Marrying the Crown Prince

Since ancient times, when emperors ruled in their own right, the regents were either the crown prince or a prince, or the chief minister. This is the first time an empress has served as regent.

However, before this, although the Empress did not come to the Golden Palace to rule from behind the curtain, she still handled a lot of state affairs.

Therefore, while Zhou Zhou's regency was indeed somewhat outrageous in the eyes of the court officials, it was not unacceptable.

With the army setting off, there were many things to attend to, such as the allocation of grain supplies to various states, the distribution of military funds from the national treasury, and the numerous memorials to the emperor requesting peace...

Zhou Zhou decisively canceled the memorials to the emperor, and she would scold anyone who wrote such rubbish memorials again.

Compared to the smiling tiger Li Ziyan, Zhou Zhou's approach was much more direct, and the results were quite good.

However, Zhou Zhou felt that the main reason for such good results was the deep shadow left by Li Ziyan.

Returning to Li Ziyan's side, it took him and his army two months to reach the frontier.

In this attack on Qixi Kingdom, Marquis Zhaoqing was the vanguard, Marquis Beiping was the rear guard, and of course, the commander-in-chief was... Li Ziyan, who did almost nothing and acted as a mascot in the army.

In short, Marquis Zhaoqing and Marquis Beiping discussed the matter, while Li Ziyan listened from the side.

The first thing they said was that the army had traveled for two months, day and night, and was in very poor condition. They suggested that they rest on the spot, and Li Ziyan could also hold a mobilization meeting and give a passionate speech to inspire the troops.

In fact, the army's hatred for Qixi and its determination to attack Qixi had reached their peak, so there was no need for Li Ziyan to give a speech.

But Li Ziyan still stood on the city wall, looking down at the vast army below.

The soldiers all raised their heads, looking at Li Ziyan with eager eyes.

There was no way around it; in this era, the identity of an emperor was the embodiment of majesty and the bloodline of gods.

The atmosphere became tense and solemn.

Li Ziyan, dressed in a long black robe, stood solemnly, his gaze piercing as he looked down at the soldiers below, his voice deep and resolute.

"Soldiers, three years ago, we were harmed by the bandits. Countless people were displaced and lost their families. Our fathers, brothers and sisters died one after another at the hands of foreigners."

"Now, these enemies are right in front of us. What we are about to embark on is a path of revenge that we have been waiting for for three years."

"My brave and fearless soldiers, raise your shields and take up your swords! This time, we fight for our fallen loved ones and for the land we love so dearly!"

"Kill, kill, kill—!"

"Kill, kill, kill—!"

"Kill, kill, kill—!"

……

The soldiers brandished their longswords, and the earth-shaking sound resounded through the sky.

Subsequently, Li Ziyan gave the order, and the army launched a fierce attack on the Qixi Kingdom.

Li Ziyan had rehearsed this scene in his mind countless times during his third year of high school.

God knows how much he prepared and how much effort he put in during those three years.

It can be said that the preparations were very thorough this time.

The power of the Chen Kingdom far surpassed that of the Qixi Kingdom, so their border cities were breached in less than two days.

Subsequently, the army advanced with unstoppable momentum, capturing five cities of Qixi Kingdom in just seven days.

It should be noted that Qixi Kingdom was a small border country with only about twenty cities.

But when they attacked this place, their army's advance was halted.

Blocking them was Suhe and Wanying's fiefdom. She put on armor, went to the city wall to direct the battle, and even took up a scimitar, mounted a fast horse, and charged out with the army.

In this way, Su and Wanying led the army and the people to block Li Ziyan's army.

The first wave of attack was repelled. While the casualties were not particularly severe, Li Ziyan, Marquis Zhaoqing, and several generals held an emergency meeting in order to minimize casualties.

The army has won a series of victories and is in high spirits. Now, having only suffered one defeat, its momentum remains strong. However, if it suffers another defeat, it will not look good.

Furthermore, the soldiers have been working hard for some time now, so it would be better to set up camp here. On the one hand, we can wait for supplies from the rear, and on the other hand, we can take control of the captured city.

Indeed, the people of Qixi were unwilling to become slaves of a conquered nation. Therefore, even after the city was captured, a small number of remnants still resisted stubbornly.

These people are not soldiers; they are just ordinary, spirited men. They cannot all be arrested and killed.

“We’re all roughnecks, all we know is shouting for war,” said Marquis Zhaoqing. “So, it’s best if Your Majesty takes charge of calming people down.”

Therefore, the army stopped to rest and reported the strategy of besieging the city to the court. Along with the news of victory, a letter from Li Ziyan to his family was also sent.

The court officials were reluctant to start a war of attrition, and they had a big argument about it.

Now Zhou Zhou finally understood why Li Ziyan said that attending court was like strolling through a market town, and that all he had to do was sit on the throne, listen to their arguments, and occasionally maintain order.

For example... Minister of Revenue, let go quickly, the Minister of Works has hardly any hair left, don't pull anymore.

They were arguing on one side, while Zhou Zhou watched the show from the sidelines.

Whether they argue or not, things won't change, since it was a decision approved by Li Ziyan.

After court, Zhou Zhou returned to Fengyi Palace.

She sat on the soft couch and then opened the letter from home that Li Ziyan had sent—

My beloved wife:

Seeing this letter is like seeing you in person. It has been a long time since we last met, more than a month since I left home, and my longing for you grows stronger every day.

On the battlefield, war rages on. If I could, I would not want to start another war, but there are some things we have to do.

Fortunately, we won, and the efforts of the living and the sacrifices of the dead were not in vain.

I know that when you see the good news at home, you will feel the same way I do, lamenting the impermanence of life.

……

I am doing well on the frontier, so there is no need to worry too much.

After winning this battle, I returned home.

Don’t read it.

After reading the letter, Zhou Zhou sat upright for a long time until the child Li Changyuan ran in, which brought her back to her senses.

"Mother." The child twisted his body and bowed to Zhou Zhou.

He's so small, yet he tries to act like an adult, which makes Zhou Zhou want to laugh a little.

So he reached out and carried the person to the bed.

As soon as Li Changyuan sat down, he kicked off his shoes and then snuggled into Zhou Zhou's arms.

His eyes were big and round as he stared at Zhou Zhou and asked, "Is Mother unhappy?"

"No." Zhou Zhou tapped his nose.

"Mother is lying, you're clearly unhappy," Li Changyuan wrinkled his nose and dodged away.

This precocious little guy...

Zhou Zhou reluctantly agreed, "Yes, Aning is so smart. Mother is just unhappy, so you have to be good these next few days and not make me angry."

Upon hearing this, Li Changyuan immediately sat up straight and smiled sweetly, "Don't worry, Mother, I will definitely be good."

"Hmm." Zhou Zhou hummed softly.

Upon hearing her voice, Li Changyuan cautiously looked up again.

Zhou Zhou toyed with the letter in her hand and replied, "What's wrong?"

This……

How did the Empress Dowager know I was slacking off when she didn't even look over?