"Your Majesty, I have brought it," said Eunuch Liu, bowing his head.
"Bring him in," the cold voice from inside said again.
Qin Chuan followed Eunuch Liu into the Imperial Study and finally saw the Empress's true face.
The Empress stepped out from behind the bookshelf, dressed in casual clothes. Her long, cascading hair fell loosely down her back. Beneath the soft, gold-embroidered robe, the curves of her breasts were clearly visible, and beneath the thin, gold-threaded skirt, a pair of long, shapely legs could be faintly seen…
Qin Chuan felt like he was about to get a nosebleed; those long legs were enough for him to play with for three years...
Damn it, I shouldn't have had such evil thoughts; my head is more important.
"You are Qin Chuan?" The Empress sat on the dragon throne, her gaze intense.
"Your Majesty, I am Qin Chuan."
After regaining his composure, Qin Chuan bowed and spoke cautiously.
The Empress's cold, beautiful face swept over Qin Chuan again, and she said indifferently, "Your appearance is indeed unremarkable. Let's talk about poetry instead..."
"I have read all three of your poems... However, there is one question I do not understand..."
At this point, her tone suddenly turned icy, and she coldly retorted:
"I ask you! The shame of Jingkang has yet to be avenged... When did our dynasty ever have the reign title Jingkang?"
As soon as the Empress gave the order, more than a dozen imperial guards appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Qin Chuan. These eunuchs, though powerless, were all highly skilled. With just a word from the Empress, they could kill one or two people in an instant.
Seeing so many imperial guards surrounding him, Qin Chuan inwardly groaned.
Damn it, I'm just a poet, how would I know anything about reign titles!
But then she thought again, the Empress had summoned her to the capital from so far away, surely not to kill her.
Why go through all this trouble to kill yourself? You could have done it in Jiangzhou.
This is definitely a so-called imperial power tactic, the purpose of which is to give oneself a warning.
Having figured this out, Qin Chuan was no longer afraid and said loudly, "Our dynasty indeed does not have the reign title 'Jingkang.' I am merely using the past to illustrate my point, and I am using the reign title of the previous dynasty..."
"The previous dynasty?" The Empress paused slightly, then thought for a moment and said coldly, "The previous dynasty didn't have this reign title!"
"That was the reign title of the previous dynasty..." Qin Chuan continued to deceive.
"The previous dynasty didn't have this reign title either," the Empress said coldly and impatiently after calculating for a moment.
"That must be the reign title of the dynasty before that..."
"Enough!" the Empress shouted resolutely. "Qin Chuan, how dare you play tricks on me?"
"Your Majesty, I dare not. Perhaps I have misremembered the reign title," Qin Chuan said with an innocent expression.
"Alright," the Empress frowned, "what I want to talk to you about is not this matter of the reign title."
After standing up, the Empress turned her back to Qin Chuan and slowly paced back and forth...
Her voice was like a clear spring, carrying a faint trace of melancholy—
"Our great ancestor, Emperor Gao, swept across the eight directions, with dragons soaring and phoenixes dancing, establishing our great dynasty. Then came Emperor Taizong, with his civil and military achievements, creating a prosperous era. After that, Emperor Jing..."
Hearing this, Qin Chuan could no longer hold back and said, "Your Majesty, so what you're trying to say is...?"
Suddenly, a voice rang in my ears: "How dare you!"
Qin Chuan immediately shut his mouth and listened patiently to the Empress's speech.
But I couldn't help but think to myself: These people are really something. If you have something to say, just say it. Why do you have to start from Emperor Taizu? How long will it take?
It makes me sleepy just listening to it...
"I have heard that governing the country and managing its affairs should be based on astronomical principles..."
Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan perked up and said, "Alright, alright, we've finally gotten to your generation. Let's see what you have to say."
"Establishing official positions and assigning duties will then focus efforts on human relations... Matching names with reality has always been considered difficult, and the wisdom of the wise lies in this profound and endless process..."
Qin Chuan really didn't expect that after the Empress had said so much, she finally brought up himself and still had so much to say!
He wanted to curse, but for the sake of his own life, he held back.
The Empress rambled on and on for a long time before finally asking her last question:
"Qin Chuan, since you are so talented in poetry, what is your opinion on the current situation of great turmoil?"
Qin Chuan thought to himself, "Damn it, you talked a bunch of nonsense before, why didn't you just ask this directly? All that beating around the bush was making me sleepy..."
His face remained reserved, and after thinking for a moment, he spoke:
"Our main enemies are first the Xiongnu, then the Japanese pirates, and then the Da Jiang."
Unexpectedly, Qin Chuan's words clarified the primary and secondary issues. The Empress's eyes lit up immediately. Many ministers in the court had argued for a long time but could not explain the problem clearly. Unexpectedly, the person in front of her explained it clearly in one sentence.
He truly is a man of great talent!
"Please take a seat."
The Empress gave instructions to the eunuchs, her gaze fixed on a small red pearwood stool in the study.
This small stool is one of only two seats in the room.
Forget about the dragon throne.
With a single glance from the Empress, the imperial guards dispersed.
Qin Chuan sat on a small stool and continued:
"As the saying goes, the best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans; the next best is to disrupt their alliances; the next best is to attack their army; and the worst is to besiege their cities..."
At this point, the Empress interrupted him: "Wait."
The Empress pondered the phrase, "The best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting; the next best is to disrupt their alliances..." Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "Yes, that's exactly the point!"
"May I continue?" Qin Chuan asked.
The Empress sat back on her dragon throne, her phoenix eyes fixed on Qin Chuan: "Mr. Qin, speak quickly."
Unexpectedly, a few words were enough to pique the Empress's interest and even make her change her form of address. Qin Chuan was quite pleased and continued, "If Da Gan wants to unify the world, the most important thing to solve is the Xiongnu problem."
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