Empress Liu was harshly rebuking several ministers who were kneeling before her, among whom was Zhang Ban.
Several people nodded in agreement, but suddenly they heard a report from behind. They turned around and saw the eunuch leading Xie Changgeng in. They all breathed a sigh of relief.
Xie Changgeng walked in and knelt before Empress Liu.
Empress Liu watched him salute her. After he finished, she did not immediately ask him to stand up, contrary to her usual practice. She said, "Thank you, sir. You have defended Pucheng with all your might. Your Majesty asked me two days ago how to reward you this time. I don't know how to answer your Majesty."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Ban and the others knew what she meant and looked over secretly.
Xie Changgeng was still kneeling on the ground, but he slowly stood up.
He looked normal, met the two glances from Empress Liu, and replied, "I don't deserve it. Losing Pucheng is like losing Longguan, so I acted on my own initiative. I am here to take the blame."
There was silence in the hall. Zhang Ban held his breath and dared not look up. After a moment, he heard Empress Liu humming.
"I have long known that Changsha has ulterior motives. If Zhang Ban had not misled me before, I would have eliminated this hidden danger long ago. I would not have allowed the people of the Mu family to be so arrogant today!"
Zhang Ban hurriedly protested: "The Mu family has always been honest on the surface. I was foolish and was deceived at the beginning. When I spoke for them before, every word I said was based on the overall situation at the time, and there was absolutely no selfish motive! For example, if the matter of the King of Qi had not been exposed this time, who in the court would have thought that he was the one behind the rebellious kings?"
Empress Liu had a gloomy expression and ordered several people to leave. Xie Changgeng was the only one kneeling in the hall.
"You sent troops to Pucheng without authorization, you should be punished! Considering your loyalty and bravery, I will pardon you this time. If you do it again, I will not let you off easily!"
Xie Changgeng said: "Thank you very much, Queen Mother, for your grace."
Empress Liu still didn't ask him to stand up. She stared at him and continued, "When Prince Pingyang and Prince Lu started the rebellion, I learned that Changsha had had some dealings with the envoys of the Rebel King. At that time, the thief Prince Qi came forward to protect me, so I believed him. Now that Prince Qi has been confirmed to be the leader of the rebellion, Changsha will naturally be implicated and will be in cahoots with the Rebel King. I want to strip Mu of his title and pacify Changsha. Do you have any say?"
Xie Changgeng said: "I have nothing to say."
Empress Liu glanced at Eunuch Yang behind her.
The eunuch stepped forward.
"Since this is the case, the Jiedushi should sever his ties with the Changsha State and stop using his daughter. This way, people all over the world will know that the Jiedushi is loyal to the court and is completely different from the rebels, and that they are pure and turbid."
Xie Changgeng replied: "I have already done so. Before entering the capital, I had already sent the divorce letter to Changsha. From now on, I will no longer have any relationship with the Mu family of Changsha."
Empress Liu's expression finally eased, she smiled and nodded: "My dear minister, you have lived up to my expectations."
She looked at Eunuch Yang again.
The eunuch smiled and said, "The Queen Mother is extremely gracious to the Jiedushi. Since she has divorced the Changsha Princess Mu, she is afraid that there will be no one to serve the old lady. The sister of the emperor's uncle, Princess Anyang, is both talented and beautiful. The Queen Mother wants to grant her marriage to the Jiedushi so that the Princess can show filial piety to the old lady on behalf of the Jiedushi. Why don't you thank her quickly?"
Xie Changgeng didn't even blink.
"I am not worthy of being treated like a princess. My mother is an old country woman, and she is not worthy of being treated like a princess. Please take back your grace, Queen Mother. I will accept it."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was silence in the hall.
Empress Liu's face, which had just brightened up, darkened again.
Eunuch Yang was also caught off guard.
Although Empress Liu was very dissatisfied with Xie Changgeng's self-determined action of sending troops to Pucheng, the King of Qi colluded with many vassal kings to fight together. The only person in the court who could really be relied on was Xie Changgeng. Therefore, Empress Liu first warned him and then showed him favor. Unexpectedly, he refused so directly, which was nothing less than a slap in the face for Empress Liu.
Eunuch Yang hurriedly said, "Jiedushi, only when you have a well-organized family can you establish a career. This is the good intention of the Queen Mother. You just need to thank her!"
Xie Changgeng said calmly, "My private affairs are trivial, so the Empress Dowager should not worry about them. In the current chaotic situation, the Empress Dowager has urgently summoned me to the capital. I believe there is something else important. I am all ears."
Empress Liu was silent for a moment, suppressing the anger that was offended in her eyes, and forced a smile, "Forget it, you are worried about it. The country is in turmoil, and it will not be too late to talk about other things later."
She paused.
"I summoned you here to help me quell the rebellion. You should know the current situation. Hedong, Henan, and Shannan have already fallen into the hands of the rebels. As for Hexi, you should put it aside and enter the pass first to help the court quell the rebellion and recapture the land. Just ask for any help you need, and I will do my best to help you!"
"I cannot leave Hexi for long. The northern cavalry may attack at any time. If they do, it will be a big battle. My first priority now is to protect Hexi."
"The Jizhou and Chuzhou lost in the pass were adjacent to the fiefs of the vassal kings. The Queen Mother does not need to worry too much."
Xie Changgeng took out a copy and handed it over.
"In this compromise, I have listed the people available in the court. In addition, I will select capable generals from the Hexi Army to enter the pass on my behalf to quell the rebellion. Who will be sent to where is clearly stated."
"The princes who participated in the rebellion this time seem to have a large number of people and strong forces, but in fact, except for the King of Qi and the King of Pingyang, the rest of the King of Lu, the King of Runan, the King of Zhao and the like have limited troops to begin with. They have been fighting each other for many years before, and most of the internal consumption has been consumed. Now they are participating in the rebellion, but they are just following the trend. They are strong on the outside but weak on the inside and cannot withstand a single blow. Before I return to Hexi, I will first defeat this wing of the rebels led by the King of Pingyang. The remaining King of Qi will be unable to support the army alone. As long as the court follows my deployment, it will be able to hold on and will not let the rebels approach Shangjing. When I finish the affairs in Hexi, I will then return to the pass."
"No!" Empress Liu shook her head firmly.
"How dare you disobey my orders?" she said in a sharp voice.
"Hexi is outside the Great Wall, and has nothing to do with the overall situation. Even if it is lost, it can be recaptured in the future. Hedong and Henan, however, are related to the imperial court and the country. How can we not distinguish between the important and the unimportant, and put the cart before the horse?"
"You don't need to say more. Lead the troops now and put down the rebellion with all your strength. We can discuss other matters later!"
Xie Changgeng had been kneeling, but suddenly he raised his eyes and slowly stood up from the ground.
He stood up straight, looked at Empress Liu who was staring at him with eyes gradually widening, and said: "The Queen Mother summoned me and asked me about something. This is my countermeasure. If the Queen Mother does not approve, I will take back my countermeasure."
His eyes were sinister as he walked straight forward and took the memorial that the eunuch had just brought to the table.
"Forget it. Just follow your plan and make the arrangements. If you can completely eliminate the calamity caused by the vassal lords for the imperial court this time, you will have made an unprecedented contribution. Even if you build a monument to commemorate your achievements, they will not be even one tenth of your achievements."
Queen Liu suppressed the sudden chill in her heart, smiled again, and said.
Xie Changgeng glanced at her without making any comment. The anger between his brows gradually dissipated. He smiled and slowly put down the letter.
"Thank you, Queen Mother. In that case, I will take my leave and call someone to discuss matters first."
He resumed his respectful attitude, took a few steps back, bowed to Queen Liu, and walked out.
Empress Liu stared at the departing figure in front of her with her eyes fixed, her palms almost bleeding from being pinched by her nails. Thinking of the murderous face of this minister a moment ago, she could no longer control herself and began to tremble.
The demons and monsters, freed from their restraints, emerged from the ground and trampled on the nobility with impunity without any scruples.
She knew that from now on, everything would be different from before.
Could this be a sign that the dynasty is about to end
When the figure disappeared, she waved her sleeves violently and swept the things on the table to the ground.
"The people sent to Xie County have not returned yet?" She turned her head and asked gritting her teeth.
Eunuch Yang had already knelt on the ground and said hurriedly: "I will go and urge them right away. Don't worry, Queen Mother! Our people have already left, and we will definitely succeed!"
…
Jue Shu was sent to Changsha State before Mu Fulan arrived.
When Lu handed over the divorce letter, her expression was complicated.
The court had declared Changsha State to be a rebel party of the King of Qi. Xie Changgeng, an important official of the court, divorced his wife and severed ties with the rebel party. Everyone in the world knew about it.
She looked at her cousin's calm face, which showed no signs of anything, and recalled the time when she was thirteen years old and she took her to secretly hide behind a tent to peek at a suitor.
The moment she saw the young man, her eyes seemed to be filled with starlight, and her face was filled with a beautiful blush of joy and shyness.
Everything seems like yesterday.
Mu Fulan put away the paper, helped her pregnant sister-in-law to sit down, and said with a smile: "It's the best thing that can be achieved. Sister-in-law, don't worry about me. I'm fine. Sister-in-law, you have to take care of yourself and wait for my brother's triumphant return."
Last month, Jiang Rong sent troops to attack the land of Sanshi. Sanshi was defeated and again asked for help from Changsha State.
At that time, Changsha State was secretly expanding its army and training it well. After Mu Xuanqing received a letter from Mu Fulan from Hexi saying that she would be returning soon, he sent Yuan Handing to pick her up and personally led the troops to assist in the battle, just as a test for the troops.
Just a few days ago, good news came from the south.
Mu Xuanqing defeated Jiang Rong and, with the help of the soldiers of the three clans, he was pursuing the victory, vowing to completely destroy Jiang Rong, make the land of Sanmiao submit to Changsha State, and pacify the south.
Mrs. Lu touched her slightly bulging belly, feeling a mixture of joy and worry, and nodded with a smile, hoping that her husband would return safely soon.
In May of this year, one month after Mu Fulan returned to Changsha, good news came that made the people of Changsha happy.
Their king led the army to quell the Sanmiao Rebellion. The head of the San clan led his people and came to Yuecheng with many tributes.
First, there was the life-saving grace of the princess last year, and then there is the current battle to quell the rebellion. The three of them swore to serve the Mu family and never change their minds.
Two months later, in July of that year, good news came again.
The army of Changsha State defeated the nearby governors who wanted to seize territory in the name of helping the imperial court to suppress the rebellion in Shishou, Huarong and Fuzhou in the north. In the battle of Fuzhou, the governor of Fuzhou sent out 30,000 soldiers and horses with great momentum. He thought he would win, but he did not expect that the soldiers of Changsha State were endless and brave, so they were defeated and fled.
The battle of Fuzhou not only made the people of Changsha proud, but also spread the reputation of Changsha, attracting attention.
In August, the fourth month after Mu Fulan returned, a special visitor came to Changsha State.
Zhao Xitai, the son of King Qi, led envoys and brought many precious gifts to Yuecheng in person to propose to Mu Fulan, the princess of the Mu family.
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