Chapter 770: Chapter 767: No Matter How Much_1
Just as Fang Lao was about to speak, the Crown Prince interjected, “Right… about the provisions. While the Shuoyang pacification troops are a ragtag group, they are still soldiers! We need to dispatch new forces there… so the Princess of Zhen can handle them better! I called you both here to discuss where we can draw troops from to assist the Princess of Zhen.”
Ren Shijie’s eyebrow twitched. This Princess of Zhen truly had the Crown Prince’s trust…
Suddenly, a light flashed in Ren Shijie’s mind, recalling Fang Lao had once said that the Princess of Zhen’s act of saving the Crown Prince might have been a staged show.
The more Ren Shijie thought about it, the more it made sense. The Crown Prince had likely fallen into the Princess of Zhen’s trap.
However, how did this concern him? Even if he pointed it out, the Crown Prince would think he and Fang Lao were both trying to discredit the Princess of Zhen. He might even scorn Ren Shijie for underestimating him, thinking the Crown Prince wasn’t worthy of such loyalty, which would be dangerous.
Besides, the more chaos in the Jin Kingdom, the better for the Yan Kingdom.
Fang Lao furrowed his brows, “The troops from the Anping Camp could be dispatched. However, it’s not like there were no generals available to lead troops to Daliang before. General Shi Panshan may be in the southern frontier, and General Jiang Ruhai may have injured his leg making him unfit for battle, but General Zhen Zeping is still here! General Zhen Zeping was a ritorious officer in the southern frontier war and had volunteered for battle. Yet, when Minister Li Mao pledged that Li Mingrui would head to Daliang alone to reclaim the lost territories, General Zhen Zeping agreed, and so did the rest of the court.”
Fang Lao carefully glanced at the Crown Prince before continuing, “Now as for the Princess of Zhen… even if she leads a ragtag force, she is considered to be leading troops. If we dispatch more troops for her, would the Left Pri Minister have any complaints? Would the court officials… especially General Zhen Zeping feel that the Crown Prince excessively trusts the Bai family, relying on them and not the other loyal officials of the Jin Kingdom?”
Ren Shijie picked up his teacup, blowing on it slowly before taking a sip, only to hear Quan Yu announce from outside that Pri Minister Lu, Minister of War Shen Jingzhong, Minister of Revenue Chu Zhongxing, and the head of the Imperial Guards, Fan Yuhuai, had all arrived.
“Why has Pri Minister Lu co as well?” The Crown Prince stood up, hurrying out to welco them.
“Your Highness, Minister of War Shen Jingzhong happened to et Pri Minister Lu, and the two ca to the morning court together. With Your Highness summoning them urgently, Pri Minister Lu followed as he was concerned,” Quan Yu explained.
The Crown Prince stood under the corridor, seeing Pri Minister Lu being guided down the steps by Shen Jingzhong, hurried over to greet them, “Pri Minister Lu…”
“Greetings, Your Highness!”
The officials hurriedly bowed to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince ca forward to help Pri Minister Lu, “No need for formalities, Pri Minister Lu. There’s an urgent matter, which is why I called you all before the morning court. Please…”
In the study, the Crown Prince, in defense of Bai Qingyan, explained to Pri Minister Lu and the others that he had sent Quan Yu to Shuoyang to ask if Bai Qingyan could go to battle. After all, Bai Qingyan’s reputation as the God of Slaughter terrified other nations. As soon as Daliang learned that Bai Qingyan intended to campaign north, they would be terrified. The Crown Prince hadn’t expected that Bai Qingyan would be concerned about the nation’s finances and suggest selling her family’s assets to fund the military, so as not to burden the court. She proposed taking the ragtag troops from Shuoyang to Daliang to reclaim the territories lost by Commandery Princess Gaoyi.
The Crown Prince understood that if he said Bai Qingyan had led troops without orders, it would cause controversy in the court, harming Bai Qingyan.
It was the first ti the Crown Prince wanted to protect soone so strongly. He always knew he was as suspicious as his father. But this ti he wanted to live up to Bai Qingyan’s life-saving loyalty.
“Does Your Highness an to ask the Ministry of Revenue to gather provisions for the Princess of Zhen?” Minister of Revenue Chu Zhongxing asked. Gathering provisions was possible; Pri Minister Li Mao had already instructed Chu Zhongxing to prepare for Li Mingrui’s expedition to Daliang.
Chu Zhongxing was just waiting for the Crown Prince’s command to hand over the provisions to the Ministry of War. Why had the person changed to the Princess of Zhen suddenly?
One-eyed Fan Yuhuai, sitting under the high lamp, respectfully addressed the Crown Prince, “Your Highness, it’s not that I’m reluctant to spare the imperial guard. But after the Wuden Palace coup, we suffered heavy losses. The new recruits might be even less competent than those ragtag soldiers from Shuoyang. And the imperial guard’s primary duty is to protect the Imperial City and ensure the safety of His Majesty and Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince nodded, “Master Fan has a point. Minister of War, from where can we mobilize troops? No matter how many, we must send so troops to the Princess of Zhen.”
By using the word “must,” Shen Jingzhong understood that it had to be done.
“Well…” Minister of War Shen Jingzhong glanced at Pri Minister Lu and pondered for a mont, “If we talk about troops that the Princess of Zhen can command easily, it would naturally be the Bai family’s army.”
“Impossible…” Pri Minister Lu shook his head, “While the Princess of Zhen commands the Bai family’s army well, Xiliang is stirring; the Bai family’s army is needed at the frontier. Moreover, moving the Bai family’s army from the Jin-Xiliang border to Daliang would be too taxing!”
Shen Jingzhong pursed his lips, then suggested, “What if we dispatch troops from the Anping Army? Currently, the Anping Camp is under the command of the Dengzhou regional inspector, Dong Qingyue. They can guard against the Rong and Xiliang. With the Bai family’s army on the Xiliang side, I believe the Anping Camp can be sent for reinforcent.”
“I’d like to interject.” Minister of Revenue Chu Zhongxing bowed to the officials, “I am concerned that Pri Minister Li Mao’s son pledged to head to Daliang alone. Now, increasing reinforcents for the Princess of Zhen might displease the court.”
Pri Minister Lu turned a sharp gaze to Chu Zhongxing but addressed the Crown Prince, “The Anping Camp is suitable. Although the Princess of Zhen has the na of the God of Slaughter, her health is not robust. If she ended up as Daliang’s famous general, Xun Tianzhang, it would be detrintal to the Jin Kingdom.”
Pri Minister Lu left his sentence unfinished, but everyone knew the implication. With Bai Qingyan’s frail health, if she died en route to defeat Daliang, it would not be good for the Jin Kingdom.
“If the Liang Kingdom saw that even the invincible Bai family, Jin’s God of Slaughter, the Princess of Zhen, could be defeated, it would damage our morale and make the war more difficult!” Pri Minister Lu frowned at the Crown Prince, “Your Highness, sending soone to ask the Princess of Zhen if she could go to battle was reckless. The Bai family’s loyalty is unyielding. If His Majesty requested, even if unwell, the Bai family would answer the call.”
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