I Rely on Beauty to Stabilize the Country - Chap 145
During dinner, the Holy Master was busy reading the files sent by Prefect Han. Xue Yuan, who was as shy as a girl, held the fingerprints on half of his handsome face, took away the bowl and chopsticks from the eunuch’s hand, passed the green spoon across the porcelain bowl, blew away the mist and hot air, and bent down to feed the emperor.
He is dressed in mysterious clothes, with a gold and jade fan on his waist. He is tall and has tight-fitting boots. He looks oppressive when he is not speaking. But in front of the Holy Master, Xue Yuan’s lips curled up, and the sinister aura dissipated, leaving him looking rich and handsome.
Gu Yuanbai was fed half a bowl of rice without knowing it, and he took the green spoon into his mouth one mouthful at a time. Tried it several times.
“Have a bowl of soup,” Gu Yuanbai chewed with his lips and teeth, “I’m a little thirsty.”
Xue Yuan carefully put away the spoon and hurriedly changed to a white porcelain bowl for porridge.
Tian Fusheng stayed in the palace, and Tian Fusheng’s young apprentice was waiting beside the Holy Master.
The little eunuch hesitated to speak, watching Xue Yuan collect everything used by the Holy Master into his arms: “Master Zhang, Master Xue acted like this, are you really not going to say anything?”
The guard frowned, “Eunuch Cao doesn’t like Master Xue?”
The little eunuch’s head and hands shook together.
The head of the guard’s expression softened slightly, and he spoke earnestly: “Master Xue has put his own life and death aside to protect the safety of the Holy One. Master Xue is just admiring the Holy One, and the Holy One has not said anything. Eunuch Cao should not say such words again in the future. So as not to hurt Mr. Xue’s heart.”
The little eunuch was panicked: “I understand, little one.”
*
After the meal, Gu Yuanbai was dragged for a walk with Xue Yuan.
Xue Yuan walked halfway, his face suddenly twisted for a moment, and Gu Yuanbai asked: “What’s wrong?”
“The wound is itchy.” Xue Yuan tensed and remained still.
Gu Yuanbai said casually: “If you feel itchy, scratch it.”
The injury was on the back, and the way I scratched it didn’t look good. Xue Yuan was tortured by the itching, so he took a step back, covered Gu Yuanbai’s eyes, and took the opportunity to scratch.
Gu Yuanbai held his wrist.
This hand is now as white as jade, as beautiful as flawless jade. The joints are like beads, and the skin and flesh are delicate. But Xue Yuan had seen these hands in other ways, brushing between the sand and slapping his face mixed with the smell of Xue Yuan’s blood.
Anxious and trembling, Gu Yuanbai cried.
Unbelievable.
His tears were obviously drops of water, but they made Xue Yuan’s heart boil with hot oil. Xue Yuan wanted to see him cry in the past, but after actually seeing him once, he didn’t even dare to think about it.
He stared at the hands for a while. The minor scratches on his hands had long since healed. But just because it’s gone doesn’t mean it hasn’t been hurt.
Xue Yuan turned his arms around Gu Yuanbai’s waist, rested his tall head on the Holy Master’s shoulder, and said dullly: “Gu Lian.”
Acting coquettishly.
Why are you so clingy?
Gu Yuanbai coughed lightly and was about to speak, but Xue Yuan was frightened. He held Gu Yuanbai’s hands and looked at him, “Are you coughing?”
“…Nothing,” Gu Yuanbai said slowly, his throat itching again, “I just cleared my throat.”
Xue Yuan relaxed and felt more itching on his back. He grabbed Gu Yuanbai’s hands and said, “Can you scratch it for me?”
The words in his mouth were soft as water, but his hands were too strong not to let go.
“Master Bai,” Xue Yuan kissed and licked the hollow of his neck, “My back is itchy.”
Gu Yuanbai remained unmoved until Xue Yuan quickly licked the saliva from his neck. He couldn’t stand the goosebumps and said, “Let go and turn around.”
Xue Yuan was about to turn around cheerfully, but out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a corner of clothes hidden behind the rockery. His handsome and handsome eyebrows suddenly turned violent, “Your Majesty, I’m going to deal with some young people.” He quickly stepped forward and grabbed the person behind the rockery.
The person hiding was a boy. When he saw Xue Yuan coming, his eyes dodged and he looked panicked. Xue Yuan pinched his neck and asked calmly, “What are you looking at?”
The boy broke his wrist, but still wanted to quibble, “I just happened to pass by, so I dare not see anything! Please don’t accuse me of injustice, distinguished guest!”
Xue Yuan let go of his neck. Before the boy could rejoice, Xue Yuan grabbed his hair and slammed him into the rockery.
Blood dripped down the boy’s forehead, and Xue Yuan asked again expressionlessly: “Who sent you here.”
Only then did the boy become frightened and said, trembling all over, “It’s Mrs. Zhen from the mansion.”
“Mrs. Zhen?” Xue Yuan said coldly, “What did you see?”
The boy’s teeth trembled: “Villain, villain…”
Xue Yuan was thoughtful and murmured to himself: “You have seen it all.”
The boy’s words were stuck in his throat.
The dagger turned several times in his hand, inserted and pulled out, and the boy fell to the ground lifelessly. Xue Yuan caught a glimpse of the little emperor approaching from the corner of his eye. He knelt down and wiped the blood from the dagger and his fingers. He walked out with a smile, “Your Majesty.”
Gu Yuanbai glanced at the rockery twice, “Who is it?”
Xue Yuan walked back with him on his shoulders, lowered his head and said, “This is a young boy who should be sent by Mrs. Zhen in the mansion.”
Gu Yuanbai frowned and glanced sideways, “Where’s the servant?”
“I discovered it just in time, and the boy didn’t see anything.” Xue Yuan gently turned the Lord’s face, lowered his head and rubbed his face against the Lord’s. “The boy was so frightened by me that he peed his pants. It’s dirty, the Holy One can’t look at it.”
Gu Yuanbai sneered and glanced sideways at him: “You scared people so much that they peed their pants?”
Xue Yuan nodded seriously.
Gu Yuanbai was happy and curled his lips into a smile.
*
Later, Prefect Han learned about this.
Mrs. Zhen was the second wife of the Han Prefect’s house. She sent the servant there just to be one step ahead of the Prefect’s wife, to see if Daheng’s distinguished guests had any needs, and to show her thoughtfulness and virtuousness. This move really brought shame on Governor Han’s face. He personally visited Gu Yuanbai, bowed and apologized, and said that he would punish Mrs. Zhen, and asked Your Majesty not to blame her.
Gu Yuanbai forgave him.
That night, the boy who had made a big mistake was found to have committed suicide by throwing himself into a lake. Mrs. Zhen went to the lake to see. There was a bloody smell in one corner of the lake, and the boy’s face was vaguely visible. She covered her mouth, feeling sick to her stomach.
Prefect Han scolded her angrily for a long time, “Even if you die, don’t appear in front of me again. Do you want the entire Prefect’s Mansion to pay for you for such a serious crime?”
Mrs. Zhen kept sobbing, and there was a chill in her bones. The more she thought about it, the weirder she became.
That boy was greedy for life and afraid of death, so how could he commit suicide by throwing himself into the lake?
*
The holy residence is still peaceful.
Xue Yuan had already washed himself clean and lay naked on the Holy Master’s bed. He didn’t know what he was thinking, and the tips of his ears were already burning red. At this time, not only the wounds on his back were itchy, but also the scabs all over his body were itching.
During the period when he was first injured, Xue Yuan lay on the bed unable to move. The Holy Lord would wet his hand with a wet towel, put it into Xue Yuan’s clothes and wipe Xue Yuan’s body.
No matter how painful it was at that time, it was as sweet as drinking honey.
The Holy Master came back from bathing and took a breath when he saw the scene on the dragon bed, “Xue Jiuyao,” he hesitated, “What are you doing looking like this?”
Xue Yuan frowned, even more surprised than Gu Yuanbai: “Didn’t the Holy One say that he wanted to fool around with me at night?”
Gu Yuanbai: “No.”
He raised his hand and nodded at Xue Yuan, smiling broadly, “I’m not talking about joking like you.”
Xue Yuan looked at Gu Yuanbai in disbelief. After a while, he sat up and slid the thin quilt down to his lean waist. He sighed deeply, “What do you want to play, Your Majesty?”
His expression was full of loss.
Gu Yuanbai walked to the table, sat down, and took out a piece of rice paper. Xue Yuan followed quietly, and Gu Yuanbai dipped his pen in ink, “I have captured many cities in Xixia, but there are still some who are resisting. It is not easy to attack a city, and it often takes a lot of time. A city , it may bring down the rear front. If it is not really a helpless move, I really don’t want to attack the city.”
Xue Yuan took a deep breath, knowing that this was just a joke in Gu Yuanbai’s eyes, “I’m going to get dressed.”
For a moment, the two people sat together and carefully sorted out Xixia’s current situation.
When the moon is in the sky, I put down my pen and paper and take a rest.
*
Attacking the city is the next step, attacking the heart is the top step. If the people in the city are determined to defend, then the attacking army really has no good solution.
In Xingqing Mansion, the royal city of Xixia, Mrs. Wang’s possession and desire for power became more and more crazy. Her madness before her death was just the opening for Gu Yuanbai to exploit the Xixia city.
Ding Yan led the people from the Supervision Office and drove them among the cities of Xixia. As each city was marked with the imprint of Daheng, the people in the city were immediately arranged to go to the fields.
The captured city was peaceful and free from war and disputes, and was busy with farming under the protection of Daheng soldiers. The peaceful life has a strong appeal to the people, and many people fled to the cities behind. As time went by, the people in the royal city finally felt frightened outside of the debauchery.
Xixia is just a small place. It is only the size of two states on Daheng’s territory. Three of the five states are already occupied. How can we fight?
While the cicadas were chirping and the birds were chirping, Gu Yuanbai personally wrote a letter of persuasion to surrender and sent it to Xingqing Mansion.
Mrs. Xiao Wang got the letter and immediately called her confidants to read it. The general meaning of the letter was: “As long as you surrender and admit defeat, I can make the current Xixia Emperor the Duke of Xia, enjoy three thousand stones of food, and receive thousands of rewards. He gave Xia a public residence in the capital city of Daheng and allowed his mother to live with him, so that he could be prosperous, wealthy and have no worries about food and clothing. ”
As long as he admits defeat, although Xixia is gone, he can be named the Duke of Xia of Daheng and live a rich and worry-free life under the eyes of Emperor Daheng.
Mrs. Xiao Wang stood up quickly, strode over, grabbed the letter from her confidant, and read it several times to make sure it was a letter of persuasion to surrender.
She looked up at her confidants, who all had different expressions, “Madam, this…”
“Li Angyi is dead,” Mrs. Xiao Wang rarely said calmly, “Everyone, my son is still young, and I am the only one who is in charge of the government. But now wars are raging, and the 400,000 troops that we in Xixia have been sending have all been defeated by the rebellion of the generals or the enemy. Under the iron cavalry of the army, Daheng’s troops are constantly approaching the royal city. They are really going to destroy Xixia. Daheng is so big, how can we, mother and son, fight against it? ”
Someone advised: “Madam, if you accept this letter, you will become a sinner recorded in history.”
Mrs. Xiao Wang said angrily: “What a joke! Do I have to die in the hands of the enemy, my mother and my son, in order for the world to be satisfied?! What they think has anything to do with me, a weak female generation, they can’t tell me Emperor Xia Guo’s good life can be achieved by Emperor Daheng!”
The quarrel got louder and louder, and his confidant Dong Zhiyan suddenly said: “The green salt from Xixia can no longer be sold in Daheng.”
In the past, when the two countries were at war, Xixia would avoid the place where green salt was sold in Daheng. Daheng also did not ban salt merchants from entering and leaving Xixia on a large scale.
Except for Mrs. Xiao Wang, everyone else was shocked and looked sideways at him.
Dong Zhiyan looked haggard, “If there was a war between Xixia and Daheng in normal times, the salt merchants selling green salt in Daheng would be on our side, but now there are fewer and fewer traders in Daheng coming to buy our green salt. If this continues, the royal city will not even have money to eat or drink. ”
Mrs. Xiao Wang sneered and shook the letter paper in her hand, “The money in the national treasury has been used up by the army by now. Li Angyi’s private treasury? Who knows where his private treasury is! If you don’t want to surrender, then take out Bring your own money and rice, and we will listen to whoever gets more!”
No one made a sound, and the palace was silent for a moment.
Mrs. Xiao Wang cherishedly folded up the surrender letter and said: “Emperor Daheng only gave Xingqing Mansion half a month to think about it.”
When the time comes, should we surrender and enjoy the blessings of life forever, or should we resist until death?
Mrs. Xiao Wang has already made up her mind, and she also believes that these people will also make up their minds.
*
Gu Yuanbai’s imperial conquest has arrived now, and winter has turned into midsummer.
Every time the government affairs arrived from the capital, Gu Ran’s letters were inevitably included.
Gu Ran is still young, and his wrist does not have enough strength to hold the pen when writing, so it shows signs of weakness. But as time went by, his handwriting improved significantly, and he never slacked off in practicing calligraphy.
In the latest letter, Gu Ran asked cautiously: “When will your father return?”
Gu Yuanbai looked at the letter and could almost imagine Gu Ran’s expression. He also missed the imperial city, the people in the capital, and the acquaintances in the capital.
A hand reached out and rubbed his back soothingly.
“In one month, I will go back,” Gu Yuanbai said softly, “My personal expedition has taken too long and cannot be delayed any longer.”
Kong Yilin, who was engrossed in writing the payment, raised his head, his eyes black, “Your Majesty, you can go back at ease. Now that Xixia has been included in the pocket, the subsequent reorganization and land distribution will be carried out according to the regulations. Everything for you Peace of mind.”
“Everything should be done as soon as possible,” Gu Yuanbai said, “There are many talented people in Xixia, and most of them have studied Daheng’s knowledge skillfully. When the imperial examination next year, I want to see the shadow of Xixia people among them.”
Kong Yilin and other civil servants responded solemnly.
Gu Yuanbai nodded lightly, stood up and walked out from behind the table. When he was about to walk out of the threshold, an official from the political affairs hall in the rear remembered something and got up in time and asked: “Your Majesty, after conquering Xixia, I wonder what the new name of Xixia will be?”
Gu Yuanbai paused for a moment, facing the rising scorching sun, and said slowly: “Of the five states of Xixia, one state was merged into Shaanxi, and the two states were combined to be named Gansu. The remaining two states were changed to Ning in the west and Xia Di It means peace, so we call it Ningxia.”
“Ningxia,” the courtiers murmured, “what a good name.”
Gu Yuanbai smiled, breathed out a breath towards Chao Ri, and strode out.
In the summer of the twelfth year of Jingping, the Daheng Dynasty destroyed Xixia and established Ningxia Prefecture Road, which meant peace in Xia, and Ningxia came from this. ①
In mid-August of that year, Emperor Henggaozong Gu Lian returned to the capital. The people lined the streets and cheered. Everywhere he passed, tens of thousands of people danced with their hands and feet, enjoying the whole world.
At this point, Daheng’s expansion of territory has temporarily slowed down.
