In a waterside pavilion in the harem of King Wu's palace, King Wu's mother and son were chatting.
Of course, with their status, even casual conversations often involve national affairs.
King Wu Ketu was asking his mother for advice and had a question in his mind: "Mother, it is not easy to take over the land of the Five Prefectures in the South. Even with the cooperation of Uncle Champion, it will not be completed in a short time, especially in terms of dispatching manpower. It is even more difficult - if I have done my best to protect Songjing from instability; if I let the ministers dispatch people in large numbers, I am also afraid that they will collude with the local nobles. Can your mother teach me?"
Queen Mother Mingji smiled happily, this child still believed in her after all.
Royal power corrupts human nature the most. In order to compete for power, it is not uncommon for fathers, sons, and mothers to fight each other. She took refuge in the harem and stopped meeting ministers except for important ministers' family documents, just to avoid this.
"My son, in the next ten years, the five southern provinces will probably be the scene of hundreds of battles. The most important thing is not the struggle for power, but the selection of strong soldiers and generals to guard the borders, and capable ministers and generals to coordinate in the middle. Only in this way can we deal with Chu's counterattack - otherwise , even if the five southern mansions are exchanged from General Lu, you probably won’t be able to defend it.”
The Empress Dowager Mingji was a tiger girl in the general family. Although she did not dare to train herself to get married, she was by no means a weakling. She also knew the art of war, strategy, and poetry.
Regardless of whether she was civil or military, Queen Mother Mingji was a first-class talent among all the women in the Wu Kingdom. She had already been famous, otherwise she would not have been given a marriage to her son by the old King Wu himself.
King Wu Ketu nodded repeatedly after hearing this.
Queen Mother Mingji pondered for a moment and then said: "Although your grandfather had bad intentions that day, he also managed to get it right. He left a large number of Wu elites in the five southern mansions. These people are in charge of key places and can be used by you.
As long as you have the cooperation of General Lu, it is not difficult for you to control the military power of the five southern provinces using both soft and hard tactics. However, you must be careful when dealing with the arrogant and powerful generals left by General Lu. General Lu must not interfere. Excuse. "
The State of Wu had long heard about Lu Wu's exercise of grace orders and military title system in the five southern mansions of Chu State, and Luo Gan, the father of Empress Dowager Mingji, personally went to the five southern mansions to preside over the army, so he knew the relevant situation clearly.
Lu Wu could be so willful because he was alone at the time, barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes. He didn't care what happened to the five southern mansions, as long as he could win over the military's morale. After winning the military's morale, coupled with Lu Wu's personal force, the southern As long as the nobles of the five mansions dare to jump, he dares to kill them.
But if Wu Guo takes over the Five Prefectures in the South, he must not continue Lu Wu's high-pressure policy.
Otherwise, not to mention the support of the local wealthy families, even the ministers of Wu State would not be able to accept it.
Everyone is here to share the peaches to eat. If everyone still eats according to Lu Wu's policy, it will be good if they can keep their own status.
Therefore, if Wu State wanted to successfully take over the five southern mansions, among other things, the arrogant generals with low-level backgrounds promoted by Lu Wu were the first stumbling block.
Not to mention a mutiny if one thing is not handled well, if that lunatic Lu Wu gets a twitch in his head and decides to seek justice for his old subordinates, who can bear it?
"What does mother mean?" Ke Tu was a little confused.
There was something in my mother's words, but I didn't know what it was.
Queen Mother Mingji did not show off to her son, she directly said:
"Everything is renewed with the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, and the new dynasty should have a new atmosphere. My son has been sitting on the throne of King Wu for half a year now. It should be possible to see who is loyal and who is a vegetarian, but is of noble birth but not useful. Such and so on If a person is placed in the five southern mansions, he will definitely have conflicts with those who come from humble backgrounds and hold high positions——"
When Ke Tu heard this, he suddenly realized: "When the time comes, I can use this reason to uphold justice. Not only will this corpse-like person be removed from the court, but I will also suppress the arrogant generals left by General Lu and control them. Military power——wonderful, your mother-in-law is really wise!"
Queen Mother Mingji was not happy at all when she heard her son flattering her.
This son is good at everything, but he is too kind. This is naturally a virtue among ordinary people, but it is not a good thing for him as the king of Wu.
But when Tu was happy, he saw his mother's face was a little gloomy. He quickly stopped his smile and asked, "Mother, did you say something wrong?"
"Alas, son, as the King of Wu, you must not be so merciful - the laws implemented by General Lu in the five southern prefectures are unethical and unacceptable to the whole country of Wu, so you must abolish General Lu's laws. "
"However, the morale of the military in the five southern provinces depends on this law. If this law is abolished without any reason, a mutiny is just around the corner. If you want to abolish this law, you must have absolutely sufficient reasons."
"Is there any reason why it can be compared to the heads of ten or eight important ministers of the state of Wu?"
Queen Mother Mingji said coldly.
Ke Tu was stunned on the spot.
Queen Mother Mingji had always been a strict mother in front of him, and she had never shown such vicious methods, which made King Wu Ketu unable to accept it.
"My son, looking back at that day, you went out of the city to meet General Lu in exchange for the sacred land of the Five Prefectures in the South. This seems to be a good thing - but if Lu Wu is really seriously injured, you will send him to his door. If he was used as a hostage and allowed to escape, what would the state of Wu look like now?"
"If he kills you cruelly, what will happen if the king of Wu changes over in just a few months? What should I do as a mother?"
"Son, how can a king take risks based on his personal preferences?"
Queen Mother Mingji's eyes were a little red as she spoke - of course, this was part of acting. After all, it had been so long, and even if Queen Mother Mingji was a little frightened, she would not be so scared that she would cry.
Ketu was supposed to comfort his mother, but these words made him very dissatisfied. He thought hard, found a flaw in his mother's words, and asked: "Mother, even if I kill some important ministers, I can use their heads to quell the mutiny." , but what should we do if those arrogant and powerful generals become powerful?"
"Hmph, you are still not convinced that you are soft-hearted and soft-hearted. Since you have even killed your own important ministers, you can naturally kill those arrogant and powerful generals. Who can say that you are not half-hearted. If General Lu comes forward to intercede, he will just send them all to By going to the five counties in the south of the Yangtze River, we not only eliminated hidden dangers, but also made good friends with General Lu, killing two birds with one stone.
Besides, who asked you to come forward after the mutiny? Naturally, someone would be sent to administer justice before the conflict intensified. "
Ke Tu was stunned.
He asked himself that he had been presiding over government affairs these days, and his heart had become deep. But who would have thought that his mother's idea would be so sinister and sinister.
Even my mother looks like this, so how sinister are the mountains, rivers and cities in the minds of the ministers of the court?
Ketu was doubting his life, when a palace attendant came to report: "I would like to inform you, Your Majesty, that the altar for worshiping heaven and earth has been built. Please come and review it in person."
Seeing someone coming, Queen Mother Mingji smiled slightly, with a graceful and noble look, completely ignoring the gloomy look on her face just now, and said: "It is a big matter to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and the king should indeed go and check it in person to avoid any changes on the spot. "
It would be fine to make an ordinary sacrifice to heaven and earth, it is just a show, but the matter of Feng Bo is not a trivial matter. It needs to activate the Jiuding and draw the will of humanity, so it must be presided over by the King of Wu himself.
King Wu Ketu is just a mortal body. It is only because he sits on the throne of King Wu and bears the hope of the world that he can activate the Nine Provinces Cauldron. However, it is also extremely difficult and requires the assistance of the formation in the royal palace. It is not Any means at your disposal.
The so-called 'personal inspection' is to check whether there are any errors or omissions in the formation arrangement on the altar, and whether it can help him activate the Kyushu Cauldron.
"Mother, the child will leave now." Ke Tu quickly left.
