"The minister believes that we should carefully consider that the morale of the army on the southern front is not high at present, and the troops on the newly opened front line are not familiar with the situation, and they are also relatively tired, so it is not suitable to conduct large-scale battles." Ye Xianggao mustered up the courage to say his opinion, but there was sweat on his back.

With a light breath, Zhao Youxiao did not express his opinion, but his gloomy eyes lingered on the faces of the other ministers.

"Do you Aiqing have any other opinions?" Zhao Youxiao's emotionless voice echoed in the hall.

"The minister agrees with Lord Ye's opinion, now our army on the southern front does not have any advantage compared with the Maqi Khans, and the Maqi Khans now have no worries and can deal with our offensive wholeheartedly, I am afraid it will be difficult for us to win in the short term. Now that the Spring Festival is approaching, the spring festival is the busy season for spring ploughing, and if the war continues, the minister is worried that this year's agricultural harvest in the Five Lakes region will be affected. ”

Among the list is Qin Yuedong, the Imperial Minister of Agriculture, who is a veteran of the Empire, who has served as Minister of Agriculture for 12 years, and is also known for his honesty and prestige in the court.

The Five Lakes region is the most important granary of the empire, there has always been a saying that "the five lakes are ripe, the world is full", the six prefectures in the five lakes area are fertile fields for thousands of miles, and after hundreds of years of reclamation, its grain output accounts for about half of the grain output of the entire empire, and the grain it produces not only supplies the empire, but also exports a large number of silver, earns a lot of silver for the empire, and it has an irreplaceable position in the empire.

Qin Yuedong's words immediately aroused the reaction of many ministers, the drought in the whole territory of the empire in the past two years, the grain income fell sharply, forcing the empire to use the grain reserves, so far it has not been made up, and last year it suffered another flood, and the grain harvest was not good, as soon as this remark came out. Even Zhao Youxiao couldn't help frowning slightly.

"Ye Aiqing, how is the preparation of the Southern Military Region at present?" Zhao Youxiao thought about it for a while and asked.

"At present, the Fifth and Sixth Army Corps have been reorganized and supplemented with the establishment of their respective four divisions, and are still being further supplemented; The Fourth Army Corps has been stationed in the southern part of Hengzhou Prefecture, and three independent divisions of the Southern Military Region are now stationed there; The three independent divisions of the Eastern Military Region have moved south to Wenning Province through Guò Jiujiang Province, where they are now resting. Wait for the command. ”

"Now the entire Southern Military Region has assembled a total of 20 army divisions and regiments, totaling about 480,000 people, and two naval divisions of the Eastern Military Region are also heading south under the starry night, and they are expected to arrive in Wenning Province in the next two days, but their baggage transportation may be slower." Ye Xianggao knew the movement of troops well.

"Then what are the chances of us winning a battle with the Maqi Khans?" Zhao Youxiao's eyes were fixed on Ye Xianggao's face.

"Your Majesty, the outcome of a war cannot be determined solely by the comparison of the number of troops. Although our army has a certain numerical advantage, most of our army has only reached the south now. The situation is not yet familiar, to be honest, the morale is not high due to the defeat some time ago, and the battlefield is ever-changing, and the minister does not dare to assert it. Ye Xianggao said his opinion with difficulty.

Although Ye Xianggao's words were tactful, people who understood it knew that what he meant was actually that the imperial side had no chance of winning, but he just said it vaguely.

There was a deathly silence in the hall, and all the ministers bowed their heads and chewed on the meaning of these words. He didn't dare to look up at the cold gaze of His Majesty the Emperor, for fear of provoking fire. The miserable cries of Duke Hopkins and Marquis Ma Zhengfeng ten days ago seemed to be still echoing in the hall.

Seeing that His Royal Highness's ministers were deliberately avoiding his gaze, Zhao Youxiao's heart was even more angry, but when he thought of Ye Xianggao's analysis, the reality was there, if he really wanted them to express their opinions, he didn't know if he wanted to hear them welcome his own words against his will or the truth against his own will?

The dreary atmosphere lasted for a long time. Seeing that His Majesty the Emperor had not opened his mouth, all the ministers were even more frightened, and they all lowered their heads and remained silent, and finally someone broke the deadlock: "Father, the son has a Jianyì." I don't know if it's possible? ”

"Oh? Yan'er, let's hear it. Zhao Youxiao's face softened slightly.

"Since our hundreds of thousands of troops have been stationed on the southern front, it is a little unreasonable to forget it without a battle, Erchen thinks that this Maqi Khan people are not afraid of the imperial army, but now they have forced Liangshan, and they have no choice but to hold on like this. According to the opinion of the retainers, you can order the army to advance south to the border area to maintain a certain pressure on the Maqi Khans, but you don't have to take the initiative to attack, wait for a period of time to observe, whether to fight or peace, and wait until after the Spring Festival to make a decision, father, what do you think? ”

It was the crown prince Zhao Yan who came out of the round to play the round, he saw that the ministers did not dare to speak under the pressure of his father, and his father was also a little reluctant to stop because it was about the face of the empire, but it was not a way to freeze like this, so he thought of a plan to reconcile.

"Yes, Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is right, now that the spring festival is approaching, the minister thinks that the Maqi Khan people will not take the initiative to attack us at this time, it is better to observe it over time, and then make a conclusion." The ministers who came out to support Zhao Yan had a sharp face and a short beard, it was Tian Yi, the head of the Imperial Household Department, and all the ministers of His Royal Highness also scolded the "old slippery head" in their hearts, while following the group to echo his words.

Seeing that the vast majority of the ministers agreed with this point of view, Zhao Youxiao sighed slightly in his heart, so he had no choice but to agree to Zhao Yan's proposal and slow down the battle in the southern battlefield. But Zhao Youxiao suddenly felt unspeakable irritability in his heart, seeing that none of the ministers in the palace could share their worries, they were all mediocre people who were only stubborn, with hateful faces, and a huge empire was actually hit by a small barbarian country, and no one in the Manchu Dynasty dared to take on this heavy responsibility, and the generals appointed by themselves could only keep the status quo, but they couldn't do anything about the Maqi Khan, how could this not make him sad and disappointed!

Seeing that His Majesty the Emperor was in a bad mood, all the ministers felt like they were sitting on pins and needles, and they all wanted to end the court as soon as possible, so as not to be angry with His Majesty the Emperor and encounter unjustified disasters.

Zhao Youxiao saw that His Royal Highness was dull, and no one dared to write and speak, and his mood was even worse, and he wanted to end the court meeting with a flick of his sleeves, but he saw the palace door rushing to inform the doorman and ran into the hall.

"Your Majesty, the Northwest Military and Political Festival envoy Yongsheng Marquis Qin Duan is waiting outside the palace to summon him to report on his work."

"Oh? He's here so soon? Declare him into the temple. Zhao Youxiao's face was relieved, and he coughed lightly.

Qin Duan, who was dressed in a first-class court dress, walked into the Taihe Hall with steady steps, and as soon as he entered the main hall, he felt that the atmosphere here seemed to be a little heavy and depressing, and he also had some drums in his heart, but don't be like this because of his own audience.

Coming to the middle of the main hall, under the gaze of many ministers, Qin Dui bowed respectfully and saluted, "The military and political festival in the northwest of the minister makes Qin Dui see His Majesty!" Long live my emperor, long live, long live! (To be continued......)