Situ Chuanqiong, seated on the dragon throne, frowned and scanned the faces of the officials below. He raised his voice and asked, "Then, regarding the current situation in Pengxi Kingdom, which of my esteemed ministers is willing to lead troops to quell this disturbance?"
The officials he met his gaze turned their heads down, not daring to meet his eyes. The once lively court fell silent.
"Lift your heads!" Situ Chuanqiong's voice boomed, "Could it be that our great Dading Kingdom lacks even one person capable of leading an army?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this... ever since General Chu... was brought to justice, our court has not appointed a new Grand General!" Zhao Ping, the Vice Minister of War, stepped forward under pressure.
His second daughter, Zhao Xuewei, was married to the Emperor and conferred the title of Jieyu. However, she was not favored, and thus he held little influence in court.
Situ Chuanqiong knew that these officials had heavily relied on Chu Qian before, which was one of the reasons he had insisted on Chu Qian's demise. Nevertheless, the absence of a Grand General to protect the nation was indeed a problem. He pondered for a moment before announcing loudly, "All my esteemed ministers may recommend themselves. If anyone can successfully resolve the issue with Pengxi Kingdom, I shall immediately confer upon him the title of Grand General to protect the nation!"
The position of Grand General to protect the nation was truly tempting. After a few seconds of hesitation, the top scorer of the military examination from several years prior stepped forward. "This humble subject, Zhang Jian, is willing to share Your Majesty's burdens."
As the Dading Dynasty had enjoyed a period of stable governance in recent years, with internal and external threats resolved, the court had generally prioritized the military over civil matters.
Although Zhang Jian had been awarded the title of top scorer in the military examination years ago, the presence of Chu Qian, the Grand General to protect the nation, and later the top scholar in civil examination, Li Bu, who led efforts to solve issues like the locust plague, had rendered his own position in court largely insignificant. This invasion by Pengxi Kingdom, therefore, presented him with an opportunity to distinguish himself.
"Excellent! I shall assign you fifty thousand troops. You shall depart immediately for the border!" Situ Chuanqiong felt a surge of satisfaction: even without Chu Qian, his Dading Kingdom still possessed many capable generals and warriors.
Thus, Zhang Jian set off with a mighty force of fifty thousand soldiers. Over a month passed. Of the fifty thousand troops under his command, more than twenty thousand were former subordinates of General Chu Qian.
At that time, General Chu's two sons were imprisoned by Emperor Situ Chuanqiong under the pretext of investigating whether they were indeed guilty of treason. Chu Qian had rushed back from his border garrison. He was accompanied by several loyal and trusted officers.
Because the Emperor claimed to have received intelligence and evidence proving the Chu family's involvement with foreign enemies and treasonous intent, these young officers, fearing for General Chu's safety, had intended to storm the palace with him.
It was then that General Chu stopped them, saying that with elders and young children at home, such an action would only complicate matters further. General Chu stated that he had a clear conscience and believed His Majesty would see the truth, and thus he entered the palace alone.
After that, these officers never had the chance to see Grand General Chu again. The entire Chu family was executed, leaving only Empress Chu Yulan, who was relegated to the cold palace.
There were many questionable aspects to the Chu family's case, and its handling was far from transparent. Naturally, the soldiers who had originally served under General Chu harbored resentment and were deeply dissatisfied with Emperor Situ Chuanqiong.
However, being of low rank and influence, they were unable to clear General Chu's name. They could only be reluctantly split into smaller units by Emperor Situ Chuanqiong and dispersed among other generals.
Now, with Zhang Jian appointed as Grand General to protect the nation and leading troops to Pengxi Kingdom, these officers, though in the army, did not have their hearts with Zhang Jian. Furthermore, despite Zhang Jian's own martial prowess, he lacked experience in leading armies into battle. Often, he would merely sacrifice soldiers' lives without any discernible strategy.
As a result, after more than a month, Zhang Jian had not only failed to subdue Pengxi Kingdom but had also lost a significant number of soldiers. Consequently, a sense of unease permeated the Dading army, and their morale plummeted.
In the imperial court, officials stood in two rows, their expressions grave.
"Your Majesty, an urgent dispatch has arrived from General Zhang's camp, requesting further troop reinforcements." An official presented an eight-hundred-li urgent appeal.
"More reinforcements?" Situ Chuanqiong read the urgent dispatch and angrily threw it to the ground. "Zhang Jian has already led a total of eighty thousand troops, yet he still cannot handle that insignificant nation?"
The ministers in court remained silent like quails, afraid to anger the Emperor.
Prime Minister Qin Feng remained speechless. Half a month prior, his subordinates had reported that his private militia had been annihilated. Unsure if the Emperor had concrete evidence linking the private army to him, he dared not provoke His Majesty and tried to minimize his presence.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" It was the Right Prime Minister, Leng Guang, who spoke up. "Your Majesty, perhaps General Zhang's leadership ability is somewhat lacking. How about sending another capable general to accompany him?"
Situ Chuanqiong naturally knew that Zhang Jian's abilities in this regard were indeed insufficient, but at present, there was no one else available. "Then, esteemed minister Leng, do you have any capable generals to recommend?"
Leng Guang was also at a loss for words. He was a civil official, not a military commander. He was powerless in matters of troop deployment and could only shake his head at the Emperor.
Situ Chuanqiong pondered who else could be entrusted with this task. He himself was skilled in warfare, but as the ruler of a nation, personally leading troops against a minor Pengxi Kingdom would be too undignified.
The court once again fell into silence.
At that moment, Wang You, who had been waiting by the side, quietly approached and whispered into Situ Chuanqiong's ear, "Your Majesty, someone just reported that the Empress is waiting outside the hall and wishes to discuss a matter."
Situ Chuanqiong's brow furrowed involuntarily. The court was a place for men; women of the inner palace were strictly forbidden from interfering in state affairs, even the Empress. This was an ancestral rule, and the Empress should have known this. Why was she so ill-disciplined today?
Seeing Situ Chuanqiong's expression, Wang You knew he was displeased and quickly added, "Your servant would not normally report this at such a time, but the Empress stated that she is willing to lead the troops."
Before he could finish, Situ Chuanqiong understood. Indeed, Empress Chu Yulan was originally the daughter of Grand General Chu and a skilled warrior before becoming Empress. Seeing that there was truly no one else available, Situ Chuanqiong nodded and made an exception, "Let the Empress enter!"
Wang You bowed his head and then announced loudly to the outside, "Announce Her Majesty the Empress's entrance!"
The officials below erupted in a clamor.
"What is Her Majesty the Empress doing here?"
"How can a woman attend court?"
"Why is Her Majesty the Empress coming at this hour?"
...