam can be built with only 5,000 dan. Why did you ask for 10,000 dan?"
Lord Ye stuttered, "Your humble servant... Your humble servant is just worried that it might not be enough. It's always safer to have more."
Zhang Ge Lao didn't look at it and said calmly, "Now that the cement has arrived, it's important for Lord Ye to send people to Yuncheng and Biancheng to build the embankment."
He changed the subject: "And isn't it the Ministry of Works' responsibility that the dikes are damaged? Every summer, the dikes in the south always break down. How exactly do you, the Ministry of Works, manage things?"
Even if cement is very useful, it will be useless if you don't build it properly. Moreover, Lord Ye has been avoiding the important issues of cement. What did you do when there was no cement in the past?
The Minister of Works, Lord Ye, was speechless when asked.
If Xie Shuangbai were present, he would definitely give a thumbs up to Lord Zhang.
Lord Zhang is worthy of being the Lord of the current dynasty. With just a few words, he changed the problem from insufficient cement to poor construction work of the Ministry of Works.
But Rong Yu still didn't buy it, and just felt that Zhang Ge Lao was trying to make amends for Rong Ye.
He felt that this incident was a slap in his face, and he would definitely not let him off so easily.
He was about to issue an order to reprimand Rong Ye on the spot when a eunuch suddenly came to report.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. Something terrible has happened!"
Eunuch Changxi scolded: "Why are you making so much noise?"
The messenger soldier following behind the eunuch knelt and said, "Your Majesty, the Nanzhao Kingdom is attacking!"
"What?" Rong Yu stood up from the dragon throne in shock. He gasped and looked at the people below.
He shook his wet palms and said calmly:
"Nanzhao is a tiny country. What are they going to do? Can anyone tell me what exactly happened?"
The messenger soldier said, "Reporting to the Emperor, the Nanzhao army suddenly dispatched troops, and General Duan, who was stationed in Huacheng, led his men into a conflict. The general is now seriously injured and unconscious. Please, Emperor, make a swift decision!"
Minister of War Nie Hai was surprised: "Why did a conflict suddenly break out when everything was fine?"
"This... seems to be..."
Nie Hai said angrily, "Why are you hesitating?"
"It seems to be caused by a woman."
"What?" Rongyu was so angry that he almost laughed.
"Because a woman started a war?"
Zhang Gelao stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, now is not the time to dwell on these matters. General Duan is seriously injured. Who should lead the troops to fight against the Nanzhao Kingdom?"
Minister of War Nie Hai said: "Although Nanzhao is a small country, it is very difficult to defeat. I'm afraid that ordinary generals will..."
"Why not let His Royal Highness the Prince of Liang lead his troops to attack them? His Royal Highness the Prince of Liang can even contend with the barbarians, let alone a small country like Nanzhao."
When these words were spoken, no one refuted them.
Rong Yu looked at everyone with a gloomy face, "Is it possible that the Prince of Liang is the only one in the entire court who can lead the army?"
Nie Hai: "Your Majesty, although there are many generals in your court, few of them are both powerful and wise.
Moreover, Nanzhao is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and is not something that ordinary generals can handle."
Rongyu sat on the dragon throne for a long time without saying a word, and the ministers were all nervous.
What does the emperor mean?
Rong Yu thought about it and thought, isn't Rong Ye quite capable in the Northern Territory? It would be a good opportunity to let him go to Nanzhao Kingdom and suffer a little.
He announced his decree: "The Nanzhao Kingdom has disregarded the alliance between our two countries and has secretly sent troops to severely injure our generals. I hereby order the King of Liang to launch an expedition to suppress Nanzhao immediately and enhance our national prestige."
Rong Ye frowned when he received the imperial edict. Why did he suddenly attack Nanzhao?
Xie Shuangbai is becoming increasingly displeased with the Emperor. What does the Emperor think? One thing leads to another.
"What about Rongye?"
"The imperial decree has been issued. Besides, Nanzhao did send troops first. If we don't fight back, they will think we are easy to bully."
Xie Shuangbai: "Things are just beginning to improve in the northern border.
Rong Ye: "How about you leave me here for the next two days and prepare to head south first."
Xie Shuangbai didn't want to stay alone in the northern border. This sudden order really caught him off guard.
But then he thought again, he had never been to Nanzhao Kingdom, and he had heard that there was a weeping tree in Nanzhao Kingdom, so he might as well go and take a look and see if there were any other good things there.
After he figured it out, he looked at Rongye and said, "I'll go with you."
Rong Ye wanted to refuse, but since Xie Shuangbai had made up his mind, he agreed.
After that, the whole mansion was mobilized, and Xie Shuangbai collected everything he could think of that would be used in his space.
What he is most concerned about now is whether to bring Rong Chi with him.
He would be worried if he was not taken with him and left alone at home.
If I take him on such a long journey.
After dinner, Xie Shuangbai asked Rongye, "What should we do with Chi'er?"
"Let's stay in the North. We don't know what the situation will be like this time."
Xie Shuangbai asked, "Is Qin Yan going too?"
"Yes, he has been to Huacheng before and is quite familiar with Nanzhao Kingdom."
Xie Shuangbai originally wanted to leave the child with Mu Ning. If Qin Yan went there, Mu Ning would definitely go there too. What about Qin Yibao?
"Then I'll discuss with Mu Ning tomorrow and see what to do with the two children."
The next day, Rongye's generals also received the news.
Some people think that the emperor did it on purpose. They are all from the north and are not familiar with water. Why would they fight a war with the Nanzhao Kingdom? Isn't that just seeking death?
Some people also think that this is a good time to accumulate military merits. Now that the barbarians have signed trade documents with them, the possibility of war is very small.
We can only pin our hopes on this battle against Nanzhao Kingdom.
Qin Yan quickly selected the troops, giving priority to the soldiers from Huacheng, Biancheng and Yuncheng.
It took Rongye only two days from receiving the imperial edict to recruiting soldiers.
Xie Shuangbai arranged a lot of things in the past two days. Everyone felt that it was a bit sudden, but since it was an imperial decree, no one could do anything and could only reluctantly let him go to Nanzhao.
They had to go to Luoshui Town first, and then take a boat to Nanzhao.
Inside the Nanzhao Imperial Palace
A eunuch shouted, "Your Majesty, something bad has happened. Something bad has happened."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
