Xiao Qing and the civil and military officials were deeply perplexed, with Gu Hong being the first to voice his doubt.
However, it was true that Krishti often resided at the Heavenly General's Temple, and many people had indeed seen her.
"Is it truly Krishti?" Xiao Qing asked.
Upon receiving confirmation from the shadow guards, Xiao Qing's expression turned solemn. He said, "Perhaps it is a case of a similar appearance? Krishti is surely still in Jiangnan accompanying Minister Liang. How could she appear in the capital thousands of miles away?"
The Minister of Rites, Gu Hong, immediately stepped forward: "Your Majesty's precious person cannot easily leave the palace. I have met Princess Krishti and request permission to go and ascertain the situation."
Xiao Qing granted his request.
In the Imperial Study, Gu Hong finally returned to report.
"Your Majesty, this woman merely bears an extreme resemblance to Princess Krishti. She claims her name is 'Solanya,' having fled from Xichuan to the capital seeking refuge. According to this woman, the people of the Guishuang Dynasty considered her a 'witch's descendant' and hunted her. She managed to escape to Xichuan and settle there, only to discover that people from the Guishuang Dynasty had appeared, forcing her to continue her exile."
After speaking, Gu Hong also wrote down the name "Solanya."
Xiao Qing frowned: "Krishti once confessed her origins to me. Her birth mother was indeed a 'witch' wanted by a certain Western country. Minister Liang also sent word previously that this ethnic group now calls themselves the 'Tianri Clan.' This name has likely only emerged in recent years."
After much deliberation, Xiao Qing still dispatched Gu Hong to arrange accommodation for Solanya, planning to question her further when Liang Xiao returned.
Wang Canghai, who had remained silent, finally spoke: "Your Majesty, Second Young Master Liang mentioned the murder case in Jiangnan. Someone was inquiring about Princess Krishti's appearance. Could this be related to Solanya?"
Xiao Qing nodded solemnly: "Immediately send someone to inform my elder brother!"
Dingguo Hou Gongsun Ye, serving as the General of Zhennan and concurrently the Prefect of Taizhou, did not usually reside in the Prefectural Office but rather at the Taizhou military camp.
Liang Xiao, accompanied by Hong Jie, went to the Taizhou military camp to meet Gongsun Ye.
"You even managed to bring down the Gongyang family! Alas, my unfilial daughter really knows how to choose a son-in-law..." Gongsun Ye lamented this more than ten times.
Liang Xiao's face turned dark, and the assembled generals were unusually quiet.
Having experienced Gongsun Ye's sting operation once, Liang Xiao now absolutely refused to mention Gongsun Jing, and even words like Dingguo Hou's manor were taboo.
Seeing that Liang Xiao wasn't biting, Gongsun Ye then smiled and patted Liang Xiao's shoulder: "Military affairs are pressing, and I couldn't arrange a welcoming ceremony for you. Please understand."
"Simplicity is better!" Liang Xiao retorted.
Although this old man was stingy, when the former Emperor and Emperor Wen and Emperor Zhao of Daqian had reluctantly asked him for money, he had been quite generous.
Gongsun Ye then burst into hearty laughter, affectionately putting his arm around Liang Xiao's shoulders and boasting to the generals that this was his grandson-in-law.
Jian Nanfeng was the biological father of his granddaughter Gongsun Yu, and Mu Xueqin was considered his adopted daughter. Jian Qinwan was naturally also regarded as his granddaughter. However, the events of that year had created a rift, and Mu Xueqin had never returned to Tianqin Mountain.
"Nie Yuan, are you really going to the Qingtian Guard?" Gongsun Ye asked, looking at Nie Yuan, who had not followed, with regret.
He had already realized that this young man's martial arts were indeed not inferior to Shi Liuyun's, and he was a general with both literary and martial skills. If cultivated properly, he might become a marshal in the future.
"The northern border still faces the threat of the barbaric lands, the western border has the Guishuang Dynasty eyeing us covetously, and there's no ruling out the appearance of foreign tribes in the northeast and the sea. We must be on guard," Liang Xiao replied.
Gongsun Ye nodded slightly and no longer insisted on keeping Nie Yuan.
The Daqian Kingdom had never known peaceful times; it was always the border garrisons who resisted foreign invasions and pacified rebellious bandits.
The Qingtian Guard and the Daqian Iron Guards were trained to the highest elite standards. Nie Yuan indeed should lead such elite troops for Liang Xiao. Shi Liuyun and Gongsun Dingjun, among others, were sufficient to assist in the defense of Jiangnan, especially since the Da Liang Kingdom no longer dared to invade.
Gongsun Ye's enemies were only the Sun-Moon Army and the distant Peacock Dynasty in the southwest, along with possible pirates in the East Sea.
The true accessible border between the Peacock Dynasty's territory and Daqian was only the southern region and a small stretch southwest of Jiaozhou. Crossing the thousands of miles of mountains from the plateau was unrealistic.
Therefore, the Jiangnan region, Xichuan, and the southern regions could focus on defending the southwest.
As for why the Sun-Moon Army and the Huichun Sect could kill their way to Luzhou from the southwest, the court was sending people to hold Nanzhong accountable. However, Nanzhong had always been a region of warlords, and the court, being too far away, was temporarily unable to control it. This matter was bound to be left unresolved.
Liang Xiao then said: "The trend of favoring civil over military affairs in Daqian is changing."
Gongsun Ye nodded with a smile and said no more.
As the de facto commander in Jiangnan, it was most inconvenient for him to offer advice on this matter, lest he be impeached by civil officials for harboring ill intentions.
If not for the fact that Gongsun Ye had several shadow guard captains serving as generals and supervisors in the military camp, and that his usual principle of governing the army was based on "loyalty to the sovereign and patriotism," constantly reminding the soldiers that they fought for the emperor, he too would have been viewed with suspicion by the royal family.
This was a family rule of the Dingguo Hou's manor: always uphold the imperial family. One could offend noble families but must not take any actions that could be suspected of separatism. Accepting the emperor's supervision and proactively avoiding suspicion was the only way to ensure perpetual prosperity!
The trend of favoring civil over military affairs had led to low morale in the armies across the land, barely able to maintain national order, let alone expand territory. Even Yanzhou had narrowly escaped falling.
"It is only a pity that there is currently no one capable of serving as the Minister of War to replace Dugu Qun!" Gongsun Ye sighed.
Liang Xiao pondered for a moment and looked at Hong Jie.
Hong Jie's heart skipped a beat, a vague premonition surfacing. He quickly said, "Military affairs are my weakness..."
The implication was, please don't set your sights on me.
Liang Xiao's gaze then moved away from Hong Jie.
The position of Minister of War was indeed crucial, not one that could be replaced casually. Military affairs were an extension of politics, even more complex than politics. According to Daqian law, the position of Minister of War could not be changed arbitrarily, as it could lead to a chain reaction.
Dugu Qun had indeed performed well in this regard. He could also perfectly shift the blame for the fall of Yanzhou, as the late emperor had been forced to adopt a policy of appeasement due to pressure from these noble families.
Zhuo Wulie could not directly be promoted from Vice Minister of War to Minister of War, as his military achievements were barely sufficient to even serve as Vice Minister.
Unless Zhuo Wulie could lead an army to defeat the enemy and achieve great merit, and Dugu Qun made a minor mistake, only then could Xiao Qing legitimately dismiss Dugu Qun, or at most, give him a nominal promotion.
The talents selected by Liang Xiao still needed training. Even a great talent like Hong Jie, to serve as a court official, required merit and seniority.
The families like the Gu and Zhuo families could not currently produce anyone with sufficient ability and seniority to replace Dugu Qun. Zhuo Zifang was elderly and needed to remain in Jiangnan to assist Gongsun Ye in containing the Da Liang Kingdom; he couldn't handle such a heavy responsibility.
There were still too few top talents, and those with ability were too young!
Liang Xiao himself was also not suitable for the demanding position of Minister of War, which was mired in military affairs. The only solution currently was to create opportunities for Zhuo Wulie to earn merit, allowing him to officially return to the central government and replace Dugu Qun.
Gongsun Ye seemed to have seen through Liang Xiao's thoughts and patted him on the shoulder.
"I believe His Majesty and you will find a way! Let's go see the salt fields!"
The salt fields were currently the top priority in Taizhou and Qiantang.
Gongsun Ye had already stationed heavy troops to guard them, strictly preventing the leakage of technology.
After Gongsun Ye led Liang Xiao to inspect the salt fields, Liang Xiao was quite satisfied.
Because they were worried that the Da Liang Kingdom would steal all the details, the supervision here was even stricter than at the East Sea salt fields.
When everyone returned to the military camp, a messenger arrived: "The Marquis of Zhenguo of Da Liang has sent a letter to the Marquis of Anguo!"