Qi Ning knew very well that although Longtai was young, he was a very ambitious emperor. Nowadays, the court of Chu State is not monolithic, and there is a powerful Han State in the north. For Longtai, it is natural to bear a great deal of hardship. Pressure, if Beihan really falls into civil strife, Longtai's pressure can be somewhat relieved.
"Your Majesty, once the Northern Han Dynasty falls into civil strife, its vitality will be severely damaged and its national strength will be weakened." Qi Ning walked to Longtai and said: "Once the Han Dynasty's national strength weakens, it will be easier for us to deal with it if we fight. If we don't fight, we can also gain More time to recuperate.”
Longtai nodded slightly, turned around, and asked: "The Prince of Dong Qi came to see his bride. I summoned him once, but I didn't make any promises to him. These days, the King of Huainan and the people from the Ministry of Rites have been entertaining him. The King of Huainan reported to me According to the wishes of the Crown Prince of Dong Qi, Dong Qi wants to take advantage of the civil strife in the Northern Han Dynasty to join forces from the two countries to attack the Northern Han Dynasty together."
"They already revealed this intention to me when we were in Qi State." Qi Ning said, "I wonder what the emperor's plan is?"
"General Yue Huanshan of the Qinhuai Army has already reported to the court. There has been no movement on the Han Army side. They are still heavily guarded. The Han Army General is a veteran general who has been on the battlefield for many years and is not easy to deal with." Longtai said slowly: "After Beitang Huan's death, the Han army will be even more vigilant about the movements of Chu and Qi. It is impossible for the Han people not to know that Qi is sending their relatives this time. They are not fools. They will not remain indifferent to the marriage between Qi and Chu. .”
Qi Ning nodded and said: "What the emperor said is absolutely true. They will definitely be wary of our two countries joining forces to send troops."
"Once a war begins, it will only be our Chu army fighting against the Han army." Longtai smiled lightly and said: "The Han people know very well that the key to victory or defeat lies in whether they can withstand our Chu army. Qi has nothing to do with the overall situation, as long as they Defeat our Chu army, and the Qi army will retreat without attacking." He walked slowly to the side, sat down, and said: "At the beginning, the people of Qi were lingering around and had no intention of joining forces with Chu. Being so proactive this time is nothing more than trying to make Chu and Han fall into a bitter war again, so that they can benefit from it."
"Since the Emperor has seen through the intentions of the people of Qi, will you let this opportunity pass?" Qi Ning also sat down beside him.
Longtai shook his head and smiled: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even if I want to let it go, the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty will not agree. Soldiers are the great weapons of the country and should not be touched lightly, but when it is time to take action, we must not be vague."
Qi Ning smiled and said: "The emperor must have known what happened."
Longtai said: "The people of Qi want to join forces, why don't we agree? But if they want to take advantage of our Chu country, it will not be easy. I mean, if the people of Qi want to fight, we will not stop them, as long as they send troops first and conquer Once we reach Maling Mountain and enter Han territory, we will immediately cross the Huaihe River and attack them from two directions."
"The emperor said to let them fight out first?"
"That's right." Longtai said: "Since they want to take advantage of this opportunity, they should pay something. There is never a free lunch in this world. Only by letting Qi bleed and fighting until Han is unable to retreat, will we I believe in their sincerity, otherwise our Chu State will be the first to send troops, and it will not be so cheap for them to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight." Then his expression became slightly solemn, and he lowered his voice and said: "And once there is a war with the Han State, it will definitely not be possible. It will be over in a year and a half, Qining, you also know the current situation in the court. If the court is uneasy and easily starts a war with the outside world, it will lead to unimaginable consequences."
Qi Ning's expression also became serious, and he said softly: "Is the emperor worried that the fight between King Huainan and Duke Zhen will affect the war situation?"
"Once the war begins, our Chu State will devote all its strength to the Northern Expedition." Longtai said: "The civil and military officials of the entire dynasty, and the entire Chu State, must work together." He said softly: "When the Qinhuai War broke out, my father was still alive, and your father Qi Jing was there to lead the army. On the front line, no one dares to make trouble among the civil and military officials of the court. Even so, we have not been able to defeat the Han people, and now...!" He sighed softly and said, "If the soldiers are serving their lives on the front line, they are fighting for power in the rear. Want to To win this battle is wishful thinking.”
Qi Ning secretly admired that although the little emperor was young, he was really prudent in considering things. He said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the Sima family has many gang members now. It is not easy to deal with them."
"I understand." Longtai nodded and said with some annoyance: "To deal with the Sima family, we can only do it slowly and not too hastily." After pondering for a moment, he said: "Since you can talk to the Beggar Clan, then use the Beggar Clan. Help us find the whereabouts of Lu Shanghe. This time their plot to seize the Beggar Gang was foiled by you, so they won’t let it go. You must be wary of other moves by this gang."
Qi Ning said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will try my best to investigate."
"By the way, there is another good thing I want to tell you. I almost forgot." Longtai's solemn expression softened slightly and he said with a smile: "I am getting married soon. What are you going to do?"
"Did the emperor want me to give you a gift?" Qi Ning said with a bitter face.
"Stop pretending to be confused." Long Tai said: "I'm getting married, so naturally you have to prepare for the wedding. I know you...!" At this point, he smiled softly, leaned close to Qining's ear and whispered in a low voice: "That prince in brocade clothes We were engaged back then, you should know that, right?"
Qining was a little embarrassed, thinking, are you reminding me that I am just a substitute? He whispered: "The Qi family had a marriage contract with the Housu family of Wuxiang."
"But I heard that Su Zhen has canceled the marriage." Long Tai smiled and said, "So, you are not engaged now."
At this time, Qi Ning had already thought of what King Huainan had mentioned to him last time. At that time, King Huainan said that the young emperor was going to grant a marriage, but who the marriage was to be, King Huainan did not say, and Qi Ning had always been curious. , when Longtai mentioned it, he knew that King Huainan was not joking, and asked: "Your Majesty, why did you suddenly mention this marriage contract?"
"I want to give you a marriage." Longtai didn't hesitate: "It's too boring for me to get married alone, so you come with me."
Qi Ning didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said: "Your Majesty, do you have to accompany me for things like marriage?"
"I said I wanted to accompany you, so I will accompany you." Longtai laughed and said, "I will give you a chance, do you still want Su Zhen's daughter? If you like it, I will give her to you now."
Qi Ning sighed and said: "A good horse never turns back. Your Majesty, when Su Zhen broke off the engagement, I told him that the daughter of the Su family could not enter the Qi family."
Longtai smiled and said: "Okay, I'll give you a chance. Since you don't want it, let me make the decision. Don't say that I am forcing you in the future."
"Is this an opportunity?" Qi Ning opened his eyes wide, feeling that the little emperor was becoming more and more rogue, and said helplessly: "Your Majesty, what kind of girl are you going to give me?"
"Don't worry, since I'm granting you a marriage, of course I won't give you anything wrong." Longtai leaned forward slightly and said, "Originally, I wanted to give you the girl from the Tantai family of Jin Dao Hou. She is a good match. There are three girls in their family, the eldest has already left the court, and the youngest is only nine years old, so naturally she is not mature enough. The second girl is not much different in age from you, but... She suffered from a serious illness when she was young and could not use her legs. Standing and sitting in a wheelchair all the time, I think you won’t be happy either.”
"If the nine-year-old Miss Tantai is willing to marry, I can be on the throne for ten or eight years." Qining smiled bitterly: "Otherwise, even if the emperor chops off my head, I can't agree."
"Among the four great marquises, the Tantai family and the Su family are no longer suitable." Longtai said: "The Sima family is still there. If I want to grant a marriage, their family may not agree."
Qining knew that the young lady of the Sima family was Sima Wanqiong, who almost became the queen, and thought that this joke was too big.
Not to mention that Qi Ning has never met Sima Wanqiong, and it is impossible for him to have any feelings for Sima Wanqiong. It is just that Sima Wanqiong was once the childhood sweetheart of the little emperor, and he must not get involved in this muddy water.
The young emperor refused to appoint Sima Wanqiong as his queen, not because of personal feelings, but because he was worried that the Sima family would become stronger because of this, so he tried every means to prevent Sima Wanqiong from entering the palace. This does not mean that the young emperor had no feelings for Sima Wanqiong. .
Moreover, the little emperor is determined to bring down the Sima family, and now he wants to win over the Jinyi Qi family, not to mention asking the emperor to grant a marriage between the Sima family and the Qiqi family. Even if the Qi family and the Sima family come together, the little emperor will definitely not Qi Ning knew that the little emperor was just joking, but he pretended to be serious and said: "Your Majesty, the Jinyi Qi family swears to be loyal to you to the death. If... if one day the Sima family rebels, the Qi family will definitely advance and retreat with the emperor. At that time, This lady from the Sima family...!" She shook her head.
The little emperor smiled slightly, and then said in a low voice: "I can't find a suitable one among the four marquises. I see that there are not many civil and military officials in the dynasty who are worthy of the royal family. After thinking about it, I'm afraid there is only one right now. The right person.”
"who?"
The little emperor chuckled, and then said in a low voice: "There is a daughter Wuhen from the west gate of Shenhou Mansion. I heard that she is not bad in appearance and is very brave." He raised his hand and touched his chin, looked at Qining with a half-smile, and said: "I I heard that when Zhuo Qianyi was robbed of prison in the Shenhou Mansion, you and she shared the same sorrow, do you think it is appropriate?"
Qi Ning said "Oh", which was really a bit surprising.
However, if the little emperor messed up the mandarin duck rules and gave other girls to himself, it would be better to let Ximen Zhanying enter the Jinyihou Mansion.
But Qining was a little repelled by things like marriage.
Although he didn't hate Ximen Zhanying, and even had a good impression of him, he really didn't want to let others make the decision on the matter of marriage, so he was thoughtful and didn't say anything.
Seeing Qi Ning's serious look, the little emperor frowned slightly and said, "Although Ximen Wuhen is not a hereditary marquis, he is still a marquis. Giving his daughter in marriage to you shouldn't be considered an insult, right?"
Qi Ning sighed and said: "The Emperor is thinking about my marriage, so I am naturally grateful. But... once the Emperor decrees it, there is no reason to take it back. It is hard to know whether Miss Ximen is willing. And I really want to know. , why would the emperor think of marrying Miss Ximen to me?"
The little emperor stared at Qining, was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Qining, I said that without your help, I can't do many things. The reason why I want you to marry Ximen Wuhen's daughter is because I must let the Shenhou Mansion To become one of ours, let Ximen Wuhen stand on my side."
Qi Ning frowned and said: "Is the Emperor worried about the Shenhou Mansion? The Shenhou Mansion has always been under the direct control of the Emperor. Is the Emperor worried about them?"
"Except for you and Master Xiang, I will not trust anyone, including Ximen Wuhen." The little emperor's eyes were sharp: "I am not my father, and those who are loyal to my father may not be loyal to me. Do you understand that I mean?"