A Crossover of Film and Television: Miao Miao's Life Transmigration

Zhao Xu had not yet officially taken charge of the government; the Emperor had only asked him to express his thoughts. Zhao Xu stated that he wanted to wage war against Western Xia and, ideally, defeat them.

The emperor's gaze swept over Zhao Xu, who was a man of strong character who did not hold many opinions about civil or military officials and advocated for a balance.

"Your idea has some merit, but the Western Xia army is strong and powerful, and the Song Dynasty may not be able to defeat them. Moreover, if war breaks out, the people on the border will suffer greatly. Now is not a good time to start a war." The Emperor did not agree with starting a war.

During the Qingli era, he did fight, but he didn't win. He also signed a treaty with the Western Xia. Now that war has started again, I wonder if he can win.

The Emperor summoned several important officials to the Funing Palace for a meeting. Zhao Xu listened from the side and heard that the civil officials did not support war and only sought peace. The Emperor did not want to go to war in the first place, but now he had no choice but to negotiate peace with Western Xia.

As soon as Zhao Xu returned to the East Palace, he frowned and sighed, "This Song Dynasty is really weak and powerless. Mother is right. There are more civil officials than military officials in the court. Father also favors civil officials, which has led to the decline of the status of military officials. There are not many who can be sent out to fight."

Once he takes power, he must maintain a balance between civil and military affairs, hold military power, and reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

……

The days passed uneventfully. After Zhao Xu became the crown prince, there were always people in the court and the harem who tried to trip him up. In the harem, Lin Yitang's people helped him, and in the court, Lin Jingya helped him, so no major problems arose.

Lin Yitang was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort, becoming the first in the harem. Consort Miao was promoted to Virtuous Consort. Rong Niangzi was not promoted. Some concubines who had given birth to children for the Emperor were promoted one after another, making Rong Niangzi stand out.

Of course, Madam Rong was not convinced. She had given birth to a son for the Emperor, but unfortunately, her son Zhao Zhao died young, and she never expected that the Emperor would forget him.

After all, the emperor was fifty-one years old and only had this one son, and no one in the harem had become pregnant in recent years.

Even if the Emperor has another son now, Zhao Xu's position as Crown Prince will remain secure, after all, he is the only Crown Prince who has come of age.

In the fifth year of the Jiayou reign, it was announced that Lady Zhou of the harem was one month pregnant. After many years, another concubine in the harem was pregnant, and the Emperor promoted Lady Zhou to the rank of Consort Xian.

In November, Consort Zhou gave birth to a little princess. Although the Emperor regretted that it was not a son, he was overjoyed at the birth of the little princess, as no child had been born in the harem for many years. He bestowed upon her the title of Princess Qingshou.

In Yongning Palace, Lin Yitang had lunch with the Emperor, while Zhao Xu dined in the Eastern Palace. Zhao Huiyue, being of advanced age, was now learning to manage the affairs of the inner quarters under the tutelage of female tutors and nannies, and would not return to Yongning Palace for lunch.

During this rare moment of time alone, the Emperor was getting old and had recently fallen seriously ill, leaving Zhao Xu to oversee the country. He was ill on and off for almost two months before recovering.

"I ordered Zhang Maoze to investigate the main branch of the Lin family. In the previous dynasty, Jingya helped me greatly. I want to reward the Lin family and hereby grant them immunity from punishment," the Emperor said slowly.

Lin Yitang almost lost her smile and rolled her eyes inelegantly, but remembering her previous preparations, she smiled with relief.

After she rose to prominence, she remembered the Lin family's indifference towards the original owner and Lin Jingya. She secretly investigated the two brothers of her stepmother from her memories and learned that they were two good-for-nothing playboys who had done all sorts of bad things.

Lin Yitang naturally sent her two older brothers away without any burden on her heart. Only the original owner's father had long since passed away, and her stepmother had been sold somewhere unknown.

Lin Yitang picked up a handkerchief to wipe her tears, then choked up, "Your Majesty, I thank you. Since giving birth to my two children, I have come to understand the bond between blood relatives. I have been secretly searching for my family for many years, but I have found nothing. If Your Majesty could help me, I could be reunited with my family sooner."

Anyone can say nice things. As the emperor gets older, he becomes more benevolent and lenient towards those disgraced officials, causing them to lose all sense of decency and only care about their own interests.

The emperor handed Lin Yitang a clean handkerchief and nodded with satisfaction. Yitang had always been a gentle and virtuous woman.

But Princess Qi was completely oblivious to his feelings, constantly making fun of Li Wei and even keeping a young eunuch by her side, showing absolutely no respect for the Li family.

The Li family was his maternal clan, and his birth mother never enjoyed wealth or luxury during her lifetime. He only wanted to benefit the Li family and his birth mother. What was wrong with that? Why should people understand him?