In the imperial palace of Jinling City.
As Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin led 100,000 troops to the south to provide reinforcements, the Great Xin Dynasty's capital, Jinling, thousands of miles away, finally resumed its court assembly, which had been interrupted for a month.
The remaining officials and civil servants in the city passed through the main gate of the imperial city, which was under renovation, and walked step by step toward the familiar yet unfamiliar Golden Palace.
Inside the Golden Palace, a child dressed in a golden five-clawed dragon robe and wearing a crown sat timidly on the dragon throne, which symbolized the supreme imperial power of the Great Xin Dynasty.
This person was Zhao Lingzhan, the fourth emperor of the Great Xin Dynasty, the Hongxi Emperor.
Zhao Lingzhan, only five years old, was the son of the Prince of Fu of the Great Xin Dynasty. He was pushed to the forefront in the "Lingwu Coup" planned by the prime minister Qin Ruhui and became the nominal fourth emperor of the Great Xin Dynasty.
Today marks the day Zhao Lingzhan ascends the throne, adopting the reign title Hongxi.
Standing beside Zhao Lingzhan was Qin Ruhui, the regent prime minister, who was already dressed in a bright red four-clawed python robe.
At this moment, Qin Ruhui made no attempt to conceal his ambition and thirst for power, as evidenced by the four-clawed python robe that only princes could wear.
Privately, the court officials of the prime minister's faction all referred to Qin Ruhui as "Nine Thousand Nine Hundred Years Old".
This is already considered a humble title. Looking around Jinling City, even a three-year-old child knows that the current prime minister, Qin Ruhui, is the actual controller of the Great Xin Dynasty and the undisputed retired emperor.
From Prime Minister Qin Ruhui to Emperor Emeritus Qin Ruhui;
Qin Ruhui only traveled this road for nine months and seven days!
Even if all of this is ultimately just a fleeting moment, a mirage.
However, for Qin Ruhui, who was nearing seventy, being able to stand on this Golden Palace and look down at all the civil and military officials kneeling and bowing was already a life well-lived.
"The auspicious hour has arrived; kneel to welcome the new emperor!"
Accompanied by the shrill and drawn-out call of the old eunuch in the Golden Palace, all the civil and military officials in the hall knelt down and bowed to Emperor Hongxi on the Golden Palace:
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Inside the vast Golden Palace, the endless chants of "Long live the Emperor!" echoed.
At that moment, Qin Ruhui, standing beside Emperor Hongxi, closed his eyes with a sense of triumph, fully enjoying the pleasure and excitement that came with ascending to the pinnacle of power.
It was as if he were the one sitting on the dragon throne, receiving the kneeling obeisance of all the civil and military officials.
The five-year-old Emperor Hongxi, Zhao Lingzhan, was startled by the scene before him and involuntarily looked timidly at Qin Ruhui beside him.
Qin Ruhui smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please tell all my ministers to rise!"
Zhao Lingzhan stammered nervously, "My lords, rise!"
However, he never dared to meet Qin Ruhui's gaze.
That innate fear is like a lamb falling into the jaws of a tiger.
At this moment, Qin Ruhui ignored the auspicious object on the dragon throne beside him and instead addressed the assembled civil and military officials in the hall, asking, "Gentlemen, His Majesty is young and inexperienced, and has entrusted me with the full authority to govern the country."
"Given the current turbulent situation inside and outside Jinling City, the enthronement of Emperor Hongxi should be simplified. The grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to Heaven at Zijin Mountain should be postponed until after the enemy is defeated!"
Then, Qin Ruhui cut to the chase and asked, "Minister of War Li Jingyu, please report to the court officials on the current situation inside and outside Jinling City."
"Your subject obeys!"
The speaker was Li Jingyu, the fourth Minister of War of the Great Xin Dynasty and a former Flying General in the Tiger Army.
Since Wu Sanjia took over the position of commander of the Tiger Army, Li Jingyu, the famous general of Daxin who once faced the southern expeditionary army of Longcheng without firing a single arrow, has been in a semi-retired state at home.
His title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent was nothing more than an empty honor.
It wasn't until Qin Ruhui launched the Lingwu Coup that Li Jingyu, the Flying General who had been living in retirement, finally had the opportunity to be reinstated.
He was appointed Minister of War, in charge of the defense of Nanjing.
Li Jingyu said, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Qin:"
"To this day, the rebel army on the north bank of the Yangtze River outside Nanjing has been facing off against our imperial army's Liangjiang and Lianghu forces across the river for a month."
"The rebel commander Wu Sanjia lacks the necessary boats to cross the river, and can only look at the river with longing. Our army is well-defended and has sufficient food and supplies, so there is no need to worry about the rebels besieging the city in the short term."
After a pause, Li Jingyu continued, "Three days ago, in accordance with the alliance between the two countries, the Nanzhao Kingdom dispatched 50,000 rattan armor troops to reinforce Jinling City. These troops have arrived outside Jinling City and set up camp, guarding the Stone City wharf."
"According to reports from spies in the Ministry of War, the Longcheng Jingnan army under Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin has captured Jinan Prefecture and is currently resting and reorganizing within the prefecture."
"Another army from Longcheng is launching a fierce attack on Kaifeng Prefecture!"
"In my humble opinion, the imperial court has now completely lost control of the area north of the Yangtze River, and is further threatened by the 200,000-strong army of the rebel leader Wu Sanjia across the river."
"It would be better to hold the natural barrier of the Yangtze River and wait until the Longcheng Jingnan army marches south to Nanjing. After a fierce battle with the Tiger Legion rebels across the river, we can then launch a decisive attack to clean up the mess and reap the benefits!"
Um!
After listening to the report from Minister of War Li Jingyu, Prime Minister Qin Ruhui nodded, and then asked the other civil and military officials in the hall, "Gentlemen, do you have any opinions or suggestions on the strategy for defending against the enemy proposed by Minister Li?"
As he spoke, Qin Ruhui turned his gaze to Su Chen, the Governor-General of Liangjiang.
After all, Su Chen was the first person to lead troops to confront Wu Sanjia across the river, and he had first-hand intelligence and information.
Cough cough!
The Governor-General of Liangjiang, Su Chen, coughed twice, stepped forward, bowed slightly to Qin Ruhui, and then said, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Qin..."
"While Lord Li's proposed strategy for defending against the enemy is undoubtedly the most suitable for the current situation of the court, however—"
Then, Su Chen changed the subject, continuing, "According to reports from my scouts, Wu Sanjia on the north bank of the Yangtze River has been quite busy for the past month."
"On the one hand, he ordered his soldiers to speed up the construction of warships and train naval soldiers in preparation for a forced crossing of the Yangtze River;"
"On the other hand, Wu Sanjia, having been granted the power to control all the military forces under heaven by the former empress Su Wan'er, was recruiting generals from the southern provinces to come to the capital to defend the emperor."
"According to the intelligence I have, Wu Sanjia has gathered more than 250,000 troops on the north bank of the Yangtze River!"
Su Chen said, "I believe that Wu Sanjia will definitely cross the Yangtze River and head straight for Nanjing, while the Longcheng Jingnan army heading south will probably not rush to Nanjing immediately to fight Wu Sanjia to the death."
"Based on my understanding of Prince Jin, Chen Huai'an, he will probably wait until the imperial army and Wu Sanjia's rebel army are locked in a life-or-death struggle before leading the Longcheng Jingnan Army to clean up the mess and reap the benefits!"
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