The Tyrant's Beloved Empress

44

Three days later, the court was still unable to come up with a solution.

The Crown Prince's party insisted that the claims were groundless. Whether it was the censor officer's betrayal or the corruption within the Taifu Temple, they wanted to have things investigated and presented with hard evidence before making any other moves.

Apart from these people, there were also many like An Zhi Ke who preferred to stay on the sideline and simply stated that the war should be prioritized but refused to talk about the course of action.

Only those who truly cared for the safety of the Da Ye Empire advised Emperor An Qing to fund the purchase as quickly as possible and send the grains to Yanzhou.

The Great General Shen Tu Bei who had been a close confidant of the Emperor couldn't help but speak up for Yanzhou, "Regardless of any evidence that can be found later, Yanzhou's current plight is undeniable. Unless we want Yanzhou to be lost, we should raise funds and send support as soon as possible. If Yanzhou is lost, the Da Ye Empire will be in danger!"

Shen Tu Bei watched over Suzhou and Chenzhou. Due to his old age and ill stricken body, he had been staying in Yejing to recuperate. Suzhou was left to his son, Shen Tu Xu, to overlook. If Yanzhou were to fall, Suzhou would be one of the first provinces to be affected. Furthermore, Chenzhou, which had been defending the border with Yanzhou, was guarded by Zhou Ji, a student he had personally nurtured. These provinces had always been mutually dependent, when the lips are lost, the teeth will naturally feel the cold1.

He looked at the grumpy Emperor An Qing sitting on his throne and persisted, "Your Majesty is wise, please send support to Yanzhou with haste."

"Support? The treasury is empty! Where can I get the gold to send for support?"

These few days, the courtiers' argument had even haunted Emperor An Qing in his sleep. Hearing Shen Tu Bei's insistence at this point only aggravated his annoyance.

He did not think that Xiao Zhige would dare to fabricate these serious crimes but the Crown Prince's accusations provided him a justifiable argument for postponing the delivery of grains. After all, the treasury had been emptied. No matter how urgent the war in Yanzhou was, they couldn't possibly demand what was not there.

As of now, Xiao Zhige had united the three northern provinces to fight at the border. With the whole country watching, he could not simply refute their call for help, that would cause displeasure to both the court officials and the generals at war. Emperor An Qing could only find an excuse to drag out this discussion.

"Speak no more. Since we can't reach an agreement, let's compromise. The Taifu Temple will gather whatever provisions they have left and send it over. Have the Imperial Supervisor do a thorough investigation. I demand to know what truly happened."

Shen Tu Bei cast a worried look at the court filled with shrewd officers and sighed bitterly.

.....

Back at the Wang Manor, An Chang Qing waited restlessly for three days only to feel his heart turning to stone after hearing Tie Hu's report of the court's decision. He stated that the treasury was empty and the Taifu Temple's inability to even come up with 10, 000 buckets of rice. And on top of that, the Imperial Supervisor was to conduct a thorough investigation regarding the crimes that had happened in Yanzhou.

Just as he had feared, things had turned for the worst. If this followed the path of his previous life, the batch of grains from the Taifu Temple might not even reach Yanzhou in full.

Tie Hu did not look good either. He asked with great concern, "What should we do?"

He had been stationed at the border for many years and therefore, was fully aware of what would happen if there was a food shortage during times of war.