"You—Ye, you're spouting bloody slander!" Minister of War Ban Di was the first to leap out.
Ye Zhen merely sneered again and again. "Minister Ban, if you are not a traitorous official and enemy of the state, then tell us: why have you withheld the military merits of my Zhenhai Army, refusing to grant pensions, rewards, or titles?
Why don't you explain yourself to His Majesty, the Prime Minister, and all the officials in this hall?
Why, exactly, is that?"
With every stern question, cold sweat immediately poured down Minister of War Ban Di's forehead. The Zhenhai Army's military merits had been withheld without pensions, rewards, or titles—not only because he had deliberately made things difficult, but also because it had been Benevolent Sovereign Ji Long's intention.
Yet no one had expected Ye Zhen to raise this matter in open court.
"This... warfare has flared up everywhere lately, and the War Ministry has been overwhelmed with affairs. Perhaps it was delayed..." In his panic, drenched in sweat, Ban Di could think of no better excuse.
"Hmph. Just how busy must the War Ministry be to delay military merits, a matter of the highest importance? If even such a vital matter can be delayed, then what are you if not a corpse squatting in office and drawing a salary for nothing?
Even the foremost affairs of state and war can be delayed! Do you know how important such a victory report is to the morale of Great Zhou's armies, with war raging on all sides?
Do you know how important timely rewards are to those soldiers who cast away their heads and spill their hot blood, and to their families?
When rewards are delayed again and again, do you know how chilled their hearts become?
As Minister of War, you actually