Lin Fan here was determined to oppose this matter, while the other civil officials' eyes lit up upon hearing Shang Ji's words.
There was a deep rift between the civil and military officials of the Wei Kingdom. Wei had always practiced a policy of valuing both civil and military achievements, which led to the prosperity of both the civil and military arts in Wei.
However, prosperity did not mean the absence of contention and confrontation. The gap between the civil and military sides was vast, with each side wanting to suppress the other to gain greater influence and higher status.
Naturally, the civil official system wanted to suppress the military system. However, due to the constant disputes over interests and factional struggles in court,
The confrontation between civil and military officials was not the mainstream. But if there was an opportunity to suppress those military men, the civil officials would not show mercy.
And the addition of supervisors to the army was a good opportunity, with many people offering their opinions.
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, this minister believes this matter is feasible. Stationing supervisors in the army can propagate righteousness to the soldiers, making them loyal to the sovereign and patriotic, and devoted to the country."
"Empress Dowager, the reason for the decline in morale in the army is the lack of supervisors, and supervisors are the best candidates."
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, this old minister believes this matter is excellent, allowing the imperial court to better control the army..."
For a time, the ministers in court spoke enthusiastically, as if there was a tacit understanding. The civil officials stood together in suppressing the military officials.
At this juncture, Han Yanzi, the Minister of Works, narrowed his eyes and asked, "May I know what the Regent King thinks of the matter of supervisors?"
In principle, ministers were not allowed to question other ministers in court, but Han Yanzi was one of the Seven Ministers, and no one would say much if he slightly overstepped.
Han Yanzi's question at this moment was clearly ill-intentioned. From Lin Fan's perspective, he naturally could not agree to the matter of supervisors. To some extent, Lin Fan's stance was more aligned with the military officials, not the civil officials.
However, Lin Fan was expanding his influence in court, and to gain a foothold in court, he could not be too biased towards the military officials. This was something Lin Fan had always been doing.
But this time, if he agreed, his power would inevitably be greatly damaged. If he disagreed, the ministers in court would inevitably re-examine him, and the difficulty of controlling the court would become even greater.
A stratagem!
Lin Fan looked at Han Yanzi, realizing this was a stratagem, forcing him to lose something, even at the risk of directly questioning him in court.
Lin Fan pondered for a moment and said, "This minister believes this matter is not appropriate!"
In the end, Lin Fan decided to stand with the military officials. After all, his greatest advantage was in military power. As for the court, he could find ways to deal with it slowly later. If he lost the support of the army, Lin Fan would be in danger.
Lin Fan straightened his thoughts and said, "This minister believes that the late ruler's stationing of supervisors was merely a temporary measure. Later, he discovered the drawbacks of the supervisor system and abandoned it soon after. Why should we repeat the same mistake now?"
What was the biggest drawback of stationing supervisors?
Combat effectiveness!
No matter how many faults military officials had, they were generally superior to civil officials in maintaining the army's combat effectiveness. It would be a major disaster to hand over the reins of the army to civil officials.
Therefore, Lin Fan directly refuted this by saying, "Historically, it is said that civil officials die for their principles and military officials die in battle. Civil officials are not skilled in military affairs. If they are rashly granted real power, it is likely to affect the combat effectiveness of the Great Wei army."
Lin Fan's attitude was very clear. As for whether this would make the civil officials in court overthink, Lin Fan couldn't be bothered to think about it. As long as the foreign enemies were not eliminated, the military faction would not be too weak no matter how much they were suppressed.
This matter was ultimately unresolved. In fact, many matters in the Wei court were debated back and forth and repeatedly delayed.
Especially concerning some of Wei's major policies, the Wei court was extremely cautious and found it difficult to make direct decisions.
As this matter came to a close, the ministers were preparing to continue their memorials. Unexpectedly, a small eunuch hurried to the great hall, running to deliver a document to a small eunuch by the Empress Dowager's side.
The ministers in the hall speculated about what had happened upon seeing this scene.
One should know that Wei's court assemblies were extremely solemn, and it was almost unheard of for anyone to rush around. Moreover, this small eunuch had run over.
That small eunuch presented the document to Feng Qing Shu.
Feng Qing Shu frowned slightly as she read the contents of the document.
After finishing reading, Feng Qing Shu said to a small eunuch, "Read."
"Your subject Wei Lin, Deputy Administrator of Ningxia Commandery, respectfully presents. I was ordered to guard Ningxia Commandery... Foreign tribes have invaded the borders of our Great Wei, and I organized troops to resist the enemy to the best of my ability."
"However, the enemy forces are numerous, and the commandery troops could not resist for long. More than ten counties have fallen... The Western Army also rushed to reinforce, but was ambushed by the enemy forces and suffered heavy losses... I specifically request reinforcements from the imperial court, otherwise, Ningxia Commandery may no longer belong to Great Wei..."
Hearing the words of the document, a stifling silence fell upon the hall.
Historically, urgent military dispatches were made in duplicate, one copy for the Ministry of War's archives, and one direct to the palace, reaching the imperial ears, and informing the emperor no matter what he was doing.
This was to ensure a rapid response to military intelligence, so it was not inappropriate to relay such news at the court assembly.
However, the news that arrived left the ministers of Wei somewhat bewildered.
Foreign tribes? A large army?
And they had directly defeated the Western Army? And had already captured more than ten counties?
These pieces of information immediately made the ministers of Wei somewhat at a loss. Just a while ago, the Wei court was still considering whether to dispatch some of the Western Army to the capital. Now, they had to send reinforcements to the western frontier.
However, the ministers of Wei still found it somewhat unbelievable. Had such a strong enemy suddenly appeared?
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, since the western frontier is being attacked by the enemy, it is natural to dispatch a large army to guard the territory of our Great Wei. This minister requests that military action in the south be suspended, and a large army be sent westward!" a minister said.
Many people in court strongly agreed with this suggestion. The phrase "Ningxia Commandery may no longer belong to Great Wei" was a cause of concern for the ministers of Wei regarding the safety of the western frontier.
Once the western frontier was lost, Great Wei might find itself in a precarious situation.
One should know that the territory of Wei bordered many other states. Once Wei showed weakness, many people would likely covet Wei's fertile land.
Therefore, Wei had always defended against enemies at its borders, not allowing the flames of war to reach Wei's land. Many ministers agreed to send troops westward as reinforcements.
However, Shang Ji, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, still said, "The situation in the south also concerns the safety of the nation, and its significance is no less than advancing westward. This minister's opinion is that it is still not advisable to easily abandon military action in the south."