Now is not the past. In the past, everyone wanted to be in front of the emperor, because all the glory in the peaceful and prosperous era could only be bestowed by the emperor.
A word from the emperor can give something, and a word from the emperor can take it away.
But it's different now.
As long as you have soldiers and horses and can defeat the rebels, the emperor will give you whatever you want. It is no longer the case that you accept whatever the emperor gives you.
The reason why Governor Xiang went to the emperor was to gather troops and hold a heavy army.
"Longyou Road is too small, and fundamentally speaking, Longyou still belongs to Jiannan Road. It is not ours after all, so we need to add a layer of Emperor's Order."
Looking at Qi Shan's letter, Qi Acheng said to the maid: "That's right. Judging from Miss Li's behavior, she is not only the master of the Xiang family, but also the master of Taiyuan Mansion."
The maid nodded and commented: "You are superior."
Of course, Xiang Yun would not be able to use Jiannan Road as easily as his own arm if he wanted to use it so high above the Li family, but the guards all belonged to the emperor, and the Li family must listen to the emperor's orders, unless they wanted to rebel.
"But I don't need it. I have the Southeast Road, a very big Southeast Road, and a lot of soldiers and horses. The ancestors of these soldiers and horses all have the surname Qi."
"What I need is to let the emperor know that I trust and value me, and then I can follow the emperor's orders to fight everywhere, recruit troops everywhere, and expand our southeast route to a bigger army and gather more troops."
"When you go to the emperor, you have a high position, but the power is not necessarily heavy, and there are bound to be various constraints. How can you be so relaxed and comfortable outside?"
"Otherwise, why did Wu Ya'er leave Linzhou to settle in Xiangzhou and not come back after gaining the title, power and the emperor's life?"
"That's because we can only hoard more troops and horses outside. When Wu Ya'er holds the entire Northland in his hands, Acheng, tell me, who can underestimate him, whether he is by the emperor's side or not?"
Qi Acheng nodded: "I understand what father means."
"The Grand Governor needs Governor Xiang to be in front of the emperor and bring trust and opportunities to the Grand Governor." The attendant said, "After all, there are so many guards in the world, there are many who have this idea."
Not to mention, Zhang An and Wang Lin cooperated with Jiannan Dao and were pushed to the emperor by Han Xu.
Qi Acheng curled his lips: "Jiannan Road has Governor Xiang, but he is still so greedy."
The attendant smiled and said: "No one in the world is greedy. For Jiannan Road, Governor Xiang is in the palm of his hand."
Having said this, he looked around.
Qi Acheng said: "Uncle, if you have anything to say, just say it. Although I am not as good as Miss Li in having a villa, I still have a yard in Miss Qi."
The attendant laughed and said, "Young lady, you do things safely." He lowered his voice and said, "...In the future, the governor will have many troops and a solid foundation. Naturally, we will not assign people randomly."
Of course, one’s goal is to wear the wedding dress made by oneself, and also wear the wedding dress made by others.
Speaking of the wedding dress, the attendant is an old servant of Qishan who also grew up watching Qi Acheng. He has the respect and kindness of a servant.
"It's a pity that Miss Acheng didn't wear a wedding dress."
"When I can wear imperial robes like the Lady of Chu in the future, it doesn't matter whether I wear a wedding dress or not." Qi Acheng didn't care, and smiled again when he said this, "At that time, I can do it without wearing a wedding dress.
Be a bride anytime."
Like Mrs. Chu, she is surrounded by all kinds of beautiful men...
The attendant was a man and was not so bold. Hearing this, his face turned red and he yelled angrily: "Miss."
What is this word?
Nowadays, the world is in chaos, and that lady from Chu State is acting wantonly, and all the women have been led astray.
Qi Acheng smiled at the attendant: "I know, don't talk nonsense."
The attendant said softly: "Miss, although this marriage has wronged you, this young master of the Xiang family is still very good. If we can make friends with him, it will not only be beneficial to our Qi family, but also good to the young lady's life."
."
Qi Acheng said, "I understand. If he doesn't take the initiative to befriend me, I will take the initiative to befriend him."
Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I heard that Xiang Nan is very good-looking, and the son-in-law chosen by Governor Li must have extraordinary qualifications.
The attendant was very satisfied with the eldest lady's instant communication, and leaned over to salute: "With the eldest lady in the Xiang family, the governor will feel relieved."
"I will make my father feel at ease." Qi Acheng smiled, raised his eyebrows and added, "I will make Governor Xiang feel more at ease."
She is more assured and available than Miss Li.
...
...
The news that Ankangshan was proclaimed emperor naturally spread all over Taiyuan Mansion.
Although the government and the people were a little panicked, they did not lose control. Ankang Mountain rebelled, and there was no surprise when he proclaimed himself emperor.
"The fact that those orders were spread all over the city shows that there are many spies in our Taiyuan Prefecture."
"Some people have notices stuck in their backyards, and the servants in this house can no longer be trusted."
In the hot summer, a pergola was set up on the high platform with hanging gauze on all sides, and there were blooming lotus flowers. There were ice cubes in the lotus jars. The wind blew through the lotus leaves and then over the exposed skin of the women. It was fragrant and cool.
The women talked about spies and expressed their uneasiness. Li Mingqi was not angry, but very happy. This shows that everyone is relaxed and casual in front of her, which is also a kind of trust.
"There must be spies," she said, waving her fan. "There are people everywhere, people running around. It's not surprising."
The women sitting next to her nodded: "Even if there are spies, these spies only dare to throw notices and don't dare to invade our Taiyuan Mansion. They are nothing to be afraid of."
This remark aroused a chorus of echoes, and people on the high platform said, "Dudu Xiang has achieved another great victory." "Master Xiang has reorganized the Xuanwu Dao and surrounded the rebels in the capital." "The eldest lady's soldiers and horses are equal to ten."
"Every family has a daughter, and everyone can fight." "I think the time has come to regain the capital."
The ladies did not talk about the flowers and willows, they talked about soldiers and horses and the current situation, and there was a heroic atmosphere in the rouge.
There was a heavy drumbeat, interrupting everyone's laughter and discussion. The women lifted up the hanging veils on all sides and looked down the high platform.
The twice-monthly jousting competition outside the eldest lady's villa has begun.
The people below the high platform also withdrew their gaze from the high platform and looked at the guards of the Taiyuan aristocratic families who were pouring into the competition field to participate in the competition. They were all wearing armor and were as majestic as real soldiers and horses...
Miss Li purchased armor and weapons for all the participants in the competition.
"Since it is a martial arts competition, you must look good and be majestic." Miss Li said, "This armor is not only for majesty. These are troubled times. Maybe when will our Taiyuan Prefecture face a battle? By then everyone will
They are all warriors.”
For these armors, Miss Li sold a lot of dowry, which made the wealthy families very grateful. The eldest lady equipped them with weapons and trained guards for them. More people participated in the martial arts performance, not only from the wealthy families, but also from some small families.
They also joined forces to form a convoy.
After each martial arts performance, the winner will be rewarded, and the participants will also be rewarded. The people who come to watch can also gather together to share the wine and meat presented by Miss Li. Outside Miss Li’s villa, there are a sea of people, officials, scholars, people, beggars and traders, all three religions and nine streams enjoy together.
The colorful flags are flying, the drums are beating, the horseshoes are towering, and the shouts are shouting, creating a majestic atmosphere.
"With this majesty, Taiyuan Prefecture is already a fortress of iron and steel." Many people lamented, "The rebels will definitely flee in sight."
All this must be attributed to Miss Li.
At first, the 10,000 soldiers and horses from Jiannan Road that Miss Li brought were the copper and iron walls of Taiyuan Mansion, but later Miss Li gave the copper and iron walls to her husband. The whole Taiyuan Mansion was really disappointed.
Unexpectedly, Miss Li immediately planned a competition and built a battle-ready army in Taiyuan Mansion on the spot.
"As expected of the daughter of Governor Li."
"The Tiger Girl in General's Gate."
The disappointment of everyone in Taiyuan Mansion disappeared and there was a chorus of praise.
The men, women, and children in the audience looked at the majestic groups of soldiers and horses in the field. They each had a mark in front of them and a flag behind them to distinguish them.
The people looked at these signs and flags to cheer and guess which team would win this contest.
"The Liao family! The Liao family will definitely win."
"That's not necessarily the case. The Gu Chamber of Commerce lost last time because they were unfamiliar with the competition for the first time. This time it looks impressive."
In addition to verbal speculation, many people began to place bets, big bets for those who were rich, small bets for those who had no money, some openly, some secretly, outside the competition venue and within the city, because of Miss Li's competition.
Becoming passionate.
During the peaceful and prosperous times, Taiyuan Mansion was not so lively.
On the high platform with green leaves, lotus flowers and white gauze fluttering like a fairyland, there was also the crisp sound of gold and silver being thrown into porcelain plates. The women dropped the gold hairpin bracelets they wore on their heads into the plates marking different participating teams.
"Miss." Two women looked back at Li Mingqi with a coquettish smile and asked, "Which one of you will win this time?"
Li Mingqi walked up surrounded by women, took off a gold hairpin on her head, and looked at the jade plate with lotus flowers on it: "This can only be a gamble..."
She looked at the jade plate and then at the foot of the high platform, frowning and pursed her lips, unable to make a choice.
The women asked with a smile: "Are they each different?"
Li Mingqi sighed: "This is a three-day separation."
The women all laughed, and Miss Li's words of praise were quickly passed down the stage by the maids, making the participating teams feel proud.
Li Mingqi was not exaggerating. She thought seriously, holding the golden hairpin and walking from one side to the other. She carefully looked under the stage to see the number of people and horses, their momentum, and the layout of the weapon array...
Suddenly she stopped and said: "Is there one missing plate?"
Or is there one more person in the audience?
The women looked at the plates, then looked at the audience, stretched out their fingers and counted one, two, three...and they kept counting until a group of soldiers walked in from the outside through the crowd...
Although there are new teams participating every month, they do not just appear when they arrive at the competition venue. They have been announced to the public in advance.
Everyone knows that there are ten teams participating in this game, and there are already ten rows in the field. The one who walks in from outside the field is like a stream that suddenly appears and merges into the river.
They were neatly armored, with crossbows on their backs, spears in their hands, long knives on their shoulders, and shields on their backs. The military flags were red with the big characters "Qi" written on them, and there were roundels in front of them with the big characters "Qing Hai" written on them.
On the southeast road there is the governor Qi Shan and the guard Qing Hai.
Li Mingqi turned the golden hairpin in her hand and inserted it into her head.