There has been constant war between Northern Xinjiang and the Great Zhou Kingdom for many years.
The old Duke of Qi once led a group of young generals to attack the imperial city of Northern Frontier and almost captured the emperor of Northern Frontier. It is said that the emperor of Northern Frontier abandoned the imperial city and ran away.
After the old Duke of Qi came back, the border was guarded by General Liu Xiangshan, General Ji Yongming, and Duke Yu Mo Nianheng, who was still holding an important position at the time. Later, Duke Yu was involved in a serious case, and after he was dismissed and returned to Beijing, the military power fell into the hands of these two first-rank generals.
Across the way is the Northern Frontier, so no one dares to be careful or slack.
When Pei Yuanjun first arrived at the border, he was still young. After he grew up a little, the military power returned from the hands of the two first-rank generals to the control of this prince. Then Pei Yuanjun's younger brother, Duke Xing, and Prince Yan began to go to the northern border and take control of part of the military power.
Afterwards, Ji Yongming was relieved of his border military power and returned to Beijing, but Liu Xiangshan still guarded the border for so many years.
The military strength of the Great Zhou in the northern border is several times that of other directions.
This time, Duke Yuguo went to the border and fought several battles, big and small, with Northern Xinjiang. Northern Xinjiang was defeated every time. This time, Northern Xinjiang also clearly expressed its willingness to negotiate peace, but it was still worried about the Great Zhou Dynasty, so it specially sent a vanguard envoy first, and then the formal envoy would be sent later.
The Great Zhou Dynasty has been stationing troops in the northern border, and the daily military expenditure is not small, accounting for a large part of the national treasury. If peace can be negotiated, it would of course be the best.
Because everyone wanted to make contact first, the envoys from Northern Frontier did not make a big fanfare this time. They only sent a few people and brought a tiger unique to Northern Frontier to Da Zhou.
He came under the pretext of sending a tribute and allowing the two sides to have some initial contact, but he didn't expect that the tiger would be crippled by Pei Yuanjun on just one day.
Although this matter was only spread within the palace, it still shocked everyone who heard it. They didn't know why the British king did this.
Is it opposing peace talks, or does it mean something else
In particular, it was heard that the King of England seemed to have angered the Emperor in the Imperial Study, but Pei Luoan could not find out the specific circumstances, nor did he dare to inquire. He only heard that after the King of England came out of the Imperial Study, he went straight to the farm outside the city, which was a hot spring farm, and Pei Luoan himself also had a farm there.
The reply from the envoy from the Northern Frontier was also flawless. It only said that the King of England was delighted to see the prey, so he ordered the cage to be opened, and then he beat the tiger so badly that it was unable to get up. The originally prepared tribute ceremony was also shelved because of this action, and it was just a verbal ceremony.
The tribute is now damaged, how can it be presented in a bright and beautiful manner
After failing to learn anything from the envoy from Northern Frontier, Pei Luoan pondered for a moment and then ordered his men to stop asking. It seemed as if they were sending people to inquire only to deal with Northern Frontier affairs.
Of course, this is mostly on the surface.
King Jing also did the same thing as him.
After inquiring with the envoy from the Northern Frontier, Prince Jing sat for a while in his mansion and then went into the palace to look for his mother, Concubine He.
"Mother!" After Pei Yusheng entered the room, he first bowed to Concubine He above.
Concubine He put down the flowers she was trimming, took the warm water basin handed to her by the palace maid, washed her face, and then asked with a smile, "Why are you here at this time?"
"Mother, what about Uncle Wang?" Pei Yusheng took the handkerchief from the palace maid and handed it to Concubine He attentively.
Concubine He took it, wiped her hands, and then turned around and sat down on the chair: "What's the hurry
No matter how urgent the matter is, can it be as urgent as that place? "
The so-called "over there" meant that Concubine He's eyes were looking in the direction of the Pepper Room.
"Mother, this is too strange. It's so strange that it doesn't seem like something Uncle Wang would do." Pei Yusheng was genuinely feeling a little uneasy, so he ignored Concubine He's previous instructions and hurried over at this critical juncture.
"Please sit down first!" Concubine He waved her hand, and a palace maid brought tea.
Concubine He picked up a cup of tea and took a sip, then nodded slightly. "Try it, how do you feel?"
Pei Yusheng was very anxious. He picked up the teacup at hand, took a sip without even looking at it, and then spit it out.
“It’s so hot!”
"It was hot to begin with. How could you swallow it when it was so hot? You are already an adult and you are getting married soon!" After letting the maid bring him warm water, Concubine He sighed and said, "Even if the King of England's affairs are extremely urgent, they are not as important as our own affairs."
Pei Yusheng drank a sip of warm water and finally calmed down. He put down the teacup in his hand heavily and said, "Mother, I'm afraid this will affect the overall situation."
"What will it affect? Let the King of England stand on the side of the Crown Prince?" Concubine He raised an eyebrow, looked at her anxious son, and slowly taught him, "You need to be more indifferent and don't let people know what you want to do. For some things, the more you want to do them, the more you have to show that you don't care. Otherwise, how can you achieve your ultimate goal?"
"Mother, I know I'm too upset!" Pei Yusheng calmed down, took a sip of the warm water, and nodded.
"Try the tea you had before." Concubine He said with a smile, and motioned the palace maid to bring another cup of tea.
When it was brought to him again, Pei Yusheng lost his impatience. He took it and tasted it, his eyes lit up: "Mother, this is a little different from the tea you usually drink."
"What's the difference?" Concubine He asked with a smile.
"It seems to have a different flavor than the tea I usually drink. It tastes a bit like... like grass." Pei Yusheng took another sip and said after tasting it carefully, "But not entirely. This taste is a bit weird."
Pei Yusheng actually didn't like the taste very much and thought it was a bit weird.
"That's the tea sent from Northern Xinjiang. I think it's pretty good. If you like it, give half to me." Concubine He leaned back and said lazily.
As the emperor's favorite concubine, and a concubine with children, Concubine He has lived a comfortable life in the palace for so many years. Even though the queen is superior to her in the throne, she doesn't think the queen is much more noble than her in other aspects. This is also the reason why she dares to fight for the throne for her son.
Her son... is what everyone wants!
He was said to be the eldest son, but he was just a concubine's son like his own son. It was just that he had a good fate and had the upper hand under the circumstances at that time.
Her mother's family was very powerful, while her own He family was almost downtrodden at that time. This could be seen from the fact that the main branch of the He family was gone.
However, it was also because the main branch of the He family was gone that she was able to come to prominence. At that time, the He family supported that noble sister from the same clan.
"Sent by the envoy from the Northern Frontier?" Pei Yusheng tasted it again and suddenly understood.
"The envoy from the northern border is a man who knows how to judge people. He sent me tea early. Although it is not a good thing, it is a token of his kindness. I have also rewarded him." Concubine He smiled leisurely, with a slight smile on her lips.
Yang, you can see that you are in a good mood.
People in the palace knew that she liked tea. The envoy was able to quickly find out her preference and sent her such a gift, which showed his thoughtfulness.
It doesn’t matter how generous the gift is, it only matters the thought behind it.
The gift from the Queen is indeed very valuable, but that's just the value. There is nothing in the palace that is not valuable. It's just a token of the thought.
"Don't be impatient about this... Your father has favored the King of England for so many years, he won't fall out of favor all of a sudden. At least there will be more such things." Concubine He continued, "The happiest person right now is your elder brother. If the King of England really loses power, it will be a huge benefit to him."
"Mother, what about us?" Pei Yusheng couldn't help but ask.
"We? Do you have the support of the King of England?" Concubine He raised her eyebrows, looked at her son and prompted.
"No, Uncle Wang is not that easy to deal with. I still don't know what Uncle Wang means. He doesn't rely on my elder brother, nor does he rely on me. Could it be that he really hopes that my father will live a hundred years?" Pei Yusheng said with a wry smile, "In his current situation, if in the future..."
Having said this, he could not continue. In fact, there was still a way out. If he deployed his troops and showed off his power in the future, no matter who became the emperor, it would be useless in the face of his military force.
"Mother, does the prince uncle have... other intentions?" Pei Yusheng's heart was in a panic. It was already difficult for him and Pei Luoan to compete for the throne. If Pei Yuanjun was added, it would really be a big deal.
"I didn't know before, but now it seems unlikely that he would dare to provoke your father to such a great wrath." Concubine He sneered, "But he is making such a big fuss now, which is good for you. If he makes trouble a few more times, part of the military power can be stripped away. Your father-in-law is now at the border, so he still has less military power."
Pei Yusheng understood the meaning of these words. He originally thought that with Ji Yongming gone, he would have more military power. Unexpectedly, an accident happened again. The return of Duke Yu not only took over Ji Yongming's military power, but also took away part of it from Liu Xiangshan. With Duke Yu's status and qualifications, Liu Xiangshan had to give up part of his military power.
Not only did the military power not increase because of Ji Yongming's death, but it actually decreased. This was something no one expected.
The military forces of the Great Zhou are there, and there is a fixed number of people in charge. If there is no one missing, it will naturally be that part.
If you want to control more military forces, something has to happen to someone.
"Mother, what should I do now?" Pei Yusheng calmed down, thought about it carefully, and asked.
"Please sit down first. Since you are here, just accompany your mother for some tea. Those national and family affairs outside are not our business. It is better not to interfere at this time." Concubine He said lazily. As a favored concubine for so many years, she naturally had her own way of handling things.
"I understand, son." Pei Yusheng nodded.
"Go see your fiancée after you go back. I heard she's not in good health." Concubine He added, "The King of England has also left the city."
"Don't worry, mother. I will go to see Miss Liu after I return. I heard that the young lady from the Qu Mansion is also recuperating in the farm." Pei Yusheng had completely understood the meaning of Concubine He's words. He relaxed and smiled.
It was inconvenient for him, but what about Liu Lanxin? As female relatives, they were easier to talk to, and it was not conspicuous. The most important thing was that this matter was decided long ago...