Shenhua Tiancheng, Danfeng Hall of the Great Zhou Palace.
Yu Kuan is sitting on the Danqi, her phoenix eyes are majestic, and she is unparalleled in elegance. Although she is only thirty years old, the empress's supreme domineering and majesty has become stronger day by day.
Although she has not yet entered Taoism and is still a quasi-sage, no one in the Great Zhou Dynasty dares to underestimate her.
In fact, His Majesty's methods are so impressive that he doesn't look like a young girl at all.
She was only a quasi-sage cultivator, but she managed to create a great Zhou Dynasty, unify the Central Region and sit on the throne. This ability of hard work really impressed all the ministers.
His Highness is full of ministers, and the ministers with the lowest level of cultivation are all martial immortals. According to the system of Yu Kuan and Nangong Lingyi, each has his own rank and color.
The first-grade clothes have jade-colored Taoist patterns, the second- and third-grade clothes have purple Taoist patterns, the fourth- and fifth-grade clothes have red cloud patterns, the sixth- and seventh-grade clothes have green bird patterns, and the ninth-grade clothes have soap patterns.
According to the new Great Zhou system, the Great Dynasty is once a quarter and the Regular Dynasty is once a month or irregularly.
The Central Territory stretches thousands of miles across, and the various places are far away from each other. However, the capital and major cities are connected by teleportation arrays. It is also very convenient for ministers to go to court and ride on the teleportation arrays.
Because major events occurred in the Western Regions, Zhou Ting convened the Chang Dynasty from time to time.
Mu Wuji, Xuan Zhou and other important figures, who were leaders of the anti-Chou coalition a year ago, were also present at this time. They were all wearing jade-colored official uniforms with Taoist patterns, and they were obviously first-class.
This is really ironic.
Mu Wuji, Xuan Zhou, and others led more than a thousand warlords in the central region to form an anti-Zhou coalition, and fought against the Zhou army for six or seven years. As a result, they suddenly transformed and became the founding heroes of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
After Jiang Yao's cheap uncle returned to the Zhou Dynasty, he not only made Mu Guogong and granted him a territory of 50,000 li, but also paid homage to Zuopushe, the minister, and granted him the title of Shaobao.
At this moment, Duke Mu, who had just passed away, was looking at several ministers who had stood up to speak with an unhappy expression.
These ministers unanimously believed that the imperial court should immediately send troops to kill the Ming thieves and put an end to the reform.
Mu Wuji was of course opposed to the reform, and he also wanted the Ming Dynasty to be destroyed. In this regard, he was no different from these ministers.
However, he still felt uncomfortable when it came to ginger medicine.
Because these people's attitude towards ginger medicine is too hostile.
"Your Majesty." Xuanzhou also stood up, "Look at the sky without looking at the fairy face. Of course Jiang Yao must be pardoned. However, the destruction of the Ming Dynasty is also imminent."
"The Xijia Fuguan was defeated, and all the elites were lost. If the Zhou Dynasty had stood aside and watched, the Western Region would have fallen into the hands of thieves, and the thieves would become more powerful. It would be even more difficult to suppress them at that time."
Sifu Temple Qing Jiuhua also suggested that troops should be sent out immediately to kill the false Ming Dynasty.
The majority of ministers agreed to send troops to destroy the Ming Dynasty.
Most of the people looked a little ugly. They didn't expect that the small Ming Dynasty could defeat Li Xingce's million-strong army.
"Jiang Yao'er, how did you become so strong without saying a word?"
Although the Western Region was far away, they still felt the discomfort caused by Jiang Yao's reform.
"Jiang Longcheng is my nephew." Mu Wuji suddenly said coldly, "I have no objection to your suggestion that His Majesty destroy the Ming Dynasty. But if anyone talks about punishing Jiang Longcheng, don't blame me for falling out."
"Hmph. He is not only my nephew, but also His Majesty's husband-in-law. He doesn't look at the face of immortals but the face of the sky. I'd better think about some things before saying them."
"False evidence is false evidence, and Jiang Yao is Jiang Yao. He was forced to do nothing, but he was just a pawn used by the big shots. My nephew is actually a poor person too."
Is Jiang Yao a pitiful person? The ministers were speechless.
Is Jiang Yao a pitiful person? Mu Wuji, please save some face.
Yu Kuan sighed and nodded: "What Zuo Pushe said is true. I know my nephew, Uncle Mo Ruo, Long Cheng is indeed a pitiful man who is being taken advantage of and can't help himself."
When the ministers heard this, they all remained silent and their eyes were dark.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the court was a little awkward.
At this moment, the female official suddenly sang and shouted: "Your Majesty, Li Luoer, the Taoist priest of the Medicine Palace outside the palace, has an audience."
"Oh?" Yu Yanfeng's eyes lit up, "Luo'er is back? Xuan Jin."
"According to the order!"
"Your Majesty has ordered that Li Luo'er, the Taoist priest of the Chuanyao Palace, come to see you!"
Immediately, a woman in luxuriant clothes walked in with lotus steps. She saw her snowy forehead, clouds and hair, fairy appearance, and mellow Taoism. She was a girl of the second level of the Martial Saint.
When all the ministers saw this woman, they couldn't help but be shocked.
This woman is less than fifty, but she is already a second-level Martial Saint. Her cultivation is simply... terrifying.
Not only was she stunningly beautiful, but her qualifications were also so amazing. No wonder Pankang of Chu State wanted to marry her as his princess.
Pankang has a vision!
As the fragrant wind filled the air, Fairy Luo bent down to salute and said in a serious voice, "Li Luo'er, Taoist Master of the Medicine Palace, has met Your Majesty."
"Luo'er, please forgive me." Yu Yan was secretly surprised when he saw that Fairy Luo was already at the second level of Martial Saint, but she was more happy.
"Luo'er has had an adventure, hasn't he? I'm very happy to congratulate you." Yu Kuan was very happy and said, "Come and give me a seat."
Because Li Luoer does not have the official position of Zhou Ting yet, her seat is a guest seat.
So, Yu Kuan immediately said: "Li Luo'er is extremely talented, a master of both martial arts and medicine, and he is also a Taoist disciple of the Medicine Palace. How can I leave this pearl behind?"
Although Yu Kuang proclaimed herself emperor, she still liked to use "I" when she claimed to be emperor. This may be related to her failure to awaken her past life memories.
"Li Luo'er, I will grant you the title of Minister of Medicine Temple, the second rank, and also the imperial medical order. Not only will you be in charge of the great medical affairs of the Zhou Dynasty, but you will also be in charge of all medical affairs before the imperial court."
According to the system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the minister of Yaosi Temple had the same position as the ministers of other ministries, and was extremely powerful. He was one of the nine ministers of the outer dynasty.
The imperial medical order was also a trusted minister around the emperor and one of the nine ministers in the inner court.
It is equivalent to saying that Li Luo'er holds the important positions of two ministers in the inner and outer courts!
If you really don't come back, then you will become a famous person once you come back.
Li Luoer immediately stood up and said with a slightly happy expression, "I thank your Majesty for your grace."
But Yu Kuang's words were not finished yet, "When the Zhou Dynasty was founded, Li Luoer took the initiative to return to the Zhou Dynasty. How could the imperial court not reward him?"
"Well, don't you have a land of three thousand miles to the west of Dishan Mountain? I will grant you the entire Dishan County and make you the Princess of Dishan County."
The princess is the Duke of the same country! Although her fiefdom is only one county in Dishan, which is only equivalent to a family of Ding and other martial lords, the reward is also very generous.
"Princess." Li Luo'er felt happy and felt grateful again, "Li Luo'er thanks your majesty for the reward."
So, as soon as Li Luoer returned to the court, he became the Minister of Medicine Temple, the Imperial Medical Order, and the Princess of Dishan!
Suddenly he was in a high position and very popular.
Before Yu Kuang proclaimed himself emperor, many people had no idea about the power of the emperor.
But when Yu Kuan took the high position, took control of the great righteousness, formulated the "Da Zhou Code" and established a nine-level official system, they felt more and more the power of the imperial power.
When the names of the monarch and his ministers are determined, and the internal and external powers and responsibilities are divided, the entire central region will be in order and the hierarchy will be strict, and the majesty of the court and the emperor will become stronger day by day.
The Zhou Kingdom was only an aristocratic country, not a country based on laws and regulations. It was at most a semi-law-based country. Today, only the Ming Dynasty is a true country based on laws and regulations.
Li Luoer is now a Martial Saint or a Medicine Saint. Although she is young, who dares to underestimate her?
Therefore, the newly minted Princess Dishan sat down at the head of Nangong Lingyi without any hesitation.
Seeing that Li Luoer's reward was over, Zhen Lingyun, Minister of the Ministry of War, stood up and said:
"Just now all the fellow Taoists said that they wanted to conquer False Ming, but I am willing to lead the army to go out to capture Jiang Yao and hand it over to Your Majesty."
After expressing his attitude, he sat down again. Zhen Lingyun was the original elder of Zhen clan, a powerful great sage, and a military sage. He had served as the general of Zhen clan for many years.
His main purpose is not to lead the army, but to express his attitude and advocate sending troops to conquer the country.
The former Zhen clan, which is now the Zhen Kingdom, made great contributions to Yu Kuan's ascension to the throne. In return, Zhen Xuexian, the lord of Zhen, granted the title of Duke of Zhen, the title of Young Master, and the official title of Zhongshu Shilang.
Zhen Jiubing was also granted the title of Muzhou Mu. There were dozens of Zhen family members holding official positions above the fifth rank.
Therefore, Zhen's weight was very important both inside and outside the court.
"Da Sima's words are not allowed." Li Luo'er said immediately. She stood up and saluted gracefully. "Your Majesty, Da Sima can indeed lead the army on an expedition, but..."
"But I think that Da Sima should go to the Eastern Region, not the Western Region."
Zhen Lingyun narrowed his eyes and said, "Li Yaoqing, I know that you are the nephew of Master Jiang Yao, and we have the same sect. But publicity is public and privateness is private."
Li Luo'er smiled slightly: "Of course this princess is doing it for the public good, how can it be done for private reasons? Although my uncle, the princess, is the Master of Pseudo-Ming, my grandfather, Master Li, is the Grand Master of Zhou Dynasty."
"I just think that moving west first and then east is not conducive to the unification of the Divine Continent in the Great Zhou Dynasty."
Zhen Lingyun snorted coldly, not bothering to argue with a little girl. This woman kept saying 'this princess', which was really ridiculous.
"His Majesty."
A woman wearing a hibiscus crown stood up, with a majestic and unflappable air. She was clearly a woman whose cultivation had surpassed that of the Great Sage.
This woman is Nangong Lingyi, who has been very famous in recent years. She has a mysterious origin, but she is a Mahayana practitioner, and can be said to be the person with the highest cultivation level in the Zhou Dynasty.
Nangong ordered the official to sit in the middle and write orders, and he was granted the title of Empress Fengtian and the title of Taifu. He was not only the person with the highest cultivation level in the court, but also the person with the most honorable official position.
No one knows that this Nangong Lingyi is Yu Kan's confidant from his previous life. That Empress Cui Yi spent a huge price to preserve Nangong Lingyi's soul and become an ancient soul.
More than ten years ago, Yu Kuan discovered Nangong Lingyi's soul in the Feitian Immortal Tower and brought it back.
With the help of Yu Yan, Nangong Lingyi recovered his physical body and slowly recovered his cultivation.
No one knows that she is an ancient person, and no one knows the origin between her and Yu Kuan. She was originally an immortal, but after all she lost her original body and became a Mahayana real person.
But her knowledge was still that of an immortal. The reason why the ministers surrendered to Yu Kuan, a quasi-sage, had something to do with Nangong Lingyi's intimidation.
"If we go on an expedition to the Western Regions, we will need hundreds of thousands of troops."
Nangong Lingyi said slowly, "The Central Region and the Western Region are separated by millions of miles of endless desert. Can the imperial court now mobilize so many long-distance spacecraft to carry large armies across the desert to the Western Region?"
"It is indeed possible. But if we do this, we must stop attacking the eastern region and move the troop transport ships in the east to the west."
"Nowadays, the campaign to conquer the East is intense. How can we give up halfway and give the Eastern Territory Allied Forces a chance to breathe? If I, the Great Zhou Dynasty, conquered the Eastern Territory and had a stronger national power, would I still be afraid of the Ming Kingdom in the Western Territory?"
"Even if Jiang Yao swallows the entire Western Region, the Western Region now only occupies 10% of the territory of Shenzhou, so why should we be afraid?"
"Besides, the Ming Dynasty, which has temporarily retained the ginger medicine, can also deter the southern and northern warlords and make them return to the Zhou Dynasty. It can also use the Ming Dynasty to block the charming tapirs and demons in the Western Region."
"Therefore, it is more beneficial to Zhou Dynasty to keep the Ming Dynasty temporarily. The pros and cons must be carefully considered."
Of course she meant what she said.
Yu Kuan nodded, his voice unmistakable: "What the Grand Tutor said makes sense, and you should know which one is more important than the other. My top priority in the Zhou Dynasty is to capture the Eastern Region as soon as possible."
"This matter of proving the truth is not an urgent matter. Let him do it for the time being. The sky will not fall."
"As long as the Eastern Territory returns to the Zhou Dynasty, the Northern Territory will be able to conquer without a fight, and the Great Zhou Dynasty will completely replace the Shenzhou Camp. Without the Great Zhou Dynasty in the north, this charming tapir may break through Taiyin Mountain at any time."
"Mr. Mu, Gong Xuan, you still have to go to Taiyin Mountain to continue to lead the troops and stop the Charming Tapir from going south."
Yu Kuan relied on Nangong Lingyi's words to reject the suggestion of sending troops to the Western Regions and directed the topic to the northern defense line.
When the ministers saw that neither the emperor nor Zhongshu Ling agreed to send troops to the Western Regions, they could only give up temporarily.
Although they hated Jiang Yao's reform, they could only watch Jiang Yao harvest the fruits of victory.
But Yu Kuan secretly said in his heart: "Yao'er, sooner or later the two countries will have a war, you must be prepared."
"Haha, I didn't expect that you would be defeated by Li Xingce as soon as you came back after many years of experience outside. Yao'er, you really surprised me, so let's just wait and see."
"I can help you block it a few times, but the imperial court will eventually send troops to the Western Regions."
Yu Kuan has not seen Jiang Yao for seven years and misses her very much, but she knows that she has no time to love her now.
"The Ministry of Rites prepares the ceremony. I am going to send King Ye and Princess Yunyang to the Western Regions to persuade Jiang Yao to surrender to the Great Zhou Dynasty."
In order to show his orthodoxy, Yu Kuan unified the Central Region and honored his father Yu Cangming as the Supreme Emperor, his mother Cui Ai as the Empress Dowager, and his uncle Yu Canglang as King Jing.
He also sealed the clan's clan and served as a barrier to the Zhou clan.
His elder brother Yu Xuan was named King of Ye, and his elder sister Yu Shu was named Princess of Yunyang.
Yu Xuan and Yu Shu were both acquaintances of Jiang Yao. They were sent to "recruit" Jiang Yao, which was a gesture to show that the emperor was not indulging.
Yu Kuan then said: "Next, I will mainly overcome the tribulation and enter Taoism, which will require several years of quiet practice. Inside and outside the imperial court, Zhongshu Ling Nangong Lingyi will supervise the country."
Nangong Lingyi, as the only powerful Mahayana man in the Zhou Dynasty who was in awe of all the ministers, was very respectful to Yu Kuan.
She was obviously the highest-ranking minister, but she was the most respectful minister to Yu Kuan.
"I obey your decree and thank you for your trust!"
Nangong Lingyi stood up and took the order.
Yu Kuan nodded, "For military and national affairs, I'll leave it to Empress Fengtian. If I don't join the Tao, I won't return to the court. Leave the court, I want to practice."
She plans to overcome the tribulation and enter the Tao within five years, and then refine the Nine Yin Green Lotus to lay the foundation of the Tao.
All the ministers stood up together: "I wish your Majesty to enter Taoism as soon as possible."
………
Western Regions, Xunzhou.
Jiang Yao led his army to pursue Li Xingce for three days. At the end of three days, the two armies were chasing and fleeing, and they traveled more than ten thousand miles.
Both sides are high-quality horses that can't catch up, and those who can't escape can't escape.
Li Xingce suddenly reined in his horse and sighed: "Our army can't escape. Now we can only go our separate ways and scatter in all directions."
"General!" Master Zhao's expression changed, "Why is this?"
When the generals heard this, their expressions changed one after another.
Li Xingce seemed to have aged a thousand years suddenly, with a desolate look on his face. He pointed in the direction of Jiang Dong, too lazy to speak any more.
"Jiang Jun?!" The generals understood immediately.
These days, there has been no movement among the 50,000 Jiang troops in the three cities of Jiangdong. But everyone knows that Jiang Yao actually has two troops, one Ming army and one Jiang army.
It's just that Qin Yu couldn't control Jiang Jun because Jiang Yao had gone out for training these years.
But now that Jiang Yao is back, how could he not mobilize Jiang Jun?
"Jiang Jun must have crossed Jiangshui and occupied the Hu Pass in advance. Our army's retreat to the north has been blocked."
Li Xingce was indeed a famous general. Before he reached Hu Pass, he guessed that Jiang Jun had been transferred to Hu Pass.
He guessed correctly.
It’s a pity there is no prize!
"The only plan for now is to take the risk and go to the Valley of Lost Souls. Although the losses will be huge, we should still be able to save half of our troops."
"Let's go, go west instead, to the Valley of Lost Souls!"
Li Xingce gave the order.
"Boom boom--" The remaining 80,000 coalition troops changed their direction to go north to the Hu Pass and turned west, heading straight for the Valley of Lost Souls thousands of miles away.
The Valley of Lost Souls is a secluded valley between the Mt. Mountains and the Yangshan Mountains. Because it is very dangerous, it has always been uninhabited.
But if the army passes, it will not be completely wiped out.
Not long after the remnants of the two armies left, the Ming army led by Jiang Yao arrived.
"It's so difficult to deal with that you actually decided to go to Lost Soul Valley instead." Jiang Yao couldn't help but frown.
He led his army to pursue the enemy for more than ten thousand miles and set a trap at the Hu Pass. Unexpectedly, Li Xingce failed to fall into the trap.
What an old fox.
But Jiang Yao will never let go of these 80,000 still powerful coalition forces.
You know, of the 80,000 coalition troops, 70,000 are Wuzong's army, and even 10,000 are Wuzhen's army! The average cultivation level is very high.
Once it is let go, it will be a big problem.
"Chase!" Jiang Yao chased after him without even thinking, sending out one after another flying messages.
You can't escape without Xingce.
I said!
ps: I’m not feeling well, I’m too tired, Crab, good night.