Chapter 325: Building a Women's Army

Upon hearing the news, Empress Sun was so angry that she could no longer maintain her usual gentle and dignified image. She summoned the prince's staff and her father to the palace to discuss the matter overnight.

"Is he going to rebel?"

Duke Jingguo frowned and tapped his fingers on the coffee table.

Several of the prince's aides were furious and accused Mu Junyan of having bad intentions.

Empress Sun listened for a long time but didn't see them come up with any rules, so she was very angry.

"Father, please say something."

Duke Jing paused, stroked his beard, and said slowly: "The mine was previously managed by the Mu family army, and they were not happy after we took it back. Besides, such a big thing happened at the mine, and I heard that people died. The officials sent there didn't understand mining affairs and couldn't handle it. The Mu family army took the opportunity to take it back. What do you think we can do?"

Empress Sun was stunned.

"You mean the Mu family army is still right?"

Duke Jing looked at her and said, "Be patient."

Empress Sun was choked with anger. She had lost her patience due to the Emperor's affairs in the past few months.

When the staff heard Duke Jingguo say this, they immediately made the same remarks, saying that the Mu family army was currently very strong, and the emperor's physical condition was unclear, so they needed to take a long-term view to avoid pushing him too hard, which would lead to desperate measures.

Empress Sun was so angry when she saw this group of fence-sitters.

"My father planned to seize the southern border mineral deposits in order to control the Mu family army's weapon forging. Now they have taken it back. Isn't it obvious that they want to make weapons? Isn't this a crime?"

Duke Jing sighed, "We must have a legitimate reason for what we do, so as not to cause discussion among the people. After all, the crown prince must inherit the throne legitimately."

Empress Sun still didn't understand: "They have already seized the mines. Isn't this a good opportunity?"

"But His Majesty allowed Prince Yong to run his own business, didn't he? The military pay and food were all provided by the Mu family army themselves, and the court did not give them money. Prince Yong also took the taxes from southern Xinjiang himself. The mineral deposits originally belonged to the Mu family army, and they now send the mineral deposits to the court on time. If we use this reason to accuse him of treason, what if he really rebels?"

The staff immediately said, "Duke Jing is right. His Majesty said that he is not feeling well and allowed the Crown Prince to govern the country, but the memorials still need to be submitted, and the imperial seal is still in His Majesty's hands. Now His Majesty's Funing Palace is tightly closed, not even a mosquito can fly in. At this critical moment, it is better to be cautious."

"Yes, yes, we have to protect the prince's reputation, lest all our efforts go to waste."

The Queen gasped with rage.

Finally, he thought for a while and said, "Then you can find a few ministers to submit a memorial to confer the title of king on father and the founding duke. We must form a three-way balance of power. In addition, the fourth son is the only legitimate son of the founding duke left. Please also help him to be conferred the title of crown prince. Let the Yuan family be grateful to us. In this way, we can compete with the Mu family army."

Duke Jing nodded: "That's feasible. Once you are crowned a king, the number of soldiers in the palace will increase. We can also train more of our loyal soldiers."

The staff echoed this.

"Support a few more military generals in the court."

"Yes, yes. No matter how powerful the Mu family army is, it is impossible to deal with a million soldiers and horses."

The queen said gloomily, "Okay, when the time is right, we must get rid of Prince Yong!"

…

Zhou Zhilan felt better and rushed to the palace to find Gu Huan.

Gu Huan had just finished meeting with the stewards and servants in the meeting room. When she saw her, she smiled and said, "Last night, Ziyuan and I said that we would go to my sister to discuss important matters this morning, but you came here by yourself."

Zhou Zhilan patted her chest and said, "I am as strong as an ox now. Why don't you hurry up and do your job? Otherwise, the princess will think I am lazy and give my position as the female steward to someone else. That would be bad."

Gu Huan smiled, took her arm and walked towards Fulu Hall.

Zhou Zhilan was surprised and asked in a low voice: "Didn't you say you reconciled? Why are you still living in Fulu Hall?"

"What's the point of reconciliation? It's all for show."

Zhou Zhilan immediately felt guilty: "Don't give me the cold shoulder anymore. Husbands and wives should talk it out if there's anything wrong. Don't get into conflicts over irrelevant people and things."

Gu Huan looked at her seriously: "Sister is also my closest relative, you are not an irrelevant person."

Zhou Zhilan's eyes were slightly red: "It's my fault for not being strong enough. What you said that day woke me up. Women can do many things and don't have to care about that little thing."

Gu Huan knew that she said this out of heartache.

She also endured a lot of bad looks from people.

After all, people all over the world regard a woman's chastity as more important than her life, and everyone believes that if a woman loses her chastity, she should die.

The two of them walked into Fulu Hall while talking.

Dongqing had already brought some snacks over and made a pot of good tea. The two of them leaned against the window, watching the children playing in the yard not far away and chatting slowly.

Zhou Zhilan looked at Tuantuan and her eyes became red again. It was so nice to have children.

She retracted her gaze and said, "I will be back to work tomorrow. Thank you for your hard work during this period."

"Sister, I want to find you today just to discuss something with you. I want Dong Qing to take over your affairs."

Zhou Zhilan was anxious: "I'm fine, I'm not afraid of being tired, and my body is fine now."

Dong Qing was also startled: "This servant...is this not possible?"

Gu Huan glanced at Dong Qing and said, "You can do it."

Zhou Zhilan's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Gu Huan didn't want her to interfere in the affairs of the palace?

"I, I can teach Holly how to manage things. Just give me something to do, otherwise I'll be too idle."

Gu Huan smiled and turned back to tell Dong Qing: "All of you go down."

After Dong Qing and the others had all left, Gu Huan told Zhou Zhilan everything that had happened recently.

"Sister, I can't just rely on Ziyuan and the Mu family army. We women have to do something too. The people in the palace are all old, and we need more young helpers. I plan to pick some girls who can read from the nursing home and the orphanage to come to the palace and let them learn to manage the housework. Some will also be trained to do business."

Gu Huan held up her head and said, "I think the scout camp can spy on military intelligence, and so can women. Moreover, women have their own conveniences, and they may not be worse than men."

Zhou Zhilan's eyes lit up when she heard this: "You train people not just for use in the palace?"

Gu Huan's eyebrows curved, "Hmm. Have you ever heard of someone who specializes in the know-it-all business? I want to train a group of good inner-house hands and place them in the mansions of various cities in Southern Xinjiang. There are also several prefectures near Southern Xinjiang. Some of them can work in the mansions, or open shops to do business. For example, rouge and powder shops, ready-made clothing shops, these are the places that officials' wives like to visit. What do you think, are the secrets of the inner-house the best information? The way to obtain information may not be better than having a powerful scout."

Zhou Zhilan's eyes widened: "Oh my God, you've thought of this?"

Gu Huan said confidently: "Because Ziyuan wants to do great things, naturally I can't fall behind. I have to be a good wife and help him."

Zhou Zhilan gave her a thumbs up: "That's amazing. I really admire you."

Gu Huan grabbed Zhou Zhilan's hand and said, "Sister, you still have more powerful things to do."

"What?" Zhou Zhilan's eyes widened.

"Once you have trained Dongqing and the others, you can leave them in the palace on the pretext of recuperating and serving your husband. We will recruit female soldiers and train a female guard team as powerful as you."

"Ah, I've thought of that before!"

Zhou Zhilan was so excited that she almost jumped up.

"I mentioned this to my lord when I was in the army, but he was too busy to take care of it, and I couldn't do it on my own. Now, with your support, this thing will definitely succeed."

Gu Huan also smiled happily: "I have thought about this for a long time. I discussed it with Ziyuan last night. It works. Many women in our southern border can work, go up the mountain to chop wood, do farm work, and hunt. If the family is poor, their daughters can become female soldiers and receive monthly wages, which will reduce the burden on the family."

"Okay, okay, this is good."

Gu Huan smiled and lowered her voice, "Sister, do you know that Zhou Chunyu has been in the military camp recently? He is actually working as a trainer for new recruits."

Zhou Zhilan's eyes widened: "He didn't even tell me."

"He's afraid you'll worry."

Gu Huan clapped her hands excitedly: "You two are already powerful generals. It's a waste of your talents to be confined in this world of the palace."