Chengxin Hall in Jinling Palace has been the residence where emperors cultivated their minds and studied since the founding of the Southern Tang Dynasty. When Li Jing came back from court today, he looked sulky. He first summoned Sun Sheng and Feng Yansi, the minister's servants, and then ordered Chen Jue and Han Xizai to come in together.
Liu Shaojian was ordered to stand guard at the entrance of Chengxin Hall, silently listening to the emperor's angry rebuke from time to time inside. The palace people around him were all trembling with fear. At this time, Queen Zhong, holding a book of new poems in her hand, led several palace maids to walk slowly, stopped in front of the door, frowned, and gave Liu Shaojian a gentle look.
"The Queen is here!"
This high-pitched tone sounded, and the quarrel in Chengxin Hall gradually faded away. Mrs. Zhong nodded to Shaojian Liu with satisfaction, then walked into the Chengxin Hall. At a glance, she saw the four important ministers of the dynasty, all of whom lowered their heads and said nothing. Li Jing had her legs crossed on the golden couch, her face was ashen, and she was obviously holding back her anger. .
Mrs. Zhong seemed to be used to it and just said softly: "Your Majesty, these are some good poems that have been published recently in Jiangnan. I have sent them here for you to take a look at."
Although Li Jing looked calm, after all, the person who came was his first wife, and it was not easy for him to continue his attack, so he coldly said to Sun Sheng and the others: "I'm tired, you all should leave."
These four people just had a dispute in Chengxintang because of their different political opinions. As a result, the emperor was upset and got angry. No one was left behind. At this time, he hurriedly bowed to the emperor and empress, and then hurriedly retreated.
Mrs. Zhong raised her hand to summon a palace maid, and ordered the lotus seed and jade dew soup that had just been prepared to be brought over. Then she sat down next to Li Jing softly.
"Your Majesty, why are you so angry today? It's not good to be too angry. Your Majesty's dragon body is important."
Li Jing reached out and grabbed Zhong's white wrist, stared at his queen who looked like a fairy for a moment, and then patiently explained: "I dispatched a total of three armies a month ago, preparing to pacify Chu Di in one fell swoop. The navy army's journey was smooth. , Liu Renzhan captured Yuezhou on the 25th of last month."
"Liu Jieshi is indeed a good general. Your Majesty should be happy!"
Li Jing snorted softly, rubbed his forehead gently with his hands, and said in a deep voice: "Our Tang navy has always been good at fighting, and I am not surprised that Yuezhou City has few soldiers. It's just that the two armies on land ordered me to So disappointing! I ordered Zhang Luan to lead the army south to capture Guizhou. If he wins, our Tang Dynasty can take over all the land south of the Chu Kingdom! But he passively avoided the war and feared the enemy like a tiger. Liu Renzhan has already returned to the court to lead the army. After receiving the reward, Zhang Luan’s army is still on the way!”
Zhong seemed to feel the same anger, but she still tried to persuade him: "Your Majesty, calm down! It's better to call Zhang Luan back to the court, and then send another general to attack Guizhou."
Li Jing leaned weakly on the silk cushion, and sighed with a wry smile: "Oh! Queen, it's too late! I hate the Han Kingdom in the south, so I ordered General Wu Huai'en to quietly enter Mengzhou, and just after the middle of the month, he took Guizhou, and then unexpectedly Conquering the eight states of Lingnan one after another! I have been planning to destroy Chu for many years. This time our army had an excellent opportunity. The land of Lingnan was already in the bag, but the Han Kingdom took the opportunity to take it away! I am heartbroken. ! The minister is incompetent, the minister is incompetent..."
Zhong said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I heard that the land south of Lingnan is remote and full of barbarians. After all, it is still not as wealthy as our Jiangnan. Why are you so worried! After your Majesty came to the throne, our Tang Dynasty has been prosperous, the country is rich and the army is strong. , I will send an army to take it back another day..."
Li Jing continued as if he had a headache: "That was my original intention when I went to court today, but the Chu region is already in chaos. I asked Li Jianqi to march into Hengyang and wait for an opportunity to capture Langzhou, but he did not move until Half a month ago, I submitted a report saying that Liu Yan, the governor of Langzhou, was willing to surrender. Well, I sent the Hakka envoy to declare the order. However, Liu Yan and others accepted the order but refused to enter the court! Instead, they built high walls and deep ditches to fight with Our armies are in a stalemate. Now it’s a situation of no surrender and no fight!”
"I just summoned the four central ministers, but they had a dispute in front of me. Two of them said they would march on the army, while the other said they would rest and recuperate. Didn't this put the problem on me again? Alas! I will stand up as soon as I take the throne. With the ambition to unify the world, the two factions in the DPRK and China are helpless to fight, and they are powerless!"
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Zhong pursed her lips and shook her head, caressing her chest and sighed.
Li Jing asked with concern: "The queen is ill? Why are you sighing?"
Zhong extended her jade hand and gently placed the book of Jiangnan New Poems she had just brought on Li Jing's lap. She replied with a smile: "Your Majesty, I am fine. I am just uncomfortable. It is a pity that Your Majesty is working so hard to govern. But he didn’t understand that sharing the Lord’s worries actually offended Tian Yan! Your Majesty, to calm down, why don’t you be more relaxed and read some poems with your concubine?”
Li Jing smiled bitterly and said: "I know the Queen is considerate, but she really doesn't have much thought... Queen, do you think I can rule the world?"
Zhong hurriedly said without thinking: "Your Majesty is a wise king, and he will surely regain the Central Plains one day!"
Seeing Li Jing's dejected look, Mrs. Zhong began to worry. It has been more than twenty years since she married Li Jing as Princess Qi. How could she not know Li Jing's ambition? Although she was ignorant of military affairs, she stayed with the emperor day and night, and heard about political affairs from time to time. For example, Chen Jue, the Privy Councilor, was the most aggressive militant in the court. Although his reputation was not very good, this person Li Jing's political views are exactly what Li Jing likes very much. You must know that after Li Jing came to the throne, he was at war almost every year.
Therefore, although it was inconvenient for Zhong to interfere in the government affairs, in order to fulfill her husband's ambition, this simple queen began to secretly support Chen Juezha, Wenxu and others. The so-called Zhong, who is deeply in love and has little knowledge of government affairs, always relies on intuition. In short, everything can go according to Li Jing's wishes.
What's more, Li Jing mentioned just now that his original intention was to send troops for conquest, so Zhong decided to persuade: "Your Majesty always knows how to make good use of people. I heard that Chen Jue, the Privy Councilor, didn't offer a strategy to pacify Chu Land last time? Why not?" ——”
Li Jing interrupted her directly and said with a little boredom: "Huh, Chen Jue? He gave me a good strategy, but do you think who he recommended to me?! Then Li Jingzhi arrived in Tanzhou, Not only did he move into the palace of the King of Chu, but he also plundered the people and robbed wealthy merchants! The defenders in the city almost mutinied! Fortunately, Bian Hao handled it well and quickly entered the city to calm the people and quell the chaos, otherwise the Chu land would have been completely lost! At this time, the queen Speaking of Chen Jue, how could I not know that Li Jingzhi is his brother-in-law?!"
Mrs. Zhong was obviously startled. She quickly stood up, bowed down, and muttered: "Your Majesty, please calm down! These are all nonsense! Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
After getting along for half a lifetime, Li Jing always cherished his married wife in every possible way. He quickly helped her and said, "Oh! Get up. I know you have good intentions, so how can I be reluctant to blame you? It's just Chen Jue, although He can be regarded as a person who is loyal to the emperor and good at planning, but he doesn’t know people well and is very happy with his achievements. This time, Li Jing’s incident has caused a lot of discussion in the government and the public, and I really don’t dare to use him!”
Zhong still maintained the temperament of the master of the harem, and did not want to appear too pretentious in front of the emperor, so she stood up slowly and wiped away her tears. After thinking carefully in his heart, he said softly: "Your Majesty, I think Chen Jue was mistaken for a moment. I still remember that when Chen Jue was defeated by Chu last time, it was not Shangshu who recommended a young man with both wisdom and courage. Lang? It seems to be called Li Yuan? Although I am in the palace, I often hear some palace people tell the story of the young Marquis Duyu in Chu!"
"Li Yuan?" Li Jing frowned and was in a daze for a while, then said calmly: "I remembered it! I summoned him here a month ago. This man seemed calm and somewhat resourceful in his words and deeds. Last time I read He has made great achievements, so I made an exception and promoted him. Unfortunately, he is too young and has little military merit. I have no idea what his martial arts skills are. He still needs time and more training!"
Then he raised the corners of his mouth slightly, stroking his hands and smiling: "But a few days ago, I heard an interesting story reported by the Yushitai. It was said that when Li Yuan returned to Chuzhou to visit relatives, he happened to encounter local officials who were besieged by bandits. He Then he led a battalion of forbidden troops to wipe out all the bandits, and the bandit leader among them was the main culprit in the case of selling illegal salt!"
Mrs. Zhong was also stunned for a while, and then she couldn't help but laugh: "Is there such a thing? Does your Majesty reward it?"
Li Jing smiled coquettishly and said: "A commendation? Ha, someone in the court has already complained to him that Li Yuan was not rescuing local officials, but went straight to the group of bandits. You must know that the Imperial Army was mobilized without permission from the Privy Council. But he is guilty of treason! But I still think that he is young and ignorant, and besides, he has made a contribution in suppressing the bandits and solving the case, so his merits and demerits are balanced! However, this boy is smart. After returning to Jinling a few days ago, he took the initiative to plead guilty to Shu, and I also comforted him. !”
Zhong continued to smile and said: "Your Majesty, didn't Li Yuan go back to visit his relatives after receiving the reward? After returning to Chuzhou, he annihilated the bandits for the people in his hometown, which just demonstrated to the world your Majesty's power and knowledge. People’s wisdom is a good thing for the country and the people!”
"That's a good thing!" Li Jing nodded thoughtfully, and then asked suspiciously: "Queen, why did you say so many good things about this person?"
Zhong gave Li Jing a gentle push as if willfully, and then said sweetly: "Your Majesty is teasing me again! I just thought that since Li Yuan had followed the army into Chu, if your Majesty used troops against Chu again, Maybe he can be used. Your Majesty just said that this man is young and has no military merit. It is better to take this opportunity to let him practice and make achievements for Your Majesty! Whether this man is a piece of jade will be known in one battle. "
Li Jing waved his hand in denial and sneered: "Absurd! Our Tang Dynasty military generals are full of talents, and there are many people who are good at fighting! This Li Yuan is only twenty years old. Even if he is a genius, he is definitely not the choice of the coach. If he is mediocre and incompetent, wouldn't he be trapped in the army? In Jedi? I will never take such a risk!"
"I don't understand military affairs, and I didn't say that he could be the commander-in-chief! It's just that Your Majesty must train some young generals for the Tang Dynasty..." Zhong's words did not go against his will. In fact, in her eyes , Li Yuan and Wang Yuan, as long as there are a few more people who can conquer and fight, and they can fight for the emperor's great cause, and win more battles, he will not have to worry every day.
Li Jing was full of praise for these words: "The queen's words are reasonable. It is natural to cultivate future generals, but this matter has to be planned slowly. Isn't it helpful to encourage the seedlings! I am the king of a country, and I have my own sense of proportion in my heart. There is no need to Too much to say!
As for the raw jade that the Queen mentioned? I am afraid that he is a stubborn stone that cannot be broken into..."
