There were constant frictions between Qi Dynasty and Liuqi for many years. For various reasons, Qi Dynasty mainly adopted the defensive strategy. Even when it took the initiative to attack, it had lost territory, but later generals led their soldiers to take it back.
Liu Qian has always had the ambition to annex Qi Dynasty, but there is always something missing. But now, no matter whether it is the people in power or the people below, from a third-party perspective, they have to admit that they are quite capable. If Qi Dynasty is not strong enough and the superiors are not wise enough, their ambitions may really succeed.
Emperor Xuanren was not a warlike emperor. Compared with his ambition to expand the territory, he was more committed to making the country rich and the people strong and letting the people live and work in peace and contentment. From this respect, Emperor Xuanren was definitely a good emperor. As the saying goes, he would not allow others to sleep soundly beside his bed. Liuqi always had wolfish ambitions, and other neighboring countries were eyeing them covetously. They had to be severely and completely defeated, or at least they would not dare to invade Qi Dynasty again for dozens or hundreds of years.
Wars are always costly and costly, not to mention the counterattack on Liuqi. Especially now that Liuqi is stronger than before, one can imagine how terrible the losses will be if one wants to defeat Liuqi.
It doesn't seem like a good time to initiate a war. However, this is not something that Qi Chao can decide unilaterally. Even if Qi Chao does not initiate a war, Liu Qi will also start a war, and they may also be prepared. Therefore, now Qi Chao can either take the initiative to attack or prepare to meet the enemy. There is no third possibility.
"If it's earlier, it will be this winter, and if it's later, it will be early spring next year."
Xiaocao was shocked. She had originally had this idea, but she didn't expect that time was so urgent.
What Xiaocao didn't know was that according to the original historical trajectory that Wei Tingyu had learned from Wen Renying, "last year" the emperor died, Prince Dun ascended the throne, the court was in turmoil, and although Mu Bei survived before, he became a paralyzed person. Because the Northern Frontier had lost its commander, the subsequent commander lacked courage and could not convince the people, which led to Liu Ge increasing its offensive efforts. Problems within the Qi Dynasty gave Liu Ge an opportunity to invade the south on a large scale.
Qi Dynasty put up a desperate resistance but was still defeated and lost a lot of territory in the north. However, perhaps Qi Dynasty was not doomed yet. This winter, there was widespread snowfall and many places in Qi Dynasty were affected, not to mention Liuge. The snowstorm caused many deaths in Liuge and countless livestock, which simply shook the foundation of Liuge. In order to avoid disintegration, Liuge almost "migrated the whole country to the south" to attack Qi Dynasty, just like the last fight of a dying beast. In one word, it was crazy.
Fortunately, during the reign of Emperor Xuanren of the Qi Dynasty, he worked hard to govern the country. Even if he was corrupted by his son, it didn't happen so quickly. He almost used a lot of people, and Liu Ge was indeed powerless to succeed him, so he finally managed to hold on.
Even so, in the end, Qi Dynasty lost almost one third of its territory, and Liuge occupied this one third to recuperate. After the weather eased, some people retreated back to Liuge. However, the damage was too severe. Even though it occupied one third of Qi Dynasty, Liuge was unable to invade Qi Dynasty in a short time.
Qi Dynasty also consumed a lot of national strength in order to resist Liuqi. In addition, Qi Dynasty fought so fiercely with Liuqi that other countries around Qi Dynasty just watched and wanted to bite off a piece of meat from Qi Dynasty. Naturally, they were unable to go to war with Liuqi and take back their territory. Even so, Qi Dynasty was still in serious internal turmoil.
So, it can be said that Emperor Chongwen really had a hard time during his few years in power.
Later, when Prince Heng came to the throne, he did not immediately stabilize the court - the executioner had been his executioner for three years - and then he suppressed his other brothers. However, the external threat to the Qi Dynasty was never eliminated. Until the death of Wen Renying, Emperor Tianshun had been in power for more than ten years. He was still a good emperor, but still far inferior to Emperor Xuanren. After all, he never changed the precarious situation of the Qi Dynasty.
Wen Renying was, after all, a woman from the harem, and no matter what happened on the border, the impact on the imperial city was quite limited. Therefore, she lacked a sense of the overall situation, and even though she knew a little bit, like many other women, she did not think it was that serious.
Wei Tingyu was different. Based on Wen Renying's few words, he knew that the "original Qi Dynasty" was probably at the end of its strength. Emperor Tianshun was behind him, and he might even become the king who destroyed his country.
The Qi Dynasty, which should have been in turmoil, is now very stable. Not to mention being forced to retreat, it is ready to take the initiative to take up the sword to deal with the biggest enemy. All of this is because of the person in front of him. The tenderness in Wei Tingyu's eyes became more and more intense. An Guo, An Guo, others would not know that this title was really correct. Although she only changed the fate of a few people, but these few people are related to the destiny of the country, so it is no wonder that Wen Renying would regard her sister as a god.
They were already a real couple who couldn't be closer, but Xiaocao still felt a little embarrassed by Wei Tingyu's look, "What's wrong?"
Wei Tingyu's eyes narrowed slightly, "It's nothing. Xuan'er, you don't have to worry about these things. The court has made sufficient arrangements. Qi Dynasty will definitely win a great victory in the end. Believe me, Xuan'er, you have made an invaluable contribution to this."
Xiao Cao wanted to roll her eyes at Wei Tingyu again, "Okay, okay, I get it."
Wei Tingyu smiled without saying anything. He leaned over naturally and gave Xiaocao a light kiss on the forehead.
In fact, the large-scale war between Qichao and Liuqi will inevitably break out this winter, and Liuqi cannot wait until next spring. It’s just that outsiders don’t know, so the time can only be estimated.
Now that Liuqi no longer has part of the Qi Dynasty's territory as a buffer, once it encounters a disaster, the situation will be more serious, and its dying struggle will only be more intense. Therefore, when the war breaks out this time, the impact suffered by the northern border will only be greater than "originally". If things go wrong, the defense line of the northern border may be broken. Therefore, the current situation is much better than the "original", and the situation after the war is still not optimistic.
However, with sufficient preparation, the dying beast will have only one outcome if it resists stubbornly.
When Xiaocao and Wei Tingyu were meeting at the Marquis' Mansion, Emperor Xuanren was talking to Prince Duan in the palace again. This time it was not so secretive, at least the palace maid whom Emperor Xuanren trusted was serving them on the side.
In comparison, the relationship between father and son was relatively homely. Among all the sons of Emperor Xuanren, only Prince Duan respected him more than he feared him. They were more like a normal father and son, and the chess pieces fell on the board slowly and steadily.
"We couldn't find any evidence for what happened back then, and it's certainly impossible to find any evidence now. I know you've been wronged over the years, but I hope this matter can end here." Emperor Xuanren still had that unhurried and calm demeanor.
Prince Duan's hands suddenly clenched, his eyebrows lowered, and his aura seemed to be stagnant. However, this did not affect Emperor Xuanren, and he did not speak again, not urging him at all. After a while, Prince Duan loosened his hands and put down the chess piece, "Your son listens to your father."
There was a big fire that year, and Prince Duan, who was still the Crown Prince, was trapped in the sea of fire. It was not only his eyes that were injured, but also his right arm and leg had large areas of burns. On the surface, it was an accident, but in fact, no one believed it. However, the only people who could do this were those few people. Prince Heng was naturally the number one suspect, especially since the Crown Prince was gone, and Prince Heng was the one who benefited the most. Due to many considerations in the past few years, Prince Duan did not take revenge. If his eyes were not good, he probably would never take revenge. But God favored him. After regaining his sight, he was not in a hurry. He always took steady steps and did not do anything deliberately. At most, he added fuel to the fire in some small matters. Now, Prince Heng was ruined by "his own people", which was beyond Prince Duan's expectations.
Now Emperor Xuanren hopes that he will let Prince Heng go. To be honest, Prince Duan is a little disappointed. However, he can also understand his father. After all, he is a father and does not want his sons to kill each other.
"Even if your eyesight is not restored, Prince Heng is not my preferred heir to the throne."
Emperor Xuanren's words, which made no clear meaning, made Prince Duan look up suddenly with a hint of disbelief in his eyes. Now it seemed that it was because of him, the eldest son, that his father excluded the other son who had hurt him from the line of succession. It was not an open act to help him take revenge, but this decision was clearly a hundred times worse than direct revenge.
Regardless of whether these words were meant to comfort him or had other implications, Prince Duan listened to them according to his own understanding, and the smile on his lips became even more obvious.
Emperor Xuanren saw it all. He had always had high hopes for this son. When the accident happened, he was also very heartbroken. Although he did not punish his other sons openly, there were definitely quite a few ministers who were punished by him. In the beginning, this son gave up on himself. Such an excellent child went to the other extreme in a short time. Emperor Xuanren felt as if his heart was broken, but he did not give up on him. Fortunately, this child slowly came out of it, and after a period of cleansing and complete sedimentation, Emperor Xuanren felt even more regretful. He thought countless times how great it would be if he could regain his sight. However, although he thought about it, he never really thought it was possible in his subconscious. Who would have thought that a miracle would really happen one day.
After the restoration of the Ming Dynasty, he was more tactful in his actions and did things properly. He became more calm, outstanding, and insightful. Suddenly, he felt that what happened a few years ago might not have been all bad. If everything had gone smoothly and his family was the only one in power, then who knows when their hearts would turn to the right. Especially if he had been on the throne for a long time and his other sons had developed ambitions, and the eldest son believed that the throne was his and that his other brothers were coveting his things, so he killed them and the emperor became unrecognizable.
More than a year had passed, and Emperor Xuanren no longer had such worries. However, from some details, it could be seen that what happened back then was always a thorn in his heart, and if it was not removed, it might become a disaster.
Now is a good time to remove the thorn, and Emperor Xuanren knows how to seize the opportunity. Although there may be other people involved, Emperor Xuanren does not mind letting Prince Heng take the blame alone. It's just a matter of taking the blame, and it won't cause any substantial harm, so it's naturally fine.
The effect was very good. When the son grew up, he became calm and reserved, and never showed his emotions recklessly. It had been many years since he had seen a smile as pure and straightforward as his current one, and the heart of Emperor Xuanren, the old father, softened a little.
—His son is a good boy and he can be comforted with just a few words. If it were someone who holds a grudge or has a bad temper, he might have misinterpreted his meaning and had a more ulterior motive.
—Eunuch Hong and others who were serving nearby pretended to be deaf and dumb.
Later, even the chess game became more harmonious.
"You should take better care of An Guo in the future. That girl is only focused on medical skills and doesn't care about other things. Even so, there are still people who think she is in the way and a hindrance, and they want to plot against her again and again."
"Don't worry, Father. An Guo is to me just like my own sister. I will naturally protect her."
To the father and son, Xiaocao was the one who saved their lives and stabilized the country, and the other who rebuilt their country and paved the way for a smooth life. She was a simple-minded person, so it would be strange if she didn't protect him. If it were someone with a treacherous and greedy mind, even if Emperor Xuanren showed great favor, his treatment would be greatly reduced, and he would also be on guard against him using his medical skills to win over people, so Emperor Xuanren was very confident in Xiaocao.
"However, with Commander Wei protecting him like a calf, it would be difficult for others to plot against him."
Emperor Xuanren snorted, "Wei Tingyu's ability is unquestionable, but his vision is so narrow that he can only give up his wife. This man is too lacking in ambition."
Prince Duan chuckled, "There's nothing wrong with that. As long as An Guo is fine, other things won't be a problem."
It is also reassuring to use this kind of people.
Later, they inevitably talked about the Northern Frontier. "After this battle, the annual war with Liuqi should also stop."
Emperor Xuanren did not say anything, but this was indeed his essential purpose.
"I intend to let Prince Dingbei get married early."
Upon hearing this, Prince Duan immediately understood what Emperor Xuanren meant.
Once Liuqi and Qichao go to war, Emperor Xuanren is not so reassured to let Pingjin Hou be the commander of Dingbei Army. He obviously wants Mu Bei to return to Northern Frontier. Mu Bei's original wedding date is April next year.
"Is King Dingbei in good health?"
"This question needs to be specifically asked to An Guo." Despite this, Emperor Xuanren had great confidence in Xiaocao's medical skills.