Chapter 393 Do You Have Any Regrets?
She stepped out in a pair of palace boots with black soles and gold-embroidered cloud patterns, followed by a black and gold-woven phoenix-tail skirt that stretched to the ground.
Empress Qin Minghuang stood on the top of the nine-level Danbi, the breeze blowing the twelve strings of oriental pearl tassels on her temples, and the sound of jade was melodious.
Su Quan followed closely on the right side with a hunched back. The old eunuch tucked his hands into his scarlet sleeves, secretly alert to his surroundings.
"Iwatake."
The empress called softly.
Pan Yue clasped his fists, and the dark green luster around his body became even stronger.
The invisible "momentum" suddenly spread out, forming visible ripples in the air.
The outer Qingluan guards all took half a step back, leaving space for the powerful energy to flow.
Qu Heng felt as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest, and every breath he took tasted of rust.
The soles of the team members' boots behind me were slowly sinking into the floor tiles, as if they were bearing the weight of a mountain.
After doing all this, Pan Yue turned sideways and got out of sight.
The empress's gaze fell on Qu Heng, who was in the front, and her eyes slid across the severed little finger of his left hand.
A hint of surprise flashed across his eyes, like a stone thrown into an ancient well, disappearing in an instant.
"Your Majesty, I dare to ask!" Qu Heng suddenly raised his head, and the veins on his neck were exposed.
"Seven years ago, the Northern Frontier's military pay was flooded with counterfeit currency. Was this at Your Majesty's behest?"
Sweat dripped down his chin, leaving dark marks on the bluestone bricks, but he stood firm and refused to bow his head.
"Yes." The empress's voice was extremely calm, without a trace of emotion.
"Each string of coins was mixed with 300 wen of lead, and a total of 270,000 strings of coins were sent to the northern border as military pay."
Qu Heng didn't expect His Majesty to answer so readily, so... frankly!
Anger filled my chest, but I held it back. I gritted my teeth and continued to ask:
"General Zhao Polu has sent people to the capital to appeal for justice. Your Majesty, are you aware of this?"
"I know." Qin Minghuang's answer was still straightforward.
"Before the memorial reached Fengjing, the three messengers were all killed. The closest one reached Xianyun County in Jingzhou, where the memorial was intercepted by the Xuanji Guards."
Qu Heng stumbled suddenly, raised his arm tremblingly, pointed at His Majesty, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Why?!"
Suddenly, a light breeze blew up the dead leaves, making them swirl around the red steps.
"The war continued, the treasury was empty, and the grain stored in Taicang was only enough to supply the capital for ten days.
You are a clerk in the army, so you should settle the accounts.
If the full salary is to be paid, an additional 30% of the land tax will be levied.
If actual silver is allocated, the grain tax paid by the six prefectures in the central and southern regions will be converted into silver at an additional 50%."
Her eyes suddenly became sharp as a needle:
"At that time, people in the north were exchanging their children for food, and the south was plagued by starvation.
Should we squeeze the last drop of blood from the people and continue the war, or cut off the soldiers' food and wages to stop the war?
Qu joins the army, what would you choose?
Qu Heng's lips began to tremble.
He recalled the years of war in the north, when he had indeed seen people gnawing on the ground and the gates of the government offices were filled with the bodies of starving people who had hanged themselves.
The empress took a half step forward, her embroidered gold skirt brushing against the stone steps.
"Even if we kill all the corrupt officials and confiscate their property, it still won't cover half a month's worth of military supplies in the North."
"I remember the Zhao Polu army's report saying, 'The Shuofeng cavalry eats one sheep a day, while our soldiers eat one bran cake a day.
"Qu Heng, can you still swallow the bran bread you ate when you were in the army?"
boom!
Qu Heng was so shocked that his mind was shaken.
He suddenly shouted, like a madman,
"even so!
Cao Cheng'an colluded with the Shuofeng Dynasty, and 3,000 cavalrymen completely wiped out 1,200 patrolling soldiers of the Zhaoyi Army. Your Majesty, are you aware of this?
"I know." The empress's voice was frost-colored.
"Therefore, Cao Cheng'an was stripped of his position as the General of the Northern Frontier and returned to the capital to serve as the Right Junior Supervisor of the Xuan Ge Division.
Above them are the Supervisor and the Left Junior Supervisor, but they are just names; this is the punishment."
"Punishment?" Qu Heng suddenly laughed until tears came out, and his severed finger trembled violently in the air.
"My eldest brother was pierced by thousands of arrows, and twelve hundred of our brothers had their ears cut off for credit. Your Majesty is actually using the ruin of his career to pay off this blood debt?!"
The empress looked down at him condescendingly, with no emotion in her eyes.
"Cao Cheng'an guarded the northern border for over ten years. Even the people of the north wind knew his name would stop children from crying at night. This was a great achievement."
I have spent three years clipping his wings and reducing his power, so that he no longer has any foundation in the Xuanwu Army. This is a balance between merit and demerit."
"The merits and demerits offset each other?!" Qu Heng roared and drew his sword.
The blade reflected his distorted face and also the calm eyes of the empress on the Danbi.
Pan Yue's Qi suddenly pressed down, and Qu Heng's knee bones made a cracking sound under the heavy weight.
But he still forced himself to stand upright, leaning on the knife, digging his severed fingers deep into the cracks in the handle:
"I have one final question... Your Majesty, do you regret it?"
“No.”
…
The royal heir's carriage slowly drove into the Qinghui Palace. The bronze bells on the eaves rang softly, sending out a lonely echo.
Qin Zhaoyue helped the maid get off the sedan chair and walked in without paying any attention to others.
As soon as he entered the bedroom, the first thing he did was to raise his chin and signal Taoyao to take off the heavy pearl crown on her head.
"Move faster, it's hurting my neck."
Taoyao and Yingnuo hurried forward and carefully removed the hairpin for her, while they couldn't help but whispered:
"Your Highness, such a big thing happened today..."
Qin Zhaoyue glanced at her sideways, a hint of a smile on his lips: "You have a very good ear."
Tao Yao stuck out her tongue and said, "It's been spread all over the place. They're saying all sorts of things. It's hard for me not to know about it."
Qin Zhaoyue snorted lightly and finally took off the heavy pearl crown and hairpins.
This was also one of the reasons why she was reluctant to go to court, as she felt like there was a lead ball on her head.
She let her long black hair cascade down like a waterfall and leaned lazily against the cushion.
"How can I interfere in such a turmoil at court? Your Majesty will make the final decision, so why worry?"
I could tell that Her Highness didn't want to talk much, but after serving me so closely for so long, I could tell she seemed to be in a good mood.
"Yes." Tao Yao responded softly.
Before he finished speaking, three young princes rushed in hurriedly.
Qin Zhaoyue rolled her eyes in annoyance: "This is your sixth sister's bedroom. Why didn't you even announce it? Do you even understand the rules?"
Xiaojiu immediately stopped and bowed politely: "Sixth sister, how are you?"
The two younger ones behind her followed suit, being very polite, and in the blink of an eye they were back in front of her.
There are some courtesies, but not many.
The maid was combing Qin Zhaoyue's long hair when three little heads crowded in front of the mirror.
"What are you doing?! I can't even leave the palace by myself, let alone take you with me. It's no use begging me."
Xiaojiu shook her head, her eyes sparkling: "I'm not going out of the palace to play."
"Then I don't have time to play with you guys."
Taking care of children is the most troublesome thing. Qin Zhaoyue has suffered twice and can't avoid it.
Xiaoqi and Xiaoba opened their round eyes, the twins had the same expression, staring at her without blinking, their eyes full of admiration.
"Sixth sister, you were so majestic just now!"
"Yeah, yeah, it's really domineering!"
Qin Zhaoyue was amused by them and said, "Then let me test you. Do you know why I am so domineering?"
The three children suddenly fell into deep thought, their faces wrinkled.
He could point at the noses of imperial officials and curse them, and still get away with it.
They had never heard of such a thing, and no royal brother or sister had ever done it.
Xiaojiu was the first to offer a guess, "Is it... because she has the Queen Mother's support?"
Qin Zhaoyue's lips curled up in a self-deprecating arc: "Because I have a bad reputation and a thick skin."
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