Li Dongqian lifted his eyelids and gave Liang Chu a sinister look.
Old rascal, you're usually so quiet, but today you're openly going against me?
Li Dongqian coughed lightly.
Immediately, Imperial Censor Wang Xiang stepped forward and said, "I disagree."
"The root cause is that the generals are too weak to defend against the enemy and their military strategies are too poor to succeed."
Lu Xingjian narrowed his eyes and glanced lightly at Li Dongqian and Liang Chu.
Very good, the cabinet is not a monolithic entity.
He said calmly, "Where do you mean that?"
Censor Wang Xiang was Li Dongqian's prized student. Now that he had received Li Dongqian's permission, he continued to speak eloquently.
Fortunately, the Grand Secretary was farsighted and came prepared today.
After this uprising by bandits, officials in various prefectures and counties all bowed down to the chief minister.
"When the bandits passed through the villages, the people would slaughter cattle and provide provisions, and even hold up screens to shield them from arrows and stones, and act as guides to attack the prefectures and counties."
"Do the people truly want to obey? It's just that thieves have the power of life and death, and people dare not disobey. If they obey, they live; if they disobey, they die. The people are coerced into obeying."
"However, the generals of the imperial court did not have such power of life and death. When the soldiers encountered the enemy, they all retreated, and the commanders had no way to intimidate them."
"Moreover, Shandong and Henan are flat and open areas, so thieves are easy to flee but difficult to catch."
Liang Chu countered, "According to you, Shanxi's mountains are high and treacherous, and bandits have repeatedly breached prefectures and counties. Is that also the fault of generals who lack the power of life and death?"
Censor Wang Xiang had already prepared a response: "It is true that Shanxi has a treacherous terrain, but the bandits still managed to advance unimpeded, which shows that the commander is useless."
Lu Xingjian remained calm: "According to you, what should be done?"
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