A Minister's Loyalty is Revealed in Times of Crisis, and a Loyal Heart is Known Ami

After nightfall.

The memorials on the imperial desk in the side hall had piled up into a small mountain.

Just as Li Youchan finished reviewing a memorial, another urgent report from the southern border arrived at his right.

Chao Xuan's army has been reinforced.

Two full naval forces arrived, heading north along the South China Sea.

Xia Hengzhi has already dispatched troops to block the way and requested the court to send another batch of bows, crossbows, and ship materials within ten days.

A head-on confrontation is the last resort.

What the Yan Kingdom needs to do most now is to send envoys to Nanyangzhou to ask the Xuanshui Kingdom why it is aiding and abetting the tyrant.

However, after reviewing all the officials in the court, Li Youchan still didn't know who to send.

He felt uneasy about everyone.

Li Youchan rubbed his temples; the intense concentration he had been maintaining these past few days was taking its toll.

After resting in his chair for a while, he placed the urgent report from the south on the table and then opened the report from the north.

The Jiuyuan Army stationed itself in Juntun Town and did not continue its attack on the city.

They are gathering together the rebellious vassal states, repairing supply lines and building fortifications.

The more steadily the enemy advances, the more difficult it becomes for the Yan Kingdom. Every extra day that drags on, the national treasury and the people have to put in an extra burden.

Li Youchan revised the grain transport document three times.

The first time I thought of transferring grain directly from the capital granary, I wrote it down and then realized that the official road was blocked by snow and the delivery would be too slow.

The second change of the plan was to levy taxes soon, but the harvest in the northern prefectures was not good this year. If too many taxes were levied, there would be more refugees in the spring.

The third time, the two places were divided in half, which seemed to take care of both sides, but it was also possible that neither side was given enough.

A single figure written down would mean thousands more grain wagons in the North.

It's also possible that several thousand more households will run out of food.

There were also countless official documents on the emperor's desk.

Li Youchan picked up his pen and wrote a few words on the urgent report. Just as he put the pen down, footsteps came from outside the hall.

Feng Ruan pushed the door open and came in.

He exuded a chill, and there was a bit of white cat hair on his cuffs.

Li Youchan looked up and asked:

"How's the investigation going?"

"This old servant has investigated everyone Su He has come into contact with since entering the capital, and then found that a clerk named Wu Huaiyi was somewhat hesitant and stammering."

"So, Suhe's backup plan is with him? Did he tell me?"

Feng Ruan lowered his head. "At first, he refused to talk. I had to threaten him with the lives of dozens of people in the patrol department before he finally confessed."

Li Youchan didn't ask how the question was asked; he only cared about the result: "What did he say?"

"Suhe told him that if anything happened to him, he should go to the ferry crossing on the outskirts of the city and find a white stray cat."

"So, you found it?"

"no."

"Um?"

Li Youchan raised his eyes.

Feng Ruan continued, "This old servant went to the outskirts of the city himself and indeed found a white wild cat at the ferry crossing. The cat had a thin bamboo tube tied to its hind leg, and inside the tube was Suhe's letter."

"That cat ate leftover fish at the ferry for more than half a year. The boatmen in the vicinity all recognized it. The bamboo tube was tied up half a month ago, and the knot was the same way Suhe used to seal the case files."

"But the contents of this letter are incorrect."

Feng Ruan placed a very short letter on the emperor's desk.

The paper was rolled up, and only three sentences were written on it.

When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away.

The cunning rabbit dies, the running dog cooks.

Su He died investigating a case, not from treason; may the world know this.

After reading the letter, Li Youchan's expression gradually darkened.

These three sentences cannot refute Li's claims, nor do they specify where the so-called "Book of Crimes Against the Nation" is hidden.

He threw the letter back onto the table: "Is he trying to fool me with a letter like this?"

Feng Ruan shook his head: "Your Majesty, Su He is telling the person who found the wild cat that this is just a fake door."

Li Youchan looked at Feng Ruan.

Feng Ruan added, "He deliberately left clues for Wu Huaiyi so that people would investigate the cat after his death. If they found the bamboo tube, they would think they had broken his plan and would feel at ease for a while. Moreover, if this letter were to leak out, it would only prove that he was killed while investigating the case, and it wouldn't implicate Wu Huaiyi too much."

Li Youchan asked, "So, Su He anticipated that we would investigate Wu Huaiyi, so he left him a way to save himself?"

"Your Majesty is wise."

Feng Ruan said, "Su He's thoughts are deeper than I thought before. I estimate that we won't be able to find out his backup plan for a while."

There was silence inside the room.

Su He's words that day were like a thorn stuck in Li Youchan's throat. They wouldn't kill him, but at this critical juncture, they made him feel very uncomfortable.

They simply didn't investigate whether it was true or not, and therefore dared not kill Su He.

Li Youchan clenched his fists. This predicament, where he was caught between a rock and a hard place, even gave him a sense of facing Yang Qinghe.

Thinking of Yang Qinghe...

Li Youchan frowned even more deeply.

If we tell Yang Qinghe about this, can he resolve it?

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It seems possible.

Li Youchan glanced at the mountain of memorials piled on the table, and after a long while, he sighed heavily and said to the door, "Prepare the carriage."

Just as the eunuch outside the gate received the order to prepare the carriage, guards hurried over from the direction of the palace gate.

"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Yang is requesting an audience outside Chengming Gate."

Li Youchan stood up.

His hand was still on an urgent report; he first loosened his fingers, then gripped it again.

Upon hearing that Yang Qinghe had arrived, the first thing that relaxed in his heart was his wariness of this person.

The mountain that had been weighing on his desk for days was finally being partially removed by someone.

This sense of security felt all too familiar.

The next thought was one of resentment.

The Council of State Affairs had only been under the emperor's control for a few days, and the emperor had barely grasped the power that belonged to him.

As soon as Yang Qinghe sits back in this room, the eyes of the six ministries and all the officials will once again turn towards the Grand Secretary.

Li Youchan knew what was going to happen.

I also know that I have no other choice.

He sat back down, his voice much lower: "Let the Grand Secretary in."

Yang Qinghe entered the palace slowly, coughing twice along the way. Only when he reached the imperial desk did he kneel down according to the etiquette due to a subject.

"This old minister greets Your Majesty."

"Isn't the Grand Secretary too ill to get out of bed?"

"Now that the border is in a state of panic, I dare not fall ill again."

"Has the Grand Secretary been watching all this time?"

"Yes."

"Are you waiting for me to beg you?"

"no."

Yang Qinghe glanced at the imperial desk. "I originally wanted to observe for a few more days, but the border did not grant me that time."

Li Youchan understood, so he asked:

"Your Excellency, what do you think of my performance these past few days?"

"generally."

Yang Qinghe showed no respect whatsoever.

Li Youchan's face immediately turned cold.

general.

These two words are even harsher than simply telling him he's wrong.

Yang Qinghe did not change his words: "Once the war broke out, His Majesty did not panic. He issued several orders regarding troops, provisions, city gates, and vassal states without delay."

Li Youchan asked, "Is this wrong?"

"Yes, that's why I'm coming tonight."

Yang Qinghe looked at the pile of reports on the table.

"But His Majesty wanted to control everything himself. He seized power, but that didn't make the court move faster."

He then looked in the direction of the prison.

"Suhe too."

"If we can't kill him, we can't let him go, so we'll lock him up first, but locking him up isn't the answer."

Li Youchan glanced at the white cat letter that Feng Ruan had delivered.

His method was indeed just stalling.

By placing Suheguan in a place where no one could see him, he could focus his energy on border warfare.

But the fact remains: even if he doesn't touch it, the enemy country will turn the page for him.

Li Youchan asked, "Did you come tonight, Grand Secretary, to share my burdens?"

Yang Qinghe replied, "Your subject has come to fight for the Yan Kingdom."

After these words were spoken, the hall fell silent for a moment.

"There is one more thing," Yang Qinghe said. "I just took Su He as my last student today. I request Your Majesty to write a pardon."

"Snapped!"

Li Youchan slammed his hand on the imperial desk. "Yang Qinghe, what do you want to do!"

"To cultivate someone who can succeed the Wenyuan Pavilion, a minister who can extend the life of the Yan Kingdom by three hundred years."

"The Grand Secretary truly devoted himself to the country."

Li Youchan's voice was cold.

Yang Qinghe remained unmoved.

The shadows of people inside the room swayed with the candlelight, the candle flickering and dimming.

After a long while, Li Youchan finally spoke:

"Can."

"This old minister also requests a fourth-rank official's robe."

Yang Qinghe took out a draft appointment document from his sleeve and placed it on the imperial desk.

[Su He was promoted to the rank of Pacification Commissioner, a fourth-rank official, while still concurrently serving as Border Patrol Commissioner.]

Li Youchan only glanced at it.

"If a fifth-rank prisoner goes to the imperial prison once and comes out as a fourth-rank official, what will the world think?"

"People will only judge him by whether he can get things done."

"What can he do?"

"He is familiar with the Ghost Clan's secret agents and the old files of the vassal states, and knows how to distinguish evidence."

Yang Qinghe said, "Most importantly, he is very smart, and he gets smarter every day. His Majesty should already know about this."

Li Youchan closed the draft.

"I don't trust him."

"Your Majesty, I once advised you that it is better to guide than to block."

"What do you mean?"

"Instead of keeping the threat in the prison, let him bear the lives of the people. This is true restraint, this is true use of people."

Yang Qinghe paused for a moment, then continued,

Li Youchan did not speak immediately.

He was all too familiar with that tone of voice.

When Yang Qinghe taught him to read history as a child, he could always find ten reasons to defend the emperors in the history books. Yang Qinghe would not argue with him, but would simply show him the number of people who had died behind the decree.

At that time, Li Youchan often had no way to refute.

The same is true today.

Li Youchan reopened the draft, picked up a pen, and circled one of the sentences.

"It is acceptable to let Suhe control the border prefectures."

"You can also access classified military and political files and deal with the pacification agents and the demon clan's spies."

The pen tip swept across another line of text.

"But he has never led an army before, so he can't mobilize the border troops."

Yang Qinghe said, "Okay."

Li Youchan revised two more places, personally confining Suhe's authority to the areas of patrol and pacification.

Yang Qinghe did not object after reading it.

After the appointment was discussed, Li Youchan did not immediately use the seal of office; he looked at Yang Qinghe.

"Where is the Grand Secretary? Is he preparing to return home to recuperate?"

"The root cause of the illness is to be addressed through proper care."

Yang Qinghe said, "If Your Majesty is willing to send the military report, I will read it; if not, I will return to my residence and take my medicine."

Li Youchan looked at the imperial desk.

A moment later, he pulled out the folding booklet of the Northern Grain Route from the top and placed it in front of Yang Qinghe.

"Then I'll trouble you, Your Excellency."

Yang Qinghe pulled out a chair from the side, sat down, and flipped through the folded books, just as he had done decades ago.

Li Youchan said, "All battle orders must be issued by me with my seal."

"That's how it should be."

Li Youchan felt little joy upon hearing this.

He once thought that Yang Qinghe was clinging to the Political Affairs Hall for the sake of that power.

But tonight, the old man sat to the side, not asking for the position of chief minister, nor for the power to use the seal of office, but simply taking on the most exhausting tasks.

This, in turn, made it even harder for Li Youchan to see through his opponent.

However, he didn't continue guessing this time.

With the wars in the North and South laid out before him, he needed Yang Qinghe, and so did the Yan Kingdom.

Even though some power had returned to Yang Qinghe's hands, Li Youchan was still uneasy. However, tonight he finally didn't let that discomfort get the better of him and placed the dragon throne in front of Yan Kingdom.

Yang Qinghe only read a few pages before her fingertip stopped on a grain count.

The two documents differed by only one day in their departure dates, yet the grain carts took three extra days to reach their destination.

If heavy snow blocks the road, the messenger should note this in the military report.

If it weren't for the heavy snow, we would have had to find another place to go for those three lost days.

"When did the last military report from Hanmen Pass arrive?"

Li Youchan replied, "Two hours ago."

Yang Qinghe looked towards the door.

"Send another team."

"The previous messengers are probably already dead."

Li Youchan immediately gave instructions to the eunuchs waiting outside the door.

After he finished giving his instructions, Yang Qinghe began to review the second folded document.

After looking at it for a while, Li Youchan placed the imperial seal on Suhe's draft appointment.

After the seal was pressed down, he handed the appointment letter to Feng Ruan.

"Go to the Heavenly Prison yourself."

Feng Ruan accepted it with both hands, saying, "This old servant understands."

On this snowy night, an old man arrives at the door, an emperor yields, and a newlywed sees the light of day again.