After traveling all the way back to the capital, Zhang Hulan immediately informed Xie Bangwen, and then the two families met together for two meals.

Old Man Zhang and Mrs. Wang were very satisfied after seeing Xie Xiaoman, and then they set a time to propose marriage.

However, Zhang Xiaojun and Xie Xiaoman are still young, probably sixteen and fifteen respectively, so they have to wait two years before getting married.

After Zhang Xiaojun's marriage was arranged, Zhang Hulan started to busy herself with her work.

When the weather gets a little warmer, potatoes and peppers can be planted, and grain seeds can also be planted in the fields.

After Qin Bingrong returned to the capital, he never mentioned his intention to marry Zhang Hulan again. While he was busy with government affairs, he also had to work with the Ministry of Industry on movable type printing and arrange for staff to join the newspaper in the future.

Queen Ye is also busy, and she is responsible for all the newspaper matters.

Emperor Yongxing and Duke Wei did not return to the capital until March, and they brought a Tibetan with them.

As soon as Emperor Yongxing returned, he summoned all the ministers to discuss matters.

This time the three of them went to the southwestern border of Yongning State. The border was not peaceful. After the New Year, Tubo suddenly had a civil strife. When Emperor Yongxing arrived at the border, he happened to see many Tubo people outside the border who wanted to flee into Yongning State.

Another Tibetan envoy found the border guard and wanted to go to Beijing to ask Emperor Yongxing for help, so Emperor Yongxing took the Tibetan envoy back to Beijing.

In the court, Emperor Yongxing asked his ministers, "My dear ministers, many Tibetan nobles have risen up in arms and want to divide up the Tibetan royal family. Should we send troops to help them or let them kill each other?"

Wu Bangtai spoke first, "Your Majesty, has Tubo said anything about what benefits we will get if we send troops? We can't help for nothing, right?"

The first thing the Minister of Revenue cares about is money. Sending troops will definitely consume a lot of manpower and material resources, and a business that loses money must not be done.

Emperor Yongxing said: "The Tibetan envoy said that if we send troops to help, the Tibetan king is willing to pay 5 million taels of silver, and they will also provide all the supplies needed by the army. They will also pay for the pensions of the soldiers who died in the battle, 30 taels of silver for each soldier."

Qin Bingrong said, "Your Majesty, has Tibet said how many troops it needs us to send? What is Tibet's current situation? How many troops do the several noble forces have? How many troops can the Tibetan royal family mobilize?"

Qin Bingrong asked four key questions in a row.

Duke Wei said: "That's right, we need to know this information before making a decision. We can't send troops blindly."

Many court officials echoed, "Lord Qin and Duke Wei are absolutely right. We should not send troops blindly."

Minister of Rites Lu Bingzhong said, "Your Majesty, there is no need for us to intervene in the internal strife in Tubo. Let them fight. This way we can reap the benefits."

What Lu Bingzhong said made sense, and some court officials echoed him, "Lord Lu is right, let's just watch them fight."

Generally speaking, it is the military generals who want to send troops, but the civil officials who do not want to.

This matter would not be resolved in a short period of time, so Emperor Yongxing threw the problem to the court officials and asked them to discuss and come up with a result first.

He hadn't even had time to catch his breath when he returned. He left the court officials to discuss the matter here and went to Queen Ye.

At this time, Zhang Hulan was with Queen Ye. Queen Ye summoned Zhang Hulan into the palace and asked him about some specific business matters of the newspaper.

Seeing Emperor Yongxing coming over with a tired look on his face, Empress Ye immediately ordered the palace maid, "Go and prepare hot water for the emperor to bathe."

When Emperor Yongxing saw Zhang Hulan here, he waved his hand and said, "No hurry."

Emperor Yongxing then looked at Zhang Hulan and asked, "Lord Zhang, I have something I want to hear your opinion on."

Emperor Yongxing knew that it was inappropriate to ask a woman about state affairs or war, but he thought of the differences between Zhang Hulan and other women, so he wanted to know what Zhang Hulan thought.

Zhang Hulan hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, please ask."

Emperor Yongxing said, "There is a rebellion in Tubo right now. Several nobles want to divide up the Tubo royal family. The Tubo king wants me to send troops to help. Do you think I should send troops?"

Zhang Hulan said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I dare not speak carelessly on such an important matter."

Emperor Yongxing waved his hand and said, "It's okay. I'm not asking you to make the decision. I just want to hear your opinion. Just say whatever you think. The ministers in the court are discussing this matter now."

If you just want to hear my method, that's fine. Zhang Hulan said, "Your Majesty, if it were me, I would definitely send troops, but I would wait until they are almost done fighting, so that we can effectively consume Tubo's national strength.

But sending troops also depends on the specific situation of Tubo, and we also need to determine whether Tubo is really in rebellion. What if Tubo is setting up a trap?"

"Set up a trap?" Emperor Yongxing was suddenly stunned. "You mean that Tubo set up a trap to lure our army in, and then..."

Zhang Hulan nodded, "This price is a bit high, but it is not impossible, so we must investigate it thoroughly.

And as far as I know, Tubo is to the west of Yongning State, and to the north is grassland, so the two sides are bordering each other.

If the grasslands collude with Tubo, it will be a big trouble for Yongning Kingdom.

Although this possibility is small, we must think about the worst case scenario, so that even if an accident occurs, we will not panic. "

Emperor Yongxing stood up from his chair and walked out quickly.

After walking a few steps and then retreating, he ordered, "Go and call Qin Aiqing, Duke Wei, and Wu Aiqing, Marquis Jing'an."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The chief eunuch immediately went back to the main hall to call for people, and soon, Qin Bingrong and others were brought over.

Emperor Yongxing told them what Zhang Hulan had just said, and Qin Bingrong and the others were a little frightened.

The possibility Zhang Hulan mentioned is very small, but we cannot help but be on guard against it.

Qin Bingrong said: "Your Majesty, it seems that we need to be more careful about this matter. Let's delay it for now and immediately send people to Tubo and the grassland to inquire about the situation."

Duke Wei said, "If it is true as niece Zhang said, then we must prepare for war with Tubo and the grasslands, and we must recruit soldiers immediately."

Emperor Yongxing nodded, and then said to Marquis Jing'an: "Marquis Jing'an, you should immediately arrange for people to go to Tubo and the grassland to gather information.

We need to investigate whether there are any unusual movements of troops on the grassland.

There is also civil unrest in Tubo, let's see if they are really fighting.

If there is only intense fighting but not many casualties, it goes without saying that they are acting.”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Marquis Jing'an took the order and immediately went to make arrangements.

Emperor Yongxing said to Qin Bingrong: "Qin Aiqing, arrange the conscription, but do not conscript troops in the capital, west or north to prevent discs."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Lord Wu, the Ministry of Revenue must ensure that all needs for the army's deployment and large-scale war are met."

"I obey your order!"

Emperor Yongxing finally looked at Duke Wei and said, "Duke Wei, be prepared to fight at any time."

"I obey your orders, old minister!"