"This was sent back by the Crown Prince. Inside the box are the heads of Zhu Wen and his two sons. Your so-called Prince of Jin and his successor are right here. Do you still think the Crown Prince's military achievements are fake?"
The emperor's gaze swept over the assembled court officials. Under his piercing stare, many lowered their heads,不敢对视他…
"Your Majesty, we both know the Crown Prince's capabilities. How could he have pacified Jin so quickly? There must be something wrong with this..."
Even at this point, Liu Ting, as the Grand Marshal of the Army, couldn't believe it was true. Even he couldn't pacify Jin within a month, given that the King of Jin had 100,000 elite troops and numerous renowned generals, not to mention the city defense forces of each city...
Even if all these people stood there and let you kill them, it wouldn't be possible to finish them off in a month. Keep in mind that Li Zhu only has five thousand Imperial Guards under his command, and even if the Xiliang Iron Cavalry were willing to help, they would only have a few thousand cavalry at most...
No matter how he analyzed it, this was an impossible task…
"Marshal, what do you think is the problem?"
The Emperor looked at Liu Ting, whose face was full of disbelief, and pressed him for an answer!
"Your Majesty, I believe the Crown Prince is definitely colluding with foreign tribes. Otherwise, where would he have gotten the troops to conquer Jin in such a short time? Your Majesty must not be deceived by appearances. I urge Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly..."
Liu Ting said firmly!
"Your Majesty, I agree with the Marshal's words. If the Crown Prince cannot set a good example, it would be better to depose him..."
Grand Tutor Jiang then stepped forward to echo this sentiment, clearly unable to accept that Li Zhu had such military achievements; this was a devastating blow to the Second Prince…
Most of the civil and military officials in the court revered the two leaders, and upon hearing their words, a large number of them immediately stood up and spoke in unison.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"Prime Minister Yuwen, what do you have to say?"
When the Emperor saw that the Yuwen clan did not speak up in agreement, he knew that they had their own ideas, so he wanted to hear their thoughts!
"Some people are short-sighted; they say others can't do what they themselves can't. Don't take the words of such incompetent people seriously..."
As Yuwen Guo stroked his beard, he spoke with a strong and resonant voice. His daughter was with Li Zhu, and he knew all too well what had happened. Therefore, he had known about it all for a long time. Although he was shocked when he first heard it, that did not prevent him from believing that it was all true…
"You scoundrel Yuwen, who are you talking about?"
Liu Ting was immediately enraged. Wasn't this a direct attack on him?
"These days, people even come to you to get scolded. Who am I talking about? Don't they know who they are?"
Yuwen Guo retorted coldly!
"Do you really think you can lead a few thousand Imperial Guards to conquer Jin, a region with a hundred thousand elite troops?"
Liu Ting looked at Yuwen Guo and questioned him!
"I can't do it..."
Yuwen Guo replied calmly!
"Then why do you think that Li Zhu, a mere child, could do it?"
All of Liu Ting's statements are based on inferences made from his own understanding, so he believes his inferences are facts...
"Because he's stronger than me..."
Yuwen Guo replied calmly, without any embarrassed expression, feeling that being surpassed by a junior was something to be happy about!
"If you're not even as good as a mere child, then I don't think you deserve to be prime minister..."
Liu Ting said angrily, but immediately regretted it. After all, the position of Prime Minister was not up to him, and such words could easily be interpreted as treasonous...
"Haven't you heard the saying, 'The younger generation surpasses the older generation'? It's not shameful; on the contrary, we should be grateful, because it's progress..."
Yuwen Guo recalled every moment he had spent with Li Zhu. Many of the knowledge and vocabulary he had acquired were taught to him by Li Zhu, and now, speaking them aloud gave him a sense of superiority. Looking at the expressions of the people in the court, he knew that these words would have a significant impact on them…
"You're full of fallacies and heresies. I think you're hopeless. I've been fighting for decades and have won countless battles with fewer troops, but even I couldn't conquer Jin with only 5,000 Imperial Guards. I'm the most qualified to speak on this matter, so why don't you believe me?"
Liu Ting couldn't help but say in exasperation!
"The facts are clear: your experience is outdated. Is it so hard to admit that someone is better than you? Have you forgotten the biogas digester that His Highness the Crown Prince invented with his own intelligence?"
Yuwen Guo said disdainfully, which made Liu Ting and Grand Tutor Jiang's faces darken. The scene of the two of them carrying manure back to their homes was truly shameful...
"Your Majesty...we are utterly loyal to you. Yuwen Guo is nothing but a traitor from the previous dynasty, yet he dares to spout such nonsense here. We beg Your Majesty to punish this man as a warning to others..."
Liu Ting turned to the Emperor and accused him, as if everything he had done was for the sake of the new Tang Dynasty and for His Majesty…
"Enough. The outer garrison commander has already sent me a message with a detailed account of the entire pacification of Jin. This time, it was indeed the Crown Prince's achievement..."
The Emperor finally spoke the truth, but this only confused Liu Ting and Grand Tutor Jiang even more. Didn't the Emperor dislike the Crown Prince? Why would he speak up for the Crown Prince?
The two of them vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it...
"Issue the imperial decree: bestow upon the Crown Prince a thousand mutton heads and a thousand jars of fine wine as a reward for the three armies!"
This reward sounds rather meager, but it can be considered a consolation to Liu Ting and Grand Tutor Jiang…
Li Zhu was unaware that his act of offering himself up as a sacrifice had inadvertently given him a chance to show off...
Looking at the specific situation of his troops, after the reorganization of Jin, he now had 100,000 troops, most importantly 20,000 of which were cavalry...
Thinking back to his past life, when a regimental commander with 10,000 men attacked Ping'an County, he felt like a division commander. Now that he had 100,000 men, did that make him a corps commander? He felt a little smug...
"Your Highness, urgent report..."
Just as Li Zhu was feeling smug and complacent, the Marquis appeared beside him, which annoyed him greatly, because that bastard always poured cold water on his plans…
"What is it? We just took over Jin, it's the perfect time to celebrate, can't we talk about this after we're happy?"
Li Zhu said with a dark face!
"This concerns Youzhou..."
Upon hearing the Marquis's words, Li Zhu was taken aback, then realized that this matter must be related to Liu Zhiyuan...
"Speak..."
Li Zhu said helplessly, "I can only accept my fate. Why is it that my happiness never lasts more than three seconds?"
"Liu Zhiyuan supported Shi Chonggui to become the King of Youzhou, and then defected to the Liao Kingdom, voluntarily becoming the Liao emperor's grandson..."
Upon hearing the news brought by the Marquis, Li Zhu clicked his tongue, thinking to himself, "What was bound to happen has finally happened. How could I not have stopped it?"
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