wait for me to be king

The spring was cold, and Yigui, who was nine months pregnant and about to give birth, stepped on the ground while walking in the imperial garden and gave birth prematurely.

She struggled for two days and one night, and finally gave birth to a daughter.

Emperor Xuanming was first angry because of Yigui's premature birth, and then he was happy because of this daughter.

Without him, because this daughter looks very much like him!

People who had seen the third princess flattered Emperor Xuanming and said congratulations to His Majesty, but they all shook their heads when they turned their backs. With His Majesty's face, who would dare to want it in the future?

No one dared to say such words in front of Emperor Xuanming, but Yigui had heard a lot of gossip, and felt extremely uncomfortable.

And compared to the gender and appearance of the depressed child, she also cares about another thing.

Who moved her prematurely? !

Although Emperor Xuanming said that he would investigate, Yigui did not dare to really believe the emperor's promise. Originally, Emperor Xuanming told her that as long as the child was born, he would make her a concubine, but now Emperor Xuanming likes the third princess very much. , and no longer talk about the issue of promotion.

Yigui hated secretly in his heart, but it didn't show at all on the surface. When Emperor Xuanming came to visit Qiongge, he was even more witty, talking and laughing at Yanyan, and his whole body had a bit of maternal brilliance, which was especially pitiful.

Xie Changfeng didn't know much about the affairs of the harem, but only occasionally heard Qi Yuan talk about it.

Qi Yuan is the crown prince, and after years of training, there are quite a few secret hands. Among them, Jiayi contributed the most. Before Xie Changfeng took Chen Jiu to Jiaozhi, Jiayi worked desperately to develop the manpower. Now even Qi Yuan is also I don't know exactly how many spies Jiayi has buried. Every time Qi Yuan wants any information, he can find out in time, and he can get some private information from time to time. This makes Qi Yuan feel the power of love!

In the past few days, Xie Changfeng left early and returned late, always drinking with friends in the noble circle.

Although Qi Yuan knew about it, he didn't take it to heart. They both had their own affairs, and it was not easy for Xie Changfeng to come to the East Palace every day to have a small gathering with him.

As a result, half a month later, Xie Changfeng gave him a surprise.

It's more surprising than happy.

"What did you say?" Qi Yuan looked at Xie Changfeng dully, "Tell me, the Anxi Governor's Mansion and Beiting Governor's Mansion sent troops without authorization, swallowed the Tocharo Kingdom, and hit the gate of Persia?"

Xie Changfeng coughed, his eyes were a little blank, "What do you mean sending troops without authorization? Butcher Zhao reported it to the Ministry of War."

Qi Yuan stared at Xie Changfeng firmly, "Where are the filing documents?"

Xie Changfeng slowly took out a booklet from his sleeve, turned to a page and pointed it to Qi Yuan, "Look, it's clearly written here, they greeted the Ministry of War when they dispatched troops."

Qi Yuan grabbed the account book and glanced at it, and said angrily, "Are you kidding me? What does it mean to lead three thousand cavalry to assist the defense at the invitation of the Tocharian tribe? Three thousand cavalry! Why do you need cavalry for the defense?" ?”

"He, the reason they gave was to beat wolves." Xie Changfeng stammered, "Snow wolves often attack various tribes in the Western Regions in winter. They ask the Protectorate for help, so we can't just ignore it, right?"

"Fart!!" Qi Yuan roared and swears, "You need cavalry to beat wolves? Do you think I'm a fool?!"

Xie Changfeng bowed his head in a gesture of repentance.

Qi Yuan took a deep breath, even though he really wanted to fly to the Western Regions to scold those two people who started beating without authorization, he still endured it.

By the time his order is issued, it is estimated that they will have finished fighting long ago! !

The sky is high and the emperor is far away, Qi Yuan deeply understood the meaning of this sentence for the first time.

Where is the Tocharian tribe?Mark it with the current geographical location, it is Afghanistan ==

Crossing the Pamirs, passing through Islamabad, and continuing westward, is where the Tocharian tribes live.

Looking at the map, Qi Yuan expanded the territory of the Chu Dynasty to the west, and calculated, "...this is at least the size of three counties."

Xie Changfeng said casually, "What are you in a hurry for? Your Majesty is there!"

"...Speaking of which, why haven't you seen the memorials of the two Protectorate Houses?" Qi Yuan suddenly remembered this matter. If Xie Changfeng hadn't told him, no one in the court would have known about it, right?

Wait, is it because of this that Xie Changfeng went drinking a few days ago?

"Because it takes too long to wait for a reply after handing it over." Xie Changfeng shrugged, "Everyone knows some rumors, but since Han Hangong and Ming Yuanhou have not moved, the honorable generals have all shut up, after all, the opportunity is rare. , wait until the ministers of the DPRK and China quarrel and then send troops, everyone will know, okay?"

"Tell me more about it."

"Well, probably before Chinese New Year, butcher Zhao took soldiers and horses to various fortresses for training, and then the prince of South Korea, Yunzheng, also took people out to patrol the border, and then the specific situation is not clear, anyway, they were involved in Tocharo. There are many disputes, and the Chinese New Year is not peaceful, it seems that the fight is very fierce, and many caravans do not walk on silk, but take the sea road instead."

Xie Changfeng estimated the time and distance, "It's spring now, I guess the dust has settled over there, just wait for them to return to the court!"

Qi Yuan was taken aback when he heard this, this kind of thing has never happened in his previous life! !

He didn't even think about it. In his previous life, Xie Changfeng didn't lead by example and annexed Lin Yiguo first. Now the generals have seen the benefits of annexation. As long as the victory is ensured, His Majesty will at most scold and say nothing. House?

Xun Gui, who is capable of being a general at the edge of the town, is bold and dark-hearted, so he is naturally gearing up for his ambitions.

Then came the problem.

"That is to say, no one in the court knows?" Qi Yuan looked at Xie Changfeng incredulously, "Where is the food? What about the equipment? Personnel damage? What about the declaration of military exploits?"

"...Um, well, there's a word called war to support war." Xie Changfeng laughed, "Or it's more appropriate to call it robbery."

Qi Yuan was dumbfounded.

Xie Changfeng grinned, "Of course, they swallowed all the looted items themselves, and the handed-in items may be less, but you have to understand! You have to get your money back."

Qi Yuan was furious, this group of bold and reckless guys, if things go on like this, the Tang Dynasty's separatist regime will happen again, and the Chu Dynasty is in danger! !

"If all the generals wantonly expand their territory and don't listen to their orders, they will definitely bring disaster to the world in the future!!"

Xie Changfeng curled his lips, "Don't generals exist just to open up territories? We are also very sad that the places we conquered were easily abandoned! Instead of getting angry, you might as well find a way to train some officials. Judging from my experience, I guess The news will come in half a month, and the mission of the Tocharo Kingdom to be merged into the Chu Dynasty is estimated to be about to pass through the Yumen Gate~"

Qi Yuan's face was ashen, sullen for a while, and then he had to think of ways to contain the strength of the general Xungui.

Abandoned the noble circle in the capital?But if this is the case, there will be no generals in the court in the future, and the frontiers will be unstable, but if he does not find a way to stop this kind of behavior, Qi Yuan can already foresee the miserable scene of receiving letters of surrender every day in the future.

Don't think that expanding the territory is a happy thing!The premise is that the national finance has enough budget, enough capable officials to take office, strong enough deterrence and enough population to dilute the influence of local tribes!

Now the territory conquered by the Chu Dynasty is too large, and no one wants to go to those remote areas in southern Xinjiang, let alone the Western Regions! !

Qi Yuan had a headache.

Emperor Xuanming didn't know that Zhao Butcher, his confidant general, and the Duke of South Korea gave him a big gift.

At the moment, he is reviewing the alchemist examination process jointly set by Qin Tianjian and the Ministry of Rites.

The examination is similar to the imperial examination, divided into county examinations, government examinations, and the final examination in Beijing.

The content of the county test is not difficult. It mainly examines the cultural level of many alchemists. First, if you say you can divination, then you must be able to read, write, and know history; secondly, examine professional books on divination and calculation, such as Zhouyi Baopuzi; Hands-on ability, you must be able to get started with divination and interpret hexagrams... At the very least, you must know how to use a seismograph!

The old scholars in the Ministry of Rites are indeed experts in producing questions. Qin Tianjian and their two swords are perfect, and the content and scope of the final exam are extremely abnormal, but the content and reasons of the memorial they presented are quite reasonable, even Emperor Xuanming can't tell. What.

So this perverted alchemist exam began to be tried.

Qin Tianjian did a fortune telling and said that the ninth day of the lunar new year two months later would be a good day for the county examination.

Emperor Xuanming nodded in agreement.

Empress Li is a bit worried, two months later, the ninth day of the lunar new year, it will be almost summer, okay?

According to the procedure set by Qin Tianjian, the government examination is four months away, and the final general examination will be in winter! !

In a blink of an eye, a year has passed!

Empress Li took a deep breath... She threw the blue and white glazed cup out of her hand in a rage.

What a prince!To be so cunning, this time she missed the move, but the alchemist who has passed such an examination must be more trusted by Emperor Xuanming.

Empress Li suppressed her anger forcibly, anyway, since she has enough time, she can be more calm.

In early spring, the Ministry of Officials began to get busy.

The annual quiz and the three-year major exam are the way for court officials to advance. Many officials started to find their way at the end of last year in advance. Now they can basically determine where they want to take up their posts, and they just wait for the officials' documents.

Xie Pingchuan came back from the remote frontier with a bunch of local products. He looked darker and weathered.

Qi Yuan received Xie Pingchuan, and he was in a very good mood.

Xie Pingchuan is surrounded by Qi Yuan, so the officials will naturally be harsh in the assessment. Besides, Xie Pingchuan has been the county magistrate for three years.

"Originally, I have already decided on a place for you. It is the land of fish and rice belonging to Jiangning County, but now there are some changes." Thinking of the moths made by the honorable generals in the Western Regions, Qi Yuan became depressed, "Do you want to go to the bitter cold?" To be the sheriff in a rich land, or to be a county magistrate in a rich land?"

Xie Pingchuan was taken aback. The county he was in belonged to Liangzhou. The place was windy and sandy with many ethnic groups, so it was very difficult to manage. If His Royal Highness hadn't specially found staff and guards for him in the past three years, I am afraid he would have confessed that he was there. .

Xie Pingchuan hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and said solemnly, "It's all up to His Highness."

He is a descendant of merchants, and now he can come to this point, thanks to the support of His Highness the Crown Prince, if he disobeys His Highness, then the Xie family will fall and be scattered, even worse than before.

Qi Yuan smiled with satisfaction, Xie Pingchuan is a smart person, and this is what he is most satisfied with.

"Very good, you go back and see more about the culture and customs of the countries in the Western Regions, and stay in the capital for a few more months."

Xie Pingchuan left in a daze.

Half a month later, the governor of Liangzhou sent an urgent memorial, saying that the envoys including the royal family of the former king of Tocharo Kingdom were rushing towards the capital.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! The territory of the Chu Dynasty has once again expanded. Your Majesty is the wise king of all ages. He has created an inexhaustible achievement, and his name will last forever!"

When Emperor Xuanming saw this memorial, he was so angry that he smashed the memorial to pieces!

"These bastards!!"