The soft sound of a piano drifted through the door, mixed with the tremolo of a flute.
Although the music was difficult to hear clearly through the thick door panel, Ling Tiande knew the tune all too well.
Tonight, the guard outside the Empress's bedroom is another Imperial Guard, a new face.
He didn't recognize Ling Tiande immediately, and only mumbled, "Lord Ling."
"Let me in!" Ling Tiande announced.
The latter froze for a few seconds, looking like a resentful child, before opening the door. He strode into the Empress's bedroom, and the music stopped abruptly.
Wei Maozhen, barefoot, leaned against a pile of cushions, her black hair disheveled yet beautiful.
She looked up, her gorgeous nightgown reflecting the flickering candlelight.
"Your Majesty!" Ling Tiande exclaimed, "You look absolutely stunning today!"
Then he turned to the musician plucking the strings, "You too, Lord Zheng! I never expected you to play the zither so well!"
Upon hearing the compliment, Zheng Changqing's face tightened, perhaps realizing he was being ridiculed.
Ling Tiande felt that this kid seemed to have grown taller since he was appointed as the General of the Imperial Guard.
Zheng Changqing has thick black hair and the Wei family's signature phoenix eyes, with a soft black mustache on his upper lip.
He was seventeen years old, and like other teenagers, he was so certain of everything, with no sense of humor or self-reflection.
His innate strength and handsome appearance made him increasingly arrogant, and his recent promotion only fueled his arrogance. "Did His Majesty summon you?" the young man immediately questioned.
Seeing this, Ling Tiande felt a pang of bitterness. "This kid is younger and more energetic than me..."
I am not the only favorite of the Empress, and she will not only favor this boy in the future.
"Hehe, I don't remember that!" Ling Tiande admitted. "Lord Zheng, it's a real pity that I've disturbed your enjoyment. In fact, I have important matters to discuss with His Majesty."
Wei Maozhen raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't tell me you came here for Lin Mo. I have already decided to send troops to punish him!" she said. "Not only that, I have also allied with Qiu Zi, Dong Pan Ge, Da Shi and other countries."
This time, Lin Mo must be torn to pieces!
"Your Majesty is wise! You should have sent troops to wipe out this damned King of Shu long ago!" Zheng Changqing echoed.
"Hmph!" Wei Maozhen snorted heavily. "This brat dares to be so arrogant, wanting to kill all the ministers around me!"
Are the rumors true? Ling Tiande frowned. "But Your Majesty, it's easy to invite a god, but difficult to send him away. If we allow other countries to send troops to our Great Xia, even if we wipe out the rebel Lin Mo, how will we get him to withdraw his troops?"
In fact, Ling Tiande's concerns went beyond this.
The emperor of Dongpange harbored wolfish ambitions and had long coveted the land of Jidong in the Great Xia Dynasty.
Ling Tiande was truly afraid that the other side would use the pretext of jointly sending troops to annihilate Lin Mo to take the opportunity to seize Jidong!
"Yes, it is certainly good to wipe out the rebel Lin Mo as soon as possible. But, Your Majesty, would you like to hear about a better way? I mean, could we discuss this privately?"
Wei Maozhen kissed Zheng Changqing's cheek without any hesitation. "Go on, Changqing. I'll talk to Ling Aiqing first, and then I'll talk to you later."
The young man glared at Ling Tiande fiercely, then slammed the door shut and left.
"Alright, say what you have to say, Lord Ling!"
"Your Majesty, the rumors can't be true, can they?" Ling Tiande asked. "You intend to cede the Tangut territory in the western border of my Great Xia to Qiu Zi?"
“It’s not a cession, it’s a sale!” Wei Maozhen corrected. “If that’s not enough, we can sell Jidong, sell Beiliang, in short, all the peripheral territories can be sold.”
“Selling territory?” Ling Tiande was shocked.
He truly hadn't expected Wei Maozhen to have such a crazy idea.
“The Chiyan Army was completely wiped out by that kid, and the Northern Liang border urgently needs a large army to guard it,” Wei Maozhen said. “Recruiting soldiers requires silver, military equipment requires silver, training requires silver, and military rations also require silver.”
The border garrison needs too little silver. Do you think 100,000 troops are enough to wipe out that brat? No, they're not!
I have already discussed this matter with the newly appointed Tiger Might General; it requires an army of at least 500,000.
Have you calculated how much food and pay are needed for an army of 500,000?
"But, since the founding of our Great Xia Dynasty, we have only expanded our territory, never ceded any land..."
"I'll say it again, it's a sale, not a cession!" Wei Maozhen shouted. "Even with an army of 500,000, we might not be able to annihilate that brat."
Lin Mo, that damned Lin Mo, he has taken over the entire Dos Grassland.
Do you know how much effort it will take to suppress the rebels after conquering Shu?
I need to unite with the Quz, the Abbasid Caliphate, and the Eastern Pango.
"I need their troops to wipe out those damned rebels!"
At a price of fifty taels per square mile, selling Tangut would yield me a profit of over one billion taels of silver. This would be enough to supply the army of five hundred thousand.
The tribute silver given to the other three countries would be sufficient.
After that, after eliminating Lin Mo, there will be enough silver to rebuild Shu and resettle the people!
"And it's your birthday celebration, right?" Ling Tiande thought to himself.
Next year will be Wei Maozhen's 40th birthday, but due to years of famine, the national treasury is empty.
Last year, due to the Lin Mo incident, the funds allocated to Li Liang's 100,000 Chiyan Army nearly depleted the national treasury.
Therefore, the funds for Wei Maozhen's 40th birthday celebration have yet to be allocated.
Ling Tiande touched his face and said with a slightly forced smile, "Your Majesty, perhaps we can try a different approach to dealing with Lin Mo."
Wei Maozhen raised an eyebrow. "Tell me about it!"
"Your Majesty, if I remember correctly, Princess Yongning has just turned eighteen this year, which is the perfect age for marriage!" Ling Tiande said cautiously.
"Yue'er?" Wei Maozhen frowned. "You mean... that I should betroth Yue'er to that boy and sue for peace with him?"
"No, no!" Ling Tiande said, "When has there ever been a precedent for the emperor marrying off his daughter?"
Wei Maozhen seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this.
When a princess of the Great Xia Kingdom marries a king of another country, she must be sent to that country as a bride.
However, Lin Mo was still nominally the King of Shu of the Great Xia Dynasty, and a subject of Empress Wei Maozhen.
Since the empress was marrying a princess to a subject, according to the rules of the Great Xia Dynasty, Lin Mo had no choice but to go to the capital to fetch her.
More likely, Lin Mo will have to stay in the capital for the rest of his life...
"This method is good, but I don't know if that girl will agree!"
Upon hearing this, Ling Tiande smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you are overthinking it!" He added, "This humble subject never said that Her Highness the Princess would actually marry Lin Mo."
Wei Maozhen immediately understood: the purpose of luring Lin Mo here was ostensibly to bestow a marriage, but in reality, it was to kill him!
"Hahaha! You're really something, Ling Aiqing!" Wei Maozhen burst into laughter upon hearing this. "As a reward, you'll stay and keep me company tonight!"
"Hehe, then this humble subject will serve Your Majesty well!"
After speaking, Ling Tiande skillfully removed his clothes and then slowly walked towards the Empress by the bedside.
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