"Wang Chong, don't speak nonsense and make irresponsible remarks!"
"King Qi, what achievements have you made? Others may not know, but do you not know!? In this king's view, the Bureau of Rites is more suitable for you! "
Wang Chong sternly said.
There was no retreat, so there was no need to retreat. There was no need to endure, so there was no need to endure. The proposal to dissolve the prefectural armies had touched Wang Chong's reverse scale. Whether it was the Grand Preceptor or King Qi, no matter who it was that wanted to play tricks on this matter, Wang Chong would not let them off lightly! This was no longer a simple conflict between factions or the Imperial Court. It concerned the millions upon millions of people of the Central Plains!
"Enough! King Qi, King of Foreign Lands! Don't make trouble! "
Beside the dragon throne, Gao Lishi finally couldn't bear to watch any longer.
"The two of you are Imperial Princes of the Tang Dynasty, revered and revered. How could you behave in such a manner in front of His Majesty!?"
A normal court discussion about the dissolution of the prefectural armies had turned into a child's play. Not even Gao Lishi could continue watching. Gao Lishi's rebuke instantly caused the court to quiet down. In the end, Gao Lishi had no official rank, but everyone knew that Gao Lishi had followed the Holy Emperor for so many years that he had long ago become one with the Holy Emperor. It was clear that not even the Holy Emperor could continue watching this dispute.
"Withdraw!"
The Holy Emperor suddenly spoke, his five fingers trembling as his dignified voice resounded through the hall, suffused with an unquestionable tone.
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty!"
Wang Chong and King Qi both bowed and retreated to the side.
Wang Chong's expression was indifferent, but King Qi was gnashing his teeth in anger.
"Bastard thing, this king will never let you go!"
A chilling light flitted through King Qi's eyes. He had originally believed that he could use Wang Chong's rudeness to contradict the Grand Preceptor, but he had not expected that Wang Chong would be able to turn the tables on him with just a few words. This infuriated King Qi. He wanted nothing more than to kill Wang Chong right there and then.
"Let's return to the court."
Gao Lishi waved the horsetail whisk in his hand.
"In addition, King of Foreign Lands, the Grand Preceptor is eighty years old. It's understandable that young people are hot-blooded, but can't the Grand Preceptor make a concession?"
These words truly did slow down the dispute between Wang Chong and the Grand Preceptor.
"Yes, Wang Chong understands!"
Wang Chong also bowed. He understood that the Holy Emperor was very protective of him.
"Your Majesty! It is understandable that the King of Foreign Lands is angry about the matter of dissolving the prefectural armies, but this lowly subject believes that the words of the civil officials are not without reason. The Tang Dynasty is currently at peace and at peace, and it has just signed treaties with Ouzan, the Eastern and Western Turks, Mengshe Zhao, Goguryeo, and Arabia. It truly does not need so many soldiers, and the expenses of the prefectural armies and horses are not small. In times of war, this would have been fine, but now that there is no war, and even the Arabian Empire has been defeated by the King of Foreign Lands, there truly is no need to keep so many soldiers. If there is truly a need, we can keep a portion of the prefectural armies and recruit the rest for the time being! "
At this moment, at the top of the hall, at the very front of the hundreds of civil and military officials, a tall and slender figure wearing a loose robe suddenly spoke. When this voice rang out, the entire hall fell silent. Whether it was the civil officials or the generals, they all slightly lowered their heads, a look of respect in their eyes.
The 'virtuous minister' of the Tang Dynasty, Li Genu!
No one had expected him to speak at a time like this. As the Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty, the head of all the civil and military officials, Li Genu's words carried extraordinary weight, even above those of Wang Chong, The King of Song, and King Qi. Once the Prime Minister expressed his opinion, it would affect the process and result of the decision. Many people might even change their minds and follow the Prime Minister's wishes.
Wang Chong had originally planned to return to his rank, but the Prime Minister's words caused his pupils to constrict and his face to pale. Wang Chong was just about to speak when his eyes suddenly caught sight of a nearby coiling dragon pillar and came to a sudden stop.
The King of Song!
Wang Chong's eyes widened, and he suddenly turned to look at that familiar figure. From the very beginning, the King of Song had been in a daze, appearing to be absent-minded. He had not participated in the majority of the court discussions, appearing completely different from his usual self. But at this moment, as Prime Minister Li Genu spoke, the King of Song seemed to be stimulated by something. He suddenly raised his head and looked at the Prime Minister's back.
At this moment, the King of Song's eyes flashed with light, his expression extremely complicated.
"This …"
Wang Chong's eyebrows rose as he followed the King of Song's gaze. As he looked at the figure in the loose robe, his mind was in turmoil as he vaguely thought of something.
As Wang Chong was thinking, Li Genu's words quickly caused a chain reaction.
"This subject agrees!"
"This subject agrees!"
"This subject agrees!"
… …
For a moment, all the civil officials in the hall began to agree, and even some officials who had not expressed their opinions joined in.
Wang Chong's eyes chilled, and he stepped forward without hesitation.
"Your Majesty, this subject objects! Since this is about dissolving the prefectural armies and is related to the Bureau of Military Personnel, we should ask the various protectorates on the border, including all the Titled Generals, Protector-Generals, and Great Generals. Once the Protector-Generals of the various protectorates have voted, we can make a decision. We can't just make a decision in the Imperial Court. "
Wang Chong's words were resolute and immediately attracted everyone's attention.
"Your Majesty, this subject agrees!"
At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded. The Minister of War, Zhangchou Jianqiong, instinctively sensed that this was an opportunity. Wielding his ceremonial tablet, he strode out.
Even Zhangchou Jianqiong couldn't help but sigh in praise. Wang Chong had truly made a brilliant move by roping in all the Protector-Generals of the Tang Dynasty. Although the decisions of the Imperial Court had always been made within the Imperial Court, no one dared to say that dissolving the prefectural armies had nothing to do with the Protector-Generals and Great Generals of the border.
Zhangchou Jianqiong was almost certain that whether it was Geshu Han, Zhang Shougui, An Sishun, or Gao Xianzhi … all of them had the same stance on the matter of dissolving the prefectural armies.
As long as these top-class generals of the Tang Dynasty expressed their stance, they would immediately gain extraordinary weight. When the time came, the civil officials would no longer be able to make the decisions.
The King of Foreign Lands and the Minister of War instantly caused all the civil officials in the Imperial Court, including Great Prime Minister Li Genu, to grimace. But this was only the beginning. A moment later, another voice resounded through the hall, giving even more weight to the opposing voices.
"Your Majesty! This subject also objects! "
King Song, who had been standing motionlessly by the coiling dragon pillar this entire time, suddenly raised his robe and walked out of the ranks as he loudly declared.
Swish!
In an instant, the entire court was dead silent. Wang Chong, Zhangchou Jianqiong, and the King of Song — these three influential figures of the Imperial Court had expressed their stance at the same time. This extraordinary weight placed a heavy pressure on all the civil officials.
And when the King of Song stepped forward, Wang Chong could clearly see that even Prime Minister Li Genu slightly paled, losing his usual composure.
"Your Majesty, this subject agrees!"
"This subject agrees!"
"This subject agrees!"
… …
All the generals in the Imperial Court were invigorated by this sight and began to step forward in support.
The Imperial Court suddenly froze. Everyone turned to the ceiling of the hall, awaiting the Holy Emperor's decision.
The hall was quiet, and in this silence, Wang Chong could clearly hear a sound that was neither a bell nor a chime. It was very low and seemed to be coming from an extremely distant place. No one in the court noticed this, but when they heard this sound, Wang Chong's heart sank and his face paled. Wang Chong raised his head. Although the ceiling of the hall appeared normal, Wang Chong could clearly sense a subtle change in the atmosphere.
"We understand. We will discuss this matter later!"
At this moment, the Holy Emperor's majestic voice resounded through the hall. Saying this, the Holy Emperor suddenly stood up from his throne and left.
"Long live His Majesty!"
In an instant, everyone lowered their heads and cried out 'long live' as they watched the Holy Emperor depart.
Just like that, the first day of the Imperial Court came to an end. With the crack of the whip, all the civil and military officials walked out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony like a tide.
"Your Highness, it's all thanks to you this time! Otherwise, we generals might not have a place to stand in the future! "
"Not bad, not bad! Your Highness has truly increased our prestige. Although there have always been disputes between civil and military officials, they've resorted to every conceivable means this time. They've gone too far! "
"Yes, yes! Fortunately, Your Highness was present. In the past, although the Grand Preceptor was somewhat dissatisfied with us, he rarely participated in these disputes. But in the last few sessions, the Grand Preceptor has been present. With our status, it's simply impossible for us to oppose the Grand Preceptor. If we want to oppose the Grand Preceptor, perhaps only Your Highness can do it. "
… …
Once the court session was over, Zhangchou Jianqiong personally stepped forward and accompanied Wang Chong out of the hall. The other generals had all gathered around Wang Chong, all of them ruddy and excited.
The Grand Preceptor, King Qi, the Prime Minister, the many civil officials, and the generals of the court lived under this pressure almost every day. Wang Chong's arrival truly made everyone feel like they could hold their heads high, especially when they saw the Grand Preceptor's ghastly pale face and swaying on his feet. All of them felt like they had finally been able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Although Wang Chong had angered the Grand Preceptor to the point of suffocation, Wang Chong was right on one point. The Grand Preceptor truly had been flaunting his seniority in this period of time. But these words could only be said in their minds, not spoken aloud.
"Everyone is too polite. Matters of state are not child's play. If not for Milords' assistance, Wang Chong would not have been able to do anything alone."
Wang Chong calmly said. The generals chatted as they made their way out. After this matter, Wang Chong had already established himself as a top-class leader among the generals of the court.
As they left the Taihe Palace and descended the steps, they saw a towering figure, his silver-white imperial robe flapping in the wind, exuding an otherworldly aura. Wang Chong and Zhangchou Jianqiong glanced at each other and then quickly followed.
"Your Highness!"
Wang Chong and Zhangchou Jianqiong stepped forward and bowed.
"Wang Chong, come with me!"
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