Princess Promotion

The cloth on his eyes was removed, and dazzling white light instantly poured in.

Fu Hongxuan frowned slightly and half-closed his eyes, waiting to adapt to the dazzling light.

Slowly he took a closer look at the appearance of the person sitting in front of him.

His cheeks were sunken, his complexion was dark and sallow, and his eyes, once as sharp as an eagle, no longer had any of their former brilliance.

If it weren't for the outline between his eyebrows, Fu Hongxuan almost didn't recognize that the person in front of him was the "Emperor of Western Zhou" Zhou Xuanli.

After the two looked at each other, they fell into silence.

One was an emperor of the previous dynasty, the other was a general of the previous dynasty.

Fu Hongxuan gently turned his hands, which were bound with hemp rope, and asked calmly, "When are you going to kill me?"

Zhou Xuanli was silent for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "I don't deny that I really wanted to kill you just now, but now... there's no need. It's too late."

After saying this, Zhou Xuanli sighed deeply: "The grudges between you and me cannot be settled in this life. I hope we can sort them out in the next life."

"I know you hate me for being on guard against you, and for letting your father die on the battlefield. The gap between you and me is like a chasm. It's meaningless to talk about this now." Zhou Xuanli's eyes were full of loneliness and unwillingness.

Fu Hongxuan didn't say anything. He couldn't respond to this. If he did, it would seem as if there was some love-hate relationship between him and Zhou Xuanli.

Zhou Xuanli looked at Fu Hongxuan deeply and said, "I pity you."

Fu Hongxuan tilted his head slightly and shifted his gaze away from Zhou Xuanli. This man had gone crazy.

He turned his gaze to the man who had been standing silently beside him - Li Yi.

Li Yi did not meet Fu Hongxuan's eyes, but stared straight ahead with an indifferent expression.

Fu Hongxuan withdrew his gaze, looked down at the hemp ropes that bound his hands and feet, and muttered to himself, "I didn't expect... that person would be you!"

Li Yi has been with Fu Hongxuan for more than ten years, and no one would think of guarding against Li Yi.

Li Yi put a sleeping pill in the tea set that Fu Hongxuan often used, and when the drug took effect, he tied Fu Hongxuan up with a rope.

Then he carried Fu Hongxuan out of the secret passage and easily took Fu Hongxuan out of Yundu City without anyone noticing.

Seeing that Fu Hongxuan ignored him, Zhou Xuanli gritted his teeth and shouted, "When your father fought in the border town, you hated me for delaying the reinforcements. But you know that if Qi had not diverted the disaster eastward, there would have been no such battle, and Fu Jingrui would not have died."

In the battle at the border that year, Fu Hongxuan's father, Fu Jingrui, was exhausted to death by the barbarians because he ran out of ammunition and food.

If reinforcements had arrived in time, Fu Jingrui would not have died.

But at that time Zhou Xuanli was wary of Fu Jingrui. If Fu Jingrui was allowed to continue to develop, win battles one after another and make remarkable achievements, his prestige would surely rise.

By then, the world would only know him as Fu Jingrui, but not Zhou Xuanli, and his throne would be in jeopardy.

After weighing the pros and cons, Zhou Xuanli decisively intervened, causing the reinforcements to be delayed in arriving at the front line...

Fu Hongxuan lost his parents that day, and later Zhou Xuanli did it to stop the gossips of the people.

Take good care of Fu Hongxuan, even though he had been adopted by the Fu family at that time.

However, the identity of his concubine has always been controversial.

According to common sense, a son born out of wedlock is not eligible to inherit the Fu family.

It was Zhou Xuanli who overcame all objections and supported Fu Hongxuan to inherit the Fu family.

The reason why Zhou Xuanli helped Fu Hongxuan so much was not only to create a reputation for treating meritorious officials well.

They were more interested in the military power in Fu Jingrui's hands, even though Fu Jingrui was already dead.

However, most of the generals holding important positions in the army were Fu Jingrui's former subordinates.

If we allow Fu Jingrui's military power to be divided up by others, it may solve the current difficulties.

But who can say for sure that there won’t be a second Fu Jingrui?

If he supports Fu Hongxuan to take over Fu Jingrui's military power, it will be beneficial to his own reputation.

Secondly, Fu Hongxuan is Fu Jingrui's only son after all, even if he is a mediocre one.

Fu Jingrui's old subordinates will not have any major objections, which can help stabilize people's hearts.

Zhou Xuanli wanted to consolidate his throne, but he didn't want to tear his army apart.

The most important point is that Fu Hongxuan is only in his teens and his hair hasn't even grown yet.

It would be an exaggeration to say that the entire Western Zhou Dynasty knew how much Fu Jingrui was obsessed with that concubine. Fu Jingrui was even kicked out of the house for that concubine.

He loves his son born to his mistress to the core.

He had been stationed at the border exposed to wind and sun all year round, but he was reluctant to let his concubine's mother and son follow him to the border to suffer.

Fu Hongxuan grew up in the imperial capital and had never set foot on the border, let alone fought in the battlefield.

Such a young kid with no experience, connections or abilities.

Apart from his father's influence, Fu Hongxuan can only rely on him if he wants to gain a foothold in the army.

At that time, Zhou Xuanli planned to support Fu Hongxuan first to stabilize the people below.

After he had gotten rid of the other people who coveted military power, he would turn around and look for opportunities to eliminate Fu Jingrui's old subordinates one by one.

By then, even if Fu Hongxuan grows up, the people under him will already be firmly under his control.

Fu Hongxuan still couldn't cause any trouble.

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes, and Zhou Xuanli never dreamed of it.

Fu Hongxuan, who was unknown in the imperial capital, immediately shined when he arrived at the border.

Zhou Xuanli had not yet reacted after leading Fu Jingrui's subordinates to win several battles.

Fu Hongxuan established his foothold in the army at a speed that seemed to be assisted by God.

The military is complex, but it is also simple.

As long as you are truly capable, even if you are younger than your son, you should be respected.

At that time, Zhou Xuanli regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. Once something was said, it could not be taken back.

Even if Zhou Xuanli wanted to take back his words, he would not be able to obey orders from the army outside the country.

If Fu Hongxuan is really pushed into a corner, he will directly start a rebellion, which will be very troublesome for Zhou Xuanli.

So over the years, Zhou Xuanli had no choice but to hold back and favor Fu Hongxuan.

Since he could get rid of Fu Jingrui, he could naturally get rid of Fu Hongxuan as well.

As long as he is patient enough, opportunities will always appear.

This wait lasted for more than ten years. Zhou Xuanli did not expect that Fu Hongxuan was much more difficult to deal with than Fu Jingrui.

He was also much more cautious. For more than ten years, no matter how Zhou Xuanli tried to test him, he even managed to take Fu Hongxuan's fiancée away with his own scheme.

From the beginning to the end, Fu Hongxuan showed that all the thunder and rain were grace from the emperor, and he never crossed the line.

After so many years of testing, if it weren't for the deep blood feud with Fu Jingrui between them.

Zhou Xuanli really wanted to recruit Fu Hongxuan, such an obedient and capable minister, under his command.

Which emperor would not like it, but Zhou Xuanli knew very well that it was impossible.

Who would work for the murderer of their father?

Over the years, the only time Fu Hongxuan disobeyed him in public was when he opposed sending troops to provoke the State of Qi.

Zhou Xuanli was ecstatic at that time, thinking that he had finally waited for the opportunity.

He knew that Fu Hongxuan was right, and that Qi should not be bothered by domestic and external troubles.

But the new empress of Qi was not a good person, and those ministers kept saying that women were useless.

If Yao Chuguang relied on Emperor Qi to pass on the throne, or if Duke Li controlled the court and supported Yao Chuguang to ascend to the throne.

Zhou Xuanli would feel that what those ministers said made some sense, but the problem was that Yao Chuguang could not be described by common sense at all.

With only 10,000 soldiers, he dared to rebel.

Ten thousand against two hundred thousand, and the rebellion was successful.

This kind of fierce person, let alone Yao Chuguang being a woman, even if she was a pig, Zhou Xuanli would be afraid of her.

Only those book-stupid frogs in the court would look down on Yao Chu just because she is a woman.

Zhou Xuanli was not stupid. When he knew nothing, the best solution was to wait and see. It would be best to secretly join forces with the barbarians, but all these needed to be considered carefully.

What Zhou Xuanli didn't expect was that Fu Hongxuan actually disobeyed the order in public, which was simply a handle delivered to his doorstep.

It’s not a waste of time to break through the iron shoes.

Zhou Xuanli naturally would not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He immediately took advantage of the situation to dismiss Fu Hongxuan from his post and detained him in the Dali Temple.

Even if Zhou Xuanli did not want to confront the State of Qi, the words had been spoken and the troops had to be sent.

However, Zhou Xuanli did not really want to take action against the State of Qi, and was planning to send a trusted aide to the border just to make it look like an attack.

At that time, just find a few bandits to dress up in Qi soldiers' clothes, pretend to fight with Qi and take over a small hill.

The first priority is to confirm Fu Hongxuan’s guilt.

When the news of the victory came back, no one could save Fu Hongxuan.

As fate would have it, Zhou Xuanli thought it was the beginning of Fu Hongxuan's hell, but unexpectedly it was actually his own hell.

The State of Qi actually took the rumors seriously and sent troops to attack.

Zhou Xuanli took a deep breath and forced himself to wake up from his memories.

He suddenly said these things in front of Fu Hongxuan today, so it was naturally impossible that he had a change of heart.

Zhou Xuanli was very clear that his body was exhausted and he could not hold on for much longer.

He knew that Fu Hongxuan had been secretly investigating Fu Jingrui's incident over the years.

Maybe they really found out something, so Fu Hongxuan did not hesitate to become Yao Chuguang's lackey.

Zhou Xuanli knew clearly that it was hopeless to restore the country on his own, and Fu Hongxuan cared so much about Fu Jingrui.

Now is the only chance to bring Fu Hongxuan back.

That is to completely ignite Fu Hongxuan's flame of revenge.

On the surface, the battle at the border that year seemed to be a surprise attack on the border town by the barbarians in order to survive the winter.

But this was indeed a man-made disaster. Duke Li had already noticed the climate changes at the border.

It is speculated that drought may occur in the grassland, and a large number of cattle and sheep will inevitably starve to death due to lack of grass and water.

Cattle and sheep are the food that the barbarians rely on for survival, and without them.

If the barbarians want to survive this winter, they will have to plunder the food and grass from the cities in the Central Plains.

Duke Li acted decisively and pretended that the imperial court wanted to build a granary.

All the food and fodder from the small towns with weak defenses were transported to the large cities with strict border defenses.

This means that if the barbarians attack a city with weak defenses, they will have nothing to gain.

But the cost of attacking a heavily guarded city is too high.

It is very likely that after all the effort, the city will still not be conquered and all the efforts will be in vain.

Just when the barbarians were in a dilemma, they suddenly received a piece of inside information.

A merchant from the Western Zhou Dynasty purchased a large amount of grain and fodder from the State of Qi, intending to transport it to the inland of the Western Zhou Dynasty for disaster relief.

This batch of food and fodder was in a small border town of the Western Zhou Dynasty, which was poorly defended.

On one side was the heavily defended State of Qi, and on the other side was the defenseless Western Zhou.

Regardless of whether the news is true or not, the barbarians have to give it a try. If it doesn't work, they can only dispatch troops to attack the big cities.

Originally, Zhou Xuanli didn't know about this inside story. He only knew that the barbarians had suddenly attacked.

Fu Jingrui was trapped in the border town and needed support. At that time, Zhou Xuanli did not think much about the sudden attack of the barbarians.

The barbarians invaded more or less every winter.

But this time the force was fierce, and Fu Jingrui happened to be trapped in it.

This was the last time Zhou Xuanli and the Emperor of Qi gathered together to discuss major plans before they left.

Zhou Xuanli mentioned this battle to King Ada for some unknown reason, although King Ada did not participate in the battle at that time.

But King Ada was a barbarian king after all, so he knew a lot of inside information.

Only then did Zhou Xuanli know that there was such a secret behind that battle.

Zhou Xuanli looked at Fu Hongxuan with madness and sinisterness in his eyes. He asked Li Yi to untie Fu Hongxuan and handed the knife to Fu Hongxuan.

Zhou Xuanli wanted Fu Hongxuan to complete his revenge with his own hands and use his own life to calm Fu Hongxuan's resentment towards the Western Zhou Dynasty.

He, the mastermind, is dead, but Duke Li, the fuse, is still there.

From then on, Duke Li would become a thorn in Fu Hongxuan's heart. Whenever he saw Duke Li or the empress, he would be reminded of his father's death.

As long as a rift appears between Fu Hongxuan and the empress, time will help him turn this tiny rift into a chasm.

Everyone has selfish desires, even the empress is no exception.

Even if the empress thinks she treats everyone equally, everyone has different standards, so how can she treat everyone equally?

When Fu Hongxuan encounters setbacks and injustice, he will remember that he is from the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The blood of the Western Zhou people flows in his bones. At that time, Fu Hongxuan's only choice is to support his son

This is the biggest trump card Zhou Xuanli left for his son, Zhou Chengxi.

It is also the biggest opportunity for the Zhou royal family.

Use your own life to sow discord between Fu Hongxuan and the empress, even though they have a close relationship now.

But so what? There was hatred for their father's murder between them, and there was no going back.

Zhou Xuanli suddenly realized something and his pupils suddenly dilated.

He looked at Fu Hongxuan with a somewhat straight gaze, and said in a low, hoarse voice with a bit of morbid madness: "Do you feel that this trick of diverting trouble is very familiar?"

Using someone else's force to counter his own and calculating against them to the core, this is not the usual trick of the current empress "Yao Chuguang".

It’s not that Duke Li has no strategy, but he is a veteran with a long history.

Everyone has his own habits in the strategies and tactics he usually uses.

This kind of insidious act of diverting trouble to someone else does not seem like something that the old-fashioned Duke Li would come up with. Instead, it is very much in line with Yao Chuguang's style.

The reason why Zhou Xuanli subconsciously eliminated Yao Chuguang was because Yao Chuguang was only four or five years old at that time.

Is it possible for such a young child to have such a mind?

Thinking of this, Zhou Xuanli felt his scalp tingling. That's right!

now it's right!

No wonder Duke Li, a veteran on the battlefield, would be so obedient to Yao Chuguang.

Even if it means starting a rebellion, they will follow without hesitation.

Such a monster who could plot against the barbarians and cause them to suffer heavy losses at the age of four or five was unbearable even for someone as knowledgeable as Zhou Xuanli.

Everyone felt that Yao Chuguang was truly terrifying.

But no matter how powerful one is, one will still fall headfirst into love.

Yao Chuguang is very smart, how could he not know that he was also one of the people who supported Fu Hongxuan's father.

But she still chose to be with Fu Hongxuan in order to cover up the truth of that year.

We must wipe out the barbarians at the risk of our lives, as long as everyone who knows what happened back then is dead.

Then Fu Hongxuan will never know the truth.

Zhou Xuanli didn't think Yao Chuguang would play with Fu Hongxuan if Yao Chuguang only treated Fu Hongxuan as an dispensable plaything.

It is impossible to give Fu Hongxuan real power. Without true love, he will only be on guard against Fu Hongxuan like he is.

From this, we can infer that Yao Chuguang is absolutely sincere to Fu Hongxuan. Even though there is the hidden danger of Fu Jingrui, she still keeps Fu Hongxuan and keeps him by her side.

Unfortunately, there is always a loophole!

Now Zhou Xuanli really felt sorry for Fu Hongxuan, who was in love with the murderer of his father.

Isn’t this God’s will?

Cause and effect, retribution will come!