Chapter 265: Three Strategies to Save the Crisis
Zichen Hall.
The entire court was silent.
The massive Coiled Dragon Pillar inside the hall reflected the dim daylight, creating a suffocating atmosphere.
Emperor Chong Zhao slammed the memorial Li Huan had presented onto the Imperial Desk, making it resound with a bang.
“Good! A fine Work Relief! A brilliant Secretly Cross the Chencang Pass! And even more marvelous is—this taking from the people, and using it for the people…”
The Emperor’s palm pressed heavily on the memorial, and the furrowed brows finally relaxed slightly.
He surveyed the officials below, his voice booming.
“Beloved ministers, what are your high opinions on these three strategies?”
Several Old Ministers below exchanged glances of bewildered surprise, gripping their tablets.
Zhou Chongli, the Minister of Revenue, hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and bowing deeply towards the throne.
“Your Majesty, while this plan is indeed ingenious, with the grain routes blocked, epidemics rampant, and refugees like locusts… even with a good strategy, I fear it is merely Armchair Strategizing and difficult to implement.”
Li Huan glanced sideways, his gaze sweeping over the assembled ministers with an undeniable sharpness.
“Minister Zhou, your words are mistaken! Work Relief turns refugees into reinforcements, which can clear roads, stabilize the rear, and also pacify the populace.”
“Secretly Cross the Chencang Pass, using Ice Sleds to transport supplies, is precisely to resolve the urgent crisis at Black Wind Pass and save the Crown Prince from peril…”
“Confiscating ill-gotten silver to establish the Stabilizing Granary and the People’s Pharmacy is the foundation for strengthening the nation and pacifying the people! These three strategies are interlinked; even if they cannot immediately turn the tide, they can resolve the urgent crisis and gain a sliver of hope!”
After speaking, he abruptly raised his sleeve, bowed slightly, and cast a cold glance at the ministers.
“Are you all going to stand by and watch our Daliang soldiers freeze and starve, watch the common people practice cannibalism, and wait for the Western Frontier gates to be breached? I ask you, besides empty talk, what other good strategies do you have?!”
Several ministers were intimidated by his imposing presence, looking at each other, their eyes flickering with much surprise.
Not to mention the Crown Prince’s Faction suspecting him of using this opportunity to seize power, build his own faction, establish military prestige, and eliminate political rivals.
Even those who supported Prince Duan couldn’t figure out if his actions were to save the situation in a crisis or to seize the throne.
With the Crown Prince trapped at Black Wind Pass, a change in the heir apparent, could there be a more foolproof opportunity to seize the succession?
The entire court was filled with ministers harboring their own agendas, silent as cicadas in winter.
Only the wisps of smoke from the crane-shaped Incense Burner in the corner of the hall twisted and distorted in the crosswind…
Emperor Chong Zhao’s sharp eyes took in all the ministers’ reactions.
“Prince Duan’s strategy is clear and to the point, hitting the nail on the head. It is a sound plan for stabilizing the internal affairs and repelling external threats! He shall be rewarded!”
Li Huan, dressed in his Prince’s court attire, appeared even more upright.
He met the Emperor’s scrutinizing gaze, took a deep breath, lifted his robe, and knelt, his back as straight as a pine tree.
“Imperial Father, please see clearly. These three strategies, along with the accompanying epidemic prescription and Ice Sled diagram, were not devised by myself or the strategists in my residence. I merely presented them to Your Majesty on their behalf and dare not claim credit.”
The hall fell silent, so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
Several Old Ministers exchanged glances, their eyes uncertainly scanning Li Huan.
“Oh?” Emperor Chong Zhao’s thick eyebrows rose slightly. He paced to the Imperial Desk and looked down at his kneeling son, his eyes filled with even greater curiosity.
“Then… who is the proposer? They possess such talent to govern the world; why not summon them to the palace for the court’s use?”
Li Huan raised his head, his gaze steady, and spoke each word with perfect clarity.
“The proposer is not of this world and currently resides in the mountains, cultivating in seclusion, seeking no empty fame. I, your son, dare to request that once the crisis in the Western Frontier is resolved and the state is out of danger, I may then request a reward for her before Your Majesty. At that time, I ask Imperial Father to remember her contributions to the state and bestow generous rewards to show her virtue!”
“Good!” The Emperor’s voice suddenly rose, filled with a clear and joyous laugh.
“Issue my decree!”
He turned, his Dragon Robe sweeping heavily, stirring up a gust of cool wind.
“Prince Duan Li Huan is hereby ordered to fully oversee the Work Relief matters. The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue must cooperate fully and not make any mistakes! The Ice Sled diagrams are to be immediately sent to the Armaments Bureau in the counties and prefectures of the Western Frontier, ordering skilled craftsmen to produce them day and night…”
“All confiscated silver and grain involved shall be used entirely according to the plan for the Stabilizing Granary and the People’s Pharmacy!”
“The Imperial Hospital is ordered to prepare medicine according to the prescription and transport it swiftly to the front lines and areas where refugees are gathered!”
“The Ministry of War is ordered to select Death Warriors and hunters familiar with the terrain of the Western Frontier, and at all costs, infiltrate Black Wind Pass to support the Crown Prince!”
Several consecutive decrees, like Thunderclaps, flew out of Zichen Hall, shaking the anxious Shangjing City.
The next day, thousands of refugees gathered outside Anhua Gate.
They were sallow-faced, their patched cotton-padded jackets barely covering their emaciated bodies, their eyes hollow and numb, surging towards the city gate like a tide, the air filled with despair and a sour stench.
However, when the imperial proclamation posted on the city gate was read, announcing the policy of “Work for Grain, Land Grant After War,” and when buckets of fragrant, thick Hot Porridge were brought out from the city gate, a long-lost, faint but real spark of hope ignited in those cloudy eyes.
“The court… the court hasn’t forgotten us!”
“There’s a way to live! There’s a way to live!”
“Long live His Majesty, long live, long live, ten thousand years!”
The crowd erupted in cheers of survival.
Many people excitedly fell to their knees, kowtowing in the direction of the Imperial City.
Li Huan personally oversaw the situation from the city tower, the cold wind whipping his cloak, fluttering like waves.
He looked down at the surging crowd below, the corners of his tightly pursed lips finally showing a hint of relaxation.
“Open the granaries. Register. Assign labor!”
“Ensure that the strong have the strength to work, and the weak have porridge to eat, each in their proper place.”
The biting cold wind let out a low whimper, carrying fragments of notices and people’s faint hopes, blowing across this land that had suffered greatly, blowing towards the silent and deep Shui Yue Nunnery, and also towards the distant borderlands of the Western Frontier…
–
Western Frontier, Black Wind Pass.
Thick ice formations hung on the steep rock walls, like inverted blades.
The cold wind howled through the gorge, whipping up the snow on the ground and striking the frozen faces of the soldiers.
This was truly a Human Purgatory.
Li Zhao stood with his back to a frozen rock. His skin and flesh were frozen to his lamellar armor, and every breath was a tearing pain.
The faint bonfire had been extinguished for many days, leaving only a few charred horse bones and cold ashes.
Guan Ya leaned on a broken sword with a dulled blade, dragging a frostbitten leg, walking with difficulty.
“Your Highness, we are out of medicinal herbs, and our arrows… are also running out. Scouts report that Ashina’s wolf cubs are gathering at the pass again, it looks like… they’re going to surround us again…”
Yuan Cang slammed his frozen fist against the rock wall, sending ice shards falling.
He seemed not to feel the pain, only a heart full of grief and indignation.
“Damn bastards! I’ll fight them to the death!”
Thirty thousand troops had stubbornly withstood the repeated attacks of Ashina’s hundred thousand cavalry, building this defense line with their flesh and blood.
However, after the brutal war of attrition, only a little over ten thousand men remained, with the majority being wounded soldiers, all with faces ashen and barely breathing.
The army rations had been exhausted half a month ago; they had gnawed on tree roots, chewed on animal hides, and cooked the horses that had fallen in battle.
Some had even… secretly scraped moss and soil from the ice layer on the rock walls to fill their stomachs.
Despair spread like a plague.
