Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 744: Court Debate

Lin Feng smiled and said, "I wonder why you all are supporting me?"

Prince Lu Zhao Bing also interrupted.

"No, no, it's really Duke Lin who truly possesses the qualities of a great general, and we are not exaggerating."

Prince Lu's son Zhao Gui served as a soldier in the Imperial Guard and returned home to visit his parents.

Although it was hard work, my body became stronger, I was more energetic, and my words and actions became more humble and polite.

These changes made his father very happy, and his opinion of Lin Feng also changed greatly.

However, even if they have opinions, these people are experienced and powerful, and they have long been trained to keep their expressions secret. What they say is a world away from what they think.

A few people were chatting casually when the palace door behind them was slowly opened and several eunuchs walked out.

Lights were also lit in the main hall, illuminating it brightly.

"My Lords, it's time to go into the palace and see the Emperor."

Several princes and ministers standing at the top of the stairs politely made way for each other and walked into the hall.

When Lin Feng entered the hall, he looked up and saw a huge plaque hanging on the tall hall door with three big characters written on it: Zhengde Hall.

When they reached the palace gate, Pei Qiyin could no longer follow Lin Feng into the palace, so he had to walk to the side and follow a young eunuch into the side room.

The standing position in the hall is that the higher the official rank, the closer he is to the emperor. Civil officials are on the left and military officials are on the right, and they are divided into two rows with an aisle in the middle.

Prince Rui and Prince Lu stood at the front, just below the Danchi.

Lin Feng was led into the ranks of military officers and stood at the front. Opposite the civil officials was Prime Minister Han Qi.

Grand Tutor Wan was given a seat and sat next to Prince Rui.

The hall was already full of officials, and a buzzing sound floated back and forth in the air.

Lin Feng turned around and saw that the person standing behind him was the Minister of War Tang Bingqian. He should have known it was him without turning around. Lin Feng was also very familiar with that unique silky voice.

He was originally standing in the row of civil officials, but had to move to the back row, so he relied on his military rank to stand first in the row of military officers.

Now he was overtaken by Lin Feng again, and his face was so gloomy that water seemed to drip out.

Lin Feng felt amused. This guy was really strong. Even with his body in such a condition, he still stayed in the palace.

"Master Tang, I hope you are feeling better."

Anyway, everyone in the hall was talking, and Lin Feng had nothing to do, so he joked with Tang Bingqian.

"I won't die anytime soon."

Ma Buxuan also ran to the column of military officers. Because he also held the position of deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, he was ranked second in another column among the military officers.

After seeing Lin Feng, Ma Buxuan bowed towards him.

"Commander Lin, I haven't seen you for a while. How are you?"

Lin Feng turned his head and nodded and smiled at him as a greeting.

Ma Buxuan was very happy. He had won a great victory with Lin Feng. As the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, he was naturally proud and honored.

This time at the morning court, the emperor will definitely commend Lin Feng and a group of royal guards, and Ma Buxuan will definitely be among them.

Tang Bingqian glanced at him and snorted coldly.

Ma Buxuan quickly shrank back, and his immediate superior was unhappy.

Lin Feng was just about to tease him when he suddenly heard someone shouting loudly.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

The hall instantly became quiet. The ministers stopped talking, stood up straight, straightened their clothes, and looked serious.

Zhu Qisheng bowed and followed Emperor Zhao Zhen, walking quickly up the steps.

Zhao Zhen came to the dragon throne, glanced at the ministers below the stage, and after his gaze lingered on Lin Feng's face for a moment, he retracted his gaze and slowly sat down.

All the civil and military officials immediately knelt down, kowtowed three times and nine times, and shouted "Long live the emperor".

In the entire hall, there were only Prince Rui, Prince Lu, Grand Tutor Wan Quan, Prime Minister Han Qi, and the commander of the Imperial Guards Lin Feng, who just bowed their heads.

After the ministers finished their ceremony, they all stood up straight, lowered their heads, and waited for the emperor to speak.

"My dear ministers, do you have any memorial to offer?"

There was a moment of silence in the hall, and Prince Rui Zhao Xun bowed and said.

"I have this memorial."

Zhao Zhen didn't say anything, but just nodded to signal him to speak.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Guard Commander Lin Feng led 50,000 Imperial Guards to recapture Lindu City. In one battle, they killed 5,000 enemies and captured 4,000 rebels. This is a great victory. I sincerely request Your Majesty's commendation."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "A few days ago, I sent the Crown Prince to Kuncheng to reward the three armies. As for the rewards, we will discuss them and then announce them."

"Thank you Lord for your grace."

As soon as Prince Rui finished speaking, Tang Bingqian took a step forward.

"Your Majesty, I have this memorial."

Seeing the emperor's approval, Tang Bingqian said loudly.

"Imperial Guard Commander Lin Feng led 50,000 troops to recapture Lindu Prefecture and returned to the capital with great victory. However, he left 50,000 Imperial Guards outside Kyoto, weakening its defenses. This was an unwise move. Your Majesty, please issue an order to return 50,000 Imperial Guards to defend Kyoto."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen turned his gaze to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Lindu Prefecture was an important town before Kyoto. The original soldiers have been taken away by the rebels, leaving no troops garrisoned. The rebels still have a large force stationed on the east bank of the Jin River. I originally planned to station 30,000 troops, but there is still a large gap between Lindu Prefecture and Jingdong Prefecture. We must station troops there. This way, we can also strengthen Kyoto's defenses on the periphery."

Tang Bingqian retorted, "Commander Lin, what's the difference between the Imperial Guards stationed in Kyoto and Lindu? Why do you insist on stationing them outside of Kyoto? What's your intention in leaving Kyoto defenses unprotected?"

Lin Feng smiled and said, "Master Tang, may I ask if Lindu Prefecture is part of my Dazong territory? Do you think that Dazong Dynasty is just a small corner of Jingdu City?"

"What I mean is that with rebels surrounding us, the defense of Kyoto is of paramount importance and we cannot afford to make even the slightest mistake."

Lin Feng glanced at him with disdain.

"Lord Tang, from relieving the siege of Kyoto City to counterattacking the rebels and retaking Lindu Prefecture City, the rebels have been forced back step by step by me, until now, we are facing each other across the river. I wonder which area you are referring to when you say the rebels are surrounding us?"

"Across the river? Jingdong Prefecture is still in the hands of the rebels."

"Mr. Lin, can you please ask the Emperor to send troops to recapture Jingdong City within ten days? Does Lord Tang believe it?"

"I..."

Tang Bingqian was speechless.

How could he not believe it?

Of course he believed it, but he couldn't let Lin Feng take the remaining imperial guards out of Kyoto City.

When Prime Minister Han Qi saw that Tang Bingqian was speechless after being refuted, he coughed.

"Ahem, Commander Lin, the Dazong's territory is vast, of course it's not just Kyoto. However, the seven prefectures in Zhenxi are also important towns under the Dazong's jurisdiction. Commander Lin has governed them in an orderly manner. The economy is prosperous, the treasury is full, and the people are prosperous... Due to years of war, the people have been living in poverty in recent years. The court sympathizes with the people's hardship, but can they pay some taxes now?"

Lin Feng knew that they asked him to attend the court meeting mainly to solve the court's tax problem, as the capital city was about to starve again.

"Prime Minister, let's return to the previous question: how should the debts owed by the seven prefectures of Zhenxi be handled? Furthermore, the government treasury isn't as full as you claim. It's all been subsidized to the people, leaving no surplus."