From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 460

Putting aside distracting thoughts, Zhou Yuan came to the main hall.

He sat down and said directly: "Liu Fang, tell me about the current situation in the army and the border town."

Among the deputy governors of the five military camps, Liu Fang is the most intelligent, cautious, and has a big picture view.

In contrast, Xiang Yong is more law-abiding, more friendly, and good at winning people's hearts.

As for Li He, he is a reckless man, so it's better not to mention him.

"This assassination case has almost no impact on the border town, because the Minister of Revenue had already paid the military pay before, leaving almost no money for Prince Fu."

"And the one who really determines the pattern and morale of the border town is only Lord Song. If Lord Song doesn't fall, the border town will not fall."

"As for the Beijing Camp, there have been continuous changes of commanders over the past year. In addition to our Five Military Camps, the Three Thousand Camps and the Shenji Camp have been greatly affected."

"At the beginning, Wei Wei was a person who ate military pay, which made the people angry and panic. After Qiu Huan took over, he was driven away by the adults only half a year later."

"Before the adults officially took office, he came back again. After several rounds, the Three Thousand Camps and the Shenji Camp lost their backbone, and the morale of the army was scattered. It is said that even daily training has stopped."

Speaking of Here, Liu Fang paused slightly and whispered: "Lord Song has been less and less visible in recent years. To be honest, no one can guess what he is thinking."

Zhou Yuan nodded, looked at Song Wu, and smiled: "How is your old master's health?"

Song Wu said: "Of course he is fine. He is very strong and has to do a few sets of boxing every morning."

Zhou Yuan said: "Then why does he seem to have no interest in military and political affairs? Is he going to resign?"

"How do I know?"

Song Wu rolled his eyes and said: "This old man is very strange. On the one hand, he always scolds me, and on the other hand, he allows me to leave the capital to find you."

Zhou Yuan was silent for a long time before shaking his head. He really couldn't guess this old Duke who was over 80 years old.

But for now, it seems that as long as he is alive, it will be fine.

As long as he is alive, the morale of the army of Dajin will not be dispersed.

Liu Fang continued: "The situation in the north is not bad. There are strong generals in Sanbian and Xuanfu. Mongolia has been suppressed by the Eastern Tartars for many years. It can hardly organize a war and is still recuperating."

"But... the Eastern Tartars put too much pressure on us. After the failure of the marriage, their attitude became strange."

"Refuse to negotiate, refuse to communicate, but don't take action."

"But they seem to have some actions in Goryeo. According to speculation, they can't be so honest."

Zhou Yuan nodded.

Finally, he said in a deep voice: "From the current situation, we must first solve the problem of control over the coastal waters of Guangdong Sea, then solve the island bandits and chieftains, stabilize the interior of Dajin, and then have a chance to fight the Eastern Tartars."

"Now let me tell you what I think..."

He took out a map of the entire territory of Dajin and began to talk endlessly.

...

In the quiet courtyard, there is a pine tree standing proudly.

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse. Empress Zhaojing sleeps on a recliner, half-closed her eyes comfortably, looking at the clear night sky.

Xiaozhuang sat cross-legged beside him, saying nothing.

After an unknown amount of time, Empress Zhaojing stretched and said softly, "It is indeed a land of fertile land, even in late autumn, the trees are lush and full of vitality."

Xiaozhuang smiled but did not respond.

She and Empress Zhaojing have been together for ten years, and the tacit understanding between the two sides has become natural.

As expected, Empress Zhaojing said, "Xiaozhuang, such a beautiful country should not be occupied by foreigners."

Xiaozhuang smiled and said, "Sichuan people are brave. If foreigners want to occupy here, they will probably have to kill everyone."

Empress Zhaojing sighed and said, "The situation in the northeast is not good, Xiaozhuang. The Eastern Tartars have conquered Goryeo and are preparing for war. I'm afraid they will attack Jizhou in less than half a month."

Xiaozhuang said, "Jizhou has 100,000 soldiers and horses, and there are famous generals like Di Xianyong in charge. It should be able to hold on."

Empress Zhaojing said, "It's very difficult. The Eastern Tartars have reached the most powerful period of national strength. The whole country has come, with more than 100,000 troops. Jizhou can't hold on. Stay too long."

"Tianjin needs help, and the Shandong and Jizhou armies also need help. If we fight to the death, we may be able to delay the enemy's offensive."

Xiaozhuang thought for a while, and then said, "Let's do it this way. Prince Fu knows how to fight, and he should understand."

Empress Zhaojing couldn't help but laugh and said, "War is difficult, but it's not that difficult compared to being an emperor."

"Prince Fu is now the regent, he will understand how difficult it is. For a simple example, if the Shandong and Jizhou armies want to go to Jizhou, they will need at least 2 million taels of silver."

"What about the defenders of Jizhou and Tianjin? How can they fight to the death without silver? Who would be willing to fight without even compensation?”

“This will cost several million taels of silver.”

“Without money, nothing can be done.”

At this point, Empress Zhaojing sighed, “Even if we have enough money, if the early battle is too bad, we will not be able to recover.”

“Jizhou, Tianjin, Shandong, Jizhou, together can gather 250,000 troops, but it is difficult to stop the hundreds of thousands of Donglu troops.”

“Prince Fu, Prince Fu, he wants to be an emperor, but he has never known this position. It’s too hard.”

Xiaozhuang saw Empress Zhaojing’s worries, so she said, “But the situation in the south is still under control.”

Speaking of the south, Empress Zhaojing laughed.

She tilted her head and looked at Xiaozhuang, and said softly, “Of course, my junior brother will never let me down. He will do well wherever he goes, even if he has lost his official status. "

"It's just that... no matter how good Junior Brother is at fighting, he can't control the sea. Without the control of the sea, Prince Fu may be forced to sign the treaty."

Xiao Zhuang said, "What if we don't sign it?"

Empress Zhao Jing shook her head and said, "How can we not sign it? They will land and beat you up every few days. Will the people along the coast survive?"

"We have to sign it anyway, and we have to bleed a lot."

Xiao Zhuang smiled and said, "That's good, at least Your Majesty can return to the palace as soon as possible."

Empress Zhao Jing nodded and said, "Yes, everything is calculated, but Xiao Zhuang, I have been uneasy these days."

Xiao Zhuang didn't respond.

Empress Zhao Jing said, "It's not a good thing to use the fate of the country and the lives of the people to plot the stability of the throne. "

Xiao Zhuang still didn't respond. She knew very well what topics she could and couldn't participate in.

But Empress Zhao Jing's eyes suddenly became firm and fierce again!

She said coldly: "But I have to do it!"

"The country is full of sores, and there are enemies all around. The world of Da Jin is constantly rotting and can't be delayed any longer."

"Without the full support of the royal family, nobles, aristocratic families and civil officials, I can't make drastic reforms, I can't concentrate all my strength to fight the enemy to the death and heal the wounds for Da Jin."

"Pain is a must!"

"Sacrifice is to avoid greater sacrifice!"

"As an emperor, you can't just think about the few comments in history books, but you have to care about the world."

At this point, she took a deep breath and murmured: "Junior brother will understand me, because he and I are the same kind of people."