Ye Guixue came to the capital of Daliang, but she did not immediately enter the palace to see the emperor. What she was waiting for was to test the emperor's attitude towards Su Rong and his attitude towards the identity of the princess of Nanchu.
Now that he saw the emperor urging him to come to the palace, he probably knew it. The emperor cared about Su Rong very much and valued her identity. Otherwise, he would never be in a hurry to see him.
He cupped his hands and said, "Since Your Majesty also agrees with what Gui Xue said and is in agreement with our King, when does Your Majesty plan to see our Princess?"
The emperor did not answer but asked: "When will the Second Young Master Ye plan to leave for Nanchu?"
"No more than half a month."
The emperor nodded and asked again: "I heard that you and Su Rong went to the Great Buddha Temple to worship Buddha, but you discussed her return to Nanchu? What did she say?"
Ye Guixue said: "The princess naturally agreed to return to Nanchu, but her deep affection for Daliang is extraordinary. She was born in Daliang and grew up in Daliang, so it is difficult to leave her homeland for a while. After all, Nanchu is thousands of miles away, and the princess cannot let go of Jiangzhou. The family members of the Governor's Mansion always have to arrange everything before setting off. But I can't wait that long, so I might leave early. After the princess has arranged everything, we will set a date for departure."
The emperor nodded, "Since you came to greet her, and she agreed to go to Nanchu, why didn't you wait with her?"
"There are many things going on in the Southern Chu Dynasty. I can't stay in Daliang Capital for a long time." Ye Guixue said.
The emperor had been interested in Southern Chu a lot over the years, so he naturally understood the struggle between the major forces in Southern Chu. He nodded, "I will see Su Rong as soon as possible."
He sighed, "You have been in the capital for a few days, and you should also know that there are probably many people who are harmful to her. Even if I have the intention to protect you, I am afraid that I will be caught off guard. If you can stay in the capital for a longer time, It’s best to pick her up and leave together.”
Naturally, the emperor would not say that he would force Su Rong to stay in Daliang. After all, she was the only daughter of King Nan Chu and the daughter of Princess Zhenmin. Returning to Nan Chu to inherit the throne would be beneficial to Daliang.
He also hoped that she would be safe in Beijing, and even more hope that she would return to Nanchu safely and successfully ascend the throne. But as an emperor, he knew how difficult this road was. Even though the King of Nanchu paved the way for her for five years, the Nangong family has been entrenched for hundreds of years, and the influence of her relatives is too great. The King of Nanchu does not have the final say in Nanchu alone, not to mention that there are people who are not happy for Su Rong to return to Nanchu. Clan members who have ambitions for the throne.
Ye Guixue smiled lightly and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. As long as your Majesty protects you, the princess will be able to protect herself. Nothing will happen to her during her stay in the capital."
He looked at the emperor and said, "Our king has great faith in your majesty's ability to protect my princess of Southern Chu's smooth return."
The emperor rubbed his brows and said, "That's fine."
The emperor ordered people to close the door of Mingde Hall and talked with Ye Guixue for an hour. After an hour, the emperor asked for a meal, but Ye Guixue excused himself. The emperor also said that there would be a banquet on another day. Ye Guixue agreed, and then the emperor Let him out of the palace.
After Ye Guixue left, the emperor sat alone in the Mingde Hall for a long time before he gave the order, "Please invite the old Lord Protector to come into the palace to see me."
Eunuch Yu immediately responded and sent someone quickly.
The old Protector of the State heard about His Majesty's invitation, and also heard that Ye Guixue, the second son of Prime Minister Ye of Nanchu, had just seen His Majesty come out of the palace, and he had roughly figured out why the Emperor wanted to see him. He cleaned up and entered the palace. ….
The emperor was waiting for the old protector in the Mingde Hall. When he saw someone coming, and seeing that it was getting late, he ordered someone to pass on the meal and planned to have a meal with the old protector. The old Protector did not shirk away. After having a meal with the emperor, he got down to business.
The emperor asked how the army was doing recently. How are the troops and horses? What about armaments? The old protector of the country naturally understood and answered them all one by one. After hearing this, the emperor felt that it was okay. It could be seen that the Protector's Palace had not fooled him into neglecting military training for so many years, and he could also feel that the three young masters of the Protector's Palace, including the Crown Prince, did not go home very much this year. Almost living in the military camp, it can be seen that the old protector of the country was also prepared for her identity to be leaked because of Su Rong and Jiji.
The emperor complained a little: "Old Duke, it's so hard for you to hide it from me. The King of Southern Chu knew Su Rong's true identity five years ago, but you didn't tell me until Su Rong came to Beijing. If you had told me earlier , why should I be kept in the dark? I could have prepared five years in advance."
The old Protector thought to himself, if I had told you earlier, how could you have the King of Southern Chu?
What is the ability to endure for five years? He was afraid that Su Rong's identity would be leaked early. The prince's wings five years ago were not as strong as they are now, and Su Rong had not grown up yet, so he did not dare to bet.
He pretended to sigh, "Hey, Your Majesty, Princess Zhenmin asked her to give her last words before Su Rong and Ji, never reveal her true identity from the old minister. The old minister agreed at the beginning, so he can't go back on it. It’s not what a gentleman does.”
This was really not a lie on his part, it was Princess Zhenmin who repeatedly asked him. He also knew your Majesty’s temperament, so he agreed simply. If His Majesty had been informed of Su Rong's existence earlier, Su Rong would never have been able to live happily until his hair age. After all, when the emperor moves, the whole court moves.
In any case, Su Rong has grown up safely now.
Although the emperor was dissatisfied, he really couldn't blame the old protector for this matter. He could only say sadly: "My cousin doesn't believe me!"
The old Protector sighed, "Your Majesty, it's not that the princess doesn't believe you, it's that your status is too valuable and you are always involved in the country, the country, and the country, so the princess doesn't dare to gamble."
The emperor's face turned gloomy for a moment, "That's right."
He was silent for a moment, then cheered up and said, "Today I met Ye Guixue. He came with the order of the King of Southern Chu..."
He explained the meaning of King Nan Chu conveyed by Ye Guixue, and then asked the old Duke, "Old Duke, what do you think?"
The old protector of the country had already expected that he was also the one who participated in the engagement between Princess Zhenmin and Prince Chu Rong of Southern Chu. He knew very well about Chu Rong's affection for Zhenmin, otherwise he would not have prayed for her in the first place. The King of Nanchu would not let her go. Chu Rong is a rare infatuated member of the Southern Chu royal family.
He nodded, "In my opinion, when the Wei Dynasty invaded our territory and threatened the princess to get married, the princess faked her death and escaped and joined the Wei Dynasty, but it was because the Wei Dynasty was unkind and the princess was unjust. Later. Although the peace treaty is still there, due to the previous reasons, if the Wei Dynasty dares to tear up the peace treaty, Daliang will not be afraid to fight. "
The emperor nodded, "You stopped me from seeing Su Rong earlier, so when do you think it's the right time for me to see Su Rong?"
The old protector of the country said: "Your Majesty, we have to wait, there is no rush. Our top priority is that we have enough troops, but to prepare for the war, we need to stock up on food and grass and meet the military supply and demand." After he finished speaking, he sighed, " The veteran dares to guarantee the strength of the troops, but as far as the matter of food, fodder and military supplies is concerned, it is far from enough. This is also the reason why the veteran blocked your majesty. "….
The emperor understood after hearing this. Over the years, he had suppressed the prince. Although he did not openly suppress the Protector's Palace, the people below were very good at guessing the holy will. They all knew that he was afraid of the Protector's Palace, and the Protector's Palace itself was also afraid of him. I know clearly in my heart that, therefore, food and grass have always been scarce, only enough to supply and demand. Not to mention the expansion of armaments, even in terms of weapons, no major efforts have been made to improve them in the past few years.
It is naturally impossible for the emperor to reflect on himself. Sitting in this position, as the emperor, he must be careful not to be pulled down from the throne. He would rather be on guard than let it go. He coughed and said, "How much food and grass should I prepare if I raise an army?"
The old Lord Protector stretched out his finger and showed the emperor a number.
The emperor took a breath. He had a rough idea of how much money there was in the treasury. If he followed the figure given by the old Lord Protector, he might even empty out the treasury and it wouldn't be enough.
The old protector looked at the emperor's expression and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, when the Wei Dynasty raised troops, it has always been a shame to me, Daliang. A person's backbone can be bent, but the backbone of the country cannot be bent, even if it is bent for a moment, it cannot be bent too much. For a long time. If the Wei Dynasty wants to fight this battle, Daliang must not be timid anymore. After all, sixteen years have passed, and the late emperor, the queen mother, and the princess are all watching from the sky."
The emperor's body instantly tensed up, "You're right."
He said in a deep voice: "I will summon the Minister of Hubu right now. The old Protector will stay in the palace for the time being and meet with the Minister of Hubu together with me!"
The old Lord Protector nodded. He wanted to prepare for the war. Once the army was prepared, it was natural that the Lord Protector's Mansion could not be bypassed. He should listen together and see how much money the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue still had left after all these years of hard work. If we can't get it out, we don't have enough food, grass and military equipment, so we have to force the Minister of Household Affairs to find a way. .
Xiziqing
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