Lu Nianfu's pulse was remarkably steady, while Emperor Changwu in the imperial palace nearly suffered a heart attack.
Situ Yan submitted two memorial scrolls.
The open memorial stated that he had eradicated seven bandit lairs in Jinzhong and Taiyuan, capturing over four thousand bandits. Countless spoils of war were recovered, along with nine copper mines and four armories.
Xiao Qi, leading only five thousand elite soldiers, had achieved such results in such a short time. Emperor Changwu was deeply gratified.
His Xiao Qi was truly a reincarnation of a military star.
As exhilarating as the open memorial was, the secret one was equally distressing.
Emperor Changwu, in a fit of rage, smashed several precious porcelain pieces. He could never have imagined that while the sons of the battlefield were guarding the Great Yin's territory with their lives, Shanxi was already in league with officials and bandits, having long become a supply station for border weapons. Had these people's consciences been eaten by dogs? This was no longer mere corruption; it was treason.
Unbeknownst to him, as he scraped against a shard of porcelain, Emperor Changwu's palm was already stained with blood.
Li Furui rushed forward, tightly pressing a handkerchief to Emperor Changwu's hand, "Your Majesty, your dragon body is paramount. Someone, quickly summon the imperial physician."
"It's just a minor injury, summon..."
He had intended to say summon the princes to the palace for discussion, but as the words left his mouth, he realized that both the Crown Prince and Prince Ning had been thoroughly offended by Xiao Qi. In the secret memorial, Xiao Qi had requested reinforcements to purge the Shanxi officialdom. It would be fortunate if the Crown Prince and Prince Ning didn't secretly obstruct him, let alone genuinely help him.
This brat knew nothing of getting along with others.
Even the smallest wound to the Emperor was no trivial matter. Three imperial physicians arrived hastily with their medicine chests. Seeing the commotion, Emperor Changwu couldn't help but glare at Li Furui, "Why the rush? If you waited a bit longer, wouldn't this wound have healed?"
The three imperial physicians, thinking the Emperor was chiding them for their slowness, hastily knelt and repeatedly pleaded for forgiveness.
Emperor Changwu rolled his eyes and extended his hand for them to see.
The imperial physicians, upon seeing the tiny wound, were immediately abashed.
His Majesty truly meant it literally.
"Imperial Physician Ji?" The most senior imperial physician had bandaged the Emperor's wound. Observing their timid appearances, Emperor Changwu felt a pang of annoyance. He wanted his subjects to fear him, but not to be solely driven by fear.
Perhaps it was a case of birds of a feather flocking together, but Ji Jin, in his interactions, was quite similar to Xiao Qi, just less ostentatious.
Emperor Changwu greatly admired this.
The imperial physician replied, "Imperial Physician Ji went to check the pulse of the Ruo Royal Consort today."
"Then, when he returns, have him come see me."
"Yes."
Emperor Changwu quickly reviewed the military officers currently in the capital, only to find that aside from the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Forest Army, most of the court's military officials had some connection to either the Crown Prince or Prince Ning. He couldn't help but curse Situ Yan again; the troublesome brat, even if he wanted to be a pure minister, didn't need to offend everyone.
It seemed that upon his return to the capital, he would have to teach him a good lesson on how to employ people.
However, that was a matter for the future. The most important thing now was to select someone to lead troops to Shanxi.
Excluding the factions of the Crown Prince and Prince Ning, the number of potential candidates was meager. The most suitable would be the Duke Xie's manor and the Duke of Zhenguo's manor.
Duke Xie had been ordered to guard the south, and his sons and grandsons were all military talents. Currently, at the manor, besides the old, weak, women, and children, the only able-bodied man remaining was Xie Chen, who was forced to serve as an official in the capital.
Given the precedent of the Duke of Zhenguo's manor, Duke Xie felt that, no matter what, each generation must have a male heir to continue the Xie family line. Even if other male members tragically died on the battlefield, at least there would be a man in the capital capable of upholding the family honor, preventing the widowed and orphaned from suffering.
Xie Chen also favored martial arts over scholarly pursuits, wholeheartedly desiring to go to the frontier. However, his luck in the lottery was poor, and he was eventually compelled to pursue civil service.
The unlucky fellow had failed the imperial examinations twice already and had now bought an official position in the Ministry of Revenue. He was responsible for the military provisions and supplies for the southern region. With him there, not even a cent could be shortchanged.
Emperor Changwu felt that Xie Chen would be very willing to lead troops to Shanxi, but he was the son for whom Duke Xie had specifically petitioned the Emperor to remain in the capital. If he were moved, it was feared that the old matriarch of the Xie family would go to Consort Hui's palace to cry and complain.
Compared to Xie Chen, Emperor Changwu actually leaned more towards Ouyang Wen.
That boy had recently been caned, but it was at his own command. Knowing that the man was not easily broken, even with the old madam's caning, he should have recovered by now.
Firstly, his personal relationship with Xiao Qi was good. If the matter were entrusted to him, he would undoubtedly go all out to accomplish it.
Furthermore, this wasn't the first time they had conspired to overturn the officialdom; they would naturally be adept with their experience. And the most crucial point was that the fellow was currently recovering from his injuries. If he quietly led troops out of the capital, no one would know.
Emperor Changwu stroked his beard and began to write a secret edict.
Thus, after Ji Jin had met with Emperor Changwu, he brought a scroll of imperial edict to Ouyang Wen.