The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

She said to Li Hong, Yan Mingde, and Qin Gang solemnly, "Train a group of qualified personal guards as soon as possible. Just like Yu'er said, there will definitely be a major war in the future."

"The Royal Guards have undergone special training. Their role on the battlefield is far greater than that of ordinary soldiers."

This was not a difficult task for Qin Gang, as it was something he did often.

"General, rest assured. Qin Gang is committed to completing the mission. He will quickly train a group of excellent personal guards to prepare for future wars."

"Okay." Yan Mingde stood up, walked over to Qin Gang, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Yu'er will be in your care from now on. You must take good care of him for me."

"Qin Gang promises to take good care of the young master and will never let the young master be in danger again." Following Yan Yu is equivalent to changing the master, so Qin Gang's title naturally changed from Major General to Young Master.

Yan Mingde didn't say anything else. He just patted Qin Gang's shoulder again, which was a silent trust.

Yan Mingde successfully defeated Li Bin, and the news of the successful suppression of the rebellion reached the capital before Yan Mingde returned to the court.

This made Shen Tianjiao very happy. The pressure brought by the war in recent days disappeared in an instant, giving her a sudden sense of enlightenment, as if the clouds had cleared and the moon was visible.

During the morning court session, Shen Tianjiao specifically had the news of the great victory on the front line read out three times in the court, which made most of the civil servants who had been opposing the suppression of the rebellion and making irresponsible remarks in recent days turn pale with anger.

Shen Tianjiao sat behind the bead curtain, watching the various performances of the ministers in the court, and felt a chill in her heart. These people were used to a stable life and really just lived from day to day, becoming living dead who only cared about enjoying a comfortable life.

"Master, the victory report has been read." Ren Dongfang, the eunuch beside Shen Tianjiao, reminded Shen Tianjiao in a low voice.

"Hmm." Shen Tianjiao, having come back to her senses from her reverie, raised her voice and said, "Yulin Guard General Yan Mingde has made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion this time and has been promoted to the rank of First Rank Mighty General from today. His son has made many remarkable achievements this time, and he has inherited the legacy of his grandfather. He is now specially promoted to the rank of Third Rank Tiger General."

As soon as Shen Tianjiao finished speaking, the hall immediately became lively and noisy, even more lively than a vegetable market.

The position of General of the Imperial Guards was already a great favor from the emperor for a family of inferior status like the Yan family. Not only was Yan Mingde promoted to the mighty first-rank general, but even his son, who appeared out of nowhere, was promoted from an unknown junior to the third-rank Tiger General.

Such a great honor and such a result naturally affected the interests of those aristocratic families, which was something those people could not tolerate.

Sure enough, after the commotion, someone spoke up, "Empress, your reward goes against ancestral rules and is beyond the pale."

Shen Tianjiao looked up and saw that the person who spoke was Prince Qing Li Hong, who was in charge of the clan palace.

This Li Hongcai is a true playboy in Beijing. He is proficient in eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, and he does all kinds of evil. He can live to this day only because he is lucky enough to be born in an imperial family. Relying on the influence of his ancestors, he not only lives to this day, but also thrives.

Shen Tianjiao has always hated this kind of people. She hasn't settled the score with him yet, but he has come to cause trouble first. However, Shen Tianjiao will soon let him know that if you provoke Shen Tianjiao, it will be like kicking a wall. If you don't get covered in wounds, you will at least break bones and tendons.

"Violating the ancestral rules?" Shen Tianjiao snorted coldly and asked disdainfully, "Then I'd like to ask Prince Qing, which ancestral rule did I violate?"

"The Emperor and I were simply showing our gratitude for Yan Mingde's hard work and granting the Yan family a favor. How come when this comes to you, Prince Qing, it becomes like we're violating ancestral rules?"

"Prince Qing, are you questioning the grace the Emperor bestows upon his subjects?"

"You!" Li Hong was so choked by Shen Tianjiao's words that he didn't know what to say. Fortunately, he was not completely stupid. He stopped in time and swallowed the words he wanted to argue with Shen Tianjiao.

Since Shen Tianjiao came to power, she has begun to rectify the atmosphere in the court with her tough measures and various decrees. In a short period of time, several inactive officials have been dismissed.

If he were to argue with Shen Tianjiao in person today, he would inevitably be used as an example to scare the others and become a target to intimidate the ministers.

Even though Li Hong was extremely angry at this moment, he could only swallow his anger and humbly apologize to Shen Tianjiao. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was anxious and spoke without thinking. Please don't take it to heart and hold me accountable."

Shen Tianjiao originally wanted to use Li Hong to make a big deal out of this, but she didn't expect that this old playboy was not stupid and was so sensible as to admit his mistake.

If Shen Tianjiao continued to hold on at this time, it would seem that Shen Tianjiao was being unreasonable and overbearing.

Shen Tianjiao, who was also holding back her anger, had to hold it in and said, "Prince Qing's words are serious. How could I be angry with Prince Qing? Regardless of the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects, I will also call Prince Qing uncle in private."

"My lords, the Emperor is able to bestow such great favor upon General Yan today because of his extraordinary achievements this time."

"Li Bin's rebellion this time brought an army of 200,000, of which 150,000 were from the Western Rong. General Yan and his son not only defeated the Western Rong, but also severely injured their Left Wise King, Ainur Xiong'an. Such achievements are worthy of the Emperor's grace."

"If it weren't for the father and son who risked their lives on the front lines, none of us would be standing here right now, and would have become slaves of a conquered nation."

As soon as Shen Tianjiao said this, the hall suddenly became eerily silent.

Previously, Shen Tianjiao blocked all news about the war on the front line. People in the court only knew that Prince Jin Li Bin led an army of 200,000 and rushed straight to the capital, intending to rebel and replace the current emperor and become emperor himself.

Many people have doubted the authenticity of the 200,000-strong army before. After all, in many people's minds, Li Bin has always been an insignificant and incompetent person. With Li Bin's strength, it is impossible for him to have an army of 200,000.

Those people even suspected that the 200,000-strong army was fake news deliberately released by Shen Tianjiao in order to build momentum for herself and better control the government.

Now when they heard that there were 150,000 Western Rong people among the 200,000-strong army, all these people fell silent.

Then someone soon thought of Li Bin’s adoptive mother, Concubine Jing, who was from Xirong and was the beauty that Xirong Jin presented to the previous emperor.

Now, those who had originally wanted to oppose the Yan father and son and seek promotions also calmed down and behaved themselves. After all, the father and son had indeed made great contributions this time. If the Western Rong people invaded Shangjing this time, all of them would be finished.

After this incident, Shen Tianjiao found it much easier to handle government affairs. No one dared to act unreasonably or speak rudely as before.

After the court session, Shen Tianjiao ordered Ren Dongfang to keep an eye on Li Hong.

Although Li Hong acted humble in front of Shen Tianjiao today, Shen Tianjiao already had doubts about him. She used to think that Li Hong was just a brainless old man who was fooling around, but today she realized that this man was a deep and complicated person.

Such people are the most terrifying. If we don't keep a close eye on them, something big will definitely happen.

Shen Tianjiao returned to Yuxiu Palace. Seeing that she was in a bad mood, Qiong Niang hurriedly brought her some tea.

"What's wrong? You were so happy when you received the victory report this morning, but now you're in a bad mood after coming back from court? Is that blind person looking for trouble again?"

"Prince Qing Li Hongbei, I used to only know that this old man was not a good person, but today I discovered that not only is he not a good person, but he is also very scheming."

"I'm afraid he'll be unhappy with me rewarding the Yan family father and son today, and will stir up trouble behind the scenes. The situation is already chaotic enough, and if he comes to cause trouble again, do you think I won't be annoyed?"

Rather than handling government affairs, Shen Tianjiao would rather go to the battlefield to fight. These annoying government affairs took up a lot of her time and energy. She couldn't calm down and plan the future multi-national war.

"It turns out to be that old guy." When Qiong Niang heard that it was Li Hong, she frowned. She had no good feelings towards this old pervert.

"Why, has he offended you before?" Seeing Qiong Niang's disgusted look, Shen Tianjiao knew that there must be a grudge between her and Li Hong.

"Well, I used to have a girl named Wanyu by my side. She was from Jiangnan, petite and very lovable." Speaking of this, Qiong Niang couldn't help but sigh. "One time, that old man came to the palace to pay his respects to the one in Taihe Hall, and he fell in love with my girl."

"He was already an old man in his sixties at that time, and Wanyu had just turned fifteen, at the age of blooming beauty. It would be good for her to be noticed by that old man."

"Li Rui agreed immediately and let that old man take Wanyu out of the palace. In his eyes, a maid was like a worthless object that could be given away at will."

"Although Wanyu is small, she is also a hot-tempered girl. She didn't want to go with that old man and was killed on the spot."

“When I think of that scene now, it all…”

Qiong Niang couldn't continue, Shen Tianjiao stood up and hugged her, "This world is so unfair. Men can do anything, and everything they do is right, but for women, many times even being a human being is a luxury."

"That's why we want to change this situation and give women the opportunity to study, freely choose what to do, and even become officials."

"One day, the women of this world will be able to live as freely as the wind, without having to rely on anyone, and live as passionately as fire."

Qiong Niang was infected by Shen Tianjiao's vision of the future. She really hoped to see that picture in her lifetime. But even if she couldn't see it in her lifetime, it didn't matter, because one day all of this would come true.

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore." Seeing that Qiong Niang was in a much better mood, Shen Tianjiao took the opportunity to change the subject.

"The most important thing right now is to get Zuo Beichen and Qiu Tong to leave as soon as possible. The Xirong people suffered a great loss here. They will definitely not let this go and may come back again soon."

"If a war like this happens again, it will definitely require a large amount of military supplies. Without money, nothing can be done."

If a queen of a country has no money, she can only worry and do nothing.

"They should be almost ready and can set off within a day or two." Originally, Qiong Niang had many concerns about the caravan's trip, but now she was forced by the lack of money, so she had no choice but to put her concerns aside and agreed.

"Prepare more people to escort them. I have already sent a message to my father. When we get to the northern border, he will naturally send soldiers to accompany and protect them."

"No matter whether this business is successful or not, at least their personal safety is guaranteed." Although she has made all the preparations, Shen Tianjiao still has many concerns and worries in her heart.

This time she asked Qiu Tong to accompany her not only to plant an informant, but most importantly, she wanted Qiu Tong to find a way to find out how Ainuer Xiong'an's 150,000 troops easily broke through the siege and entered Yunli's territory.

If this matter is not investigated thoroughly, it will eventually become a major hidden danger. What exactly went wrong?

"Don't worry, I have carefully selected the people who will travel with them, and there will be absolutely no problem with their safety along the way." The caravan trip was a big deal, so Qiong Niang naturally did not dare to take it lightly.

"What about you? Are you getting along well with that little dandy?" In order to let Qiong Niang and Bai Yunchi get to know each other in advance, Shen Tianjiao asked Qiu Tong to hand Bai Yunchi over to Qiong Niang a few days ago.

"Well, fortunately, this Mr. Bai is easy to get along with. He spends his days practicing martial arts and sleeping, so he's really not a bother."

Perhaps due to their different status, Bai Yunchi was very well behaved in front of Qiong Niang, silent and steady, not at all like the way he acted in front of Qiu Tong.

"That's good. I was really worried that the naughty monkey would cause trouble without Qiu Tong to suppress him. Now that I hear you say that, I feel relieved."

Qiong Niang's temperament is much gentler than Qiu Tong's. Judging from Bai Yunchi's performance in front of Qiu Tong, Shen Tianjiao was really afraid that Qiong Niang could not control him, but now it seems that her worries were in vain.

"It's not that serious. I think Bai Yunchi is a very stable person." As for why Bai Yunchi is suppressing his temper or whether it is just his nature, Qiong Niang can't care so much. She just needs to make sure that Bai Yunchi is taken good care of during Qiu Tong's absence.

Shen Tianjiao smiled. She didn't expect that after a relatively gentle person came to take care of Bai Yunchi, he would become like a different person. Could this be what others say, "One thing conquers another, and another conquers another"?

The conversation between the two people here has not yet ended, and Ren Dongfang, who went to follow Li Hong, has already returned.