"So the prince and the crown prince entered the palace because the emperor wanted to choose one of them to lead the troops?" Cui Liu guessed.
"It's possible, but..." Qiao Si hesitated to speak.
"But what?" Zhang You and the others asked in unison.
"However, neither the Crown Prince nor Li Guanghan were capable of leading an army. The Crown Prince had already spent six months dealing with the Northwest War, wasting manpower and money. He even arranged a marriage with Chiyan, using Li Xianyu's dowry to give 10% of the national treasury to Chiyan.
I'm afraid the emperor won't use him again.
Li Guanghan has never been to the battlefield. If he goes, the emperor will definitely send someone to assist him, and that person will be no one else except my father..." Qiao Si has always wanted Prince Qiao to leave the capital, but Prince Qiao has always disagreed. It has dragged on to this situation, which still makes her feel embarrassed.
"But the prince is old and has an old illness. How can he go to the battlefield again?" Zhang You was indignant.
The dog emperor is determined to squeeze out all the useful people!
If Prince Qiao hadn't been sufficiently loyal, anyone else would have rebelled eight hundred years ago based on what the Emperor had done! How could they tolerate him until now?
"What's more, the Qiao family army has been dispersed. Do we have to bring them all back? That's simply impossible."
"...What the emperor wants is not victory or not." Qiao Si rubbed his fingers and spoke slowly.
"What do you mean? The Emperor doesn't want to win? Is he just going to let Chiyan bully his daughter? Is he just going to condone Chiyan's rampages on the border?" Zhang You was confused. "Then why did he send troops? Wouldn't it be better to just surrender?"
"If the emperor wanted to win, he would have recruited talented people long ago. But the court today is made up of 70% civil officials and 30% military officials. Over the years, the emperor has killed many military generals because he was wary of their power.
Now that the situation was truly pressing, he had no one to rely on. He knew this battle was hopeless, so he only needed to send someone. If they won, everyone would be happy; if they lost, he could just pin the blame on his father, and he wouldn't lose anything. Qiao Si still had a small group of people at court who were more knowledgeable about the situation than they were.
“How shameless!”
"I'm in a dilemma. What should I do?"
"Father is a man of great loyalty and courage. Whenever he goes to the battlefield, he will fight for the people. He cannot go." Qiao Si's voice trembled. She could no longer bear the thought of losing again. She took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "Send a letter to my third brother, asking him to feign illness. Then send another letter to Xiao Rao to see if she has any men available."
Just as she finished speaking, she suddenly raised her hand and said, "Wait, don't tell Xiao Rao yet. She is currently in the spotlight because of Zhao Chao and Xie Qingyu's broken engagement. She could easily become a target of public criticism. Let's keep it a secret for now."
"yes."
Qiao Si hurriedly wrote a letter, told Qiao San her plan, and asked someone to secretly deliver it to him.
"Won't asking for sick leave make the emperor suspicious?" Dongmei felt that Qiao Si's method was inappropriate. Who knew if the dog emperor would get sick and blame her for it?
"Everyone knows that my father already has an old illness. Even if we use this as an excuse, it will at most lead to gossip. Besides, isn't he already suspicious? Compared to my safety, none of this matters."
"Yes, there is no better way right now."
…
Li Guanghan did not return from the palace until night fell.
Qiao Si wanted to know the inside story, so he waited in the mansion. When he heard the news that he had returned, he quickly got up to greet him.
"Your Highness, why are you so late? What happened?" Qiao Si pretended not to know, took the cloak from him, dusted it off, and put it on the hanger.
"Chiyan tore up the alliance, Yanzhou fell, and my father sent troops to suppress it. I volunteered to go there..." Li Guanghan rubbed his eyebrows, looked at Qiao Si, and hesitated to speak.
"What's wrong with the prince?" Qiao Si pretended not to know and looked back calmly.
"It's just... Father knows I can't suppress it alone, so he asked my father-in-law to go with me..."
"What? My father still has an old illness, how can he go?" Qiao Si's voice rose several degrees and his face was panicked.
"I know you don't want to, and so does Duzhou. He entered the palace at twilight hour and asked the emperor to join the army in his place. The emperor has already agreed, and my father-in-law will not be going into battle."
"What?" Qiao Si was genuinely shocked this time. "My third brother doesn't know anything and is just a good-for-nothing. What is he doing there?"
She just wanted Prince Qiao to claim illness and not go, so why did her brother get involved?
"Sit down first, don't be anxious, listen to me slowly." Li Guanghan pulled her to sit down. Qiao Si suppressed her anxiety and listened to him, "Although Brother Duzhou is a bit of a playboy, he is the only heir to the Qiao Palace. My father-in-law is old, and he is the only one who can mobilize the Qiao family army. That's why my father agreed.
Don't worry, I will take good care of him. We will gather and set off soon. You will be alone at home. Take good care of your father-in-law and my mother, and take good care of yourself."
Li Guanghan, who comforted Qiao Si, was very different from before. He was extraordinarily gentle, as if there had never been any conspiracy between them.
Qiao Si looked at him with eyes that seemed to be soaked in alcohol, and for a moment he could not see through him.
There will always be a "dead" Yao Yushuo between them.
In his heart, she was the one who assisted the evil and harmed Yao Yushuo, and he wished he could kill himself.
In the first six months of their marriage, he mocked her and made her lose face in front of the young men in the capital. In Prince Han's mansion, her status was even lower than that of his servants.
Is it true that such a person only said these nice things to her because he wanted to gain the power of Qiao's army?
She broke them up.
She guided him step by step in recruiting his staff and ministers, and watched his thoughts become more and more profound.
She herself had made him like this.
She feels guilty.
But she doesn't regret it.
A man is innocent unless he is in possession of a treasure.
He is the son of the dog emperor, so this is what he deserves.
Qiao Si's slightly wavering heart became firm again, and his heart became cold again.
"But my third brother is used to being idle. He grew up in the capital and I'm afraid he can't stand the hardship in the military camp." Qiao Si still disagreed with Qiao San going.
Regardless of whether he won or lost the war, it would not benefit the Qiao Palace. If they won, the emperor would be wary of Qiao San, wondering if he would be the next Prince Qiao. If they lost, the emperor would use the Qiao Palace as a scapegoat.
What's more, Qiao San had never been to the battlefield. During those years in Dingzhou, she had witnessed the cruelty of war. How could Qiao San be able to survive in that state?
Li Guanghan saw that she still had concerns and gave her repeated assurances.
The next morning, Qiao Si returned to the Qiao Palace, still feeling uneasy. She and Qiao Duzhou were born of the same mother, so she knew her brother well. His intelligence might be worth a try, but his martial arts were no match for hers. If he truly entered the battlefield, where swords and knives were merciless, his life would be in jeopardy.
Qiao San knew her worries. However, if Prince Qiao claimed illness and didn't go, the Emperor would certainly not let it go. Since there was no one else available at court, he had no choice but to go.
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