April 7th.
Yu Dynasty, Dieyi Palace, back garden.
The spring here is more intense than that in Guanyun City of the Wu Dynasty.
The peonies in this back garden are in full bloom, the crabapples are bright red, and the clusters of lilacs are like clouds, like the sea, and like rosy clouds.
There are butterflies playing among the flowers, and bees busy among the stamens.
It makes this late spring beautiful and fills the Xiuchun Pavilion here with fragrance.
Empress Shang, wearing a linen dress, brewed a pot of new tea. Emperor Xuan stood alone in front of the window, looking at the sea of flowers under the spring sun. His eyes were not focused and his thoughts had already drifted away.
"Your Majesty, in fact, when Emperor Wen sent that letter, this matter was already a foregone conclusion."
Emperor Xuan sighed deeply, "I thought Emperor Wen just wanted to see him, but I didn't expect Emperor Wen to actually fall in love with him!"
He slowly turned around and walked to the tea table and sat down. Empress Shang handed him a cup of fresh tea and smiled calmly: "I have roughly guessed what will happen today. With Fu Xiaoguan's talent, Emperor Wen likes him, and it is not surprising that he will become the crown prince."
"He ran off to the Wu Dynasty and is about to become the crown prince, but I...how should I end this mess?"
Queen Shang smiled, her smile more beautiful than that of the peony.
"Your Majesty, don't forget, he is your son-in-law."
Emperor Xuan was stunned. "You mean, he will come back?"
"It's not necessary for him to come back. He wrote The Wealth of Nations, so he would have ideas on how to implement it and how to deal with it.
All His Majesty needs to do is hand over his countermeasures to the Political Affairs Hall. Actually, this also has its advantages. If Fu Xiaoguan were to implement this strategy, it would naturally be twice the result with half the effort. However, only he would understand the subtleties of it.
In this situation, he can only communicate the method through letters, and the implementation of the people fell on the ministers in the Political Affairs Hall. They will learn the secrets and may even come up with new methods. For the Yu Dynasty, this is a process of accumulating talents and experience.
"So, Your Majesty, everything has two sides, advantages and disadvantages. Look at the advantages and avoid the disadvantages."
Emperor Xuan suddenly understood, and a smile finally appeared on his face.
He took a sip of the tea and said with emotion, "I'm sorry, Wenyun. Guanyun City is too high up, the food is coarse, the nights are cold and foggy. It's a far cry from Jinling. Sigh..."
"Your Majesty, there's no need to worry too much. Official Fu is a man of loyalty and righteousness, and he won't mistreat Wen Yun. And now that he's about to take over the Eastern Palace, I think... Your Majesty can transfer Yu Chunqiu's remaining 200,000 border troops to Lanling."
She poured tea for His Majesty and said, "The war in the east must be ended as soon as possible. The problems in the north are becoming increasingly prominent. We cannot allow the Palace Master to continue to gain power."
Emperor Xuan nodded slightly. Since Fu Xiaoguan was about to become the crown prince of Wu Dynasty, the possibility of war between the south and Wu Dynasty became extremely small. Now the war with Yi State had entered a critical moment. The eldest prince Yu Wentian was defending Lanling City and received fifty cannons sent by Fu Xiaoguan from Xishan. In addition to the 150,000 troops transferred from the southern border army, the eastern border army had now launched a counterattack. According to yesterday's intelligence, the Yu Dynasty army had repelled the Yi State enemy army to Guanshanji, and the recovery of Sangyu was just around the corner.
But this is not the result Emperor Xuan wanted!
When he learned a few days ago that Fu Xiaoguan was very likely to become the crown prince of the Wu Dynasty, he summoned all the ministers in the court to discuss and set the next strategic goal in the east - not only did he want to drive the Yi army out of Xima River, but he also wanted to send troops to Ximayuan and break into the border city of Holan in Yi!
When Yu Chunqiu led the southern border troops to the eastern battlefield, the number of red cannons would likely increase to over 70. It was said that the city of Huolan in the Yi Kingdom was extremely strong, so let's test the power of the red cannons to see if they could destroy its thick walls!
"The results of the Wuchao Literary Contest have arrived. Your Majesty, please take a look."
Empress Shang handed Emperor Xuan a few pieces of paper and said with a smile, "This boy is truly the God of Literature. These poems and essays, and even those two couplets, are truly beyond the reach of ordinary people."
Emperor Xuan carefully read these poems and articles, his brows gradually relaxed, he stroked his short beard and smiled:
"Humble Dwelling Inscription... Queen, do you think this boy truly longs for this kind of life?"
"I think so. Last year he came to my garden when the chrysanthemums were in full bloom. He wrote a poem for me: 'Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the southern mountains.' I liked it very much. Since writing comes from the heart, I think this is the kind of life he longed for at that time."
"After he left for the Wu Dynasty, he composed the poem 'No Desire,' which is now widely sung in Jinling. Your Majesty, please read his poem 'Setting the Wind and Waves' written at this literary gathering. A bamboo cane and straw sandals are lighter than a horse, who is afraid? A raincoat protects me from the mist and rain. So, Fu Xiaoguan's true heart is truly uninhibited and unrestrained. Otherwise, how could he have written such a carefree and indifferent poem as 'Looking back at the desolate place, I return, neither wind nor rain nor clear'?"
Emperor Xuan deeply agreed. He carefully read through all the poems and essays, and with deep emotion, he said, "What a pity! These poems and essays could have been inscribed on thousands of stone tablets. From now on... the title of the world's top writer will fall to the Wu Dynasty."
He shook his head regretfully and asked, "That guy said he would return Xiyu Tower to you... What do you think?"
"I want to know what Your Majesty means."
Emperor Xuan thought for a moment, "He's a member of the Wu Dynasty. He hasn't yet integrated into the Wu Dynasty, and his feelings for the Yu Dynasty are still very deep. But as he lives in the Wu Dynasty for a long time, he'll eventually develop feelings for it. Plus, he's bound to become the crown prince, and for the sake of national interests, he won't do anything that would harm the Wu Dynasty. So, I think we should take back Xiyu Tower. After all, once he becomes emperor, he'll have control of Tianji Pavilion."
Queen Shang nodded. "I will send the phoenix hairpin back to the Fifth Floor later. He knows a lot about Drizzle Tower, and this needs to change slowly. The Fifth Floor will stay in Guanyun City for the time being, because we still need to continue to contact him about the promotion of The Wealth of Nations. As for the future, perhaps the two countries will become friends and help each other, or perhaps..."
Queen Shang did not finish her words. She did not want something that might happen. After all, she saw Fu Xiaoguan being born with her own eyes, grew up in the Yu Dynasty, and was her son-in-law.
"The spring sun is shining brightly today. Your Majesty, do you have the leisure to go weed the yard with me?"
"Hahahaha, I haven't touched a hoe in many years. Now that the Queen mentioned it, I'll try being that old farmer again."
Eunuch Jia stood with his head hunched in the corner of Xiuchun Pavilion, where the spring sun could not reach and he seemed as if he did not exist.
His Majesty had shown him everything about Fu Xiaoguan's time in the Wu Dynasty, especially the night when Fu Xiaoguan was assassinated.
You Beidou actually appeared!
And he was seriously injured!
"Please don't die. If you die, who will take care of the thousands of plum trees on Luomei Mountain?"
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