Chapter 20 Don’t look back and lock me here again
"Yes, even if we add the land granted to Yun'an County Lord, it's still not enough. It will take a long time to maintain it."
"Alas, the Yun'an County Lady is still a little young. If she agrees now, she will regret it one day in the future. Then..."
"Shh, stop talking. Just know it in your heart, but don't dare say it out loud."
Bu Ruo heard the ministers' whispers but ignored them. Instead, he looked at the determined prince with an innocent and obedient look.
Bi'er: Yes! Yes! It's that innocent expression my young lady always has right before she tries to trick someone.
really……
"Yun'an agrees with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. From today onwards, the Bu family army will be supported by the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..."
"In that case, there is one thing I don't understand. I hope Your Highness the Crown Prince can clarify it."
Crown Prince Xiao Jingrui acted magnanimous and said, "Doesn't the Princess of Yun'an know how much silver it costs to support 50,000 troops a year? It's okay, I can tell you..."
"No, Your Highness."
Bu Ruo interrupted Xiao Jingrui and said, "Yun'an wants to ask, since the Bu Family Army is supported by my Zhenguogong Mansion from today onwards, to be disrespectful, does that mean these 50,000 Bu Family Army are equivalent to my private army?"
Ministers: ...
Cui Ji: My dear aunt, it's enough for you to know it in your heart. How can you say this to others? Haven't you seen that the emperor and the prince's faces are darker than the bottom of a pot?
Xiao Jingrui clenched his fists, but he was helpless: "You can... put it this way."
Bu Ruo chuckled and said, "Since they are my private soldiers, if someone borrows them from me in the future, do they have to pay me?"
emperor:……
Prince: ...
War King: ...
Ministers: ...
Bu Ruo seemed to be oblivious to everyone's reactions. "Your Majesty, the late Emperor once issued an imperial decree that these 50,000 Bu Family soldiers will never be taken back and will become private property of our Bu Family. My parents and brother are all gone now, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that I should now be the one to support these Bu Family soldiers. I think that is absolutely correct."
"But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also said that brothers should settle accounts clearly. If you need my Bu family army to guard the border, you have to pay me. After all, I paid for these 50,000 soldiers."
"Oh, by the way, guarding a city is one price, fighting a war is another."
The prince stood up and glared at him: "Bu Ruo! You..."
Bu Ruo didn't even look at the prince. He turned around and said to Cui Ji, "Uncle Cui, I really don't know much about the Bu family army. I will have to rely on you in the future."
"When you return, calculate the annual expenses of the 50,000 Bu Family Army soldiers and give them to me. Then I will negotiate the price with the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I promise that the Bu Family Army will follow me and live a life of luxury from now on."
Xiao Yulan sat in a wheelchair and looked at Bu Ruo's clever little appearance, and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.
This is good. If Bu Ruo has the military power of 50,000 Bu family soldiers, plus her own 3,000 armored guards, she can escape unscathed even if she dies in the future.
As for the expenses of the Bu family army, I could just pay for it for her.
For the first time since the passing of the late emperor and empress, Xiao Yulan felt that attending a palace banquet... wasn't so depressing.
"This...will the Emperor agree?"
The ministers below were chirping non-stop.
"Although what County Master Yun'an said does seem to make sense, why do I always feel like something is wrong?"
"What's wrong? It's the prince who is being absurd..." An old minister of the prince's party beat his chest and stamped his feet in anger.
"If the Bu family army continues to be supported by the court, then at most it will be a question of ownership of military power. The troops will still belong to the court."
"But if the Crown Prince directly asked the Princess of Yun'an to support the Bu Family Army, then the nature of the army would change. The Bu Family Army would instantly become the Bu Family's private army instead of the imperial army. After all, in the hundreds of years since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there has never been a case of asking ministers or their families to support the army."
"This move, Prince... is a wrong one."
Another princeling nearby kept soothing the other man, saying, "Don't worry, take care of yourself. The Yun'an County Lady is still young and doesn't know the cost of raising an army. When she can no longer hold on, she will hand over the military power."
The old official kept shaking his head: "No, didn't you hear what Yun'an County Master said just now? If the Bu family army wants to continue guarding the border, they have to pay silver. Is there another bill for fighting?"
"The border between our Great Zhou and Southern Xia is currently guarded by the Bu Family Army. The reason we've been able to enjoy peace for so many years is because of the Bu Family Army's deterrent. If the Bu Family Army were to withdraw or be replaced by someone else, Southern Xia would surely attack the border again, causing great hardship for the people and wasting money and manpower."
"This round... the prince lost."
As Bu Ruo waited calmly, the emperor took deep breaths and finally forced a smile: "The prince is right, and what the Yun'an County Lady said is also right. The military power should be returned to the Bu family. It's just that the issue of supporting the army..."
The emperor looked at Bu Ruo with a smile on his face, but the coldness in his eyes made him wish he could freeze her to death. He was just waiting for Bu Ruo to be intimidated by his dragon power and change her words.
Bu Ruo: I’m not selling ladders, so I don’t have so many steps for you to climb down.
"Your Majesty is wise. If that's the case, Yun An will calculate the silver and then have General Cui present it to Your Majesty in the palace. Otherwise... I can have General Cui lead the Bu family army to some remote mountain forest for training for a few years before making any decisions."
puff……
Xiao Yulan finally couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of tea.
"Ruo'er, today is the Queen Mother's birthday. Come back after you finish your business. The singing and dancing are not over yet."
But the emperor was in no mood to watch any crappy singing and dancing. After saying a few symbolic words of blessing to the empress dowager, he left on the pretext of feeling unwell.
Now that the emperor had left, there was no point for the rest of the people to stay here, so they all took their leave.
That night, the lights in the study of the Prince's Mansion were on all night.
The War King looked at the night sky in the yard until daybreak.
In Yanzhi Tower, various birds carrying messages fly in and out, making it very lively.
…
The next day.
"Ruo'er, Ruo'er, are you awake? I have something to ask you."
"Don't sleep anymore, get up quickly, get up quickly..."
Bi'er stamped her feet anxiously, wishing she could cover the other person's mouth: "Master Jin, please stop shouting. My young lady went to bed late last night and hasn't woken up yet. Don't wake her up, otherwise..."
"I don't care. I just want to ask her what she really thinks. You don't know what I heard when I went out to eat wontons this morning. They all said..."
A golden needle shot out from the window, and the yard instantly became quiet.
Bi'er circled around someone and whispered, "Serves you right! I told you not to yell, but you kept yelling. Now you've been pinned down by the young lady with her golden needle."
"Have you forgotten that the young lady is very grumpy when she wakes up? Hey? What's wrong with your eyes? Oh, I see. Don't blink. It's useless even if you blink yourself blind. I dare not pull out the golden needles that the young lady shot. Don't come back and pin me here."
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