female concubine

In March of the 11th year of Qianyuan, the Wei Song court stopped the mutual market with Xixia. After the mutual market stopped for only one day, it handed over the letter of war to Xixia. Cao Hua, Yun's son, and Li Shiji, the former minister of the first emperor, will be the commander in chief, and Xiao Xianfu and Xiao Yunze will be ordered to accompany the army to perform crimes and make meritorious deeds.

"The Li family has retired for many years. After the disarmament, most of the officers and men in the army are young people. If Li Shiji is rashly appointed as the commander, it may not be enough to conquer the three armies. This time, the number of troops dispatched in the conquest is more than that of the previous year, and the troops dispatched are far better than those left in Gyeonggi. If the commander-in-chief wins the war and gains the morale of the army and has a heart of disobedience, the capital may be difficult to defend, but Marshal Xiao has already been defeated once before, and making him a commander again may weaken morale."

The emperor propped his forehead, "The civil and military forces of the Manchu dynasty can't find a marshal to command the three armies?"

Han Si looked at the emperor, stepped forward and knelt down and said, "The officials are pouring all their efforts to destroy Li's Western Xia. They raise troops for a thousand days and use them for a short period of time. The morale of soldiers is the most important thing at the time of battle. Only by fighting hard can we avoid defeat. I implore Your Majesty to personally enlist."

"I don't want His Majesty to take risks, but this battle is of great significance. If you win, you will prosper, and if you lose..."

"I know that if I lose this time, I will become a sinner of the country."

"The minister knows that the official's family recruitment will be obstructed by the ministers..."

The emperor shook his head, "It's nothing to be obstructed by the officials. I just ride a horse wherever I want to go. At most, they chase after the horse and curse a few words. They dare not hold the horse's tail. It's just..."

"Are the officials worried about Her Royal Highness?"

"After 17 years of ups and downs, countless people around me have come and gone, and I have seen life and death parting, but among so many people, I only feel guilty for her, but..." The emperor stood up, "The battle hasn't been fought yet, how can I You’re going to worry about what’s next.”

"Officials don't need to go to the front line, but lead the army in the name of the commander. This can not only boost morale but also hold military power in their hands. It's just that when dispatching, your majesty needs to be sure that you will not doubt the general."

"I am good at playing tricks, but in military affairs, like you, Jingming, I only talk on paper and are a layman. I will never hesitate to hold the military power and miss the opportunity like Taizong's failure in the Northern Expedition."

"The official Shengming."

The imperial court's mobilization of troops to attack Xixia did not meet much resistance. However, when the emperor talked about the imperial conquest at the court meeting in the Chuigong Hall, he was stopped by Lu Wei and a group of civil servants.

"A country cannot be without a king for a day. Your majesty is a body of gold. How can you go into danger with the army?"

"Since the founding of our dynasty, the emperors of all dynasties have personally conquered them, so why not when they are here?"

"On the battlefield, the sword has no eyes, and the country has no heir, how can the emperor put himself in danger, please think twice, Your Majesty."

"Before the king of Shouchun county supervised the country, didn't you call him a big king?" The emperor stood up, "Don't you use him as the second prince?"

"The minister is terrified."

After the court meeting was over, Yousi sent the forged armor into the palace, and was seen by the officials again by chance.

"The descendants of the royal family are declining, and His Majesty only has one son, the King. Now His Majesty insists on conscripting himself. If it is on the battlefield..." The officials shook their heads, "Your Majesty doesn't know how to fight, so this is not adding to the chaos."

"Even Prime Minister Lu couldn't stop it, will His Majesty listen to what you say?"

"Since Prime Minister Lu can't...how about Her Highness the Empress?" Several scarlet-robed officials who were walking together suddenly stopped.

In the first ten days of March of the 11th year of Qianyuan, the emperor insisted on the royal conquest, but the ministers failed to stop them and went to the empress. The memorials of the Kunning Palace were piled up, and Xiao Youqing only flipped through a few books and even overturned the table.

The palace servants and servants in the palace were so frightened that they stopped their movements and knelt down, Xiao Youqing threw the booklet in his hand to the ground, and left Kunning Palace angrily.

After the queen left, the palace people climbed up from the ground and carefully tidied up the messy ground, "I have served in the Kunning Palace for 11 years, and I have never seen such a big anger from a saint, even flipping the table."

"Looking at the worry in the eyes of the sage, it is probably because of the official's affairs." The palace people were curious but did not dare to read the memorial letter of the courtier Empress Shangshu.

Several ministers who wanted to write a letter to persuade the emperor to conquest in person stopped in their tracks when they saw the empress's shoulders standing in front of the Chuigong Hall.

"Her Royal Highness's ceremonial guard appeared in the inner court...it should be that the Zuo Sijian's memorial was seen by His Highness."

Su Yu stood at the gate of the palace with the wat board in his hand, "The king's safety is the foundation of the country, if Her Highness the Queen can't dissuade it, it's useless for you and me to break the sky."

Wearing Yanju's casual clothes, Xiao Youqing broke into the Chuigong Hall. The emperor was discussing matters with the generals in the Duo Hall with the sand table. Everyone raised their heads and bowed their hands.

"His Royal Highness."

Xiao Youqing looked at the deployment on the sand table, and immediately held his breath and saluted the emperor, "Your Majesty."

The emperor straightened up and walked to Xiao Youqing, "I was planning to go back to you after the discussion..."

"Your Majesty, please move, the concubine has something to say."

The emperor glanced back and swallowed dryly, "Sister..."

Before she finished speaking, Xiao Youqing stretched out his hand and pulled the person out of Duo Hall, seeing that it was Emperor Lu from Chaoning Harmony Hall, he shook his hand and broke free, "Where is the saint trying to take me?"

Xiao Youqing turned around, "The battlefield is dangerous, do you have to go there yourself?"

"This time is different. I have carefully planned for many years and don't want to fail."

"What about me?" Xiao Youqing took a step closer, "Do you still remember what you promised?"

The emperor lowered his head, seeing her silent, Xiao Youqing laughed uncontrollably, "So what you said before was lying to me?"

"No..." The emperor vetoed, raised his head and stepped forward, Xiao Youqing took a step back, "What if I don't let you go?"

The emperor stopped moving forward, hesitantly lowered his head, "Sister, must I embarrass Liulang like this?"

"The concubine understands that the official family is the official family of the world, not the husband of the concubine alone."

"I know my sister is worried about me..."

"Okay, but the concubine has a condition." Xiao Youqing's tone was very indifferent.

"You said."

"Please have a contest between the officials and the concubines. If the officials can win the sword of the concubines, the officials will never stop them wherever they want to go. If they can't, the officials will not be able to go."

The emperor stared blankly at the Martial Arts Hall next to Ninghe Hall. After staring at each other for a long time, he said, "I know I can't beat my sister, but I still have to try. It's been 17 years, and I can't do anything." I can rely on you, but not this time, so I will do my best."

Xiao Youqing turned around and entered the courtyard outside the Martial Arts Hall, did not wait for the emperor, Qi Liu followed behind the emperor, saw that the mistress had gone far, and said: "The saint is like this, how sad he must be."

The emperor lowered his powerless hands, "If I lose, my fate will not be long."

Qi Liu was startled when he heard this, so he knelt down with his clothes on his hands, "The official family is upright and in its prime, accompanied by a wife as good as a saint, the villain doesn't understand why the official family would say this."

The emperor looked down at the courtier who was kneeling and trembling beside him, "You don't know what I want to do, and you don't understand what I want to do, so you don't understand."

"The villain doesn't know, so don't the sages also know?"

The emperor froze, "She..." frowned and said: "She is the person who understands me best." Immediately stepped into the courtyard of the Martial Arts Hall, Xiao Youqing's red clothes had already been changed, and she picked up two identical swords Throw one of them over.

The emperor took the sword thrown by Xiao Youqing, opened the hilt an inch and then closed it again, raised his eyebrows and said: "A real sword?"

"You are not joking, the officials will do it if they agree, and if the concubine wins the officials, they will not be allowed to mention the matter of conscripting in person."

The emperor who was still hesitant just now pulled out the iron sword from the scabbard, and the light on the sword flashed across his face, "I never said I was a gentleman..."

Because of her words, Xiao Youqing's hand holding the sword tightened, and his eyes became more indifferent, "Aren't the officials afraid of provoking their concubines to kill the king?"

"It's better to die by my sister's sword than to die in depression." The emperor's attitude was also very firm, and when he swung his sword down, he was much stronger than before.

The emperor studied literature since he was a child, and he only learned martial arts after he ascended the throne. In addition, he only learned some self-protection moves due to his busy government affairs.

Competing swords on weekdays is almost learning swordsmanship, but now facing someone who is serious, the emperor backed up again and again even with all his strength, the sharp blades collided, and faint sparks could be seen when the blades of the swords brushed against each other.

The emperor took a step back and raised his head, his eyes met each other. Apart from perseverance, there was also a little hidden sadness in his clean and penetrating eyes. No matter how powerful a person is, there will be a day when he collapses.

A little distracted, the sword in his hand was picked off, and the sharp blade rubbed against the emperor's neck an inch and stopped. The emperor stretched his neck and rolled up and down, and immediately spread his hands and stopped resisting, "I lost." Then he closed his eyes and sighed. Tone, the sword in front of him suddenly fell from the hand of the sword holder when he was about to compromise.

- Bang! -when! ——

Xiao Youqing threw herself into her arms and hugged her tightly, "I hate you, but I hate myself even more, why I care about you so much."

"I can't selfishly take the emperor as my own, I just hope my A Qian can be fine, but if I keep you in the name of love and make you unhappy, then what's the point to me. "

The emperor reached out his hand to respond, lowered his head and rubbed against her neck, and said in tears, "I'm not going." As soon as the words fell on the front of his chest, he was pulled into a ball, "Sister?"

"From the beginning, Your Majesty saw the world in his eyes, including the marriage between you and me, but why not the courtiers and concubines? Now that there is no good commander in the court, His Majesty will naturally have His Majesty's considerations if you want to conscript yourself. Let this matter become an eternal regret in His Majesty's heart, then the concubine will not forgive herself."

The cold wind blew through the open courtyard, the palace people were kneeling in the distance, and the emperor put his arms around Xiao Youqing, "This time I have transferred all the elite from the Sanya, and I also want to let those generals lead the army, but I am afraid, I’m afraid even if the chances are very small, maybe I’m paranoid, don’t worry, sister, I’m so weak that I definitely won’t go to the battlefield.”

"Does your majesty know that you are weak?" Xiao Youqing gently pushed her away, "The situation on the field is changing rapidly, even if your majesty is not at the forefront, there is no guarantee that the flames of war will not be ignited. With your majesty's temperament, don't think that your concubine doesn't know. No need to say nice words to comfort me."

"Sister, don't keep calling me like they do," the emperor approached Xiao Youqing with a smile and flattered him, "It's strange."

Xiao Youqing pushed him away and turned around, "I don't really want to talk to you right now."

"I'm sorry, I broke my promise. I managed to contain Beiliao. If I wait a few more years until the emperor of Beiliao takes back all the power in his hands and cleans up Yelufang's people, then the situation will be different again. If we lose ...This battle cannot be lost, weighing the pros and cons, I have no choice."

Xiao Youqing lowered her hand, "Do you think I don't know, I just care too much. At this time, I only hate that I am not a man."

The emperor stepped forward and hugged Xiao Youqing from behind, "I know that I am not a good person. I have never done any of the bad things in the world. Desires are inseparable from selfish distractions. Breaking one's word is breaking one's word. Wrong is wrong. I admit it." .”

Xiao Youqing raised his head sideways, stared at it for a moment, "Don't hurt yourself."