Chapter 909: This is an edict, why should I obey it?

The generals of Yuzhou looked at Li Zhan who was talking nonsense seriously, and secretly complained in their hearts, how could one of the hundreds of Xixia cavalry attacking Qiugu come into his mouth and become an invader of the Xixia army? He was simply not a son of a man, so he Even Zhao Gao, who called a deer a horse, never fooled Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin, like this.

Although Li Zhan was talking nonsense and exaggerating the general's situation ten thousand times, they did not dare to refute it. Who knew whether this bold prime minister would directly use the excuse of shaking the morale of the army to cut off the sacrificial flags of himself and others and encourage them to do so? morale. Even if the officials hold him accountable in the future, he and others have already become unjust victims, so what's the point.

Among the people, only Gu Tingye and Li Zhan had the deepest friendship. They were close friends, and now they were brothers-in-law. They were not afraid of Li Zhan's power at all. He took two steps forward and asked in a low voice.

"Ziqing, what are you doing?"

Li Zhan casually glanced at the ashen-faced Yuzhou generals and said nonchalantly.

"Didn't I make it obvious? Resist the invasion of Xixia and raise troops to destroy Xia!"

Gu Tingye's face was extremely ugly. He couldn't understand why things had developed to this point. Li Zhan was not an impulsive person on weekdays. How could he openly defy the imperial edict today? Did he not care about his relatives in Bianjing City at all? He didn't believe it at all that Li Zhan was so ruthless.

Gu Tingye grabbed Li Zhan's arm, glanced at the soldiers who were watching him, and said nervously.

"You should know the purpose of the government's mobilization of the army this time. Now that you have left the army behind, if something unexpected happens in Bianjing City, how can you repay the favor of the emperor for promoting him?"

Li Zhan frowned and glanced at Gu Tingye, thinking for a moment in his mind. Although the officials were quite wary of him, he was the legitimate emperor after all. He was the emperor appointed by the late emperor himself. Naturally, he couldn't let anything happen to him, so he said .

"I can let you bring back an army of 300,000 to an army of 150,000. The other 150,000 and the four northwest groups can barely gather an army of 250,000, which is enough for me to destroy the Xixia Kingdom!"

When Gu Tingye heard this, he didn't think that Li Zhan could destroy Xixia in one battle with these 250,000 troops. After all, although Xixia was seriously damaged last time, it had regained its 500,000 troops after replenishment. Gu Tingye said as he was trying to get more troops.

"Isn't an army of 150,000 a little small?"

Li Zhan shook his head when he heard this, his sword eyes full of contempt, and said sarcastically.

"It's just Concubine Liu's useless deputy commander brother. He can't write or draw a bow. What can he accomplish? You're not satisfied with an army of 150,000. If you don't want it, I won't give it to you!"

Gu Tingye shook his head helplessly and looked at the British Duke and Shen Congxing. Although he could negotiate terms, the two people who made the decision were the British Duke and Shen Congxing. One was the coach appointed by the official family, and the other was the official's brother-in-law.

The British Duke did not have any objections. He was originally dissatisfied with the officials making fun of military affairs. Don't the officials know the allusion of beacon fire to play on the princes, and are they not afraid of repeating the same mistake?

This time it was good, Li Zhan came up with a trick and captured the army. He made an excuse as if he was joking and decided to raise troops to destroy Xia.

Shen Congxing disagreed, shook his head, looked heavy, took two steps forward, bowed to Li Zhan, and then asked in a deep voice.

"Prime Minister, are you disobeying the decree?"

Li Zhan glanced at Shen Congxing and saw that although his expression was solemn, there was no fear on his face. He was calm and calm, with a hint of the general's style, and he did not bully him and said bluntly.

“If you resist the decree and do not obey it, where is the decree?”

Shen Congxing took out the imperial edict again, held it high, and shouted with a righteous look.

"Now that the imperial edict is here, Prime Minister, have you thought clearly about the consequences of going your own way?"

Li Zhan brought the imperial edict casually, opened it and took a look, then handed it to Shen Congxing, who was on guard next to him. He was afraid that Li Zhan would destroy the imperial edict.

Li Zhan raised his head and looked at the Yuzhou generals before speaking.

"This is an edict. Although it is stamped with an official seal, it is not a jade seal. Therefore, this imperial edict is not an imperial edict and has no right to interfere with the general's orders. Why should I obey it?"

Although imperial edicts are issued by the emperor, they are divided into edicts and edicts. An imperial edict is a legally binding document that is officially issued by the imperial court and approved by both the emperor and the imperial court. Only when there are major political events, such as the emperor's passing of the throne, enthronement, wedding, appointment of a queen, etc., that the people of the country need to be informed, will the edict be issued. Every edict must be filed with the court and signed by more than one prime minister before it can be legally binding.

An edict is an informal document in which the emperor expresses his wishes, an order or instruction issued in response to a specific matter or a request from a minister. Edicts are not circulated through the official documents of the civil service system. They are mostly drafted by officials of the Hanlin Academy and submitted to the emperor for review and revision before being issued. They are only used by the emperor to reward, punish, praise or criticize some people or things within his jurisdiction. The edict has no legal effect on the court.

As the Privy Council envoy and the highest military officer of the imperial court, Li Zhan commanded the country's troops. Even officials were not allowed to dictate matters within his power and responsibility.

Shen Congxing's face turned pale instantly and he completely forgot about this. The official plan was a secret. Naturally, it was impossible to disclose the matter to the officials in the court through the procedure of edict. Therefore, he just issued an edict and could not let Li Zhan at all. The prime minister was convinced.

Li Zhan took out the sword in his hand again, looked at Shen Congxing with a half-smile, and joked.

"Uncle Guo, do you recognize what this is?"

Shen Congxing's face turned a little paler, as if it was covered with powder, and he said with great difficulty. "This is the Emperor's Sword given by the officials. It has the power to deal with it as the opportunity arises. You can kill it first and then show it!"

A proud look appeared on Li Zhan's face, he nodded with satisfaction, put the Emperor's Sword back into its scabbard, patted it twice gently, and then said to the Yuzhou generals who looked ugly.

"The imperial family gave me the Emperor's Sword and granted me the power to deal with the situation on an ad hoc basis. This was issued with an imperial edict, and it was registered in Zhongshu Menxia Province. I, Mr. Han Daxiangong and others all signed it. Don't you think there are still people like you? Does the decree have high legal effect?"

The generals in Yuzhou were slumped and were speechless by Li Zhan's words. Even General Xiao Duan did not dare to deny that what Li Zhan said was unreasonable. This was the Song Dynasty. The emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats ruled the world together, even if the official family You can't do whatever you want, you need to take into account the opinions of the civil service group, so although Li Zhan's move this time is a bit reckless, it does not violate the rules from a legal perspective.

Li Zhan looked at the dumb Yuzhou generals and drew out the Emperor's Sword again. A cold light flashed across General Xiao Duan's face, a strand of hair slipped down, and he sternly reprimanded.

"Could it be that you are cheating on me with the Emperor's Sword?"