Zhu smiled and shook her head, saying, "Our Emperor is a cold-hearted and heartless person."
So what if she's Miss Yao? Didn't she just give up on him when he told her to?
Such "deep affection" is something she wouldn't care about if it were her.
...
After leaving Qingshui Garden, Wei Chi returned to the palace immediately and summoned several important officials for a meeting.
The report from Shuozhou was right in front of them, but its contents left everyone in disbelief.
"When the Jurchens invaded the border, the Zhen'an Army of Shuozhou was ordered by the court to go out and resist the foreign enemy. They drove the Jurchens out of the border of the Great Liang Kingdom and pursued them for hundreds of miles while they were fleeing, and captured Fengcheng and other places of the Great Jin in one fell swoop."
"The King of Qin has sent out his troops..."
"It's not the King of Qin, it's the Zhen'an Army."
Aren't the Zhen'an Army the troops of Shuozhou? And aren't the troops of Shuozhou the troops of the King of Qin?
The official thought about these words for a moment, but didn't say them aloud.
"The Jurchens are currently preoccupied with their own problems, so how could they possibly attack our Great Liang from the south of Shuozhou?"
Isn't that just deliberately causing trouble?
The Jin should be thankful that the Great Liang is not sending troops to attack the Great Jin right now, so why would they take the initiative to launch a war against the Great Liang?
"The report says that a group of Jin soldiers fled into the border of our Great Liang. The Zhen'an Army mobilized troops to drive them out, and then..."
Then, finding the Jurchen defenses weak, they took the opportunity to drive them a hundred miles away.
It's as if there's not a single person in the Great Jin territory, and that taking Fengcheng and other places is as easy as taking candy from a baby.
Pooh!
fart!
Nonsense!
Those who had read the military newspaper all spat inwardly.
Fengcheng is a strategic location. Even if the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Yan Dynasty go to war, how could the defenses be relaxed?
His Majesty clearly ordered the Prince of Qin to march from Shangchuan, but now he has crossed the border in the opposite direction. This is clearly an unauthorized military expedition! And he's doing it under the guise of defending the territory!
But now Fengcheng has been captured, and there are vast tracts of rich land to the east of Fengcheng. Should we take it or not?
This answer is too simple; there's no need to think about it at all.
Do not immediately issue an edict ordering the Zhen'an Army to return to their posts and not advance any further, but even so, it would be impossible to take the opportunity to punish the King of Qin.
Firstly, the King of Qin did not send troops directly, and secondly, the Zhen'an Army had already made it clear that the Jurchens had invaded first. Even if everyone knew that this was just an excuse, no one had any evidence.
Without evidence, a conviction cannot be made. Forcing a conviction would only discourage people, especially since the Zhen'an Army has already captured Fengcheng, which is a great achievement.
The merit of Zhen'an Army is the merit of Shuozhou, and the merit of Shuozhou is the merit of King Qin. Even if the people in the court do not say it, they all understand in their hearts that King Qin's move is a contribution to the country.
Wei Chi had just ruined his reputation in the court, but he immediately slapped Wei Chi in the face with his real military achievements, as if he were standing in front of him to tell him that all those schemes and tricks were useless and that ability was the only true principle.
"Your Majesty should send someone to supervise the army."
Someone suggested.
"That's right, we should also send people to take over the defense of Fengcheng and other places."
No matter how powerful the King of Qin is, he is only a vassal king, not a ruler. The land he conquered belongs to Daliang, and the land of Daliang belongs to Your Majesty. It should be handed over to Your Majesty. Not handing it over is rebellion and treason!
Before Wei Chi could speak, they had already made the decision for him.
Wei Chi knew that this was yet another round of strategic maneuvering.
The Zhen'an Army is skilled in battle, and Fengcheng is rich and prosperous. The Jin Dynasty is tied down by the Southern Yan and its troops are stretched thin. It cannot send more troops to its aid in the short term. At this time, whoever goes will be able to gain merit easily.
Whoever can seize this opportunity to place their own people there will gain more influence in the government in the future.
The people in this hall don't truly care about him as the monarch, nor do they truly care about the state of Liang. There are very few truly loyal and upright ministers like Grand Tutor Yao. Most people are like these people, concerned only with how much benefit they can gain from this matter.
It's laughable that he, as the ruler of a country, acted like a dog wagging its tail and begging for mercy. Faced with the bone that the King of Qin casually tossed to him from his high position, he could only open his mouth and grab it, without even the option to refuse.
Everyone in the hall looked at him. He saw through all their thoughts, but could only nod slowly.
"Do any of you gentlemen have a suitable candidate?"
...
Outside Hu City, Cui Hao informed Wei Hong of the military supervisor sent by Wei Chi and the candidates to take over the defense of Fengcheng and other places.
Wei Hong raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this: "Ji Huai'an?"
“Yes,” Cui Hao nodded, “It was the person His Majesty personally selected despite opposition.”
Wei Hong scoffed lightly: "What is he doing? Is he slapping me and then giving me a sweet treat?"
Wei Hong already knew about Ji Yunwan's "accidental" death on her way back to the capital, and he naturally knew how this "accident" happened.
Sacrificing a daughter for the safety of the family is indeed something Ji Huai'an would do.
But to his surprise, his nephew actually started promoting the Ji family after Ji Yunwan's death, which was unlike his usual style.
"I have already sent people to investigate, and I expect to have news soon."
Cui Hao said.
Wei Chi's actions were indeed somewhat unusual, so just in case, he immediately sent people to investigate whether there was anything else they didn't know.
Wei Hong nodded and said, "As long as the people of the court don't interfere recklessly, we don't need to worry about them. Let the Zhen'an Army continue to advance eastward and attack west of Hengshui as previously agreed. After the battle situation stabilizes, we will withdraw back to Shuozhou."
Over the years, the Jin dynasty has frequently harassed the borders of the Liang dynasty and slaughtered its people, relying on its strong military. Now, due to internal strife, it has been caught off guard by the Southern Yan. Even if Wei Hong has no intention of seizing power, he will not miss this opportunity to teach them a lesson.
However, he never intended to take this territory for himself from the beginning, but rather to alleviate the current predicament of the imperial court.
The land west of the Heng River is fertile and is one of the granaries of the Jin Dynasty.
If this place were conquered and incorporated into the territory of the Great Liang, it would weaken the power of the Great Jin and bring a considerable income to the Great Liang.
Therefore, when he first sent troops, he instructed them not to disturb the local people or destroy the local farmland, so as to take the area completely and not affect this year's harvest.
Although Wei Hong had always been at odds with the imperial court, he knew the principle of mutual dependence. As long as he was a prince of the Great Liang, he would share the prosperity and decline of the Great Liang.
If the imperial court were to be exploited by foreign enemies, he would not be safe in Shuozhou.
Cui Hao agreed and withdrew, while Wei Hong returned to Yao Youqing's side.
He had brought Yao Youqing out for fun today, but news came from the imperial court just now, so he temporarily left to say a few words to Cui Hao.
Yao Youqing was feeding Chi Yu a piece of softened bean cake when he saw him return and said to him, "Your Highness, shall we go look for Little Darling and Little Cutie? They've run off somewhere again."
Little Darling and Little Cutie often run around in the woods, but they don't go far.
Moreover, this area is Wei Hong's territory, so it's very safe. Therefore, Yao Youqing wasn't in a hurry.
Wei Hong nodded, glanced at Chi Yu, and then at her.
"Want to try riding my Crimson Feather?"
When my little darling grows up, she'll definitely be about the same height as Akabane. She can try it out with him first.
Yao Youqing exclaimed, "Is that alright? I heard that the Crimson Feather recognizes a master."
"Give it a try, it seems quite affectionate towards you."
Wei Hong said that he had someone hold Chi Yu's reins and press down on its neck while he personally lifted Yao Youqing up to prevent it from suddenly throwing a tantrum and dropping the girl.
But Akabane didn't move an inch from beginning to end, letting him lift Yao Youqing onto the horse's back.
Wei Hong smiled, then climbed up himself, sat behind Yao Youqing, and patted Chi Yu's back.
"It really is very close to you."
Yao Youqing smiled, bent down and hugged the horse's neck, rubbing its mane: "Chiyu is such a good boy."
After saying that, he sat up straight and tried to step on the stirrups as Wei Hong had taught him. He tried a few times but couldn't reach them. He looked down, pouted, and turned back.
"Your Highness... I can't reach the stirrups."
Looking at the girl's aggrieved expression, and then glancing down at her feet, Wei Hong couldn't help but chuckle: "I'll do it."
He took the reins and rode the horse himself, searching the vicinity for their little darling.
...
The little cutie was currently by a small ditch on the outskirts of Hu City, gazing longingly at the little darling across the river.
It had been running alongside Little Darling all the way, but when they got to the river, Little Darling jumped across in one leap, while it could only spin around in place.
Guo Sheng, having nothing better to do, followed them over. He watched as the little cutie jumped over, and the little darling almost lost her footing and fell headfirst into the river.
He laughed heartily, dismounted and walked over, seeing the little cutie take a few steps back and then rush forward, seemingly wanting to jump over as well.
However, although this little ditch is very short for the little one, who can jump across it in one leap, it is an insurmountable distance for the little cutie.
But after the little darling jumped over, it stopped moving and deliberately strolled slowly along the riverbank, occasionally lowering its head to nibble on some grass and occasionally glancing up at the little cutie. It was nothing like the way it had been running wildly to shake off the little one earlier.
The little cutie tried to rush through the river several times, but had to stop at the riverbank each time, getting so anxious that she spun around in circles.
Guo Sheng laughed heartily, and after he had finished laughing, he picked up the little cutie.
"I'll throw you over there."
It's actually very close to the other side here, so be careful not to let the little cutie fall.
He found a lush, overgrown spot on the opposite side and intended to throw it there.
When I tried to throw it, my hand slipped and I didn't throw the little cutie over; I just tossed it into the river.
The little cutie fell into the water with a splash, sank for a moment, then floated up again, and hurriedly thrashed its four paws as it climbed ashore.
Guo Sheng was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, bending over so hard he couldn't straighten up.
Before he could finish laughing, the sound of horses' hooves came from behind, growing closer and closer, accompanied by a somewhat familiar female voice: "Little cutie!"
Guo Sheng turned around and saw Wei Hong riding towards him with Yao Youqing.
The two approached, stopped, and hurriedly dismounted.
Yao Youqing rushed to the riverbank and picked up the little cutie who had climbed ashore.
Wei Hong's face turned ashen. He glanced at the dog, which was soaking wet, and then turned to look at Guo Sheng.