Perhaps he was annoyed by Concubine Gu's pleas and cries, or perhaps he was trying to test Queen Wen's intentions. On the third day after King Yu rode his horse, His Majesty suddenly came to hear that the Queen was having dinner in the palace.
Ever since Princess Guangde's surrender, the most noble couple in the world had become estranged, and they rarely ate at the same table in private. Both of them had their own worries today, and the atmosphere during the meal was very dull.
The sound of needle dropping could be heard in the palace, and the maids and eunuchs were all trembling with fear, fearing that they might offend their masters.
After dinner, His Majesty cleaned his hands in the jade basin and said casually, "There have been rumors in the past few days that I don't know where they came from. They all say that I will send the prince to conquer in person for me. The Hulü in the north is indeed the leader this time. It's coming so fiercely that it has broken through several cities. I am really worried about who to send to quell this matter. Queen, what do you think?"
Queen Wen didn't seem to hear the emperor's temptation. After thinking for a long time, she said seriously, "Hulü Khan is coming from the north. We definitely can't send troops all the way to fight. I don't have much experience, but I know that ten years ago General Dou Jiangning fought against Hulu Khan. Perhaps Dou Jiangning or those generals who fought against Hulu Khan in Xuanhua City are more suitable.
As for the personal expedition, thunder, rain and dew are all a blessing from the king, and it is a blessing for the prince to be able to take care of his father's worries. He is His Majesty's eldest son. As an elder brother, he must set an example for his brothers. "
Queen Wen said the last sentence categorically, as if she had never considered that His Highness the Crown Prince might die in the battle between the two armies.
After the queen's reminder, His Majesty remembered the incident in Xuanhua City ten years ago. Because the battle with Hulu neither endangered other cities nor rewarded Dou Jiangning and Lu Qi afterwards, people in the court knew very little about it.
What happened in Xuanhua City back then seemed to be just a fallen leaf falling on the water, causing no ripples in the capital.
As for why Queen Wen knows, it is because ten years ago His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still an ignorant child, and now His Royal Highness Prince Yu is still an infant. At that time, His Majesty and Queen Wen were still a loving couple, and His Majesty personally told Queen Wen about this. of.
His Majesty obviously also thought of the relationship between husband and wife back then, "Queen, you have managed the harem very well over the years, making it stable and smooth. It is all thanks to your hard work. The prince is also a good boy."
When Queen Wen heard this, she just wanted to punch His Majesty's pleased face three times, and cursed in her heart, "You know how hard I have worked, and you know that the Crown Prince is a good boy, but you are always on guard against suppressing our mother and son, what a piece of shit." She said. At this time, I just hope that the years of obedience and forbearance between myself and the Crown Prince, and the humility shown to Concubine Gu and Prince Yu, will have some effect. At least His Majesty will not allow His Majesty to send His Highness the Crown Prince to personally conquer while sending people to restrain His Highness the Crown Prince from using troops.
"Your Majesty is serious, all this is what a concubine should do. Which of your Majesty's children is not a beauty?"
Your Majesty, who was already worried about His Royal Highness King Yu's horse riding, tried to say, "Oh? The Queen thinks so too? Today I have been worried about King Yu's horse riding and hurting people. The ministers in the court can't argue with each other. Come to a conclusion. The Queen is always smart, so why don’t you share your thoughts.”
Queen Wen thought for a long time, and when she looked up again, her eyes were filled with tears, and she choked with sobs, "Your Majesty, when you give birth to a child at one hundred years old, you have to worry about ninety-nine. How can any parent not worry about his children? Even though Prince Yu is not me, His own son, but I also raised him for a while. King Yu was just careless and his horse lost control for a moment. How could he be reduced to a county king?
What's more, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince really goes on a personal expedition, the crown prince is away, and the second son is demoted, wouldn't this make Khan Hulu think that our country is unstable? Your Majesty, we must not lower the title of King Yu. "
As soon as the words "Guozuo is unstable" came out, a large number of palace eunuchs knelt down in the palace. Queen Wen also bowed deeply and knelt in the main hall.
The emperor, who was sitting firmly like a mountain, couldn't tell whether he was happy or angry. He didn't know whether he believed what Queen Wen said, but the words "the country is unstable" touched him in the end. At that time, Concubine Gu was a pampered little girl and could not take care of children. After His Highness Prince Yu fell ill several times, His Majesty temporarily carried His Highness Prince Yu to Queen Wen's palace.
Although Concubine Gu was later reminded by her family, she cried and fussed and hugged His Highness Prince Yu back. However, it is true that for a long time, His Royal Highness King Yu was kept in the Queen's Palace.
With the previous relationship, he couldn't tell whether Queen Wen's feelings were true or false, but he also vaguely decided to protect His Highness Prince Yu. In addition, Queen Wen and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have been kind and gentle for several years. His Majesty has long since concluded in his heart that they are cowardly and incompetent and unable to achieve great things, so he relaxed his vigilance on this matter.
Queen Wen kept kneeling like this, and it wasn't until His Majesty stood up and left that Xiuxin dared to come up and help Queen Wen up in distress, "My Lady, why are you doing this? The method Qingning County Lord said may not work."
Holding Xiuxin's hand and borrowing strength from it, Queen Wen stood up with difficulty, but said with great certainty, "It will definitely work. Your Majesty has been in power for many years and has long been willful. He has now concluded that my son and I are weak and incompetent, even in the hands of Even if he has a knife, he would not dare to kill anyone. Under this impression, he will never restrain Min'er, but will give him everything he wants to prove the prince's incompetence."
"But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not in the capital, and Concubine Gu's family is already the dominant one. Now that His Royal Highness Prince Yu retains his title, I am afraid that the traitor will become even more arrogant."
Xiu's heart was indignant, but Queen Wen was calm.
Queen Wen knew in her heart that the road to power would always be full of thorns, but the results of power would also be sweet. What she has to do now is to wait patiently for the opportunity to kill with one strike. I believe it won't be too late.
Sure enough, at the court meeting on the second day, His Majesty asked the secretary to announce that His Highness the Crown Prince would be the one to fight in person for his father. At the same time, he refuted the Qingliu civil servant who wanted to visit His Highness Prince Yu in a non-trivial manner, and even described the incident of His Highness King Yu riding a horse to hurt people in the busy city as a momentary fright that His Highness Prince Yu could not control.
As soon as this incident came out, many officials in the DPRK and China who claimed to be honest and upright were in an uproar, and people discussing this incident could be seen everywhere in the streets.
That night, His Majesty and several close ministers discussed matters in the imperial study.
An old man with white beard and hair said with some disapproval, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince is the crown prince of the country. It would be too risky to lead a personal expedition. What's more, at this juncture, trying to protect His Highness Prince Yu, isn't this a warning to the world? Does Your Majesty intend to abolish the elder and establish the younger?"
"Master Zhang, please don't say that. His Highness the Crown Prince is gentle and has no decisive power. He is not a suitable candidate for the crown prince. On the contrary, His Royal Highness Prince Yu is very handsome and has the legacy of His Majesty's past."
The speaker was an official surnamed Zhao, the husband of the wife who, at the hairpin ceremony of the fourth wife of the Li family, broke the ground-shattering news that His Highness the Crown Prince was about to fight for his father. Mr. Zhao came quickly to show his Majesty's attitude, and he was often looked down upon by the elite civil servants.
Lu Zhi was also among this group of people. He closed his eyes and remained silent from beginning to end, as if he was old and dim, and stayed away from the incident until His Majesty called his name.
"Lu Aiqing, I want His Highness the Crown Prince to lead the expedition in person. What do you think, Aiqing?"
Lu Zhi bowed his hands respectfully, "I am His Majesty's minister, so I naturally bow to Your Majesty. I don't dare to be adept at His Majesty's decision-making." "Oh? Lu Aiqing really thinks so. I remember that your ninth lady is the future Crown Princess, Fan Yang Lu This is the future family of the prince-in-law."
Lu Zhi thought to himself, he originally wanted his granddaughter to enter the East Palace and become the future queen, so as to take the Fan Yang Lu family to a higher level. He knew that it would be difficult and dangerous, and he was ready to give it a try.
But who knew that the emperor on the throne would actually go crazy in order to get rid of the prince. With no long-term plan and no critical situation, the emperor actually sent the prince and future majesty of Ji Dynasty out to drive and conquer in person. The euphemistic name is that he is going to fight for his father, but in fact it is not a joke for the barbarians like Huluna.
If this battle is lost, the empire will be in fundamental turmoil; if this battle is won, it will only be a defeat of a small tribe in the north, which is not much of an honor.
Thinking of this, Lu Zhi sneered in his heart, "He is of barbaric origin and cannot be used for much purpose. The Yang Empire was handed over to him and he only used it as a guard of authority. In this world, we still have to rely on aristocratic families to support us."
Seeing that Lu Zhi was so calm and calm, the emperor also became a little suspicious, "I used the prince's marriage to evacuate this old man's most proud granddaughter. Now his dream of becoming the prince's wife's future queen's mother's family has been ruined. Why? Still so calm.”
Tonight's discussion was not really intended to discuss whether His Majesty should allow His Majesty the Crown Prince to lead the expedition in his father's stead. The imperial edict has been issued. If he goes back on his word, His Majesty will be breaking his promise to the people of the world. In the final analysis, the so-called discussion tonight was just His Majesty's attempt to test the intentions of several important ministers in the court.
Finally, the discussion ended with everyone having their own concerns and wary of each other.
After the end of the dynasty, two adults who had been officials in the same dynasty as Lu Zhi for many years wanted to invite Lu Zhi to a restaurant to drink and compose poems to relieve depression, but Lu Zhi politely declined. The two of them wanted to persuade again, but Lu Zhi said meaningfully, "The strong wind started at the end of Qingping. You two adults should avoid unnecessary troubles at this time."
However, Lu Zhi was not as calm as he appeared. As soon as he stepped into the gate of Yuanshan Hall, his face darkened and he called out in a loud voice, "Ah Ma, Ah Chu."
Two identical young men in black rolled over from the beam. They looked like ghosts and had almost no sense of existence. The two of them knelt down at the same time, "Master, what are your orders?"
These two people were secret guards sent by Lu Zhi's eldest daughter Lu Yun, specializing in killing people, stealing goods, and delivering news.
Lu Zhi pondered for a while, "Send a message to your previous master and tell her that the survival of Fan Yang Lu's family depends on this. Ask her to help His Highness the Crown Prince and lead her tribe to unite with His Highness the Crown Prince to defeat Hulu Khan."
After Ah Ma and Ah Qiu heard this, they had no other reaction. They just said a crisp yes, then got up and went to deliver the news outside the Great Wall.
