Chapter 1115: Annexation of Gao Kingdom (Part Two) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Qi Shan's lips almost curved into a smile, but she forcefully restrained herself.
He was secretly overjoyed, but still had to argue, saying, "Luckily, the Imperial Diarist didn't hear what His Majesty said."
Shen Tang covered her nose with a handkerchief, her voice muffled.
He asked in confusion, "What does this have to do with the Imperial Diarist?"
I didn't say anything out of line this time.
Qi Shan simply smiled, her eyes crinkling, and teased in a cheerful tone, "If the Imperial Diarist heard this, it would be as if the whole world knew that Shan is more important than Chu Wuhui and has won the Emperor's favor even more!"
Shen Tang looked slightly embarrassed and almost burst out laughing. She quickly put the handkerchief she had just put down back on her handkerchief and said in an annoyed tone, "Yuan Liang, are you three years old this year? Why are you still acting like a child, arguing with Wu Hui about these things? Luckily, Wu Hui is older and doesn't hold it against you."
Qi Shan said smugly, "He's not arguing with me at all."
When will Chu Yao stop arguing with him?
Their open and covert struggles have never stopped over the years, have they?
Furthermore—
"If a subject does not vie for the Emperor's favor, how can he have the opportunity to achieve merit and establish a career?" It is not that ability alone can lead to a high position; the Emperor's favor is also an important indicator in officialdom. Winning the Emperor's favor means gaining the maximum freedom, authority, and resources, and only then can one display one's talents. "The Emperor just asked me to wait and bring back the complete Northwest Continent for me. If the Imperial Diarist records this and it is passed down to future generations, how will people praise our friendship? The entire country is enough as a dowry!"
Shen Tang was already ill, and her mind was slow to react.
The high priest on one side asked, "The 'betrothal' in 'betrothal gift'?"
Qi Shan raised an eyebrow and said, "Naturally, it's the betrothal gift. Why would the High Priest of Jimo have such an absurd idea?"
Ji Moqiu's eyes seemed darker, his gaze fixed on Qi Shan. As if lost in thought, he pulled a palm-sized wooden carving from his sleeve: "Qi Zhongshu, would you like to join the sect?"
Qi Shan looked down at the wooden sculpture.
The veil on the wooden headdress is detachable.
His lips twitched, and he politely declined.
Ji Moqiu's attempt to promote the product failed again, but she wasn't discouraged.
They arrived as a group of four, and left as a group of six. Shen Tang left Qi Shan behind to oversee the overall situation in Shangnan County and lead troops to quell the unrest following the war. Fang Yan and Chao Lian also stayed behind; these two brothers had a special affection for Shangnan County, and they wouldn't be at ease unless they saw it stable. Shen Tang took Cui Xiao and Luan Xin with him; Luan Xin, still recovering, was carried by Gong Xi Chou.
Gongxi Chou was unhappy to be treated like a cook.
"Mama, why?"
Then he received a glare from his own brother.
“A-Nian, you must not be rude to His Highness.”
Gong Xi Chou was so angry his braids practically stood on end. He tossed Luan Xin onto the head of the Martial Gallant Totem, sending the totem soaring into the air to carry him. Make him carry someone himself? Hmph, he wouldn't do something so undignified. Gong Xi Chou was a man of principle!
Ji Moqiu had no objection to this, but simply took off the high priest's robe and covered Luan Xin with it to keep him warm and prevent him from catching a cold from the strong wind.
Luan Xin: "..."
Gong Xichou's brother is actually quite nice.
Cui Xiao was too lazy to use his incantation to travel; he had overspent too much while building the house, so he simply hitched a ride and jumped onto the head of the Martial Gallant Totem. But as soon as he sat down, the giant python beneath him rolled its eyes, looked upwards, and exuded hostility.
Cui Xiao lightly tapped the cold, hard snakeskin with his knife-fan.
"Brother Snake, don't be stingy."
The giant python ultimately didn't manage to wrest him off, allowing this ant to sit atop its noble head. Cui Xiao breathed in the fresh air above, feeling refreshed. Luan Xin slowly propped himself up and sat beside him, his gaze falling on the priest's robe on his shoulder. Cui Xiao tapped the snake's head with his fan, creating a barrier to block the oncoming gust of wind: "This high priest is quite interesting."
Although it was outrageous, when the ministers of Kang heard "the country as a dowry," nine out of ten would only think of the dowry money, but the high priest's first reaction was the dowry. Cui Xiao said meaningfully, "The lord is also getting on in years, and this old man is quite a sight to behold."
Luan Xin took a long time to respond.
What are you going to do?
"Naturally, I will submit a memorial, requesting Your Majesty to expand your harem, ensure the continuation of your lineage, and appease my heart." Cui Xiao bowed to Chen Tang, imagining the scene, and used his fan to cover his impolite smile. "Tsk, just thinking about the temperament and taste of Qi Zhongshu and Chu Shangjun, I'm afraid there's no man in the world who can catch their eye."
Luan Xin simply turned his head and looked at Cui Xiao silently, without saying a word.
Cui Xiao, unable to bear his gaze any longer, frantically fanned himself in frustration: "Sigh, I'm actually a little worried that we'll follow in the footsteps of our predecessors. Looking back over these hundreds and thousands of years of chaos, how many countries have declined and perished due to a lack of male heirs? Putting aside everything else, the example of the Wu Kingdom alone is enough to make one uneasy."
It was evident from the old ministers of Yunda that, even after a century, they still cherished the memory of the former Wu Kingdom. If the former ruler of Wu Kingdom still had offspring, those offspring would have become the bond uniting the old ministers, and perhaps Wu Kingdom would have had a chance to survive.
As long as the country exists and the heir is talented, a comeback is not impossible. The closer Shen Tang gets to unification, the heavier Cui Xiao's unease becomes, and he begins to ponder these unpleasant questions.
Luan Xin was silent for a moment: "It's different."
Cui Xiaodao: "How is it different?"
Luan Xin took a long time to give an answer.
“The emperor’s offspring are different from the emperor himself.” The peculiar nature of the Kang Kingdom’s ministers meant that they couldn’t be controlled by anyone else, even if that person was the emperor’s offspring. Luan Xin reminded Cui Xiao, “If something were to happen to the emperor, Qi Yuanliang, Chu Wuhui, and Ning Tunan would not survive, and the three provinces would be abolished. Gu Wangchao would definitely resign and leave. Jiang Xiandeng and Kang Jishou would not leave, but… even they would not be able to withstand the backlash from the powerful families.”
Shen Tang was the most important pillar of the Kang Kingdom.
With this pillar collapsed, Kangguo can no longer talk about the future.
Whether or not one has children is not important.
Cui Xiao sighed, "That's true."
but--
"I still want to tease him a bit. Doesn't Gongyi want to see Qi Yuanliang and Chu Wuhui fight?" Cui Xiaoke really wanted to see Qi Shan suffer! He admitted that he had an element of settling a personal score.
Luan Xin had no interest in this.
Cui Xiaodao: "Would you like to make a bet with me?"
Luan Xin pondered for even longer: "What should we bet on?"
"Let's make a bet: who will be the first to submit a memorial suggesting that the Lord take a queen?"
Cui Xiao bet on Qi Yuanliang.
The more cunning a person is, the more likely they are to overthink things.
I don't believe the High Priest's question just now didn't alert Qi Shan.
Luan Xin remained completely uninterested.
Cui Xiao and his companion had the Martial Spirit Totem for transportation, but Shen Tang and the others were in a worse situation, having to rely on Word of Power to travel. To make matters worse, she was also ill, with a constantly bothering nose. A runny nose was manageable, but the worst part was having both nostrils blocked, making it impossible to breathe freely.
Perhaps because she hadn't been sick for so long, this cold was particularly severe. When Shen Tang returned to camp, she also had a cough, and her voice was no longer as clear and loud as before. Her almond-shaped eyes, reddish and misty, gave her a rare, harmless air.
When she returned, the camp was bustling with activity.
From a distance, we could see an unfamiliar group.
Upon seeing the flags displayed by the group, she realized: "Is this the Gao Kingdom's delegation? Here to negotiate peace? Didn't we say last time that this war wouldn't end here? Why are they here again?"
Upon officially entering the camp, Bai Su breathed a long sigh of relief.
She has finally completed her mission.
I thought it would be an easy task, but it turns out that the master, Gongxi Chou, and Ji Moqiu have terrible sense of direction. Not only are they bad at directions, but they also run around incredibly fast and like to lead the way. Luan Gongyi is slow to react and completely useless. As for Cui Shanxiao?
She overlooked it.
This journey was entirely thanks to Bai Su's repeated corrections.
Haha, I never want this kind of "easy job" again.
Bai Su squinted at the direction of the delegation; the people there seemed to be arguing about something. She said, "My lord, I will go and see."
"Um."
Bai Su went first, followed by Shen Tang.
The matter is not complicated; the Gao Kingdom delegation wants to meet with Shen Tang.
Chu Yao and his group conveyed Shen Tang's firm intention to wage war and attempted to send the delegation back. However, the delegation offered a reason they couldn't refuse. Ostensibly, they were acting on orders from the royal court to facilitate peace talks, but in reality, they wanted to secretly pledge allegiance to Shen Tang.
If Shen Tang were willing to take them in, he could effortlessly absorb the military forces under their control, including a large portion of Gao Kingdom's territory. As the ruler of the kingdom, Shen Tang had no reason to refuse.
Even if Kangguo gains the upper hand, if the two sides were to fight again, Shentang's side would still suffer some losses. Even small losses are still lives lost, and for a benevolent ruler, it's best to avoid sacrifices if possible.
Left with no other choice, Chu Yao had to step in and deal with the situation.
The two sides failed to reach a consensus on some details, and even Chu Yao couldn't make the decision, so the matter could only continue to drag on. The delegation was pressing for a second round of negotiations, but Chu Yao's side hadn't responded, leading to the scene that Shen Tang and the others witnessed.
Bai Su stepped forward and gave a stern rebuke.
"This is a military camp, how dare you make such a ruckus?"
A scholar-like man turned his head, sizing up Bai Su to guess her identity. Bai Su, dressed in worn-out coarse linen clothes, appeared unapproachable despite her imposing presence. The scholar, still sensible, dared not act recklessly on Shen Tang's territory. Suppressing his irritation, he bowed to Bai Su and asked, "May I ask which general you are?"
"Bai Shaoxuan".
The scholar's pupils trembled, his attitude changed 180 degrees, and he bowed deeply: "My apologies, my apologies, it is General Bai! The noise was not our intention, we have a great and urgent matter to discuss with Lord Shen, please forgive us, General Bai."
Just as Bai Su was about to ask them what urgent matter they had, Shen Tang stepped out from behind her and said, "Oh, you've come to see me?"
The delegation members were overjoyed.
Some observant people also noticed Shen Tang's attire.
Even the more respectable servants in the household were better dressed than her.
However, Shen Tang's title and strength are her greatest assets, requiring no elaborate embellishment. Let alone coarse linen clothes, even if she haphazardly draped a burlap sack over herself, who would dare say it wasn't a royal robe? She has that privilege.
"You all wait here for now, I have other things to attend to." Standing in front of the glamorous delegation, Shen Tang, whose feet were covered in thick mud and whose nose was constantly running, showed no discomfort whatsoever. "I'll give you an answer to your matter in a quarter of an hour."
No one in the delegation dared to utter a single complaint.
They all bowed their hands and answered "Yes".
As she walked, she gave the order: "Summon Wu Hui to see me."
Shen Tang needed to quickly understand what had happened in the past few days and what he had discussed with the Gao Kingdom delegation in order to make the right response.
Without Shen Tang sending anyone to look for him, Chu Yao arrived on his own after receiving the news, and immediately noticed the obvious illness on Shen Tang's face.
"Why is the lord ill?"
Shen Tang stood outside the tent and did not go in.
"It's nothing serious, just a backlash from the scholar's words. I'll probably be fine in a couple more days." If the delegation hadn't been waiting for her, she would have complained to Wu Hui about how wronged she had been this time. "What happened to the Gao Kingdom delegation just now?"
Shen Tang got straight to the point.
The Gao Kingdom delegation outwardly sought peace talks, but secretly plotted to defect; it all reeked of conspiracy. Shen Tang came to Chu Yao to understand the situation—it concerned whether she should spare them or slaughter them! What kind of underhanded tricks were they playing on her?!
Chu Yao's answer was unexpected.
"After the lord left, the scouts who had been lying in wait sent back a message."
Shen Tang disrupted Mei Jinghe's perfect ceremony with three imperial edicts, and also caused considerable turmoil for the Gao Kingdom's court. Wu Xian's fourth son ascended the throne with the edicts; although there were some doubts, the procedure was sound. Where Wu Xian, who had abdicated, stayed was no longer important. The Gao Kingdom's court's focus now was on uniting as one to facilitate peace talks between the two countries. As for the cost, they had no time to consider it; lives were the most important thing!
This is also a good opportunity for the Gao Kingdom's court to unite the people.
For the sake of their common interests, the ministers temporarily put aside their differences.
Theory is wonderful, reality is cruel.
On the second day after the coup in Gao Kingdom, three concubines perished in the royal court. These three women were close to powerful families of the former Gao Kingdom and had vested interests with the fifth son of Wu Xian, who had failed in the coup. Their deaths completely shattered any possibility of unity within the royal court!
Everyone believes that this was done by the current head of state!
The intermarriages among powerful and influential families were extremely complex and intertwined.
These powerful clans suspected the new ruler and naturally wouldn't be of one mind with him. They also had to be wary of the new ruler using them as a scapegoat to establish his authority.
A crisis of trust can trigger an avalanche.
Strike first and you'll have the upper hand; strike later and you'll suffer the consequences.
Rather than waiting to be killed by a new master, it's better to sell it for a good price while the new master still has value.
Thus, the mission staged this elaborate scheme: ostensibly to negotiate on behalf of the new ruler, but secretly to use the opportunity to contact Shen Tang. If a price was agreed upon, they were willing to cooperate with Shen Tang from within and without to deliver a fatal blow to the Gao Kingdom.
Shen Tang listened expressionlessly.
"What are the terms of cooperation?"
She showed no intention of entering the tent, so Chu Yao could only stand outside with her, pull out a confidential document from his sleeve, and present it to her: "It's nothing more than the interests of the aristocratic families."
Seeing that Shen Tang had taken it, he whispered a reminder.
"My lord, please don't get angry and hurt yourself."
Shen Tang opened the book and read ten lines at a glance.
He sneered as he closed the package: "Trying to bargain with me? Even their former master, Wu Xian, wasn't qualified. They're nothing! Tell someone to tell them I'm sick and can't pass on my illness to them. Tell them to wait a little longer. If they can't wait, then get out!"
Using one's "merit" for personal gain?
Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror?
When the Kang Kingdom was founded, she didn't leave any clan lands or tenant farmers to the aristocratic families. Now that the country is stable and has won a war, do you think she'll give in? Dream on! She'll lead her iron cavalry to slaughter them all, but the lands and people will still be hers, and their lives will be hers too!
|ω`)
Tangmei: A small thank you to the enemy for their assist.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
