“Brazen!”
Shen Jing’s single sentence instantly stunned Emperor Zhou and the assembled officials.
Once they recovered, Yao Yu eagerly rebuked, “How dare you, Shen Jing, speak such nonsense when His Majesty questions you?”
“Good, good!”
Shen Jing nodded repeatedly. “Since Lord Yao doesn’t want me to speak, I won’t.”
With that, Shen Jing immediately fell silent.
Upon hearing Shen Jing’s words, Yao Yu felt a sudden sense of unease.
However, before he could retaliate, Emperor Zhou’s gaze swept over him. “Or perhaps, I should also remain silent and let you do all the talking?”
Yao Yu’s expression changed, and he quickly bowed. “Your humble servant misspoke. Your humble servant merely did not wish to see Shen Jing offend His Majesty’s heavenly might.”
“Even the most heinous criminals have the right to defend themselves! What’s more, Shen Jing has rendered meritorious service!”
Emperor Zhou gave Yao Yu a meaningful glance, then looked at Shen Jing with a half-smile. “Tell me, what do you mean by ‘brazen’? I look at your face, and it’s a standard face, not that big at all!”
“This junior indeed feels his face is brazen.”
Shen Jing looked up and gave a wry smile. “To be frank, Your Majesty, this junior only has a loyal heart; he never even considered wanting any rewards.”
“This junior is merely an unknown person, yet he can cause so many ministers to discuss his merits and demerits in court, even neglecting important state affairs!”
“Anyone who didn’t know would think that this junior’s small matter is more important than state affairs!”
“Isn’t this junior just brazen?”
To hell with them!
What kind of people are they, really!
The Yong Country Delegation is almost here, and they don’t care.
Prince Ji’s rebellion, they don’t care either.
Winter is approaching, the lives of the common people in the world, they still don’t care!
Instead, they are here caring about his merits and demerits?
Why not give them ten days to half a month to hold a special seminar on this matter?
Listening to Shen Jing’s slightly sarcastic words, the officials’ faces immediately showed some discomfort.
However, with Yao Yu’s earlier example, even if some ministers were displeased with Shen Jing, they dared not speak.
“Imperial Father, Shen Jing is right!”
Just then, Ye Shen advised Emperor Zhou, “Your son believes that discussing Shen Jing’s merits, demerits, and rewards is still too early!”
Emperor Zhou glanced at Ye Shen, pondering inwardly.
If Ye Shen had said these words before Shen Jing spoke, he would have been secretly pleased.
But for him to say them now was tantamount to echoing Shen Jing’s words.
From this perspective, he had already fallen short.
Ye Shen, unaware of Emperor Zhou’s thoughts, continued, “Now that Prince Ji’s rebellion has not yet been quelled, and the front-line battles are in a stalemate, neither merits nor demerits should be discussed now! Wouldn’t it be better for the court to assess Shen Jing’s merits and demerits based on the losses and impact of this war after Prince Ji’s rebellion has been quelled?”
“The Crown Prince is absolutely right!” Tang Zhi, as the Crown Prince’s father-in-law, immediately agreed.
To be honest, the Crown Prince’s response was quite good.
He neither denied what the Second Prince said, thereby not offending Yao Jian, nor did he indirectly imply that the Second Prince had not fully considered the matter.
“Yes, it’s too early to discuss merits and demerits now!”
“The most urgent task is to quickly quell Prince Ji’s rebellion, to prevent the court from suffering greater losses!”
“Right, the Yong Country Delegation will arrive in the capital within half a month; nothing is more important than quelling the rebellion right now!”
“Lord Deng is absolutely right…”
With Tang Zhi speaking first, many officials also followed suit, expressing their opinions.
There were those from the Crown Prince’s faction, and also those not from his faction.
“Hmm, the Crown Prince makes a good point!”
Emperor Zhou nodded, then asked, “Duke Qi, how are the matters concerning the suppression of the rebellion in Qu Prefecture progressing?”
Minister of War Pei Ji stepped forward. “Reporting to Your Majesty, the imperial army has broken the rebels’ offensive, pushing them back to the Yuping Pass line, and has divided its forces into two routes.”
“One route is at the front of Yuping Pass, defending against a rebel counterattack and waiting for an opportunity to breach Yuping Pass.”
“The other route is advancing from the southeast, attacking Yi Nan…”
Pei Ji reported the latest front-line situation to Emperor Zhou in detail.
As long as either of the two armies breaks through the enemy, the rebellion can be quickly quelled.
But currently, both armies have encountered some difficulties.
Yuping Pass is the most important pass in Qu Prefecture, with treacherous terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The front-line army lacks large siege equipment and cannot launch an effective attack on Yuping Pass in a short time.
Meanwhile, the thirty thousand troops attacking Yi Nan are blocked by the Yi River and cannot cross it to attack Yi Nan in a short time.
Cao Yuan, who is in charge of suppressing this rebellion, is also quite troubled by this.
Listening to Pei Ji’s report, Emperor Zhou couldn’t help but frown and asked again, “How long do you think it will take to completely quell the rebellion?”
Pei Ji pondered for a moment and replied, “I’m afraid it will still take about three months!”
If the people Emperor Zhou had planted near Prince Ji could secretly open the city gates, the problem could probably be resolved within ten days.
However, he couldn’t say this in court, nor could he rely entirely on those people.
What if those people proved useless? Would the war simply not be fought then?
Emperor Zhou narrowed his eyes. “The Yong Country Delegation will arrive in the capital in about half a month, yet our dynasty cannot even quell a small rebellion. If you were a Yong Country envoy, wouldn’t you take advantage of the situation?”
Pei Ji paused, then said, “Your humble servant understands Your Majesty’s concerns, but the front lines indeed face some difficulties. I ask Your Majesty to grant the front-line soldiers a bit more time.”
“I know the front lines have difficulties, but the court also has difficulties!” Emperor Zhou said with sharp eyes and an undeniable tone, “I need the Ministry of War to completely quell the rebellion within one month!”
Great Zhou must demonstrate sufficient strength to deter Yong Country!
They needed to let Yong Country know that although Great Zhou’s national power had declined, its combat strength remained!
If Yong Country wanted to take advantage, it had better nip that idea in the bud!
Upon hearing this, Pei Ji immediately grew anxious. “Your Majesty, one month might be a bit difficult for Cao Yuan!”
“Under Your Majesty’s immense pressure, if he cannot cross the Yi River, Cao Yuan will inevitably lead his troops to forcefully attack Yuping Pass!”
“With insufficient large siege equipment, this is tantamount to sacrificing lives!”
“If they fail to capture it after a long siege and suffer heavy losses, and the rebels take the opportunity to counterattack, the front-line army could suffer a major defeat…”
Pei Ji elaborated on the pros and cons to Emperor Zhou, secretly wondering in his heart.
Is His Majesty confused?
If, as a last resort, a forced attack was chosen, it wouldn’t be impossible.
But it’s not even that time yet!
As he wondered, Pei Ji’s peripheral vision caught sight of Shen Jing again.
Hmm?
Could His Majesty’s words be meant for Shen Jing?
Surely not?
Does His Majesty need to specifically say all this to Shen Jing?
If that were truly the case, His Majesty would be attaching far too much importance to Shen Jing, wouldn’t he?
“Your Majesty, Duke Qi speaks the truth. Your humble servant believes that Cao Yuan should be given more time.”
“Yes, Imperial Father, this matter must not be rushed!”
“It’s possible the rebels are just waiting for the imperial army to launch a fierce attack on them, hoping to deplete the court’s military strength, and then launch a surprise attack when the imperial army is exhausted.”
“Your humble servant seconds that!”
Soon, many officials stood up to support Pei Ji, and the Fourth Prince, Ye Zhen, also followed suit.
Listening to the officials’ advice, Emperor Zhou looked up at Ye Shen. “Crown Prince, what do you think?”
“Your son believes that the matter of quelling the rebellion should not be delayed too long, but it also cannot be rushed.”
Ye Shen, acting as a master of balance, said solemnly, “If the rebellion can be quelled within two months, it will be enough to show Yong Country the strength of our Great Zhou!”