Just as Old Fang was about to speak, he heard the Crown Prince continue: “Also… there are provisions and military supplies. Although those Shouyang bandit suppression troops are a ragtag bunch, they are still soldiers after all! We also need to dispatch new forces there… to make it easier for Princess Zhenguo to command them! I asked you two here because I want you to help me calculate where we can still extract troops for Princess Zhenguo’s use.”
Ren Shijie’s brow twitched. This Princess Zhenguo truly had earned the Crown Prince’s deep trust…
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Ren Shijie’s mind as he recalled Old Fang’s previous words that Princess Zhenguo’s act of saving the Crown Prince was likely a performance.
The more Ren Shijie thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. The Crown Prince had likely fallen into Princess Zhenguo’s trap.
But what did this have to do with him? Even if the Crown Prince now trusted Princess Zhenguo completely, even if he pointed this out, the Crown Prince would think he was trying to undermine Princess Zhenguo like Old Fang, or perhaps even feel that he was belittling the Crown Prince, thinking this Crown Prince wasn’t worthy of such loyalty, which would be even worse.
Moreover, the more chaotic Jin became, the better for Yan.
Old Fang’s brow furrowed tightly: “The forces from Anping Camp could be transferred there, but originally, there were generals in court who could lead troops to Great Liang. Although General Shi Panshan is in Nan Jiang, and General Jiang Ruhai accidentally broke his leg and is unfit for campaign, General Zhen Zeping is still in court! General Zhen Zeping was a hero of the Nan Jiang campaign and had requested to fight. It was only when Left Chancellor Li Mao made his military pledge saying… that Li Mingrui needed no reinforcements and would go alone to Great Liang to replace County Princess Gaoyi’s position, and would certainly recapture the lost cities, that General Zhen Zeping was convinced, and only then did court officials agree to Li Mingrui going to Great Liang!”
Old Fang cautiously glanced at the Crown Prince, then continued: “Now with Princess Zhenguo… even though she leads a ragtag bunch, it still counts as leading troops. If we deploy more forces to Princess Zhenguo, might this not give the Left Chancellor grounds for criticism? Might it not make court ministers… most importantly, might General Zhen Zeping feel that Your Highness overly favors and relies on the Bai family, while not trusting them, these officials who are equally loyal to Jin?”
Ren Shijie picked up his teacup, gently blew on it, and took a light sip. When he heard Quan Yu outside announcing that Chancellor Lu, Minister of War Shen Jingzhong, Minister of Revenue Chu Zhongxing, and Imperial Guard Commander Fan Yuhuai had all arrived.
“Why has Chancellor Lu come too?” The Crown Prince stood up and hurried out to greet them.
“Reporting to Your Highness, Minister of War Shen Jingzhong happened to encounter Chancellor Lu, and they were going to the morning court together. When Your Highness summoned urgently, Chancellor Lu was worried and followed along,” Quan Yu explained.
The Crown Prince stood in the corridor, seeing Chancellor Lu in official robes being supported by Shen Jingzhong as they descended the long corridor steps, and hurried forward: “Chancellor Lu…”
“Greetings to Your Highness!”
Several court officials quickly bowed to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince stepped forward to ceremonially support Chancellor Lu: “Chancellor Lu need not be so formal. This time, there is indeed urgent business, which is why I requested everyone to come discuss before morning court. Please…”
In the study, the Crown Prince, to protect Bai Qingyan, told Chancellor Lu and the others that… he had sent Quan Yu to Shouyang to inquire whether Bai Qingyan could go to war. After all, Bai Qingyan’s reputation as the God of Death intimidated all nations – as long as Great Liang learned that Bai Qingyan was going to campaign north, they would naturally be terrified. But the Crown Prince hadn’t expected that Bai Qingyan, worried about the tight national treasury, claimed she would sell family assets to gather provisions without burdening the court… leading those ragtag bandit suppression troops from Shouyang to Great Liang, to reclaim all the cities and territories lost under County Princess Gaoyi’s watch.
In his heart, the Crown Prince knew that if he said Bai Qingyan had led troops without receiving orders, it would likely cause court controversy and be unfavorable to Bai Qingyan.
This was the first time the Crown Prince so wanted to protect someone. He had always known he was extremely suspicious like his father, but this time he wanted to be worthy of Bai Qingyan’s life-risking protection of him.
“Your Highness means for the Ministry of Revenue to find a way to gather provisions for Princess Zhenguo?” asked Minister of Revenue Chu Zhongxing. Chu Zhongxing could procure provisions… Left Chancellor Li Mao had long instructed Chu Zhongxing to prepare for Li Mingrui’s northern campaign against Great Liang.
Now Chu Zhongxing was waiting for the Crown Prince’s order to transfer military provisions to the Ministry of War, but how had the person suddenly changed to Princess Zhenguo?
Fan Yuhuai, who had lost an eye, sat under the lamp by the high table. Hearing this, he bowed to the Crown Prince: “Your Highness, it’s not that this minister begrudges the Imperial Guards, but after the Wude Gate palace coup, the Imperial Guards suffered heavy losses. The recruits might not even match those ragtag troops from Shouyang, and the Imperial Guards’ most important duty is still protecting the imperial city, prioritizing the safety of His Majesty and Your Highness!”
The Crown Prince nodded: “General Fan speaks reasonably. What does the Minister of War think about which garrison forces can be deployed? No matter how many, we must extract some troops for Princess Zhenguo.”
Using the words “must,” Shen Jingzhong knew this was something that had to succeed even if it seemed impossible.
“This…” Minister of War Shen Jingzhong glanced at Chancellor Lu, thought carefully for a moment, “If we’re talking about troops Princess Zhenguo could command smoothly, naturally it would be the Bai family army!”
“Impossible…” Chancellor Lu shook his head, “Although Princess Zhenguo could command the Bai family army smoothly, West Liang is currently restless, and we still need the Bai family army to deter them at the frontier! Moreover, the Bai family army is at the Jin-West Liang border. If transferred to Great Liang… the journey from south to north would be too exhausting!”
Shen Jingzhong pressed his lips together and said again: “What does Your Highness think about deploying the Anping army? Currently, the Anping camp is under the command of Danzhou Military Commissioner Dong Qingyue, capable of defending against both the Rong tribes and West Liang… but West Liang still has the Bai family army there! This minister believes… the Anping camp can be transferred for reinforcement.”
“This minister would like to interject,” Minister of Revenue Chu Zhongxing bowed to the officials, “This minister is somewhat worried… originally, Left Chancellor Li Mao’s son made a military pledge to go alone to Great Liang. Now, if Princess Zhenguo’s campaign receives additional reinforcements, might this not cause dissatisfaction among court officials?”
Chancellor Lu turned his sharp gaze toward Chu Zhongxing, then only said to the Crown Prince: “The Anping camp is quite suitable! Although Princess Zhenguo has the reputation of the God of Death, her body is ultimately failing. If she were like Great Liang’s famous general Xun Tianzhang of old…”
Chancellor Lu hesitated to continue, but everyone knew what the next words meant. With Bai Qingyan’s frail condition, if she truly died on the campaign to Great Liang like Xun Tianzhang had, it would be no good thing for Jin.
“If Great Liang thinks that even the Bai family members whom Jin considers invincible, even Jin’s God of Death Princess Zhenguo can be defeated, it will certainly damage our Jin’s morale, and this war will become even harder to fight!” Chancellor Lu frowned deeply as he looked at the Crown Prince, “Your Highness sending someone to ask Princess Zhenguo whether she could campaign was truly reckless. The Bai family has always been iron-boned and loyal. If the ruler speaks, even if impossible… the Bai family will certainly take the field.”