Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Chang Lin Episode 30 Recap
> Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Chang Lin Recap
Xiao Pingjing returned to the capital for a short time before having to go back to the border. King Changlin, although reluctant in his heart, did not show it on his face, and went to court with Xiao Pingjing. In the imperial court, King Changlin was very dissatisfied with the Cabinet's decision to disband the Weishan and Cuifeng camps and asked the Emperor why they had to be completely reorganized.
Seeing King Changlin's anger, the Emperor felt nervous and asked King Changlin if he disagreed. Xun Baishui quickly stood up and declared that there was an earlier precedent for new monarchs disbanding old camps, so it was not worth rejecting. However, how could King Changlin not see through the trick? The resolution clearly stated that all high-ranking military officials were to be dismissed, military households reallocated, and troops integrated. This was completely different from merely changing camp designations.
Xun Baishui immediately challenged, claiming that the Emperor was completely obedient to King Changlin, and now it was just about establishing a small Imperial Guard (Yulin Army). He questioned King Changlin's dissatisfaction. Hearing that the military establishment was already being discussed, the Empress Dowager Xun entered the Chaoyang Grand Hall from the rear hall. King Changlin and Xun Baishui each held their ground, refuting each other in the Grand Hall.
The young Emperor, seeing his two elders arguing, inevitably felt flustered. At this moment, the Empress Dowager arrived in the Grand Hall and refuted King Changlin. King Changlin calmly stated that personnel from the inner court should not interfere in state affairs, but the Empress Dowager, relying on her authority, accused King Changlin of being autocratic.
The young Emperor was put in a difficult position by both elders, and Xun Baishui took the opportunity to fuel the fire, echoing the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager deliberately stated angrily, "Since the court listens to King Changlin in everything, there is no need for the Emperor to hold court. All officials can just go to King Changlin's mansion to discuss state affairs." Upon hearing this, Xiao Pingjing was furious.
He rushed forward and questioned the Empress Dowager, stating that the imperial court should be a place for free expression. His sudden rush startled the Empress Dowager, who quickly hid behind the Emperor. Fortunately, King Changlin stopped Xiao Pingjing, adopting a strategy of retreating to advance. He used a delaying tactic, directly stating that with the Empress Dowager in the Grand Hall, it was not suitable for discussing state affairs, and he would lead the officials to withdraw.
Seeing this, the Empress Dowager quickly put on a pitiful expression and left the Grand Hall. After the court session, Xun Feizhan came to King Changlin's mansion. King Changlin's anger had not subsided. Xun Feizhan advised King Changlin to take care of his health and not to take the Empress Dowager's words to heart. He frankly stated that the baseless instigation of these troubles was not the young Emperor's intention at all.
The young Emperor had no real opinions; it was merely the Empress Dowager and Xun Baishui targeting King Changlin's mansion. Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager returned to the palace and deliberately misinterpreted King Changlin's words to the Emperor, claiming that King Changlin meant the Emperor had no power to make decisions, and that if King Changlin spoke a few more times, he would go from assisting in governance by imperial decree to solely governing by imperial decree.
As soon as this was said, the young Emperor immediately exclaimed that these words were too malicious, and he absolutely did not believe them. Seeing this, the Empress Dowager again put on a pitiful expression, which made the young Emperor unable to get angry for a moment. Xiao Pingjing, on his way out of the capital and back to the border, made a detour to Langya Hall to visit Meng Qianxue and his newborn nephew. He asked about Lin Xi.
Meng Qianxue told him that Lin Xi had already gone down the mountain early to publish a medical classic. It was unknown where she had gone by now. Xiao Pingjing spoke his true feelings, saying that when Xiao Pingzhang was alive, he relied heavily on his elder brother. Now, carrying the heavy burden of family and nation alone, he inevitably felt physically and mentally exhausted, and at such times, he missed Xiao Pingzhang exceptionally.
Meng Qianxue told Xiao Pingjing that his elder brother sacrificed his life to save him out of brotherly affection, definitely not to make him another Xiao Pingzhang. King Changlin was still worried about the reorganization of the Imperial Guard (Yulin Army). In fact, whether it was a new or old arrangement made no difference to him, and the details would be handled by trustworthy people in the Ministry of War.
His greatest concern was that the old military households, who had been supported for generations and had the character "loyalty" etched in their hearts, would all be dismissed. How could newly recruited soldiers, no matter how much they were trained, truly hold the Emperor in their hearts, given that the Imperial Guard was to defend the gates of the imperial capital?
However, in the end, he still agreed to the matter, disbanding the Weishan and Cuifeng camps and reorganizing the Donghu Imperial Guard (Yulin). This was taken as merely giving the Emperor a chance to practice. Baishui and the Empress Dowager were smug and in high spirits. Xun Baishui mentioned that although Xun Feizhan had an untamed personality, he could be trusted to manage the Imperial Army.
He believed that with King Changlin's mansion's influence removed from Jinling's defense, he had stabilized the capital's situation before the Emperor fully controlled the imperial court, even if it wasn't complete peace of mind. However, the Empress Dowager was not satisfied and brought up Xiao Pingjing's influence in the Northern Frontier Army. Xun Baishui was unconcerned, as Xiao Pingjing's current prestige was still far too low. Xiao Pingjing stayed in Langya Hall for several days.
Just as he was about to leave, he received a brocade pouch from the Old Master of Langya Hall, telling him to open it only when he reached Ganzhou. Xiao Pingjing returned to the northern frontier. The northern frontier was relatively stable, but a 300-man force from Dayu's Imperial Army attacked the Monan outpost on the Daliang border. The Liang army counter-encircled them one by one and captured a general.
The Dayu general was of the sixth rank, not a low official. Xiao Pingjing was interested, but the Liang army didn't interrogate any useful information. However, this unusual action still made Xiao Pingjing vigilant. He and Xiao Yuanqi discussed the purpose of Prince Kang, the new commander of Dayu's Imperial Army, sensing that Dayu would soon make a major move. He would still go to Moshan tomorrow to check.
At night, Xiao Pingjing opened the brocade pouch from the Langya Hall Master. It turned out that the Old Master's pouch recorded an upcoming solar eclipse in the northern frontier on the first day of the tenth month. Xiao Yuanqi came to the city wall alone. However, Mo Zihou did not appear again this time. The day Xiao Pingjing returned to the border was the day he left.
In the imperial capital, the young Emperor stood for a long time accompanied by Xun Feizhan, but he was slow to move. It turned out he didn't want to attend court; he didn't want to be caught between the Empress Dowager and King Changlin. He asked Xun Feizhan why the Empress Dowager always harbored resentment about the Donghu Imperial Guard (Yulin) matter. King Changlin had clearly let go, yet she kept talking, annoying the young Emperor greatly.
Xun Feizhan told the young Emperor to recall the late Emperor's dying wish, which was for him to heed the teachings of his uncle, King Changlin, and urged him to attend court. The young Emperor, having made up his mind, quickly walked towards the imperial court. Xiao Pingjing was leading a team to patrol the border defenses when he suddenly heard about the arrival of a Dayu envoy. He hurried back to the yamen.
It turned out that Prince Kang of Dayu, Qin Lingshuo, had proposed a prisoner exchange and invited him to meet in three days. Xiao Pingjing learned that there had been such a precedent before, so he decided to gladly accept the invitation and meet Prince Kang of Dayu.
