Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 89

Wu Jing didn’t know how the conversation suddenly turned in this direction. He couldn’t keep up, shifting from such a serious topic to light-hearted joking far too quickly.

His tears from earlier hadn’t even dried yet, and his ears were already burning.

Even after being carried into the hall, he hadn’t gotten off Ning Qinghong. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to move, but that he refused to.

There was an inexplicable sense of panic within him, and he kept turning his head now and then to glance at the person behind him. Those words had truly frightened him, and he had taken Ning Qinghong’s words to heart.

Now, sitting sideways on Ning Qinghong’s lap, he earnestly watched the memorials in the other’s hands, not allowing his mind to wander, fall asleep, or feel bored enough to fidget with his hands to pass the time.

However, there were still many things he couldn’t understand—not just the words themselves, but even though he could recognize each character individually, when combined, they became incomprehensible.

Each memorial had the name of the petitioner written in the corner, and Wu Jing would check the name against the booklet he was holding. If the name wasn’t in the booklet, Ning Qinghong would quickly skim through it, as it usually wasn’t anything important. But if it was something significant, he would slow down and carefully consider how to handle the matter.

However, even when he was reading carefully, his pace was still swift.

If the name was in the booklet, he would slow down considerably, thinking about how to address the matter.

An hour later—

Ning Qinghong set down the memorial, “Did Wuwu understand?”

Wu Jing hugged the booklet, honestly and sheepishly shaking his head.

Ning Qinghong picked up a memorial, “This one was submitted by Ge Bo Lei, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Bandits have been plaguing the remote mountain areas in the northern frontier for a long time, and the local people have suffered greatly. Now, refugees have come to the capital to file a complaint with the Emperor.” He explained, “This person broke into the Court of Judicial Review, so the Minister brought the matter to me, asking how to proceed with the trial.”

He put down this memorial and picked up three others. “The issue of bandits was discussed in court today, and someone volunteered to lead troops to eliminate them.” He opened each one, “This one is a memorial from an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War. This young man comes from a military family but is still quite young and currently holds a position in the Ministry of War.”

“He’s only shielded by the glory of his ancestors. If he wants to advance, he’ll either have to wait eight or nine years to gain enough seniority or seize an opportunity like this to achieve a major victory.”

“He’s the youngest son of his family, and his influential family has always had an interest in gaining my favour. If I use this opportunity to build a good relationship, I could gain another supporter in the court.”

Wu Jing could only nod.

Ning Qinghong set these aside and picked up the next one, “This memorial was submitted by the Commander of the Left Guard of the Imperial City. He’s one of the men from the Imperial Guard, a brave general who once helped me when I purged the court of traitors.”

The implication was that the Imperial Guard was under his control.

Wu Jing listened in a daze and watched as Ning Qinghong picked up the third memorial. “This one was submitted by a Senior Assistant at the right side of the Imperial Guard. He holds the third rank and originally served the Emperor but has no real power.”

“This man was once a fierce general who defended the borders during the reign of the previous Emperor. After retiring from the frontlines, he served the former Emperor closely and has a strong connection with the Left Minister. Although he is experienced, he is getting on in years.”

Ning Qinghong then pulled out two more memorials, “These two are also related to the matter. They both propose sending military provisions and grain to the local forces so that they can subdue the bandits. The idea is to conserve manpower and resources by avoiding the need to dispatch troops from the capital to the northern frontier.”

He explained in detail, “The northern frontier is mostly barren land with long-standing shortages of food and water. The local government is poor, lacking the resources to maintain an army, which is why the bandits have become so rampant.”

“This approach could save the effort of sending troops from the capital to suppress the bandits.”

Ning Qinghong set these two memorials aside and pulled out another one, “This third memorial suggests that sending the border troops to suppress the bandits would be a more effective solution. The border troops are well-funded by the capital, strong and well-trained. They could achieve victory within half a month without needing reinforcements, thus saving time and effort.”

“Wuwu, if you were Brother, which option would you choose?”

Wu Jing was already dizzy, shaking his head, stammering, “I—I don’t know.”

Ning Qinghong chuckled, “Why do we send troops to eliminate bandits?”

Wu Jing replied quietly, “For the people?”

Ning Qinghong said gently, “Since it’s for the people, we mustn’t be careless.”

“The best solution is one that lasts.”

Wu Jing gathered his courage to respond, “Then we should choose the strongest one?” But it seemed like they were all strong, except…

He thought for a moment, then pulled out the first memorial that Ning Qinghong had set aside, placing it to one side. “Not this one.”

A youngest son who hadn’t been on the battlefield seemed unreliable.

He remembered that Ning Qinghong had a grudge against the Left Minister.

Wu Jing then wanted to set aside the second memorial.

Ning Qinghong stopped him, “Isn’t Wuwu eliminating the less strong ones?”

Wu Jing hesitated, unsure of what to do next.

Ning Qinghong sighed softly and moved the two memorials proposing to let the local forces handle the bandits out of the way, saying, “If the local forces were capable of stopping the bandits, this matter wouldn’t have escalated to the capital. A temporary supply of military provisions and grain won’t be enough to quickly strengthen them.”

“Besides, considering the local poverty, there’s a risk of corruption. If the officials collude with the bandits, the situation could worsen.”

Ning Qinghong then pulled out the last memorial, “Although the border has been peaceful in recent years, there’s always the danger that foreign invaders might take advantage of the situation if the border troops are weakened.”

He paused, then pulled out the third memorial, “This man may be brave, but he has only commanded troops in the capital. He has never fought on the battlefield or dealt with bandits, so he might not be up to the task.”

Wu Jing looked at the last remaining memorial and was puzzled, “But isn’t he someone from the Left Minister’s faction?”

Although the Left Minister seemed loyal to the Emperor, since he now sided with Ning Qinghong, he naturally had to consider things from his perspective.

Ning Qinghong said, “Then we cannot truly entrust military power to this person. We should appoint a supervising officer from among Brother’s subordinates.” He then drew out three more memorials from the pile. “These three individuals have all submitted memorials volunteering to serve as supervising officers.”

“All three of them are Brother’s men.”

“It’s time for Wuwu to make another choice.”

What, there’s more?

Wu Jing was really starting to feel dizzy.

Ning Qinghong sighed, “Since you’ve chosen this old general for his ability to eliminate the bandits, the supervising officer should naturally be someone who won’t interfere too much, but also not someone who is too foolish, lest they be manipulated by the Left Minister’s faction and end up losing military power entirely, along with public support.” He smiled slightly and pulled out a memorial signed with the name “Zhang Songyun.” “It’s Wuwu’s first time learning to take charge, so it’s understandable that you don’t know the temperament of all these ministers.”

“But this matter isn’t over yet. We also need to decide how many troops to send and how much military funding to allocate. We could summon the old general leading the troops to the hall to discuss, but since he’s one of the Left Minister’s people, be prepared that he might not tell the truth…”

This was a relatively minor matter. If Ning Qinghong were handling it alone, he would have likely read through it swiftly, issued orders without even closing his eyes, and finished everything in less than half a cup of tea’s time.

But now, explaining everything to Wu Jing, slowly and carefully, took nearly half an hour.

Wu Jing had to go over everything several times before he could connect the dozen or so memorials to the single issue at hand. The relationships between the people involved were also incredibly complex. After finally figuring it out, he didn’t want to think anymore.

Ning Qinghong noticed Wu Jing’s weary expression and sighed softly, “Since Wuwu is tired, why not take a walk in the Imperial Garden?”

Wu Jing initially wanted to refuse, shaking his head, “I’ll stay with Brother.”

Ning Qinghong smiled, “You rarely come to the palace. Don’t you want to see that little dog someone’s been raising for you?”

Wu Jing was stunned, not expecting Ning Qinghong to remember that. Hesitantly, he looked at him.

Ning Qinghong lifted his fingers slightly, “Since you want to go, then go ahead.” Seeing Ning Qinghong’s gesture, the nearby Fuchen immediately stepped forward to request the Emperor’s leave.

Wu Jing was helped up, but after taking just a few steps, he couldn’t help but glance back. Once he stepped out of the hall, his initial excitement quickly turned to regret, leaving him distracted.

“Back in the day, His Majesty would have rushed over eagerly,” Fuchen remarked with a cheerful smile, making some light-hearted comments.

Wu Jing didn’t respond for a moment. For some reason, his gaze shifted to Fuchen, looking at him repeatedly as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Fuchen suddenly felt a chill, sensing that something was off. “Your Majesty, if you have something to say, please speak directly.”

Wu Jing glanced back again, ensuring they were far enough from the hall doors before asking, “Do you know why he got this illness?”

Fuchen hesitated and cautiously replied, “This servant hasn’t served the Lord for very long, so I may know a bit, but not as much as Your Majesty would if you asked the Lord directly.” He bowed, “Please, Your Majesty, spare this servant. I truly don’t dare to provoke the Lord’s sensitivities.”

Even if the Lord didn’t care or consider it a sensitive matter, as servants, they dared not test their master’s attitude.

Wu Jing remained silent for a long while. After walking for some time, he finally said, “I asked him.”

“He wouldn’t tell me.”

His voice was very soft.