Extra 1, Empress
My name is Song Yutong, and I am also known as Emperor Changle. I am the first female emperor of Daqi and the only female emperor in all dynasties.
I don’t know if there will be anyone who can surpass him, but it can definitely be said that there is no one like him before him.
I have been in power for forty-six years. Some people say I am a tyrant and some say I am a wise ruler. I have received mixed reviews, but I don’t care much because I know what I want.
I doubled the territory of Daqi, and conquered Tubo, Huiqi, Goguryeo, Nanzhao, and Jindu and made them all part of Daqi's territory.
I don't want their tribute, nor their vassalage. I just want them to kneel down and submit to me.
Of course, the long years of war also put Da Qi into crisis several times, and it was also labeled as war-loving by Confucianists. I will talk about these one by one later. First, let me talk about how I became emperor as a woman.
In the seventeenth year of Changzhi, my brother, who had been traveling abroad for three years, finally returned from the West. Seeing him, who looked weathered but full of energy, my parents and I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Three years ago, my brother suddenly fell ill and was in a coma for six or seven days. Although he tried to hide it from me, Li Dehai could not resist my coercion and inducement and told me about my brother's physical condition.
I was so horrified at the time that I almost cried out loud on the spot. If my royal brother was no longer around... I really didn't dare to imagine what would happen.
Fortunately, my brother woke up, but since he woke up, his health has been worse than before. He comforted me and said he was fine, but from Brother Zhao's face, I could tell that his health was definitely not as simple as he said.
I didn't dare to ask too much, I could only study hard and help him share more court affairs, so that my brother could rest more and recover his health slowly.
As the weather got warmer, my brother's health not only did not improve, but instead got worse. Sometimes he would sleep for half a day. Every time Brother Zhao entered the palace, his eyes were filled with deep and unremitting sadness.
I have also seen him crying secretly. It was one afternoon, when I came back from school at the Taifu's place and was about to go to the Yangxin Palace to find my brother, when I saw Brother Zhao standing alone by a tree outside the palace, crying silently.
It was hard to imagine that the war god of Daqi would cry so sadly. In addition to worry, I was more afraid that my brother would really leave. I was very scared, but I couldn't tell my parents because only my brother could take the initiative to tell them about this matter.
Things took a turn for the better. In April, Brother Zhao was eager to take my brother to Jiangnan to relax and let me start regulating the country.
Being regent was not an easy job. I was only thirteen years old at that time. Although I was more mature than my peers and had learned a lot more knowledge, I was still no match for those old foxes in the court.
Every time I went to court, I was so nervous that my shirt was soaked with sweat. I knew they didn't want me to ascend the throne just because I was a woman. People in the world think that women are inferior. The more they think so, the more I want to ascend the throne and do something great to make them convinced!
During the six months I was in charge of the country, I handled thousands of matters, big and small, and sometimes I was so busy that I could not rest until late at night. I was holding back a lot of energy in my heart, not wanting them to look down on me, nor did I want to disappoint my brother.
However, I neglected my own health when I was young, and I soon caught a cold in the chilly spring weather. In order not to affect my ability to handle court affairs, I still dragged my sick body to read memorials after taking my medicine every day.
Seeing that I was getting thinner, the tutor decided to take me out for a walk to relax.
The first day of May is Daqi's Labor Day. This holiday was set by my brother. Everyone from court officials to the poor common people can have a five-day rest.
During these five days, I had originally planned to review all the memorials that had accumulated in the past few days and then read two history books. However, I was called by the Grand Tutor early in the morning to accompany him to go fishing.
Taifu Gao Yi is an old minister of the previous dynasty. He is already in his seventies this year, but is still in good health.
He once assisted Emperor Longwu, but this was probably his most unsuccessful student, leading the prosperous dynasty to the abyss. But this cannot be blamed on the Taifu. I know that the Taifu is a man of great talent. He taught me many ways to be a monarch, which I can never learn from anywhere else in this life.
I followed the Grand Tutor in a carriage to Jing Lake. There were many people going out for an outing today. The guards originally wanted to drive the crowd away, but I stopped them. The people had finally come out for once, so we should not disturb their enjoyment.
The Grand Tutor and I went to a less crowded place. I have more than ten guards around me, and there are people from the Xuanyi Tower protecting me in secret, so nothing should happen.
The Master is an experienced fisherman who knows a lot about fishing. He is particular about the use of fishing rods, fishing lines and fish hooks, especially the bait used for fishing.
He introduced it to me in a rambling manner: "This bait is made of peanut bran and corn flour scalded in boiling water, and then mixed with pig blood. Fish like this taste the most. Throw it into the water and you can catch fish in a while."
I have no interest in fishing. In fact, apart from governing the country, I have little interest in anything else. My brother once praised me as a natural emperor.
But since I'm here with the Grand Tutor today, I have to give it a try. The eunuch helped me hang the bait on the hook, and I cast the fishing line like the Grand Tutor.
In the following period of time, just calm down and wait.
After a while, the float moved, and I immediately put away the fishing rod and found that the bait on it had been eaten by the fish, but no fish was caught.
I asked the eunuch to continue hanging the bait, casting the line and waiting.
After waiting for about half a quarter of an hour, the float shook again. I quickly reeled in the rod, and the fish ran away again.
This went on for a few times, and I started to get impatient. "Master, it seems like I'm not suitable for fishing."
The Grand Tutor smiled leisurely, took a three or four jin carp off the hook and put it into the bucket, saying: "I know your Highness is anxious, but being anxious is not necessarily a good thing. Just calm down and wait slowly."
I took a deep breath and asked the eunuch to put the bait on again and cast the line. This time I didn't rush to reel in the rod, but carefully observed the master's fishing technique to see how he reeled in the rod.
Taifu's fishing float moved, but he did not rush to reel in the rod. Instead, he waited for a while until the fish took a firm bite before he began to slowly pull the rod. Soon, a lively fish was pulled out of the water.
The Master's beard trembled with laughter: "It seems that we have run into a fish nest today."
I turned my head and started staring at my fishing rod. Suddenly, the float started shaking. I held the rod tightly and didn't raise my hand immediately. After a while, I started to reel in the rod. My heart was pounding. The fish was hooked! The weight of the end almost bent the rod.
The guard wanted to come forward to help, but I said, "No, I can do it myself!"
I struggled to pull the fish to the shore, and pulled a nearly ten-pound black fish out of the water. I finally smiled: "Master, look, look!"
The Grand Tutor looked at me with a smile and said, "Does Your Highness understand?"
I nodded. "Being a king is just like fishing. If you are impatient, you will get confused. Only when you calm down can you reap the rewards."
The Grand Tutor stroked his beard and laughed loudly: "It is a great honor for me, Mr. Gao, to be able to teach such a talented person like Your Highness!"
I later brought this black fish into the palace and ordered people to keep it well in the pond in the back garden. It was the first fish I ever caught in my life.
We fished until noon, and only left when we saw a few young students in blue shirts coming over to play.
The Master had a good catch today, but unfortunately he was not a fish lover, so he gave the fish to a few guards to eat as a snack. We went to Xiangyun Tower and had their signature sweet-scented osmanthus chicken, which was as good as its reputation.
When I returned to the palace in the afternoon, I was no longer in a hurry to review the memorials. Instead, I picked up my travel notes and started reading. When I felt sleepy, I went to bed early and started working full of energy the next day.
As the days passed, I gradually adapted to the fact that my hands trembled with nervousness when attending court, and could even scare them when appropriate.
This is what my tutor taught me. He said that everyone has bad nature. If you are too nice to them, they will gradually get out of your control. You must be strict in rewards and punishments so that they will fear you, respect you, and obey your orders.
At that time, I felt that what the Grand Tutor said was wrong. My brother was very gentle towards the court officials and often chatted with them about family matters.
The Grand Tutor smiled helplessly and said, "There is one thing I have to say. The reason why Your Majesty can chat with him is because many ministers have a life-and-death friendship with Your Majesty, and some were promoted by Your Majesty, and you are grateful to them for your help." Of course, the most important thing is that Your Majesty is a man.
The Grand Tutor didn’t say the last sentence, but I already understood in my heart that I am different from my brother. It is not difficult to become an emperor, but the difficult part is how to control people’s hearts.
In May, heavy rains hit Cizhou, and many places were affected. This was my first time dealing with such a major event, so I was naturally very alert.
I reviewed the disaster situation with officials from the Ministry of Revenue for three consecutive days and allocated money for disaster relief. One million six hundred thousand taels of silver were sent down. I was worried about the local officials, so I asked Qingniang and Jinshan from Xuanyi Tower to conduct a secret investigation.
As expected, less than one-tenth of the disaster relief money reached the hands of the people!
I immediately sent an official to investigate, and brought back this nest of rats, took them to jail and tortured them severely. The silver that was seized was used directly for disaster relief, and this matter was done without any leaks.
The ministers in the court had a different view of me and no longer treated me as a naughty child. The Minister of Revenue, Lord Liu, also began to pass me a sign to enter the palace to discuss the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue.
In June, Xu Xiang received a letter from his brother, saying that his health had improved. I was so happy! I was looking forward to his return as soon as possible. I really missed him.
My brother also wrote me a separate letter, telling me that everything was fine and asking me not to work too hard, to leave court affairs to the people below me as appropriate, and to go home more often to spend time with my parents when I have free time.
I obediently went home that night and took another letter written to my parents back with me.
After reading the letter, my mother was so excited that she shed tears. She hugged me and said, "Fortunately, everything is fine. Your elder brother was really... worried about me to death."
Brother November is finally back!
When I heard the news, I rushed to see him, but he immediately poured cold water on me. My brother said that he was going to sail to the West and would not be back for three years.
I asked him if he could not go. My brother touched my hair and hesitated to speak. But Brother Zhao said, "Don't worry, I'm with him. It's okay."
At that time, I didn’t know that my brother’s trip was for me, and I thought he really wanted to travel to the West.
Once when I was chatting with Prime Minister Xu, he said to me: "Your Majesty has never done anything out of the ordinary. I think he must have his own purpose in doing this."
A word of advice awakened me from my dream. I realized that my brother must have left for me! His illness was not cured at all. He went to the sea to the West, perhaps to recuperate, or perhaps to... not let his death affect the court.
At that moment, I was so sad that I couldn't breathe. I couldn't believe that my brother really left like this.
The next three years were neither long nor short, allowing me to grow from a young girl into a woman.
Troubles also come with it. Women are not as strong as men and they feel uncomfortable for a few days every month.
My mother watched me grow up gradually, but there was not much smile on her face. I knew she was worried about my marriage.
Most girls my age in Daqi have already got married. For example, Aunt Mei’s daughter Song Ping’er got married last year and is about to give birth by the end of this year.
My brother has left me with a regret that he has not married or had children. Now that I have reached the age to get married, I still cannot get married or have children. My mother is very worried.
As the crown prince, the person I am going to marry cannot be from a very powerful family, as I am afraid that the offspring I will have will be detrimental to my throne. Secondly, the person cannot be too weak, as that will not be conducive to the cultivation of offspring in the future.
Officials in the court who had sons of marriageable age began to make plans in their minds. If one of them was chosen to give birth to an heir to the throne, their status would rise with the tide, and the dynasty might even change.
Therefore, they knew my preferences very well. They learned that I liked white, so most men in the capital wore white clothes; they knew that I used sandalwood incense, so a box of sandalwood incense was hard to come by in the capital. What's more, many officials smuggled private goods in their memorials, including portraits of their own children and poems they had written, which were simply disgusting to look at.
I knew their thoughts, so I hated it even more. After several officials were demoted, the killing of a chicken to scare the monkeys gradually faded.
I plan to wait for my brother to come back and choose a queen for me. I know he will come back...
In the 17th year of Changzhi, Huiqi State on the border of Xizhou launched an invasion and occupied the entire Xizhou in just half a month.
Fang Hao, the garrison commander of Xizhou, surrendered without resistance and took 25,000 soldiers to Huizhou. He was named the commander-in-chief of the army and, under the slogan of "eliminating the hens and reviving Daqi", he launched an attack on Daqi.
When I received the news, it was like a bucket of cold water was poured over me, chilling me to the bone.
The small Xizhou garrison is nothing to be afraid of. What I am afraid of is that someone will follow his banner and rebel together...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
