Chapter 1348

The wide sleeves were folded together.

When the ministers had taken their seats according to their rank, before the small eunuch could announce the start of the court session, Empress Dowager Dong, sitting beside Liu Xie, had already spoken impatiently.

Dong first looked at Yuan Kui, who was kneeling in the front row, and then looked at the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers again.

It was just that at this moment, everyone's head was lowered, their eyes cast down, watching their noses, their noses watching their mouths, and their mouths watching their hearts.

Even their breathing was clearly not daring to be a bit louder.

It seemed as if they were afraid of touching Dong, who was on the imperial throne.

"I believe all of you ministers have heard the battle report from yesterday." Dong said in an extremely suppressed voice, "Two hundred thousand troops!"

"Two hundred thousand troops were defeated in an instant!"

"The two hundred thousand troops that the imperial court spent so much money and grain to support were defeated in an instant."

"I ordered them to go and suppress the rebels, but they were so frightened by a Duan Yu that they stayed in front of Hangu Pass for half a month, not even daring to attack Hangu Pass!"

"These are the loyal ministers and good generals of the imperial court, these are the court ministers of the Great Han. Could it be that they are waiting for Duan Yu's army to reach the gates of Luoyang and offer me and the Son of Heaven to Duan Yu!"

As soon as Dong's voice fell, the hundreds of court ministers kneeling in Jiade Hall immediately prostrated themselves on the ground.

"Empress Dowager, please calm your anger."

"Empress Dowager, please calm your anger."

"Calm my anger?" Dong's eyebrows were tightly furrowed: "How can you expect me to calm my anger? Two hundred thousand troops have been annihilated, Hongnong and Hedong commanderies have fallen, and Duan Yu's Liangzhou troops are about to reach the gates of Luoyang!"

"Do I still have any need to calm my anger?"

"Tell me, what should we do now!" Dong reached out and pointed at the court ministers kneeling below the hall.

There was dead silence below the great hall.

It was still Grand Tutor Yuan Kui, kneeling in the front, who straightened his waist first, held up his tablet with both hands, and said: "Empress Dowager, Luoyang still has eight passes. Although Duan Yu has broken out of Hangu Pass, it is not easy to attack the eight passes of Luoyang."

"The Hangu Pass in Xinan County is guarded by heavy troops. As long as we close the pass and do not come out, it is absolutely impossible for Duan Yu to break through easily for a while. Moreover, winter is coming soon."

"The old minister suggests that the Empress Dowager immediately issue an imperial decree to recruit a large army from various places to garrison the eight passes of Luoyang."

"The old minister recommends Liu Bei, the Chancellor of Langya. This person is a member of the Han imperial clan, is concerned about the Great Han, has strategy, and is good at leading troops. The old minister believes that if this person is used to garrison the Hangu Pass in Xinan County and is ordered to lead troops to Luoyang, Luoyang can be kept safe."

Dong, sitting on the imperial throne, nodded.

But it was clear that this could not completely satisfy Dong.

Although it would be winter in more than a month, what if something went wrong during this month?

"I naturally trust the Grand Tutor's recommendation, but what should be done now?" Dong asked, "What if Duan Yu leads his troops to attack?"

As Dong spoke, she cast her gaze on Minister of Works Cui Lie.

Cui Lie, who was being watched by Dong's gaze, seemed to have something on his mind, and with an extremely difficult expression, he slowly straightened his waist.

"Empress Dowager, I... I have a suggestion." Cui Lie said slowly.

"Speak." Dong looked at the dawdling Cui Lie with some impatience and said, "What suggestion does the Minister of Works have?"

At this moment, Cui Lie's eyes were cast down, not daring to look at his colleagues, and he said slowly: "Empress Dowager, I believe that the current strategy should be to stabilize Duan Yu first. Since Duan Yu wants to support Shi Hou, it is nothing more than wanting to gain power and status."

"Originally, the Empress Dowager promised Duan Yu to make him a king. Now that Duan Yu has conquered the Western Regions, why doesn't the Empress Dowager use this to negotiate peace with Duan Yu, using the title of king to move him with emotion, explain the logic, and provide benefits? Since Duan Yu is the Governor of Liangzhou, then let us request the title of King of Liang for him. If Duan Yu is tempted, he might just... just stop his troops."

Hiss!

As soon as Cui Lie said this, it immediately caused a buzz and gasps of shock in the court.

Splitting the land and making him a king!

This was to split the land and make him a king.

The Alliance of the White Horse came first, and the ancestral instruction of Gao Zu was that no one not of the Liu clan could be made a king, and no one without military merit could be made a marquis, otherwise the world would attack them together.

Although this Alliance of the White Horse had been broken several times since then, which time had it not caused turmoil in the world?

Cui Lie publicly advising in the court to make Duan Yu a king was clearly a rebellious statement.

How could he, Cui Lie, dare to say such things?

Yuan Kui, kneeling in the front, narrowed his eyes, and the sharp light seeping from his eyes looked like an old fox as he quietly looked at Dong sitting on the imperial throne.

Did Cui Lie have the courage to say such things?

Clearly not.

Looking at Cui Lie's appearance just now, it was clearly unwilling, but he had to say it.

Who forced Cui Lie to this point?

The answer was already obvious.

Originally, Cui Lie bought this position of Minister of Works with money, and it was already a case of virtue not matching the position; it was just for the sake of greed for the position of the Three Excellencies.

Because of this matter, Cui Lie's reputation had basically been ruined.

Without thinking, one knew that it must have been the Empress Dowager who instructed Cui Lie, and used Cui Lie's official position as a threat.

Only a person like Cui Lie would submit for the sake of an official position.

If it were someone with a reputation to protect, they would certainly rather resign and return home than dare to say such rebellious words.

Sure enough, just as Cui Lie's voice fell, Xun Shuang was the first to stand up and point at Cui Lie: "Minister of Works Cui, how can you say such rebellious words? The ancestral instruction of Gao Zu and the Alliance of the White Horse state that no one not of the Liu clan can be made a king. How is your public discussion of splitting the land and making Duan Yu a king any different from being a rebel?"

It would have been better if Xun Shuang hadn't said this; Cui Lie still felt some guilt in his heart.

But once he saw that the one standing up to accuse him was Xun Shuang, the suppressed emotions in his heart exploded.

"Xun Ciming, you don't need to keep talking about righteousness and ancestral instructions." Cui Lie turned and pointed at Xun Shuang and said, "It's not like there are no people from your Xun clan under Duan Yu's command. What about that Xun You? Isn't he under Duan Yu's command helping Duan Yu? What right does your Yingchuan Xun clan have to talk about me!"

"You!"

Xun Shuang was so angry that his old face turned red.

Commandant of Justice Guo Hong, kneeling not far away, lowered his head with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

Is this the start of exposing each other's shortcomings?

It is a tradition for thousands of years that scholar-official clans do not put all their bets in one place. Everyone knows it, but no one will really bring such things out to talk about.

The people sitting on the throne have changed and alternated for thousands of years, but the people who govern the world have always been these people.

Of course, this cannot be blamed on Xun Shuang and Cui Lie.

Clearly, the idea of negotiating peace with Duan Yu and making Duan Yu a king did not come from Cui Lie.

"Enough!"

Dong on the imperial throne gave a delicate shout, interrupting the arguing Cui Lie and Xun Shuang.

"Today's court session is to discuss how to solve Duan Yu, not for you to come here and argue. As the Three Excellencies, what kind of behavior is this?"

Xun Shuang took a deep breath, snorted, and stopped paying attention to Cui Lie.

And Cui Lie also turned around and stopped looking at Xun Shuang.

"Although Minister of Works Cui's suggestion is somewhat inappropriate, I did indeed promise Duan Yu the matter of making him a king before, and perhaps Duan Yu also has some resentment in his heart... plus some misunderstandings from before."

"I think it is necessary to clarify these things with Duan Yu."

"How about this, let's send someone to probe Duan Yu's attitude first. If he really has some resentment in his heart, everything can be resolved." Dong said.

Yuan Kui shook his head gently.

How foolish.

It is simply the benevolence of a woman.

At this point, what is there to talk about?

Duan Yu now has the absolute advantage, and his military might is pointed directly at Luoyang.

Negotiating peace at this time is simply not the best time.

Whoever could come up with this idea is either a fool or an idiot.

Moreover, once the news of this peace negotiation is released, the Guanzhong scholar-official clans will probably all lean toward Duan Yu.

But Yuan Kui did not speak out to refute.

Dong used Cui Lie to test everyone's reaction and pushed Cui Lie out as a target, which clearly showed that she had already made up her mind.

Yuan Kui, with his head lowered, narrowed his eyes.

It seems that the Yuan clan also needs to leave itself a way out.

ps: Ahem... those who know, know. Let the charging and small gifts come even more fiercely, hehe, going to sleep, going to sleep, if I stay up any later, I won't be able to get up for work tomorrow! Good night, everyone, sweet dreams! ===== CHAPTER 1350 =====