Qing Yao

Chapter 328 Please make a judgment, Holy One!
The victory report in Fu Chang'an's hands was sent to the capital by Qingyao's guards on horseback. It was original material, similar to a local report, and not the official memorial that Zhao An submitted after it had been cut and modified.

This firsthand material was hastily written by Qingyao. What level of skill does Qingyao possess?
He was just a spoiled member of the imperial family. Suddenly, he picked up a pen and wrote a report of victory to the court. Since he didn't know the specifics, the report made Zhao An sound like Zhao Zilong of Changshan or Zhang Fei of Yan. It was exaggerated to the extreme.

Qingyao used every adjective that could be used to describe a famous or brave general. He not only said that Zhao An defeated 100,000 bandits with 800 brave warriors, but also that he killed 20,000 to 30,000 religious bandits and captured tens of thousands of them.

They directly labeled all the disaster victims outside Suzhou as religious bandits. Of course, this wasn't entirely wrong, since the disaster victims were indeed bewitched by the White Lotus Sect and participated in some "excessive" activities.

Fu Chang'an's "quality" is not much higher than Qing Yao's. His high position today is only due to his status as the illegitimate son of "Fourth Fu'er". Unlike his brother Fu Kang'an, who is proficient in military affairs, this guy knows nothing about military matters. He probably can't even distinguish between rice and wheat. Since becoming an official, all he has done is make money. After the initial shock, it turns out that one dares to write about it, and the other dares to believe it.

"Damn it, Zhao Youlu really made me proud. Now let's see if Hailancha is still so imposing. What a fierce general of the Eight Banners, ptooey, he's not even as good as a bondservant!"

Overjoyed, Fu Chang'an picked up his teacup and gulped down a mouthful of water. Han Zhangjing, who was presenting the good news, looked on in bewilderment: "Isn't Hailancha your brother Fukang'an's man? Why does Your Excellency seem so eager for Hailancha to suffer a major setback?"

Han Zhangjing had no idea of ​​the subtleties involved.

Although Hailancha had been following Fukang'an in battles across the country for years, he was actually promoted and recommended to the old master by Agui. He was always outwardly obedient to Fukang'an, but in private he always looked down on "Sanfu'er" and only behaved obediently like a Persian cat in front of Agui.

It was precisely because Hailancha and he were outwardly on good terms but inwardly at odds that Fukang'an vigorously promoted a group of Han generals from the Green Standard Army in recent years. Among them, the one whom Fukang'an appreciated the most was Yang Yuchun from Sichuan, whom he took with him wherever he went.

As the younger brother, how could Fu Chang'an not know that Hailancha and his Fu family were not of the same ilk?

Unfortunately, the Solon barbarians and their soldiers were incredibly skilled fighters. In several battles, without their efforts, his brother would have had a hard time achieving any merit. Therefore, he could only suppress his dissatisfaction with Hailancha in his heart.

How could Fu Chang'an not be overjoyed when his own camp suddenly produced a formidable fighter even more powerful than Hailancha?

Overjoyed, he immediately ordered someone to send the good news to Rehe by fast horse so that the old master could also be happy. Unexpectedly, footsteps came from outside the duty room. It turned out to be Dong Gao, another Grand Councilor who was staying in the capital, and Prince Jia, who was interning at the Grand Council, coming over chatting and laughing.

Prince Jia, Yongyan, and Prince Cheng, Yongxing, were arranged by the old master to be apprentices in the Grand Council a few months ago. At the time, the court and the public said that this was the old master's way of testing "successors".

Because of his relationship with Heshen, Prince Cheng, Yongxing, learned a lot of real knowledge and came into contact with many court secrets during his apprenticeship. However, Prince Jia, Yongyan, was like a monk going to work and ringing the bell. Apart from showing up every day, he didn't learn anything real at all.

Yongyan was truly patient; not only did he not complain about Heshen to his father, the emperor, but he also praised Heshen for taking good care of him.

Yongyan's internship at the Grand Council only got on track after Heshen accompanied the old master to Rehe for summer retreat.

We also have to thank Fu Chang'an for this.

Although Fu Chang'an was in cahoots with Heshen and was a key member of the Heshen faction, he and Yongyan had grown up together and had a good relationship. Therefore, although he, like Heshen, also placed his bets on his brother-in-law Yongxing, he still took good care of Yongyan, unlike Heshen who always wanted to kill the people around Yongyan.

Yongyan had previously accompanied Dong Gao to the Ministry of Justice for an "inspection" of the work. Ostensibly, he was accompanying Dong Gao, but in reality, it was an opportunity that Dong Gao had deliberately arranged for Yongyan.

When the Ministry of Justice saw that the Grand Councilor had come with them, they naturally dared not neglect Prince Jia as they had done before, which made Yongyan very grateful to Dong Gao.

"Lord Dong, please!"

It must be said that Yongyan was very good at handling people, even disregarding his status as a prince and taking the initiative to open the door for Dong Gao. Dong Gao was a man of principle, how could he possibly rush in before the prince? Just as he was about to decline, he saw Fu Chang'an looking at the two of them with a memorial in his hand.

"Your Highness and Lord Dong have arrived just in time! What great news! The White Lotus Rebellion in Anhui has been quelled!"

Fu Chang'an stepped forward with a smile and handed the good news to Dong Gao.

"Oh? So fast?"

Dong Gao took the victory report from Fu Chang'an, blinked his slightly swollen eyes, and carefully read the report from beginning to end. The more he read, the more shocked he became. Finally, his voice was filled with disbelief as he said, "More than 20,000 religious bandits were killed, and tens of thousands were captured alive? How is this possible!"

He then looked at Han Zhangjing inside the room: "Has this report of victory been verified?"

The Han officer bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Excellency, it was sent by Qingyao, a second-class guard from the Eagle and Hound Bureau, on an urgent mission. The seals are complete, so it should be accurate."

"Is it?"

Dong Gao looked down again and saw that it was indeed stamped with the seal of the guard Qingyao. Puzzled, he handed the report of victory to Prince Jia, Yongyan, who was standing next to him.

Upon hearing that it was about Anhui, Yongyan quickly took the document, but after reading it, he asked in confusion, "It took Brother Fu more than half a year to quell the bandit rebellion in Taiwan. How could Zhao Youlu quell such a large-scale bandit uprising in just a few days?"

At this point, he added, clearly in a questioning tone, "Is Zhao Youlu, a bondservant who rose to prominence through donation, any more capable than my elite Eight Banners troops?"

Upon hearing this, Dong Gao hesitated to respond, knowing full well the connection between the Anhui affair and Yongyan. Seeing Yongyan's apparent disbelief, Fu Chang'an said, "Your Highness, that's what the victory report says. Surely those guards wouldn't dare deceive the court, would they? They certainly don't have the guts!"

After speaking, he looked at Dong Gao and asked, "What does Lord Dong think?"

Dong Gao did not answer immediately, but instead read the victory report carefully from beginning to end, paying particular attention to the battle descriptions and numerical details. After a moment, he slowly said, "This victory report doesn't seem to have been hastily fabricated, but..."

Fu Chang'an hurriedly asked, "But what?"

"It just doesn't look very real."

Dong Gao placed the victory report on the table, tapped the paper lightly with his finger, and pondered, "Eight hundred against one hundred thousand, it is not unusual to win with fewer troops. Many famous generals throughout history have done it. However, although the White Lotus rebels are a rabble, they should not be so easily defeated. After all, the Green Standard Army in Anhui has been at peace for a long time and its fighting strength is not as good as that of the Eight Banners."

After hearing what Dong Gao said, a hint of dissatisfaction flashed in Fu Chang'an's eyes, and he snorted softly: "Does Lord Dong suspect that Qingyao's guards are exaggerating Zhao Youlu's war achievements?"

Seeing that Fu Chang'an was unhappy with him, Dong Gao quickly shook his head and said, "That's not what I meant. I just think it's not appropriate to make a hasty judgment on the truth of this matter right now. It would be best to send someone to Anhui to verify it. If that doesn't work, we can wait until Zhu Gui returns to the capital to inquire about the details. After all, Zhu Gui has just stepped down from his post in Anhui and knows the local situation best."

"Zhu Gui?"

Fu Chang'an sneered, making no attempt to hide his schadenfreude at Zhu Gui's recall to the capital. "Lord Zhu is probably rushing back in a sorry state right now. What do you expect him to say? Humph, if it weren't for Zhao Youlu, I'm afraid even Lord Zhu wouldn't be able to clean up this mess in Anhui!"

Dong Gao frowned slightly. He had always respected Zhu Gui, who was an honest and upright official, but he was reluctant to speak up for Zhu Gui because of Fu Chang'an's relationship with Heshen.

He couldn't say it, but Yongyan couldn't help but glance at Fu Chang'an, who had grown up with him since childhood, and said in a deep voice, "Master Zhu has just stepped down, and Zhao Youlu has already made such a great contribution. Don't you think it's too coincidental, Fourth Brother Fu?"

The implication is that either the battle report is rigged, or the White Lotus Sect is behind it.

"Could there be such a coincidence as the return of Zhu Ming?"

Fu Chang'an was quick to retaliate. He had played a part in bringing Zhu Gui down, and Yongyan knew about it, so there was no need for him to hold a grudge against Yongyan.

Yongyan suppressed his anger: "You wouldn't actually believe such absurd and far-fetched words, would you?"

"What does it matter to me whether I believe it or not? It's the prince's business to value Master Zhu. All I know is that the White Lotus rebels caused a lot of trouble in Anhui during Master Zhu's tenure."

Fu Chang'an showed no intention of giving Yongyan any leeway. Apart from not having the title of prince, Yongyan was inferior to him in every way.

Upon hearing this, Yongyan laughed in anger: "Fourth Brother Fu, are you implying that Master Zhu deliberately allowed the White Lotus Sect to grow stronger?"

"Your Highness, I dare not make such a judgment."

Fu Chang'an was too lazy to say more to Yongyan.

Enraged, Yongyan took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said, "Master Zhu is already on his way back to Beijing. At that time, everyone will have a fair judgment."

He turned and left in a huff.

Seeing this, Dong Gao looked helpless, unable to persuade or shout at him.

After Yongyan had walked away, Fu Chang'an suddenly said meaningfully, "It seems that in the Prince's heart, this Master Zhu is more important than us."

Dong Gao coughed lightly: "Zhu Gui is the prince's teacher, so it's only natural for the prince to speak up for him. Lord Fu, please don't take it too seriously."

"He's a prince, what am I? How could I possibly take it to heart?"

Glancing at Dong Gao, who was feigning ignorance, Fu Chang'an chuckled: "But speaking of which, Zhao Youlu is quite a remarkable man. He dealt with the Canal Gang in Jiangsu and quickly quelled the White Lotus Rebellion in Anhui. He is indeed capable and resourceful. His appointment as acting governor of Anhui is a testament to His Majesty's discerning eye. If Zhu Gui were allowed to run rampant in Anhui, who knows what kind of trouble he might cause."

Regardless of how much exaggeration there is in the battle reports, the rebellion in Anhui should have been quelled. Dong Gao had no doubt about this. Throughout history, no group of people from the White Lotus Sect had ever been able to cause any real trouble. These heretics in this dynasty have also caused trouble before, but each time they were quickly suppressed.

However, this actually confirmed what Fu Chang'an hadn't said before: that Prince Jia's good teacher, Zhu Gui, was indeed quite incompetent.

"Alright, now that we have reported the victory, let's go to Ferghana and ask His Majesty for a decision."

Fu Chang'an stamped his seal on the victory report, then handed it to the secretary beside him and ordered, "Send it to the Summer Palace, by express courier, six hundred li!"

(End of this chapter)