The Queen gave her a pair of blood-jade bracelets and said with a smile, "This was passed down to me by the Grand Empress Dowager. I pass it on to you."
Xing Nong took it. The jade bracelet was transparent and flawless, and the texture inside was vaguely like a dragon and a phoenix! The Empress Dowager gave it to the Queen, and the Queen passed it to her. Everyone present understood the meaning. Xing Nong smiled and thanked: "Thank you, mother."
The queen smiled and said, "Okay, go and serve tea to your uncle and aunt!"
Marquis Changping is the king's uncle, and his family is full of loyal and brave people. Now only his elder brother and eldest son are left, and the others all died in that war. Such a loyal and righteous man is naturally worthy of the tea offered by the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess.
So Xingnong and Chu Tiankuo offered tea to the two of them again.
After the tea was served, it was time for lunch. After the family had lunch, the emperor had to go back to the imperial study to handle government affairs. Chu Tiankuo and Xingnong stayed in Kunning Palace to talk with the queen and Marquis Changping.
Chu Tiankuo couldn't wait to ask: "Uncle, what happened back then? Why weren't you beheaded?"
He remembered that he had personally collected their bodies that year.
Marquis Changping then explained it in detail to Chu Tiankuo.
It turned out that there were traitors in the Changping army, and not just one.
One of them was a deputy general whom the old marquis trusted very much. He leaked the military secrets and the formation designed by Old Tang to the State of Zhao, which led to the Zhao army breaking Old Tang's formation and capturing the city of Chu.
The old Marquis of Changping had previously captured a rebellious deputy general in the army and thought that there were no more deputy generals in the army. Unexpectedly, the deputy general he trusted most also rebelled.
When the two armies were fighting, the old marquis and his trusted confidants discussed with Mr. Tang how to recapture the lost city in one fell swoop. Unexpectedly, someone still secretly told the Zhao army the tactics and the method to crack the formation set up by Mr. Tang on the snow mountain.
The Zhao army took advantage of the enemy's strategy and set up a formation within a formation in the snow-capped mountains to lure the Changping army deep into the mountains.
Tens of thousands of troops were trapped in the modified formation designed by Old Tang, and were eventually frozen or starved to death in the ice and snow.
"Back then, the Changping army lost two cities in a row and was finally trapped in the ice and snow. Someone announced the evidence of my father colluding with the Zhao army and treason at the morning court. The handwriting of those letters was exactly the same as my father's. The evidence was irrefutable, and the emperor had to order the Changping Marquis's mansion to be raided."
"At that time, all the evidence proved that it was my father who betrayed us, but the emperor believed in us. In order to lure out the people behind the scenes, he secretly let the death row prisoners take our identities and beheaded them, and let me secretly train the troops and rebuild the Changping Army."
The old Marquis of Changping is old, and this battle is the last one he intends to fight. In the future, his children and grandchildren will inherit his will and protect the rivers and mountains of Chu.
In every previous war, the old marquis would bring the Marquis of Changping's eldest son (now the Marquis of Changping) and his eldest grandson, and would also bring one of his second or third sons.
Every time there was a war, one of the second and third sons would stay in the capital to guard the city. This was to prevent all the males in the family from going to the battlefield and ending up with no descendants. Also, leaving someone in the capital would reassure the emperor, as he would not worry about them rebelling on the battlefield.
But this time it was the old marquis's retirement battle. The second and third sons had never accompanied their father into battle before. The prince's wife was about to give birth, so the two sons proposed that this time the prince of Changping, the current Marquis of Changping, and his son should stay in the capital to guard the city, while they would go into battle together with their father and their two sons to kill the enemy.
Changping Hou has been following his elder brother Changping Hou into the battlefield since he was eight years old. He has never missed a war over the years and is now capable of standing on his own.
The old marquis also wanted to take advantage of the last opportunity to go to the battlefield to teach his second and third sons more things, so he took the two and their sons to the battlefield. He didn't expect that this time it would cost them their lives.
During these seven years, Marquis Changping held his breath, wanting to avenge his father and brother, so he built the Changping Army of 100,000 iron cavalry, thinking that he would avenge his father, brother, and nephew together with his nephew.
Unexpectedly, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was so capable. He defeated the enemy with a smaller force and avenged his father and brother on his own, making the State of Zhao pay a heavy price.
In the next ten years, Zhao will definitely not be able to invade Chu again.
The Marquis of Changping sighed as he recalled, "But this battle with the State of Zhao severely damaged the vitality of the State of Chu. The disastrous defeat of the Changping Army also told the emperor that many treacherous villains had infiltrated the army. Prime Minister Li's influence in the court also penetrated into various places. Most of the virtuous and talented people were killed. The disaster was so severe that it endangered the country. The emperor asked Minister Lin, Minister Tang, etc. to hide their identities and secretly cultivate talents for the State of Chu."
"The Emperor also played along with your mother's plan. He banished your mother to the cold palace and drove you away in anger. In fact, he was also protecting you and your son."
Chu Tiankuo had already thought of all these, and he also knew that the emperor had secretly sent people to protect him in the past.
But after being thrown off by him many times, it was gone.
The Queen also said at this time: "Over the years, your father has always had a dream. In the dream, the Changping Army fell into the enemy's trap and was trapped in the snowy mountains. Someone in the court wrote a letter saying that the Changping Army rebelled and lost several cities. The Changping Army was trapped in the snowy mountains because it surrendered to the State of Zhao. The emperor didn't believe it and sent your uncle with 100,000 troops to rescue. As a result, he was also trapped in the snowy mountains and there was no news! Later, you led another 100,000 troops to rescue, but was shot to death by the enemy in the chaos. Because the Changping Army led by your grandfather was really trapped in the snowy mountains, the dream was too real. Your father didn't dare to gamble. He didn't dare to gamble with the lives of 200,000 troops, nor did he dare to gamble with your and your uncle's lives, let alone the country of Chu. After all, if the dream came true, the State of Chu would lose its most brave and good generals and 300,000 troops. In this way, the country would be in danger! So he surrendered to the State of Zhao, paid tribute every year, and endured humiliation for many years."
Marquis of Changping: "Not only that, when the previous emperor was in power, he trusted Prime Minister Li very much. Prime Minister Li, as the prime minister of two dynasties, had many students. He controlled the imperial examinations for many years when the previous emperor was in power. Anyone with a little ability and talent would be recruited by Prime Minister Li's people, resulting in many officials in the court, including many local officials, being Prime Minister Li's people.
There were too many corrupt officials in various places, and they were in collusion with each other. There were serious disasters in various places, the treasury was empty, there was no one available in the court, and there was no money to do things. The emperor thought of a countermeasure and asked Lin Lao to contradict the emperor many times. Yang Zhuang was disillusioned with the court, and later resigned and became the head of the academy, with the purpose of recruiting talents for the emperor one step ahead. When they passed the imperial examination, they were recruited by Prime Minister Li, and Prime Minister Li's people arranged official positions. The emperor took the opportunity to promote them and gradually replaced the forces cultivated by Prime Minister Li. The emperor has been planning for many years, just waiting for the prince to grow up so that he can inherit a prosperous and peaceful country. "
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