From this day onward, the debates in morning court between the war faction and the peace faction gained one more topic.
Whether or not to punish the Ninth Princess.
Chen Ji once again fell into doubt.
All sides quarrelled openly, but privately dispatched scouts rushing to Xichuan to gather intelligence.
However, before their people could reach Xichuan, the red-feather urgent couriers sent back by the Ninth Princess had already arrived in the capital.
The earlier messengers had delayed as much as possible, slacking wherever they could.
But the red-feather urgent couriers returning with news of victory changed horses without changing riders. Apart from necessary sleep, they dared not delay for a moment.
They covered the distance from Xichuan to the capital in just a few short days.
The several red-feather couriers, following the Ninth Princess’s instructions, entered the city through different gates.
Upon passing the gates, they shouted at the top of their lungs, “Great victory at Xichuan City! Baron Qingshui assisted Princess Wuyang. The Tubo several tens of thousands of cavalry utterly annihilated!”
Qing Huai did not want the credit, nor did Qing Xinyao.
He was already a marquis, and a regional governor with far greater power than Qing Huai.
He could almost be said to have reached the pinnacle of ministerial position.
Seeking more credit would instead be harmful.
The Ninth Princess herself was an imperial daughter and had no need for it.
When the red-feather couriers set out, the incident with Xue Henglu had not yet occurred. The Ninth Princess had instructed them to proclaim it this way.
This not only gave the primary credit to Jin Feng, but also amounted to declaring to the capital’s common people that the two belonged to the same camp.
It thoroughly tied Jin Feng to her chariot.
Jin Feng naturally understood the Ninth Princess’s little scheme, but at the time he thought that with greater reputation, operations for the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce and Zhenyuan Escort Bureau would be more convenient, so he agreed.
“Great victory at Xichuan City! Baron Qingshui assisted Princess Wuyang. The Tubo several tens of thousands of cavalry utterly annihilated!”
The voices of the red-feather couriers echoed through all the main streets of the city.
Because of the earlier messengers’ covert promotion, in recent days the capital’s people had been discussing the Xichuan war.
After all, the outcome of this war would directly affect whether tribute needed to be paid to Tubo.
If tribute were paid, next year’s taxes would inevitably increase again.
But Xichuan was too far from the capital. Even the powerful nobles could not clarify what had happened, let alone ordinary people.
Now, they finally received the most accurate news.
The common people dropped their work one after another and gathered together.
“Who is this Baron Qingshui?”
“Are you even from the capital? Baron Qingshui is General Jin who repelled the Dangxiang at Qingshui Valley!”
“Oh, you mean the Mr Jin from ‘Hoeing millet under the noon sun’!”
“Wasn’t General Jin at Qingshui Valley? How did he go to Xichuan?”
“Haven’t you heard the storytellers? General Jin’s family home is in Chuanshu. He only temporarily helped Marquis Qing Huai lead the Tielin Army at Qingshui Valley. After the battle, he returned to Chuanshu! This time, Princess Wuyang must have invited him out again!”
“I said long ago that with General Jin in Chuanshu, no matter how many Tubo came, they were doomed. Old Zhou didn’t believe me. Believe now?”
“Believe, believe! General Jin is too amazing!”
“Haha, we won. No tax increase next year. Old Zhou, come, this brother treats you to a drink!”
“Don’t celebrate too soon. Last time General Jin also promised, but taxes increased anyway.”
“That’s true. Let’s wait for the court to issue a notice.”
…
The news from the red-feather couriers spread rapidly throughout the city. Without need for the emperor to send people to announce, ministers hurried to the palace gates to await summons.
But the emperor had no time to see them now. He first summoned the red-feather couriers to the imperial study.
A pigeon’s leg cannot carry much, or it cannot fly far, so the secret report was brief.
But the red-feather couriers had no such concern. They brought a detailed battle report.
The report was drafted by clerks under the Ninth Princess’s personal guidance. The content was essentially truthful, yet even more stirring.
Chen Ji was relatively calm at the start of reading.
But towards the end, his breathing gradually grew heavier.
When he read how Danzhu’s cavalry ravaged the Xichuan surroundings and even drove captured common people to attack the city, Chen Ji gnashed his teeth in fury.
When he read how Han Feng and Zhou Youda incited the people to revolt and seized Danzhu’s horse camp, Chen Ji could not help slamming the table in applause.
When he read how Danzhu sent five thousand men to encircle and kill Jin Feng’s black-armoured team, yet the black-armoured team forcefully broke out, Chen Ji felt his blood surge!
When he read how Danzhu gathered everyone from the main camp for a surprise attack on Great Python Slope, Chen Ji’s heart tightened.
When he read how Princess Wuyang donned military attire and personally mounted the front to beat the drums, Chen Ji’s tears fell onto the report.
That was his pampered daughter, a princess who normally never touched cold water, yet risking death, she personally went to the front lines to drum for the warriors.
Chen Ji felt both heartache and pride.
This not particularly thick report in his hand now felt heavy.
In his heart, he was filled with gratitude towards Jin Feng.
He knew that without Jin Feng leading one thousand escorts to protect the Ninth Princess and bringing so many new weapons, this battle could not have been won.
Moreover, this time Chen Ji harboured no doubt whatsoever.
Battle reports were official documents that would be recorded and archived, entered into history books.
Thus, generals drafting reports might fudge enemy kill numbers, but no one dared falsify the battle process and outcome.
The report said Danzhu was utterly annihilated, so he certainly was.
It said several thousand war horses were captured, so they certainly were.
No person is perfect, and emperors are no exception.
Chen Ji loved grandiose achievements, lived extravagantly, was timid and indecisive. He certainly did not count as a good emperor.
But he allowed the people to speak freely, sometimes reflected on himself, and genuinely loved his children from the heart.
In moments of excitement, he wished to be like his father, mount a war horse and lead a personal expedition.
But recalling the tragic ends of his grandfather and father, he always shrank back.
In plain terms, he was just an ordinary person with all sorts of conflicting thoughts, only seated on the imperial throne.
This day, Chen Ji summoned no ministers. He simply stayed in the imperial study, reading the battle report over and over.
No one knew what he was thinking.
With the emperor not summoning them, the ministers did not leave either, fearing that just as they departed, the emperor would send for them.
They could only wait in their carriages while sending people to search for the red-feather couriers.
Many common people thought the palace contained only the emperor as the sole man, with the rest eunuchs and palace ladies. This was not true.
That was only the inner palace.
Beyond the inner palace, the imperial palace also had dormitories for resting guards, offices for cabinet ministers, the imperial gardens, and such places.
Many officials living alone in the capital ate and slept in the palace.
The red-feather couriers from Xichuan were arranged by Chen Ji to rest in the imperial guards’ dormitory. The ministers could not find them at all.
They could only analyse from the couriers’ proclamations that the Ninth Princess, with Baron Qingshui’s help, had truly won the battle.
But how it was won, the casualties on both sides, no one knew.
The unknown was the most agonising. The less they knew, the more the ministers wanted to know what had happened.
In the end, they waited until dark without summons and could only helplessly return home.
Early the next morning, before mao hour, the ministers arrived at Hongde Hall ahead of time.
They awaited the emperor’s appearance and the detailed account of the battle.
