Steel Dynasty - Chapter 127

[Chapter 127 Situation]

The soft warm wind rippled gently in the Bishui Pavilion, and the fresh green in the courtyard was filled with a touch of spring.

Concubine Zhen’s happy expression was noticed by Xiao Wenxuan. He smiled and said, “But you don’t have to be happy too early. The Fei family is not easy to get along with. Prince Qi’s marriage will have to wait for some time.”

“As long as If this princess is the daughter of the Fei family, it will be worth it for Ming’er to wait a few more years, but His Majesty must choose a better one for Ming’er from the Fei family. “

” Of course, she must be at least the main lineage of the Fei family .

Only my daughter can be worthy of my son. Although Xiao Ming had many shortcomings in the past, the prodigal son will not be replaced by gold, and now he has to be worthy of his Fei family.”

Concubine Zhen nodded, “It’s just that the emperor, this Empress Zhao…”

” You don’t have to worry about this. The Crown Princess is the daughter of the imperial minister Ling Feiji. King Qi also took the daughter of the Fei family. It can be said that the relationship has progressed and the Queen will not stop her. “

“Now, I feel at ease. ” Concubine Zhen said.

After talking about Xiao Ming’s marriage, Xiao Wenxuan said at this time: “By the way, where is the glass that King Qi sent me?”

“It’s here.” Concubine Zhen led Xiao Wenxuan to the inner room, where there was a delicate wooden box. There are nine crystal clear glass goblets.

Xiao Wenxuan looked surprised when he saw it. He leaned over and picked up a goblet and looked at it carefully, “Pure as water, as warm as jade, is this glass really produced by the Qingzhou workshop?”

“Is this still fake? Many businessmen flocked to Qingzhou these days for this glass,” Concubine Zhen said.

“This King of Qi, I didn’t give him any money to squander in the past. Now it seems that he probably doesn’t like the one million taels I gave him. But it’s just a business. He can’t delay the government affairs of the fief. After all, This disaster is coming soon.” Xiao Wenxuan frowned.

“Disaster?” Concubine Zhen suddenly had an ominous premonition.

“This year, the grassland barbarians suddenly banned the sale of war horses to the Chongqing Kingdom. I have received news that this year the barbarians seem to want to cross Cangzhou and continue southward. Last year, the heavy snow on the grassland caused heavy losses to the barbarians. They want to get this place in the south where the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant.”

Concubine Zhen was surprised .

He covered his mouth and said, “Your Highness, if this is the case, what can we do?”

“At the beginning, Emperor Gaozu set up the rules of enfeoffment in order to allow the princes to divide the vassal states, for the sake of the country at the top, and for the people at the bottom. As the prince, King Qi He is the vassal king again. He must guard the land of Cangzhou. Otherwise, what is the use of giving him the position of vassal king?”

“But Your Majesty, the barbarians were raging in Qingzhou three years ago, and it has not returned to its former glory. What can King Qi use to defend him? “Concubine Zhen loves her son very much, and she is well aware of the dangers of this barbarian tribe.

Today there are four vassal kings guarding the north, one is King Zhao who guards Liangzhou, the other is King Liang who guards Lingzhou, the third is the royal family member King Yong who guards Jizhou, and the fourth one is guarding Cangzhou. King Qi.

In the north, these four vassal kings respectively guarded the key places where the barbarians entered the Central Plains. Among them, the fiefdom of King Zhao was famous for its black armor cavalry. Behind it is Chang’an, where the emperor of Dayu is located.

It is precisely because of this that Xiao Wenxuan attaches great importance to King Zhao.

The black-feathered iron guards of King Liang were equally famous. Different from King Zhao’s tactics of using cavalry against cavalry, King Liang built a large black fort on the border between the fiefdom and the barbarians, and stationed the black-feathered iron guards at the black fort. In recent years, barbarians have invaded several Uburgs, but the fiefdom is still safe.

King Yong of Jizhou is Xiao Wenxuan’s youngest brother. To the east of his fief is Xiao Ming’s fief. Compared to King Liang, King Yong’s situation is somewhat worse.

However, relying on fire tubes and crossbows, King Yong repelled the attacks of the barbarians several times. After all, he was a member of the royal family. The reason for this was that Xiao Wenxuan would send imperial guards to support each time. Chang’an Equipment Department also had large quantities of fire tubes and crossbows. Transferred to King Yong.

Comparing these three vassal kings, Xiao Ming was obviously the worst off. Qingzhou was very remote from Chang’an, and it was too late to rescue when the barbarians attacked.

Moreover, what happened three years ago greatly damaged Qingzhou’s vitality, the people’s livelihood was in decline, and the Qingzhou army was in decline.

Thinking of this, why is Concubine Zhen not worried?

Concubine Zhen’s words made Xiao Wenxuan frown, “You underestimate your son too much. Now the money earned by King Qi in the past six months is enough to make up for the losses three years ago. Moreover, he is now reorganizing the Qingzhou Army. Not only is he equipped with a He planted a very strange armor, and restored a military system similar to the Fu army system. Now he still has 20,000 troops in his fiefdom. You and I underestimated his ability. Now he has recruited the powerful local troops. I think His soldiers must be at least 30,000 this time. “

“So many?” Concubine Zhen herself couldn’t believe that Xiao Ming had reorganized the Qingzhou Army in such a short time, and the number had returned to half of the Qingzhou Army’s peak. .

A weird smile appeared at the corner of Xiao Wenxuan’s mouth, “Is this a lie? This kid also won over Pang Yukun, the chief minister I sent to him. He actually thought that I didn’t know anything and was still too naive.”

“This kid, in this world, The emperor doesn’t know what happened, but the emperor, although King Qi is unworthy, will not be bold enough to disobey the emperor.” Concubine Zhen’s heart jumped a few times, thinking that this king of Qi is so reckless, why is the emperor so reckless? Dare to dig into corners.

Seeing Concubine Zhen’s worried look, Xiao Wenxuan suddenly smiled and said: “It doesn’t matter, I hate this Pang Yukun to begin with, so let him stay in Qingzhou. I guess he also knows that he can’t return to Chang’an. This elm knot has enlightened him.”

“Then the emperor means that Cangzhou should be guarded by King Qi himself this time?” Concubine Zhen asked tentatively.

“Exactly, what happened three years ago has already disgraced the royal family. If he can’t defend Cangzhou this time, he will die there. If he can defend it, he will be of some use in the future. No matter who ascends the throne, he will still be able to do so. I hope he will guard the north, otherwise he will still be a dead man, and if he does, I will give him the daughter of the Fei family even if I don’t dare to do it. “

Concubine Zhen felt a twinge in her heart, and she understood. Xiao Wenxuan is not targeting Xiao Ming. Even if the prince comes to guard Cangzhou, Xiao Wenxuan’s attitude will still be the same.

The prince running away in the face of battle was a royal shame and would make everyone in the world laugh. She finally understood why Xiao Wenxuan said that Xiao Ming’s marriage would have to wait.

How could a Fei family with four generations and three sons be willing to marry their daughter to a man who abandoned their fiefdom and people and fled back to Chang’an?

She finally understood why Xiao Wenxuan repeatedly said that she would rather Xiao Ming die than see him in Chang’an.

Looking in the direction of Qingzhou, Concubine Zhen said in her heart: “Ming’er, you must live up to your expectations this time. From now on, success or failure will depend on this move.”

(End of this chapter)