About an hour later.
Su Xian finally walked out of the palace.
He looked up at the sky. The sunshine in the first month was so warm that it was so uncomfortable to shine on people. He squinted slightly, and the scene of helping the Queen take a bath was still replaying in his mind.
The Queen is getting more and more powerful. If he hadn't taken a few sips of "Nine-branched Nectar" before entering the palace, he would have had to hold on to the wall to get out.
She is so capable despite her old illness. If her old illness is cured, is that even a big deal?
Su Xian secretly murmured that it seemed like it was time to trick Li Qingniu into teaching him the "Pre-Qin Guidance Technique". Of course, the Queen's old illness also needed to be dealt with.
"This slave has seen the Taiwei!"
Just as he was thinking about it, a woman suddenly came forward.
The voice sounded familiar to Su Xian. He lowered his eyes and saw that it was Qiu Dianjun, the maid beside Princess Lanling.
"Qiudian Jun doesn't need to be polite, but the princess sent you to wait for me here?" Su Xian said with a smile.
"The captain is wise."
"..."
It's not far from Princess Lanling's mansion. Within two cups of tea, Su Xian was already standing in front of the princess's mansion.
"Lieutenant, please come in. The princess has been waiting for a long time." Qiu Dianjun smiled and led the way.
"Thank you."
The two entered the mansion and went straight to Princess Lanling's study.
Qiu Dianjun opened the door, and when Su Xian walked in, she silently closed the door, then turned and left.
Su Xian entered the room and looked up to see Princess Lanling leaning on a beauty couch.
The fitted purple palace skirt and her crooked posture perfectly outlined her curvy figure, showing off the beauty of a woman's curves.
As the most favored and powerful princess of the Liang Dynasty, she had a natural and extraordinary bearing, and her whole body was enveloped with an aura of grace and luxury that made people dare not blaspheme.
She held a book in her hand and was reading it lazily. The pages were slightly yellowed, and the handwriting on them was regular and clear, which highlighted her snow-white, slender and slender hands.
The nails on the fingertips are so bright that they look like jade from a distance, with a charming sheen.
Her phoenix eyes were slightly lowered, and her gaze fell on the book. Coupled with her crooked posture, she gave people a lazy atmosphere... which was very seductive.
Su Xian's eyes fell on her after entering the room and did not look away for a long time.
Princess Lanling's lazy eyes slightly lifted up, and when she rolled her eyes, she saw Su Xiandu there, looking like her soul had left her body. The corners of her mouth slowly raised, and she joked with a smile:
"The Lieutenant went to Nanchen, but he didn't recognize me when he came back? Would you like to get closer and take a closer look?"
"OK!"
Su Xian hit the snake on the stick, walked straight forward, and stood two feet in front of Lan Ling. His eyes scanned unscrupulously, and his gaze seemed to be warm.
Princess Lanling was the most beautiful woman in the Liang Dynasty. She was usually avoided by the people on the street when she went out.
Because she is so beautiful, when ordinary men see her, they tend to lose their minds and have some unrealistic thoughts and impulses...
But Su Xian is different.
Not only did he look at it openly, but he also dared to...
In addition, his eyes were not entranced and lustful, as if he was fascinated by a vixen, but appreciation, praise, or...appreciation.
His eyes looked like he was looking at his own private property.
Therefore, it was not Lan Ling's beauty that attracted him, but Su Xian's declaration of sovereignty!
Declaration of sovereignty!
You know, Lanling is the most beautiful and powerful princess in the Liang Dynasty!
Su Xian's courage is really too great.
His audacity made Princess Lanling slightly uncomfortable. She threw the book aside, leaned on the beauty's couch, straightened her face, and asked:
"How was your trip to Nanchen?"
"Very smooth……"
When Su Xian told Nan Chen's experience, he was very rude. He walked straight to the beauty's couch and sat down. The two were less than half a foot apart.
Lan Ling remained tilted and didn't move. He only slowly rolled his eyes and glanced, paying no attention to it.
But who would have thought that Su Xian became more and more presumptuous. After talking for a while, he seemed to feel thirsty, so he took a big gulp of the tea that Lan Ling had drunk. After drinking it, he praised:
"Sweet and delicious!"
Lan Ling's eyebrows trembled slightly, then returned to normal. He rolled his eyes lazily and said, "I drank that before. Aren't you afraid that there is my saliva in it?"
Su Xian smiled and leaned closer, laughing softly:
"No wonder, I said why this cup of tea is so sweet, it turns out it's because..."
"No formality!"
Princess Lanling's face turned dark, and she pushed Su Xian away. Su Xian fell back on the beauty's couch, stretched out comfortably, and fell asleep.
"I remember that the Taiwei was not so frivolous before he went to Nanchen. Could it be that the demon Chen Keyan led you astray?" Lan Ling suddenly asked.
"How is it possible..." Su Xiangang said these words, and he was suddenly startled, and said to himself: "This Lanling is so insidious, he actually wants to trick me?"
"When I went to Nanchen this time, I didn't see the legendary Princess Wu at all. On the contrary, I had a pleasant conversation with King Tian. That King Tian is a loyal and loyal person..."
Su Xian talked a lot, all talking about King Tian, without mentioning Chen Keyan at all, and Chen Keyao was also omitted by him.
Although Princess Lanling looked suspicious, seeing that Su Xian's words were accurate, she could only ignore it for the time being.
Su Xian was afraid that she would ask too many questions, so he suddenly sat up from the beauty's couch, glanced around wildly, and said with a wicked smile: "Your Highness, there is something that I would like to take out and have a look at."
"What?" Lan Ling was still thinking about what he had just done and didn't react for a moment.
"The princess is keeping that thing for the officer..."
As Su Xian spoke, he suddenly pounced forward, like a hungry wolf pounces on food.
Lan Ling suddenly understood what "that thing" Su Xian was talking about.
She suddenly felt ashamed and angry, pushed Su Xian away, glared, showing the majesty of the most powerful princess of the Liang Dynasty, and scolded:
"How dare you! I am the princess of the dynasty, how dare you bully me like this?"
Su Xian took a closer look at Lan Ling's expression. Although she was scolding, there was a strange light shining in her eyes... Su Xian felt certain in his heart, so he still rushed over and said with a smile:
"Yes, your highness is indeed the princess of the day, but that thing was rewarded to me by the princess and already belongs to me. Doesn't your highness want to regret it?"
"you dare!"
"..."
In the blink of an eye, another hour passed.
Su Xian finally left the princess mansion and came out of the imperial city.
He was refreshed and in high spirits.
Just now, despite Lan Ling's strong opposition, didn't he just give in? She says "unbridled", but her body is very honest...
Besides, it was something that belonged to him, so he naturally enjoyed playing with it.
Although Lan Ling slightly regretted his original decision, there was nothing he could do.
Back at the Hou Mansion, it was getting dark.
Su Xian had dinner, bathed and washed, then went back to his room to rest early.
As the saying goes, a breakup is better than a wedding. Su Xian waited on the two ladies until midnight before resting.
…
The next day.
royal palace.
Ouchi.
The Queen summoned Princess Lanling, the "Shang Shu Ling", Qian Zhongshu, the "Zhong Shu Ling", Liu Shi Zhong, the "Shi Zhong", and Yan Dashan, the "General Longwu". They gathered in the imperial study to discuss an unexpected incident. event--
The trade negotiations with the Liao Kingdom were forced to be suspended!
The reason for the suspension was not that there was renewed friction between the two countries.
It was because there were some problems within the Liao Kingdom.
For unknown reasons, conflicts broke out between the major tribes. Although the situation is not serious, it is difficult to resolve in a short time and will take at least two years.
If this had happened before, it would have been a repayment, but it happened at this juncture, disrupting one of Queen Liang's plans.
She is still waiting for the profits from trade to support the newly established "Longwu Army".
But the trade negotiations were forced to suspend. Therefore, the lack of money and food for the 20,000 elite Longwu Army became a big hole.
Today the Queen summoned Lan Ling and other ministers to discuss this matter.
"Everyone, you already understand the current situation. Let's talk about it. How to solve this matter? Do you have any good ideas?" the Queen said loudly.
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Shizhong came out to pay homage:
"Your Majesty, it was the Taiwei's suggestion to establish the 'Longwu Army', and it was also the Taiwei's suggestion to resume trade with the Liao Kingdom. Now something has gone wrong, why did Your Majesty invite the Taiwei to discuss it together? I heard that the Taiwei returned yesterday Beijing."
The Queen explained:
"Su Aiqing just returned from Nanchen yesterday. He had a hard journey, so I have granted him a few days' leave."
"Besides, you are all our important ministers. I believe you can resolve this matter properly without bothering Su Aiqing."
"I often hear sarcastic remarks saying that I favor Su Aiqing too much. Today I will give you a chance. If anyone can properly resolve this matter, I will definitely favor you!"
"..."
After hearing this, the ministers stopped thinking about Su Xian coming out to challenge him. They all frowned and thought, how should this matter be handled?
Qian Zhongshu suddenly came out of the queue and bowed:
"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, since we can't afford the money and food needed by the Longwu Army, why not...disband the Longwu Army? Just wait until the treasury is filled before planning a new army!"
The Queen frowned slightly, feeling slightly unhappy.
She has personally seen the strength of the Longwu Army. As an emperor, she naturally hopes to have such a forbidden army that can conquer and fight well.
Furthermore, the threat of the Liao army approaching the border some time ago was still fresh in her memory.
"inappropriate!"
Princess Lanling stepped forward, glanced at Qian Zhongshu lightly, and then said: "The dismantling of the Forbidden Army is of great importance. I hope your Majesty will think twice."
"Since Her Royal Highness the Princess is unwilling to dismantle the Longwu Army, please come up with a solution!" Qian Zhongshu said with a smile.
Princess Lanling ignored Qian Zhongshu.
She knew what Qian Zhongshu was thinking.
The Longwu Army was established with the support of her, Su Xian and Yan Dashan. If divided according to power, the authority of the Longwu Army would not fall on the crown prince in any case.
Qian Zhongshu was a die-hard supporter of the prince, so it was natural for him to propose the dismantling of the Longwu Army.
"Your Majesty, when we were planning to establish the Longwu Army, I said that I could donate the proceeds from 'white sugar' and other sugar products to pay for the Longwu Army." Lan Ling reported.
"Okay!" The Queen was overjoyed and said with a smile, "Young lady can take care of my worries!"
When Qian Zhongshu saw this, he was naturally unhappy, but who said Lanling was rich? He had no choice but to look downcast and look ugly.
Yan Dashan calculated silently for a while, then came out and said, "Your Majesty, the Liao Kingdom is expected to resume trade in two years, so it will need to raise enough money for the Longwu Army for at least two years."
He turned to look at Lan Ling and continued to ask: "May I ask the princess, how much food can the princess provide in the next two years?"
The queen's brows that had just relaxed were now frowning secretly. This was indeed a problem. The consumption of the Longwu Army was five times that of ordinary soldiers. Can Lanling really provide so much money and food?
When Qian Zhongshu heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up. Why didn't he think of this just now? He looked at Lan Ling with a smile, waiting to see how Lan Ling would make a fool of himself.
Princess Lanling pondered for a while, and finally said: "Within two years, I can provide you with silver...about two million taels!"
"Two million taels!"
The Queen and the ministers exclaimed, "What kind of candy can be so profitable?"
After the queen was shocked, she looked happy and provided two million taels for two years, which must have been enough for Long Wujun's expenses.
When Qian Zhongshu saw this, his expression darkened again.
"not enough!"
Yan Dashan's voice was strong and powerful, and it spread throughout the imperial study. The laughter of the Queen and the ministers stopped suddenly, and they all turned around. Two million taels is not enough?
Yan Dashan explained:
"Your Majesty and all of you don't know. Each officer of the Longwu Army receives twenty-five taels of food and salary for one year. The food and salary of 20,000 soldiers for two years is one million taels!"
"Furthermore, even if we don't continue to recruit, the horses, armor, weapons, etc. required for the 20,000 soldiers will be a huge expense. The two million taels for Her Royal Highness are far from enough!"
"..."
At this time, the Queen remembered that she had personally decided on the twenty-five taels a year for the officers of the Longwu Army. Two million taels was indeed not enough for the two-year salary of 20,000 soldiers, plus horses and armor!
Far from enough!
The salary of ordinary soldiers in Daliang is fifteen taels a year, and the salary of some soldiers in the army is relatively less.
The Longwu Army is an elite force built by Yan Dashan, so its salary must be higher. However, at present, even if the salary is reduced from twenty-five taels to fifteen taels, it cannot make up for the gap in horses and equipment.
How to play this?
The Queen's face instantly turned gloomy, Lan Ling, Liu Shizhong and others were also frowning, but Qian Zhongshu was secretly enjoying himself, waiting for the opportunity to raise the proposal to disband the Longwu Army again.
The Queen was never willing to give in, and focused on "reducing palace expenses." Lan Ling, Yan Dashan, and Liu Shizhong also actively donated money in an attempt to fill this big hole.
The result is not enough after all calculations, and it is much worse.
Because the war horses, armor, and weapons used by the Longwu Army are all the best among the best. They are time-consuming and labor-intensive to make, and are far beyond the equipment of ordinary soldiers.
If the Longwu Army adopts the equipment of ordinary soldiers, then there is really no need for the Longwu Army to exist...
Is there really only one way left to "abolish the Longwu Army"?
The queen's eyebrows formed a "chuan" shape.
Qian Zhongshu was very proud. He had been thinking about it for a long time. When everyone was speechless, he took a step forward and prepared to raise the proposal of "abolition of the Longwu Army" again.
But just as he was about to speak, Lan Ling suddenly said:
"Your Majesty, it's better... to send someone to ask for the Taiwei. We have no choice but the Taiwei may have a good idea."
"Yes, let's go and invite the Taiwei..."
Yan Dashan, Liu Shizhong and others all agreed.
The Queen had just said that she wanted to give them a chance to prove that they could do without Su Xian. The result... that's all. Now is not the time to compete for morale. If Su Xian can really solve this problem, they will definitely be convinced.
