vstars Chapter 215 Focus of Controversy
Chapter 215 Focus of Controversy
The shocking scam in Guangning City soon spread to the capital of the State of Chen.
In the State of Chen, many wealthy businessmen were cheated and lost a lot of money.
During these two months, millions of taels of silver were taken away.
Even if the Chen court wanted to hold someone accountable, it would not be able to find the culprit.
As for the State of Yan, everything seemed to be calm.
Beijing.
In the palace, Empress Chen Qingyun was standing in the imperial garden, holding a letter tightly in her hand.
"To Siyue: By the time you receive this letter, I may have already returned to Yan State. Now the Emperor has asked me to take up an important position, so I cannot return to the capital right away, or I may have to go to the capital. I haven't seen you for nearly two months, and I miss you very much..."
Chen Qingyun put away the letter and complained in his heart, "Miss me? Then why don't you write to me more often? Jiang Zuo is such a liar."
Forget it, as long as he completes the mission and returns to Yan State safely, everything will be fine.
The news of the signing of the peace agreement has been passed back to the court.
In Zhonghe Hall, all the ministers arrived.
"You have all heard about the signing of the agreement between the two countries, right?"
"Envoy Jiang has been in the State of Chen for almost two months, and this is the only result."
Someone whispered.
"Hey, it's just a matter of discussing peace with the State of Chen, but it took so much time. I think he was just being lazy."
"Signing a treaty with the State of Chen this time is not as good as the peace talks at Baxia back then. After fighting for so long, we only managed to recover a few small cities and failed to take back the three states in the east of the lake. It's a shame."
Some officials were quite dissatisfied.
In the eyes of these pro-war officials, failure to recover the lost territory would be a complete failure.
"As long as the two countries don't fight, it's good for both you and me."
But the peace faction was satisfied.
"I thought Jiang Zuo had some ability, but this is all..."
"I heard that he made a lot of money from the State of Chen. It's funny that an envoy doesn't deal with diplomacy, but instead becomes a profit-seeking businessman."
"Jiang Zuo is greedy for money and lustful, and this has been going on for a long time."
Jiang Zuo is now well-known throughout the capital.
A moment later, the empress appeared in front of all the officials and began to discuss the matter of marching south to destroy Chen.
The officials seemed to be unconcerned about the destruction of the State of Chen. Instead, they were still anxiously discussing it in Jiangzuo.
"Your Majesty, it is inappropriate for Inspector Jiang to try to please the people of Chen. I do not mean to say anything bad about Inspector Jiang, but I am worried that he may be careless and ruin the plan."
At this time, another official came forward and said.
Rumors about Jiangzuo have been circulating in the capital for more than a month. Not only do they show no signs of stopping, but they have become even more intense.
But even so, the empress still chose to trust Jiang Zuo.
Anyone who dares to impeach Jiang Zuo will be punished by the empress.
Even now, among the people, there are still people saying that the emperor favors traitorous officials...
There is no way the empress could not hear these voices.
Chen Qingyun hasn't had a good night's sleep in this month.
So many days have passed, and Jiang Zuo still hasn't given a good answer.
The Thousand Cavalry Division sent out always reported the same thing every time they came back: "Envoy Jiang is doing business with the people of Chen..."
"Do you, Jiang Zuo, have to do business in Chen State for the rest of your life?" Chen Qingyun said helplessly in his heart.
Looking up, Chen Qingyun felt even more troubled when facing this group of ministers with ulterior motives. He said in a low voice, "Now that Envoy Jiang has returned to Dayan, it is enough to prove that he has no intention of defecting. His previous actions to please the people of Chen were just a trick to lure the enemy. Now that a temporary peace agreement has been signed, do you have any other strategies to offer?"
After hearing what the empress said, the ministers below remained silent.
In their opinion, Jiang Zuo's mission to the State of Chen was not a success at all.
At this time, the Right Prime Minister Lu Jun stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, now that the two countries have successfully reached peace talks, let's temporarily put an end to the war and rest and recuperate."
The right party headed by Lu Jun naturally hopes to live in peace with the State of Chen and maintain the status quo.
Jiang Zuo's mission to the State of Chen actually helped their right party.
Chen Qingyun didn't like what Lu Jun said.
She was an absolute advocate of war, and the peace talks were just a delaying tactic. She had no real intention of reaching a ceasefire with the State of Chen.
Since the right prime minister had spoken, the left prime minister Wei Hong also stood up and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I think we must not stop the war. Now that Chen is on the rise, our army should seize the opportunity to pursue the victory and recover the lost territory in one fell swoop."
"Now that the peace agreement has just been signed, it is inappropriate for the left prime minister to be so impatient to start a war." Lu Jun said coldly, "What's more, the imperial treasury is empty now, and we can't fight anymore."
There was a sense of tit-for-tat in the court.
The two factions have been arguing for a long time, but still cannot determine the winner.
"Yan State needs troops everywhere now. If we want to march south to attack Chen State, we will need at least 300,000 troops. Who can command such a large number of troops?"
Lu Jun said.
"Your Majesty, Inspector Jiang is extremely talented. He quelled the unrest in the northern border in less than two months. I believe that Inspector Jiang is absolutely capable of serving as the General of the Southern Expedition."
Wei Hong recommended.
The status of Jiangzuo is self-evident. What Wei Hong has to do now is to strongly recommend it in front of the empress so as to win over Jiangzuo in the future.
Chen Qingyun had a calm expression as he listened silently to the arguments among his ministers, without feeling anxious.
She already had a plan in her mind.
While everyone was still discussing, someone suddenly came forward to report: "Your Majesty, here is the memorial from Inspector Jiang."
"read."
Chen Qingyun said calmly.
The memorials that Jiang Zuo presented to the emperor usually consisted of just a few sentences, and there was nothing interesting to read.
"Your Majesty, I, Jiang Zuo, have led the envoys back to Yan State. This time, I have completed the mission assigned by Your Majesty to Chen State. However, my envoys stayed in Chen State for two months, which cost a lot of money. If Your Majesty really needs me to lead the troops to attack Chen State, I hope Your Majesty can allocate one million taels of military funds. Within two months, we will definitely be able to defeat Chen State."
As soon as this memorial was read, Chen Qingyun frowned.
Jiang Zuo, this guy, always asks for money when he submits a memorial...
Now, Liangzhou in the northwest has to defend against the countries in the Western Regions, and Mobei has to guard against the barbarians. Military funds are needed everywhere, so how can there be so much military funds to be allocated to Jiangzuo?
"Destroy the State of Chen in two months?"
Hearing the contents of this memorial, Lu Jun couldn't help but laugh in his heart.
"Your Majesty, the treasury is now empty. If we allocate another million to attack Chen in the south, I'm afraid it will be a waste of money and manpower, and the gains will not outweigh the losses."
Hundreds of officials also made suggestions.
In their view, Jiang Zuo's memorial was a joke.
"He just signed a useless agreement as an envoy to the State of Chen, and he thought he had accomplished something great?"
Someone mocked in his heart.
Jiang Zuo actually had no idea how to ask the emperor for money like this.
Chen Qingyun looked calm as he silently pondered the contents of Jiang Zuo's memorial.
If the military expenditure is one million taels, the State of Chen can be destroyed, which is definitely a good deal.
However, is what Jiang Zuo said true or false?