It was the Empress Dowager's birthday, because Yanbei had just gone through the war, and there was another war in the western region. The two old cases between the court and China were not over yet. The Emperor was not in the mood, and the Empress Dowager was also in the mood. Therefore, the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet was simply held in the palace, and the family members of the court ministers and ministers were called into the palace to have a meal, and the birthday was simply passed.
Su Qing and Mrs. Su hid in Lingyun Temple, but the birthday ceremony did not come, and Mrs. Su ordered the housekeeper to send it to the palace on the day of the Queen Mother's birthday banquet.
The birthday gift prepared by Mrs. Su was a good thing that Su Fengnuan bought home in the early years, implying good fortune and longevity. The queen mother was very happy to receive Mrs. Su's birthday gift, and ordered someone to pass on a message, telling Su Qing to take care of her wounds, and Lingyun Temple to be quiet , Master Lingyun has superb medical skills, and it is a good place to recuperate.
Xu Yunchu rushed into the capital on the Queen Mother's birthday. The emperor heard that he was returning to the capital, and without waiting for him to return to the prime minister's mansion to freshen up, he ordered Koizumi to greet him at the city gate and announced him to the palace.
When Xu Yunchu entered the palace, the emperor summoned him in the imperial study.
After Xu Yunchu knelt down to pay homage to the emperor, he recounted to the emperor in detail how the Northern Zhou invaded Yanbei and how Su Fengnuan, he, Yanbei King, Yanbei King's sons and others resisted the Northern Zhou army, and how things are waiting to be restored after the Yanbei War. , Su Fengnuan can hardly get out and so on.
The emperor heard that Yanbei City was almost breached by the Northern Zhou army several times, Su Fengnuan won many times with less, and made Yanbei City turn from danger to safety several times, he nodded again and again, and said with emotion in his heart, "Madam Su does not let her eyebrows down!"
Xu Yunchu nodded sincerely, "Without Miss Su, Yanbei City would have been destroyed by the Northern Zhou army."
The emperor said, "The wolves of the Northern Zhou Dynasty were ambitious and bullied us into being weak in the Southern Qi. It's really hateful." Then he said, "You have met the two sons of General Su. How about Su Qing?"
Xu Yunchu thought for a while, and said carefully, "The two young masters have inherited the style of General Su, with upright character and talent. As for the third young master Su, I have never had a close relationship with him, so I don't know how talented he is. But third young master Su really He is both civil and military, and won the teaching of Wang Dashi and the favor of Prime Minister Sun."
The emperor nodded and asked him, "Did you see Ye Chang when you left Yanbei?"
Xu Yunchu nodded, "I see, the day before I left Yanbei, it was snowing heavily, and Ye Shizi arrived at Yanbei Palace late at night in the snow."
The emperor heard the words and said, "How is he? Yanbei is far away from the capital, can he bear the rush?"
Xu Yunchu said with a smile, "Ye Shizi's complexion is a little bad, but his spirit is very good. He seems to be in no serious condition. He got up early the next day and talked to the minister."
The emperor snorted when he heard the words, "Out of the capital, it's like a bird that has been let loose. I knew he couldn't sit still in the capital for so many years."
Xu Yunchu smiled, stopped talking, stretched his hand into his bosom, and handed Su Fengnuan's letter to the emperor, "This is the letter Miss Su entrusted me to deliver to the emperor when I left Beijing."
The emperor reached out to take it and opened the letter.
Su Fengnuan's letter was written briefly, mentioning that this time, Bei Zhou could not be easily spared. She asked the emperor to prepare for a long battle with Bei Zhou. Regarding the matter of weapons, he urged the military supervisor to make weapons day and night without stopping, and said In order to prepare for the army's food and grass, the food and grass she prepared for the western region can only last for two months. After two months, Uncle Xiaoguo will raise a batch of food and grass, which can also last for one or two months, but this is not enough to compete with the Northern Zhou Dynasty for a long time. Therefore, he asked the emperor to issue a decree, order Xiaoguo uncle to supervise the grain and grass, and the government and the opposition gathered those rich and wealthy squires in Southern Qi to donate and contribute.
After talking about food and grass, she mentioned that after dealing with the affairs after the Yanbei War, she planned to go to the western region first to help her father deal with Bei Zhou. Isn't Bei Zhou going to fight? Nan Qi can't be afraid of him either. This time, he called the crying father and mother of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and begged the Southern Qi to stop fighting.
After the emperor read it, he shook the letter and said to Xu Yunchu, "What she said in the letter is something you have already discussed?"
Xu Yunchu naturally expected what Su Fengnuan said in the letter, nodded and said, "I am only weak in the Southern Qi Dynasty. Weak soldiers do not mean that the country is not rich. Northern Zhou deceived people too much this time, and Yanbei was tortured so badly." If Miss Su hadn't fought desperately, Northern Zhou's iron cavalry would have stepped into the inner land of Southern Qi, and the horses would have stepped on rivers and mountains, and soldiers would not be able to reach the city. Therefore, it is right to let Northern Zhou suffer a little bit, otherwise I will be ridiculed by Northern Zhou for being a big country in Southern Qi. "
The emperor nodded, "Your discussion is reasonable, but when will this battle last? The Nanqi treasury is now empty. How long can it last only with donations from wealthy gentry?"
Xu Yunchu said, "The Southern Qi Dynasty has always been prosperous. Although the national style is light on military affairs, it emphasizes cultural governance and business management. The status of merchants has never been low. There are many wealthy gentry. If the preparation is done properly, it will not be a problem to provide military supplies for half a year."
The emperor was surprised, "Can it last for so long?"
Xu Yunchu smiled, "Yes."
Seeing Xu Yunchu's affirmation, the emperor felt a little relieved, and said in a deep voice, "Since this is the case, I will approve what you proposed, and I will leave this matter to you to supervise. But it must not cause complaints from all over Nanqi."
Xu Yunchu bowed his head, "Your Majesty, rest assured that I obey the order."
After the two chatted, Xu Yunchu left the imperial study and went to visit the Empress Dowager.
When Xu Yunchu went to Yanbei, the queen mother also shared a heart with the head of state. Xu Yunchu was the future of the head of the house. If something happened to him, the house of the head of the country would plummet. She and the queen had no family support in the harem. , it must be hard. Now that Xu Yunchu returned safely, and it coincided with the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, the Empress Dowager was naturally overjoyed, and held him for a long while before letting go of her cheerfully, and asked him what happened in Yanbei.
Xu Yunchu briefly said that because it was the Empress Dowager's birthday, the wives of all the ministers and ministers in the court went to the palace to pay homage to the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager didn't have much leisure time to ask Xu Yunchu carefully, so she gave up and let him out of Ci'an Palace.
After Xu Yunchu left the palace, he sent the things that King Yanbei and Su Zhen had brought to Mrs. Su to the Su Mansion. The housekeeper of the Su Mansion took the things and thanked Xu Yunchu repeatedly.
After Xu Yunchu left Su's mansion, he went to Wang Dashi's mansion again, and handed over the letter written by Su Fengnuan to Wang Lu to Wang Lu.
Wang Lu invited Xu Yunchu into the mansion to drink two cups of tea. After reading the letter, he said to Xu Yunchu, "It's not easy to supervise the handling of food and grass from the mansion of a wealthy squire."
Xu Yunchu smiled, "So, Miss Su discussed with me and asked the emperor to tell the world that the Northern Zhou Dynasty was deceiving people too much. This time, we will definitely promote the prestige of the Southern Qi Dynasty. The government and the opposition will work together to attack the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Please, Prime Minister Sun, and me Grandfather, gather disciples, take the lead in implementing it from the court, and help me."
Wang Lu nodded, "Northern Zhou is indeed deceiving people too much, we should teach him a lesson." After finishing speaking, he said, "Okay, tomorrow I will have a good discussion with Prime Minister Sun and the head of the state, and I will help you supervise the preparation of food, grass and military pay."
Xu Yunchu thanked Wang Lu and left the Wang University Scholars' Residence.
Back at the Guozhang’s mansion, it was already late at night, and the Guozhang was waiting for Xu Yunchu to return to the mansion. He was very pleased to see him come back unscathed. After hearing him tell the story of the Yanbei War, he said with emotion, “I didn’t expect Su Fengnuan to return to the mansion. A little girl's family is really capable."
Xu Yunchu couldn't help smiling when he heard that his grandfather had mentioned Su Fengnuan as a disdainful and unruly wild girl before and now called him a little girl, "Miss Su is very capable, and Grandpa was deliberately deceived by her."
The head of the country raised his beard and said regretfully, "I've lived my whole life in vain, boasting that anyone who looks at me can see the triad, but I didn't expect to be fooled by her."
Xu Yunchu thought it was funny when the old man mentioned that she was about to jump in anger.
The head of the state looked at Xu Yunchu and asked, "Do you like that girl?"
Xu Yunchu nodded without denying it.
The head of the state sighed, "Grandpa is to blame for this matter. Grandpa was wrong. Otherwise, it might not be Ye Chang's turn."
Xu Yunchu shook his head and said with a smile, "Grandpa is wrong. Even if you don't look away, grandson has no chance. She and Ye Shizi have known each other since they were young, and they have been in private for many years, but they are not known to anyone. She likes Ye Shizi, so she can be counted It's a childhood sweetheart."
The head of the state was speechless for a moment when he heard the words. Seeing that Xu Yunchu was not overwhelmed, nor was he depressed because of this, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Why does a man have no wife? There is not only Su Fengnuan in the world, there will always be other women who are not inferior to him." her."
Xu Yunchu smiled, he didn't know any woman in the world who was not inferior to her, he only knew that there was only one Su Fengnuan in the world. But he understands that if you can't ask for it, you can't force it.
After Xu Yunchu told the head of state about the Yanbei War, he also talked about discussing with Su Fengnuan about a protracted war against the Northern Zhou. The imperial decree was issued, and he said that he had already discussed with Master Wang, and Master Wang nodded and promised to cooperate with Prime Minister Sun in his affairs.
After hearing this, the head of the state naturally supported his grandson, nodded repeatedly, and said to Xu Yunchu, "Through the investigation of the case of King Rong'an twelve years ago and the case of the Lingshan plague four years ago, you made a contribution and went to Yanbei to help The Yanbei Palace saved Yanbei, and made meritorious deeds again, if they supervise the preparation of food and grass and make meritorious deeds, no one in the world will dare to say that my husband's mansion has achieved its current glorious family status because of the two ladies in the palace."
Xu Yunchu smiled, "It's time for our patriarch's mansion to do something for the people of Southern Qi. Now Southern Qi is troubled by internal and external troubles, the country is in turmoil, and the country is in great danger. If the country is not protected, how can we keep our family? The country needs it, and we dare not resign."
The head of the state felt relieved when he heard the words, nodded and said, "It's a good sentence that the country needs it, so I dare not say it. Grandpa was confused before, but luckily you understand."