"Your Majesty, this official thinks that this matter is inappropriate."
At the Imperial Court, the officials were very surprised by Li Qitian's decision. The more straightforward ones, who had argued with Li Qitian many times about Pang Xiao becoming the commander-in-chief of the Tiger Army, immediately stood up.
"The Tatan invaded our land and slaughtered our people. How can their crimes be washed clean by expelling them from Da Zhou?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Someone seconded. "This official thinks that now is the time to pursue the victory and eliminate future troubles. Since the Tatan have already made a move against Da Zhou, they should be prepared to suffer the retaliation of our Da Zhou's soldiers! "
"If we can't kill all the evil Tatan, how can the Imperial Court explain to the people who were persecuted by the Tatan? This time, the Tatan traveled all the way from Tianyu Pass to the outside of the capital. Along the way, they burned, killed, looted, and didn't shrink from any crime. They slaughtered many cities. Later on, those who were willing to follow Prince Zhongshun to fight the Tatans did so for revenge. If Your Majesty doesn't agree, first, you will let the tiger return to the mountain and waste the advantage that Prince Zhongshun gained. Second, you won't be able to explain to so many people, and the people's discussion won't be good. Your Majesty, please reconsider. "
"Your Majesty, please reconsider." Many officials echoed in unison.
Li Qitian gritted his teeth and clenched his fists to prevent himself from scolding in front of the Imperial Court and degrading his status as the Emperor. However, the anger in his heart was already showing signs of setting the prairie ablaze.
Li Qitian didn't want to show his irritable side in front of others, so it was extremely difficult for him to suppress his emotions and endure.
Seeing that the Emperor didn't say anything, many officials who knew Li Qitian's temperament realized that today's topic wasn't the Emperor's favorite. Even the most upright officials saw that the Emperor was so silent and knew that there must be a reason behind it.
The Imperial Court was silent for a while. After a long time, Li Qitian said, "My beloved officials, your words are reasonable. If I don't take revenge for the Tatan's rebellion, I'm afraid everyone in the world will call me a coward. We should also empathize with those who treat revenge as their spiritual pillar. "
Li Qitian's voice was extremely calm. However, the ministers could already tell from his tone that something was wrong.
Tian Zi wasn't someone who was easy to negotiate with. He had shown a great desire for power and control in the affairs of the court. Now that he was actually speaking according to the wishes of his subjects, everyone knew that there must be something else going on.
Sure enough, Li Qitian said, "Dear ministers, is there a way to satisfy both sides?"
This question seemed to be unclear, but Li Qitai's fans immediately understood what the emperor meant.
Immediately, someone stood out and said in a clear voice, "Your Majesty, this subject has a different opinion from the other lords. Prince Zhongshun already had a record of colluding with the ministers inside and outside the court, as well as the wealthy commoners, to oppose the imperial court. At that time, if Prince Zhongshun didn't order people to monopolize the provisions, with Duke Dingguo's ability, how could the Tatars attack? "
"This subject agrees. Prince Zhongshun privately brought his troops here, but unexpectedly it was so easy for him to beat back the enemy. It's hard to say that he didn't have any shady deals with the Tatars in the dark. Perhaps all of this is just an act. Right now, the Southern Pacifying Army alone has gathered more than 400,000 people. If Prince Zhongshun wants to rebel, I'm afraid he will be caught unprepared! "
"Fart, fart! Big stinky fart! " Some generals couldn't bear to hear this person's foul language maliciously smearing Pang Xiao's name. They immediately jumped out and pointed at the several ministers who spoke in front of them and angrily roared, "If it weren't for Prince Zhongshun, would you still be standing here slandering him today? When he was fighting for the country, you were raised by the Prince Zhongshun like vermin. What qualifications do you have to stand out and slander Prince Zhongshun?! "
"Boorish man! A boorish man like you speaking in front of Your Majesty is simply dirtying Your Majesty's ears! "
"You are the treacherous minister who is full of shit! Despicable! "
… …
Li Qitian rubbed his temples. Listening to the people below arguing about Pang Xiao, he became more and more impatient.
If it was a normal day, he would be able to keep calm. However, these days, things didn't go his way. Li Qitian was so angry that he wished he could directly capture Pang Xiao and kill him!
Now, looking at the noisy ministers below, and then looking at those cunning old foxes who refused to express their opinions, he felt a wave of disgust in his heart.
No matter how they discussed it, it was always like this. When it came to Pang Xiao, there was no smooth sailing.
Li Qitian covered his mouth and coughed.
Xiong Jinshui's forehead was already covered in sweat. Seeing Your Majesty's movements, he immediately shouted, "Quiet!"
The ministers who were originally expressing their own opinions immediately stopped arguing. They didn't dare to say another word in front of the Emperor.
Li Qitian said the second half of what he wanted to say with satisfaction.
"Prince Zhongshun has really worked hard in this fierce battle against Tatan. I can't bear to let him continue to risk his life on the front line. In addition, I haven't seen him these days, and I really miss him very much. Therefore, I have decided to give full authority to pursue Tatan to Duke Dingguo and urgently summon Prince Zhongshun back to the capital to report on his work. I don't know what you think? "
Everyone's heart skipped a beat when they heard this.
They all understood that Your Majesty was planning to punish the meritorious ministers!
A straightforward general immediately shouted, "Your Majesty, this minister thinks that replacing Prince Zhongshun at the last minute is a great disadvantage for Da Zhou. Tatan has long been scared witless. If you call people now, I'm afraid that Tatan will rise from the ashes again! "
A minister who figured out His Majesty's intention immediately retorted, "Isn't Duke Dingguo a brave and good God of War? You are doubting Duke Dingguo's ability and also doubting Your Majesty's decision! "
"You're a pedantic scholar who is simply twisting words and forcing logic! Your Majesty is doing this for the stability of the imperial court, not for a certain person! If you want to take advantage of this opportunity to use Your Majesty's hand to eliminate dissidents, then you're wrong! "
Seeing that the ministers were about to quarrel again, Li Qitian's impatience was almost written on his face.
"Silence!" Xiong Jinshui observed Li Qitian's expression. Seeing that Li Qitian was so unhappy, he hurriedly shouted to stop the ministers quarreling.
Everyone raised their eyes to look at Li Qitian, who was sitting on the imperial steps, and realized that Your Majesty didn't seem to want Prince Zhongshun to continue guarding the border.
It's just that the war is almost over. When it's almost time to award the merit, Your Majesty is remote and doesn't want Prince Zhongshun to finish the war, as if he's afraid that he'll get some merit.
However, the Emperor was already displeased. Since he was willing to make such a request, he had already made a decision. No matter how much they said, they couldn't change the fact. Instead, they would anger the Emperor. No one knew what would happen.
Even the most reckless people knew that they couldn't continue to anger the Emperor.
Therefore, under the Emperor's high and mighty gaze, no one dared to refute.
Li Qitian's decree was immediately drafted into a memorial. With the excuse of letting Prince Zhongshun recuperate, he urgently summoned Prince Zhongshun back to the capital.
The decree was sent to the border at top speed.
At this time, Pang Xiao and Ji Zeyu's group had just finished a battle. The Tatan people had set up their tents far away. Under the sunlight, the white tents looked like a sea of foam.
Ji Zeyu looked into the distance and then sighed in a low voice, "Fortunately, we seized the opportunity and drove them out. Otherwise, it's hard to say who would win and who would lose."
Pang Xiao nodded and smiled, "That's right. With Lu Heng here, it's really hard to say what will happen on the battlefield. "
Just as the two of them quietly let out a sigh of relief, Huzi led a young eunuch over with a serious expression.
It was the young eunuch's first time delivering an imperial decree. As soon as he saw Pang Xiao, he was immediately intimidated by the biting cold aura around him. He was so scared that his legs and stomach cramped. He was afraid that he couldn't even speak a complete sentence.
Pang Xiao knew that these eunuchs who delivered imperial decrees would cause displeasure on both sides if they encountered an imperial decree from Your Majesty. An experienced eunuch would never rush out. Thinking about it, this young eunuch in front of him was only sixteen or seventeen years old. He was considered young in the harem.
"Wang Ye. This servant is here to deliver Your Majesty's decree. "
The young eunuch presented the decree with both hands. This surprised Pang Xiao. After all, every time Xiong Jinshui came to deliver a message, he would carefully read the imperial decree. He didn't care if Your Majesty's words were reasonable or not. He had to be careful not to let the young eunuchs see any clues. At that time, Xiong Jinshui would use a high and mighty tone to choose him.
Pang Xiao opened the imperial decree and read ten lines at a glance. He raised his sword-like eyebrows.
Ji Zeyu saw Pang Xiao's abnormality and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Does Your Majesty have other orders?"
"Your Majesty wants me to return to the palace. He says that he's afraid that I'll be too tired here. He wants me to immediately rush back to the capital to recuperate."
Ji Zeyu raised his eyebrows and took the letter. He looked at it and asked, "What do you plan to do? Do you really want to return to the capital? "
Pang Xiao's expression didn't change as he lowered his eyes. "If I really go back this time, I'm afraid that I won't be able to come out in the future."
Ji Zeyu's expression darkened. He cast a sidelong glance at the young eunuch standing to the side. The young eunuch trembled in fear and couldn't help but take two steps back.
Ji Zeyu whispered in Pang Xiao's ear, "You also think that this trip is bad?"
"Yes." Pang Xiao shook the imperial decree. "It's a big taboo in the military to change the commander in the middle of a battle. The Emperor also came from a military background. It's impossible that he doesn't know this. But he still issued such a decree. This means that he has already made up his mind. I think that something must have provoked the Emperor and made him make such a decision. "
Ji Zeyu thought for a moment and said, "At the very least, it's jealousy."
Pang Xiao smiled bitterly. "What do I have to make others jealous?"
"The Emperor's personality is like that. He doesn't look at what he has. He only looks at what others have more than him. Let's not talk about other things. The Emperor is selfish and weak, and your Qin Clan just gave birth to a pair of twins for you. The Son of Heaven delayed the war for his own selfish reasons, but you led the army to drive the Tatars out of the Great Zhou. This kind of comparison is enough to make the Son of Heaven hold a grudge. "
Pang Xiao couldn't help but admit that Ji Zeyu's words were right.
But he felt that even if Li Qitian was jealous, he would do his best to suppress it in front of others. He wouldn't be in such a hurry to change the commander and summon him back to the capital. He wouldn't even care about his reputation.
This was enough to show the danger this time.
Ji Zeyu asked, "What do you plan to do? Are you really going to accept the imperial decree and go back? "
Pang Xiao hesitated for a moment.
If he didn't go back, Li Qitian would have something to say. They could accuse him however they wanted. Because he wasn't in the capital, he couldn't control what people said. If something bad were to spread, his reputation would be completely ruined.
But if he went back, Pang Xiao knew that this time, it wouldn't bode well.
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