Chapter 468: The Court Debates! (1/2)
Chapter 468: The Court Debates!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The true impact of the incident was felt the most among the common people. The southwest bordered Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang, where the Tea Horse Road acted as a source of generous profit. Many merchants in the capital did business there.
When the news from the southwest reached the capital, the gruesome seas of blood and mountains of corpses were not something that the sheet issued by the Imperial Court could fully describe.
Geluofeng had been enraged and so had not shown the smallest mercy. From this point, one could imagine the devastation within the city.
”War! War! Mobilize the army and exterminate Mengshe Zhao!”
”What is the Imperial Court doing? Even Ü-Tsang is attacking our Great Tang! Why hasn't the Imperial Court done anything?”
”Destroy them! Give them a fierce lesson!”
”Blood for blood! The lives of the dead Han must be avenged!”
……
Everyone was furious. The Great Tang had been at peace for several decades. Relying on its hundreds of thousands of soldiers, it had suppressed the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates, Goguryeo, Ü-Tsang, and Mengshe Zhao. Even the Abbasid Caliphate and Charax Spasinu in the far west were cowed by this indisputably enormous strength of the Great Tang.
After so many years, this indisputable power had become the greatest glory for the people of the Great Tang. And the incident in the southwest made these people feel a deep disgrace and affront!
When this disgrace and affront transformed into rage, the first to suffer their fury was the Annan Protectorate of the southwest.
And Zhangchou Jianqiong, as the former Annan Protector-General, felt an even greater pressure.
”Bastard thing! What in the world is Xianyu Zhongtong doing? I gave him the Annan Protectorate, and then he produces this massive blunder!”
In the Bureau of Military Personnel, Zhangchou Jianqiong smashed his palm on a table, his face red from anger.
The southwest was his territory, one that he had overseen for decades, and nothing, big or small, had ever gone wrong during his tenure. Neither Mengshe Zhao nor Ü-Tsang dared to act recklessly. He wasn't known as the 'Tiger of the Empire' for nothing.
But Zhangchou Jianqiong would have never expected that right after he obtained his long-desired position as Minister of War, before he had even gotten used to his seat or gotten familiar with the inner workings of the bureau, such an incident would occur in his territory.
And what Zhangchou Jianqiong found even more difficult to accept was that Xianyu Zhongtong had known nothing about Geluofeng's assault, even though he was so close.
Only after Geluofeng retreated did Xianyu Zhongtong send news and ask him what to do!
At present, everyone in the capital was criticizing the Imperial Court, and the Imperial Court was transferring this pressure to him. Zhangchou Jianqiong currently felt like he had a dagger to his back, like he was sitting on a bed of needles.
In this short period of time, the civil and martial officials paying visits to him had almost trod his threshold into ruins. Although none of them had directly said it, they had implied that they were criticizing the previous Annan Protector-General.
Even a few imperial censors from the court had visited and directly criticized him, placing Zhangchou Jianqiong under massive pressure.
He could disregard those other officials, but no one could stop the imperial censors. In the records of the Great Tang, quite a few important ministers in the court had been impeached by imperial censors.
If he handled the matter poorly, he might have to say goodbye to the position of Minister of War before he had even warmed the seat.
But even though he was bursting with anger, there was also a layer of confusion deep within Zhangchou Jianqiong's heart.
”Geluofeng, Geluofeng, what are you thinking? You should know what will happen if you attack the Great Tang. This isn't some simple dispute. Did something happen in the southwest that I don't know about?” Zhangchou Jianqiong muttered to himself as his mind turned.
The most fundamental skill of a Great General was to keep calm. Although Zhangchou Jianqiong was enraged, he would never let his rage control him.
All those years of supervising the southwest had given Zhangchou Jianqiong an understanding of every tree and bush there. Although Geluofeng had been like a lurking tiger, always waiting to strike, he had never been impulsive and rash.
Zhangchou Jianqiong would never believe that Geluofeng had raised such a large army to destroy a single city and then retreated without any other harvest.
This was not Geluofeng's character!
Zhangchou Jianqiong was sure that something had happened that he was unaware of. But the southwest was too far from the capital. One round trip was not something that could be done in ten-some days.
But he could not even wait that long!
……
”It really was as Chong-er said!”
In his massive estate, Wang Gen was seated on an armchair, his hand gripping a sheet of paper while his brow was fraught with concern.
He had probably known of the incident in the southwest earlier than anyone else, but Wang Gen had never been able to bring himself to believe it.
It wasn't that he didn't believe Wang Chong, but that a war between countries could not be decided by a single outsider or scout.
The country could not be handled so recklessly!
A maid suddenly walked in and respectfully reminded him, ”Milord, it's time for morning court!”
”I know.”
Wang Gen nodded. Putting on a pair of boots, he left his residence.
This was the first morning court session since news of the southwest had arrived. The moment Wang Gen walked into the Taiji Palace, he froze.
The large hall was packed. In the past, when Wang Gen reached this hall, there would just be a few people present. There would occasionally be more people, but not that many.