Who among the gangsters wants to fall in love?

Chapter 387: The rising moon, sharing this moment

Most of the people of Nanzhao were originally seeking refuge in remote hinterland, but before the battle had lasted three days, the imperial teacher was beheaded in public, the king of Nanzhao also died in the wild, and the Nanzhao army surrendered the entire city.

Although Nanzhao surrendered quickly, fortunately no property was damaged and not many people died. Except that the princes and nobles who ruled them were replaced by Weiming Hou from the Dali Dynasty, there seemed to be no other changes.

Wei Minghou said in person that wherever the Li army passed, they would not massacre the city, search and rob, and treat the people kindly. If that was the case, then who the ruler was had nothing to do with me. I just had to live my own life well... Thinking of this, the noisy Nanzhao gradually calmed down.

Although there are still some people who are obviously restless, but with Zhao Wumian overhead and staying overnight in the imperial city, no one can stop him. Han Yongliang has also led his troops through the pass and headed straight for Dali, so Zhao Wumian naturally does not need to worry too much about these little cats and dogs.

Zhao Wumian stayed in Dali obediently, recuperating from his injuries, and taking advantage of the remaining treasures of Jiuli to grow up well, waiting for Luo Chaoyan's order...

Should Nanzhao be incorporated into the territory, or should the new King of Nanzhao be supported as a vassal state?

Without Luo Chaoyan's order, Zhao Wumian would not be able to leave at will. After all, the current stability of Nanzhao was largely maintained by him.

Zhao Wumian has always been reluctant to act on his own in such national affairs. Even if it was to kill Zhu Jiutian and take over Hetuo Kingdom, he wanted to discuss it with Luo Chaoyan before doing it. However, as the saying goes, "a general is not always subject to military orders when he is away from the battlefield." Being thousands of miles apart, Zhao Wumian obviously did not have time to wait quietly for the messages to be passed back and forth.

Therefore, on the one hand, he wanted to reassure Luo Chaoyan and told her, look, I am not a person who covets power, and things like being too successful and shocking the ruler, or becoming a warlord, will never happen to him again.

Luo Chaoyan would definitely not care about this little detail. Even if Zhao Wumian really wanted to establish his own warlord, she obviously wouldn't care. But Zhao Wumian couldn't not have this attitude.

This has to do with whether he really cares about her and whether he considers her from her perspective.

On the other hand, of course, it is to appease Han Yongliang and others...Luo Chaoyan believes that he will not rebel, but Han Yongliang and even some important officials in the court may not be convinced.

Essentially, he was still considering his own little female doctor... He wanted Luo Chaoyan to sit on the throne properly.

Therefore, Zhao Wumian could only suppress the urge to return to Beijing to reunite with the girls for the time being. He could only look at the moon every night and think about them, wondering what the girls were doing now.

In the middle of the night, a sudden rainstorm flooded the entire capital.

A luxurious carriage was parked in front of Kunning Palace.

The Empress Dowager stood on the imperial road, raised her eyes slightly, and looked at the waning moon faintly beneath the clouds. Her expression was calm, her pretty face was stern, and she looked extremely serious.

Lian Xue held an umbrella for her. Seeing the Queen Mother stop, she couldn't help but remind her, "Your Highness, there are still government affairs to deal with..."

The Queen Mother came back to her senses, shook her head slightly, stepped onto the carriage, and headed towards the Fu Mo Palace.

On the other side, Madam Yang, a famous doctor in Shengjing, walked out of the harem carrying a medicine box.

Female official Zhongli held an umbrella for her and escorted her out of the palace, asking questions all the way. But then she saw a large group of civil and military officials in court robes hurriedly approaching outside the harem, asking urgently:
"Is your majesty's health improving?"

Madam Yang shook her head slightly. "Not to mention improvement, even his appetite is not as good as before. Apart from some medicine, His Majesty can't eat anything. Even if he is not sick, if he continues like this, he will..."

Madam Yang didn’t say anything else, but it made everyone present feel cold all over.

Luo Chaoyan has no son. Once something happens, even if you contact the princes to come to the capital in advance, Dali will surely be in chaos... You want to be the emperor, and others want to be the emperor too, so there will definitely be a fight. Who knows, they might start fighting each other when you lead the troops into the capital.

Even the Prince of Jin couldn't resist the temptation of the throne. How could other princes resist this temptation?
What's more, Wudamu is watching closely from the side.

Madam Yang had no choice but to say, "No matter what method you use, even if it means forcing him to drink, you have to force some food into His Majesty's stomach."

After she finished speaking, Mrs. Yang left with a sigh.

Drink? Who dares to drink? Are you going to die?

The court officials were silent for a few seconds, then looked at the female official Zhongli who was sitting in the corner. Someone smiled.

"Official Zhongli has been with His Majesty the longest, so do you know what His Majesty likes to eat the most? Your Majesty, I just got a Yangtze River shad last night. Its scales are as white as silver, and its delicious taste lies in the skin and scales..."

"Yes, yes, yes. I have fresh camel humps at home. I'll serve them together..."

Zhongli, the female official, was at a loss for words after hearing so many people talking at once. She took a few steps back, her eyes red and swollen.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty grew up in Guixuan Valley. He has eaten both delicacies from the mountains and the sea and simple meals... It seems that he doesn't have any favorite."

The maids standing nearby heard this, one of whom had served Luo Chaoyan in the palace before, and whispered:
"When the Marquis Weiming is here, His Majesty always eats extra..."

Everyone fell silent.

Isn't this nonsense? The affair between the emperor and the Marquis of Weiming is well known to everyone, and it's being spread all over the streets, how could they not know?
"This is a heart disease." Someone said: "If the Marquis Weiming returns to the capital, the emperor will probably recover..."

"Where is Wei Ming Hou?"

"I don't know..."

After a few comments, the ministers fell silent again. It was only after Prime Minister Shen Yiwen spoke that they were allowed to leave.

Truth cannot be hidden, and the news from the palace could not be concealed. Soon, the people in the market also knew about it. Everyone was in a panic and talked about it.

Shen Yiwen, Grand Marshal Jiang Benzhen and Chief Constable Su followed him to Fu Mo Palace, which was also where the Queen Mother handled government affairs.

Memorials were piled up on the table. The Empress Dowager was wearing an elegant phoenix skirt and her pretty face was dressed up. She did not look too haggard. She was holding the memorials in her hands, seemingly handling official business, but in fact her eyes were not focused at all and she was in a state of confusion.

It was not until the three of them came here that she came back to her senses and nodded slightly to them, "I am busy with government affairs. After all, I am not the emperor. I will trouble you to continue to help me."

The Empress Dowager did not have the energy for it, but as the war was going on, memorials to the emperor fell into the palace like raindrops every day, so she called these three people to come and help.

There were also small tables on both sides of the hall, which were also classified and piled with memorials.

Taiwei Jiang Benzhen and Shen Yiwen are both backbones of the court and have extremely high prestige.

Chief Constable Su was in charge of sending spies to various places in the underworld to search for clues. The Queen Mother couldn't sleep if she didn't ask him every day whether he had made any gains, so she asked him to help.

Taiwei Jiang Benzhen sighed softly.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to say this. It is precisely at this time that we need to stabilize the government and relieve His Majesty's worries... Yiwen, in the Yanyun area, Goguryeo and the Rong people are in collusion. It is a foregone conclusion. The King of Yan sends military intelligence almost every day. You should pay more attention..."

Jiang Benzhen was a veteran minister who had served three dynasties and had the highest seniority. Shen Yiwen respected him very much as well. He came to the small desk with a wooden face and sat down.

Jiang Benzhen also took up his pen and wrote a memorial, but he was also unable to calm down. He was unable to start writing for a while. After a while, he said:
"Your Highness, why don't you go back to the harem and take care of His Majesty? Old Madam Yang said that His Majesty must eat no matter what.

Although you and your daughter are not related by blood, we all know that you treat His Majesty just as well as His Majesty's biological mother, Empress Chuyi. Why don't you cook some home-cooked dishes? Maybe His Majesty will have an appetite..."

Before she finished speaking, the Queen Mother responded calmly, "She has to eat even if she can't eat. I have already fed her some food..."

"Pour it in?" Chief Constable Su was slightly stunned. He looked up, a little surprised. "Did he really use force?"

The Queen Mother nodded slightly and did not respond.

Seeing this, Jiang Benzhen was in a trance and recalled the scene when Luo Chaoyan first entered the palace.

Luo Chaoyan was the illegitimate daughter of the previous emperor. Later, her biological mother was named Empress Chuyi, and she was awarded clothes and brought to live in the palace. She became the only princess of Dali. Jiang Benzhen must have seen the scene at that time.

It was a snowy day.

Luo Chaoyan was very small, only reaching the calf of Queen Chuyi. When it snowed, the snow did not reach her knees. She grabbed Queen Chuyi's skirt and covered her face with it, terrified of being born in this place...

Jiang Benzhen had been working for Emperor Taizu Gao since he was young, and three generations had passed in the blink of an eye. But the little kid back then had to be force-fed to survive?

Jiang Benzhen remained silent, and his old hand holding the pen trembled slightly.

Rustle, rustle————

There was a light rain outside the palace, making a gentle sound.

No one in the hall mentioned this matter anymore, they just discussed official business together.

The Queen Mother calmed herself down and said softly:

"The Rong people have divided their forces in Yanyun, but the situation in Jin is not getting any easier. Wudamu is obviously determined to seize this opportunity to enter the pass in one fell swoop. We should prepare to transfer some of the troops in the south to the north and be ready to rush to help at any time in case of any accidents."

"How about the Southwest Army? Han Yongliang is a general. He fought with the Rong people for more than ten years in his early years. He is experienced and has elite soldiers under his command...

He once received the order from the emperor to prepare for the attack on Nanzhao, but now the three-front war consumes too much energy. During the war, the endless silver invested mostly has no effect. While he has not yet sent out troops, why not let him lead part of the Southwest Army to the north? As for the matter of raising troops to attack Nanzhao, we will discuss it later..."

……

During the discussion, the Queen Mother still had a stern face, "General Jiang, in Xiliang..."

Before she finished her words, the empress dowager suddenly heard Xiao Yuanmu's voice in her ears.

"It's dawn. The government affairs were handled half a quarter of an hour ago. The three people have already left... Have you forgotten?"

The empress dowager suddenly came to her senses and raised her pretty face from the desk in a daze... The hall was empty, with only Xiao Yuanmu sitting at the desk without any scruples, his little hands casually flipping through the messy memorials.

Given Xiao Yuanmu's status, the Queen Mother obviously shouldn't let her take a look at the memorials on government affairs, but how could the Queen Mother be in the mood to care about these things at the moment?
Only after she finished handling government affairs and official duties for Luo Chaoyan was she able to find some free time for herself.

Her throat began to ache, and she covered her face with her sleeves, crying.

Xiao Yuanmu glanced at her sideways.

She stayed in the imperial capital, originally serving as the central authority for processing intelligence from all over the world. She thought she would inevitably have conflicts with Luo Chaoyan and the Queen Mother. However, she saw that the two women in the court were both so pitiful... Even if Xiao Yuanmu had a huge hatred for the court, it was difficult for her to vent it at this moment.

As they sighed, outside the Taiji Hall, a messenger rushed to kneel behind the door with a letter tube held high, panting and shouting: "Military intelligence! Military intelligence from the southwest! General Han learned that Weiming Hou was captured by Nanzhao, and he led his troops westward!"

There was a sudden silence in the Fu Mo Hall.

Raising an army and marching westward was a serious matter, so before Han Yongliang launched the army, he specially sent someone to convey the message to the court 800 miles away in an emergency. This message was actually faster than the one sent by the secret agents.

……

The sky was gloomy, and light rain fell on the eaves and corridors of the imperial city. A light mist filled the corridors and palaces.

"Eat! Eat! Your Majesty has an appetite!"

Female official Zhongli didn't even bother to open her umbrella. She held up her skirt with both hands like a newsboy, panting and shouting as she ran along the imperial road.

Her clear voice suddenly echoed in the dead silence of the palace.

She shouted to the palace maids passing by, to the patrolling guards, to the birds flying on the branches, to the empty palace, and finally her voice reached the ears of the courtiers who had not slept for almost the entire night.

There was an old minister who was holding a large pot of delicious fish soup with his hands full, and was about to ask a palace maid to deliver it to Kunning Palace. Upon hearing this, he froze in place, staring at the ministers around him who were also holding various delicacies.

Given their status, they actually tried to bring some delicious food from home to whet the emperor's appetite. This situation was obviously ridiculous.

But they obviously didn't care about this little thing. They were all shocked and couldn't believe it. They asked a few more questions, "Why did His Majesty suddenly have an appetite?"

The face of the female official Zhongli was flushed, and sweat kept coming out of her forehead. Upon hearing this, she pointed to the southwest again and again, and honestly and vividly recounted the scene at that time.

"Military intelligence came in that Weiming Hou was captured alive by Nanzhao. His Majesty was furious upon hearing this. He stood up from the couch and smashed all the medicine bowls, vases, tables and chairs in the room on the spot, shouting that he would kill all the Nanzhao royal family...

After being angry for a while, His Majesty's stomach started to growl, so the Empress Dowager cooked a pot of porridge for him, and he drank three bowls in one go!"

Before she finished speaking, Zhongli covered her mouth and cursed herself for being so talkative. She had caused His Majesty to lose face for no reason...

The civil and military officials did not pay attention to these details. They looked at each other for a long time before they started to uproar.

"Just say this is a heart disease, right?"

"Marquis Weiming is the best medicine for His Majesty... The medicine will cure the disease immediately, the medicine will cure the disease immediately!"

"Your Majesty's health is more important than anything else. Your Majesty, please accept this as a good medicine for Dali."

The ministers were so excited that some even sat on the ground and shared the delicacies they had brought with them, as if they were having a picnic in the palace.

But the fun didn't last long before someone suddenly reacted.

"Weiming Hou was captured? Han Yongliang ignored the emperor's will and insisted on marching westward?"

There was silence again. Someone looked at the Minister of War, and he looked up at the sky.

"..."

The old Minister of Revenue jumped up, puffed his beard and glared:
"It's bad! The war in the north is tense. Once Goguryeo gets involved, the war will start on two fronts. The money will be gone faster than fire! The battle of Nanzhao may not be decided in a year or two. Even if the late emperor is good at saving money, he can't afford such a waste!"

"But His Majesty is determined to march westward to Nanzhao to rescue Marquis Weiming. This..."

"Male homosexuality is a detriment to the country..." someone muttered in a low voice, and then was kicked by the person next to him. He shuddered and dared not say anything.

Marquis Weiming commands an army of 200,000 in Jin, and his importance to the court is self-evident. Even though his background seems a little unclear and he is suspected to have an affair with Xiao Yuanmu, he has the protection of the emperor, so naturally he is a hero regardless of his origin.

If it were an ordinary situation, they would naturally rescue him. They would even spontaneously take out money from their pockets as military expenses to rescue Wei Minghou, in order to establish a good relationship.

But the situation is sensitive after all. If a war really breaks out on three fronts... I'm afraid that His Majesty will have to investigate a dozen corrupt officials tomorrow and confiscate their property to make up for the military expenses.

This war cannot be fought, but who has the courage to speak up? You know, the emperor was just furious in Kunning Palace and wanted to chop the Nanzhao royal family into pieces.

All the officials looked at Shen Yiwen who had remained silent.

The corner of Shen Yiwen's eye twitched, and he thought to himself, "You are a bunch of stinky soldiers. When the emperor was seriously ill, you were all worried that he and the Empress Dowager's brother and sister would join forces to control the government, so you were secretly on guard against them."

Now that the Emperor's condition has finally improved, you want him to be the first one to anger him?

Shen Yiwen bowed slightly in the direction of Luo Chaoyan:
"The emperor's body has just stabilized, let her rest for a few days. Wei Minghou is a pillar of the country. Now that we know he is in the hands of Nanzhao, there is no reason not to save him. Otherwise, wouldn't it show that the emperor is heartless and unfeeling?"

The ministers had no choice but to put aside the discussion for the time being and went into the hall at the morning court.

The Empress Dowager was still ruling the country from behind the curtain. Her mind was still not on court affairs, and Shen Yiwen continued to be in charge of the overall situation. However, this time, when the Empress Dowager was absent-minded, her beautiful eyes were shining, and it was unknown what she was thinking about. Her spirit was completely different from usual.

The court officials in the palace were discussing how difficult it was to fight a war on three fronts and how tight the treasury was. They were hinting at the Empress Dowager in their words, but the Empress Dowager ignored them at all.

Many old ministers were so anxious that they were sweating.

Only two days had passed since Luo Chaoyan's condition improved. During the morning court session, another messenger rushed into the hall, tumbling and crawling.

"A great victory for Nanzhao! A great victory for Nanzhao! Wei, Marquis Weiming killed Nanzhao's national teacher Zhu Jiutian in the streets of Dali, and General Han attacked the gate, causing the Nanzhao army to collapse. Kunming surrendered and the whole way was unimpeded. At this moment, General Han is probably already in Dali and joined with Marquis Weiming... A great victory! A great victory! Who in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, could conquer a city and a country in just three days..."

After speaking in haste, the messenger's face flushed, he gasped for breath, and he beat his chest and stamped his feet, feeling proud.

?

After a moment of dead silence in the Taiji Hall, the ministers immediately burst into an uproar, "Conquering Nanzhao in three days? Did Han Yongliang give the soldiers drugs?!"

"Didn't I say that it was thanks to Marquis Weiming who killed the Nanzhao Imperial Master in the street that the Nanzhao army collapsed? This is all Marquis Weiming's credit!"

"But wasn't Marquis Weiming captured? How, how could this be..."

"Is it a false report of military intelligence?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Empress Dowager, who had been acting as a mascot, immediately became unhappy and was about to start cursing, when a cold voice was heard from the direction of the side hall.

"You would rather suspect General Han of lying about military intelligence at the risk of being beheaded than believe that Marquis Weiming, who has been missing for a month, killed the national teacher? And destroyed the country behind enemy lines?"

There was a sudden sound inside the Taiji Hall, so loud that one could hear a pin drop. All the ministers were stunned for a moment. After they reacted, they quickly lifted the hem of their robes and knelt on the ground with their heads bowed.

"Greetings to His Majesty——"

Tap tap tap————

Luo Chaoyan was wearing a dark red dragon robe. Except for being a little paler and thinner, she looked no different from usual. She walked out of the side hall, slowly climbed a few steps, exchanged a glance with the Empress Dowager through the veil, then turned around and sat on the dragon throne.

Luo Chaoyan didn't say anything. The Taiji Hall was dead silent. No one dared to stand up. Some ministers even had sweat on their foreheads, which fell on the smooth floor tiles.

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall became obviously depressing to the extreme.

After a while, Luo Chaoyan glanced at the ministers and said, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty——"

Luo Chaoyan sneered, "No one in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, has been able to do it, so why can't Wei Ming Hou do it?"

Seeing Luo Chaoyan's attitude, the ministers put away their disbelief and said one after another:

"The Nanzhao are so ambitious that they dared to capture Marquis Weiming. If Your Majesty does not send troops to teach them a lesson, the surrounding countries will certainly follow suit... Killing the chicken to scare the monkey! Well done, Your Majesty!"

"This move by Marquis Weiming is unprecedented and will never be repeated. It is truly a national artifact!"

"If a war breaks out on three fronts, even if the treasury is full, it will be empty within two years. Now that Marquis Weiming has borrowed tens of thousands of troops from General Han, he can capture Nanzhao in three days. This is truly a great move..."

Even if I dare not believe it, if the military intelligence is true, then the merits of Wei Minghou cannot be praised enough. If I don't flatter him now, what's the point of pretending to be an upright person?

Can you destroy a country in three days just by pretending to be upright, like Wei Minghou did?
Luo Chaoyan knew that they were flattering her. Although they were praising Zhao Wumian, she was obviously enjoying it. She narrowed her beautiful eyes and smiled:

"Rewarding according to merit..."

"Why not just let Marquis Weiming become the King of Nanzhao?"

"Dang..." She almost cursed out loud.

Zhao Wumian became the King of Nanzhao, thousands of miles away from her, what a waste of his power!

Anyone can be the King of Nanzhao except Zhao Wumian... unless it is a nominal position.

However, compared with rewarding people based on their merits, what is obviously more important at this moment is how Nanzhao should deal with the situation.

After experiencing great sorrow and joy, Luo Chaoyan was so happy in her heart that she completely forgot about this matter.

But in the minds of the ministers, there is something more important.

Prime Minister Shen Yiwen suddenly said at this moment:
"Your Majesty is ill this time, and I and others have been so frightened that we have been unable to sleep for many nights... We are old and cannot stand such a shock. Your Majesty should marry the queen as soon as possible and give birth to a son. Only in this way can the foundation of the country be stable... Weiming Hou is obviously the most suitable candidate."

(End of this chapter)