Jiu Zhang Ji: The Daily Life of the Reborn Daughter

Chapter 14: Breaking the ladder to heaven

The arrangement of the topics of the grand court meeting is usually that the first ones are relatively simple, the most torturous ones are in the middle, and the last major topic will basically be about peace and prosperity for the country and the people, and a happy and harmonious society.

This allowed the court officials who had been arguing until their faces turned red and they were ready to fight each other to have a buffer, thus avoiding embarrassment at the next court meeting. It also allowed each court meeting to have a seemingly perfect ending.

Therefore, the battle reports from the border, since they have all been good news in recent times, were placed at the end of this grand court meeting.

When the young and heroic general walked to the center of the hall and talked incessantly among a group of old ministers with gray hair and hunched backs, the emperor's eyes lit up slightly.

Bai Junzhe recounted the four most recent battles, in which the enemy was annihilated and more than 4,000 people were captured. Four cities were abandoned and the army retreated to the grassland. The entire winter battle ended with a complete victory for Dayan.

These cities on the border are not actually cities in the true sense. They are just strategic points fought over by Dayan and Northern Mongolia. In spring, autumn and summer, business caravans and nomadic herdsmen come and go for trade. In winter, they are basically uninhabited.

Because it is winter, there are tug-of-war battles between the two countries almost every day. Today this city belongs to Dayan, and tomorrow this city may be taken away by Northern Mongolia, so there are basically no residents in the city, only garrisons.

This year, these border towns all belong to Dayan, so the merchants from Dayan will come and go in the town, and the herdsmen from Dayan will come to buy and sell. Next year, if the city belongs to Northern Mongolia after the winter battle, then in spring, summer and autumn, the merchants and herdsmen from Northern Mongolia will appear in the border towns.

The wars between Dayan and Northern Mongolia basically took place in winter. In winter, heavy snow covered the entire grassland. The people of Northern Mongolia were half hungry, so they had to come out of Dayan to steal food. In spring, everything revived, the grass was lush, and there were cattle and sheep everywhere. They had food and drink, so they went back to hug the girls, drink wine, eat meat and sing.

The values ​​of the Northern Mongolians cannot be equated with those of the Dayan people. The Dayan people think this is a joke, but the Northern Mongolians think it is natural and reasonable.

Bai Junzhe used about an incense stick of time to introduce the battle situations of the four battles, who led the troops and who was in command, and firmly placed his own contributions among them without revealing them.

After a low-key and restrained performance report that said everything that needed to be said, Bai Junzhe ended with a military salute, stood in the middle of the hall, and waited for the emperor's judgment.

There should be no judgment at this moment, it is usually the reward stage.

The emperor narrowed his dragon eyes slightly and looked at the young minister standing in the hall. He still had some admiration in his heart. A young man of twenty years old, at the age of twenty, had already achieved so much. He had a promising future.

The usually critical old ministers were silent at this moment, as if their throats were stuffed with cotton. Yes, victory and defeat on the battlefield were clear at a glance, and there was no dispute.

Just as he took a deep breath and was about to announce the reward to Bai Junzhe, one of the hunched old ministers stepped out of the queue and shouted, "Your Highness, I have a petition to make."

If his wife were here, she would definitely be screaming in her heart, here it comes, here comes my husband’s highlight moment.

The emperor lowered his eyes and saw, isn’t this the Imperial Censor Old Chen?

He looked at Chen Shuo, then at Bai Junzhe, and inexplicably felt that the halo on this foolish young man's head might be snatched away by this old man.

He laughed in his heart and uttered only one cold word: "Speak!"

"Your Majesty, General Bai does not manage his household well. During the four years he was fighting at the border, his mother owed huge amounts of money on credit everywhere in the capital. According to incomplete statistics, it is nearly 40,000 taels. He lived an extravagant life." Chen Shu handed the bills collected by his wife to Eunuch Li.

When the emperor heard that 40,000 taels of silver were spent in these four years, which amounted to 10,000 taels a year, he asked: "Who are the people in Lord Bai's family?" Was it because there were so many people that so much money was spent?

At this moment, Bai Junzhe had cold sweat running down the back of his neck. He was already in a panic. He had imagined the court meetings and rewards countless times, how could it turn out like this?

But he dared not not reply to the emperor's words, and he had to reply truthfully, "There are only my mother and my younger sister at home."

Eunuch Li presented the bill to the emperor. Knowing that the emperor had forgotten who the young general was, he whispered the name of Marquis Bai into the emperor's ear. The emperor instantly understood. He had previously thought that Marquis Bai had squandered all his family fortune and hanged himself, but now it seems that Madam Bai is also a person who spends money without hesitation.

At this time, Censor Chen said loudly: "Your Majesty, General Bai is not strict with himself. He has ignored the engagement with the Duke of Dingguo and rides on the same horse with a prostitute every day. He is immoral. He is really lacking in moral character and cannot bear the responsibility."

"My dear Lord Bai, is what Elder Chen said true?" The Emperor thought of Lord Bai's past deeds and thought, if he took after his father, he would not be a good person either.

That little girl from Duke Dingguo's mansion is really wasted.

Bai Junzhe fell to his knees with a thud, his head bowed heavily on the ground, "Your Majesty, I acknowledge my guilt." Thinking about the crowd on the city wall when he returned to Beijing that day, and the crowd on the street when he returned home yesterday, he did not dare to refute a word.

The emperor flipped through the bill in his hand and took notes in great detail. Originally, the censors only had to speak out their opinions, even if it was hearsay. It was the job of the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Jingzhao Prefecture to find the evidence. It was rare to see such a well-founded accusation.

Qiao Lili wants revenge, and she starts with Bai Junzhe not being rewarded by the emperor.

But she couldn't start with Bai Junzhe's military achievements. Even if it wasn't all his credit, it had already been reported to the emperor and couldn't be changed. Otherwise, his father and brother would also be guilty of deceiving the emperor. All she could do was to plant a thorn in the emperor's heart based on her understanding of him.

Everyone in the capital knows how much the emperor needs money now. Your mother, Bai Junzhe, can spend 10,000 taels of silver a year, and on credit. You can imagine how much this offends the emperor.

The emperor is both affectionate and ruthless. Ruthlessness means that he can go a whole year without even looking at the three thousand beauties in his harem, no matter how fat or thin you are, how colorful the flowers are, how green the willows are, and how the birds are singing and the swallows are chirping. Affection means that he has favored only one person for many years, even if he can't have her.

The rumor that the emperor was turned away in various ways at the gate of Yunxiao Palace was updated every few days in the capital.

Now that the emperor knows that he is as romantic as his father, how can he not be despised by the emperor? Lord Bai is the big stain that Bai Junzhe cannot wash away, and it will stain him black whenever he brings it up.

"It is only natural to pay back debts. Moreover, as an official appointed by the court, you must behave uprightly and not let the people criticize you." The emperor threw the bill in his hand under the desk, and the papers fell to the ground like butterflies, fluttering and swaying.

"I obey your command. I will return it when I get back." Bai Junzhe rested his head on the ground, not daring to raise it even a little.

"Get up and do what you need to do. Let me find you a position with an annual salary of 10,000 taels so that you can support your family." The emperor stood up from the dragon throne, turned around and left. Eunuch Li was about to say, "Dismiss the court."

The emperor turned around and said to Bai Junzhe who was still kneeling, "Since you already have someone you like, forget about the engagement with Duke Dingguo's Mansion." The emperor suddenly remembered that Fei'er had praised the little girl in front of him, saying that she was as capable as any man.

He said that her father and brother were at the border, her mother died young, she was in charge of her mother's dowry shop when she was in her teens, and helped her grandmother raise her younger brother. There was no flaw in the Duke of Dingguo's mansion from top to bottom. She was really a good girl, and he must meet her if he had the chance. He also said with regret, why was she engaged so early?

Hey, if I go to the gate of Yunxiao Palace and tell him that the engagement with the little girl from Duke Dingguo's Mansion has been cancelled by him, will Fei'er let him in to chat for a few minutes?

It's okay to chat a few words across the palace gate. Hey, that's the idea.

"Court is adjourned." Eunuch Li flicked his whisk and followed the emperor.