LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 482 A Special Great Court Assembly_1
The list of official appointments for the new Great Xia court quickly made its way onto the Great Xia Official Gazette, and the arrangements for Lu Chen were mostly satisfactory to the officials in the Capital city.
After all, they were not part of Lu Chen's original team from the North Country, and they had not been purged when Lu Chen advanced into the Capital city; now being able to be reused was considered quite good.
Although some had been demoted, they were well aware that, while their ranks remained unchanged in the court that stayed in the Capital city, they would not actually hold any real power.
However, in the court of Yan County, even though their ranks had been lowered, they indeed held real power.
An official position with real power was far better than a sinecure in the Capital city's court where one would simply idle away.
After the list of official appointments was made public, Lu Chen immediately convened the Great Court Assembly.
At four-thirty in the morning, when the sky was still dark, many ministers had already arrived outside the Hall of Political Affairs.
Today was the first official court assembly since Lu Chen's enthronement, so the officials from the Capital city were particularly eager.
Once all the Capital city officials had arrived, the Great Court Assembly officially began, and the officials uniformly paid their respects, saying, "Long live the Emperor, long may he reign, long live, long live the Emperor!"
Lu Chen said indifferently, "Rise, take your seats."
"Thank Your Majesty!"
The ministers then made their way to either side of the great hall, where in front of each seat, there was a placard indicating the corresponding position.
Seeing this scene, the officials from the Capital city couldn't help feeling deeply moved, never expecting the new Emperor to be so considerate of them.
Having served as officials for so many years, it was the first time they had heard of attending court in this manner, with actual seats, and one for each person at that.
In the past, when they attended court, they had to stand in the great hall, sometimes for several hours until their legs went weak.
From this, one could see how the new Emperor differed from the previous one.
Indeed, just as Li Rui had said, the new Emperor was unlike any other emperor in this world.
Once all the ministers were seated, Lu Chen spoke directly, "Today is the first Great Court Assembly after the restructuring of the court. Before we begin, I want to remind the newly appointed ministers that once the assembly starts, we will only discuss state affairs."
At this point, Lu Chen looked toward Zhuge Zhongguang, who was seated at the first place below the Dragon Throne, and then said, "The Great Scholar may begin."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the great hall was stunned.
Begin?
Begin what?
At that moment, Zhuge Zhongguang addressed the gathered ministers, "Today's Great Court Assembly will be presided over by this official."
Hearing Zhuge Zhongguang's words, the officials who had come from the Capital city were somewhat bewildered.
What is this? The Great Court Assembly is to be managed by a subject, then what is the Emperor doing there?
But soon the officials from the Capital city realized that the former ministers from the North Country did not react at all, as they seemed to consider this normal, apparently having often done so in the North Country.
The officials from the Capital city, who initially wanted to stand up and say something, recalled Lu Chen's initial statement that they would only discuss state affairs, so they just sat obediently in their own places.
Zhuge Zhongguang continued, "The major topic of today's Great Court Assembly is the discussion of a military campaign against Great Wu."
As soon as these words were spoken, they instantly stirred up excitement among the officials in the great hall.
Military campaign against Great Wu!
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This was a huge opportunity for everyone in the hall; if they performed outstandingly in the war, they would have the chance to advance.
Both Civil Officials and Military Generals were extremely excited at this moment.
Zhuge Zhongguang went on to say, "His Majesty currently has two Celestials at his command. The plan is to first send troops to attack Great Wu and then have the Celestials directly proceed to the Da Wu Capital to exert pressure on the Great Martial Royal Family. In this way, we can dissolve the combat will of the Great Wu army in the shortest time possible and bring down Great Wu."
With the Celestials in place, the nature of warfare changes. In the past, all the great dynasties had Grandmasters and used them as trump cards, making it difficult for any of them to be defeated.
But Celestials were different. It's uncertain if Great Wu had any Celestials, and if they didn't, Lu Chen could simply send a Celestial to the Da Wu Capital, which would be enough to deal with all of Great Wu's Grandmasters, forcing Great Wu to surrender directly.
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Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the Great Xia's army was still so strong that when the soldiers of Great Wu saw the firearms of Great Xia, they would directly lose their will to fight.
This time, Great Xia adopted a dual-front war strategy, targeting Great Wu's army, which is the grassroots level of combat, on one hand, and, on the other, aiming at the Great Wu royal family and the nobility, targeting the upper echelons.
In usual wars, if the fight is only against the grassroots, then no matter how many people die at that level, the royal high ranks and the nobles of the Capital would not feel the pain. They would simply conscript more able-bodied men to send to the frontline to die.
The grassroots level warfare would carry on for a very long time, until the soldiers from both sides were almost exhausted, then negotiations would slowly begin.
But once the lives of the high ranks were involved, the war would not last too long.
Under the leadership of Zhuge Zhongguang, the details of when the war would start, the number of troops to be dispatched, and the logistics arrangements were all discussed one by one.
At today's Great Court Assembly, it was Zhuge Zhongguang who chaired the entire session. Lu Chen only spoke a few words as if he were just there to observe, making him seem like a puppet emperor whose power had been hollowed out.
Of course, Lu Chen was not a puppet emperor. When the officials discussed matters, their eyes were always on Lu Chen.
Although it was Zhuge Zhongguang who hosted the Great Court Assembly, the officials were very clear that they were speaking for someone else to listen.
This mode of assembly was somewhat novel to the officials of the Capital City, but they also quickly accepted it.
By the time the Great Court Assembly ended, it was already noon.
Lu Chen had sat on the Dragon Throne the whole morning, listening to people prattle on, and he felt somewhat tired. Although he had only said a few words, listening to their discussions was still rather draining.
As the assembly ended and Lu Chen was about to go to the harem, a female guard hurried to him and said, "Your Majesty, Lady Qin is about to give birth!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Chen wasted no words and went straight to the palace where Qin Yuwei lived.
The outside of Qin Yuwei's palace was crowded with a throng of women who, upon seeing Lu Chen arrive, hurriedly made way.
Lu Chen hurried into Qin Yuwei's room.
Inside the room were the old midwives from the former North Prince Mansion, and the maidens assisting in the birth were also those from the past. Everyone stepped aside upon seeing Lu Chen, allowing him to approach Qin Yuwei.
Qin Yuwei was deeply moved to see Lu Chen's arrival. She thought that he had been too busy recently to visit her. She hadn't expected that Lu Chen would still come before she gave birth.
Lying on the bed, Qin Yuwei said feebly, "Your concubine greets Your Majesty. Please forgive your concubine for not being able to rise and pay respects."
Lu Chen smiled faintly and, sitting by the bed, said, "It's alright, you just lie down comfortably."
At that moment, Lu Chen took Qin Yuwei's hand. "Don't be nervous, the child will be born soon."
Qin Yuwei replied, "With Your Majesty by my side, your concubine is not nervous."
Qin Yuwei had long heard from Chu Yuqin and the others that giving birth was almost painless as long as Lu Chen was nearby.
Qin Yuwei believed Chu Yuqin and the others would not deceive her. Just then, she suddenly felt a warm current enter her body, and the discomfort vanished in an instant.
Qin Yuwei was astonished. It was just as Chu Yuqin and the others had said; there was indeed no discomfort at all.
Just as Qin Yuwei was about to say thank you, she suddenly felt movement in her belly. Before she knew what was happening, she felt as if something had left her body, and the weight of her belly eased instantly.
The next moment, the sound of a baby crying echoed in the great hall.
Qin Yuwei was stunned.
Though she had heard that childbirth would be easy with Lu Chen present, she never imagined it would be this easy.
Wasn't this too simple? Was that it?
Carefully, Qin Yuwei raised herself slightly and looked at her belly. Seeing that it had deflated, and the midwives and maids were busy cleaning the baby, she finally believed she had truly given birth.
Lu Chen continued using the Rejuvenating Skill to help Qin Yuwei recover. After the midwives finished cleaning the baby quickly, they brought it to Lu Chen.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, it is a prince!"
Upon hearing the midwife's words, the happiest wasn't Lu Chen, but Qin Yuwei.
In that era, a woman's worth was determined by her children. Although she did not expect her child to become the Crown Prince, having a prince meant her future life had some security. Qin Yuwei's heart was filled with joy.
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