Since someone had taken the lead, the other ministers also raised their heads.
"Yes, Your Majesty, has Zhang Xianzhong perhaps performed some great feat?"
"If that's the case, then the court must reward those who have rendered meritorious service after investigating the truth."
That sounds nice, but there's actually a hidden agenda behind it.
The next line after "merits must be rewarded" is "mistakes must be punished."
As for finding out the truth...
Haha, if there's anything fishy going on here, it's that Zhang Xianzhong or Yuan Chonghuan lied about military intelligence.
Those officials won't pretend they don't know when the time comes.
Zhu Youjian's face stiffened for a moment, but he quickly revealed a cold smile.
He was fully aware of his ministers' thoughts.
Zhu Youjian thought to himself, "Master Gao was right after all."
"These ministers are all Confucian scholars, so to say that they are all thoroughly bad people would be unfair to them."
"But they disapproved of my behavior, did not want to see Master Gao's students rise to power, and did not want their positions and power to be taken away. These thoughts were genuine."
"These people no longer dare to go against me, nor do they dare to provoke Master Gao."
"But for those students, they'll seize any opportunity to dig a hole!"
He narrowed his eyes and said calmly, "What you all say makes sense."
"This matter should indeed be investigated carefully."
"I wonder which esteemed official would be willing to make the trip to Goryeo on behalf of the imperial court to investigate the matter thoroughly?"
As he spoke, he instructed Wang Chengen to distribute the memorial to the assembled officials for review.
At first, the ministers were all sweating profusely.
Crossing the sea to the front lines in Korea was no joke.
Not to mention the possibility of accidents on the way, such as a shipwreck.
Even if everything goes smoothly along the way, life will still be difficult once you get to Goryeo.
“We already had a bad relationship with Yuan Chonghuan, and this time it was obvious that we were going there to cause trouble, so he would definitely turn around and cause us trouble.”
"Going to Korea now would be asking for trouble, wouldn't it? No way, I can't go!"
But after they finished reading the report, other thoughts arose in their minds.
After all, the contents of the report were too horrifying for them to believe.
"How dare they send back such an outrageous report?"
"Do you really think we civil servants are all fools?!"
Some low-ranking civil officials near the gate began to whisper amongst themselves.
"Yes, yes, the higher-ups said that Zhang Xianzhong relied on an ambush to launch a surprise attack and killed a Jurchen general, and that's all."
"As for what was said later, he dared to head north to Kaesong with only a few hundred men, spend the night under the noses of more than ten thousand Jurchens, and then retreat back to Kaesong unscathed..."
"Heh, only a fool would believe that!"
"That's right, these are definitely blatant lies."
"Once we get to Korea, the truth will be revealed instantly!"
These discussions kept drifting to the front row, and even some of the real ministers were tempted.
"If that's the case, then if I go to Korea and investigate this matter, I will not only be able to make a great contribution, but also strike a blow against Master Gao's students."
"Won't all the important officials in the court have to follow my lead in the future?"
Among the assembled officials, only Zhou Yanru and Qian Qianyi remained standing still.
After exchanging a glance, they both saw the cold smile in each other's eyes and quickly understood each other's thoughts.
"That old fox must know something," Qian Qianyi thought to himself.
"I don't know how capable Zhang Xianzhong is, but Yuan Chonghuan is also ambitious and eager for quick success, so this report is probably problematic."
"Regardless of whether there are any problems or not, as long as the emperor says it is true, then it must be true."
He rolled his eyes and walked out.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Goryeo to investigate this matter for Your Majesty and the court!"
"If the report contains any falsification, I will certainly arrest Zhang Xianzhong and Yuan Chonghuan and bring them to justice."
"But if the reports are true, then I will certainly return to the capital as soon as possible so that the court can quickly reward the meritorious officials!"
Upon hearing this, everyone from Zhou Yanru down to the fourth or fifth-rank officials in the capital who were furthest away cursed inwardly.
"This sycophant is truly shameless!"
"Sending someone like you over there, what kind of nonsense could you possibly find out!"
"Even if Yuan Chonghuan suffered a crushing defeat and retreated to Jeju Island, you can still say that our Great Ming Dynasty won a great victory!"
They had absolute faith in Qian Qianyi's integrity: this guy had no integrity whatsoever!
Zhou Yanru couldn't hold back any longer.
"That old bastard, why should he go to Korea? I should be the one going!"
It turns out he had the same idea as Qian Qianyi.
"I already had a good relationship with that kid Zheng Chenggong. If I can take this opportunity to improve my relationship with Zhang Xianzhong as well, then in the future..."
His heart was burning with passion.
The next moment, Zhou Yanru also stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, I also volunteer to go to Goryeo!"
Seeing that Zhou Yanru had also said so, the other ministers could no longer stand still.
One by one, they walked to the middle.
"Your Majesty, I am also willing."
"I also volunteer to go..."
Looking at the chaotic court, Zhu Youjian felt both annoyed and amused.
"Those bastards."
After laughing and cursing, he fell into deep thought.
Although Zhu Youjian trusted Gao Qingyun's students, he did not trust Yuan Chonghuan.
"Perhaps Zhang Xianzhong only made minor contributions, but Yuan Chonghuan embellished them into this way."
"He might be trying to use this opportunity to escalate the war in Goryeo and get the court to send more troops to Goryeo."
"In this way, although he was transferred away from Liaodong, he was still able to participate in the great battle to eliminate the Jurchens."
Zhu Youjian immediately misunderstood.
After hesitating for a moment, his gaze swept back and forth between Zhou Yanru and Qian Qianyi, and finally he chose Qian Qianyi as his general.
"My mind is made up. Let Lord Qian go to Goryeo."
Qian Qianyi was overjoyed and bowed deeply.
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will do my utmost to serve you until my dying breath."
Zhu Youjian pursed his lips, naturally not believing his explanation.
He waved his hand and said, "Minister Qian, there's no need for that. I sent you to investigate, not to send you to your death."
"Alright, get ready now, and we'll set off immediately."
"Court adjourned!"
After Zhu Youjian left, many ministers snorted coldly at Qian Qianyi and then turned and left as well.
Zhou Yanru didn't do that. He moved closer to Qian Qianyi and said jealously, "You're certainly favored by the emperor."
Qian Qianyi smiled and shook his head.
"I'm not favored by the Emperor; it's clearly your greed that's at play!"
"If you don't volunteer, the emperor might actually send you to Goryeo."
Zhou Yanru was stunned for a moment, then realized what he had done and regretted it so much that he wanted to slap his thigh.
He is now considered one of the emperor's men, but he used to be a general of the Donglin Party.
At that time, Yuan Chonghuan also had an ambiguous relationship with the Donglin Party.
So what did Zhou Yanru mean by voluntarily going to Goryeo? Did he want to revive the Donglin Party?
"I completely forgot about that!"
Zhou Yanru stomped his foot, but quickly recovered.
He stopped dwelling on his own affairs and instead asked Qian Qianyi, "So, what exactly are your plans for this trip to Korea?"
"Are they really planning to uncover a major victory?"
Both of them were well aware of Yuan Chonghuan's intentions.
Qian Qianyi sneered, "I'm not that stupid! What good would it do me to let Yuan Chonghuan regain power?"
"Don't worry, when I go to Korea this time, I will only talk about how powerful Zhang Xianzhong was, and I won't mention Yuan Chonghuan's name even once!"
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