The happy life of a prodigal

Standing outside the Nuan Pavilion, Fang Xiu suddenly had a flash of light in his mind.

Could it be... is it really because of my letter?

............

In the Warm Pavilion.

Chu Huang's face was as heavy as water, and his eyes were looking at the letter on the case, wondering what he was thinking.

Next to him, the little eunuch who was serving was walking on thin ice, not daring to make a sound.

At this time, an old man walked into the Nuan Pavilion, saluted solemnly, and said in a loud voice: "Chen Yan Zhuang... See Your Majesty."

Afterwards, several old men saluted one after another.

Emperor Chu raised his eyes, glanced at them, and said: "The Qing family is here, give me your seat."

There was an unmistakable tiredness in his voice.

When the old men heard this, they all felt a 'thump' in their hearts.

Could it be... something big happened recently?

Is it northwest, southwest...or grassland?

The little eunuch quickly moved a few chairs.

After several old men sat down, Yan Zhuang, the chief assistant of the cabinet, asked, "Your Majesty, the Wanyan tribe from the grassland invaded the border?"

The Emperor of Chu shook his head, did not speak, just picked up a memorial on the desk, and said: "I have a memorial here, after reading it, you will discuss state affairs."

The little eunuch behind him hastily took the memorial and handed it to Yan Zhuang.

Yan Zhuang reached out to take the memorial, with a solemn look on his face, and read it carefully.

I thought it would be a report from the northern frontier, but after reading it, it was not the case.

What the cabinet ministers do on weekdays is to help the emperor of Chu review the memorials.

The three cabinet maesters present have all read this memorial from the southwest.

Although they felt very angry, they didn't take it too seriously.

After all, the territory of Chu State is so vast. Although there is no war with other countries, there are many rebellions, large and small.

The defeat of [-] elite soldiers by [-] thieves is not a small matter, but it is not a big deal, so it is not worth paying too much attention to.

Therefore, after discussing with several grand scholars, they decided to dismiss the chief general, and there was no other action.

Could it be... His Majesty is not satisfied with the result of this treatment?

After Yan Zhuang read the memorial, his expression didn't change much, and he handed the memorial to the next important minister.

After the other two great scholars looked at each other, they didn't respond, and handed the memorial to the Minister of the Ministry of War.

This memorial was first passed on to the Ministry of War, and then handed over to the cabinet by the Ministry of War.

As a heavenly official of the Ministry of War, Ma Wenhua had also seen it, so he didn't respond, and passed the memorial to General Habayashi, the lowest rank.

General Habayashi was a burly middle-aged man. Because he often had to practice soldiers, his skin had become a bit vicissitudes. Standing with several old men, he couldn't tell much difference.

After reading the memorial, his face first showed anger, and then he felt a little ashamed.

These... are his colleagues after all.

Emperor Chu saw everyone's expressions and didn't say anything.

After reading the memorial, General Habayashi handed it to the little eunuch.

The little eunuch took it with both hands and placed it on the desk again.

In the warm pavilion, there was a moment of silence.

The chief assistant of the cabinet, Yan Zhuang, thought for a while, and said: "The dismissal of the chief general is the decision of the ministers. If your majesty thinks it is inappropriate, you can deal with it again. The ministers... have no objection."

Emperor Chu didn't speak, but looked at Ma Wenhua, Minister of the Ministry of War.

Ma Wenhua groaned in his heart, but with an extremely ashamed expression on his face, he got up, knelt down on the ground, and said: "This battle in the southwest, I... have the responsibility, please forgive me."

Chapter 81 Conviction

Chu Huang glanced at him, but still didn't speak.

In the warm pavilion, everyone felt an unprecedented pressure.

As time passed, a thought popped into their minds.

This time, it wasn't just because of Southwest's humiliating battle.

really……

After a long time, Emperor Chu picked up another letter from the case, and said indifferently: "This, all the ministers, also take a look."

Behind him, the little eunuch hurriedly took the letter with both hands, and handed it to Yan Zhuang, the chief assistant of the cabinet.

The moment Emperor Chu took out the letterhead, Yan Zhuang already knew it in his heart.

What was written on this letter was the real reason His Majesty summoned them.

Reaching out to take the letter paper, Yan Zhuang carefully read it word by word.

The more he looked, the more shocked his expression became.

When he saw a certain place, he couldn't help but raised his eyes, looked at Emperor Chu, with an expression of extreme shock on his face, and blurted out: "Your Majesty, what is said above...is it true?"

Seeing Yan Zhuang's expression, the rest of the important ministers in the cabinet felt a 'thump' in their hearts.

Mr. Shoufu has presided over the cabinet for more than ten years, and he has always been calm, but now he has this expression.

What is written on this letterhead...?

When Emperor Chu heard this, he glanced at Yan Zhuang and said, "I have ordered General You Zhonglang of the Jinwu Guard to investigate. The specific results will be known after a while."

Although the things mentioned above have not been confirmed, Yan Zhuang can't relax for a long time.

Because he knew in his heart that since this letter appeared in His Majesty's hands, and His Majesty valued it so much, it explained everything.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help showing a worried expression on his face, and handed the letter in his hand to the other two grand scholars.

After seeing it, the two academicians had almost the same expressions as Yan Zhuang. They were shocked at first, then ashamed, and finally worried.

After the three cabinet scholars had all read the letterhead, a burly man in soft armor walked into the Nuan Pavilion, knelt down on the ground, saluted, and said, "I... have seen Your Majesty."

Seeing him all the time, Chu Huang's expression changed a little, and he asked: "I ordered you to investigate, how is the investigation going?"

Jin Wuwei You Zhonglang will take out an old booklet from his arms, put it on with both hands, and said: "I have roughly calculated that there is a difference of nearly [-]% between the registered and the actual number of supplies in the pro-military arsenal."

The little eunuch stepped forward to take the booklet, and presented it to the Emperor Chu with both hands.

Chu Huang reached out to take it, flipped it open, read it hastily, his face could not help showing anger, and threw the booklet heavily on the desk.

Seeing this scene, the five important ministers got up together, knelt down on the ground, and said loudly, "I wait...you will die."

"Ten thousand deaths, and ten thousand deaths!"

The Emperor of Chu looked at them angrily, and said sharply: "If you shout twice and die, this matter will be resolved, the people of the world will be able to live and work in peace, and the tribes of the grassland will no longer invade the border. What use is there for you!?

How about letting a few eunuchs stand in this warm pavilion, right in front of me, shouting for death every day.

You are all important ministers of the imperial court, and you were all new scholars in the past. Now that something like this happened, do you just know how to shout ten thousand deaths? "

The elderly cabinet chief assistant Yan Zhuang had an extremely ashamed expression on his face when he heard this.

The king worries about the death of his ministers.

When Emperor Chu said these words, he was poking the heart of the leader of the officials with a knife!

Regardless of old age and frailty, Yan Zhuang kowtowed heavily, and said in a hoarse voice: "I am the head of all officials, now that this incident happened, I know that I have committed a serious crime, and death is inevitable, please Your Majesty punish my crime. "

The other four also spoke one after another: "Your Majesty, please punish the minister's crime."

When Emperor Chu saw this scene, the anger on his face did not diminish in the slightest. He stretched out his hand, pointed at them, and said, "You are all my servants. If something happens, you don't want to think of a solution. Do you want to go away?" ?

Punishment... This matter concerns you, of course you will be punished, but later, not now! "

When the five important ministers heard this, their faces showed shame in unison.

At this time, the anger in the Emperor Chu's heart receded a little, and he sat back on the dragon chair, and said lightly: "Get up, this matter is of great importance. If it is not handled properly, it may damage the foundation of the country. Therefore, I ordered you five People come to my Nuan Pavilion to discuss this matter."

When the five important ministers heard this, they all nodded and said yes: "I wait...understand."

Then, there was a silence, and after a while, Yan Zhuang, who was the head of all the officials, spoke first, and said: "I think this matter involves a lot, if you want to investigate, don't make it public, your majesty can choose a confidant minister to investigate in advance, Once you have an idea, you will be punished."

The Emperor of Chu thought for a while and asked, "In your opinion, where should we start to investigate this matter?"

Yan Zhuang subconsciously looked at Habayashi General Tian An, and said: "Although this matter originated from Habayashi, it should not be investigated from Habayashi. The matter of military preparations is the money and food provided by the Ministry of Finance. It was issued by the Ministry of Industry, and I think...Your Majesty should first check with the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry."

Chu Huang nodded, and turned his attention to the others.

The other four spoke in agreement.

Chu Huang said: "In this case, according to what Yan Qing's family said, first check with the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry...Of course, the Habayashi Guards should also check themselves."

Compared with the other four, General Habayashi's weight was much lower. Sitting with them was like sitting on pins and needles.

After reading the letter paper, he was even more panicked, for fear that his head would fall to the ground the next moment.

Although he is the general of Habayashi Wei, there are eight generals in the capital.

His Majesty beheaded one of them in a fit of rage, and the others couldn't say anything, because embezzling money and food for military equipment...is the crime of beheading.

At this moment, when he heard Emperor Chu mentioning himself, he was relieved, and hurriedly knelt on the ground to salute, and said, "I...understand."

Chu Huang glanced at him, and said coldly: "Since you understand, let's go down.

Remember, this matter is related to the foundation of the country. If it is leaked, don't blame me for being ruthless. "

When General Habayashi heard this, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

After finishing speaking, he got up to salute, turned and left the Nuan Pavilion.

He knew that for the rest, he was not an ordinary pro-army general who could participate in the discussion.

After General Habayashi left, the Minister of the Ministry of War only sat for a while, and then got up to leave.

For a moment, only the Emperor Chu and the three cabinet scholars were left in the warm pavilion.

The four of them discussed for a long time, and did not leave the Nuan Pavilion until it was getting dark.

At this time, Fang Xiu, who was waiting outside, was already sitting on the ground, and fell asleep at some point.

When the three cabinet scholars walked out of the warm cabinet, they didn't see him and walked past him one after another.

In the Nuan Pavilion, Emperor Chu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and moistened his parched throat.

At the same time, there is an inexplicable feeling in my heart, I always feel... I seem to have forgotten something.

Chapter 82 Sleeping

After a while, Chu Huang looked at the sleepy Fang Xiu in front of him, a little dumbfounded.

I even have some doubts... Is the kid in front of me who knows that he is ignorant at a glance, really the owner of that anonymous letter?

"Cough cough..."

Seeing that Fang Xiu was falling asleep again, Emperor Chu couldn't help coughing twice, trying to make Fang Xiu feel more refreshed.

Unexpectedly, he didn't react at all, and still shook his head, as if he was about to fall to the ground in the next second.

Emperor Chu had no choice but to speak, and said, "Fang Aiqing."

When Fang Xiu heard this familiar voice, he couldn't help but lift up his spirits.

He raised his eyes and looked around, feeling a little dazed.

This is where?

What are you doing?

When he looked at Emperor Chu, he suddenly came back to his senses. In an instant, he lost all sleepiness, and cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty orders."

It looked like he had been waiting for a long time.

Emperor Chu sighed secretly, and said, "Fang Aiqing, what have you been doing at Yulin Guard recently?"