Chapter 815 A Dream of Youth 347
That being said, King Zhao would still put in the effort to verify it; he wasn't that arrogant.
After the Prince of Pingyao left, King Zhao summoned his advisors to continue the discussion, toying with a small medicine bottle in his hand—the very poison that had caused the emperor's poisoning.
He had many informants, but there were only a few people in that room, so he couldn't know the specifics. He only knew that a physician had discovered the emperor's poisoning, but Jiang Yuanzheng, who had been taking care of the emperor for so long, hadn't noticed. The Empress Dowager thought that Jiang Yuanzheng was still needed, so she temporarily demoted him.
Prince Zhao found it strange. The medicine was clearly mixed into the clothes and was changed every day, so there was almost no possibility of it being discovered. After the emperor collapsed, he immediately ordered Consort Shu to stop taking the medicine. Logically speaking, it shouldn't have been discovered.
Besides Consort Shu, all the other palace servants involved were also executed on some pretext.
The reason might lie with Consort Shu.
"Does Your Highness suspect that Consort Shu leaked the secret?"
The advisor stroked his beard. Their plan was perfect. Only Consort Shu knew about it in the palace. Then, the emperor was so exhausted that he took the medicine.
Otherwise, the emperor wouldn't have fallen so quickly.
King Zhao did not speak, but he was suspicious. After all, strictly speaking, Consort Shu was not his person, but the person of the Prince of Pingyao, and her status was not low. Otherwise, she would not have been able to sit on the rank of consort.
It's more accurate to say that they suspect the Prince of Pingyao than the Consort Shu.
If it weren't for the support of Prince Zhao, the Prince of Pingyao's mansion would have been overgrown with weeds over the years, and he wouldn't have achieved his current glory.
King Zhao had also considered this point. He knew everything about the Prince of Pingyao, which was why he trusted him so much.
"Alright then, how's the Ministry of Works doing?"
"The latest batch of military equipment has been delivered to the main camp. In another day, the Fengzhao Army will be able to reach the capital, at which time it will be just the right time to suppress Li Yu."
Yu Tong plus Jin An is enough.
The Empress Dowager's power was still somewhat weaker than that of King Zhao. In this world, strength always prevails. It's just that King Zhao wanted to maintain his position, so he followed some rules.
It is said that history is written by the victors, but the world's voices cannot be silenced so easily. Moreover... what he is doing now is exactly what his imperial grandfather started.
He couldn't get any worse. It would be bad if some of his "unfilial descendants" followed his example, not to mention the consequences of the collapse of social order.
With the Empress Dowager's tacit approval, King Zhao ascended the throne smoothly, while the emperor, who was still on his sickbed, was made the retired emperor and became Emperor Jing. Since the goal had been achieved, King Zhao did not mind keeping one or two useless people around, because the most important thing at the moment was the Northern Jin army on the other side of the Yellow River.
The Northern Jin army was waiting for the Western Route Army, which was attacking Bingzhou, to join them, but Liu Yuanchang arrived in time and together with General Xu, they defeated the Northern Jin army.
The ammunition manufactured by Xie Ning played a significant role in this.
This forced the Northern Jin army on the western route to retreat to outside Shiling.
Taking advantage of this battle, Xu Hongying successfully led her troops to make a name for themselves. Xie Qi was in charge of logistics for her and acted as her strategist. In the end, General Xu also tacitly agreed to Xu Hongying's position as commander, and waited for the war to end before recommending her for merit.
Xu Hongying found it somewhat unbelievable. She hadn't expected that General Xu would actually not mind her being a woman. He not only gave her military power but also another army.
For Xu Hongying, this army was unfamiliar, and for this army, the name Xu Hongying was also unfamiliar, but the title of daughter of Xu Qianyue was not unfamiliar.
They were people who had once followed Xu Qianyue, and Xu Hongying was their young master.
However, Xu Qianyue's daughter and Xu Hongying are two different things. At first, they only followed Xu Hongying because she was Xu Qianyue's daughter and because of General Xu's orders. But as Xu Hongying led them to achieve military exploits, they finally recognized Xu Hongying's position as the leader.
The burly man who had stopped Xie Qi in front of the Xu residence for a duel couldn't help but lean closer to Xie Qi and ask, "Young master, what do you think of our general's current state?"
Xie Qi was pondering how to secure more benefits for his army when he heard the Han's question. He immediately straightened up and said, "That would be excellent."
But no matter how good it is, he should tell Xu Hongying himself; there's no point in telling others.
"Won't the son-in-law think this is inappropriate?" The man was rough and spoke directly.
Xie Qi immediately shook his head, “What’s wrong with that? Although there have been few female generals throughout history, they have not been absent. They were all exceptionally talented and praised in history books and sung by the people. If you could achieve the same level of success as them, I would be overjoyed.”
This was his honest opinion. Xie Qi felt that Xu Hongying, wielding a long spear and killing enemies on the battlefield, was more dazzling than ever. If there was anything wrong with her, it was that she was too easily injured.
Because the position of general under Xu Hongying requires risking one's life on the battlefield.
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