Chapter 49: Those who stab me in the back will be rewarded
As soon as Chiwei finished speaking, Hu Youan said hello!
"Very well! Then I order you to lead five hundred cavalrymen and set out soon to attack the Changzhu State. How dare such a small nation claim to be king? Your Majesty is so magnanimous and benevolent. They truly have no idea of their own highness."
After Hu Youan gave the order to attack, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The anger that had been weighing on her heart for days finally came out. Every day she listened to Gui Yang talking about how the princes looked down on the king, and she was almost angry to death.
At this moment, she urgently needed a way to vent her anger. If she was not the General of the Central Army, it would be too embarrassing to fight against a small country, so she wanted to lead the troops herself.
"Chiwei, don't let me down."
"Chiwei will obey the orders of the General of the Central Army and personally present the head of the King of Changzhu State!"
Chiwei was not afraid of fighting at all. She went wherever the general asked her to go. She was confident that she could defeat a small country.
Qiu, standing beside him, looked bewildered. What had happened? How could they confirm the expedition after just two sentences? What about him? Was there a place for him?
Qiu really wanted to ask more questions, but Hu Youan never mentioned his name during the whole process, so he thought this matter had nothing to do with him.
If there is another opportunity to go on an expedition, it might be his turn, Qiu comforted himself.
Shen Zhiwei, who was far away in Jingchang, suddenly sneezed loudly.
Yanxia, who was guarding her, was startled and hurriedly put a thick cloak on her. The animal fur, which was still slightly hot, was draped over her body, and in a short while, Shen Zhiwei was sweating all over her forehead.
"It's so hot in the room, it's okay not to wear it." Shen Zhiwei couldn't stand it anymore, so he took off his cloak and put it aside.
Yanxia frowned slightly, but she was just a palace maid and she could not change the king's decision, even if it was just about a piece of clothing.
"It's cold outside the window, please come inside, my king."
"This first snowfall is really heavy. I don't know if it's an illusion, but it seemed like it took more than a month for this much snow to fall last year."
Shen Zhiwei pretended that she didn't hear the advice. She just felt that the room was too stuffy, so she stood in front of the window to watch the snow.
Seeing that the king was not sneezing, Yanxia could only order someone to make a bowl of ginger soup and send it to him. Then she said to the king, "Your Majesty, remember correctly. This year seems to be even colder than last year."
"Isn't it going to be a small glacier?"
Shen Zhiwei said this lightly and quickly, Yanxia didn’t hear it, and looked at Shen Zhiwei in confusion.
Shen Zhiwei didn't explain. She thought about it carefully and felt that it didn't seem like the Little Ice Age. The temperature was still very high in the summer. It was probably just that the climate was more severe this year.
The winter cold comes too quickly. I wonder if the temperature will be lower all year round next year?
Will it affect food production?
What Shen Zhiwei was most worried about was food. There was indeed no shortage of food near Jingchang, but the world was so big that there were people suffering from hunger everywhere.
"Have the houses in Biandi been repaired? Was the snow in Biandi heavy in previous years?"
Shen Zhiwei did not ask about the situation near Jingchang, because almost all the houses near Jingchang had kangs installed and the houses had been repaired before winter. This little snow would not freeze people to death or collapse the houses.
Bian is far away from her, and it was only taken over by her this year. Whether it is people's livelihood construction or other aspects, it is not as complete as Jingchang.
"Before winter, I heard that the houses near Yongming City had been repaired. There's no news about other places. However, heavy snow rarely falls in Biandi in previous years, so Your Majesty need not worry."
Yanxia had specially learned about Biandi, so she was not stumped by Shen Zhiwei's questions. She was indeed very careful in her work and had the foresight to prepare for a rainy day. Shen Zhiwei used her as a secretary and it was very convenient for him to use her.
Shen Zhiwei didn't expect that Yongming City had made arrangements in advance. Gui Yang was really Gui Yang. This was the kind of person he was. No matter where he was, he would do his best to serve the king.
The reason why Gui Yang showed such understanding of the people's sentiments was not because he was a good official, but because he knew that Shen Zhiwei would care about these things and would specifically mention this matter.
No, his name appeared in Shen Zhiwei's ears again. Shen Zhiwei began to hesitate whether to transfer him back to Jingchang. Gui Yang was really useful in doing these trivial matters, better than Wen Tao.
Wen Tao is an authority in the field of promoting writing and communicating with literati, but he is far inferior to Gui Yang in doing trivial matters. Gui Yang knows a lot of people from all walks of life, so if there are some shameful things, Gui Yang will handle them very well.
Thinking of this, Shen Zhiwei gave up the idea of transferring Gui Yang back. What shameful things could she have done? Moreover, Gui Yang was indeed very good at using her, and she was also ruthless when backstabbing.
Sometimes Shen Zhiwei really didn't know what was going on in Gui Yang's little head. Why could she imagine something else when she clearly didn't say it?
Out of sight, out of mind. No one can call me back this year anyway.
Shen Zhiwei didn't understand. The greater the danger, the more it should be kept under close watch. Letting it go would give the other party room to act freely. She would regret it every time she thought about it later, regretting not calling Gui Yang back earlier.
Three days later, Chiwei began to recruit troops. After Gui Yang finished some disaster relief work, he heard about the commotion in the barracks and knew that Hu Youan had taken his previous words to heart.
Starting a war in winter is actually not a good thing. It is cold in winter, the soil is hard, and it is difficult to dig holes.
Larger catapults and traps set up near military camps will be affected by the hard soil. Soldiers will have to expend more energy to dig the soil, which will take longer and may give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage.
Fortunately, winter did not come so quickly near Biandi. It is early winter now and the soil is not frozen hard.
However, there are gusts of cold wind in the morning and evening, and riding a horse outside will inevitably make your hands and feet frozen stiff. The armor on your body is as cold as wearing a body full of ice. If you are not dressed thickly enough, you will easily get sick.
Chiwei has adapted well to this cold wind. She used to live by the sea, and when winter comes, the sea breeze is really cold.
In order to minimize the impact of the cold, Chiwei recruited soldiers who were all from the common people in the north and had a stronger ability to resist the cold.
Chiwei understood that the disadvantages of sending troops in winter would not only be felt by his own side, but the enemy would also suffer from the winter cold. Whoever could withstand it better at this time would have an innate advantage.
Hu Youan personally escorted Chiwei out of the barracks and watched the last soldier leave. There was a raging fire in her eyes. This battle, which was originally intended to be for revenge, would soon begin. Chang Zhuguo would not be the first. She would use the sword in her hand to wash away the insult for the king!
Whenever the cold winter came, Shen Zhiwei was reluctant to go out, and every day she seemed to be unable to wake up. She fell asleep very early in the morning and could not get up at noon.
There is a saying that goes, "You feel tired in spring, sleepy in autumn, and take naps in summer. You can't wake up in the three months of winter." Shen Zhiwei thought her phenomenon was normal.
So in winter, he was still struggling internally and had to report his work to her every day. Shen Zhiwei felt very depressed when she saw that there was a small breakthrough today and a big achievement tomorrow.
What made Shen Zhiwei even more upset was that as soon as the first snow stopped, her system popped up a special event prompt.
No, what special events could happen in such a cold weather! Could it be that this winter, besides her officials, those kings outside are also trying to control her?
Destroy this inward-looking world.
Shen Zhiwei was not feeling well. He had only heard the "good news" for several days. When he saw the name of the special event, Shen Zhiwei subconsciously refused to work.
The special event that started this time is called "National War 2". Yes, another national war has been triggered. The last national war is still vivid in our memory. What is the reason for this war?
Shen Zhiwei didn't want to know the reason why the national war started. She just wanted to know what this matter had to do with her. She stayed in the palace honestly all day long, and the princes outside proclaimed themselves kings, but she didn't even say a word. How could this national war be related to her?
It's just too ridiculous.
Could it be that all those princes carried her flag when they fought?
If this situation really happened, Shen Zhiwei would suspect that those kings were out of their minds. They were still holding the emperor's banner in the war. They might as well not have claimed to be kings in the first place.
Shen Zhiwei looked left and right but couldn't see any connection between the special event and herself, but the system should not be wrong. The system said that it was she who took the initiative to trigger the national war.
No matter how many times you watch it, it is triggered actively.
Shen Zhiwei was extremely anxious and only slept eight hours for several days in a row. She even reported an error in the background. After the system checked itself, it told her that there was no malfunction.
Okay, now I'm even more anxious. Who is it? Who is it that has triggered the national war behind her back?
Shen Zhiwei went to see the report from Biandi specifically, focusing mainly on Guiyang, and there was no movement.
At this moment, she had forgotten that she had previously separated military power from political power. Unless Yongming City was attacked, Gui Yang had no right to lead troops or dispatch troops. Of course, there could be no signs of soldier activities in the report he submitted.
Shen Zhiwei should go and read the military report sent by Hu Youan, but unfortunately the military report is only submitted once every two weeks, and it cannot be submitted casually unless there is an urgent matter.
The rule of reporting once every two weeks was also set by Shen Zhiwei herself, because she didn't want to see good news all the time.
In short, Shen Zhiwei dug holes for herself everywhere, and now she fell into a hole every step she took, all of which she dug for herself.
In Hu Youan's view, Changzhu State was just an insignificant little country and was not a matter of urgency at all. Even if it was destroyed, there was no need to report it specifically.
The main reason was that Hu Youan was afraid that Shen Zhiwei would be soft-hearted. Hu Youan knew too well how benevolent the king was. However, in these troubled times, kindness could not protect oneself. Only the weapons in one's hands could protect oneself and everything that one valued.
By the time the news that Changzhu State was destroyed, King Changzhu hanged himself, and all members of the royal family were captured reached Shen Zhiwei's ears, the first month of winter was almost over.
My heart finally settled down.
Shen Zhiwei directly issued an urgent order, asking Hu Youan and Gui Yang to go to Jingchang immediately to meet the king. As for the captives, they were all left to Wen Tao to arrange.
Shen Zhiwei didn't want to be promoted to the harem anyway. Most of these captives were literate, so they went to help Wen Tao promote Mandarin.
Hu Youan and Gui Yang thought that the king urgently summoned them back to Jingchang to reward them, so they were full of joy when they entered the palace.
He faced Shen Zhiwei, whose face was as gloomy as water.
However, because Shen Zhiwei usually had no expression, at this moment, the two of them didn't realize that Shen Zhiwei was about to explode with anger.
"Yang/Youan pays homage to the King!"
"No need to be polite, please take a seat."
Shen Zhiwei did not lose his temper, because the real chill in the heart is not making a fuss, but feeling completely disheartened.
Shen Zhiwei really wanted to call Wen Tao and An Jin over. Anyone who stabs me in the back will be rewarded!
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