marquis of jingan

Chapter 1502: Hosting the Secretariat
Emperor Hongde nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Whether it is Su Ding's troops or Ling Su's troops, they are all under the command of Shen Qing. It is up to Shen Qing to decide whether to transfer troops there."

Master Shen shook his head and said, "When the court was in the south before, the journey was too long and there was no time to ask for instructions. Many things had to be decided by me. Now that I am in the capital, I naturally have to ask for instructions from Your Majesty when I encounter major matters."

The emperor looked at Shen Yi and smiled, "Should we ask the Secretary for instructions?"

Mr. Shen thought about it.

"According to the rules, we must consult the Secretary of State."

The emperor smiled and said, "The best thing about Shen Qing is that he abides by the rules. He has been like this for so many years."

"If someone else had accomplished so many things and was in Shen Qing's position, they would have already been arrogant and didn't know which way the court door would open."

"What I seek is not how much power I can have."

Master Shen whispered, "It's about peace in the world."

The emperor coughed twice and his face turned paler, but he still forced a smile.

"What if the ruler of the future generations becomes the source of chaos in the world?"

Mr. Shen looked up at the emperor and didn't speak for a long time.

"Then Shen Qing, just continue to suppress the rebellion."

Seeing that Shen Yi did not answer, the emperor answered for him and said slowly: "Appoint a new monarch."

Shen Yi shook his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, this is not what a minister should do. According to what Your Majesty said, if the court becomes the source of chaos one day, wouldn't I raise the flag of rebellion?"

The emperor asked in return: "Shen Qing doesn't know how to do it?"

Master Shen shook his head: "By that time, I will probably be very old."

"I will only do my best to protect my family and let future generations fight and struggle."

The emperor coughed violently again. He lay on the recliner and took a breath. "After I got sick, whenever I had some free time, I started thinking about my afterlife and what the world would be like in the future. But after thinking about it, I came to no avail."

"Later, I simply stopped thinking about it."

The emperor said silently: "No matter how capable a person is, he cannot manage his affairs after his death. Look at my sons who are now obedient to me. If I close my eyes, they will do things according to their own ideas."

"I don't have any energy now."

The emperor looked at Shen Yi and breathed a sigh of relief: "The matter in the north is not a big deal after all. Shen Qing, go to the Secretariat and discuss the matter with the prime ministers and the crown prince."

Yes, considering the current national strength of Dachen, even if the Tatars invade with their entire clan, it would not be a big deal.

The worst case scenario is that the Datong military town is lost and the whole province of Shanxi is in chaos. If you want to have a bigger impact...

Not likely anymore.

After all, under Shen Yi's deliberate suppression over the years, the size of the Tatar tribe has not expanded much, but has instead shrunk slightly.

Master Shen looked up at the emperor and asked, "Your Majesty, I am asking something that I shouldn't ask."

"Your body is now..."

"Didn't I say that?"

The emperor turned his head to look at Shen Yi, shook his head and said, "I don't have much energy. I spend most of the day sleeping. Sometimes I don't know whether I am sleeping or have passed out."

Master Shen was shocked, and then he asked, "Your Majesty, is Marshal Lu in Yanjing?"

The emperor hummed, took a deep breath, and said, "He has been there all the time, and the inner guards have also sent some people back."

As he spoke, he looked at Shen Yi and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Shen Qing. No matter how incompetent I am, the Imperial City can still be under control and there won't be any trouble."

"I guarantee that there will be no problems in the imperial city, and Shen Qing guarantees that there will be no chaos in the capital and the surrounding areas."

The emperor closed his eyes and said slowly: "We, the king and his subjects, will work together to accomplish one last great thing."

This last major event, of course, does not refer to the rebellion of the Tatar tribe.

Rather, it refers to the smooth and orderly transfer of imperial power.

Master Shen was deeply saddened. He stood up and took two steps back, bowing deeply: "Your Majesty, I will obey your command."

The emperor opened his eyes and looked at Shen Yi who bowed deeply to him. He was silent for a long time.

Finally, Emperor Hong De, who always liked to joke with Shen Yi, smiled and said something again.

"Since Shen Qing has agreed, I will not die in your house."

Master Shen lowered his head and said, "I am no longer afraid."

"At most, the king and his subjects are on the same path."

The emperor smiled.

"That won't do. I'm counting on Shen Qing to take good care of Da Chen for me."

His Majesty the Emperor sat up straight, smiled and said, "This is the result of my life's hard work."

This time, Mr. Shen, who has always been smooth and likes to shirk responsibility, did not shirk it again, but bowed once again.

"Your Majesty, I will obey your orders."

…………

Zhongshu, the council hall.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was ill and was not present. Only five prime ministers took their seats with Shen Yi. Mr. Shen was forcibly dragged to the first seat by Prime Minister Song Yuan. Shen Yi tried to refuse a few times, but was eventually forced to sit in the first seat by the prime ministers.

After Shen Yi sat down, he did not continue to shirk his responsibilities. Instead, he looked at everyone and said, "My dear lords, I have just roughly explained the matter. This matter involves several border troops and the defense of Datong. I, Shen, will be so shameless as to sit here and preside over this meeting."

Song Yuan smiled and said, "Even if it's not military affairs, the Taibao should sit here when he comes to the Zhongshu. After all, the place where we sit now, the house we live in, and even every inch of land we walk on were conquered by the Taibao himself."

Song Yuan was the prime minister who entered the Secretariat during the reign of Emperor Zhao Changping. The most admirable thing about him was his mouth, which was very pleasant to hear and he never offended anyone.

It was also because of this that he successfully took over Zhao Changping's position and took charge of the Secretariat.

Shen Yi shook his head and said, "Prime Minister Song, this is the credit of the King's Master of Dachen. I was just following the imperial edict back then. It's not worth mentioning."

"Let's start discussing business now."

Since he was the host of the meeting, he had to grasp the theme of the meeting. Shen Yi didn't waste any words and said straight to the point: "My idea is very simple. Temporarily withdraw 20,000 elite troops from Ling Su's troops, led by General Zhong Ming, to support the Datong defense line and hand them over to General Xue Wei for deployment."

As soon as he finished speaking, several prime ministers nodded.

Zhang Jian said, "These border troops are originally under the command of Lord Shen. There is no need to discuss these deployments here. Lord Shen can make the decision on his own."

Shen Yi took over the conversation and said with a smile: "I just want to tell you gentlemen that I have already decided on the troop deployment. What we are going to discuss today is mainly the allocation of money and food, as well as the issue of sending envoys."

"Shen just went to see His Majesty. His Majesty said that we can send an envoy to the Tatar tribe to tell the Tatar Khan that we can give them some, or sell them some food, to help them tide over the difficulties."

Zhou Yuanlang seemed to be thinking about something, and asked, "Taibao, what does the Tatar tribe have to exchange for our Dachen's food?"

Mr. Shen smiled and said, "I've already thought about this."

"If they buy, we will sell it to them at the market price, and take gold, silver, furs, or other things."

"If it is given to them, it means that our Majesty is doing a favor to the Tatars."

Shen Yi said slowly: "The Tatar Khan has many sons. These grains can be given to the Tatar Khan's two or three sons, and they can be given some titles to show the supreme benevolence of the Emperor of Dachen."

When these words came out, several prime ministers were still discussing among themselves, but Zhou Yuanlang's eyelids were already twitching.

Shen Yi looked at Zhou Yuanlang and said with a smile: "I heard that Prime Minister Zhou is proficient in the languages ​​of Zhulizhen and Tatar. This is a major event for the country. Why don't you take the trouble to make this trip for the court?"

Zhou Yuanlang shook his head quickly: "Grandmaster, I have just been promoted to the position of the Secretariat, and I don't know a lot of things yet. Now is a critical time, and there are many people in the Ministry of Rites who are proficient in the Tatar language. Why do you need me to go?"

"Sending anyone else would not show the spirit of our Celestial Empire."

Shen Yi smiled and said, "It is necessary to send a prime minister to show the importance of this matter to Dachen."

He looked at the others and asked, "What do you think, gentlemen?"

The four prime ministers had not had a good impression of this "northerner prime minister" in the first place, and they all agreed when they heard what he said.

Zhou Yuanlang took a deep breath and then spoke slowly.

"Then report it."

"If there is an imperial decree, Zhou will go."

Mr. Shen nodded gently: "Then report it..."

"Your Highness."

(End of this chapter)