"Prime Minister, you've returned? What did His Majesty summon you for?"
As Chu Chen sat down, Zhang Chengzhu, seated below him, asked curiously. An Xian was also seated beside him.
"Prince Liu, Li Mengdie, has rebelled. His Majesty summoned me to discuss this matter."
"What? Prince Liu has rebelled? How could this be? Prince Liu is His Majesty's second imperial daughter!"
Zhang Chengzhu was utterly stunned, and An Xian was not much better.
The two of them truly couldn't understand why Prince Liu would rebel.
"Why it happened is no longer important. What matters is how to quell the rebellion."
Chu Chen sighed and said seriously, "Since you two are here, I have something to tell you."
"Please instruct us, Prime Minister." The two cupped their fists in reply.
"I have been appointed by His Majesty as the commander-in-chief for this suppression of rebellion, with the Fifth Prince serving as the chief supervisor to oversee the army's expedition. We will march to quell the rebellion soon."
Chu Chen first explained the reason and continued, "Therefore, I will be away from the center of the court for a long time. The numerous affairs of the Political Affairs Bureau will have to trouble Zhang Chengzhu more."
"Uh~ Prime Minister, I am merely the Minister of Agriculture. I have no authority to handle political affairs!" Zhang Chengzhu said with some difficulty.
Chu Chen smiled slightly and said, "There's no need to worry about this. I will write a memorial to His Majesty later, recommending you to temporarily act as the Second Prime Minister, concurrently serving as the Minister of Agriculture, to assist His Majesty in handling political affairs. I believe His Majesty will agree when he sees someone who can share the burden of trivial matters."
Most of these so-called political affairs were not important matters. It was either the provinces requesting funding or trivial matters from the provinces. Yet, these matters could not be ignored.
Either the Empress personally handled them, or there had to be a Prime Minister or Second Prime Minister with authority above the ministers. It seemed that these seemingly trivial matters were not easy to handle, as they involved many departments.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengzhu was overjoyed. He rose and bowed, saying, "Since that is the case, I accept the order. I will surely not fail the Prime Minister's expectations, manage the court for the Prime Minister, secure the rear, and serve His Majesty by handling political affairs!"
Chu Chen smiled with satisfaction. This man was politically astute; he knew what he wanted him to do without explicit instruction.
What did generals marching out fear the most? Naturally, it was an unstable rear, slanderous accusations from villains, factional strife in the rear hindering progress, and the military's grain and pay being extorted. If these things occurred, they could be fatal.
Now, Chu Chen was leading the imperial army, not his own. It would be quite difficult to defeat Prince Liu Li Mengdie's rebel army with those incompetent imperial troops.
"Prime Minister, what about this subordinate?"
Seeing that Zhang Chengzhu had taken on more responsibility, An Xian looked at Chu Chen with longing.
He had previously served as the first Director of the Beast Extermination Division. Later, Yu Jin, who had gained fame in the military martial arts competition, took over after less than half a year. He then followed Zhang Chengzhu to manage the new three laws.
Now that the new three laws were being promoted in an orderly manner, he had no important tasks to do.
He also wanted to take on more responsibility. He was not afraid of hardship or fatigue, but he was afraid of not having a place to earn merit.
"An Xian, do you want to accompany me on the expedition, or do you want to succeed Yu Jin and return to your position as Director?"
Chu Chen thought for a moment and asked.
For this expedition of tens of thousands of soldiers, he didn't want to bring no subordinates. Since there was someone available, he naturally had to call upon them.
An Xian was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, "Prime Minister, this subordinate naturally wishes to accompany you to quell the rebellion!"
Only in war could one earn great military merit. How long would it take to earn enough merit to bring glory to his ancestors as the Director of the Beast Extermination Division?
"Heh heh~ As expected, since that's the case, you will accompany me on the expedition, and I will grant you the authority to lead ten thousand troops."
Coincidentally, the ten thousand troops dispatched by the Five City Patrol and Guard Department had no suitable commanders. They were fine for patrolling the streets and guarding the city, but commanding on the battlefield would be a disaster. The Five City Patrol and Guard Department dared to send generals, but he dared not use them.
"This subordinate thanks the Prime Minister!" An Xian said with a delighted expression.
Zhang Chengzhu and An Xian, one strong in politics and the other strong in the military, both had their greatest stages suited to them at this critical juncture, and they were very satisfied.
"After you return, bring your personal guards. We will depart for the expedition the day after tomorrow at the latest."
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, after the court session, Wei Zi, along with several generals on duty, rushed to the military camp outside the city. He gathered the generals and explained the matter of Prince Liu's rebellion, which immediately drew dissatisfaction.
"Marshal, Chu Chen is merely a civil official. Even though his strength is at the Qi Transformation realm and he has military merits from the Eastern Frontier, quelling a rebellion is fundamentally our rough work. He is now the Prime Minister, yet why does His Majesty allow him to share our merit?"
A general said indignantly.
This drew the agreement of the others.
"Quiet, everyone! This matter is not as simple as you think!"
Wei Zi reprimanded them impatiently.
"Marshal, is there some hidden reason? What kind of hidden reason would lead to sharing our military merit?"
A middle-aged loyal general asked, puzzled.
"Didn't I say before? The supervisor for this expedition is the Fifth Prince!"
Wei Zi said with a headache.
"The Fifth Prince? That seems to be no problem. Although it is rare for imperial daughters or princes to supervise expeditions, it has happened before. There are one or two instances every hundred years."
Another person, who hadn't understood the key point, still asked in confusion.
Wei Zi patted his forehead and said, "If the eldest princess were the supervisor, I wouldn't think much of it. But think about the past. Every time a prince or princess needed to accompany an army on an expedition, it was either for gilded reputation or to suppress with righteousness."
"Now, the rebel is the second imperial daughter, Prince Liu Li Mengdie. To suppress with righteousness, it would require the eldest princess or His Majesty to personally lead the expedition. The Fifth Prince is ranked fifth. She still has an elder sister, the fourth one!"
"..."
At this moment, the generals finally understood and were shocked.
"Marshal, are you suggesting that!"
"Shush! Keep your thoughts to yourself. This is just my speculation, and you must not speak of it rashly. This military camp is within Shuangyue City's jurisdiction. If Chu Chen's lackeys get wind of it, we will be in trouble."
Wei Zi quickly stopped him from continuing.
Upon hearing the Imperial Guards, all the generals felt displeasure. Such a clandestine and sneaky organization, yet it targeted them, the ministers. It was truly disgusting, but they couldn't do anything about it, which was extremely vexing.
"Listen, everyone. This rebellion is of great importance. Although Chu Chen is the commander and shares military merit with us, His Majesty has promised that the military can also send one person as a deputy commander, so as not to share too much. Let this matter rest, and do not overthink it."
"In short, prioritize the annihilation of the rebellion. You must cooperate and obey Marshal Chu Chen's orders to quell the rebellion!"
"Yes! Your subordinate obeys the order!"
Soon, Wei Zi began to discuss the specific details of deploying troops with everyone.