Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 321: Achievements in Jingzhou

"Fourth brother!"

Ji Yunrui raised his head, no longer as warm as before, and looked at Ji Qingkong coldly: "Now that things have come to this, if I am exposed, do you think you can get away with it?"

He knew that Ji Qingkong was planning to pretend to please him in order to use him to get rid of Zhao Qi'an.

But he knew all this, but still acquiesced. That was because from the moment he knew Ji Qingkong's identity, there was no way Ji Qingkong could stay out of it!
Ji Qingkong was not dragged into the incident of assassinating Prince Pingnan, but he had been in this "muddy water" all along!
It was for this reason that Ji Yunrui talked about these things in front of Ji Qingkong without any concealment.

But I didn’t expect that until now the fourth brother still hasn’t made such an awareness!

Ji Qingkong looked embarrassed. He tried to hold it in for a long time but couldn't utter a word. He sat back in depression.

Ji Yunrui simply ignored him, looked at Monk Fadu, bowed and said: "I can't help you with this matter, you have to handle it yourself."

"Your Highness is too modest."

After mentioning this, Ji Yunrui changed the subject: "Now that my eldest brother has gone south, it's time for Prime Minister Wu to send people to Jingzhou, fourth brother..."

He looked at Ji Qingkong again.

Ji Qingkong looked unhappy, but still replied: "Don't worry, since I promised Third Brother, I will do it. I have communicated with my grandfather, and now it is time to take action."

……

On the other side, inside the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

Wu Yong soon learned the news that Prince Pingnan had left the capital, and ordered his servants to deliver visiting cards to each mansion.

Soon, the core officials of the Wu Party rushed to the Prime Minister's Mansion and gathered together.

Wu Yong sat in the main seat, looked at the people standing in the hall and talking, and coughed lightly.

Just a light cough made the originally noisy lobby quiet down instantly.

Everyone immediately fell silent and stood in the hall. This small hall was like a small court meeting.

Wu Yong noticed their reactions and showed some satisfaction. He cleared his throat and said, "Have you all heard about the eldest prince's departure from the capital?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and one of them even said, "Prime Minister Wu, the King of Pingnan is so proud of his achievements that he even turned a blind eye to your kindness. I am willing to file a memorial to impeach him and report him to the emperor!"

Wu Yong frowned when he heard this and glanced at the person who spoke.

How did such a stupid person get in?

He recognized the man as Li Shimao, the Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The Censorate was a place for clean officials. Although its power was almost stripped away by the Astronomical Survey Bureau, there were still some stubborn people in the Censorate who claimed to be clean officials. Even if he was the prime minister, it would be difficult for him to completely control the Censorate.

Even among the four high-ranking officials of the Censorate, namely the Left and Right Censors-in-Chief and the Left and Right Deputy Censors-in-Chief, only the Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief, who had the lowest status, was willing to serve under him.

Although this person is not very talented, he is quite useful. He firmly protects Wu Yong's position in the court. When there are some things that Wu Yong is not convenient to say, he is the best "substitute".

Anyone can criticize or scold anyone.

Wu Yong needs such a "mad dog" who is loyal to him in the court.

Originally, the best candidate in his mind was the hyena official Gou Xiangxi, but unfortunately this man was even stinkier and harder than the stinking stones in the cesspool of the Censorate. He took the initiative to show kindness to him, but he not only did not appreciate it, but instead he attacked him and kept staring at the Wu family in Xuzhou and his disciples and former officials.

When Wu Yong thought of Gou Xiangxi's ugly face, his expression darkened, and he felt unlucky. He frowned and scolded, "The King of Pingnan has made unparalleled military achievements, which are enough to extend the prosperity of our Daqian country for a hundred years. How can you tarnish his reputation? Get out!"

Ji Wuchang had just made great contributions and was then made a king. Wouldn't it be a nuisance for himself and His Majesty if he wrote an impeachment memorial at this critical juncture?

After being scolded, Li Shimao looked ashamed and quickly retreated, not daring to say anything more.

Wu Yong calmed down and said, "The fact that the Prince of Pingnan has left the capital now means that he will not interfere in the battle for the crown prince. This is a good thing for us."

"Whether the Western Desert Zhou family rebels or not is still a matter of debate, but it is a fact that no one has come to help the Third Prince. Now the Prince of Pingnan does not support the Third Prince either, so our chances of winning this time in the battle for the crown prince are extremely high!"

Wu Yong paused for a moment, looked at the increasingly excited expressions of the people opposite him, and said, "But... the disaster in Jingzhou this time was not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster."

"In Jingzhou City, the remnants of the Salvation Cult are wreaking havoc, and there are many martial arts masters among them. Although I can forcibly mobilize some of the palace soldiers, it may not be safe. Do you have any ideas?"

This... is a bit embarrassing.

Most of those present were civil servants who had devoted their lives to studying classics, and almost none of them had ever practiced martial arts.

Everyone started talking about it.

"We all have warriors in our families to protect our clans. Why don't we gather together? I think we will be a strong force."

"To suppress the rebellion this time, the elite troops of the Patrol of the Heavens were mobilized in full force, and the troops from the four prefectures were also dispatched, but they still failed to pacify Jingzhou. What can a few warriors in the family do?"

"It is a force after all. Should we do nothing?"

"In my opinion, the main force to pacify Jingzhou is still the Patrol of the Astronomical Observatory and the soldiers of the four prefectures. It would be better to bribe the generals among them. Your Majesty only said that their merits would be counted. If they are the men of the Second Prince, their merits in pacifying the rebellion should also be counted as those of the Second Prince."

"It's easy to talk about the generals of the government troops, but what about the astronomical observatory? What are you thinking about!"

"The Patrol of the Celestial Beings is loyal to the king, and the Second Prince should be the next emperor. Why not pledge allegiance in advance? He should know the current situation."

The debate intensified, and everyone proposed some methods, but none of them seemed feasible.

Wu Yong did not stop them, but just watched everyone express their opinions.

Behind him, Lin Wenxu wrote down everyone's opinions one by one.

When the arguments in the hall gradually died down, everyone began to look at Wu Yong again, wanting the Left Prime Minister to make a decision.

At this moment, Lin Wenxu bowed behind Wu Yong and said, "Teacher, I have an immature suggestion."

"explain."

"Now, Your Majesty uses the achievements in pacifying Jingzhou as a test for selecting a crown prince. However, the commander-in-chief of the pacification of Jingzhou is still General Ling Fang. The Patrol Observatory, the East Factory, and the soldiers of the four prefectures all obey his command. If we compete for military merits, we will only get some leftovers."

As Lin Wenxu spoke, he carefully observed Wu Yong's expression. Seeing that his expression did not change, he continued boldly, "If General Ling is in charge of the regular army, even if we gather warriors from our respective families, we will only be a group of scattered soldiers in Jingzhou. I'm afraid that General Ling will not only not let us get involved in some major events that can make great contributions, but he will even keep our people away to avoid disrupting military affairs."

Wu Yong nodded secretly and asked, "According to what you said, whether it is our people or the Third Prince's people, it is not easy to achieve merit?"

Lin Wenxu smiled slightly, bowed and replied: "Teacher, if you want to make achievements in Jingzhou, it is not just about how many people from the Salvation Church you kill, or how many outposts of the Salvation Church you destroy..."

"In Jingzhou itself, there are many places where you can make achievements."

(End of this chapter)