Faced with the probing questions posed by his mother, Xu Ruoyun, Chen Huai'an was momentarily at a loss for words.
Chen Huai'an had considered how to handle the relationship between Princess Bika Yue Qiluo and Princess Shujun Liu Shujun.
However, they ultimately failed to come up with a clear solution.
Based on the attitude that "there's always a way out," they decided to let the matter develop freely for the time being.
It is said that no one knows a son better than his father, and this saying applies equally to Xu Ruoyun and her son Chen Huai'an.
A mother can naturally see her son's embarrassment and understand his helplessness.
Eh—
Xu Ruoyun let out a long sigh and said to herself, "My son, it seems you still haven't figured out how to handle matters in the harem in the future."
"Speaking of which, the affairs of the harem are both small and big."
"Throughout history, power struggles within the imperial harem and interference in politics by the empress's relatives have been common occurrences."
After a pause, Xu Ruoyun continued, "Although, throughout history, the Han Dynasty has never had a woman from a foreign country or ethnic group made empress;
"Even those who are conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort are few and far between!"
"but--"
At this point, Xu Ruoyun changed the subject, saying, "Princess Bhikkhu, Yue Qiluo's identity is different from that of ordinary daughters of foreign or ethnic nobles;"
"She was the princess of the Uyghur Khanate, the most populous and economically prosperous of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions. She represented the interests of the Uyghur Khanate and all the kingdoms of the Western Regions."
"If my son were to ascend the throne in the future and aspire to become a great emperor like Qin Shi Huang or Emperor Wu of Han, he would inevitably need the support of the Western Regions, unless—"
As she spoke, a rare ruthless glint appeared on Xu Ruoyun's usually dignified and composed face. She said, "Unless my son uses an iron fist, disregarding the lives of the people and subjects of the Western Regions, and forcibly suppresses the Western Regions with a large army;"
"Otherwise, in the struggle for the empress's position at the founding of the dynasty, it would be inevitable that Princess Yueqiluo, a princess from a foreign land and of a different ethnicity, would be included in the candidates for the new dynasty's empress;"
"However, on the other hand, Princess Shujun Liu Shujun, representing the remnants of the Great Xin Dynasty, is also a force not to be underestimated."
Xu Ruoyun's face clearly showed a struggle with a difficult decision.
She said, "Since ancient times, conquering a kingdom is difficult, but maintaining it is even more difficult; if my son ascends the throne in the future, he will inevitably have to rely on the remaining prestige of Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, and recruit talented individuals from the previous dynasty when governing the country."
"Therefore, that girl Shujun will surely have a place in the selection of the new dynasty's empress;"
Xu Ruoyun, Chen Huai'an's mother, analyzed the situation logically, but Chen Huai'an was completely bewildered.
Left with no other choice, he could only spread his hands and look at Xu Ruoyun, asking, "Mother, according to your wishes, how should I handle this matter?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Ruoyun rolled her eyes at Chen Huai'an and said irritably, "Huai'an, it's not that your mother is criticizing you, but the world is not yet unified, and the army's southern expedition has failed."
"As the commander-in-chief of the army that quelled the rebellion in Longcheng, how can you devote your thoughts to matters of the heart?"
ha?
Chen Huai'an: "......"
Xu Ruoyun said, "According to the Empress Dowager's wishes, you must now devote all your energy to the great cause of the Longcheng Jingnan Army's southern expedition."
"Should we maintain the same attitude towards both Princess Biji, Yue Qiluo, and Princess Shujun, Liu Shujun?"
"What attitude?"
"Neither take the initiative nor refuse."
After a pause, Xu Ruoyun added lightly, "At worst, when we unify the world, we can appoint them as Empresses of the East and West Palaces respectively!"
"There's no precedent for this in any previous dynasty, so let's set one in our family. It's not a big deal!"
"Since you've already rebelled, are you afraid that future historians will record that you set a precedent by establishing empresses in the East and West Palaces?"
After hearing his mother Xu Ruoyun's incredibly domineering remarks, Chen Huai'an suddenly felt enlightened and understood everything.
The next moment, he couldn't help but look at his mother, Xu Ruoyun, with admiration and gave her a thumbs up.
His expression was exactly the same as when Chen Huai'an raised an army in Longcheng to quell the rebellion, and his mother, Xu Ruoyun, made him change his address to "Empress Dowager."
My goodness, he's as humorous and witty as ever, always catching people off guard.
Indeed, experience is the best teacher!
......
Jinling City, the Prime Minister's Residence.
Qin Ruhui, the prime minister who was the actual ruler of the Great Xin Dynasty, had just received an urgent memorial from Wu Sanjia, the Grand General and Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Court, who was stationed at the front line in Mozhou.
In his memorial, Wu Sanjia informed Prime Minister Qin and the court that the 100,000-strong elite troops who had led the northern expedition against Zhuozhou had withdrawn from outside the city and returned to Mozhou to strengthen its defenses.
Upon learning this news, Qin Ruhui was furious and slammed the memorial that Wu Sanjia had sent back onto the desk with a hard slap.
Snap!
A sharp crack startled the prime minister's faction, who were gathered in the prime minister's office council hall, causing them to look at each other in bewilderment and dare not utter a sound.
Finally, Luo Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue, mustered his courage and stepped forward, asking with a fawning expression, "Prime Minister Qin, what has happened that has angered you so much?"
snort!
Qin Ruhui, who was sitting in the main seat of the council hall, snorted coldly and said, "Isn't it all because of that insatiable wolf, Wu Sanjia!"
"Isn't it just that I delayed the allocation of three million taels of silver for the Tiger Warriors' new army? Yet Wu Sanjia actually withdrew his troops directly from outside Zhuozhou City and retreated all the way back to Mozhou City!"
"What is he trying to do? He's trying to amass military power and threaten me and the court!"
Qin Ruhui was furious. His cunning old face, in front of everyone, revealed a rare sinister expression.
hiss--
Upon hearing the news of Wu Sanjia's retreat, Luo Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue, felt a chill run down his spine and gasped.
Back then, when Prime Minister Qin Ruhui extorted twelve million taels of silver from Empress Dowager Su Wan'er for the Tiger Warriors' military pay, he explicitly ordered Luo Yuanji to do so.
Three million taels of silver were allocated to Wu Sanjia and the Tiger Army, who were on the front lines of the Northern Expedition, so that Wu Sanjia could lead the Tiger Army to continue the Northern Expedition.
However, Luo Yuanji, as the Minister of Revenue, carried out Prime Minister Qin's orders with a discount, only giving Wu Sanjia and the Tiger Legion one million taels of silver as pay.
The remaining two million taels had already been divided up privately by Luo Yuanji and his team.
Officials in the Xin Dynasty court with some real power, including those from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Prime Minister's Office, all received a share of the spoils.
The big prize naturally fell into Luo Yuanji's hands.
Luo Yuanji believed he had done a flawless job of misappropriating military funds.
Even later, when Wu Sanjia personally wrote a letter to Prime Minister Qin, demanding the remaining five million taels of military pay, Luo Yuanji still took the lead in trying to smooth things over, criticizing Wu Sanjia for taking advantage of his troops and making exorbitant demands.
After much effort, they managed to cover up the matter of embezzling military funds.
Who would have thought that Luo Yuanji, who thought the matter was over, would actually retreat because of this scoundrel Wu Sanjia?
I wonder if secretly allocating the two million taels of military pay to Wu Sanjia now will allow him to continue leading troops on the Northern Expedition.
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