Mother Mu entered the inner room and saw Mu Fulan lying on the beauty couch, curled up with a look of pain. She was shocked and ran over.
"My lady, what's wrong with you?"
"Did he hurt you?"
She hugged Mu Fulan and asked repeatedly. Seeing that Mu Fulan still did not move, she hurriedly turned her over and checked her body.
Mu Fulan said softly, "I'm fine", closed her eyes for a moment, calmed her mind, and sat up.
Her face was a little pale, and her forehead and neck were covered with cold sweat, but after opening her eyes, her gaze was clear and her expression looked calm.
Mother Mu was relieved at this and quickly took out her handkerchief to wipe the sweat off her face.
Mu Fulan leaned on the head of the beauty bed. "Is she gone?"
"I was waiting outside just now. When I saw him come out, he looked unhappy. He didn't say a word and just went straight out..."
"My lady, what happened between you and him..."
Mu Fulan did not respond.
At this time, the maid brought word that the King of Changsha and the Queen had sent someone to ask about the king's sister's condition.
Mu Fulan immediately sent someone to reply, saying that she would go to see Brother Wang and Sister Wang later, and also invited Lu Lin and Yuan Handing to come as well, as there was important matter to discuss.
An incense stick later, she combed her hair, dressed neatly, and appeared in front of Mu Xuanqing and Lu.
Almost at the same time, Lu Lin and Yuan Handing also hurried into the palace.
Mu Xuanqing said to Mu Fulan, "The man surnamed Xie has left the city overnight with his men. The Prime Minister went to see him off. He told you to stay here and recuperate. Sister, what did you say?"
Yuan Handing and the Mu siblings grew up together, just like siblings, and Lu Lin is also a relative by marriage, so Mu Xuanqing did not shy away from saying this.
Based on Mu Fulan's judgment of Xie Changgeng, although he finally left in anger without saying a word, he should be considered to have accepted the compromise she proposed - agreeing to sever their marital relationship with her, but not to announce it for the time being.
It was just as she expected.
"Brother, that's true. After I went there, I had some difficulty acclimatizing. Although he hasn't agreed to a divorce, he has just agreed to let me recuperate here and will not force me to go back," she replied.
Although Mu Xuanqing was somewhat dissatisfied with the result, the marriage between Wang Mei and Xie was arranged by his father after all, and the woman had already married. If Xie turned against him and forced the woman away, there would be no better way for the time being.
At least Wang Mei was not taken away by him, so she cursed: "Today I know what a shameless person is!"
Mu Fulan said, "Brother Wang, he has left and will not come back in the short term, so don't worry about him."
Lu Lin was worried and sighed, "What on earth is going on? How did it get to this point? Although he was very polite when he left, I am always worried that he might harbor resentment. Empress Liu has always had ill will towards my Changsha State, and Jiedushi Xie is one of her people. This time he came here and suffered such a loss, I am afraid he will retaliate."
Mu Fulan said: "In my opinion, Xie Changgeng will not take action against Changsha so quickly. He is very ambitious, and in his eyes, Changsha is not even a stumbling block. Even if he has resentment, there is no need to bother to deal with us now. It is very likely that he will do so in the future. It is better to regard it as a distant threat."
In his previous life, after he became emperor, the first thing he did was to abolish all the remaining vassal states and purge the vassal kings.
At that time, Changsha State had been eliminated long ago. The remaining members of the Mu family were still able to retain Yuecheng because of her, the "Queen Mother", and were considered the lucky ones among the many vassal kings.
But in this lifetime, things will surely be different.
Yuan Handing nodded and said, "Then the immediate concern is the imperial court."
"Last year, there was news that the imperial court was planning to attack our Changsha country. It happened that the Jiangdu Prince Rebellion broke out at that time, so it must have been left unresolved. Now that the Jiangdu Prince Rebellion has been quelled, I'm afraid the imperial court will start trouble again after catching its breath."
Lu frowned. "My Changsha country has experienced several generations of kings reclaiming wasteland and cultivating land. Now the country is rich in grain and fabrics. In the eyes of those people, it is just a piece of fat meat that is easy to bite!"
Although Changsha State is not short of food or clothing, its military strength has always been limited. Its standing army consists of only 20,000 troops, which is also the maximum number of troops that the imperial court stipulates that a vassal state can have.
Before this, when the imperial court attacked other kings of different surnames, it often used this as an excuse.
Mu Xuanqing said: "Things are different now! If we don't move, we will die sooner or later. I am considering expanding the army as soon as possible!"
He looked at Lu Lin. "How many able-bodied men are there in Changsha who can be called up to join the army?"
"Last year, the household officials reported that there were about 500,000 able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 40."
"Okay!" Mu Xuanqing nodded.
"Even if we only take one out of five, there will still be 100,000 soldiers. Adding the original troops, if Changsha has an army of hundreds of thousands, why should we fear foreign enemies?"
"If Your Highness were to recruit soldiers now, the people would surely respond given their support for the king. But Your Highness, you think this is too easy."
Lu Lin shook her head.
"Even if we take risks and secretly train our troops, the question is, where can we get so many weapons? Are we going to let 100,000 soldiers fight naked with sticks? There is chaos outside now, who is not trying hard to gather strength? Even if we pay, we can't buy weapons. To make them ourselves, we need iron. But a few years ago, the vassal kings started to rebel, and the iron-producing areas of all sizes were occupied by the court and those vassal kings who wanted to rebel. When the previous king was alive, he also thought about expanding the army and secretly looking for mines in the country, but he never found anything and had to give up. Now, where can my Changsha country find iron at this moment? Even if we get it, how can such a large arsenal hide from the eyes and ears of the court?"
“It’s difficult. Too difficult.”
Lu Lin sighed.
Mu Xuanqing was silent for a moment and looked at Mu Fulan.
"Sister, you just said you had something important to discuss. What is it?"
Several eyes were cast towards me.
Mu Fulan said, "I know that my brother wants to expand his army. What I want to say is related to this."
"I know where there is a mine that can be mined. It is very convenient. It is in your land in Changsha."
Several people were stunned.
"You all should remember how I sent the letter back to save you, right? It must be a sign from the gods that they let me know about this at the time. Tomorrow, you can send people to investigate your land. If it is true, you can use the excuse of building a mausoleum for the ancestors of the Mu family on a feng shui site to relocate all the people there, secretly mine iron and stone in the mountains, and cast on the spot."
Mu Xuanqing was overjoyed.
"Is it really God's will to help our Mu family? That's great! I'll send someone to check it out tomorrow!"
Lu Lin was also very excited. He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked back and forth a few times. Suddenly he remembered something and looked worried again.
"If the princess's dream is true, my Changsha Kingdom can expand its military. However, mining, casting, recruiting and training soldiers are not something that can be accomplished overnight. It will take at least a year and a half to see results. I am afraid that before that time comes, the imperial court will have already launched an attack on my Changsha Kingdom."
Mu Fulan said, "I have a plan. Although it cannot eliminate the disaster, it should be feasible to buy some time for Changsha. Among the ministers in the current court, the treacherous queen favors the internal historian Zhang Ban. Zhang Ban appears to be honest, but he is actually a greedy person. Why not bribe Zhang Ban with a large sum of money and let him say something good for us in front of the treacherous queen."
"Although the rebellion of King Jiangdu has been quelled, King Lu and King Pingyang are still a threat to the court. If Zhang Ban can persuade the treacherous queen to deal with King Lu and King Pingyang first, we can gain an opportunity to expand our army for Changsha."
"This idea is good, but my lady, how do you know that he is greedy for money?" Lu Lin was puzzled.
Mu Fulan knew about the Ru Mine because after the fall of Changsha State, the people of Ru fled to the mountains to reclaim wasteland in order to escape the heavy taxes that were suffocating them. They accidentally discovered a large amount of iron and stone. When the news spread, the imperial court came and occupied the area, and a large mine was discovered there. However, before they could mine the area in large quantities, the state was destroyed.
As for Zhang Ban, after he was killed, a huge fortune worth a fortune was found from his home. The whole country was shocked and the real face of the corrupt official was exposed. He had just concealed it well in his daily life and most people didn't know it.
"Just believe what I say." Mu Fulan said.
Because she had delivered the message in time to save Mu Xuanqing last time, the people present, even though surprised by her words, dared not disbelieve her.
Lu said, "Uncle, this is about the fate of Changsha. Since my sister said so, why not give it a try?"
Lu Lin pondered for a moment and nodded.
"Alright. I used to be an official in the capital, and I know some people. Although it is not convenient for me to come in person, it should not be difficult to find a trustworthy lobbyist. Leave this matter to me, and I will arrange it tomorrow without delay!"
"I will bring the craftsmen to your place as soon as possible!" said Yuan Handing.
Mu Xuanqing looked at his sister, and despite his disability, he stood up to thank her.
Mu Fulan believed that there were gods on earth and the virtues of his ancestors, so he did not dare to take credit for them.
Several people discussed many details of their separate actions. It was already late at night when they finished the discussion. Before leaving, they finally agreed to act in secret and keep the secrets.
Ever since the death of the old King of Changsha, the State of Changsha seemed to have lost its backbone. At this moment, it was as if it suddenly saw hope guiding the way forward. Mu Xuanqing and the Lu family all showed joy on their faces.
Mu Fulan called Yuan Handing to one side and asked, "Brother, I asked you to pay attention to Xie Changgeng's followers before. Do you remember their appearance?"
Yuan Handing nodded.
"Six people in total. I've got them all down."
He hesitated and looked at Mu Fulan. "My lady, why do you ask me to remember people?"
Mu Fulan said, "Xie Changgeng has left, but he is suspicious by nature, and he has become estranged from our Changsha country. I am afraid he will leave some spies. After daybreak, you should secretly keep an eye on the city gate to see if any of his men have entered the city in disguise. It would be best if there are none. If there are, don't alarm them, just note where they are staying, and then tell me the news."
Yuan Handing suddenly realized and agreed immediately.
Mu Fulan was most confident in Yuan Handing's work. After giving him the instructions, she watched him hurried away. She was lost in thought for a moment, then turned around and went back to her residence.