The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"Xinghe thanks the Queen for her great kindness." Zuo Beichen kowtowed heavily to Shen Tianjiao, and this kowtow was sincere and not false.

"Get up?" Shen Tianjiao motioned Qiong Niang to come over and said to Zuo Beichen, "This is Qiong Niang. You will stay with her from now on."

"Hello, Sister Qiong Niang." Shen Tianjiao only asked Zuo Beichen to follow Qiong Niang, and did not say what position Qiong Niang held in the palace now. Zuo Beichen could only call Qiong Niang "Sister".

"Mr. Zuo, you don't have to be polite. If you have any problems or need anything in the future, just tell me." Qiong Niang's impression of Zuo Beichen had changed at this time, and she spoke much more kindly.

"I'll have to trouble you to take care of Xinghe in the palace from now on." Zuo Beichen bowed to Qiong Niang.

After the pleasantries, it was time to get down to business. Shen Tianjiao was very interested in the caravan's affairs, and since Zuo Beichen was now considered one of their own, Shen Tianjiao could discuss these issues with him.

"Xinghe, tell me more about what you just said about the caravan." Maintaining an army is a very expensive thing. Although Shen Tianjiao now has the industries given by Zuo Beichen, it is always better to have more. She cannot live a tight life by eating up all the money she has.

The reality in her previous life told her that she could do nothing without money. Her grand ambition of ending war with war required a lot of manpower and material support. Without money to back her up, her plan would have no chance of being implemented.

"Empress, do you want to form a caravan to do business with the neighboring countries?" Talking to smart people is easy and pleasant. As soon as Shen Tianjiao finished speaking, Zuo Beichen understood the meaning of Shen Tianjiao's words.

"Yes, you just said that the most stable and profitable business at the moment is to form a caravan and go to the neighboring countries to do business with them."

"War requires a large amount of money as a foundation. Judging from the battle report sent back by General Yan a few days ago, the Western Rong people made great contributions to Li Bin's rebellion this time."

"Their Left Wise King, Ainuer Xiong'an, has personally led hundreds of thousands of troops to support Li Bin. Yunli has now become a piece of fat meat waiting to be divided among them. If they continue to sit and wait for death, the end of Yunli will not be far away."

"So I must take the initiative, accumulate strength, and conquer all the nations, so that they will never dare to covet an inch of my land again."

"But to accomplish this, the amount of money required is so huge that I cannot even imagine it. Although the national treasury is not empty now, the continuous wars, droughts and floods, and all kinds of disasters combined will soon make it impossible to make ends meet."

"Those civil officials would absolutely not agree to spend extra money from the national treasury to fight a war of unprecedented magnitude. There have been no foreign invasions for many years, and the officials and people of Yunli Kingdom have forgotten the importance of being prepared for danger."

"Instead of arguing over a small amount of money in the court, it's better to find a way to make money yourself. It's much more reassuring to spend the money you earn yourself than asking others for it."

Since Shen Tianjiao already regarded Zuo Beichen as her own, she would naturally no longer hide from him her grand ambitions. After all, her cause could not be accomplished by her and her descendants alone. She needed many people to do their own jobs and help her complete it.

Zuo Beichen looked at Shen Tianjiao in shock. He had never expected that such a thing as killing and pacifying the nations would come from a woman's mouth.

He originally thought that the Queen was just open-minded and could handle government affairs with ease, but he never expected that she had such a domineering side.

Killing and decisively pacifying the nations, such things are probably not something that the generals who have been fighting outside for many years dared to say easily, but it was said so easily by the Queen.

With such foresight, strategy and courage, even men would feel ashamed of themselves. This queen is truly extraordinary. Such a person is worthy of Zuo Beichen's full support.

"Your Majesty's courage is truly unmatched. Since Your Majesty has such a great ambition, Xinghe is willing to do his utmost to help you."

"To be honest, Xinghe has a caravan with a formidable number of people and rich experience. If your Majesty is confident, please leave this matter to Xinghe."

"Xinghe promises to fulfill his mission and make a lot of money. Then we will use the money we earn from them to attack them and defeat them. Then they will never have the courage or ability to become an enemy of me, Yunli, again."

Just thinking about that scene, Zuo Beichen felt his blood boiling. All men have a pure heart to defend their country. He cannot go to the battlefield to fight, but he can also contribute with his intelligence and talents.

Zuo Beichen's words, "earn their money, and then use their money to defeat them", really touched Shen Tianjiao's heart.

"Xinghe, I'm more than happy to have you willing to do this. How can I be worried?" Shen Tianjiao sighed in her heart at this moment. She felt like she had found a treasure. Someone was caring about this matter. What else could she say?

"It's just that Xinghe's journey back and forth is too tiring, and I can't bear it." Zuo Beichen is Wang Yunzhi's nephew, and was recommended to the palace by Wang Yunzhi himself. Shen Tianjiao has to give face and honor here.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Xinghe can still bear this hardship. I am happy to help Yunli."

"If your Majesty has no other instructions, Xinghe will take his leave and go prepare the things needed for the caravan's departure." Zuo Beichen had wanted to travel around the countries with the caravan a long time ago to see the customs and cultures of each country. This time, his wish finally came true.

Shen Tianjiao nodded and said, "Okay, go and prepare. If you need anything, just ask Qiong Niang."

After Zuo Beichen left, Shen Tianjiao turned around and looked at Qiong Niang, who was grinning foolishly while holding the gift list. She asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you? This gift list is made of gold. Is it blinding? Look at you, you look so useless. The Wang family is a century-old family with deep roots. You wouldn't be blinded by such a small amount of money, would you?"

Zuo Beichen's gift list is indeed very valuable. Not to mention if it is given to an ordinary family, even if it is given to an official family, it is enough to squander for two or three generations.

But for Shen Tianjiao, who was born into a wealthy family in both her past and present lives and was never short of money, the amount was just a bit shocking, not enough to make her feel anything.

"Oh, Her Majesty is indeed from a noble family. Such a large amount of silver seems to be nothing to her." Qiong Niang hugged the gift list tightly in her arms. "If you don't want it, just give it all to me. To be honest, I have never seen so much money in my life."

"Although our Wang family is a century-old family of nobles and officials, after so many generations, it has long since declined, leaving only its reputation. Besides, when I was at home, I was not in charge of the household affairs, and I was the one who received a monthly salary to make a living."

"Later, when he entered the palace, even though someone claimed to be the richest and most powerful person in the world, his treasury might not be able to take out so much money all at once."

Shen Tianjiao looked at Qiong Niang and shook her head and laughed, "After all these years, how come I just realized you're a money-grubber? Okay, I'll give it all to you. Don't let go of me when you sleep in the future. Just hold me like this all the time."

Qiong Niang glanced at Shen Tianjiao, put the gift list in front of Shen Tianjiao, pointed to the Yipin Building on it and said, "Look at this, this is the Yipin Building I told you about."

Shen Tianjiao leaned over and saw Yipinlou at the beginning of the gift list. She had just glanced at it roughly and did not see the three words Yipinlou.

"Is this the Yipin Building you were talking about?" A few days ago, due to lack of money, Shen Tianjiao and Qiong Niang discussed what business could make money.

Qiong Niang asked someone to inquire about it, and was told that there was a most famous restaurant in Shangjing City called Yipinlou. From royal nobles to ordinary people, everyone was proud to dine at Yipinlou. The business was so booming that no one could match it. Qiong Niang was very excited and vowed to open such a restaurant.

"Yes, that's the Yipinlou." Qiong Niang said with a smile, "That's great now. The Yipinlou is ours. This way we can make money from business and open up a new intelligence network."

"The people we dine with are all dignitaries. We can get a lot of little-known secrets from them. We really made a fortune this time."

Looking at Qiong Niang who was smiling like a little fox, Shen Tianjiao couldn't help but sigh in her heart that the environment can really change and shape a person. If no one said it, who would have thought that the woman in front of her who was greedy for money was the dignified and otherworldly person she used to be?

"You'd better discuss this matter with Zuo Beichen first. He was able to get so far in the capital without the Zuo family. He must know more about planting informants than us."

Everything was moving in a better direction. While the burden on Shen Tianjiao's shoulders became heavier, her mood became better and better.

She had experienced too much separation and pain in her previous life, and in this life she only wished that everyone around her could be happy and safe.

"Hey, I want to discuss something with you." Shen Tianjiao said to Qiong Niang who was still looking forward to a bright future.

"Just tell me what's the matter. Do we need to discuss it? You're too polite." Qiong Niang, who finally felt that she could show her talents, was in such a good mood that she looked like a blooming flower.

"If Zuo Beichen wants to go with the caravan, then I plan to let Qiu Tong go too. Firstly, it will give Qiu Tong a chance to gain experience, and secondly, if she accompanies us, Zuo Beichen's safety will be more guaranteed."

"And most importantly, I want Qiu Tong to bring out a group of well-trained people. I want to take this opportunity to deploy them all, to hide in various countries and gather intelligence in preparation for the future war."

In her previous life, Shen Tianjiao suffered from delayed intelligence. In this life, she was determined to get ahead of others and build an intelligence network in advance.

"Yes." Qiong Niang nodded and said solemnly, "This is indeed a big deal. We have almost finished training our people. This time, Qiu Tong will take them all away. I have already found a lot of other people to train again."

"Qiutong is a steady girl, so she's perfect for this. But no matter how strong she is, she's still a girl. Wouldn't this be too hard for her?"

Shen Tianjiao had also considered what Qiong Niang said. Qiu Tong had suffered a lot following her over the years. If possible, she also wanted to keep Qiu Tong by her side so that Qiu Tong could live an easier life.

But now, there is no one more suitable than Qiu Tong around her, so she can only let Qiu Tong suffer for the time being.

"I'll only let her go this once. She'll be back in two or three months at most. When she comes back, I won't let her go anywhere. I'll just let her stay by my side."

Shen Tianjiao now feels more and more that the people around her are not enough. It seems that she needs to train more people to stay by her side.

"Now there's another very important question. If Qiu Tong leaves, what will happen to that dandy Bai Yunchi?" Qiong Niang looked at Shen Tianjiao helplessly and said, "Now, besides you, Qiu Tong is the only one in the entire palace who can control Bai Yunchi. You're so busy every day that you don't even have time to eat or sleep. How can you have time to take care of him?"

Shen Tianjiao raised her eyebrows and smiled at Qiong Niang, which made Qiong Niang feel uneasy. "Why are you smiling at me? Do you know that you look very scary like this?"

"Scary? Ha, could I possibly eat you?" Shen Tianjiao looked at Qiong Niang and said with a smile, "I've already found a very good teacher for Bai Yunchi, who will temporarily take Qiu Tong's place in his care."

"Oh, who is it?" Qiong Niang looked at Shen Tianjiao curiously. She really couldn't think of anyone else in the palace whose aura was strong enough to suppress Bai Yunchi.

"Well, this person." Shen Tianjiao kept it a secret. "She is so far away and yet so close before our eyes."

"Ah." Qiong Niang was stunned. It took her a while to realize that the person Shen Tianjiao was talking about was her. She pointed at herself and asked, "Isn't that me?"

Shen Tianjiao nodded and said, "Smart, yes, that person is you."

Qiong Niang laughed dumbly, "Empress, you really think too highly of me. How could I possibly control that naughty boy Bai Yunchi?"

"You have to believe that you have the ability to do it. After all, you were able to help me manage the harem back then. Those women in the harem were much more terrifying than Bai Yunchi. Now you are just a young man. You can definitely handle it. I am optimistic about you." Shen Tianjiao patted Qiong Niang's shoulder and nodded at her.

"Empress, your expectations put a lot of pressure on me." Although Qiong Niang was capable, she had never dealt with a man before, let alone a cunning and scheming little dandy.

"It's okay, it's okay, take your time, it's just a few months, you can definitely do it." Shen Tianjiao didn't care whether Qiong Niang was willing or not, Qiong Niang was determined to take care of this matter.