First Lady of the Crown Prince

Chapter 824 Go to war! (Second update)

 While the two were talking, Shangguan Yan came out of the dormitory.

Shangguan Yan frowned and pursed his thin lips.

Xiao Heng threw down the branch in his hand, pulled Gu Jiao to stand up, and asked Shangguan Yan, "What did the monarch say?"

Shangguan Yan frowned and said, "He told us to run away quickly."

If he hadn't said that, she would have fled with several children.

 But he really asked her to escape, and she didn’t want to escape.

 Sure enough, the human heart is the strangest thing in the world.

 “You can’t escape.” Xiao Heng said.

Given the ambitions of the Jin and Liang countries, no one from the Dayan royal family or the descendants of Xuanyuan could even think of escaping. As long as the Dayan Mountains and Rivers were trampled, there would be only one ending waiting for them.

Shangguan Yan nodded: "You go back to the palace first, and I will summon the ministers to discuss the court affairs."

The king suffered a stroke, and war broke out at the border. It was true that misfortunes never come singly.

 But no matter what, they have no way out.

Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng took a carriage back to Duke Anguo's Mansion.

 The news from the court had already spread throughout the mansion. Manager Zheng scolded the Han family and the Nangong family, and complained about the ill-intentioned countries. Of course, he also did not forget to greet the king who had made his own decisions.

 A room full of people gathered in the lobby.

Lao Jijiu whispered beside the Empress Dowager Zhuang: "Why did our Majesty come to join in the fun? Isn't he a benevolent gentleman? From what I know about him, it would be good if others don't hit him. He will not take the initiative to start a war. .He’s not that courageous.”

 The target was not a small country like Chen, but Yan, the most powerful among the three countries.

Empress Dowager Zhuang snorted coldly: "At first glance, it's not his idea. It must be instigating."

 Old Jijiu said thoughtfully: "Who instigated him?"

Empress Dowager Zhuang said calmly: "It's either Marquis Xuanping or Tang Yueshan." Tang Yueshan is more likely, this guy is warlike.

Old Jijiu was at a loss and said: "Aheng is the eldest grandson of Emperor Dayan, and Jiaojiao is the adopted son of the Duke of Guo. It would be really embarrassing to fight..."

Empress Dowager Zhuang glared at him. Is this a question of embarrassment or not?

 Lao Jijiu coughed lightly: "What, what are your plans?"

 What is her plan?

If it were up to her to make the plans, she would have loved to take her children back to Zhao State immediately, away from the right and wrong of Yan State.

  But this is impossible.

　　From the moment these children stepped into the country of Yan, they were already tied to the fate of the country.

 She just hoped that Jiaojiao would not go on another expedition.

There are so many famous generals in the Dayan family, so there is no need to send a girl to fight, right?

But the moment Gu Jiao entered the courtyard and went to find the Black Wind King, Queen Mother Zhuang understood that she was going to the battlefield again.

 Empress Dowager Zhuang returned to her room silently.

“Hey Zhuang—” Old Jijiu glanced at An Guogong and Jing Erye who were in wheelchairs opposite, and smiled, “Excuse me.”

 He chased to Queen Mother Zhuang.

 Empress Dowager Zhuang sat in front of the window, looking at the crabapple tree in the yard in trance.

 Old Jijiu asked: "What are you doing? You left without saying a word."

 Empress Dowager Zhuang did not speak.

 Lao Jijiu sighed: "Isn't the matter not at that point yet? Don't—"

 “She is only sixteen.”

 Empress Dowager Zhuang spoke.

 Lao Jijiu was startled.

 Empress Dowager Zhuang lowered her eyes and took out a new purse from her wide sleeves: "There are still two months until she turns seventeen. Last year, her birthday was during a war, and this year it is again."

Fifteen or sixteen years old is the age of innocence and innocence. She should have stayed in her boudoir and been protected by her parents, but she was already on her second expedition.

Her tenderness never had a good day's rest.

  She thought she had been tired enough in her life, but when she saw Jiaojiao, she felt that she was not tired enough.

If she were a little more tired, could she be able to share more with Jiaojiao?

 “Aunt.”

Gu Jiao's voice came from the door. She knocked on the door, "Can I come in?"

 Empress Dowager Zhuang put away her purse and said in a normal tone: "Come in."

Gu Jiao pushed the door open and looked at Lao Jijiu: "Well, my great-uncle is here too."

 Lao Jijiu calmly glanced at Zhuang Jinse, who could no longer see a trace of melancholy, and asked Gu Jiao with a smile, "What's the matter with you?"

Gu Jiao said: "There's nothing else to do, it's just that... the situation in the Yan country is not very good. I discussed it with Ah Heng and decided to find someone to **** you back to the Zhao country first."

Empress Dowager Zhuang said calmly: "If you didn't tell us, we would have planned to leave. We have been tired of staying for so long."

The defection of the Han family and the Nangong family disrupted all their original plans. The top ten aristocratic families and the King of Yan were no longer the immediate enemies, but the armies of the five countries were.

 Lao Jijiu knew Zhuang Jinse well. She would never abandon Gu Jiao. The reason why she wanted to leave was because she had to leave.

He quickly figured out the key and said to Gu Jiao: "What your aunt means is that we set off quickly and try to reach Chishui Pass before Zhao State launches an attack. Don't really let the two countries fight."

 Jin and Liang are unable to stop it, but Zhao, Chen and Zhao can still fight for it.

No matter who the general in charge of the Zhao Kingdom is, he and Zhuang Jinse can stop him.

As for Chen Guo, Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng decided after repeated discussions that Xiao Heng would go to negotiate peace with Yuan Tang.

Xiao Heng will bring Gu Jiao's handwritten letter and the gold seal of the eldest grandson of Emperor Yan.

In fact, it is best to leave this matter to Gu Jiao. After all, it is Gu Jiao who has friendship with Yuan Tang. Yuan Tang has said to Gu Jiao more than once that the future prince of Chen State owes you a favor and will pay it back to you in the future. .

It’s just that firstly, you may not meet Yuan Tang when you go there, and secondly, Gu Jiao has more important tasks to attend to.

 Yuan Tang knew Xiao Heng and was released from the capital by Xiao Heng, so Xiao Heng was also considered the second best candidate.

Xiao Heng's purpose was not only to prevent Chen State from starting a war with Dayan, but also to use Chen State's troops to block Zhao State from detouring.

This is not an easy task, but if these two countries cannot be stopped, once the eastern border of Yan is breached, the morale of the western border will also plummet, and the war with Jin and Liang will be even more difficult.

 After deciding on both sides’ plans, Xiao Heng went to the palace and informed Shangguan Yan of the plan.

Shangguan Yan had another intense discussion with the military ministers of the major families for a whole night, and finally finalized all the plans.

As the eldest grandson of Emperor Yan, Xiao Heng went to Cangxue Pass in the northeast to negotiate peace with the Chen army. Wang Xu led his troops to **** him along the way.

Duke An Guo went to Chishui Pass in the southeast as the envoy of Dayan to negotiate peace with the Zhao State army. He was escorted by Feng Wuxiu, the head of the Feng family.

 The reason why he chose the young Feng Wuxiu was mainly because he had an older brother, Taoist Master Qingfeng, who was Wang Zhao.

 The great-aunt and great-uncle will be arranged in the accompanying team.

 The next step is the candidates for the Western Conquest.

Tianshan Pass and Yanmen Pass are both in the western border of Dayan. The Black Wind Cavalry can reach them in 15 days with a rapid march, while the infantry and baggage can be reached in one month.

That means it was probably September when they got there.

Outside the Jinluan Palace, Shangguan Yan stared blankly in the west direction: "It is already very cold in Tianshan Pass in September. Let the soldiers wear clothes to keep out the cold."

Xiao Heng looked at her deeply: "What are you going to do?"

Shangguan Yan said softly: "I will go and ask for another imperial edict."

The chance of winning this battle is too small, and the morale of Yan's soldiers is not high. If they want to win, the emperor needs to go out to boost morale.

 But the king is old and has just suffered a stroke, so it is obviously not suitable for him to travel far.

 That day.

The king issued an imperial edict and conferred the title of the third princess Shangguan Yan as the daughter of the Yan Dynasty. She went out on behalf of the emperor to lead the expedition to the west!

Accompanying him were 50,000 black wind riders and 120,000 imperial troops.

 This is all the troops that Shengdu can currently deploy.

The rest of the troops were either taken away by the Han family and the Nangong family, or they were stationed at various borders and in different cities and could not be easily mobilized.

At Duke Guo's Mansion, Gu Jiao is trying on the armor for Black Wind King. It also has its own armor. The previous one was left with the Han family, and this one was made by Duke An.

Gu Chengfeng walked over and curled his lips and said: "Our troops are not even half of theirs, how are we going to fight?"

 He didn’t even realize that he used “we”.

Gu Jiao straightened the Black Wind King's armor and said, "Fight as you should."

Gu Chengfeng was about to say something when he suddenly caught a glimpse of Gu Changqing at the door: "Brother!"

Gu Changqing's health has improved significantly and he looks good.

He had a long sword hanging on his waist and a baggage on his back, as if he was about to travel a long distance.

Gu Changqing looked at his sister and said, "Are you going to do such a dangerous thing alone?"

Gu Jiao glanced at him and said, "You have more important tasks."

 The army heading west is scheduled to set off on August 20th.

The night before departure, Gu Jiao decided to go to the Imperial Master's Palace. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Xiao Heng standing at her door.

 “Is something wrong?” she asked blankly.

 Xiao Heng opened his mouth, but stopped talking.

“If you have anything to say, you can tell me directly,” Gu Jiao said.

Xiao Heng lowered his eyes and handed over the two boxes in his hand.

 “What?” Gu Jiao asked.

Xiao Heng felt a little embarrassed, took a deep breath, and said: "The box above is your birthday gift last year. It was prepared a long time ago. You were in a hurry to go to the frontier and I didn't have time to give it to you. This time, I probably won't be able to accompany you. It’s your birthday, so I’ll give you the gift first.”

 Gu Jiao opened the box.

 Last year’s birthday gift was a golden charcoal pen.

 The outer shell is made of pure gold, and the inside has a rotating mechanism that can replace the carbon core.

Wow, an ancient version of a mechanical pencil.

 This year’s birthday gift is a small gold-leaf notebook and a pair of hairpins.

 Her little notebook is indeed about to be used up.

 It is not unusual to give pens and notebooks, but it is rare to give hairpins.

Sure enough, as I grow up, giving gifts is no longer as embarrassing as it used to be.

Gu Jiao lightly touched the white jade hairpin with her fingertips: "I like it very much, thank you very much."

Xiao Heng looked at her cherishing the gift and knew that he had finally given her the right gift this time.

He took a deep breath and said, "Are you going out just now? You go first."

“Oh, okay.” Gu Jiao turned around, put the brocade box away, and stepped out of the room.

Looking at her leaving back, Xiao Heng calmed down, suppressed the nervousness in his eyes and called her: "Gu Jiaojiao, when you come back, we will get married."

Gu Jiao turned around and looked at him with a confused face: "Huh? Aren't we already married?"

Xiao Heng smiled gently: "It's not Xiao Liulang and Gu Jiaoniang, it's Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao."

 I want to marry you in the name of Xiao Heng.

Gu Jiao's lips curved slightly: "Okay."

 When I come back, I will marry you.

 Hmm, good morning.

 (End of this chapter)