Chapter 218 At the ancient residence of Li Tong in the capital of the Yong Kingdom, there was no sound in the distance, but the lights were brightly lit.
The fragrant cakes made with musk and angelica are refreshing and burning slowly in the copper cauldron.
A man wearing a hood to hide his face entered the room. He took off his cloak and took a deep breath. Then he woke up from the fatigue of early autumn and looked around.
At three o'clock in the morning, everyone gathered.
These ministers, who usually hold high positions in the court, gathered at Li Tonggu's residence to talk about court affairs.
They pride themselves on being loyal to the country, and they gather together not to form a party, but to exchange views on court affairs.
The one that has been talked about the most recently is Queen Jiang.
The Jiang family formed a clique for personal gain, and even asked Feng Jie, the imperial censor, to defend her many times.
The Jiang family overstepped their authority and disrupted the government. They personally buried the enemy's princes and spent huge sums of money to secretly raise soldiers and horses.
The Jiang family beguiled the emperor's heart, causing his majesty to take risks in Tianhu, and also recruited the remnants of Wei's army.
The Jiang family protected their motherland, so that Yong's army was unable to attack Qi.
One by one, every time I say it, the word "Jiang" gives off something weird and hateful.
In their minds, women are useful and can be thrown away after use.
Women must not be allowed to influence men's judgments, let alone gain power and be the masters of the family.
Otherwise, where would these men stand? In addition, these close ministers all knew that Zhao Zheng had been seriously ill, and they were worried that if Zhao Zheng died and the young master was young, Jiang He, as the queen mother, would inevitably control the government.
The more I thought about it, the more frightened I became.
The more I thought about it, the more I felt that I couldn't let Jiang He live.
"Now we have decided to attack Yan State first." Li Tonggu sat in the middle and said with a gloomy expression, "We have not been able to persuade your majesty."
"With Mrs. Jiang here," another courtier said, "even if we change the situation, there is no guarantee that it will be changed again."
"That's all." Another courtier said, "Rather than sit back and wait for death, it is better to strike preemptively."
They looked at each other and saw the determination in each other's eyes.
"This matter needs to be considered in the long term," Li Tonggu's voice became even deeper, "it must be clean and tidy."
"Yes," another person said, "she may have to contribute to the conquest of Yan State and Qi State."
When all the battles are over, the Yong Kingdom will no longer need a queen who is proficient in the art of war.
Letting her disappear will be beneficial to the government and the people.
The fragrant cake in the copper tripod has been burned out, and the remaining ashes are scattered like a blurry mountain mist.
While the Yong army was still getting ready to go, Jiang He's letter had already been delivered to the Prince of Qi's house.
It was already Haishi when Jiang Bi returned from court, and Wei Zipei was still awake.
She held the letter from Jiang He and kneaded the dark green envelope, but did not open it for a while.
Wei Zipei knew everything that had happened since his brother's she knew it so well, she didn't criticize or resent Jiang He.
Regarding the aftermath of the fall of Wei, Jiang He did even more than she did.
Wei Zipei now only cares about Qi State, and she feels that this first letter sent by Jiang He after the fall of Chu State may be related to the life and death of Qi State.
Has that moment really come? Next, is Qi State? "Sister's letter."
Wei Zipei handed the envelope to Jiang Bi and said, "This time it's from Zheng Ling. I arranged for him to rest."
Jiang Ben knew Zheng Ling. Hearing this, he said, "It seems that he wants to train this kid."
Seeing that the letter bag was not opened, Jiang Ben opened it and asked, "Why don't you take a look first?"
This natural and appropriate trust made Wei Zipei feel a little warm in his heart. He pursed his lips and said with a smile, "My eyes are tired."
"You have to have a good rest."
Jiang Ben helped Wei Zipei sit on the bed. He also took off his boots and sat down. He took out the white silk embroidered with the black bird and blue harrier from the letter bag.
Legend has it that the Green Harrier is the patron saint of the Yong Kingdom, so the items commonly used by the king and queen of the Yong Kingdom will be embroidered with this pattern.
Jiang He's handwriting is still neat and neat, and he does not pursue the elegance and clarity of people understand at a glance what she wrote and what it meant.
"How's it going?" Wei Zipei put his hand subconsciously on his abdomen and asked softly.
Jiang Ben didn't answer or move.
He sat quietly and slowly put the letter into the envelope, like a slow puppet.
It wasn't until Wei Zipei became a little anxious that he turned around and reassured her: "It's nothing. My sister said we should attack Yan State first."
Attack Yan State first.
Like an answer to a question.
The question is: "Sister, do you attack Yan State first or Qi State first?"
Although he didn't ask, Jiang He knew.
Of course, Jiang He didn't just say this in his letter.
She mentioned what Jiang Ben asked her when she returned to Qi for her father's funeral that year.
She said her answer now is still the that time, Jiang Bi asked Jiang He if Qi State began to reform and strengthen itself, whether it would be able to regain its strength and remain strong for a hundred He said it was too Ben asked what to do again, and Jiang He asked him to choose between a prosperous people and a strong army.
Jiang Ben chose the former.
Therefore, in the past few years when Jiang Ben was in charge, the State of Qi had indeed experienced no years of hunger or population is growing every year, people are living and working in peace and contentment, and the situation looks great.
I saved so much food last year that I even sold a lot of it to Jiang He.
At the end of the letter, Jiang He said: "Zhenji, the road ahead will be difficult. This time, the problem can be solved by not bravely entering the forest of swords and swords. This time, no matter how honest or conspiratorial, Qi can solve the problem." The life and death of the people of the country are all in your hands. Of course, in the end, my sister who rebelled against Qi and you must be prepared to endure eternal infamy."
She knew what he would choose.
Rather than letting those soldiers fight against an enemy several times their size and being slaughtered with no chance of winning, it would be better for the whole country to surrender.
Jiang He is the princess of Qi, but she is about to lead the Yong army to attack her homeland.
Jiang Ben is the son of Qi State, but he is planning to treason and surrender.
The two of them will indeed be scolded by future generations.
But even if he wants to surrender, it's not something Jiang Ben can do just because he wants to.
He is now just an auxiliary prince, not the king of Qi.
That's why Jiang He said that the road is difficult.
"Zhenji," Jiang He said in the letter, "I heard that Zipei is pregnant. She is easily frightened during pregnancy, so don't let her worry."
Yes.
Jiang Ben raised his hand, placed it on Wei Zipei's abdomen, and patted it gently.
The child is six months old.
He was a father for the first time and had little experience. He didn't know what kind of father he should be.
I heard that as a parent, the most important thing is to lead by example.
If the child knows what he is about to do when he grows up, will he agree with it?
Wei Zipei leaned gently in Jiang Ben's arms and stayed silent with him.
"Zipei," Jiang Bencai said after a long time, "Is everything okay over there in Yin County?"
Jiang Ben settled Wei Zipei's tribe in Yin County in Qi State.
Wei Zipei believed that since the Wei Kingdom was dead, they were no longer a royal family.
Therefore, she asked Jiang Bi to allocate a lot of land to those tribesmen based on their them to learn to work in the fields, spin and weave, and do their own work to support themselves.
Although there are only a few people who can really do it, after a few generations, once the royal family's habit of coveting comfort has faded away, Wei Zipei believes that they can be self-reliant and take care of themselves.
"Everything is fine." When Jiang Ben asked, Wei Zipei said, "I also received millet from my aunt today. It is the earliest harvest this year. I cooked porridge at night and it was very sweet."
"You go and stay there for a while." Jiang Ben tentatively said, "There is something going on in the court. I'm done and I'll pick you up."
What can be done that requires settling her down? It's either a sword fight or a life-threatening situation.
"I'm not going," Wei Zipei shook his head stubbornly, "I will accompany you. Whatever you do, I will accompany you."
Jiang Ben felt warm in his heart and squeezed Wei Zipei's hand.
"I'm afraid something will happen."
Wei Zipei raised his little face and looked at Jiang Bi with a firm gaze: "If something happens to you, I won't live alone. Wei Guo is gone, my brother is gone, and my child's father is gone, I will bear the burden." You can’t stop it. So you’d better think it through before doing it, and just do it if you want to do it.”
Jiang Ben grinned. Although he was smiling, his eyes were hot.
"Look what you're talking about?"
"Young Master," Wei Zipei said warmly, "when the child is born, I will tell him that his father is the best father. He is willing to give up tens of millions of mansions and the dignity of the royal family, just to save the people of Qi from war and to save thousands of families. Lights, for prosperity and peace. His father is the most powerful, the best, and the most worthy of filial piety."
Jiang Ben stretched out his arms to hug Wei Zipei.
He buried his head in her neck and said with tears in his eyes: "How come your ability to coax people is the same as my sister's?"
"I'm not trying to coax anyone," Wei Zipei's voice was muffled as he hugged him too tightly, "I'm speaking from the bottom of my heart."
Jiang Ben did not write a reply.
He left Zheng Ling behind and told him to bring the news back in a few days.
Zheng Ling had nothing to do on weekdays, so he was sent by Wei Zipei to hunt rabbits.
There are so many rabbits in the fields this year that they have destroyed a lot of fertile Ling's archery skills were good and he was often praised by Wei Zipei.
On this day, Zheng Ling just went out and the queen came.
She asked the chamberlain to hold a stone slab and lay it in front of Wei Zipei.
"Kneel down."
Queen Qi said to Wei Zipei while eating tea from the Young Master's Mansion.
Wei Zipei knelt down obediently.
She held her belly, her posture a little stiff.
(End of this chapter)