Even women who travel through time can become prime ministers and nobles.

Chapter 485 Sending Troops to Support

In the autumn of the seventeenth year of the Tianqi reign, the cracks in the golden brick floor of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City were still damp with the morning dew. Three wisps of sandalwood incense wafted from the bronze crane incense burner outside the hall, the smoke rising straight up, but without any soothing effect.

On the dragon throne, Shen Yuxi held the letter stained with ink and blood, his fingertips crumpling the edges of the paper. The five small characters at the end of the letter, "Cui Jiu risked his life to present this memorial," pierced his eyes like red-hot needles.

Inside the hall, civil and military officials stood with their heads bowed, not daring to utter a sound.

Huang Jianhua's jade belt buckle rubbed against the hem of his court robe, making a soft rustling sound. He glanced at the throne and saw that Shen Yuxi's jawline was taut and straight, and even the usual light flicking of his jade thumb ring was gone. His heart tightened immediately—something terrible must have happened in this letter.

Sure enough, a moment later, Shen Yuxi suddenly threw the letter and the several pages of evidence attached to it out.

The paper, carried by a strong wind, slammed against Huang Jianhua's forehead with a "thud," before fluttering down in front of Zhao Xun's court boots.

The evidence included a map of Chuzhou City's defenses, with the words "30,000 rebel troops of Rongyang King" circled in red, so brightly lit by the palace lanterns that they made one's eyes dizzy.

"How did you investigate? Huh!"

Shen Yuxi's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, and the armrests of the dragon throne were clenched so tightly that they turned white.

"How long has Chuzhou been besieged? Prince Rongyang has stationed troops outside the city, and you haven't found out a single thing! Now you have to rely on Cui Jiu, a mere guard, to risk his life to deliver a message, and on Shi Wanxia, ​​a woman, to maneuver around Chuzhou—you two ministers might as well go home and grow sweet potatoes!"

Huang Jianhua knelt down with a thud, and the front of his court robe was instantly covered in dust.

His forehead pressed against the gold brick, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I only found out that the Prince of Rongyang was mobilizing troops on the border, which I assumed was to defend against the Northern Di. I never imagined that he would dare to... dare to rebel and besiege Chuzhou!"

Zhao Xun also knelt down, crawling half a step on his knees, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead onto the ground: "Your Majesty, I deserve to die! I have ordered men to investigate the Prince of Rongyang's military supplies, but he used the pretext of 'training the troops' to hide all the grain, fodder, and weapons in his private storehouse, and my men couldn't find them..."

"waste!"

Shen Yuxi slammed his hand on the armrest, causing the paperweight on the table to bounce.

"I raised you two to investigate cases, not to make excuses! There is Cui Zhihao and tens of thousands of people in Chuzhou City. If anything goes wrong, I will skin you alive!"

Standing at the head of the civil officials, Cui Zhe's fingers were tightly gripping the jade court beads at his waist, the beads digging painfully into his palm.

His nephew, Cui Zhihao, was still being tortured in Chuzhou City. He had only heard that Rongyang Wang and Cui Zhihao had a past grudge, but he never expected that they would actually start fighting.

He wanted to ask His Majesty to send reinforcements immediately, but he swallowed the words back—His Majesty was in a bad mood at the moment, and if he mentioned the Cui family, it would seem that he was acting out of personal interest.

Just then, Crown Prince Shen Yanzhou took half a step forward, about to speak: "Father, the most urgent matter at hand is..."

"His Majesty!"

A voice suddenly interrupted him. Shen Yanchu stepped out from the ranks of military officers, knelt down, and said in a clear voice, "Your subject requests permission! I am willing to lead troops to Chuzhou, quell the rebellion of Prince Rongyang, and rescue General Cui and the people of the city!"

Shen Yuxi's gaze suddenly fell on Shen Yanchu, his eyes scrutinizing and probing, and he also glanced at Shen Yanzhou beside him.

The hall was so quiet that one could hear the sound of incense ash falling onto the gold bricks. Shen Yanzhou's hands, hanging by his sides, clenched quietly. He knew that Shen Yanchu had always wanted to seize military power. If he were to gain merit in suppressing the rebellion in Chuzhou, his influence in the court would likely increase significantly in the future.

Shen Yuxi remained silent for a moment, then picked up the jade thumb ring again and twirled it twice before speaking: "The Prince of Xiang is brave, but suppressing a rebellion requires more than just courage."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the hall before finally settling on Lin Yongnan, who was standing behind the ranks of military officers. "Duke Lin Yongnan, receive my decree!"

Lin Yongnan quickly stepped forward and knelt on the ground, his black military officer's robes making him look tall and straight.

"The old minister is here!"

"I hereby order you to lead the Lin family army of 30,000 men to Chuzhou immediately."

Shen Yuxi's voice deepened, carrying an undeniable authority.

"Prince Xiang, Shen Yanchu, will lead 10,000 troops of the Yuhong Army under your command. During this campaign, any rebels who refuse to surrender will be executed without exception!"

The joy on Shen Yanchu's face had barely appeared when he heard the second half of the sentence, and his expression stiffened slightly—if he were to be under Lin Yongnan's command, wouldn't his title of "commander of troops" become meaningless? But he dared not refute it, and could only kowtow along with Lin Yongnan: "Your subject obeys the decree!"

Shen Yuxi then looked at Shen Yanzhou, his tone becoming more solemn: "Crown Prince Shen Yanzhou, will serve as military supervisor and will accompany the Duke of Lin."

"Remember this well: Lady Shi Wanxia in Chuzhou City must be brought back unharmed—if she loses even a single hair, you are not to return to the capital."

Shen Yanzhou's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly kowtowed: "Your subject obeys the decree! I will certainly not fail Father's trust!"

When he looked up, he met Shen Yanchu's gaze, which was filled with resentment and coldness. Shen Yanzhou pretended not to see it and stood aside with his head down.

Shen Yuxi called out towards the outside of the hall: "Yu Heng!"

Chief eunuch Yu Heng hurriedly walked in from outside the palace, carrying a bright yellow brocade box in his hands. Inside the box was half a tiger tally—a token for mobilizing troops.

He walked up to Lin Yongnan, handed him the brocade box, and said respectfully, "Duke Lin, His Majesty's tiger tally is here."

Lin Yongnan reached his hands above his head to receive the brocade box. His fingertips touched the coolness of the tiger tally, and his heart skipped a beat.

Holding the brocade box, he knelt down again to pay his respects, his forehead slamming heavily against the gold bricks, his voice booming: "This old minister will certainly not fail in his mission! Within three days, the Lin family army will surely leave the capital; within a month, we will surely break the siege of Chuzhou, capture the Prince of Rongyang, and protect the Crown Prince and the people!"

Shen Yuxi nodded and waved his hand: "Go. Have the Ministry of Revenue prepare the provisions and weapons immediately, without delay."

Lin Yongnan rose, carrying the brocade box, and withdrew with Shen Yanzhou and Shen Yanchu. The palace doors opened and closed again, taking away some of the solemn atmosphere within.

Shen Yuxi leaned back on the dragon throne, rubbed his temples with his fingers, and looked at the bloodstained letter. He murmured softly, "Shi Wanxia...please don't let anything happen to her."

Cui Zhe looked at the emperor on the throne, and finally stepped forward, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Cui Zhihao... my nephew is upright and honest, and I'm afraid he has suffered a lot in Chuzhou."

"Your Majesty... I beg Your Majesty to allow me to go with the army, so that I may be able to look after him."

Shen Yuxi opened his eyes, looked at the white hair at Cui Zhe's temples, and sighed: "Minister Cui, I know of your good intentions."

"But you are a civil official, and it is inconvenient for you to accompany the army. I have ordered the Duke of Lin to rescue Cui Zhihao at all costs. You should stay in the capital and wait for news."

Cui Zhe wanted to say more, but Shen Yuxi waved his hand, so he had no choice but to kowtow and leave.