[Red Mansions] The Road to Empress Dowager

When Daiyu and her family arrived in Nanning, they discovered that the queen had gone to Thang Long City in North Vietnam Province for the second time.Because the remnants of the Zheng family assembled a large number of people in the south to prepare to counterattack North Vietnam Province, and many Annan people sneaked into the mountains of North Vietnam Province to create terrorist incidents.

Of course, this situation is also because the queen rejected An Nanguo's conditional surrender.The new lord of the Zheng family of Annan Kingdom is willing to return to his vassal and pay tribute, but requires the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the new immigrants to move out of North Vietnam Province and return most of the land.Just a joke, for those lands, how much thought did the soldiers below the Empress of the Great Zhou spend?This new North Vietnamese province is the medal of their lives. How much can they brag to their children and grandchildren when they retire in the future?

Moreover, interests are also involved.Although there are Dazhou immigrants, they are mainly distributed along the traffic lines, and there is still a lot of land to be developed.

According to the Queen's decree, every soldier of the Great Zhou Conquest to the South will have a basic five acres of land in Beiyue Province regardless of rank, which will be increased according to military merit, and will be collectively reclaimed and distributed after the war.The land in Annan Kingdom is cropped three times a year, so you can get a harvest even if you sow the seeds and fall asleep.The queen's promises to her subordinates have always been solid. The soldiers all regard North Vietnam as their own land, and the remnants of Annan want to take it back. How can the soldiers not fight with others?

The Pingnan Army plus logistics troops only had 30 million people, and modern Vietnam only has more than 740 million hectares of rice arable land.Now the total population of Dazhou is less than [-] million, and there are at most three million new immigrants to the north.Xing Xiuyan definitely has the confidence to make such a promise.

If a country really wants to "expand its territory", the only way to distribute real estate benefits to its citizens is to do so, so no one can drive them away.

This is also the most important reason why Xing Xiuyan, as a woman, firmly holds the military and political power in Sichuan, and there is no strong opposition inside, because only she represents the interests of all soldiers and public officials in Sichuan.In the face of interests, the difference between men and women is not as important as imagined, and her status as a queen makes this kind of thing more rational.

As the Xiao family members, of course they can go to the Nanning government office, besides, they are escorting supplies to support the frontline, and they are all medicinal materials bought with money raised by charitable organizations such as the Kyoto Jockey Club.

Chen Yi is managing logistics in Nanning, and Zi Yue is now in the equipment department.

Ziyue assisted the queen in managing the harem back then, and was very good at accounting, warehouses, and transfers, but equipment was a more confidential and important matter, but women were more careful than men.

Chen Yiji warmly received Xiao Lang and Xiao Xiaoxiao, but Daiyu didn't see him, it's good that Xiao Lang's grandfather and grandson can explain things clearly.Chen Yi was very happy to receive such a large amount of donated medicinal materials. He asked people to check and check them for storage, and hosted a banquet for Xiao Lang and Xiao Xiaoxiao with his colleagues.

In the evening, Xie Wanying settled down in Chen Yi's new courtyard. She asked people to find out that Aunt Zhang originally lived in the main courtyard. She moved to the side courtyard after hearing news from Hangzhou that she was coming.Although Xie Wanying had expected this earlier, it was another matter to experience it personally. She rejected the house in the main courtyard cleaned up by the housekeeper, but asked someone to clean the north courtyard, and lived in with two maids and two wives in charge. .

When Aunt Zhang heard that she was coming, she brought her concubine Chen Fusheng to visit, but Xie Wanying directly refused.

This made Aunt Zhang resentful and proud. Not only did she have a wife as a backer, but she also had Fu Sheng. It was not three years ago now.

As soon as Chen Yi returned home from the government office, he expected to meet Mrs. Xie in the main courtyard, but he saw Aunt Zhang. Aunt Zhang also mentioned that she took her son to visit her sister, but her sister avoided seeing her.

Aunt Zhang looked at him uneasily, and asked, "Master, I'm afraid Grandma doesn't like me and Fusheng, and I don't know what to do."

Chen Yi said: "You don't need to mention such things. Since grandma is here, you can just serve her according to your duty."

Mrs. Zhang felt unhappy for a while, but she was always flattering, knowing what Chen Yi didn't like, so she had to bear it.

Chen Yi went to Xie Wanying's place. Xie Wanying had already washed up and was about to take a rest.Now that the couple see each other like this, they don't know what to say.

Chen Yi asked: "Why do you live here? This is not where the head grandma lives."

Xie Wanying looked at him, and said lightly, "I don't like living in dirty places where other people have lived."

Chen Yi looked strange, and sighed: "My cousin doesn't understand anything. When I first came to Nanning, everything in the mansion was still in chaos. It was just a stopgap measure."

When Xie Wanying heard him casually calling her "cousin", she couldn't help feeling as if a knife was piercing her heart, and she burst into tears.

Chen Yi hurried over to comfort him, Xie Wanying pushed him away and said, "Up to now, there is nothing to say between you and me."

"What's wrong with you? Why do you need to care about Mrs. Zhang? My mother also hopes that I will have a son soon."

"Won't I have a baby?"

"Now our husband and wife are reunited and we can have children."

Looking at his affectionate appearance, maybe there is a relationship between husband and wife. After three years in Hangzhou, she really didn't have too many complaints. Said he didn't want to either.

But when she came here today, she learned that Aunt Zhang, a concubine, used to live in the main courtyard. Chen Yi's words, which completely understood her mother-in-law's actions, made her feel chilled.

Xie Wanying took a deep breath and said, "I'm tired, I don't want to talk about this today, you can go."

Chen Yi smiled and went to pull her, saying: "Stop making trouble, I'm tired too."

Xie Wanying said: "Go find Aunt Zhang, I'm used to sleeping alone."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm serious."

……

The next day, Xie Wanying went to the office of the equipment department to find Ziyue. Ziyue was already one of the deputy directors in charge of firearms, and the director was in Sichuan, so she made the decision in Guangxi.She is still a lieutenant colonel, has her own office, and has two assistants, a woman and a man, not counting the guards and many subordinates.

Ziyue received her in the office, and the female assistant served her tea. Xie Wanying smiled and said, "You are more handsome than before."

Ziyue waved her hand and said: "Don't mention it, I've been so busy all day that my eyes are darkened, no, I'm afraid that the south will have to make a big move again, the day before yesterday was a big mobilization, I didn't sleep all night, and I didn't have the energy to look at it yesterday is you."

Xie Wanying smiled and said, "You are capable, so the General Armament Department can transfer you here with confidence."

Zi Yue shook her head and said, "What am I, there are many talented people in the Special Zone General Armament Department."

The head of the General Armaments of the Sichuan Special Zone was originally from the Ministry of War, and was a serious Jinshi. Sun Yuanwang had been to Sichuan back then, and some of them stayed behind.

As a woman, it was really not easy for Zi Yue to climb to this position in the military. Apart from strong connections, this kind of department also needs to have practical talents.If you don't do a good job of influencing the front line, you will be responsible, especially women.Everyone's tolerance for women's mistakes is extremely low, and it might be something like a chicken sitting in the morning.

However, although the responsibility is great, the power is also great. After tasting this kind of taste, things like socializing in the back house make Zi Yue taste like tasteless.

Xie Wanying mentioned that Lin Daiyu had also come, and Ziyue's eyes lit up: "The county lord is here too? I haven't seen her for many years. General Xiao is not in the Pingnan Army."

Ziyue didn't know that there was also chaos in northern Xinjiang that Xiao Jingyun was transferred to Liaodong, but as a member of the Pingnan Army, he still knew that the Hubei New Army was not in the Pingnan Army.

Xie Wanying said: "Mrs. Hou said that Miss Xiao is following the Queen."

Ziyue smiled and said: "Exactly, it's really a blessing to be with the third princess, and the empress is with me personally."

Xie Wanying said, "Where are your children?"

Zi Yue said: "Sent to the newly built government primary school."

Xie Wanying originally planned to seek a job in basic education. Hearing that there are government primary schools here, she hurriedly asked a question.

Zi Yue said: "So many people have been mobilized for this battle, and now Sichuan, Guangxi, and Beiyue can't be distinguished, and the construction of Beiyue is not a matter of one day. When this level is reached, family members can come over, and children always have to study. Now the person in charge of the family's life is Li Qingqing, General Sun's wife."

Xie Wanying smiled and said, "I'm an acquaintance. I didn't expect her to come out to work." Li Qingqing used to be a beauty in the harem, and of course she had never been favored. She was more transparent than her. Her father was the prefect of Xuzhou.

Zi Yue said: "Your Shuang'er is also six years old. If you want to enter the government primary school, you can go to her to go through the formalities." Not everyone can enter the government primary school, and an identity certificate is required.

Xie Wanying nodded, but felt a little bitter in her heart. Li Qingqing was far inferior to her three years ago, and now she has to find someone else to do things.

Xie Wanying suddenly asked: "When will the empress come back?"

Zi Yue said: "It's not certain, it can be as little as a month, and more than three or four months is not impossible."

Xie Wanying wanted to see the queen so much, she couldn't help feeling disappointed, with a worried look on her face, she suddenly asked: "Is your equipment department still short of manpower?"

Ziyue said: "It's lacking. Minister Wang was complaining about it a few days ago. He said that the equipment department of our special zone is ten times more complicated than the former Arsenal Department of the Ministry of War." She said that Minister Wang was the deputy director of the General Armament Department, but There are no adverbs added to the title, and everyone in the system knows it anyway.

Chen Yi's military rank and court rank are both high, but now that new hot weapons are widely used, the equipment department also includes state-owned military enterprises in the special zone. The management is complicated and has many secrets. It is independent of the current logistics department. The committee occupies a place, and at the same time it is under the management of the imperial military department, which is a two-way management.Chen Yi is in charge of food, clothing, quilts, medicine, living utensils, etc. He is also a member of the Military Commission and a member of the SAR government, but he is not directly under the imperial household department.

Xie Wanying said: "Why don't you ask me, now that I'm here, I want to find something to do, so I don't have to sit at home and think wildly."

"Are you serious? Does General Chen agree?"

Xie Wanying said coldly: "What am I doing, what does it matter to him?"

Thinking about her family, Ziyue couldn't help but sigh in her heart. In recent years, those sisters were not without discussions.There is also the pungent Qingxuan talking about the past, saying that it was lucky that Ziyue did not choose General Chen Yi, because his family was so troublesome.

Back then when Aunt Zhang was in Sichuan, she still wanted to come out to socialize, but no one who came out of the palace would surrender her status with the concubine.But the people who flattered Chen Yi didn't care so much.

Ziyue said: "You have always been capable, and the empress also relied on you a lot back then. If you don't think the equipment department is hard, I can recommend it. However, the equipment department still has a lot to learn, and there are many people to deal with. Mostly men, you have to be mentally prepared."

Xie Wanying came from a noble family. When she was in her boudoir, she could not see outside men. When she was with the queen, as a secretary, she was often above others when she saw men.

Xie Wanying said: "I haven't suffered any hardships. I will bear all the consequences. I just don't want to be a useless person."

When it comes to seeing a man, the empress will not see a man one day, the saint loves her more than her, but she is so relieved of her, and General Wu is also relieved of Zi Yue.It can be seen that if the two hearts know each other and promise each other, there is no need for ritual education to be so deliberate.

……

Although Ziyue was busy, she still took half a day to visit Mrs. Nie and Daiyu, and Xie Wanying was with her.

Because the Queen and Xiao Pan'er were in Thang Long City, they also planned to go to North Vietnam Province.

After hearing their plans, Ziyue couldn't help saying: "Northern Vietnam is no better than Guangxi. There are still remnants of Annan's sin in the mountains over there. You are safer in Guangxi."

Mrs. Nie said: "Pan'er is not afraid, and neither are we. It is hard to get here, how can we not see it?"

Zi Yue persuaded: "War is not a joke, it will kill people."

Mrs. Nie said: "The Xiao family is a family of generals."

Xie Wanying's heart was moved, if she could go to Shenglong City, not only would she increase her knowledge, but she would also be able to meet the empress as soon as possible.It is also beneficial to her to communicate more with the Xiao family and Yuxian Jun.She was afraid of accidents in the past alone, but it was much safer to go with the Xiao family.

The job in the equipment department is rare, but compared to seeing the queen, it is not so urgent.

It's just that Ziyue planned to introduce her, but changed her mind at this time, I'm sorry for her kindness.

……

In the evening, when Xie Wanying heard that Chen Yi was returning home, she went to the main courtyard to look for him, but seeing that the servant was still hesitant and wanted to stop her, Xie Wanying immediately shouted back.Of course this boy is not Yu Mo back then. Yu Mo, Yun Xiang and the others are in Sichuan and have official positions.

When he entered the room, he found that Auntie Zhang was wearing tulle clothes and serving Chen Yi to take a bath. Chen Yi was leaning on the edge of the tub with a relaxed expression.

When Aunt Zhang screamed, Chen Yi opened his eyes and saw Xie Wanying looking at him indifferently.

Chen Yi couldn't help being embarrassed: "Why are you here, don't say anything."

"Did I disturb you?"

"..."

Aunt Zhang suddenly knelt down towards Xie Wanying with a plop, and said, "Sister, don't blame the uncle, he is busy with work and is exhausted, and I just want him to sleep better. I know you are here, and I never talked with you." Your courage to fight..."

"Get lost." Xie Wanying only rewarded her with a simple word.

Aunt Zhang glanced at Chen Yi with tears in her almond eyes, and Chen Yi said, "Go out."

Aunt Zhang trembled, lowered her head and got up to go out.

At this time, no man would be happy that his wife would barge into the house straight up. After all, Chen Yi was also a man, and he and Xie Wanying also lived a harmonious life.The strange feeling of not being together for three years exists, and Xie Wanying refused to be thousands of miles away that day.

Chen Yi said: "Are you okay?"

Xie Wanying nodded and said, "Put on your clothes, I'll wait for you outside."

……

"Are you going to Shenglong City?" Chen Yi was surprised, "That's very close to the front line, what should I do if something happens?"

Xie Wanying said: "If there is an accident, it is fate. I will go with the Xiao family."

"You and I have just been reunited. It will take at least another month for you to leave."

"Three years will be fine, so what's one or two months? I can rest assured that Aunt Zhang will serve you attentively."

Chen Yi said: "Why do you bother, the matter is over, isn't it the same as before?"

"Tell me, can it be the same?"

"Are you blaming me or your mother for saying that?"

Xie Wanying took a deep breath and said: "I blame myself, I don't blame anyone. When I married you, I owed you. Although I was innocent, I was 22 years old and passed the flower letter period. Year after year in the harem, I have long since lost my innocent attitude towards life, and I am not what you expected. I thank you for allowing me to live the happiest three years. The three years of serving your mother are when I returned those days. Three years."

Chen Yidao: "What do you mean by that?"

Xie Wanying said: "I have never left behind others since I was a child, and my grandmother also had great expectations for me. I was selected in the draft that year. I can't say that I didn't expect to be favored and climb up, but in the eyes of a saint, apart from the empress There is no one else outside. The harem is just a decoration, not to mention that the concubines can't make trouble, the queen mother will be slapped in the face. The emperor...that is also to love the queen, treat the queen as a little princess, and give red envelopes every year and festival. There is no one else. I also thought at the time, how could I be inferior to the queen, and it would be great if I were her. However, thinking like this can't change anything. Even if the queen is in trouble, everyone thinks that she is already... a saint I have never even looked at other women. I am envious of such a relationship between husband and wife, but it is not your responsibility if I can't get it, I am also responsible. It is because I am not good enough that I can't make you treat the queen like a saint. Thank you The family is also a prominent family in this dynasty. My great-grandfather was an official to the Ministry of Rites. My grandfather was not as good as my great-grandfather and only became a magistrate. My father is now a governor. In a noble family like ours, etiquette is the most important, although there are concubines in the family. But it is impossible to let the eldest son be born, and good concubines are only accepted when the man is forty and childless, in order to make the heirs more noble. So I am not used to the rules of the Chen family. Your mother always said that I stayed in the harem , I must understand your grievances, and it is right to be tolerant. Then I have indeed stayed, just treat me as not worthy of you. "

These words were held in her heart, and she had never said them so frankly. Her experience made her a person with low self-esteem and pride, and facing a family like the Chen family, there were conflicts that were difficult to reconcile.Maybe she is tolerant and forbearing, and will be an old lord in the end, but if there is another way, she, a proud woman back then, would not choose that way.

"Wuying!" Chen Yi's face was very ugly, "Mr. Zhang will not argue with you."

Xie Wanying said: "Aren't you guilty of saying this? Isn't your mother sending me away just to fulfill you and her? How many three years did the young couple have? During these three years, she was by my husband's side day and night , you still say that she won't argue with me?"

Chen Yi said: "Then what do you want?"

Xie Wanying said: "I have paid you back what I owed you, and I will make room for you as your mother wished. Let's make up, Shuang'er and I, and I will give her the best upbringing from a family."

Chen Yi said: "What are you kidding? Just because of Zhang, you want to reconcile? What will you do after reconciliation? Where are you going? Go back to Xie's house?"

Xie Wanying said: "I decided to go to Shenglong City to find the Empress Empress. The Empress Empress will not think of you because of this kind of private matter. After all, you were her life-saving benefactor. You don't touch the bottom line, so you won't meddle in other people's affairs." Housework."

Chen Yi said: "I absolutely do not agree!"

Xie Wanying said: "You'd better agree. If you don't agree, the private matter will be disclosed outside. If others see it, it will be bad for you and me."

Chen Yi said: "You dare to threaten me? What about you, can you stand gossip?"

Xie Wanying: "I was originally a concubine in the harem who remarried, so what rumors can't be tolerated?"

Chen Yi said: "Even if you are reconciled, will your life be better in the future? A woman will bear the identity of reconciliation all her life, and she will be lonely when she grows old. Don't you regret it?"

Xie Wanying said: "Why wait until old age to be lonely? I have been lonely in the palace for so many years, and I am not only lonely in Hangzhou, but also suffer from unspeakable pain both physically and mentally."

Chen Yidao: "I didn't expect you to be so jealous. After only three years of filial piety by your mother's side, you have such words. Is this how your Xie family taught you filial piety?"

"Ask yourself, is your mother really out of filial piety?"

"It's because my mother has a plan. She is an elder, and now she has let you come to Guangxi. The matter is over, why do you live in the past?"

"The old man's heart has changed. The aunt Zhang and the eldest son are also alive in front of my eyes. How can it be the past? Unless they are all dead, it is now!"

"Speaking of which, you are still jealous and intolerant. You still have such thoughts, wanting them to die, Fusheng is still a child!"

After hearing this, she didn't even have the last bit of reluctance: "After you divorced, you just married another young, virtuous and untainted bride, wouldn't it be better? You can even help her up if you want."

Xie Wanying has also seen too much, but she wondered if the people in the harem, including the saint's own children, would make a fuss. Even if they were indeed pitiful, the saint would always stand in the position of the queen, and never fight for the interests of others with the queen.I also heard that the reunion after the separation of their husband and wife was also sweet. The fundamental reason is that the heart of the saint has never changed, and naturally there is no alienation.But Chen Yi is now standing on the standpoint of an unreasonable mother-in-law, concubine, and eldest son, or standing on the arrogant standpoint of being virtuous and virtuous, and his heart is self-evident.