Chapter 131 I really want to bestow upon him the title of Duke! Thirteen ways to eat sugarcane...
Yingchun was about to speak when Siqi interrupted her.
"We didn't come to visit Madam Lin," Siqi said, looking surprised. "I accompanied Madam Lin out for a stroll and dropped off some things along the way. You want to see Madam Lin?"
After Siqi finished speaking, she stopped moving, her face showing a half-smile, eagerly waiting to see how Xue Baochai would go in.
She couldn't even get a chance to have a cup of tea at the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, let alone the Xue family.
Furthermore, with the Xue family as an excuse, they can delay once more.
Xue Baochai's smile faded, but luckily Xue Pan was there. He chuckled and said, "We've been out all day; it's time to go back."
If they could really get on board with the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion, it wouldn't matter when they went back, even if they missed the time to pay their respects, as they could still successfully jump ship. But the problem was that they hadn't seen any of the masters of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion, so they still had to hint that they should go back and keep Grandmother Jia company.
Seeing that the Xue family couldn't get in, Siqi laughed twice, helped Yingchun, and turned to leave. Xue Baochai was different from Xue Pan. Xue Pan had been sending invitations for a year and knew that the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion wouldn't accept them, but this was Xue Baochai's first time. She always felt that if she persisted a little longer, it would work.
But the gatekeeper refused. The lady had said that if she came again, she should be allowed to rest and have a cup of tea before leaving. What about this place?
This is the Xue family. According to the information gathered by the steward of the manor back then, this family had bullied the madam before.
Furthermore, what's the point of this woman disguised as a man? You ask to see the general, and he'll grant you an audience? Can this even be called asking for an audience?
Even when the palace summons a general, they are not as anxious as you, and they are more polite to them.
"Gentlemen," the gatekeeper's forced smile had faded considerably, "since you've already sent your invitations, you might as well head back soon. It's windy in the capital; don't let the wind chill you to the bone."
Not everyone can work as a gatekeeper in a marquis's mansion. Xue Baochai understood this. Seeing that there was no chance at all, and thinking of Jia Baoyu, who looked to be over forty years old and had wasted seven years of his life as a hostage, she was truly overwhelmed with sorrow, and her eyes immediately reddened.
Xue Pan sighed, pulled his sister out, and said, "It's really not easy to establish oneself in the capital."
The two boarded the carriage in silence. On the other side, Yingchun waited until she was in the carriage before asking Siqi, "Master told us to go and have a few words with Lin Daiyu. Even if it's not appropriate to bring the Xue family in, we should at least wait a little longer to show respect. Why did we leave so soon?"
Siqi thought that her mistress wasn't too stupid, but "it's not good to bring the Xue family in." Whether they brought the Xue family in or not, the two of them wouldn't be able to get in anyway.
“I’m not willing to use our reputation to do favors for the Xue family.” Siqi said indignantly. “How did she treat you before? And how did she treat Madam Lin? If she really comes in with us, what if Madam Lin starts to look down on us too? It’s just a matter of going in a couple of days later.”
When the two returned to the Sun family home, Sun Shaozu was waiting for them, and Siqi told him the same thing.
"Miss Xue and Madam Lin are both cousins of the Jia family. Miss Xue, relying on being a relative of Madam Lin, has caused Madam Lin so many troubles, both openly and secretly. Luckily, I reacted quickly and prevented them from taking advantage of me."
Siqi looked relieved: "Madam was about to agree, saying that having more friends means having more options. But what kind of imperial merchants are the Xue family? Last time they said they were doing business, but what did they bring back? They didn't even have any decent silk; it was all stuff you could buy on the street. Does the Xue family deserve to be called imperial merchants?"
There seemed to be no flaw in what he said, and it all made perfect sense. Sun Shaozu nodded and let it go, but he did instruct, "Find another opportunity to go in a few days."
Siqi came out and reflected on what she had said. She felt it was alright; after all, the affair between the two young ladies and the young master was something she couldn't reveal. If word got out, and the Marquis was a general in command of troops, who would he let off the hook?
You've dodged it this time, but what about next time?
Fortunately, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped within two days. Siqi was already exhausted and under a lot of stress, so she fell ill.
That's great. If we delay any longer, it will be almost Chinese New Year. We'll be busy then, and maybe we won't have to worry about this this year.
In the palace, after the morning classes ended, the Empress invited Lin Daiyu to stay for lunch, saying, "You've just eaten, rest a bit before you go back, lest you catch a chill on the way and get a stomachache."
Lin Daiyu expressed her gratitude and said, "The days are short now, so it's not good to sleep at noon. Just relax on the couch."
The Empress smiled and said, "You've just gotten married, and the Marquis of Zhongyong is leaving the capital for half a month. Do you miss him?"
There's no good way to answer that.
Lin Daiyu also laughed: "Your Majesty, should I say yes or no?"
“The girls these days are all so clever,” the Empress said. “I wonder what His Majesty is up to. Judging by the days, he should be back soon.”
The emperor was watching as shield bearers, infantry, cavalry, and archers advanced their lines—for the fifth time.
Not yet tired of watching, the emperor remained animated and enthusiastic.
The generals of the other four battalions were also whispering among themselves. The first time they saw it, they were shocked, but by the fifth time, everyone had paper and pen in hand, checking for omissions and filling in gaps.
To be honest, this mixed formation and offensive formation looks good, but when actually engaging the enemy, we need to analyze the specific situation and make adjustments accordingly.
Simply put, the shield bearers stand in the front row with their shields up, the archers fire three volleys, then the cavalry charge, and finally the infantry sweep the rear.
At this time, the order was given by beating the war drums. The war drums of Mu Chuan made people's blood boil. Whether it was the heavy blow of the shield bearers raising their shields, the three rounds of arrows shooting out from the sky, or the cavalry charging with long spears and the infantry wielding long swords, it made the emperor want to expand his territory.
Mu Chuan said, "The enemy can also run away; they won't just stand there and let us attack. In addition, archers are very important. How far they can shoot and how much damage they can inflict are related to the survival of the cavalry."
Actually, there was much more to say, but the emperor interrupted him.
"Qiao Yue, I'm not trying to criticize you, but I think this formation is excellent. Besides, which of those barbarians around us can shoot as far as our Great Wei with their arrows? Perhaps there are one or two on the grasslands, but what can a few people do against such a large army? Don't dampen morale."
After the emperor finished speaking, he paused again: "Qiao Yue, there's also the siege. I'd like to see the siege again."
Mu Chuan was somewhat helpless. What was a siege?
From Pingnan Town to Beiying, his siege formation consisted of him in heavy armor, charging ahead and carrying a log.
After all, he was the emperor. What else could Mu Chuan do but change into heavy armor?
As evening fell, everyone returned to their barracks. The emperor looked at the map of the Great Wei Dynasty on the wall and sighed, "My great general has truly been wronged."
Zhong Jun accompanied him to this event, but even though Guan Muchuan called him Third Uncle, Zhong Jun was a little hesitant to respond.
The emperor watched the charge formation on the first day and came back that night saying he wanted to promote his third uncle to duke, but he was persuaded not to: "He was only promoted to marquis, and he has not even repelled the enemy."
The following evening, the emperor asked, "Which direction—east, west, south, or north—can we expand our territory further?"
Zhong Jun was extremely shocked. He used to think that Eunuch Quan always blocked His Majesty's way of doing things, and that he had forgotten the fundamental nature of being a eunuch. Now that it was his turn, he wished he could kowtow to Eunuch Quan twice: "You've had it tough!"
However, having spent almost a year with his third uncle, Zhong Jun's speaking skills had improved. After thinking carefully, he replied, "Your Majesty, the Great Wei has already occupied the best piece of land."
“The climate in the north is cold and the grain yield is not high. It is easy to conquer, but it is necessary to build and defend the city, which is a long-term matter.”
"To the east is the sea, and those islands are almost unable to support themselves, so most of the young men and women come out to become pirates."
"The climate in the south is hot and rainy, resulting in high grain yields, but there is also the problem of miasma, so we need to be prepared."
"Going west... Marquis Zhongyong has already achieved some merit."
The emperor breathed a sigh of relief: "Indeed, I also think going south is better."
Is that what I meant?
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Zhong Jun had thought the matter was over, but after seeing his third uncle carrying logs to attack the city, the emperor sighed again: "I really wanted to make him a duke."
Zhong Jun felt he couldn't bring himself to say things like "his merits overshadowed the emperor's" or "there was no more title to bestow," so he changed his perspective.
“Your Majesty, I have been supervising the army in the Northern Camp for a year, and I often hear the Marquis say, ‘This is what I should do.’ I think that if I were to grant him a title because he has done a good job as a general and has been very effective in training soldiers, the Marquis would most likely decline, as this is what he should do. If Your Majesty thinks the Marquis is exceptionally capable, why not promote him to Minister of War and give him more rewards?”
Mu Chuan's original honorary title was Vice Minister of War, but he wasn't promoted to Minister because his adoptive father, General Li, already held the title of Minister, which was slightly lower. However, now that he has been back for over a year, a promotion wouldn't hurt.
The emperor nodded and said, "That's good, that's a good idea."
Now, Zhong Jun, like the other four battalion generals, looked at his third uncle with a mixture of love, hate, and resentment.
After the two-week military parade ended, the emperor summoned Mu Chuan to the imperial carriage returning to the city and asked, "Qiao Yue, I plan to take advantage of next year's spring hunt to try my luck on the grasslands. What do you think?"
Mu Chuan thought this was a good opportunity. Ke Yuanqing was serving as the prefect of Pinggu Prefecture. Pinggu used to be Shixiang, which bordered the grasslands. Sometimes, when the grassland barbarians raided the grasslands, they could also sneak into Pinggu.
At the beginning of the year, Ke Yuanqing took office and brought his men to serve as scouts. In the past six months, he has consulted Ke Yuanqing on issues such as how to train troops.
Therefore, Mu Chuan also knew some things about the grasslands. For example, the weather on the grasslands this year was neither good nor bad. It wasn't so bad that people would have to gamble everything to plunder grain, nor was it so good that there was enough grain to come south and rob women and children.
In such years, nomadic peoples would mostly stay in one place and not wander around the grasslands.
However, one cannot say this to the emperor. Mu Chuan said, "An army marches on its stomach, and it is also important to anticipate the enemy's moves. We must first send scouts to gather information. If the spring hunt is used as an excuse, Pinggu Prefecture will be crucial."
In the first few years after the emperor ascended the throne, he was basically trying to break free from the control of the retired emperor. It was only in the last two years that he truly developed his own opinions. He asked very detailed questions, and Mu Chuan answered them very diligently.
When we returned to the capital, although we came from the north and were theoretically closer to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, that was the Emperor's residence.
"Let's go to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence first, drop Qiao Yue off, and then we'll return to the palace," the emperor instructed with a smile. He then said to Mu Chuan, "You're tired too, so you don't need to accompany me back to the palace."
Damn it, utterly despicable!
Even Mu Chuan's nephew, who is not related to him by blood, expressed the same sentiment.
Mu Chuan did not refuse. Upon returning to the Marquis's residence, before even entering, he summoned his subordinate: "Go to Pinggu Prefecture and tell Lord Ke that His Majesty will soon inquire about the situation of the Northern Barbarians. Tell him to be prepared."
As his men prepared to leave the mansion on horseback, Mu Chuan carried a bundle of sugarcane toward the main courtyard.
The emperor's whereabouts were kept secret, and no one knew when Mu Chuan would return. In addition, the Mu family was a family with loose rules and everyone had their own interests and hobbies. When Mu Chuan entered the main room, he did not see his beautiful wife.
"Master, Madam has taken Qingwen to look at some new fabric samples." Xueyan was at home today, and she said in a normal tone, "Madam said that with the New Year approaching, the house needs a makeover, but the fabrics in the storeroom aren't quite right, so we need to go out and pick some out."
"Okay." Mu Chuan waved for her to come downstairs. After washing up, he sat on the second floor peeling sugarcane.
"This is outrageous!" Mu Chuan said with a deliberately sour face. "I have to wait for you at home so I can juice the sugarcane. The sugarcane is so fresh."
That evening, the two experimented with thirteen ways to eat sugarcane, and it was indeed fresh and sweet, and could also clear heat, promote body fluid production, and quench thirst.
-----------------------
Author's note: Going out today was an isolated incident; normally I wouldn't update this late.
Also, to clarify for the hostage, he is the sixth son of the chieftain. Although he looks forty years old, he is actually only in his early twenties. He has never married a wife and is not even as old as the male lead.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com