Volunitaries Flock to the Capital (1/2)

Volunitaries Flock to the Capital¹

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— Records Volume Four

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On the thirteenth day of the first tai era, the twenty-second year of the sixty-year cycle, in Southern Chu’s capital of Jianye, the Lantern Festival was approaching An air of jubilation permeated inside and outside the city The Southern Chu arion and at Guazhou Ferry last year caused the entirety of Southern Chu to fall into a fervor

Over ten years ago, the Prince of Yong, Li Zhi, sacked Jianye and carted off the King of Southern Chu and all the officials It made a tree be that as it may, nearly every Southern Chu citizen felt they were in a precarious position, even with a new king and having solidified the defenses in Jianghuai They worried the iron heel of Great Yong could trample their present splendor and prosperity at any tiave rise to e for the past humiliation, as well as even more aimless wastrels who drowned thereat victories Lu Can achieved in Huaixi and at Guazhou Ferry not only washed away the past disgrace, but also rebuilt the Southern Chu military and civilian confidence Furtheret of the literati’s attacks and becaeneral who turned the tide He could lead the Southern Chu military and populace in resistance of the uard the splendor and prosperity of Jiangnan

On this Lantern Festival closely following the great victories, every person, notheir joy by celebrating the holiday As a result, this year’s lantern decorations were far more iht, just as bright as the Jade Palace of the Emperor of Heaven and the halls of the immortals An untold number of lotus lanterns floated on the Qinhuai River, as if the Heavens’ Celestial River had fallen to the h off all the pleasure boats, similar to how richly decorated jade palaces looked In addition, the songstresses and dancing girls wore rainbow-colored clothes while singing and dancing on the pleasure boats The singing was as sonorous as nature, and the dancing was as graceful as the immortals The display of fireworks and sea of lanterns² turned night into day, the sights and scenes enrapturing the people and et about the rest of the world And this was just the thirteenth If it were the day of the Lantern Festival, the interior and exterior of the city of Jianye would be even

<blockquote class="Quote">But this man alone looks wan and sallow¹</blockquote>

On this festive occasion, however, so In the study of the residence of the pri Weijun, who had all the power in the government, sat behind his desk orry written all over his face An additional three people sat or stood in the study AWeijun, the only son of Shang Weijun, Shang Chengye He was of li his own opinions on proble Weijun often wanted to promote him to important positions, but he always had to abandon the idea As a result, Shang Chengye could only hold a sinecure position in the Ministry of Personnel, and there wasn’t a seat for him in this study As a e outside However, he trembled with fear before his father, afraid to be unbridled

A ed man with slender eyebrows and eyes like slits sat in the Grand Tutor chair to the left of Shang Weijun He was the Minister of Revenue, Yin Duanhua, a disciple of Shang Weijun as well as his confidant and factionWeijun sat an old Confucian scholar He was Shang Weijun’sWeijun had relied upon this ue for decades

After a long silence, Shang Weijun could no longer take it and asked, “Sir Ning, Duanhua, do you two have any ideas? As Prime Minister, I’ve delayed and delayed the bestowal of awards, but the day after tomorrow is the Lantern Festival Whatever happens, I should reward the army However, Lu Can is already the Duke Who Suppresses Distant Lands and holds the post of Grand General If he is awarded again, he’ll be enfeoffed as a prince It would be uncharacteristic to not enfeoff him as a prince, as this is the infallible law³ If this isn’t done, how can he be awarded? The Huaidong army’s authority has been lost by now, and all of Southern Chu’s s in Lu Can’s hands Once Lu Can beconoht, Lu Can petitioned for o,” said Yin Duanhua in worry “He already controls the near entirety of the military power, but he still wants to expand theWeijun shook his head and said, “You worry too much Military expansion is necessary Al army was destroyed this time If the military isn’t expanded, there will be no way to solidify the Jianghuai defenses Furthermore, if the military is expanded, we’ll also have a chance to plant our own people in”

The old Confucian scholar’s eyes glinted with a harsh light He said, “This hts, but if Lu Can is allowed to levy troops, I fear the recruits will always obey Lu Can’s orders”

Shang Weijun waved it off “There’s no way around this No one a us can lead troops, and that Luo Louzhen ruined allAlas, let’s not talk further about it Let’s discuss how to grant titles and rewards instead”

The old Confucian scholar twirled his beard and said, “It would be better for Your Excellency to exchange terms with Lu Can Doesn’t he want to expand the military? This must be debated in the court Your Excellency will pro for war as long as he waives this occasion’s awards Your Excellency can give him some additional fiefs but will not promote him in the nobility In this on’t everybody be happy? And this passes surface-level inspection I believe Lu Can will forgo rank and title for Your Excellency’s support”

Shang Weijun had been nodded the entire ti speaks the truth Military expansion is no small task Without the funds of the court, it’s ih Lu Can is abhorrent, he knows to appreciate kindness Let’s do this: Didn’t his son show distinguished service in battle? Grant him the officer rank of colonel of the sixth rank as coe of father and son But hoard the other distinguished troops? Award them too little and they’ll kick up a fuss; award therateful toward Lu Can Howand Pri Qian shut his eyes without a word He didn’tWeijun sitting with a thoughtful expression, he didn’t speak out in opposition

Shang Chengye spoke up at this time “In reality, the military isn’t a sheet of iron This tih Yu Mian and Rong Yuan defended well, it’s still a trivial honor It would be best for Father to grandly reward shi+ Guan and pass over Yu Mian and Rong Yuan Yu Mian is a lost cause, but Rong Yuan isn’t a diehard follower of Lu Can yet The man is also somewhat narrow-minded, thus he must resent Lu Can Father may want to coenuine knowledge and is the former subordinate of the Prince of De He’s always been a loyal patriot Maybe he’ll even cast his lot as one of Father’s ht up, Yin Duanhua and Ning Qian also nodded their heads Shang Chengye had never said s, but when he suddenly offered advice on this occasion, it was a spectacular sche Qian sat up and took notice, praising hi Weijun, however, knew the depths of his son’s intellect and asked in surprise, “Your words today have substance Whose idea could this be?”

Shang Chengye blushed and answered, “Father, it comes from a new friend Ithe istresses in the pleasure district Heinnumerable cocottes, but he leads a clean and honest life Your son saw his noble bearing, so I humbled myself toith hiht up the important authority the Grand General currently wields, which has surpassed Father’s He s that Lu Can still cannot hoodwink the populace and is not all-controlling As long as this remains the case, the actions taken shall be effective”

E Weijun’s eyes “You had better carefully investigate this round With your status, youfriends”

“Your son siye said in embarrassment, “so I don’t understand naniant, and he’s brilliant It’s a shah the ways of the world and doesn’t care for glory and rank If Father wishes it, your son can try to recruit hi Weijun shook his head “Let’s wait and see Oneothers But a man this skilled cannot be overlooked Win hiround and status, it won’t hurt to invite hi, “Another thing I had originally planned to pro, to Lu Can’s eldest son If they hadchips to control the Lu family Unfortunately, Lu Can declined the proposal Do you all see any roo Qian furrowed his brows for a second He kneho this Ling Xiang was She was the adopted daughter of Ji Xia, the head of the Fengyi Sect and Yifeng Hall, but also recognized Shang Weijun as her adopted father In fact, Ning Qian also knew of Ji Xia and Shang Weijun’s affair Although Shang Weijun also heard various ruyi Sect, the attraction of a for Weijun fell into the tender trap of the Fengyi Sect Lu Can denying thisQian’s expectations It would have been strange if Lu Can hadn’t declined The wife of the Lu family’s future head of household should obviously be a lady who hailed from a noble family in Southern Chu How could they in? After a tad bit of hesitation, Ning Qian tactfully said, “Your Excellency, if you wish for a ”⁴

“Grand Princess Shuning!” er half-sister of the current King Zhao Long—same father, different mother She would turn fifteen this year and had the best conduct and looks However, her o, so she had no place in the royal faotten about her existence Now that he heard Ning Qian’s reminder, he had a revelation If he promised any old princess to the Lu family, this would be the best way to win them over After all, they still needed to rely on the Lu fa Furthermore, if the Lu fa could play a role in ways nor Weijun and his trusted aides were plotting in the study, Lu Can and co orders to return to the city for awards They did not wish to alaruise Gazing out at the wealth and peace filling his vision, he sighed softly Although he had achieved great victories at Huaixi and Guazhou, he could not forget that the strategic towns of Chuzhou and Sizhou in Huaidong had fallen into Yong hands In addition, the Yong e army south at any tireater pressure Anddefeat that the Yong e Zhe He feared that his respected teacher would acconed south once more

However, his distress clearly did not affect the two youths behind him shi+ Xiu peered all around her at the lanterns on either side of the road Fascination and wonder the scenery alongside the road out to her, acting as thewith royal coh shi+ Xiu was a woman and would, by convention, not be in the list of awards, the two of the praises of And because of the aence report, as well as a mistake in Jianye, shi+ Xiu also received the decree to enter the capital to be rewarded Even though shi+ Guan had sent in athe situation, Jianye decided in the end to recognize thewas used in the decree to have “shi+ Yujin” be rewarded No ht up