"What a bastard! I trusted him so much and gave him a million strong army, but he couldn't even defend a city!" The emperor was furious in the court.
The anger that had been suppressed for many years finally came out on this day. He had found out Gu Yong's faults and wanted to strip him of his military power and destroy the Gu family. None of them would be spared! "Your Majesty is wise. Gu Yong was arrogant and rude because of his victory. He also took credit for his achievements and was arrogant for a long time, which led to the disaster today. Your Majesty should punish him severely!!"
"Pass on my decree, demote the title of Marquis Gu Yong, and take away his surname--" This was originally arranged by the emperor. He finally had such an opportunity to overthrow Gu Yong, so of course he was unwilling to give the other party even half a chance. However, the order could not be given in time.
"Report!"
A guard rushed in with an urgent battle report from eight hundred miles away. Only urgent military information would be reported directly to the palace without the emperor's approval.
"Your Majesty, please read the urgent military report from 800 miles outside the Great Wall!"
The emperor frowned. Gu Yong had been a thorn in his side for decades, and he was eager to remove him. "Don't worry, wait until I issue this decree first."
"Your Majesty, the military situation is urgent!" the guard said hurriedly.
Taifu Lin on the side also said: "Your Majesty, no matter what, military and national affairs are the most important." Although he was also dissatisfied with Gu Yong's cliques in the court, after all, he was now fighting outside and the emperor wanted to destroy his lair at this time, which was disheartening.
The emperor looked at all the officials in the court from afar, and they all knelt down, "Your Majesty, military affairs are the most important!"
The emperor was naturally dissatisfied, but he was an emperor after all, and he couldn't openly demote a minister. Moreover, with such a war report from outside the pass, Gu Yong would have died without a burial place, so there was no need for him to leave himself with a reputation of being intolerant.
"If that's the case, tell me what you think." Gu Yong had already lost the previous battle, and he just lost a few cities.
It doesn't matter. It can also let the people see that this invincible general is not invincible all the time.
"Reporting to the emperor, Marquis Gu has won the battle against the Xiongnu outside the Great Wall! Now Marquis Gu's cavalry has recaptured the three cities lost by the court, and is driving the Xiongnu out of the Great Wall!" The guard knelt on the ground, "Marquis Gu defeated the enemy with a smaller force and won another battle! It will be just a matter of time before our dynasty drives the Xiongnu out!"
Even though the loyal officials of the court had different intentions, they all smiled when they heard such news.
The emperor's expression changed drastically at first, but since he was in front of all the officials, he quickly restrained his expression and looked at the guards who were reporting the good news with a big smile, "How did you suddenly win the battle? It really surprised me. Didn't you say some time ago that you were surrounded by the Huns and had lost a city?"
The guard also hurriedly bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, there is a traitor in our army who colluded with the enemy and informed Marquis Gu of his battle plan. This is why the Marquis was attacked from all sides and was surrounded by the Huns."
The emperor sneered, "It is Marquis Gu's fault that he is not strict with his subordinates."
The emperor was naturally dissatisfied that the thing he had been looking forward to for a long time had come to nothing. After these words were spoken, he felt that something was wrong and hurriedly added, "If he had been more careful when promoting generals, he would not have fallen into such a disaster today. However, it is not too late to make up for the mistakes."
Even Imperial Tutor Lin was somewhat dissatisfied with the emperor's words, "Your Majesty, Marquis Gu has done more than make up for his mistakes. Expelling the Huns is a great achievement."
The emperor was naturally unhappy when he was contradicted in person.
But Master Lin was his teacher, and even as the emperor, he could not say anything wrong about Master Lin in such an occasion, so he could only smile awkwardly, not mentioning what happened just now, and asked again, "Since we were surrounded, how did Lord Gu turn defeat into victory? Did he get some news?"
Someone had communicated with the Xiongnu and sold him information. Could it be that Gu Yong also communicated with the Xiongnu and only then found out that he had been betrayed? The guard hurriedly said, "That's not the case. It was Situ An, the second son of the Situ family, who sent troops to help!" The guard rushed Shen Qingqiu and Situ An in and reported as if they were gods descending from heaven.
He did not mention Shen Qingqiu's identity at first, but only talked about how bravely she killed the enemies on the battlefield.
The emperor had a smile on his face, but his fists were clenched tightly. He actually helped Gu Yong get another powerful general!
"Who is that person? Has he been rewarded?" the emperor asked again.
The guard smiled, "It's Shen Qingqiu, the Lady of Kangle! Lady Shen's martial arts are unparalleled, not inferior to ordinary men. She has killed thousands of enemies on the battlefield and is a hero among women!"
The emperor was originally dissatisfied, but when he heard that the person was Shen Qingqiu, his expression slowly changed... If it was Shen Qingqiu, it was that girl... Now that Gu Yong has won another battle, it would be extremely difficult to reduce his military power. In this case, it would be better to share his military power with his son.
The tone of voice suggested that it would be better to give the military power to his son than to let an outsider take over.
"Good! Good!" Thinking of this, the emperor said good several times.
From the perspective of the court officials, they naturally thought that Gu Yong had won the battle, and Lady Kangle's bravery as a woman was as good as any man, which made the emperor very happy.
"Marquis Gu is already a high-ranking official. Even if I want to reward him, there is nothing good to reward him." The emperor twisted the jade beads in his hand, "But Kangle Xiangjun needs to be rewarded well, so that the Xiongnu people know that the women of this dynasty can also kill them without leaving a single piece of armor."
"Since Lady Kangle has made such a great contribution, I will make an exception and reward her with the title of monarch, and her title will remain Kangle. Since she has such talent on the battlefield, I am not an incompetent or foolish monarch. There is no need to let such a knowledgeable girl be trapped in the boudoir. Taifu, according to the law, how should a man be rewarded for such a great contribution as Lady Shen?"
Lin Taifu stepped out and said, "Since you have made merit in the army, according to the military law, you have wiped out the Xiongnu and killed the Xiongnu leader Hu Yanlie. Such a great achievement will at least make you a marquis of ten thousand households!"
"Okay!" The emperor nodded. "In that case, I will give her this position. She is also the daughter of Marquis Gu, so the troops she leads should be led by Marquis Gu. It can be considered a good story for a girl to inherit her father's business."
"Your Majesty is wise and intelligent!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
——
After Empress Pei got the news from the previous dynasty, she couldn't help but feel a headache. "If I had known this, why would I have rushed to find a wife for the prince?"
Although Wang Qingluo is the daughter of the prime minister, the Wang family has no successor with only this one daughter. Prime Minister Wang is old, and even if he has a noble reputation after retiring, it will still be of no help in the court.
"Why do you say that, Queen?" The trusted maid held the Queen's head and said, "The Prime Minister's family is very powerful. Even if the Prime Minister retires and has no connections in the court, the Wang family has many students all over the world. The prince will definitely be able to use them when he ascends the throne in the future."
Empress Pei waved her hand, her smooth nails also glowed slightly under the soft candlelight, "You also said it was after the ascension to the throne. Although the crown prince was made the crown prince, several princes have their eyes on this position, especially Concubine Rou who seduced the emperor. It seems that the seventh prince is even more favored than the crown prince!"
Empress Pei dug her nails into the gaps between her fingers. Her trusted maid quickly knelt on the ground and advised, "But the crown prince is still the crown prince. Could it be that the seventh prince dares to rebel?"
Empress Pei sneered, "If it really comes down to it, what can't be done for the throne?" She pinched her forehead, "If the civil officials want to rebel, it will be difficult even if their pens are broken. But what about the military generals? There are millions of mercenaries. When it comes to the critical moment, the civil officials are no more useful than the military generals."
"Your Majesty thinks that Marquis Gu..." The trusted maid was stunned and frowned, "But didn't you say before that the emperor is afraid of the marquis? If the prince really marries the daughter of the Gu family, won't it make the emperor unhappy?"
"It was true before, but it's different now." Empress Pei closed her eyes. "I never thought that Lord Kangle would be so capable. The emperor and I have been married for many years, but he not only conferred the title of Princess Shen Qingqiu, but also gave her a special honor that no other woman has, and granted her the title of Marquis of Wanhu. He must have intended to split Marquis Gu's military power."
That trusted maidservant had been with Empress Pei for so many years, so she was naturally not stupid. "The emperor does like Lord Kangle...but this Princess Kangle is a member of the Gu family. Why did the emperor do this?"
"The emperor has his own plans. After all, Princess Kangle's surname is Shen, and she does not have the same blood as Marquis Gu... If she really marries into the royal family, how can she be like a family with a stepfather?" It was because she knew the emperor's thoughts that Empress Pei began to regret.
If the prince had not married Wang Qingluo, Shen Qingqiu's military power and all the favors the emperor had shown her would now belong to the Eastern Palace.
Seeing that the queen seemed a little unhappy, the trusted maid stepped forward and whispered, "In fact, if the queen wants, it is not difficult. Speaking of which, the crown princess has always been in poor health. Didn't she become even weaker after getting pregnant a few days ago? Giving birth is a big hurdle for women. If the crown princess dies on her sickbed due to a difficult delivery..."
Empress Pei gently touched her forehead with her nail polish-painted hand, and after a moment she said softly, "If that's the case, tell someone to do it."
"yes."
——
The ground was covered in silver and snow was falling. By the time Gu Yong's army returned to the capital, another winter had arrived.
Liu, with her one-year-old son, waited for her husband and daughter at the door with red eyes. Soon, they heard a string of firecrackers outside, and after a long time, the tall horse appeared from the front. Gu Yong had not changed much since he went out before, but he was a little thinner.
He stopped the horse and held Liu's hand, then looked at his son who had grown up a little, and couldn't help but sigh, "He's back." This time he really escaped death.
Liu's eyes were red.
Looking back, Shen Qingqiu was sitting on the horse. Compared to Gu Yong, she had really changed a lot. When she was walking, she still had some childishness of a girl, but now she had completely transformed into a young girl. She was very fair, and her facial features were naturally very similar to her biological mother Liu, but compared to Liu's gentleness, she was a little more cold and stern.
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