Chapter 839 Bargaining
Seeing Zhou Yuchang still crying with red eyes, Tang Ning whispered: "Besides, this incident is not the He family's fault. He Cheng didn't do anything excessive..."
"But he turned a blind eye and condoned the noble family, which was wrong!"
Zhou Yuchang is no longer the ignorant girl. After experiencing the wickedness of human nature, she can now see things in the court more clearly. She knows rationally that the He family has not done anything to help the aristocratic families, but she still cannot accept that they just sit on the sidelines and watch.
Seeing the angry expression, Tang Ning didn't know what to say. Madam Cui, who had hurried into the palace, looked at the crying girl from the Zhou family. She was not as calm as before when she saw the queen again. It was obvious that the letter sent back from the South had made her feel uneasy. She suddenly spoke:
"Empress, is the situation really that difficult right now?"
Madam Cui paused and lowered her voice, "Cui Yu has been trying to delay Min An and his men these past few days, but the Cui family is weak, and Cui Yu's influence is insignificant. Min An and his men simply don't take it seriously. Now, I'm afraid only the return of His Majesty can suppress them."
"Is His Majesty really trapped in Southern Qi? Can't you find a way to rescue him?"
Tang Ning looked exhausted. "I certainly want to rescue them, but Munan Pass was attacked, and General Yin was seriously injured. The commander guarding the southern border is from the Liang family. If Xiao Jinan and his son were not still there, they would have cut off Your Majesty's escape route long ago. But even so, the situation in Southern Qi is not optimistic."
"The various tribes of Western Xinjiang have made up for the ground previously lost by Southern Qi. General Xiao and his men are being held hostage by the Liang family. Now that the military warehouses in the south have been destroyed, I originally wanted to use the opportunity of escorting grain and money to deliver an imperial edict to the Xiao family father and son, asking them to take over Munan Pass. However, the official ship sank, and not only was the imperial edict lost, but the entire shipload of grain and money also sank to the bottom of the river.
As if thinking about Xiao Yan's predicament, Tang Ning's usually calm face couldn't help but reveal a bit of uneasiness, and his eyes were even red.
"Your Majesty has been trapped for half a month. If no reinforcements arrive..."
She clenched her palms and spoke in a low voice, which made Qian Qiyue and the other person beside her extremely panicked.
Madam Cui frowned, and spoke after a long pause, "Empress, please don't worry. His Majesty is blessed with great fortune, so he will be fine. I've already written to my brother, asking him to gather some food. If it's secretly sent to the southern border, it should temporarily alleviate the danger at Munan Pass."
Tang Ning suddenly looked up, and Qian Qiyue was also surprised: "You actually helped Aning?"
Madam Cui sighed softly, "The situation of the aristocratic families is already determined. I don't want to get involved in this matter, but I have no choice."
"The Cui family may still seem to be among the aristocratic families, but it has long been squeezed out by the other families. Moreover, I chose His Majesty and His Majesty early on, and even personally poisoned Cui Lin and his son. I then used the power of His Majesty and His Majesty to suppress the rest of the Cui family."
"They may have suspected how Cui Lin died. The Cui family members have long since stopped caring about us, mother and son. If anything happens to His Majesty and His Majesty, and the court truly returns to the days of the aristocratic families in power, not to mention that the Cui family is now weak and will likely become food for the other families, even the Cui family members themselves will not let us go."
Qian Qiyue and Zhou Yuchang were both shocked. They had known Madam Cui for many years and knew that she was the head of the Cui family now. However, they never expected that Cui Lin and his son, who were said to have died of illness, were actually poisoned to death by Madam Cui.
Madam Cui looked at Tang Ning and said, "Empress, I dared to give you minerals to help Your Majesty rise to prominence. Now I naturally don't want to see my efforts go to waste. Besides, my son will be in charge of the Cui family in the future. I will never allow the Cui family to fall into the hands of others."
Tang Ning's expression changed unpredictably: "Can your brother really deliver food and fodder?"
Madam Cui hesitated for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, could you please ask Madam Qian and the others to step aside for now?"
Upon hearing this, Qian Qiyue and the other knew that Madam Cui had something else to say to Tang Ning, so they took the initiative to leave and wait until there was no one else in the inner room.
Madam Cui then said, "Your Majesty, you should know that my mother's family is a prominent family in Yuanzhou. Yuanzhou is located between Southern Qi and Western Xinjiang. When the war with Southern Qi first broke out, my brother stockpiled a large amount of money and food for emergency use. Although that money and food is not as much as what the Empress sent to the South, it can still alleviate the urgent need at the South Pass."
"And to be honest, Madam, my brother has business dealings with several tribes in Western Xinjiang."
"Western Xinjiang is intervening in Southern Qi's war simply to exploit the opportunity for profit. If my brother can mediate and the court promises significant benefits, perhaps the danger at Munan Pass can be alleviated. Once the Western Xinjiang forces retreat, Southern Qi will naturally collapse, and General Xiao and his men will be able to rescue Your Majesty and help him escape."
Tang Ning stood up quickly: "Are you serious?"
Madam Cui said: "I would never dare to speak nonsense."
Tang Ning's expression changed. He paced back and forth for a moment before looking up at Madam Cui. "What do you and the Bai family want?"
Madam Cui said, "By helping the Empress like this, I am completely breaking with the aristocratic family. If they knew about this, no one in the Cui family would survive, and my mother's family would be implicated as well."
"I know, so your conditions." Tang Ning said in a deep voice.
Madam Cui said, "I want an imperial decree to confer the title of king. Regardless of the future status of the family, whether Your Majesty wins or loses in the court battle against them, my son will inherit the throne and his title will not be reduced for three generations. In addition, Yuanzhou, Jingzhou, and Anzhou will be designated as my son's fiefdom. The Bai family will be granted the title of marquis and a red letter of honor and iron scroll."
Tang Ning frowned. "Impossible. The vassal kings' rebellion has just ended. His Majesty will not agree to grant us a vassal. Moreover, the area you want covers almost half of the border between Wei and Western Xinjiang. If I really give it to you, it would be like giving the entire southwestern half of Wei to you and the Bai family."
Madam Cui was very calm. "But those places are already remote and desolate. Aside from Yuanzhou, the other two states are constantly harassed by tribes from the Western Frontier."
Tang Ning frowned.
Madam Cui advised, "Your Majesty, my brother and I are helping you, risking the lives of our entire clan. You must ensure that the Cui and Bai families receive adequate compensation. Otherwise, with the powerful aristocratic families now, who would be willing to take the risk to help you and Your Majesty?"
"Furthermore, in this situation, the aristocratic families are clearly taking advantage of the situation and will not give up. If Your Majesty cannot be rescued as soon as possible, how long do you think you can maintain your position in the capital? And how long can Your Majesty hold out now that he is trapped in the dangerous area of Southern Qi?"
"Don't forget, the war is raging in the northwest. If Southern Qi can't move its forces north, I'm afraid General Di's Zhen'an Army won't be able to hold out for long. Once Luoyan Pass is breached, Beiling will march straight in. Not only will the southwest and northwest, but even the entire Great Wei will fall into the hands of another country."
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