Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 819: Chapter 613: Chaos in the Court and Turmoil in the Administration

“Your Majesty, the court officials are already waiting outside the hall!” Li Shangxi approached the Emperor and said softly.

Chen Zhaojun slowly stood up, suddenly stumbled, and nearly fell to the ground.

Li Shangxi hurried forward to support him.

“Cough, cough~~” Chen Zhaojun started coughing violently, his face turning completely red.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Why are you just standing there, get some water quickly!” Li Shangxi angrily shouted at the little eunuch beside him.

A cup of tea soothed Chen Zhaojun considerably.

“Help me into the hall!” Chen Zhaojun’s voice was somewhat hoarse.

“Your Majesty, you must prioritize your health!” Li Shangxi advised.

“Help me into the hall!” Chen Zhaojun glared at Li Shangxi, his eyes slightly red.

Li Shangxi had no choice but to support him into the hall.

Once he was seated on the dragon throne, the officials outside entered to pay their respects.

Before the officials could finish their salutations, Chen Zhaojun hoarsely said: “Enough, let’s first talk about the matter of Prince Dai!”

“Your Majesty, I impeach General Zhou Lan of Beiyuan Town for holding excessive power, fearing the enemy and advancing reluctantly, wasting the court’s resources without any achievements!”

“With the fall of Dai State City and the death of Prince Dai, Zhou Lan must bear the main responsibility!”

An Imperial Censor stepped forward and loudly stated.

Was the fall of Dai State City related to Zhou Lan?

It cannot be said to have no relation, only that there was no direct relation.

With the armies of Beiyuan Town, Longbei Town, and Suzhou Town entering Longyuan to suppress bandits, Longbei Town and Suzhou Town were achieving successive victories, killing the enemy over a thousand miles, Suzhou Town had already advanced from Longxi into Longyuan, and Longbei Town was also progressing through Longyuan, soon to enter Longnan. Only Zhou Lan remained trapped in the northern part of Longyuan.

If Zhou Lan had disregarded the lives of the refugees and continued to suppress the bandits, perhaps by now, she would have entered the territory of Longnan.

This might have relieved the siege of Dai State.

But can Zhou Lan be blamed for this?

Chen Zhaojun remained silent.

He did not know the situation Zhou Lan faced, nor was he clear about the state of bandits in Longyuan.

He seemed to have lost control over matters outside the Capital City.

Because the Secret Martial Guards had been dismantled.

After Wang Zhongzhi passed away, the Secret Martial Guards were largely dismantled.

Lv Hua also left the Secret Martial Guards, and as for the reason, with each new Emperor comes new officials. After Chen Zhaojun ascended the throne, he placed his own people in the Secret Martial Guards, resulting in the ousting of many veterans from the Guards.

Chen Zhaojun was different from Emperor Yanping; Emperor Yanping, before ascending the throne, was Crown Prince for only a few months and did not have much power of his own.

But Chen Zhaojun was Crown Prince for twenty years, and his Eastern Palace had many old ministers of his residence.

His placement of people into the Secret Martial Guards was not wrong, but he was too anxious, too eager to have his people control the Secret Martial Guards.

However, the Secret Martial Guards was never an institution that could be controlled in a short period.

Moreover, a group unfamiliar with the affairs of the Secret Martial Guards only made the already fragmented Guards even more dilapidated.

The decline of the Secret Martial Guards caused Chen Zhaojun to lose sight and hearing, with no clear understanding of many matters outside the court.

At the same time, the civil and military officials were also suppressing the Secret Martial Guards. Originally, the spies of the Secret Martial Guards were spread throughout the empire, but now even the Capital City had become as porous as a sieve.

Chen Zhaojun thought this was normal, but in fact, it was not.

“I second this!”

“I second this!”

More than a dozen civil servants stood up to follow in the impeachment of Zhou Lan.

However, in the ranks of the military nobility, no one spoke out to defend Zhou Lan.

The morale of the nobility group was scattered, and their spirit was also in disarray.

Listening to the clamoring civil servants, Chen Zhaojun felt a tightness in his chest.

“All of you, shut up!”

He hoarsely let out an angry roar.

The officials fell silent.

Chen Zhaojun looked at the assembled civil and military officials with a gloomy gaze.

“Grand Secretary, you speak!”

Grand Secretary Wang Chonggu came forward and said: “Your Majesty, this old servant believes that the urgent matter is to mobilize the army to suppress the bandits in Longnan!”

Wang Chonggu, the second place in the imperial examination thirty years into Emperor Yanping’s reign, was indeed of the same year as Lu Wenquan, as Lu Wenquan was the third place that year. Now, he was the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Chancellor of the Central Extreme Hall, and Grand Mentor to the Crown Prince, while Lu Wenquan was only the Liao Yuan Governor.

The reason?

Lu Wenquan was of the Liaodong System, while Wang Chonggu was of the Jiangnan faction.

Wang Chonggu’s official career could be described as being extremely smooth. He stayed at the Hanlin Academy for three years, then moved between the Six Ministries for twelve years, became the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the Minister of Rites before entering the Cabinet.

In just twenty years, he entered the Cabinet, and in less than thirty years, he was the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

Among his contemporaries, first place Liu Shiyan had already been dismissed from office ten years ago due to court struggles, third place Lu Wenquan had been lingering in Liaodong, yet he was the only one to rise step by step.

“What proposal do you have?” Chen Zhaojun asked.

“I believe a Governor of Longyuan should be established to oversee the military and political affairs of the three provinces of Longyuan, Longxi, and Longnan, empowering them to coordinate the three towns of Beiyuan, Longbei, and Suzhou to suppress bandits and resettle refugees!” Wang Chonggu said.

Chen Zhaojun nodded slightly, finally hearing a proposal that seemed plausible.

“Who is suitable to serve as the Governor of Longyuan?”

Wang Chonggu said in a deep voice: “I believe Minister of War Du Hesheng is suitable for this important position!”

Du Hesheng, the third place in the imperial examination three years into Emperor Yanping’s reign, had an even smoother official career than Wang Chonggu.

A person who had never led troops serving as Minister of War, someone who had never been on a battlefield tasked with governing the three towns’ troops to suppress bandits, it’s hard to say what Wang Chonggu was thinking.

However, Chen Zhaojun surprisingly agreed with Wang Chonggu’s suggestion.

Because Chen Zhaojun himself had never led troops or been on a battlefield, he believed that overseeing the three towns’ troops in suppressing bandits required merely coordinating various matters, without the need to personally lead or personally go to battle.