"Aiyo, Prince Zhongshun, long time no see."
Several officials smiled and came forward to greet him. "Long time no see. Is Wang Ye feeling better?"
Pang Xiao smiled and nodded. "Thank you for your concern. This King is much better."
Someone lowered his voice and said with a smile, "Your Majesty arranged this court assembly. Even if his body hasn't fully recovered, Wang Ye will still come for Your Majesty's sake."
Pang Xiao glanced at this person from the corner of his eyes. Those who could attend the court assembly outside Fengtian Gate were all fourth-rank and above officials in the capital. This person was an old official from the Ministry of Appointments and belonged to the faction of the old officials from Beiji.
"Official Lin seems to know This King well." Pang Xiao smiled faintly, making it impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
However, the discerning people around him could hear that this person's words were quite ambiguous. It was easy for people to feel that he was mocking Pang Xiao. Pang Xiao also didn't show any dissatisfaction.
When the nobles and generals passing by saw Pang Xiao's tolerance, they couldn't help but be so angry that they almost couldn't suppress their anger.
When they were fighting outside to protect their country, these civil officials only knew how to scheme against each other. It was fine if they didn't help, but they even tried to trip them up behind their backs. They were the ones fighting with their lives, but the ones with high positions and power were these people who didn't do a thing. What kind of person was Pang Xiao? He was the God of War, Wang Ye, who made people tremble in fear. Behind his back, people called him a demon! Now, he was repeatedly suppressed and treated harshly by Your Majesty. Not only was his family ruined, but even Wang Ye's temper had been worn away.
How many grievances did he have to suffer to make Wang Ye lower his head? How was Wang Ye, who lowered his head, any different from a tiger or wolf that had its teeth pulled out?
The generals and nobles felt uncomfortable. Some of them were good at enduring, so they lowered their heads and walked over. There were also some with bad tempers who spat on the spot. They didn't mention any names and only said, "A bunch of vermin!"
Pang Xiao found it funny, but didn't say much. He shook his head and headed to where the court meeting was being held. Based on his status, he stood at the head of the generals.
These days, the ministers of the Japanese Imperial Court were all concerned about the situation of the Tatan battle. Although Ji Zeyu had the experience of defeating the enemy, Pang Xiao was in the capital and had a higher chance of success if he joined forces with Ji Zeyu. Therefore, many people hoped that Pang Xiao would stand up and fight against the Tatan together.
Pang Xiao didn't care about what other people thought. He was already mentally prepared. If Your Majesty gave an order, he would immediately carry it out. His thoughts were very simple. No matter what Li Qitian did, the territory of the Da Zhou Dynasty belonged to the Da Zhou Dynasty. Whoever wanted to interfere should be prepared to have their hands chopped off. The Tatan were still outsiders. He would never allow the common people to fall into the hands of the Tatan.
Today, the front of Fengtian Palace was exceptionally quiet. Everyone had a score to settle in their hearts.
At this moment, a hoarse and resounding voice unique to the eunuchs resounded through the square.
"Your Majesty has come to court. Ministers, kneel!"
Everyone shouted "Long live" and knelt down in unison.
Although Pang Xiao's injuries hadn't healed, he still kowtowed with the others. He didn't break the rules at all.
Li Qitian, dressed in bright yellow, walked up the steps. After sitting at the head of the table, he first looked at the leader of the generals. As expected, Pang Xiao didn't make any excuses and really came. He felt a lot more comfortable.
The ministers quietly waited for orders. They were only waiting for the words "If there is a report, the court will be dismissed." Then, they would propose to Your Majesty that Prince Zhongshun be allowed to go to war with the Tatan.
But no one knew what Li Qitian was thinking today.
He coughed, and the eunuchs all retreated. Li Qitian stood up and said passionately, "Today's court meeting, I have a few decisions to announce."
Everyone was nervous, waiting for Li Qitian's next words.
Pang Xiao lowered his eyes. His eyes were focused on his nose, and his nose was focused on his heart. He was as steady and self-controlled as before, as if his treasured sword was still in its scabbard. It was as if he wasn't moved by this at all.
Pang Xiao was able to keep his composure, but some of the officials became nervous.
Li Qitian saw everyone's expressions clearly. Li Qitian was very satisfied that his words could cause so many people to be nervous.
But seeing that Pang Xiao still had the same expression as before, as if nothing could shake him, Li Qitian only felt that it was difficult to suppress the atmosphere in his heart.
It was like this again. It was as if he had been laughing at him and mocking him. He didn't care about his decree at all!
At this time, Li Qitian was more and more sure that his decision was correct!
Li Qitian stood up and said first, "I order Gao Wenliang to be the commander-in-chief of the Tiger Army. He will command 100,000 troops to reinforce Huichuan!"
As soon as these words came out, the entire court was silent. Everyone was stunned. Their mouths were wide open, and they couldn't react for a long time.
It was true that the Tiger Army was brave and fierce, but the only person who could bring out the Tiger Army's ability to the extreme was Pang Xiao, who had single-handedly raised the Tiger Army!
Before today's court meeting, many people thought that Pang Xiao would definitely go to war and regain control of the Tiger Army. But no one thought that Your Majesty was actually afraid of Pang Xiao to this extent. Ningyuan was threatened by Tatan, but he was unwilling to teach the Tiger Army to him!
Those officials and generals who hoped that Pang Xiao would go to war were shocked and couldn't come back to their senses. And those officials who secretly belonged to the Qiu family were even more shocked at this time. They were so nervous that their bodies were trembling.
They had done their homework. Your Majesty had ordered people to persuade him. Who would have thought that Your Majesty didn't even consider their thoughts! He couldn't be at ease to arrange for Pang Xiao to go to war!
As for Gao Wenliang, he was extremely shocked at this time. He used to be Ji Zeyu's subordinate. Later, his official career was smooth and he was promoted. In his heart, he admired Ji Zeyu and Pang Xiao. This was not unusual. In the entire Da Zhou, which general didn't admire Ji Zeyu and Pang Xiao?
But he never thought that one day he would be the commander-in-chief of the Tiger Army!
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty. This official … "Gao Wenliang strode out, saluted, and said in a rough voice," This official is afraid, this official … "
"What, does Marshal Gao still want to defy the decree?"
Li Qitian didn't wait for him to finish speaking. He had already pulled a long face and scolded in a deep voice, "Don't you want to go to war and fight against Tatan together with Duke Ding?"
"Of course this official is willing, but this official is inexperienced. I'm afraid …"
"It's okay. You just need to accept the decree! "
Hearing Li Qitian's voice raise, Gao Wenliang didn't dare to say more. He could only salute like a duck being driven to a perch.
During this time, Li Qitian had been observing Pang Xiao's situation. He saw Pang Xiao standing with his hands by his side, looking down as if he didn't care about what was happening outside. Li Qitian became even angrier.
Wasn't Pang Zhixi a Da Zhou citizen? Didn't he have any emotional fluctuations about going to war?
Since this was the case, Li Qitian didn't hesitate. "Pang Zhixi."
"This official is here."
Pang Xiao strode forward.
He saluted respectfully.
All the civil and military officials looked in the direction of Pang Xiao.
Li Qitian said, "The disaster in the south is serious. When the earth dragon turned over, you were outside to provide relief. You must have a lot of experience. You will also be more confident in dealing with the disaster relief. The people are the foundation of Da Zhou. I will give this task to you. You will be the special envoy for disaster relief. You will be sent to the south to control the flood and prevent the people from suffering! "
Everyone was even more shocked than before. They couldn't close their mouths.
Most of them were smart people. What didn't they understand at this time?
Your Majesty was clearly afraid of Prince Zhongshun and didn't dare to let him touch the Tiger Army. He would rather let him, the God of War, Wang Ye, who had outstanding ability and was very likely to expel the Tatan, do disaster relief!
Indeed, Pang Xiao had experience in disaster relief and had a lot of experience. However, when he went to the south to provide relief, it was because the earth dragon turned over, so the disaster area must be limited.
But now? This year, Da Zhou was plagued by natural and man-made disasters. Your Majesty used the already insufficient money to build the imperial mausoleum. The national treasury was empty, and he didn't think of a proper way to solve the problem. Instead, he let it flow on its own, causing the national treasury to not receive enough food. At the critical moment, the granaries in Da Zhou couldn't hold on!
The people didn't have food to eat, and there were also black-hearted merchants who hoarded food and sold it at high prices to provide relief! The people had to calculate their daily meals, let alone those black-hearted merchants who sold food at sky-high prices. They couldn't afford it, so they could only endure and eat tree roots and grass. Some people couldn't survive in their hometown and fled. There were also people who organized to attack various government offices and started revolts. This month alone, there were four places where people rebelled.
Now that Your Majesty gave this task to Pang Xiao, it was obvious what he wanted to do.
To resist foreign enemies, even if Your Majesty was poor, he would take out money.
However, when Pang Xiao went to provide relief, if Your Majesty didn't take out money, the relief couldn't be carried out. If the relief couldn't be carried out, who would the people hate? At that time, the first person they would hate would be Pang Xiao, the official who organized the relief!
Your Majesty's move was too vicious. He wanted to use this chaos to make Pang Xiao completely give up here, so that he would have enough time to frame Pang Xiao. This way, he could get rid of a big problem in his heart.
However, in this time of internal and external troubles, Your Majesty only cared about getting rid of Pang Xiao, a hidden danger to the throne, to consolidate his position. Was this really considered responsible?
Pang Xiao raised the corners of his mouth in self-mockery.
Should he be thinking about how important he was in Li Qitian's heart?
He should be honored to be targeted so heavily by Li Qitian.
However, did Li Qitian really not care about Tatan's foreign enemies?
Pang Xiao thought for a moment and understood.
It wasn't that Li Qitian didn't care about Tatan, nor did he not want to destroy Tatan to strengthen the country's prestige. What he did was a "two-pronged" decision. Ji Zeyu had destroyed Tatan once, and this time, the Tiger Army joined in.
However, Li Qitian was right.
Even if Pang Xiao wasn't here, Ji Zeyu and Gao Wenliang could easily take down Tatan.
At that time, Li Qitian would be able to sit back and relax after getting rid of the outsiders and convicting Pang Xiao of a crime.
He smiled and thought through all this in the blink of an eye, and his face was unprecedentedly calm.
"This subject obeys Your Majesty," Pang Xiao bowed, which affected the wound on his hip, causing him to move for a moment in pain. However, Pang Xiao stood up as if nothing had happened and asked in the hall, "Your Majesty, the disaster in the south is serious. How much grain, money, and medicine did Your Majesty prepare for the disaster relief? With this order, this subject can also count and prepare in advance. "
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