The autumn is getting colder, but the house is as warm as late spring. It is still dark in the morning, and a white jade bone porcelain double-headed incense burner with a unicorn pattern on the table has long been extinguished, leaving only a faint fragrance lingering in the air.
After half a night of intense fighting, Minglan, though utterly sleepy, opened her eyes early. Curling up like a bamboo shrimp, she emerged from the man's arms, segment by segment, and sat on the bed, hugging the quilt, staring blankly at him. Her bare, light brown arms, her skin smooth and strong, her long neck slightly bent, her thick, black hair covering the headboard, revealing a vibrant vitality. Her high nose sunk deeply into the soft quilt, emitting a faint, snorting sound.
Seeing him sleeping so soundly, Minglan felt a little jealous.
This guy is like a wild male animal with strong survival ability. Sometimes he is extremely alert and will wake up on his own at the slightest noise, without even the need for an alarm clock; but if he is sure that he can sleep soundly, he can fall asleep and lose consciousness in three seconds.
There were several times when he was extremely tired after riding in the military camp during the day and was still talking to Minglan. When Minglan turned around, she found that he had fallen asleep and could not wake him up even if she pinched his nose.
Minglan stared at his handsome profile, his stubborn and resolute jaw, lost in thought. Not long after their marriage, she realized that Gu seriously lacked faith in those in power.
When he was escorting a caravan, he felt that the chief escort who had been famous for thirty years was unreliable; when he was protecting a merchant caravan through remote mountains and ridges, he felt that the porter was incompetent; and when he joined the Cao Gang, he (secretly) looked down on the branch leader after three days of joining, and as soon as he had his own power, he (silently) disliked the gang leader.
After getting married, when everything gradually settled down, Gu Tingye slowly took back the several properties he had originally left in Jianghuai and Sichuan. When Minglan held the land deeds, shops and banknotes in her hands, she realized that he had been doing very well in the world and had accumulated a lot of wealth.
Although he was quite proud of the fame he had made from scratch, these were ultimately low-level activities that were "not worthy of being presented to the public" and were not much better than those of merchants. Even to Gongsun Baishi, he never said much.
Now he finally has a loyal listener. His new wife is well-educated and sensible, but she is not pedantic like a scholar. She is cheerful and open-minded. When she listens to him talk about his past experiences, her face is always full of interest.
In Minglan's view, the saying "God is fair" is fully reflected in Gu Tingye.
Although fate made him lose his mother at a young age, his father was not supportive in the positive direction, and his stepmother and uncles were too supportive in the negative direction, and his growth was full of difficulties, it also gave him extremely superior talents; he not only inherited his father's excellent genes of bravery and fighting skills, but also miraculously inherited his grandfather's shrewdness and strength.
It is said that the old man of the Bai family worked hard from the bottom, and got both the black and white ones. He had a unique vision, was able to calculate and dare to think, and earned a huge fortune with nothing (one million taels, one million taels, Minglan has always been worried about it).
Gu Tingye could also see that his wife was genuinely interested and not just pretending to be interested to save face for him. When she listened to him, she would applaud from time to time, with an expression that she wished she were there in person. He talked even more freely.
The couple got along better and better as they talked, sharing the same ideals and a deep understanding. This kind of marriage was a joyful one, something he had never imagined before; with her by his side, he felt like he was bathed in spring breeze. Therefore, it was necessary to use a little trickery to marry a good wife.
Gu Tingye felt that he was indeed very wise at the time.
"Position and ability cannot be generalized; there is also luck and coincidence in this world." Gu Tingye frowned.
Minglan cautiously tested: "You can say that the current emperor is a person with great fortune, so..." The new emperor's accession to the throne was not the result of strategic planning, but seventy to eighty percent was due to the help of God. His older brothers all died, and then it was his turn.
"No. Your Majesty's ability is like a latent dragon in the sea, unnoticed, yet his achievements are remarkable." Gu Tingye shook his head and retorted, "If Your Majesty had not been humble and benevolent since he was a prince, the late emperor would not have entrusted him with the throne."
Minglan nodded. The fifth-born Prince Jing was simply too extravagant and high-profile, repeatedly displeasing the previous emperor, which was why he was overtaken by the current eighth-born emperor. (The Prince Jing felt wronged: "How could I have known that my two older brothers were so unruly? They both ruined themselves. Since there's no hope of the throne, I'm just trying to get as much benefit as possible while my father is still alive.")
"...and Your Majesty is respectful to the wise and humble, quite like the ancient gentleman Mengchang. No matter how lonely he was in the palace and how little money he had, he was always willing to make friends with the noble men in the mountains and countryside." Gu Tingye recalled slowly.
Minglan continued to nod. It had proven that the group of advisors kept in the Qiandi Palace were still quite useful. The tactics that the Eighth Prince had used before and after arriving in Beijing to appoint the Crown Prince were extremely effective.
"Of course, anyone who can climb to that position must have extraordinary qualities. But if you just blindly follow others, you are foolish." Gu Tingye's face was stern, with a hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth. "Let's not talk about those who were capable in the past, but they may not be so now..."
Minglan nodded again. For example, General Gan, once a fierce warrior who had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, had become increasingly clueless in his old age.
"Besides, just because one job is done well doesn't necessarily mean the others will be good too."
Minglan nodded more and more.
Poor old Comrade Geng, back when he was in the Imperial Residence, he was both wise and brave, a renowned hero in southern Shu. But after his rise to power, he found himself constantly in trouble. The Emperor had originally intended for him to be sent to Xuanda as a general, guarding the border, but he still couldn't make up his mind. He couldn't even handle the obstacles that stood in his way, so who knows what would happen if he became a local tyrant in the northern border.
To paraphrase Peng Dehuai (purely hearsay): Hu Zongnan (Group Army Commander) was only fit to be a regimental commander. Some people aren't incapable, but their abilities are limited, making them only suitable for certain positions.
"One general's success is built on the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers. Only a very few can stand out in the end." Gu Tingye sighed heavily at last.
Minglan was confused. From the way this guy sounded, he sounded like a skeptic, completely different from what she had heard from outside.
It is said that Gu Erlang is of great courage and courage. He dares to rescue people from piles of corpses and brave the swords and arrows of thousands of soldiers. He treats his comrades as brothers and soldiers as his sons and nephews. He is loyal, brave, kind and righteous. It is said that he is also known as "Wu Lusu" (he must be pretending).
After a daze, Minglan concluded: You should listen to your leader, but not everything he says. People are adaptable, so never judge others with the same old perspective. The Eighth Prince may be reliable, but that doesn't mean he will be the same once he becomes emperor. You should make careful judgments and not blindly follow others.
Because of this, when arranging marriages for the unmarried soldiers, Gu Tingye made a lot of noise but did little, pretending to be very enthusiastic and looking worried and serious. In fact... Minglan offered a reward and urged the whole family to be freed from slavery, but only seven or eight couples were married.
However, although the quantity is small, the quality is high.
After careful selection by Liao Yong's family, specifically a young man with good looks, gentle character, and a promising future, the two sides agreed, and the man and woman exchanged a few glances through the curtain, biting their handkerchiefs and blushing. Minglan also brought a dowry, and the marriage was finally a voluntary one, to everyone's great joy.
The men Minglan married were all strong and good-looking maids who were decent, hardworking and easy to bear children. They were expected to be able to survive even in the northern border. Some of the military wives with sharp eyes also nodded in agreement, thinking that it was much better than the forced marriages of several other families.
In the military dependents' camp, one side was reluctant, fighting and crying all day long, while the other side was sweet and loving, and didn't want to open the door once it was closed; their happy little life made the remaining bachelors' eyes bleed.
As a result, more and more people came to ask Gu Tingye to be their matchmaker. In the end, even several captains and team leaders were reluctantly asking Xie Ang to intercede and find them a good match. But that person remained motionless, his face showing no emotion.
Yao Yiyi, an active member of the party, couldn't help but criticize his behavior.
Gu Tingye smiled and said, "There are more than 30,000 troops to be dispatched. If you count those who already have families, can get married on their own, and the local women, there are still about 5,000 to 6,000 vacancies. Even if you count all the peaches, plums, and lychees around you, how many would there be? How many families like this are there in the whole capital?" This method could not solve the problem at all.
"What should we do then?" Minglan was also in trouble.
Gu Tingye had initially set his sights on the Huaizhong and Huainan regions. Hadn't those regions been ravaged by war? He imagined there would be many displaced women and children, and taking them to the northern border would be a natural move, benefiting both the country and the people. However, after spending over six months in the region, Yao Ge Lao (who hadn't yet joined the cabinet) quickly stabilized the situation. He distributed grain, distributed land, exempted rent, and reduced taxes, prompting displaced people to return home and rebuild their homes.
In ancient times, people had a strong sense of localism. Anyone with a stutter would be willing to leave their hometown.
Next, the biggest target was the capital. With such a huge palace, if they could lay off around two thousand palace maids, that would be enough; the remaining bachelors could be taken care of.
But how could Gu Tingye, a foreign official and a military general (advising the emperor to implement benevolent policies is usually the job of civil officials, and it would be bad to overstep his bounds) to persuade the emperor to reduce the number of palace maids?
The ideal way would be to have Uncle Shen signal the Queen to release some lower-ranking palace maids who were over the age limit, which would also earn her a good reputation.
Who knew Shen Congxing would never come to his senses? Never mind. It was only five or six thousand bachelors. It wasn't a big deal. Gu Tingye's desk was already filled with more serious national and military affairs, and he didn't bother to deal with them.
A few days ago, Minglan worriedly told Gu Tingye about what was happening in Yining Palace, wondering if it would incur the jealousy of Empress Dowager Shengde. Unexpectedly, Gu Tingye shook his head and smiled, saying, "There are so many people the Empress Dowager dislikes, from the old fox Shen who changed his stance at the last minute to the three families of Zhang, Chen, and Zheng. It's not even close to you and me. Besides, the Empress Dowager must be very busy right now..."
Perhaps because she woke up too early, Minglan was groggy throughout breakfast. Gu Tingye watched her nod like a chick pecking at rice. Even as he served her food, her eyes were hazy, her face rosy and sleepy, adorable. He raised an eyebrow slightly, and suddenly, with a playful aura, he picked up a few strips of ginger and chili peppers from a dish of pickles on the table and put them in her bowl.
Minglan hung her head, picked up her chopsticks, and ate the porridge. "Shh—it's so strong!" She froze there, her neck tilted, unable to swallow or swallow, her fingers tightly gripping the chopsticks, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I'm going to throw up, I'm going to throw up!" The heroic man said with a righteous look on his face, lightly scolding, "I told you to watch your food before. Why are you so careless? It's not like you can handle spicy food."
"I picked it up myself?" Minglan looked down at what she had just vomited out. Was she that unconscious?
"Is it still spicy? Come, drink some water and rinse your mouth." The man handed her the teacup with great care and walked over to pat her back gently.
Minglan held his wrist with both hands and drank water from his hand. She looked up and smiled sweetly, very touched: "Thank you very much, you are so kind."
Gu Tingye showed his snow-white teeth, his deep eyes shining. He lowered his head and bit her lips hard, which had turned crimson from the spicy food. He raised his head and smiled so awe-inspiringly that he seemed to have become several years younger.
Xia He and Qin Sang, who were serving at the door, looked at each other, then lowered their heads obediently.
After that verbal battle, a certain supporting role pushed the plot forward significantly. Uncle Shen had not expected something that his sister had thought of. However, once the door of inspiration opened, the emperor and empress suddenly realized that the opportunity had come.
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