Chapter 75: Chapter 71: Duke An, Imperial Tutor Yuan Xuangang

At this very moment, within the Imperial Capital.

A fierce argument was unfolding in the Cabinet.

Most of the ministers were clad in crimson official robes, many embroidered with the likeness of Immortal Cranes, golden pheasants, or peacocks. They were the highest officials of the Dynasty, yet every one of them argued until their faces were flushed and the veins on their necks bulged.

“How can we compromise with such traitors? If we grant them rewards today, they will demand more tomorrow! We might buy ourselves a single night of peace, but we’ll wake to find the rebel army at our borders again! We absolutely cannot set this precedent!”

“Indeed! There’s no satisfying these Martial Artists. Their desires are endless. I fear the rewards are just a pretext; their true intention is rebellion. What’s more, the sum is no small amount. It would put a severe strain on the Great Yan’s finances, and right now, the affairs of the Northern Lands and the Western Border are our top priorities.”

“But if we don’t resolve the army’s grievances, the longer we delay, the harder it will be to handle. The Holy Emperor is bedridden and cannot manage state affairs. This is not the time for a direct confrontation. If we push the Third Prince into open rebellion, the situation will become dire.”

The Cabinet was generally divided into a war faction and a peace faction.

The war faction believed they must dispatch a large force to suppress the rebellion, lest they nurture a tiger that would later cause disaster. Even if they met the rebels’ demands, the effort might be for nothing. The peace faction, however, advocated for appeasement. They proposed issuing edicts of comfort to placate the army’s resentment, thereby undermining the rebels’ footing and causing their plot to collapse on its own.

“Lord Wang, what are your thoughts?”

A Cabinet Minister turned and asked Wang He’fu.

Wang He’fu, already the Minister of Wen Yuan University and concurrently the Minister of War, paused in thought. He didn’t voice his own opinion. Instead, he looked toward an elegant old man seated at the head of the table. The man’s hair and brows were stark white, with every strand meticulously combed. Wang He’fu smiled and said:

“I am slow-witted and feel this matter requires further consideration. It is best left for the Prime Minister to decide.”

He had passed the buck to the Chief Minister, Yuan Xuangang.

In contrast to the bickering ministers, Yuan Xuangang was much quieter. He sat upright and proper, sleeves held neatly, watching them argue with a serene expression. It was as if he had seen countless grand spectacles and had grown accustomed to such scenes.

Wang He’fu had passed the buck to him because the final decision-making power—the authority to make the final call—rested with the Chief Minister.

There was another layer to his reasoning. Yuan Xuangang was the current Duke An and had also been Emperor Yong’an’s tutor in his youth. This gave him the additional status of Imperial Tutor, making him the undisputed number one official of the Dynasty.

In his thirty-year career as Chief Minister, Yuan Xuangang had remained humble and patient. He never picked sides, never involved himself in the struggles between the princes, and always observed the Court’s politics with a cool detachment. He only watched and listened, never spoke his mind, and obeyed only the Holy Emperor.

It was precisely this steady temperament that had allowed him to hold the position of Chief Minister for so long.

Only then did the crowd remember that the Chief Minister had yet to state his view, and one by one, they fell silent.

Seeing that they had more or less finished their discussion and were waiting for his decision, Yuan Xuangang finally spoke. His tone was placid. “The Holy Emperor has but one intention.”

“Eliminate.”

“’Eliminate?’”

Hearing this word, many of the ministers murmured softly to themselves.

’Does the Holy Emperor also wish to eliminate the Third Prince? In other words, does he favor war?’

Yuan Xuangang shook his head, refuting this idea. “Not elimination through a great war,” he explained, “but a gentle elimination.”

As soon as he said this, many of the ministers realized.

The Holy Emperor intended to use a two-pronged approach.

Wang He’fu was the first to chuckle. “As expected of the Holy Emperor. Truly wise and far-sighted.”

Hearing this, Yuan Xuangang glanced at Wang He’fu with a sliver of interest. “Oh? Could it be that Lord Wang has already thought of a solution?”

Wang He’fu nodded. “Ignoring it is not an option, but handling it too harshly is also out of the question. These are, after all, Great Yan’s elite forces. Pacification must be the priority. The best method is to resolve the army’s grievances, thus removing their reason for mutiny. Then, we can break them up one by one, winning them over individually. In this way, even if these Marquises Wu are immensely capable, they will have no ground to stand on.”

As soon as he spoke, the path forward became clear to everyone.

First, use rewards to dissolve the resentment within the army, so it is no longer a monolithic bloc. Then, sending troops to suppress them will be twice as effective. They could recall many soldiers and officers who are unwilling to participate in a coup, resolving the conflict from within. This would force the three-hundred-thousand-strong army to make a choice: rebel or surrender.

In this way, the initiative would shift back to the Court.

This was a combination of the war and peace approaches, taking the best of both.

The various ministers all looked at Wang He’fu with complicated expressions, inwardly cursing him for being such a sly old fox.

’He’s taken all the credit for himself.’

Wang He’fu had definitely thought of this method just now, but he had deliberately kept quiet. He waited for the opinions of the Chief Minister and the Holy Emperor first, all to solidify his own position in the Cabinet.

’Is he trying to contend for the position of Vice Chief Minister?’

Within the Cabinet, besides the Chief Minister, there was actually a hidden Vice Chief Minister.

When the Chief Minister was overwhelmed with duties or fell ill, the Vice Chief Minister would take his place. It was a backup position, equivalent to a second-in-command.

Sure enough, Yuan Xuangang nodded lightly, affirming Wang He’fu’s solution.

“Lord Wang has spoken well. This is largely in line with the Holy Emperor’s intentions.”

“In summary: prioritize appeasement, supplemented by elimination.”

But soon, someone raised a new question.

“We have found a solution: prioritize appeasement, supplemented by elimination. But even if it’s supplementary, someone still needs to lead the troops. And that person will not be easy to find.”

This sentence once again plunged the Cabinet into a thoughtful silence.

Finding someone to lead the army was indeed difficult.

The most capable military commanders had, for the most part, already been dispatched elsewhere.

Most of the Seven Great Marquis’s Mansions were already among that three-hundred-thousand-strong army.

“Isn’t there still one Marquis Wu in the Imperial Capital who has not gone out?”

At this, Wang He’fu gave a faint smile.

Another official, the Minister of Personnel, ventured, “The person Lord Wang speaks of… is it the Grand General of Cavalry, Champion Marquis, General Huo?”

“Correct.”

Wang He’fu nodded.

“Ever since the Battle of Nether Mountain, the Champion Marquis has not led troops again. By now, it has been over a decade. He has been at leisure at home, marrying and having a daughter.”

One of the ministers began to recall the battles from years ago.

The Battle of Nether Mountain.

That was the Great Yan Dynasty’s war for sovereignty against the northern Demon Country. It established Great Yan’s superior position over the Demon Country and allowed them to seize the initiative.

“Demon Country” was merely Great Yan’s internal name for them, just like their names for the Western Barbarians and Eastern Barbarians. They were all considered Barbarians.

The Demon Country’s original name was the Great Nether Sacred Country. People from other nations called it the Great Netherworld, the Holy Netherworld, or simply the Netherworld.

Nether Mountain was a sacred pilgrimage site for the Great Nether Sacred Country. The Champion Marquis had led the Ink Armor Wolf Riders, and with unparalleled martial might, passed through another country’s territory to launch a surprise attack on the Great Netherworld’s heartland. He annihilated the enemy army. From then on, his achievements were unmatched in the military, and Great Yan expanded its borders by hundreds of miles.

The Holy Emperor was overjoyed at the time. He orally enfeoffed him as a Marquis on the spot, bestowing upon him the title of Champion Marquis.

“Since the Battle of Nether Mountain, the Champion Marquis has not concerned himself with military affairs, leaving everything to be managed by his only daughter. Getting him to take command will likely be difficult,” a Cabinet Minister remarked.

Of course, another minister objected, “The Seven Great Marquis’s Mansions are the very hotbeds of this rebellion. How can we entrust our elite forces to yet another person from a Marquis Mansion?”

“Does the minister perhaps have a more suitable candidate in mind?” Wang He’fu retorted.

Yuan Xuangang said calmly, “Let’s give it a try. Aside from the Champion Marquis’s Mansion, the other Marquis’s Mansions are all intertwined by marriage. Their children are married to one another in countless arrangements. Only the Huo Family’s daughter remains unwed. This time, if the Champion Marquis is willing to lead the troops, the army he commands will be the Qilin Iron Cavalry, and no other.”

Hearing this news, the other ministers breathed a sigh of relief.

The Qilin Guard was the Emperor’s Personal Guard.

Every officer and soldier who entered its ranks was unfailingly loyal to Great Yan. Their families were vetted for three generations, parents included, making rebellion impossible.

…

「Elsewhere.」

Lu Mingyuan was sunbathing on a pavilion, watching group after group of ministers walk past together. After he had finished soaking up the sun, he was just about to return to Qingzhu Hall the way he came.

Just then, he happened upon an acquaintance: the Imperial Commander, Zhou Pingfu, who was leading a patrol.

This time, it was Zhou Pingfu who greeted him first.

“This humble general greets Your Highness.”

“Your Highness, those two eunuchs you mentioned last time had indeed been improperly castrated. Fortunately, you informed us in time. We have rectified the situation and dealt with them properly. Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness.”

Zhou Pingfu said with a sincere bow.

’If not for Your Highness, I’m afraid those two would have slipped through. If that kind of fake eunuch were to infiltrate the palace, my position would be forfeit.’

“It was nothing, really. Just a casual mention.”

Lu Mingyuan heard this and responded with a smile, but inwardly, his guard went up.

He had a feeling that the two eunuchs he saw last time were no ordinary people.

’The standard procedures are usually followed meticulously. How could two improperly castrated eunuchs possibly appear?’

Someone must have bribed their way through the connections and was trying to sneak people into the palace.

As for their purpose in entering the palace, that remained unknown for now.

At that moment, Zhou Pingfu glanced around and whispered to Lu Mingyuan, “Following Your Highness’s tip, this general paid special attention to those two. I discovered that they seemed to often loiter on duty outside your hall.”

“Oh?”

Lu Mingyuan furrowed his brow, but it quickly smoothed out again.

Now he knew what those two were up to.

They were here to watch him.

…

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