"Perhaps Minister Li could elaborate."

After laughing, Zhao Jiu did not continue his outburst. Instead, he returned to the throne, sat upright, and composed himself. "How is it that Yue Fei is both incompetent and harmful to the country?"

"Your Majesty... Imperial Censor Li!" At that moment, Vice Minister of the Censorate, Li Guang, stepped forward. He first bowed slightly to Zhao, but immediately turned back, addressing Li Jing sternly. "Grand Commandant Yue is currently on the front lines facing the forces of the pseudo-Qi. While it is true that an Imperial Censor can report on matters based on hearsay without being punished for their words, they must also be aware of the seriousness of the military situation! Therefore, if it concerns military affairs, please refrain from discussing right and wrong for the time being, lest it affect morale!"

Zhao Jiu knew that Li Guang was protecting his subordinate and his close friend's younger brother, but he remained silent.

"So that Vice Minister Li knows, this matter, though related to the current military situation, is not directly relevant!"

Having received the reminder, Li Jing first responded to Li Guang with a serious expression, then turned solemnly to face Zhao Jiu on the throne. "Your Majesty, what I am saying is not based on hearsay, but on personal investigation and knowledge. I have concrete evidence and am not recklessly attacking a great general..."

"Speak," Zhao Jiu said, his curiosity growing. He truly wanted to know how Yue Fei could be associated with the word "incompetent."

"Your Majesty, I only recently entered the capital as a Supervising Censor. My primary task was to work with my colleagues in the Censorate to oversee the reorganization and staffing of the Imperial Army. During these days, while reviewing files in the Privy Council and examining the results of the various army reorganizations, I compared the numbers submitted by each army and discovered that one type of figure in Yue Fei's unit differed greatly from those of the other armies..." At this point, Imperial Censor Li spoke earnestly. "Your Majesty, if these figures varied among all the armies, that would be one thing. But in reality, the figures for the other armies are quite similar, only the Vanguard Army of the Imperial Guard is different, which clearly indicates that Yue Fei lacks ability and is incompetent in his handling of affairs!"

Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, but his heart was filled with surprise and doubt.

After all, the "evidence" he presented had the vague feel of large-scale data analysis... big data, and data does not lie, big data lies even less.

Of course...

"What specific figures are different?" Zhao Jiu asked seriously. "How can Minister Li be so sure that it is Yue Fei's incompetence? Even if there are differences compared to other armies, it doesn't necessarily mean that the data is useless. It could be due to climate or the soldiers' place of origin. For example, Northerners prefer wheat-based foods and dislike rice. The Vanguard Army of the Imperial Guard has many soldiers from Hebei, so there might be significant differences in some logistical figures, which is quite normal."

"I wouldn't be so frivolous as to go that far!" Li Jing's words finally revealed a hint of indignation. "Nor am I engaging in a private vendetta..."

"I didn't mean that," Zhao Jiu said, seeing that the other party was becoming emotional, he could only urge him. "Minister Li, please speak."

"Your Majesty," the Imperial Censor finally revealed the mystery earnestly. "After careful investigation, I discovered that the number of officers at all levels in Yue Fei's Vanguard Army of the Imperial Guard is several times higher than that of other armies!"

The lectures were not fixed, but those who could attend this occasion were all distinguished ministers... For example, this first lecture since Zhao Jiu ascended the throne was led by Prime Minister Lü Haowen, with academicians of the Hanlin Academy, ministers of the Six Ministries, and Imperial Censors in attendance, with no one else participating.

In other words, everyone present was a cultured person.

But even so, after Li Jing spoke these words, there was still a bit of an uproar in the Hall of垂拱 (Chui Gong).

"What does this indicate?"

It wasn't pretense; in reality, Zhao Jiu was momentarily dazed.

"It shows Yue Fei's incompetence!" Imperial Censor Li continued earnestly. "Why must Your Majesty feign ignorance and protect this man? Not to mention that the number of officers is several times higher than elsewhere, resulting in enormous waste, where did so many officers come from? Wasn't it Your Majesty who ordered him to reorganize the army, but he lacked the courage to do so? He only roughly dismissed the lower-level soldiers from the 100,000 troops of the Tokyo Garrison, but dared not easily dispose of the officers, resulting in redundant officials filling the army... With so many officers, the structure is bloated from top to bottom, no wonder the pseudo-Qi's Liu Ni has been at war in Dongping for days, yet he has only been able to stand idly by on the banks of the Wen River!"

The uproar in the hall grew louder, with many people whispering to each other. After a moment, Vice Minister of the Censorate, Li Guang, also stepped forward with a serious expression:

"Your Majesty, we know that it is not appropriate to punish the commanders on the front lines during wartime, but in any case, please take precautions as soon as possible. Firstly, quickly send the Middle Army or Right Army of the Imperial Guard to aid Dongping. Secondly, the Vanguard Army of the Imperial Guard and the Pacification Commissioner of Dongping, Zhang Rong, must be dealt with after the war..."

Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, but he was still somewhat at a loss. He still didn't understand the logic behind this.

At this time, even the protagonist of the day, Prime Minister Lü Haowen, spoke earnestly: "Your Majesty, I believe that Vice Minister Li's words are still appropriate. Of course, specific matters should be immediately discussed by the Privy Council, and a plan should be formulated and quickly decided upon."

Zhao Jiu finally spoke, but he still seemed hesitant: "Isn't it better to have more officers? Wouldn't that allow one to command with ease?"

As soon as these words came out, the hall fell silent.

But after a moment, Supervising Censor Li Jing could no longer restrain himself and replied indignantly: "Your Majesty, I have never heard of it being better to have more officers!"

"Your Majesty," Vice Minister of the Censorate, Li Guang, also said earnestly. "There are established standards for the number of officers. Although Yue Fei, as a Military Commissioner and Grand Commandant, has the authority to appoint his own staff at all levels, what is the meaning of having several times more officers than other military commissioners? Aren't you afraid of overdoing it? So many officers must be due to his failure to thoroughly cleanse the ranks during the previous army reorganization, rather than for the purpose of 'commanding with ease'!"

Zhao Jiu finally understood at this moment, but he also found it amusing.

In essence, no one had malicious intentions in this matter... If there was any ulterior motive, it was probably a case of項莊舞劍，意在沛公 (Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was aimed at Duke Pei), directed at the Palace Attendant Censor, Wan Qixie, who was ostracized by the Qingliu faction, because Wan Qixie was directly responsible for supervising the reorganization of the Vanguard Army of the Imperial Guard... As for Yue Fei, it was ultimately that these ministers were making inferences based on common sense, not believing that the young Yue Fei had such ability. Therefore, they made a reasonable deduction based on the decades-long behavior of the Song army.

For example, they took Yue Pengju's temporary stationing near the Wen River on the front lines as a sign of being unable to control the army and being forced to be unable to support the front lines. Then, based on this "ironclad fact," they investigated and researched, directly discovering even more "solid" evidence!

And it was almost predictable that as Yue Fei's military achievements and status gradually increased, this "suspicion" on the part of the civil officials might gradually disappear, but the vigilance would inevitably rise again, and the jealousy of the other military generals would also follow.

At that time, it might be even more lively.

With this thought in mind, Zhao Jiu laughed again.

This time, even Vice Minister of the Censorate, Li Guang, who had initially been trying to smooth things over while protecting his subordinate, was angered: "Your Majesty, is there anything laughable in what I have said?"

"Not at all," Zhao Jiu replied without even looking at the other party. "I was just thinking of something... What do you think should be done with Zhang Rong? Yue Fei's staying at the Wen River, according to his explanation, Grand Commandant Lü's missive, and Yang Yizhong's missive, isn't it all caused by that fellow Zhang Rong?"

This was a forced change of topic.

But it was quite effective, because the issue of Zhang Rong had also been debated in the capital recently, and the debate was very intense and also very interesting... Some people, such as Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard, Qu Duan, believed that Zhang Rong's actions were tantamount to treason, and that he should be killed to appease the army's morale. However, a considerable number of people believed that Zhang Rong was originally a bandit, and although his actions were somewhat petulant this time, he was essentially still working for the country, and besides, he had rendered great service and should be treated with leniency.

Zhao Jiu certainly knew the underlying reasons for these two attitudes.

Simply put, Zhang Rong was now behaving like a warlord, while he used to be a bandit who had received an official position... So correspondingly, if someone had always regarded him as a bandit, they would naturally feel that his actions now seemed reliable; conversely, if someone had previously regarded him as an officer in the Imperial Army, they would naturally feel that his actions were an open challenge to the authority of the central government and should be severely punished.

In short, it was a matter of perspective.

As for what Zhao Jiu thought... in fact, Zhao Jiu didn't think much about it, because he was waiting for Yue Fei to conclude this battle, and only the results on the front lines could truly force Zhang Rong to make a decision.

That was when it was necessary to make a decision.

"Alright..."

As Zhao Jiu forcibly changed the topic, the debate in the hall resumed incessantly. Seeing this, Lü Haowen, knowing what was going on, came out at the right time to fulfill his duties as Prime Minister. "Your Majesty, it is late today, and the ruler and his ministers have performed the lecture ceremony together. Why not let the ministers return to their respective homes and submit memorials discussing these two matters tomorrow? Then, the Privy Council and the Department of State Affairs should deliberate in your presence to clarify the truth?"

"Prime Minister Lü is experienced and responsible!" Zhao Jiu nodded immediately, then got up again and left directly.

However, after leaving the throne and taking only two steps, Zhao Jiu suddenly remembered something – when Yue Fei impeached Li Gang that day, it was absurd and ridiculous, but he ended up being dismissed and leaving as a commoner. Li Yanxian was even wanted for speaking the truth; and today, Li Gang's younger brother impeaching Yue Fei would most likely become absurd and ridiculous, but was destined to have no impact.

It was also absurd and comical.

Of course, Zhao Jiu understood in his heart that this was because Li Jing was an Imperial Censor, and he was protected by something similar to procedural justice.

However, it was still laughable, so Zhao Jiu laughed for the third time, then held onto his gold belt and walked away hastily, causing the hard wings on his hat to sway erratically... He was in a hurry to go back and practice calligraphy.

The night passed without incident. The next afternoon, just as Tokyo was beginning a large-scale discussion, impeachment, and differentiation regarding the war situation in Shandong, in Yanggu County, which was not far away in a straight line, Prime Minister Hong Ya of Qi had already lost all hope.

However, in addition to despair, looking at the flags of Yang Yizhong behind him, and the three large flags of ‘Commissioner Li’ coming from both the east and west, Prime Minister Hong suddenly realized – one of these three Commissioners Li should be Li Kui, and the remaining two should be Li Bao.

These three people were all officers in Yue Fei's Vanguard Army of the Imperial Guard.

And the troops of the Vanguard Army of the Imperial Guard arrived simultaneously from the upper and lower reaches of the Ji River, which could only mean one thing, that while the Qi army made a detour around Hebei, using the Yellow River as a cover to bypass and outflank Zhang Rong, Yue Fei probably planned a larger encirclement that went past the Liangshan Marsh on the left and crossed Mount Tai on the right!

Was he encircling the entire Dongping Prefecture?

Moreover, considering the length of this encirclement route, it could be said that after Zhang Rong refused to let Yue Fei pass the Wen River, he immediately took action.

But all of this was irrelevant, because thinking further, Prime Minister Hong soon realized that he had been sold out by Li Cheng!

Not only that, but that fellow probably really understood this so-called Yue Fei as he said, otherwise how could he have escaped so neatly? So ingeniously?!

He should be in Jinan by now, right?!

If the Jin army didn't want to cross the river to participate in the war in the hot summer, they would probably have to hold their noses and support him to maintain the situation, right?

"Go out for a trip." With this thought in mind, Hong Ya suddenly turned his head and pointed to a person beside him. "Zhang Maode, isn't it? Go out for a trip and be my envoy."

Zhang Maode, the Second Official Zhang, was somewhat troubled.