Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 459 6.30 Queen Mother: I won’t make it difficult for you either
Volume VI

6.30 Queen Mother: I won’t make it difficult for you either
After a while, Zhou Yang followed Yuan Chun into Cining Palace in confusion. He really didn't expect that the queen would still look for him at this time; moreover, Cining Palace and Longshou Palace are on a north-south axis, so they are not far apart. It's only a few dozen feet, but it's actually a high wall, and this bitch didn't even shy away from it.

"I've seen it." After thinking about it, Zhou Yang didn't meet any maids, eunuchs or guards along the way, so he knew that they had made arrangements in advance, but even though everyone was already familiar with them, he decided to follow the procedure.

"Okay, there are only three of us here, who else are you going to show these pretentious things to?" The Queen rolled her eyes at him, waved her hand to signal Yuan Chun to go out, and then let him take her back to the inner room to sit down and talk, "There are some things. I should have discussed it with you a long time ago, but because I need to worry about my identity now, I had to change it tonight.

First one, did that girl Yongjing go to your place again just now?I know that you have made a promise in your heart a long time ago, so I have some concerns at least. Although the rules in this palace are strict, it cannot be truly airtight. If you two are not careful, some things will be fine. Is it possible that you want that to happen? The girl entered your Zhou family's door with a big belly? "

"What are you talking nonsense about?" Zhou Yang was a little dumbfounded. If people want to be taboo, why don't you use it here? "Xuan'er is so young, how can I bear to touch her? To this day, she is a pure daughter, how can she have a big belly? On the contrary, here, I see too few people, even if you can Adjust your arrangements in advance, I didn’t see any people along the way just now?”

"Innocent?" The queen dismissed someone's method of changing the subject, "A few days ago, Yongchang came to the house to find you, and Yongjing happened to be there too. It's not like I haven't heard of your quirks. , Are you being pretentious today? Not to mention the yard on Zijin Street, there are several pairs of sisters in the Xue family yard where you live, even..."

"Ahem!" Zhou Yang didn't expect that he just mentioned the beginning, and let people arrange it like this. After all, you are also the empress dowager, right?Why are you like Princess Yongchang, and you don't have to hold back when you speak angry-well, why don't these two people have any scruples? "Your Majesty, I don't know what to order after recruiting the last general today?"

"Didn't I just say that the matter between you and Xuan'er should be settled?" The Queen Mother probably realized that she was a little too unrestrained. She straightened her expression and started talking about business, "It stands to reason that the princess will leave the cabinet. Such a big matter should not be so hasty anyway, but now that the situation is special, I can only wrong that girl a little bit, and act in a hurry."

The queen said it euphemistically, but Zhou Yang still understood what she meant - skipping things that are not easy to quantify such as "emotion" or "love", the essence is that the current situation of the royal family is not very good, and the most fundamental reason for this is that Yes, the position of Changxing Emperor Guo Kai still needs to be stabilized, or it is still a little shaken.

How do those in power secure their positions?Anyone who has received nine years of compulsory education in modern times knows that "political power emerges from the barrel of a gun." The problem is that although the Zhou Dynasty is known as "armed with millions," not to mention the four most elite frontier troops around the capital. The most important soldiers and horses are naturally the three major battalions of the Beijing camp, supported by the surrounding major battalions.

Unfortunately, the only thing that the royal family can really ensure control of now is the Shenji Battalion led by Zhou Yang. Hou Xiaokang of the Fifth Military Battalion has so far "made meritorious service for his crimes". It's hard to say what his thoughts are. Qiu Liang of the Three Thousand Battalion is strictly speaking a member of Princess Yongchang, although the royal family claims "One family", do the Queen Mother and her son really trust Princess Yongchang so much?

Among the other soldiers and horses in the capital, the "Jinyi Army" commanded by Zhao Quan has long since degenerated from the "Emperor's personal army" to the "Tianjia Eagle Dog". Let alone being used as an army, it may not be reliable to find out information; if the Yulin Army commanded by Qi Jianhui If the Queen Mother and her son really believed it, they would not be so kind to Ma Xin and Chen Yejun and let them bring out two more thousand households.

Not in the capital, but what about the surrounding areas?Shi Guangzhu of the Tongzhou camp also had the reputation of "paying for his crime and performing meritorious service", and it would take a lot of time to completely accept it. The [-] soldiers and horses in Jinmen Town were too watery. After repeated discussions, the court decided to When it was still determined to be dismissed, we simply withdrew the camp together!

The Guo family, a majestic royal family, suffered heavy casualties due to internal strife. How can Zhou Yang alone be enough for military power?But no matter what you think in your heart, at this stage, you still have to put on a posture of "emperor's grace". In public, the princess is getting married. In private, the two princesses are "sisters of the same heart". Behind the scenes, even the Queen Mother is "open". .

"How do you think things should be decided?" They are just asking for opinions in a formal way. If you take it seriously, you will lose. At least Zhou Yang has understood that since the queen has come to him, she must have made a decision, "I will obey everything." arrange!"

"Zi Yang is interested." The Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction. Just as Yuan Chun came back with a tea tray and snacks, she stood up and poured two cups in person, then put one cup in front of Zhou Yang, "I might as well settle on what I mean. In the middle of next year, the decree will be formally issued in May, although the preparation time of more than one month is tight, it is enough to be frugal and catch up with the progress."

"That's what the empress said!" Zhou Yang politely took the tea cup, bowed and thanked her, and replied.

"One more thing, since the Lantern Festival canonization, it has been some time since the Prince Jinghai family returned to the East China Sea? I wonder if there is any news to Ziyang?" Obviously, after giving the grace, the Queen Mother directly began to ask for "reward", " Bengong remembers that Ziyang said a few days ago that the Shenji camp is fully staffed, but the lack of firearms is a bit serious?"

"Your Majesty, you have a good memory." Zhou Yang no longer cared about "honor and inferiority". He pulled the Queen Mother into his arms and started to climb over the mountains. His tone was also a little angry, "Last time, the two brothers Chen Yejun and Ma Xin came to see He passed me, and he made it very clear at the time that I don’t even have enough for my own family now, and I really can’t afford any more foreign aid." "Zhou Ziyang, you should think about the Tian family at least, right?" The Queen Mother was too lazy to say anything else, "Jun "Enchenzhong" trick, he pushed someone away and said, "Now there are only Ouchi guards and imperial guards left in the palace. However, it is difficult to say that any of them are reliable. If something happens again with Prince Yi Zhong, is it possible?" The capital palace still has to wait for your Shenji battalion to enter the palace before it can be protected?"

"Empress Dowager, you have to consider the situation in my hands, right?" Zhou Yang really didn't just consider this for himself, "The Shenji Battalion is fully equipped with five [-]-household guards, one for heavy artillery and one for cavalry. With the addition of a direct personal guard to suppress the governor, it is definitely the only army in the entire Zhou Dynasty that has no shortage of members and no empty members.

Thirty infantry artillery units are 360 ​​infantry artillery pieces, 24 ten-pound field cannons, nearly [-] self-fired muskets, nearly [-] war horses, and more than [-] draft horses. Such a large number can be Weichen paid for them all to buy and support them himself. This is still the normal standard. In wartime, even if we only talk about ordinary losses, at least [-]% will be added.

How much silver is this?Thanks to the righteousness of the second uncle of the Xue family, when he helped to purchase firearms, he only charged the purchase price and made almost no money. He also helped to provide half of the money. I also threw in at least more than 100 million taels, the Queen Mother, The annual harvest of the Great Zhou Dynasty was just over ten million taels, and it was always a deficit at the end of the year. I don’t know when I will be able to settle the bill? "

"Ziyang, you can't just look at the money, can you?" The Queen Mother's tone became gentle all of a sudden, and she took the initiative to lean into someone's arms, "The Tian family really owes you a lot, but how much grace has it given? Don't mention Rong'er He Xuan'er, I just mentioned your second uncle from the East China Sea. Could it be that the Tian Family really didn't know that they were the Xue Family of the Imperial Shang?

How could the canonization of kings with different surnames in the past dynasties be so random?If I remember correctly, Prince Jinghai’s only little princess lives in your Zhou family’s courtyard, right?It's just yourself, there is really no Spyker around now, that's just the credit you have made these days and it's inconvenient to say it directly, but if you perform again in the future, will the Tian family still be stingy? "

"What do you mean by the empress?" Seeing that he had already set up his stance, Zhou Yang hesitated "helplessly" and decided to "compromise". The two sides were now inseparable. "Let's talk about it first. There is really no good way to deal with firearms unless You can ask the trash from the Ministry of War's Ordnance Supervisor to mass-produce it now, otherwise I won't be able to do it no matter how powerful I am."

"It's not difficult for me to help you. Ma Xin and Chen Yejun's two thousand households. How about you help equip the cavalry with war horses, and then fill up the artillery for one hundred households? I will ask Kai'er to supervise the weapons." , at least use blunderbuss to make up half of the infantry, and the other half will follow your original method and use spearmen to make up for it. Is this okay?" The queen had obviously thought about it in advance.

"The horses are fine, but the artillery is not." Zhou Yang sighed "bitterly" and nodded in agreement, but he still asked without giving up, "My Lady, it would be more appropriate for your Majesty to summon you in person for such a big event, right? Why? Isn’t it a bit inappropriate for the empress to come forward?”

"Is it against the rules?" The Queen Mother smiled lightly, but her tone was full of disdain, "The Tian family is the master of the world. What they say is the rules and what they do is the law. Is it possible that someone else needs to supervise it? Although I said at the beginning that it is I am forced by you, but I also understand your thoughts. Besides, if something like this is done, it is done. If it gets spread, is it possible that we still need to consider the reason? "

"It's true." Zhou Yang smiled bitterly and shook his head. He actually didn't have much worry about having two princesses at the same time, because they only had high status, but they always had the result of marriage. Nowadays, the bigger forces in the capital know about it. , who cares anymore?But the Queen Mother in front of him was a different matter. He had actually been worried all along. Now that he heard what she meant, was he overthinking it?
"Ziyang, come here!" When he was thinking wildly, he suddenly heard the Queen Mother's gentle voice, "Come to me."

"Niang Niang?" Zhou Yang was stunned for a moment, but he still frowned.

"Listen." The Queen Mother blushed, and she gently pushed someone down and put her head on her lower abdomen. "Although I do have my own thoughts, I haven't wronged you in any way. Now you still see If you don't come out, you will understand in a few days - before that night, His Majesty had not entered anyone's yard in the harem for more than a month, and it was more than two months in this palace."

"Are you really?" Zhou Yang was a little stupid.

"Do you want to say that there are beautiful flowers in your own yard, but only this palace has achieved results?" The queen chuckled and took out a piece of paper from under the pillow and gave it to him, "When you go back, you can make up for it according to the prescription. I think the house is too noisy - Yuanchun, I have let her use it these days. It is not convenient for me tonight, so let her serve you. Anyway, at the beginning of next month, the palace's decree to release people will be passed on. "

"But, child." Zhou Yang was still a little confused until this moment. He slowly got up and sat on the edge of the bed. He carefully supported the Queen Mother and leaned against the bedside, placing his ear against her belly. Even though he couldn't hear anything, he still couldn't bear to raise his head. , only the content of "The Queen Mother gave birth to a child for me" was left in his mind. This was the first time in his two lives that he became a father. "You really don't know anything about it."

"What, do you think we can let this child's surname be Zhou?" Unexpectedly, the Queen Mother burst out laughing, "I'm telling you tonight, it's really just to tell you, it has no other meaning; you don't have to If you think about it, I will take good care of this child from now on - also, the only word in my girlfriend list is the word 'Hong', Li Hong."

(End of this chapter)