The decision to abandon the interrogation is not as easy as it sounds. After all, it means that the original accusations have all turned into slander. It is undoubtedly a heavy blow to Liu Dang. It will not only cause some criticism in the court, but also be enough to make dissidents have imminent thoughts. Liu Dang's arrogant status is very likely to collapse in an instant.
It's impossible that Liu Zhennian didn't realize this, but the longer this matter dragged on, the more trouble it would cause. It was better to let go as soon as possible, at least leaving a dignified exit.
Niu Yuan's situation was even worse. The ensuing difficult problems made it impossible for him to have the free and easy mentality of the former. While he was sending people to the Ministry of Punishment to close the case, he was busy covering up his mistakes. He was so anxious in the official office that he became more and more anxious. Fa Ji resented Yan Wen and cursed secretly for being tricked by him.
But no matter how to remedy it, the release of Rong Qing and Tai Su was like a slap in the face of Feng Xiang. This rising upstart was suddenly disgraced, his reputation plummeted, and he became the object of ridicule by officials.
As the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly. Just before the Liu Party resolved the crisis, another urgent report came from the border: Xuanhua had fallen. The whole court was in an uproar, accusing the generals of being incompetent. They handed over mountains of memorials to the palace, which made the eunuchs who delivered orders sore in the legs.
But Niu Yuan, who had been depressed for a long time, did not feel sad. Instead, he saw an opportunity for a comeback and went to find Liu Zhennian excitedly.
"This, and this..."
The memorials were piled together in a mess. Guisu held the basket and carefully picked out the remaining books inside.
Liu Zhennian started flipping through it irritably, flipping through two pages and throwing them on the desk.
"Oh, this is... from Yushitai." Guifu looked at it from the front and was quite surprised.
"Alas..." Liu Zhennian reached out and took it, "Sure enough, he is indispensable."
"Look, why not..."
Gui Fu was about to give advice when he suddenly heard a sound at the door and Niu Yuan walked in.
"It's more appropriate for me to say what you say." He said with a smile.
"Thank you for being able to laugh..." Liu Zhennian glanced at him.
"If this matter needs to be handled by lower officials, it will turn disaster into blessing." Niu Yuan sat opposite him and said.
"Speak directly."
"Prime Minister, do you still remember Niu's reform of the border army? The previous campaign has used this to establish a great reputation. Although it ended in vain, the remaining power must still be there. Why not take advantage of everyone's impeachment and turn it into a resource for me to regulate the army, which can consolidate the strength of the field. Secondly, military power can be used to make contributions to the court, and using innovative policies to divert the losses in our internal affairs, wouldn't it kill two birds with one stone?"
After listening to this, Liu Zhennian began to smile a little: "It's interesting... I wonder who will be sent on the patrol this time?"
"Ye Tinglong is extremely smart and well versed in government affairs. It would be best to send him out." Niu Yuan answered without thinking.
"Tinglong has been through so many dangers with me, and if I let him go to the den of tigers and wolves, it seems that I have no love for talents."
Niu Yuan laughed and said: "You are wrong. This Minister Ye has always wanted to make contributions to you, and he is the first to stand up for these things. He didn't let him have fun last time, and his face was a little ugly when he came back. Let's allow him this time Furthermore, let him do whatever he wants to do with the new army, and he will be happy to take care of you, so you don’t have to worry about this."
"Okay..." Liu Zhennian just had no objection.
Niu Yuan was followed by two eunuchs, each holding a stack of memorials. Regardless of the ministers standing on both sides, they just looked straight ahead, strode into the hall, and placed the things in their hands on the mahogany table in the middle.
"I summoned you all to come to the palace just to deal with everyone's opinions," Niu Yuan paced and said. "The Prime Minister has read your words and decided to follow the public opinion and remove Shi Yiyi from the position of Governor of Xuanhua for the crime of ineffective war supervision!"
All the ministers looked at each other in shock, nodded one after another, and all said loudly: "The Prime Minister is wise!" Some even shouted excitedly.
Niu Yuan waited until they were overjoyed, and then spoke again: "But the country has been defeated to this point, and has not seen a victory for many years. How can such a border defense protect Yizhou and counties, and how can it be called a barrier for the capital? If we don't vigorously develop governance and innovate the army, , How long will our country be bullied by the Northern invaders! I am going to report to Your Majesty and send people from the Ministry of War to patrol again!"
As soon as these words came out, the whole hall was in an uproar, and the atmosphere gradually became tense.
"Feng Xiang," Jie Wenwu coughed twice and swayed out of the crowd with a bulging belly, "You also said this before, you had to set up a patrol, and it took a while to clean up, but in the end, Xuanhua was lost. I killed more than 3,000 people, but it didn’t work!”
"Yes, yes!" There were echoes from all directions.
Niu Yuan snorted slightly and looked at him with cold eyes: "Master Jie, doesn't this mean that the change is too light!"
"Victory and defeat are common matters for military strategists, and it is normal to lose territory and seize a city. Now it is obviously the day of peace in the world. The good news sent to the capital from all provinces and governments are all placed in the secret pavilion, where we can all see it; why do you choose to serve as prime minister? In my mouth, things are bad, and the beautiful world seems to have turned into a hell on earth!"
"The following are all your imagination, I have never said such things!" Niu Yuan waved his sleeves angrily, "The border troops have no fighting power, how can we talk about seizing the city? It's all because your military department neglects the personnel and encourages thieves. , you still dare to talk so loudly here?”
Both of them were red-faced and their voices became louder and louder. Jie Wenwu rolled up his sleeves and slapped the table hard, as if he wanted to take action.
Seeing this, Chen Tongpao quickly stepped forward to comfort the Ministry of War: "The original intention of serving as Prime Minister was just to patrol the border areas. He had no other ideas. Why did Mr. Jie arouse his resentment? Since Shi Yiyi was relieved of his duties, he should send his troops to the army. It's normal for people to choose another general when they go out to envoys. I'll put it another way, I think it scares you."
"This..." Jie Wenwu was really choked by his words, so he could only say hesitantly, "Then let me do what I should do."
When Niu Yuan raised his eyes and saw that he had returned to the train, he lost a lot of his anger and continued with his original words: "Life in the frontier is a rough road. You must elect a courageous minister to be able to do the job."
His eyes began to look at the crowd, almost passing by the circle at the east end; when he turned to look at the west end, he suddenly blinked and stopped.
"Shilang Ye, you have already had experience. This time on the northern tour, you will definitely do better." Niu Yuan dusted off his clothes and called him over.
Ye Yongjia glanced flatly at Cai Xianqing, who just shrugged his eyebrows and turned his face to the sky.
He silently walked up to Niu Yuan, leaned down expressionlessly, and saluted.
"Tinglong, when I am young, I will go to the palace to see the Holy One first. You can sit down at Zhongshu Province for the time being. I want to explain a few words to you. Wait there, I will be here in a moment!" Niu Yuan patted him with pretense of enthusiasm. Ye Yongjia's shoulder blades remained motionless.
