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◎The majestic little princess◎
The little princess was sleeping soundly in her father's arms. When her father was about to put her on the couch, she woke up, rubbed her eyes, and refused to sleep again.
On the way, Emperor Xingwu had already heard Jie Yu talk about the whole story of his daughter getting up early, and he silently took note of it. Since his daughter had enough sleep last night, Emperor Xingwu did not force her and ordered He Yuanjing to serve the meal.
Jie Yu helped the little princess wash her face again, using the facial cream from Emperor Xingwu.
Qingyang sniffed it and asked, "Why doesn't it smell good at all?"
Emperor Xingwu, who was sitting nearby, laughed and said, "Father doesn't like using incense. What if bees sting him?"
Qingyang: "...Bees only like nectar, so they won't sting us."
The slightly disdainful look in his daughter's eyes made Emperor Xingwu smile even more. He picked up the little girl and sat down at the dining table, with the father and daughter sitting next to each other.
Qingyang took a few bites and recalled what he had heard at the court: "Father, is Pingliang Hou the father of Yuan Chongli?"
Emperor Xingwu's smile faded slightly, he nodded, and glanced at He Yuanjing.
He Yuanjing immediately retreated with Jie Yu and several young eunuchs.
Qingyang just stared at his father: "Is the emperor angry with him?"
Emperor Xingwu was curious: "Why do you think so?"
Qingyang: "Father hardly smiles anymore."
Emperor Xingwu was silent for a moment, then snorted. "My father sent him to Liang Province to suppress corrupt officials and bandits and to guard the northwestern border. Yet, after just over three years away from my father, he's already taken the lead in greedily seizing land. There's only so much land in Liang Province, and if officials are greedy, the poor people will get less. Life is tough for the people, and besides cursing the corrupt officials, they're also calling my father a bad emperor."
Qingyang pouted: "Father is a good emperor."
Emperor Xingwu said: "You are all my children. Your opinions do not count. Only when the majority of officials and people praise you as a good emperor can you be considered a good emperor."
Qingyang: "Lord Nie has mentioned so many corrupt officials, why doesn't your father investigate the Marquis of Pingliang instead of the others?"
Emperor Xingwu: "Lin'er, do you recognize Lord Nie?"
Qingyang: "Yes, I recognize all the officials standing in front."
The emperor is the greatest emperor in the world. Every government office has a bunch of high-ranking officials who have to obey their orders. They are also the ones who dare to control her the most. When Qingyang went to the Censorate for the first time, Nie Ao saluted her. The second time she went, Nie Ao scolded her and said that he would leave her alone for the time being because of her young age. If she dared to run around after she turned ten, Nie Ao would report her. It would be strange if Qingyang didn't recognize him.
Emperor Xingwu, unaware of the little story between his daughter and the ministers, answered her question, "Because the other officials are just little ants, your father can just send a few men to crush them. But the Marquis of Pingliang is a tiger, commanding a hundred thousand border troops, equivalent to a hundred thousand little tigers. Your father won't give him any face at all, and he might just make the entire Liang Province his own territory and never listen to your father again."
Qingyang understood, put down his chopsticks, and said angrily, "Then the emperor should also lead his troops to attack him, just like Emperor Xuanyuan attacked Chiyou, and defeat him until all the princes obey his orders."
Emperor Xingwu: "...Did Jie Yu tell you this?"
Xie Yu did report that his daughter wanted to hear about the Qin State, so Xie Yu simply found the "Records of the Grand Historian" and told his daughter some stories every night. But how could Emperor Xingwu have expected that his three-year-old daughter would actually listen to it and even know how to use the stories in the "Records of the Grand Historian" to guide him?
Qingyang nodded.
Emperor Xingwu suppressed his surprise and explained, "After all, he is a meritorious official who helped my father conquer the world. I have feelings for him and I must give him a chance to mend his ways."
Qingyang: "That Lord Liu also helped the emperor, so the emperor punished him."
After this conversation, Emperor Xingwu was no longer surprised by his daughter's good memory. He smiled wryly and said, "There's solid evidence that Liu Wenzhi has violated the law. More importantly, he has no troops, so it's easy for you to arrest him. There's no solid evidence that Pingliang Hou has embezzled land, and he's far away. Instead of sending troops to attack him, why not scare him? If he'll obey and hand over the land, wouldn't that save you a lot of trouble?"
Emperor Xingwu knew all of this group of founding heroes very well. Pingliang Hou Yuan Zhaoxiong was quite knowledgeable in tactics and had talent in guarding the border, but he just liked to take advantage of small gains and needed to be whipped from time to time to remind him. It must have been because he was too far away from the capital in the past two years and was bewitched by the villains around him, so Yuan Zhaoxiong suddenly became bolder.
Qingyang: "Is he really at the horizon? How far is the horizon from us?"
Emperor Xingwu smiled and said, "Eat first. After you finish eating, I will take you to see it."
The little princess immediately concentrated on eating breakfast.
After dinner, Emperor Xingwu carried the little princess to the imperial study. Standing before a map hanging on a folding screen to the north, which the little princess hadn't noticed, he stretched out his hand and drew a large circle along the border. He explained, "Look, this is the land that father conquered through his conquests. This is also the land of our Great Qi Dynasty. The people living here must obey your orders, and you are responsible for their safety and well-being."
The little princess looked around and asked in confusion, "Why is it so small? It's not even as big as my father's study."
Emperor Xingwu laughed loudly.
After laughing enough, Emperor Xingwu patiently explained to his daughter the difference between distances on a map and real-world distances: "Look, this is the Imperial Palace, and this is the Yellow River. From the Imperial Palace to the Yellow River, it's about fifty li, and it takes more than half an hour on horseback. This is Wuwei, the capital of Liangzhou, about two thousand five hundred li from the capital. Even if you ride day and night, it would take two days, and four days just during the day, with constant changes of horses. Now, Lin'er, do you understand how far these areas are from us?"
Qingyang seemed to understand.
Emperor Xingwu then explained to his daughter that if he led his troops to attack Liang Province, the army would have to march for over forty days to reach the destination, and how much food and fodder would be consumed during those forty days. "The hardship of marching and the consumption of food and fodder are the simplest issues. The problem is that your father has only been emperor for three or four years, and the people and officials are not yet loyal to you. What if the generals in these places also rebel while you're attacking Liang Province, or even if our neighboring countries further afield send troops to attack us? Wouldn't we be attacked from all sides?"
"It's too dangerous. Unless I'm absolutely certain, Father won't take any risks. I'd rather tolerate Pingliang Hou's bad habits, unless he refuses to change and deliberately goes against Father every time."
Emperor Xingwu said these words not only to his daughter but also to convince himself again, so that he could relieve his anger towards Marquis Pingliang.
Qingyang understood some of it, but not quite some of it.
Emperor Xingwu didn't want to go into details, so he took his daughter away and reminded her of the situation at hand: "As per the old rules, you can't tell any of these words to outsiders, understand?"
Qingyang nodded.
Emperor Xingwu: "The Marquis of Pingliang has angered my father. When you meet Yuan Chongli in Chongwen Pavilion later, what will you do to him?"
The little princess glared, thinking she was very fierce and scary.
Emperor Xingwu laughed, "You're wrong. You're pretending that I don't believe Pingliang Hou is corrupt and that I don't know what's going on at court. You should play with Yuan Chongli, so he doesn't write to Pingliang Hou secretly to complain. Otherwise, if you bully Yuan Chongli, Pingliang Hou will find out and will disobey me even more, causing me more headaches."
Qingyang remembered it.
Emperor Xingwu patted his daughter's head and said, "Let's go to Chongwen Pavilion. Your Majesty will also listen to the scholars' lectures."
Qingyang glanced at the direction of the map and refused to leave. "Father, I want to go to the Yellow River and see how far it is."
Emperor Xingwu: "...I will take you there when your father is free."
Qingyang said happily, "I still want to go to the military camp. Commander Fan said that the Imperial Guard has few guards, so the training is not powerful enough. The training in the four camps is more powerful."
The emperor said that the 100,000 soldiers of the Marquis of Pingliang were little tigers, and she wanted to see whether the 200,000 soldiers of the emperor in the Beijing camp were little tigers.
Emperor Xingwu: "...I will take you there when your father is free."
Qingyang: "...When is Father free?"
Emperor Xingwu had no answer. He was free on his day off, but the soldiers should also be resting. Was he going to make them train for an extra day just because of his daughter's playfulness?
Qingyang stared at his father's pursed lips and thought of an idea: "Father is busy. After the next court meeting, Father will ask Uncle Wang to take me to the North Camp... No, I don't like Uncle Wang. Father will ask the Duke of Wei to take me to the South Camp."
Uncle Wang lost his patience after coaxing her for a while, and might not allow her to run around when she got to the military camp. Duke Weiguo seemed more willing to listen to her.
Emperor Xingwu: "...How do you know which battalion they are in charge of?"
Qingyang: "Commander Fan told me."
Emperor Xingwu said: "Well, then let's go sixteen. When the time comes, let Fan Zhong escort you there, and bring your eldest brother, second brother, and third brother along as well. You can all go there and broaden your horizons."
At Chongwen Pavilion, when Qin Bing heard his sister talking about this during the break, he jumped three feet high with joy, picked up his sister and started swinging her around, but Qin Hong and Qin Liang stopped him in time to prevent him from accidentally dropping his sister.
Qingyang, who was still a little dizzy as his feet touched the ground, was immediately hugged by Qin Ren.
Qingyang glanced at her second brother who was being criticized by her eldest brother, and sensibly didn't say that she wanted her second brother to swing her a few more times.
Two days later, on the sixteenth day of the winter month, the four brothers and sisters who had asked for leave from their teachers in advance, along with Zhang Su and his three companions, arrived early at the Suzaku Gate at the southernmost end of the imperial city and waited.
After the court was dismissed, the civil officials stayed in the offices in the imperial city, and most of the military officers had to go out of the palace to work. At the head of the military officers who walked side by side were the king and three dukes.
Seeing the little ones, Prince Yong strode over and said curiously, "Why go to the South Camp? Let's go to the North Camp with Uncle Wang. After visiting the military camp, we can also go to the Yellow River."
The three princes were all tempted to visit two places at once. However, before they could agree, the little princess said crisply, "No, today we are going to the South Camp with the Duke of Wei. Next time when the emperor is free, he will take us to see the Yellow River. If we visit the Yellow River today, he won't take us next time."
Qin Bing immediately supported his sister when he heard this: "Yes, let's go to Nanying today!"
What a joke. If you can leave the palace twice, who would choose to leave once?
The sixty-year-old Duke Chengguo Lu Guangzu stroked his gray and white beard and watched the fun with a smile.
Duke Dingguo Deng Chong teased Prince Yong: "It's a pity that Your Highness is so kind-hearted, but none of the other princes actually buy into your ideas."
Prince Yong deliberately teased his nephews and nieces, tempting them with a promise: "Whoever follows me to the North Camp will receive a precious sword or a gem this big."
The prince bent his thumb and index finger and made a circle as big as a lychee towards the little princess.
The three princes all looked at their sister.
Qingyang was afraid his brothers would be coaxed away by his uncle, so he shouted, "The emperor ordered us to go to the South Camp, but your uncle insisted we go to the North Camp. Are you trying to disobey him?"
The crisp yet questioning child's voice startled Prince Yong and the three dukes.
It was the elder Lu Guangzu who said, "Well, Your Majesty, please stop teasing the others. It's getting late, so let's get to work."
Prince Yong shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and pointed at his niece, saying, "Stinky Lin'er, since you dislike your uncle so much, I will never give you any good things from him in the future."
Qingyang: "I'll ask my father for it!"
King Yong was completely defeated and rode away first amid Fan Zhong's gloating laughter.
Four carriages were prepared outside the palace gate. Qingyang didn't want to ride in one by herself, so she asked Fan Zhong to carry her to the carriage of her third brother and Zhang Su.
Fan Zhong stood guard beside the princess's carriage, while Zhang Jie rode on horseback alongside the prince's carriage.
It was still early and there was nothing much to see in the capital. Outside the city, the fields on both sides of the official road were a sea of yellow earth. The winter wind blew, blowing up a layer of gray dust.
The little princess lying by the window was not prepared to have dirt blown all over her face. She quickly retreated to the middle of the carriage, closed her eyes and let her third brother wipe her face. Jie Yu followed her outside on horseback.
Qin Ren took out the handkerchief and took care of his sister carefully.
Feeling relieved, Qingyang took out the chessboard from the cupboard and asked her third brother to play chess with her.
Qin Ren said modestly: "Third brother is not good at playing, so let Zhang Su accompany you."
Qingyang placed the chessboard directly between her and Zhang Su.
It was raining when they arrived at the South Camp. Zhang Jie personally took several princes to visit various parts of the military camp. When the soldiers were training, Qingyang and his group sat on the military viewing platform and watched.
The palace guards were not allowed to make noise during drills to avoid disturbing officials and dignitaries, but the soldiers in the barracks had no such concerns, and because the prince was present, they all shouted their calls more vigorously, like thunder shaking the sky.
Qin Bing said excitedly: "When I grow up, I want to be a general!"
Qin Hong glanced quickly at his second brother.
Qin Ren looked at the dust blowing away with the wind and said thankfully, "Fortunately, we are sitting on the north side, otherwise the soldiers would have blown the sand here as soon as they took a step."
Qin Hong: "..."
Qingyang had been observing the soldiers below. Some looked fierce, while others were ordinary. As he watched, Qingyang asked his three brothers, "Do they look like little tigers to you?"
Qin Hong was silent, Qin Ren was bewildered, and Qin Bing, full of pride, laughed and said, "What little tigers? They are all grown tigers, the most elite soldiers of my Great Qi!"
Little tiger, that doesn’t sound very impressive!
Qingyang felt that her second brother's words were not very credible, but she was stumped by another question. She looked up and asked Fan Zhong who was standing next to her: "Has Commander Fan ever seen a tiger?"
Fan Zhong bared his teeth at the little princess, glaring and saying, "You're almost the same as me. The one who scares people to death at the first sight is the one with the appearance of a tiger or leopard!"
The four princes: "..."
【Author’s words】
It's almost nine years old, don't worry.
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
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