Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 396 The Prime Minister (Part Two)

Despite his advanced age, Prime Minister Pang possesses exceptional execution skills.

That night, Prime Minister Pang stayed up late and wrote a passionate memorial. More than thirty civil officials, including Vice Minister Qin, signed it.

This memorial was copied hundreds of times and quickly spread.

Almost every civil and military official in the northern prefectures and counties received a copy. Then, it spread to the south.

Prime Minister Pang had many protégés, old friends, and acquaintances, while Vice Minister Qin and other civil officials also had their own relatives and friends. With everyone's concerted efforts, this joint memorial requesting the establishment of a new emperor spread throughout the land within a month.

Even King Qiao has a copy.

In recent years, General Situ led his imperial guards to attack the capital Luoyang, making it difficult for King Qiao to sit securely on his "dragon throne." After suffering a defeat, he fled in disgrace back to his base in Jiangnan to recruit more soldiers and horses, and then led his troops to attack again, retaking Luoyang.

The pitiful city of Luoyang changed hands several times. The once glorious capital of the Jing Dynasty was severely ravaged by years of war, and the people suffered unspeakably.

At the end of last year, King Qiao once again led his troops to recapture Luoyang. After Situ Xi's defeat, he had no choice but to temporarily retreat to Qinzhou.

"What is this?" Tao Wudi, who used to be a local ruffian, still couldn't shake his rude habits even now that he was a great general: "Why has Brother been looking at this?"

Even though King Qiao's knowledge was limited, he was still literate. After reading the memorial copied onto paper, he sighed deeply and said, "Heaven is truly unfair!"

"We were forced into a corner and had no choice but to raise an army. We quickly marched to the capital and killed the dog emperor. But we didn't have many good days. Situ Xi kept chasing us and fighting us, and there was no peace in the army. Those people were also a bunch of unreasonable scoundrels. If I want to fight and support my army, I need money and food. Now that I've taken their money, I'll reduce their taxes once the country is at peace."

The result was that the people didn't understand King Qiao's "good intentions" at all. Every time he "requisitioned grain," he had to resort to knives and guns to kill people.

As a result, King Qiao's "righteous army" became increasingly infamous, even worse than the Imperial Guard.

Then look at Pei Qinghe. Under Prime Minister Pang's eloquent writing, he loves the people like his own children, cherishes the common people, maintains strict military discipline, is self-disciplined and frugal, and is as brave as a god in battle. He is simply a saint in the world.

“These civil officials are all just flatterers and sycophants.” Tao Wudi clearly hadn’t realized the true purpose of the memorial that had reached Luoyang City, and blurted out a bad idea: “There are also a bunch of civil officials in Luoyang City. I’ll go and call a few of them over and have them write an article to make my elder brother famous.”

Qiao Tianwang glared at him and said, "Prime Minister Pang is just trying to create momentum for Pei Qinghe's ascension to the throne by writing articles to praise him. I have already ascended the throne and sat on the dragon throne. What do I need these empty gestures for?"

Tao Wudi thought for a moment and then came up with another bad idea: "Why don't we send troops to attack Yan County? After we take it, the vast territory of Youzhou and Jizhou will all be ours."

Qiao Tianwang sighed: "Do you think I don't want to? That scoundrel Situ Xi has been keeping an eye on us. How can we spare the strength to send troops to fight the Pei family army?"

"Think about it again. The Bohai Army has 70,000 to 80,000 men, and Pei Qinghe decimated them in just a few months. Can our righteous army defeat Pei's army?"

Tao Wudi looked down at her with disdain: "What can a mere woman do, even if she has some ability? The civil and military officials in the north have all lost their minds. They actually supported a woman as emperor."

"We can't spare the resources right now. We'll deal with Situ Xi first, and then send troops to attack Yan County."

"This great land should all belong to our eldest brother. It's really unsatisfying that the north and south are divided into two dynasties."

Qiao Tianwang's eyes flashed, and he suddenly laughed: "That's right. For now, let's follow her to establish a new dynasty, and when we conquer Yan County in the future, we'll bring Pei Qinghe here."

Tao Wudi laughed lewdly and obscenely: "Then we'll have General Pei warm the bed for our elder brother." King Qiao laughed heartily: "Bring me pen and ink, I'll personally write a letter to Pei Qinghe to congratulate her."

……

"General Situ!"

Hundreds of miles away, in the Imperial Guard camp, a military officer hurried over with a solemn expression and presented a piece of paper: "This was sent from the north. It is a memorial written by Prime Minister Pang himself and signed by Vice Minister Qin and more than thirty other civil officials."

General Situ took the paper expressionlessly, read it once, and then sneered: "Prime Minister Pang is indeed a man of great talent. In just a few hundred words, he has almost praised Pei Qinghe to the heavens."

"Look, what about being invincible and unconquerable, what about being loyal, brave, and filial to resist foreign enemies, and what about loving the people like one's own children and cherishing the common people."

"If you didn't know better, you'd think a sage had emerged from the North."

General Situ's face was full of sarcasm, but his trusted generals were only worried: "Prime Minister Pang and the others want to support Pei Qinghe as the new emperor."

"Speaking of which, our Imperial Guard is the true loyal and brave army. We have been fighting the rebels in Jiangnan for the past few years. Once we recapture Luoyang, the Grand General should rightfully ascend the throne and rule the world."

"But then Prime Minister Pang pulled this stunt, praising General Pei to the skies. Where does that leave the Grand General?"

General Situ's face turned pale as he felt as if his heart and lungs had been pierced.

Prime Minister Pang cleared Pei Qinghe's name, winning over the hearts and minds of the people. A civil official's pen is more powerful than a thousand troops.

Just as his confidant had predicted, Pei Qinghe established a new dynasty and became the new emperor. A whole host of former high-ranking officials and ministers flocked to Pei Qinghe's command. Wasn't he, the Grand General of the Imperial Guard, in an awkward position?
Leaving aside the defeats, even if he won against the Jiangnan rebels, what would he do? Would he then remotely acknowledge Pei Qinghe as emperor?
Absolutely impossible!

General Situ crossed that option off his mind without hesitation. That left only one other path.

"Bring me pen and ink. I want to write a letter to Prime Minister Pang." General Situ said coldly, "I want to ask him, the Emperor's body is not yet cold, the blood feud of the capital's fall has not been avenged, and he wants to enthrone a new emperor. With such selfish and treacherous behavior, what right does he have to represent the officials who once respected the court? How can he be worthy of being a prime minister?"

……

King Qiao's personal letter and General Situ's letter were sent to the North one after the other.

Prime Minister Pang was a clever man; without opening the letter, he directly delivered General Situ's letter to Pei Qinghe.

Pei Qinghe first opened Qiao Tianwang's letter, and after reading it, she said to Pei Yun, "That scoundrel Qiao is flexible and willing to divide the country with me."

Pei Yun scoffed, "I don't have time to deal with them now. I'll take care of them when I have the time later."

Pei Qinghe smiled and opened General Situ's letter. After reading only a few lines, he sneered: "General Situ considers himself a meritorious official who recovered Jingchao's territory and vehemently criticizes Prime Minister Pang for his despicable character."

Pei Yun raised an eyebrow: "So, it turns out that the one who supports your ascension to the throne is that traitor Qiao, while the one who vehemently opposes it is General Situ."

Pei Qinghe curled her lips into a sneer, her gaze cold: "In the end, it all comes down to who's better at fighting. The winner takes all, the loser is condemned. We don't need to care about them."

(End of this chapter)