Chapter 75 The weather is getting colder, and the Northern Kingdom should be destroyed...

The fighting outside was so intense that the world was in chaos.

There was peace in Jingchang City, and everyone even started to make preparations for the New Year.

The New Year's Eve is very important. On that night, people worship their ancestors and pray for the gods' favor. They also hold various exorcism ceremonies to drive away the evil spirits that people have carried with them throughout the year.

Anyway, it is a very lively festival and very important.

All kinds of lanterns are hung in Jingchang City. After the New Year, there will be a lantern festival lasting fifteen days. The bustling atmosphere will continue until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, when it will completely die down.

This is a new addition to the excitement in the past two years. It didn't exist in the past because there was no suitable paper to make lanterns. Other materials were not light-transmissive enough, and there were no extra wicks.

Shen Zhiwei asked Baigongfang to develop some wax. This wax is secreted by wax insects on trees. It is relatively rare, but better than oil lamps. Put a little bit in each lantern and burn it for three to five nights. The main thing is that the lantern festival can stimulate consumption and has high economic value, which can completely cover the consumption of this little wax.

Shen Zhiwei put on the clothes of a noble girl and played on the street with a dozen servants and guards. This scene was not outstanding at all. There were no telling how many people like her were on the street.

If she wore common people's clothes, her fair skin and tender flesh would show that she was not used to working, and it would be easy to be exposed, so she could only wear aristocratic clothes. However, it was very dangerous for an aristocrat to travel without a dozen people around him.

People who hate the rich are not unique to modern times, and people who can't live and become antisocial are not unique to modern times. There are even more of them nowadays. Otherwise, why would groups like knights have such a bad reputation? It's because a considerable number of them have actually done illegal things.

After having enough fun, Shen Zhiwei found a restaurant to rest. The first floor was already crowded. Fortunately, there were separate private rooms on the two floors above. Shen Zhiwei asked for one and went upstairs with her maids and guards. The others took their things and sent them back for the time being, and would come back to pick her up and return to the palace later.

After sitting for a while, someone knocked on the door.

Yanxia opened the door and Wen Tao and her junior sister Qiong Yu were standing outside.

Qiong Yu was going to Yongming after the New Year, and the two sisters happened to have some free time, so they came out for a walk together, with a lot of people following them.

When they were on the street, they saw Shen Zhiwei. Since they had met, they had to say hello.

Shen Zhiwei didn't chase the two away, but asked them to come into the house and rest.

"The commercial street is extremely busy tonight, and there aren't many private rooms left in the restaurant. I'll be leaving soon, so this is for you sisters to rest."

The king has said that it would be bad to refuse, so the two men responded and went into the house to sit down obediently.

The three of them actually don't have much personal connection. Shen Zhiwei has been in the palace all the time, and the people who spend the most time with her are actually the palace maids. She has a better relationship with Yanxia, ​​and sometimes they would talk about some gossip. As for Wen Tao, Qiongyu, they are Shen Zhiwei's subordinates, and every time they meet, they talk about the business of the court.

There is basically no private communication.

However, everyone has worked together for many years, especially Wen Tao, who was one of the first people Shen Zhiwei came into contact with after coming to this world. To Shen Zhiwei, she had a different meaning.

So now sitting here, Shen Zhiwei is also willing to chat with Wen Tao about family matters.

Let's talk about Wen Shao first. Ever since Wen Shao resigned from his official position and returned to his hometown, Shen Zhiwei hasn't heard anything about this old man. She only heard that Wen Shao went back to the Wen family's land to teach. Shen Zhiwei sighed that the old man's teaching level was very high, and in the future, the Wen family would have a group of young leeks for her to harvest.

Wen Tao said that Wen Shao was doing well, healthy and strong as an ox. He also promoted Shen Zhiwei's previous pig-raising method in the Wen family. This year, he killed the New Year pig. He personally presided over the pig-killing ceremony and offered the pig's head to the ancestors, hoping that the ancestors would bless the Great Zhou with good weather and the people would be safe.

When Shen Zhiwei heard this, his expression became a little strange.

Did Wen Shao personally preside over the pig-slaughtering ceremony? That would be really down-to-earth. Wouldn't the old man be pushed away by the pig?

Hearing that Wen Shao could still offer sacrifices to his ancestors, Shen Zhiwei thought it was no big deal.

"The method of raising pigs should be promoted everywhere, but my method is not suitable for areas with food shortages. Please do not force the common people to raise pigs."

Shen Zhiwei seemed to be saying it casually, but Wen Tao immediately became serious and said that the Wen family would never do anything to force common people.

Some nobles thought that raising cattle, sheep, pigs and other animals was too dirty, so they would force the common people who rented noble land to raise them on their behalf. They would provide a certain amount of food, but overall, the common people had to pay more, and they had to spend time and effort. In the end, if they raised the animals well, there was no reward, and if they raised them poorly, it was all the common people's fault.

If the nobles want to cause trouble for the common people, they only need an unreasonable excuse. Shen Zhiwei doesn't want to see his method of raising pigs become one of the excuses for oppressing the lower classes.

As they chatted, the topic shifted from family matters to the general situation in the world.

There's no way around it. There's really not much to talk about with colleagues at work. Whether it's Shen Zhiwei or Wen Tao, they devote most of their energy to work all day long. They're tired of hearing about things going on at home, and when they're not working, they just want to rest.

Moreover, they are not particularly old and don't have so many trivial matters to talk about. Instead of awkward conversations, it is better to explore areas that everyone is familiar with. In this way, Qiong Yu, who is serving as a background board, can also say a few words.

"The war in the North has temporarily stopped, but it will surely resume after the New Year. Your Majesty, when do you think it would be best for our people to enter the battlefield?"

Wen Tao and Shen Zhiwei mentioned this topic before. Shen Zhiwei said to wait and see in the later stages, and now it is already in the later stages.

No matter how much they fight, the princes will not miss the spring plowing time, so this war is destined to end before the spring plowing time.

"Yongming is closer to Fengbao. When do you think it's appropriate to take action?"

Hu Youan is still stationed near Yongming, and she will lead the troops if any action is to be taken.

Fengbao City in the north is relatively south. In terms of straight-line distance, Yongming is closer, while Jingchang is farther away.

Qiong Yu didn't expect that she was qualified to speak. She was stunned for a moment, but then quickly reacted, organized her words, and made a judgment on the timing.

"In my humble opinion, the General of the Central Army should mobilize his troops immediately after the fifteenth day and march towards the Northern Kingdom. Using the ten cities previously captured as a base, he can then expand outward into the northern lands. If all goes well, he might be able to conquer the Northern Kingdom before the spring plowing season."

Qiong Yu said this very smoothly, and it was obvious that she had thought about it many times in her mind.

Shen Zhiwei didn't expect that this person was also a top-tier roll king. Before he even took office, he had already figured out the situation and even began to anticipate what would happen in the future and made judgments in advance.

Is it true that they were from the same school? They were as rigorous as if they were cast in the same mold.

Shen Zhiwei thought of Bian Xiao, one of the unknown county governors in Bian, and felt that this had nothing to do with the inheritance of his master. It was probably simply due to the personalities of the two people in front of him.

"Well, I'll make the arrangements according to your judgment when the time comes. When you leave Jingchang, I'll personally write a royal decree, and you'll give it to You'an, asking her to act accordingly."

“Here!”

Qiong Yu is young after all, and she can't hide her excitement when facing the king's favor. In the eyes of outsiders, her weight is completely different whether she takes office with the king's order or without the king's order.

With the king's order, she is a favored minister of the king. Without it, she is just an ordinary person.

With this royal order, she could gain a foothold in Yongming sooner.

It was getting late, so Shen Zhiwei stopped talking. She had things to do early tomorrow morning.

She couldn't have any free time during the Chinese New Year. There was no other way. At the end of the year, there were so many big and small things to do, and no one else in the royal family could help her. She had to do them one by one by herself.

Last year, Empress Dowager An helped her with some things. But after winter this year, Empress Dowager An closed her door and refused to see visitors, saying that she had caught a cold and needed to recuperate.

She was indeed not too young in this era. When Shen Zhiwei heard that it was for health preservation, she did not force her to work together. The situation in Anguo was not good, and the Queen Mother An was probably not in a good mood either.

Although the relationship between Empress Dowager An and Anguo was average, Anguo was Empress Dowager An's hometown and her support. If Anguo was really destroyed one day, like Bianguo, her life as Empress Dowager An would also become worse.

Shen Zhiwei sincerely thought that Empress Dowager An was in poor health, but on the first day of the Lunar New Year, she was slapped in the face.

The people who had followed Queen Mother An before - Ju Yan and Bo You - are now considered Gui Yang's retainers. When Gui Yang was in Yongming City before, they followed her to Yongming. Now that Gui Yang wants to stay in Jingchang, they naturally came back from Yongming and continue to serve their master.

Having returned before the New Year, visiting relatives and friends was a must during the New Year. In addition, this time they were back, they would stay in Jingchang for a longer period of time. The two of them intended to get closer to their original network of contacts, so they held a grand banquet during the New Year and invited their old acquaintances to eat and drink to their heart's content.

Almost all the people they were familiar with worked under Empress Dowager An.

That group of people were not as capable as Juyan Boyu, and they were not very careful with their words. Juyan Boyu often heard them complain that Empress Dowager An was becoming more and more difficult to serve, and that she would lose her temper at any time. They, as her retainers, were having a miserable life.

If you can find a male favorite that the empress dowager likes, your life will be a little better. If you don't have that ability, the empress dowager will scold you at will and you will lose face.

Juyan Boyu could even hear some hatred in the mouths of his former colleagues. They had followed Empress Dowager An to Jingchang not without any motives, but now with the death of Empress Dowager An's own son, they had completely lost all hope of what they wanted, and they had to suffer torture every day, which was unbearable for anyone.

But they did not dare to disrespect Empress Dowager An, and only dared to say a few words in private to vent their anger.

If you talk too much, you can't control your mouth.

So they talked about the ridiculous things that Empress Dowager An had done.

Empress Dowager An said that she was recuperating in Xia Jing Palace after winter, but in fact, she was not recuperating her body but recuperating her fetus.

After Shen Zhiwei heard this, her expression didn't change much, just like when she heard that her neighbor was pregnant.

Shen Zhiwei had been prepared for the fact that Empress Dowager An would get pregnant. Empress Dowager An often indulged in affairs of love with her male favorites and had no contraceptive measures. It was difficult for her to get pregnant now.

"Your Majesty! This matter..."

Yanxia was startled when she heard this, and subconsciously looked at Shen Zhiwei's expression. When she met Shen Zhiwei's calm eyes, she suddenly came to her senses.

Empress Dowager An is not Shen Zhiwei's biological mother, so it is normal for Shen Zhiwei to have no reaction. She is not worried that someone will steal her mother's love. Haha, there is no mother's love at all.

In addition, the former King of Zhou had been dead for several years, so if this matter were to be spread, it would not cause much stir.