General Lian made great military exploits, and the Lian family also straightened their backs.
At that time, everyone laughed and ridiculed me, saying that no one in the Lian family could allow a woman to show up, and that it was ridiculous for a woman to be a general. Not many people dared to laugh at the emperor secretly, but they openly laughed at the Lian family.
Quite a lot actually.
Today, the situation has suddenly turned around.
Wherever the sons of the Lian family went, they were flattered and praised. When people mentioned General Lian, they all praised him with enthusiasm.
The happiest person is none other than the thoughtful one.
After Zhou Quan and General Lian got married, they spent less time together and more time apart.
Zhou Quan is the commander of the emperor's personal soldiers. He works at the emperor's side every day and cannot leave without authorization. General Lian is the commander-in-chief of the Shu army and is in charge of the Shu territory. The couple live in two places, and only at the end of each year, Zhou Quan can go there.
In the Shu region, or when General Lian returned to Beijing, we could only get together for a short period of time.
The couple agreed on the day they got married that they would not have children. Over the years, they have lived in separate quarters and been busy.
In the eyes of everyone, the two of them really didn't look like a couple.
But in the world, there are couples who stay with each other day and night and share the same ideals. There are couples who share the same bed and have different dreams and treat each other as if they were guests. There are also couples who are thousands of miles apart but have a close connection with each other.
In short, just do whatever you want.
General Lian won a great victory, and the news of the victory was sent to the capital. At the same time, a letter from home was delivered to Zhou Quan. General Lian was not born to be a tender-hearted woman, and the letters home did not have much affection for his children. They were almost the same as the battle reports to the court...
…
Zhou Quan holds the family letter in his arms and takes it out to read it once in his spare time. In just a few days, he reads it at least dozens of times. Every time he reads it, he laughs silly.
Sheng Hong saw this and found it funny, so he deliberately joked: "What did Master write in the letter? You have been smiling every day these days."
Zhou Quan said happily: "It is about writing the whole story of that great victory. In order to lure King Zhangde out of the city, she kept showing weakness to the enemy. It took three months to get King Zhangde to be fooled and take the initiative to lead his troops to attack."
So, master copied the battle report again?
Sheng Hong couldn't stop laughing and continued to joke: "This is almost the same as the battle report sent to the imperial court!"
Zhou Quan continued to respond happily: "How can it be the same? The court battle report was written by the military intelligence officer, and it was written by Shu Yuan herself."
Sheng Hong: "..."
Forget it, just be happy.
…
When King Changdeok died, chaos broke out in Changdeok City.
King Changdeok had four sons. Crown Prince Changdeok was his legitimate son, and the other three sons were all concubines. Crown Prince Changdeok was supposed to take over the feudal army. The other three concubines colluded privately and conspired to kill Changdeok in the mourning hall.
Prince Wang, these three concubines are also constantly fighting for power among themselves.
Of course, General Lian would not miss this great opportunity. He secretly ordered his informants to spread rumors in the city while intensifying his attack on the city. A month later, the city gate was finally breached.
Two of King Changdeok's three concubines were killed in battle, and one was captured alive. General Lian stayed in the city to reorganize the remaining vassal soldiers, and ordered the youngest son of King Changdeok and his family members to be escorted to the capital.
General Lian was the first to win the battle against the imperial army of the three vassals. Counting from the day the army set out, it only lasted half a year.
General Lian became famous in one battle, and his popularity far surpassed that of the mature and steady General Chu.
General Chu also fought several victorious battles.
However, King Yingchuan was cunning by nature and could not retreat, so he made up his mind to hide in the city. Yingchuan City was easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Chu generals spent several months but failed to break the city. The war was stalemate.
Daqi rested for several years, and the state treasury could barely support it. Even so, Xiao Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue was so worried that he lost a lot of hair, less than half of his head was bald, and his forehead was so bright that it could be used as a candle.
Whenever Sheng Hong asked the Ministry of Household Affairs about raising military rations, the young Shangshu Xiao would complain with a sad face: "...I would like to report to the emperor that in the past six months, the amount of military rations and salaries consumed by the three armies is really staggering. The national treasury was originally quite reasonable.
It is full, but now it is stretched. The Ministry of War needs money, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Officials need money everywhere. I wish I could cut myself in half to support it!"
Saying that, I wiped away some bitter tears again.
Sheng Hong comforted Xiao Shangshu in a good voice: "...There is no reason not to spend money in a war. I understand your difficulties. However, it is really a critical moment now. The military rations must be sufficient, and the military pay must not be cut off. By the way.
, if there are soldiers who died in battle, they must prepare money for Anjia."
Xiao Shangshu trembled when he heard this, and was about to cry again. Then Sheng Hong opened his mouth and promised: "If the national treasury is not enough, we will get some money from the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
Only the emperor has the right to use the money in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. To put it more bluntly, it is the royal private treasury.
Of course, the Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot be compared with the National Treasury.
However, it was an unexpected surprise that the emperor was willing to provide a sum of money.
Xiao Shangshu was immediately overjoyed, his legs stopped shaking, he became energetic, and his voice became louder: "I thank you, Your Majesty."
…
That night, Sheng Hong returned to Jiaofang Hall with a complicated expression.
Xie Mingxi saw that he had a different expression and was a little surprised. She smiled and teased: "General Lian won a great victory, and one of the three vassals has been pacified. The war between the other two vassals has also gone smoothly, and the pacification of the vassals is just around the corner. You should be happy. Why is this so?
Is the secondary expression back?"
Sheng Hong sighed, looking regretful: "Don't mention it. I accidentally fell into the trap of this old fox, Xiao Shangshu."
Xie Mingxi was so amused that she asked, "What's going on?"
Sheng Hong sighed again: "Master won the battle and had to prepare to sacrifice the Anjia silver for the soldiers. Xiao Shangshu cried in front of me with runny nose and tears, saying that the national treasury was not rich and money was needed everywhere. He was so worried that he fell asleep all night
No, most of my hair fell out. I felt soft-hearted, so I asked for some money from the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
As a result, he was hit hard by Xiao Shangshu. It was two million taels in one mouth.
The balance in the Ministry of Internal Affairs suddenly dropped by one-third.
Even though Sheng Hong was so generous, he felt heartache. After Xiao Shangshu thanked him happily, he realized something was wrong. After leaving Yiqing Hall, the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became.
It has been estimated before that the money in the treasury can support the war for one to two years. It has only been half a year, how can there be no money.
He has jumped into Old Fox Xiao's trap.
It was rare for Xie Mingxi to see Sheng Hong's chagrined look and he kept chuckling: "Well, the peace of the vassal state is the top priority at present, so there is no reason not to spend money. As an emperor, it is appropriate for you, the emperor, to allocate some money from your private treasury.
"
Sheng Hong felt pain in his heart for a while, so he put the matter behind him. Just as he was about to hug his beloved wife to give her some tenderness, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Eunuch Wei's anxious voice sounded outside the door: "Report to the Emperor that the Divine Guards have sent an urgent report!"
