Zhao Kuo stayed at home with his wife and children. In the past few years, the State of Zhao had continued to grow stronger, but Zhao Kuo's harem still only had five people: An Ning, Tian Shu, Qing He, Tian Yi, and Zhao Ji.
Many Xia ministers, including the Yan family, were also persuading Zhao Kuo to take in more concubines. A woman always hopes that her husband will be her only woman, but she hopes that her son will have as many women as possible.
However, Zhao Kuo did not continue to take concubines. After the maids stayed in the palace for five years, he would pay them a salary and send them home. If they married within a year, he would also send someone to give them a not-so-rich salary. Gifts as dowry.
As a king, it is impossible not to be close to women, but you cannot be dissolute and lie on a woman's belly every day.
Zhao Zheng and Zhao Sheng's two grandsons were playing in the yard. Although Zhao Sheng's two grandsons were one year older than Zhao Zheng, Zhao Zheng was the leader among the three.
When Zhao Zheng said to go west, the two little guys went west. When Zhao Zheng said to chase the dogs, the two little guys didn't know how to chase the chickens.
"Only four years old, no, a little over three years old, and he has already shown such strong leadership. He is truly worthy of being a thousand..." Zhao Kuo said in a low voice.
summer
"What did the king just say?" Tian Shu raised her head and asked doubtfully. She was just concentrating on sewing some small clothes and shoes. Even if she is the princess of Qi, she has to learn these female celebrities from an early age. However, compared with Zhao Ji and Qing He who were born in ordinary families, they are obviously inferior. One piece.
Even Tian Ti, who was born into a noble family in Qi State, has much better craftsmanship than Tian Shu. As for An Ning, she doesn't understand Nv Hong at all. She is best at martial arts and leading soldiers in battles, but after becoming a mother, her temper has been tempered a lot.
I had been talking about forming a women's army before, but then I dropped it after I got pregnant. After giving birth to a child, she put all her thoughts on the child.
"It's nothing." Zhao Kuo shook his head, looked at the children's clothes in Tian Shu's hand and said,
"You don't have to work so hard. Just leave these things to the tailors." Xia
"Other people don't feel at ease being a concubine. Besides, if I am idle, I will be idle. It can save some money for the palace and reduce some of the burdens on the people. My mother told me that the country's money comes from the people, and the court With less extravagance and waste, the people will be better off." Tian Shu lifted the small clothes in her hands, glanced at the fat boy sleeping soundly next to her, and compared the sizes.
"The Empress Dowager Qi is truly a virtuous empress." Zhao Kuo nodded. Without the Empress Dowager Qi, Qi would never be where it is now.
Although the Queen Mother of Qi had average abilities, she worked hard enough to pull Qi out of the abyss when it was defeated, territory was ceded for compensation, brain drain, and the monarch was incompetent.
Although it cannot be said that the state of Qi has been revived, at least it has not continued to deteriorate, and the national strength is gradually recovering, which is very rare.
Of course, the end result is that Queen Mother Qi's health is getting worse and worse. Even if there is a large group of doctors around, it will not help. Doctors are not omnipotent, not to mention that it is impossible for the Queen Mother Qi to listen to the doctor and put down her government affairs.
Xia's biggest worry is not her son. King Qi is incompetent, but he is self-aware, lustful but not promiscuous, greedy but not excessive, and occasionally exercises to improve his body.
If you have nothing to do, find some experienced people to talk about health care, and your health will be better! In the past, it was possible to be a wise king. If one had the ability to recognize people and meet a person like Guan Zhong, it would be possible to become a wise king.
But the King of Qi obviously did not know how to recognize people. In addition, he also particularly trusted his uncle, Hou Sheng, the brother of the Queen Mother Qi.
As a younger sister, Queen Mother Qi couldn't understand what Hou Sheng was, a master who could sell anything for profit.
If she is alive, she can still suppress her brother. If she dies, no one knows what her brother can do.
If it were anyone else, Empress Dowager Qi could just kill him ruthlessly, but Hou Sheng was her brother, so she couldn't possibly do it.
Xia's most ideal situation is that Hou Sheng dies in front of her, and at the same time she can find a good assistant minister for King Qi. However, judging from the current situation, there is no hope for either of them.
Whether it was Xunzi who was scouted at the beginning, Zhouzi who was scouted later, or Lu Zhonglian as a candidate, they have all left Qi.
In the huge country of Qi, there is no one who can be used.
"A few days ago, my mother wrote to me. She was very grateful to the king and said that if the king hadn't sold the plows, waterwheels and other items to the Qi State, the Qi State would not have been able to get out of the predicament so quickly." Tian Shu said.
As a native of Zhao whose mother country is Qi, she is very happy to see the friendship between the two countries. On the contrary, if the two countries are at war, it will be very uncomfortable for her to be caught in the middle.
"Qi is your mother country. How can I bear to see it decline step by step? Naturally, I will help if I can." Zhao Kuo patted Tian Shu on the back and did not have the heart to reveal the truth of the matter.
Tian Shu is still living in the past and believes that the two countries should help each other. Little does he know that the cruelty of war in this era has exceeded all periods in history.
The war between Xia, Zhao and Qi is inevitable and will not change because of anyone.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Tian Shu said gratefully. In fact, she didn't know anything. Although she didn't know Zhao's strategic plan, any country that became strong would choose to expand outwards. How could Tian Shu not know that.
It's just...what can I do if I know? Since it can't be changed, it's better to pretend not to know. Maybe if you pretend you don't know, you really don't know.
"Your Majesty, I would like to see you too often." At this moment, Ben suddenly walked in.
"Taichang? Let him in." Zhao Kuo stood up and said. Under normal circumstances, Lu Zhonglian would not come to him. Once he comes to him, something big will happen.
summer
"Your Majesty, Queen." Lu Zhonglian stepped in, saw Zhao Kuo and Tian Shu, and said with cupped hands.
"Taichang, please get up." Zhao Kuoxu helped him, while Tian Shu returned to Pingli.
"Your Majesty, Yue Jun sent someone to express his desire to buy two million stones of grain and grass." Lu Zhonglian said.
Prior to this, the buying and selling of grain and grass between the imperial courts of various countries was very rare, and all transactions were 'borrowing'. It's said to be 'borrowed', but in fact it's the kind that you can never return.
However, countries cannot guarantee that they will not be begging for help from others one day in the future, so when their own food and grass are abundant, they will basically lend it to each other.
In the future, if you are in trouble, you can 'borrow' it from the other party. The reason why Xia was not a trade was because the country had to borrow grain and could not get the money out... Yue had borrowed grain from Zhao before, but Zhao Kuo did not agree.
What's the relationship between us two brothers? We can't talk about borrowing, so we might as well buy it. Anyway, I, the State of Zhao, will probably never beg you to cross the border one day. You will only beg me for it.
