Chapter 19: First Steps in Layout
After taking off the Qianyang armor, he returned to the Qianyang Palace and saw the Queen and the Purple Guards were there.
When the purple guards saw him, they all bowed. The queen breathed a sigh of relief and walked over quickly, saying in a slightly reproachful tone, "Your Majesty, where have you been? You made me worried."
"The Qianyang Palace is too conspicuous, so Taizu asked me to hide somewhere else. Now that the invader has been killed by Taizu, I came back." Zhou An said.
"That's good. Does Taizu have any instructions?" the Queen asked immediately.
Zhou An took out a bunch of pills and secret manuals obtained from signing in and placed them on the table, saying: "These pills can increase internal strength by 10 to 30 years, and the martial arts are all rare earth-level skills. You should take some time to improve your cultivation recently. Purple Guard, you can distribute them, and find a way to improve the overall strength of the Purple Guard.
In the next period of time, these immortals, evil ways, and even demons may come, so it is better to let the Purple Guards stay in Kunning Palace." Zhou An said.
"I understand. I and the Purple Guards will stay in Qianyang Palace. The emperor's safety is the most important thing." Shangguan Rong did not look at the things on the table. Instead, she looked at Zhou An with a worried look on her face.
Zhou An smiled, took the queen down and said, "Grandmaster asked me to follow him in cultivation, so don't worry about me. Grandmaster will take care of the Sun Moon Universe Pearl, so you don't need to ask.
No. 7 Ziyi, go call Jinyiwei Commander Zhou Lingsha, and the two of you go call the left and right prime ministers to the imperial study. I have something important to announce."
"Yes." The three men in purple saluted and left immediately.
Shangguan Rong said: "Your Majesty, Shangguan Yuchen has been recalled by Shangguan, and the Shangguan family will give you an explanation. Shangguan Yu has been arranged to take over.
I think this is the biggest concession from the Shangguan family. We can’t push them too hard. Right now, our strength is not enough to compete with the entire Shangguan family system. We can only be patient for the time being.”
Zhou An nodded. This was just as he expected and there was nothing strange about it.
No. 7 Ziyi had been responsible for monitoring and protecting the emperor, so Zhou Ando was the most familiar with her. She used to wear leather armor and an iron mask. When he saw her for the first time, he took a second look at her.
The queen saw his look and suddenly said, "Your Majesty, there was a riot in the palace during the day. Your former concubines were either killed or participated in the rebellion. Now Your Majesty is alone with me. It is inevitable that there will be times when I cannot serve Your Majesty. It is better to select some more concubines to enter the palace."
Zhou An frowned. It was not that he didn't like beautiful women. He wanted to spend more time with the queen. Firstly, the queen was really beautiful, and she was at the sixth level of acquired cultivation and could use the Yin-Yang technique to improve her cultivation.
The queen was very observant, and seeing Zhou An's expression, she smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I want to expand the Purple Guard, but the selection of the Purple Guard must be strict. I will be very busy recently and cannot serve Your Majesty all the time.
Why don't you choose a few concubines from the Purple Guards? First, they can serve the emperor instead of me, and second, they can protect the emperor. Besides, the Purple Guards are the only ones you can trust now. If you choose from outside, there may be spies planted by outsiders.
Furthermore, if His Majesty does not have a concubine by his side, outsiders will think it is my fault, so please allow me, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Zhou An's eyes lit up. Each of the Purple Robe Guards had good cultivation bases, and the remaining ones were higher than Shangguan Rong's. They were perfect candidates for practicing the Yin-Yang technique.
He looked at the purple-clad guards around him. They were all wearing veils, so his expressions could not be seen clearly, but there was a hint of surprise in their eyes.
"Then let the queen choose. Let them decide for themselves. Don't force them." Zhou An glanced at the purple-robed guards in front of him with a curious look.
Shangguan Rong smiled and said, "You all heard it. Take off your veils and let the emperor see you. If you are willing to become his concubine, stand out."
The purple guards took off their veils, revealing shy looks. When they were asked to fight with others, these girls had no fear at all, but now they are as shy as young wives.
Zhou An nodded. Most of the Purple Guards had good looks, and some of them were very pretty, which made him look forward to it.
"Let's put this matter aside for now. The Queen and I will go to the imperial study." Zhou An said.
"yes."
They came to the imperial study under the protection of the Purple Guards. Not long after, Zhou Lingsha and the left and right prime ministers arrived. When they were all there, Zhou An said, "Tonight, four evildoers sneaked into the palace and tried to steal Taizu's treasures. Although they have been killed by Taizu, we have received news that more evildoers will come to Qianjing.
Lingsha, you recently asked the Royal Guards to monitor the entire city. Record the physical characteristics of anyone you think is suspicious. Don't follow them. You will only die in vain if you follow them.
You can test it in public when the time is right. This is probably your specialty."
"Yes, brother Emperor, I will promise to complete the task, hehe." Zhou Lingsha grinned evilly. She used to do this kind of thing to bully her brothers.
Zhou Di said worriedly: "Your Majesty, these people in the Xiantian realm come and go without a trace. In their eyes, we are just mortals. Emperor Taizu was helpless against these people back then. This time, we..."
"Don't worry, Zuo Xiang. Taizu has told me about this matter and he will handle it. I summoned you here tonight because I have something important to announce.
The Western Region voodoo issue concerns the safety of the country. The left prime minister is fully responsible for handling the Western Region voodoo situation. The court must fully cooperate with any problem, and the Zhenxi Army can be mobilized when necessary. "Zhou An said.
"Yes, I will do my best to fulfill your mission." Zhou Di immediately saluted.
"Right Prime Minister, the battle in the palace today will surely cause unrest among the officials in the court. You are the new head of the Shangguan family, and most of the officials in the court obey your orders. Now we need you to appease the officials and prevent any chaos."
As soon as Zhou An finished speaking, Shangguan Yu hurriedly said, "I dare not. I only know how to share the emperor's worries."
Zhou An smiled. The physiognomy written on the scroll of the Queen Mother of the West described Shangguan Yu as being similar to Heshen on Earth.
"The last thing, and the most important one, is that from today on, the Queen will attend court on my behalf. If there are any major events, the Queen will report them to me."
As soon as Zhou An finished speaking, Zhou Di immediately stood up and shouted in a very serious tone: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely not allowed. This goes against our ancestral family precepts."
Shangguan Rong and Shangguan Yu did not expect Zhou An to suddenly announce this matter. Shangguan Rong's eyes gleamed, but there was no expression.
Shangguan Yu glanced at Shangguan Rong, and also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this cannot be done. The Queen Mother's incident has just happened, and if the Queen replaces you in court, it will definitely cause unrest among the ministers."
Zhou An secretly laughed at Shangguan Yu's superficial efforts. He must have been very happy in his heart. As a result, the Shangguan family would definitely do their best to help stabilize the court during this period of time.
“This matter was personally instructed by Emperor Taizu. Emperor Taizu once said that without reaching the Xiantian realm, our Qianyuan Empire will not be able to last forever. This is the law of nature, and mortals cannot resist it.
The Empress Dowager's rebellion, witchcraft in the Western Regions, and the covetous eyes of neighboring countries were originally signs of the demise of the Qianyuan Empire. It was only because of the appearance of Emperor Taizu that the government was stabilized.
If Taizu changes the fate of the dynasty, it will definitely bring about a greater disaster. The entry of the evil Taoist into the palace this time is also a sign, so Taizu ordered me to follow him to practice. As long as we step into the innate mirror world and find the heavenly level skills, we can control the fate of the empire.
Taizu has observed in recent days that the Empress has handled things properly and has a good sense of the overall situation, so he allowed the Empress to attend court on my behalf temporarily.
Combined with the talents of the left prime minister and the connections of the Shangguan family, this is enough to support this country."
Zhou An's words made Zhou Di sigh deeply. Originally, the ancestral precepts were the biggest obstacle, but now that Taizu had given the order, it was no longer a problem.
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Shangguan Yu also felt mixed emotions. When did winning people's hearts become a skill to assist the country? If it were in the past, he would have definitely been destroyed by the emperor.
Shangguan Rong then stood up and said, "I will never let down the emperor and Taizu's high hopes."
Zhou An smiled and gently patted the queen's hand and said, "I believe you have the ability."
"Left Prime Minister, I know that all the neutral officials in the court support you. Now with the addition of the Right Prime Minister's faction, the only one left is Jiang Xian's lineage. I wonder if the Left Prime Minister has any way to convince Jiang Xian's faction to agree to let the Queen attend the court?" Zhou An asked.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Di said with an embarrassed look, "I already have contacts with Jiang Xian, and the ministers of his faction also want to join me.
A few days ago, Jiang Xian publicly announced that he would marry his granddaughter to me. This girl is both talented and beautiful, steady and generous, and I really like her. If the emperor grants the marriage, I will be able to stabilize Jiang Xian's faction and make his ministers join me. In this way, no one will dare to object to the Queen's attendance at court."
Zhou An was surprised and frowned slightly. Jiang Xian betrayed him and tried to kill him. Jiang Xian's family had no intention of letting him go. Shangguan Rong was also trying to find a way to get rid of Jiang Xian's family.
Now the Shangguan family has begun to take action and started to gradually attack the Jiang family. The Jiang family has also gathered all the independent cultivators in the family and contacted people from their own faction to fight back.
Zhou Di also understood this and said quickly: "Your Majesty, the Jiang family will certainly die if they rebel, but the Jiang family is backed by the Kuishui Palace, whose master is a late sixth-level Xiantian cultivator. If all the Jiang family members are killed, I'm afraid the Kuishui Palace will not sit idly by.
I believe that all those who participated in and knew about the incident of the Jiang family should be beheaded, while the disciples who had close ties with the Kuishui Palace do not need to be held accountable. They are already outsiders and have nothing to do with court affairs, so they should not be held accountable any further.
It would also be good to stabilize the officials of the Jiang family faction. After all, officials from their faction account for 30% of the officials in Qianjing, and each of them has intricate ties with small and medium-sized sects.
Now they have the intention to get close to me, so this is a good opportunity."
Zhou An smiled and said, "Okay, then let's do as the Left Prime Minister wishes. Queen, prepare some writing materials for me. Uh...it's still the Queen who should write the imperial edict."
Zhou An thought that even his penmanship looked like scribbles and his calligraphy was too disgraceful to look at, so he asked the queen to write for him.
The Queen was thinking that the Emperor had asked her to become familiar with writing imperial edicts, so she was naturally very happy.
Zhou An concluded from the art of being an emperor that in order to stabilize the court, he must maintain a balance between the various factions so that he can remain in power as the emperor. Otherwise, with his current strength, he may be eliminated at any time.
In addition, with the mysterious Emperor Taizu around, these people have to think carefully no matter how ambitious they are, unless they are sure they can deal with Emperor Taizu.
However, the fact that Emperor Taizu lived for three hundred years, coupled with his recent strong return, is enough to make them worry whether there is an immortal sect or some powerful person supporting Taizu.
That's why the Shangguan family is so obedient at the moment, serving Zhou An at his beck and call, and dare not neglect him in the slightest.
The same goes for the Queen. She has witnessed Taizu's power with her own eyes. He can even kill those evil people with one blow. If she has any improper thoughts, she might be killed with one blow at any time.
What's more, Zhou An allowed her to attend court, which made her happy. It could even be said that this was the most satisfactory situation at the moment. She was already satisfied and would never dare to take the risk of following the empress dowager's example to control the emperor or even proclaim herself emperor.
Soon an imperial edict was completed, and Zhou An would personally arrange for someone to deliver it to the original Jiang Mansion.
After all this was arranged, the two ministers left with full of thoughts.
Zhou An and the Queen went back to Qianyang Palace, ready to rest and sleep. But when Zhou An entered the bedroom after bathing and wearing a nightgown, he saw the Queen and three beautiful women standing by the bed in seductive underwear waiting for him.
One of them he recognized was Purple Guard No. 7.
The Queen smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the three commanders of the Purple Guard are willing to become your concubines. Your Majesty, do you mind if they all serve you together? I heard that you have no problem facing more than a dozen concubines."
Seeing these purple-robed guards, who were feared by the ministers in the court, now showing a shy look, Zhou An was really full of anticipation and joy. He walked over with a loud laugh, and he estimated that this time his internal strength could be greatly improved.
(End of this chapter)
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