Chapter 43

Another day passed, and the Son of Heaven in Luoyang received an urgent report from Nanyang, informing him that Wancheng in Nanyang had fallen and the Administrator Chu Gong had been killed.

"Scoundrel!!"

The Son of Heaven, Liu Hong, was instantly enraged: "That good-for-nothing Chu Gong! Nanyang is the premier commandery under heaven, a vital location I entrusted to him out of my own faith, yet he lost it for me in mere days?"

"If he were not already dead, I would have had him executed;"

Liu Hong vented his temper for a good while before calming down slightly.

Then, he saw the battle report from Dengxian and his expression softened. He spoke again: "However, this Dengxian County Magistrate and his son are quite capable; they actually managed to hold Dengxian relying only on the county soldiers and merchant guards of a single county;"

"Not only did they clear out the ten thousand-plus Huang Jin rebels within Dengxian, but they also annihilated the 20,000 Huang Jin rebels sent by Zhang Zhang Mancheng. Very good!"

Having said this, the Son of Heaven, Liu Hong, looked around at the officials below and spoke: "I have always punished those with faults and rewarded those with merit;"

"Since Chu Gong is dead and the situation is urgent, I intend to promote Su Lie to Nanyang Administrator, responsible for clearing out the Nanyang Huang Jin rebels and recovering the lost territory. What do you, my ministers, think?"

The officials heard this and looked at one another.

Some even whispered and discussed it among themselves.

"Your Majesty! This must not be done!"

The next moment, Lord Yuan Feng was the first to step out and express his opposition: "Your Majesty has said that Nanyang is the premier commandery under heaven and cannot be lost;"

"It must be retaken as quickly as possible; otherwise, if the Huang Jin rebels occupy it for long, they will gain the money and grain there, and their military strength will likely increase exponentially;"

"Furthermore, there is a vital road north of Nanyang that leads directly to the Sili region and Luoyang. Its location is too critical to be left to chance;"

"Therefore, it requires a talented individual, skilled in both civil and military affairs, to take over;"

"I have also heard of this Su Lie; his talent is limited, and being a county magistrate is already his limit. Moreover, he is not versed in military strategy;"

"This time, the credit for the victory likely belongs primarily to his son, Su Xuan;"

"How can such a person bear the heavy burden of being the Nanyang Administrator and pacify the Nanyang Huang Jin rebellion?"

Clearly, Lord Yuan Feng had done his research beforehand.

He had likely received news from Nanyang even earlier than the Son of Heaven.

Indeed, Nanyang was the greatest commandery under heaven and bordered Runan in Yuzhou; the Lord Yuan clan’s influence there was not small.

Their informants were numerous.

It was only natural for them to be well-informed.

"I beg Your Majesty to reconsider!"

Lord Yuan Feng bowed.

Immediately after, several other officials stepped out to submit: "I beg Your Majesty to reconsider."

"This..."

The Son of Heaven was also somewhat hesitant upon hearing this: "That is not without reason!"

He remembered receiving a memorial from Chu Gong three days ago, which also mentioned that the primary credit for the Battle of Dengxian indeed belonged to Su Lie’s son, Su Xuan.

Su Lie did indeed seem ill-suited for military affairs.

The land of Nanyang was too important; the appointment of an administrator could not be handled rashly.

"Then do you have a suitable candidate?"

The Son of Heaven stopped insisting and asked instead: "I have only one requirement: the person recommended must have sufficient ability to recover Nanyang in the shortest possible time."

Lord Yuan Feng heard this and did not speak, but instead signaled to He Jin on the other side.

He Jin had been watching Lord Yuan Feng’s expression; receiving the signal, he understood and stepped out to request: "Jiangxia Administrator Qin Jie is skilled in both civil and military affairs and is quite adept at military matters. The Huang Jin army also broke out in Jiangxia, but he has already suppressed them;"

"Furthermore, he is a native of Jingzhou and is very familiar with Nanyang. I recommend this person to take over as Nanyang Administrator and lead the pacification of Nanyang."

"I second the motion!"

Lord Yuan Feng and the others stepped out to echo the sentiment.

The Son of Heaven saw this union of civil and military officials and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Deep within his gaze toward Lord Yuan Feng and He Jin, a flash of coldness flickered and vanished.

He thought: "That dog He Jin! I trusted and promoted him, handing him military power, so that he could gather the influence of the relatives of the Emperor to contend with top-tier noble clans like the Lord Yuan clan;"

"Not for him to collude with them and unite to oppress me!"

"This is simply outrageous!"

"Does this fool really think the Lord Yuan clan and other noble families are genuinely befriending him?"

"He has been used from start to finish without even knowing it. I must have been blind to trust him in the first place."

He wished he could kill He Jin right now.

But he knew that was no longer possible.

He Jin’s wings had grown full, and he had the support of the Lord Yuan clan and other noble families. Even as the Son of Heaven, he could not easily move against He Jin.

These thoughts flashed through his mind and vanished. The Son of Heaven, Liu Hong, suppressed these thoughts and recalled the person Qin Jie; he did have some impression of him.

He was a capable man.

Now was not the time to quibble over other things, so he nodded immediately: "Since all you ministers believe this person has the ability, then appoint Qin Jie as the new Nanyang Administrator!"

"Send someone to deliver the appointment with all speed, order him to take office immediately, and pacify the Nanyang rebellion as quickly as possible."

Having said this, the name Su Xuan surfaced in the Son of Heaven’s mind again;

He had an impression of this name.

Wasn't this the talented youth who had composed the Thousand Character Classic over half a year ago?

This person had even refused to come to Luoyang as a court official, claiming his knowledge was insufficient and he was still too young.

Based on the previous performance of Lord Yuan Feng and the others, this person was likely not one of their men, but a newly emerged young talent worth promoting and winning over.

Furthermore, he did not trust Qin Jie and had the intention of planting his own people in Nanyang, so he immediately issued another decree: "Additionally, I have said before that I reward merit. Since Minister Lord Yuan said the credit for Dengxian lies entirely with Su Xuan, son of Dengxian Magistrate Su Lie;"

"Then I shall promote him to Cavalry Commandant, allowing him to recruit 5,000 troops himself to assist Qin Jie in pacifying the Nanyang Huang Jin. The two shall be independent of each other; let them discuss how to pacify the rebellion themselves;"

"I care for nothing else, only that they pacify the Nanyang Huang Jin in the shortest possible time. That is all!"

Having finished, the Son of Heaven did not wait for Lord Yuan Feng and the others to object, but waved his hand, arbitrarily settling the matter.

Lord Yuan Feng and the others exchanged glances; feeling they had already forced the Son of Heaven to concede, they did not want to push too hard.

Lest the Son of Heaven turn hostile and flip the table.

Lord Yuan Feng and the others took the lead in chanting: "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Do you have any other matters to report?"

The Son of Heaven nodded with satisfaction and asked.

Lord Yuan Feng heard this and stepped out again to report: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have a memorial to submit;"

"Currently, the Huang Jin rebels are powerful, and military preparedness in various regions is lax, making it difficult to resist. I implore Your Majesty to grant the lifting of the Proscription of Factions;"

"At that time, scholars throughout the world will surely be grateful for Your Majesty’s grace and eagerly participate in the pacification."

The Son of Heaven heard this, his face instantly turning cold, thinking: "So, this means if I do not lift the Proscription, you scholars will not exert yourselves to pacify the rebellion?"

He finally understood that the reason the Taiping Way was able to develop to such an extent without the imperial court knowing was clearly because it had been deliberately suppressed by noble clans like Lord Yuan Feng’s.

All for the sake of creating today’s situation to force him to lift the Proscription.

It was merely to elevate the power of the noble clans above imperial authority and seize the benefits of the struggle.

Unfortunately, even knowing this now, the Son of Heaven was powerless.

He could only utter a cold "Granted!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Instantly, the officials below were overjoyed and praised him in unison.

Even those who considered themselves loyal to imperial authority were no exception.

After all, setting aside their status as loyal ministers, they were, at their core, scholars.

Because of the Proscription, many of their friends, relatives, and teachers had been implicated and persecuted, either dying or forced into hiding.

Lifting the Proscription was a good thing for them as well.

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