Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 510 The Golden Hairpin

postscript
Eleven golden hairpins

That afternoon, the Royal Garden.

"Giggle--" On a swing with silk artificial flowers coiled on the hanging rope, Xichun was flying up and down happily, her laughter like silver bells almost never stopped, "Second sister, third sister, help me push it again. Well, I don’t have the ability to fly the swing almost level with the hanger above like Sister Yan Ling did, that would be too scary.”

"You!" Yingchun and Tanchun looked at each other, got up lovingly and helped Xichun push the swing a few times. Tanchun couldn't help teasing, "Fourth sister, can you play so happily on a swing? This is nothing compared to I'm not going to the temple fair in the city. Apart from the four sisters, there are only maids around here. I heard the temple fair is very lively, let alone thousands of people!"

"Third sister is teasing me again." Xichun's cheeks turned red and she slowly stopped the swing.

"How can you call it a joke?" Yuan Chun, who was reading a book on the recliner next to him, had already stood up and twisted his little sister's cheek angrily, "You and Qin girl are really big-hearted. You actually have the courage to change into Jing." The clothes of the common people on Haiwangye Island said that they had just come from Jinmen Port and went to the capital to see the world.

That's all, what did His Majesty say when he came over?He sent someone to inquire about the news at that time. The two of you were quite thick-skinned. They even pretended to be 15-year-old girls and went to the lantern riddles to compete with a group of folk girls to guess the riddles. They actually won back a lot of little things. Your own pocket, although His Majesty has always despised the so-called 'competing for profit with the people', but what are you two? "

"So what?" Concubine Tian Xichun shyly threw herself into her eldest sister's arms and acted coquettishly, but she still continued to argue, "I'm the youngest to begin with, so let's just say I'm younger."

"Are you more than ten years younger?" Tan Chun hit his sister twice with a large brush in annoyance, "Fortunately, sister Qin was smart and called four female guards to protect her before leaving. These people can be considered responsible. After reporting to Sister Yongchang, more than 20 plainclothes secret guards were sent around you, otherwise, even if there is a little danger, His Majesty's punishment for you will not be solved by just kneeling down."

"It's not just about kneeling as a punishment." Xichun said half a sentence before she fell into Yuan Chun's arms with blushing cheeks, feeling too shameless to say anything more.

The other Miharu looked at each other, all blushed, and wisely skipped the topic.

"Eldest sister, didn't His Majesty say that he would stay with us today? Why did I hear that today's lunch was served at Cining Palace?" Yingchun asked with some worry, "There are not many people at the Queen Mother's side, but Now that you are pregnant, will your Majesty just stay there? If that’s the case, shouldn’t we—”

"Well, Sister Bao has also passed this time. It's not like you don't know His Majesty's temperament. How can two twins stay overnight?" Yuanchun blushed and smiled, "Besides, after so many years, except for some really bad things, During the adjustment, did you see that His Majesty broke his promise? Just wait and see."

"Your Majesty, it's true. There are so many sisters in the family. How come she and the two old women from Cining Palace -" Xichun complained dissatisfiedly.

"You damn hooves, what are you talking about!" Tan Chun knocked his sister angrily, "Even if there is something, for the sake of Sister Bao, don't talk nonsense. Don't forget that when His Majesty started his career, he had a lot of money. But thanks to the support of the Xue family, Sister Bao is already wronged enough, and my family must not say anything unpleasant again."

"Okay." Yuanchun saw that Xichun was still a little aggrieved, so he persuaded with a smile, "We live as a family, how can our chopsticks not touch the bowl? Give each other a few steps, everyone helps each other, and we will be over. Don't say anything about 'creating a grudge' 'If so, His Majesty has already made up his mind that the prince can only be born to the Queen. In this case, what is there to worry about?
Fourth sister, instead of thinking about these useless nonsense, you might as well think about having a brother by your side. Now our sisters are missing you, but you are the last one to patronize and play around with His Majesty. The purpose of the boudoir is to reproduce Ji, how can anyone who has served for more than ten years still feel empty at his knees? "

"Eldest sister, after all, you already have a brother, and there are two more third sisters. What else do I have to worry about?" ? Look at the two sisters of the Zhao family, the third sister has nothing to worry about so far, isn’t she also feeling empty at her knees? "

"Sister Yan Ling." Yingchun and Xichun may not have considered that Yuanchun and Tanchun were obviously thinking more. They looked at each other and did not talk in depth. Yuanchun directly changed the topic, "According to the usual practice, His Majesty should have returned to Ming Dynasty. The palace will deal with the papers, and then come to our side during dinner. Second sister, can you have the imperial kitchen ready?"

"Don't worry, big sister, I won't miss you." Yingchun nodded without hesitation, "Do you want someone to go to Daming Palace to say hello again?"

"No need. Your Majesty usually doesn't like to be disturbed when he is dealing with official duties. Anyway, with sister Qingwen taking care of him, what else is missing?" Yuan Chun shook his head after thinking for a while, turned to Tan Chun and said, "Three Sister, when Sister Xiuyan was pregnant, you were the one who helped His Majesty and did most of the writing work, right?
You are the best among us sisters. It would be a waste to play with us all day long. Anyway, Sister Xiuyan is not difficult to talk to. She shouldn’t mind multiple helpers. Why don’t we discuss it with His Majesty tonight so that you can stay in the Imperial Palace from now on? Study help?We all know His Majesty's temperament, he is always impatient with such government affairs, and it will save him trouble if more people help. "

"Excuse me, big sister." Tan Chun nodded with a blushing face.

Daming Palace, Imperial Study Room.

"Your Majesty, this is the war situation in Nanyang reported by the Privy Council." Zhao Qiying held up a rather thick memorial and placed it in front of Zhou Yang. "Now we have full dominance in the area east of the Tianzhu Sea. If necessary, we can End the war before the end of May and avoid June, July, August and September when conditions are the worst.”

After so many years of career as a "military secretary" and actually in charge of the affairs of the Jinyi Army, Zhao Qiying is no longer the chivalrous lady she used to be. At least she is very good at memorials, intelligence, etc. Now the Privy Council materials are all made by She first sorted it out and divided it into categories, and then sent it to Zhou Yang. The corresponding materials were the Government Affairs Office materials that Xing Xiuyan was responsible for.

"Is that all?" Zhou Yang glanced at at least ten pages of memorials, rubbed his temples and rested his head on the back of the chair, "There is no need to waste so much pen and ink on this matter, the Privy Council should have other things to do. Right? Let’s talk about it together.”

"Your Majesty!" Zhao Qiying went around behind the chair and said while massaging Zhou Yang's temples, "Because the war is progressing too fast and smoothly, it is difficult for us to do any major cleanup on the Nanyang Peninsula or even the Nanyang Islands you mentioned. The local natives and the Chinese ancestors who moved there in the early years all acted like they were following their lead."

"So that's it!" Zhou Yang understood the Privy Council's worries, "As the saying goes, 'The strong wind knows the strong grass, and the rough ground reveals the loyal ministers'. Under such a smooth situation, all kinds of cats and dogs appeared, claiming to be 'enjoying the Chinese and treating them bitterly'. It's been a long time since I couldn't tell whether it was a human or a ghost, so the Privy Council made a plan?"

"What the Privy Council means is that we might as well make a 'big defeat' and retreat the main force of our army to the vast area between the Mekong River and the Chao Phraya River to 'repair', avoiding the hottest season in Nanyang by the way, and giving those underwater scum We have an opportunity." Zhao Qiying said confidently, "There is no winter in Nanyang all year round, and it happens that the war can be completely cleaned up between October and the end of the year, so as to save recurrence."

"In this way, it is equivalent to temporarily giving up the vast area west of the Chao Phraya River and the Salween River." Zhou Yang frowned, "I believe there will be no problems on this side of the Chao Phraya River. What about the Salween River Basin? There is no problem with the Salween River." Tianzhu is connected to the mainland, and the red-haired people will not just watch such a loophole and ignore it."

"Their military strength is too low." Zhao Qiying said without hesitation, "More than [-]% of that front line is the servant army recruited by the red-haired people in Tianzhu. Their combat strength is almost negligible. The vast area between the Salween River and the Irrawaddy River further west The area is full of these things. We once sent a regiment and battalion to conduct a trial attack, but for the first time, there was a problem of not being able to keep up with supplies due to too fast an assault."

"This group of things has remained unchanged for thousands of years." Zhou Yang laughed dumbfounded, remembering the famous phrase "The enemy not only did not surrender, but dared to fight back against us", "So, Qiying is inclined to the plan of the Privy Council?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhao Qiying smiled softly, but did not continue to persuade.

Zhou Yang's heart moved, he looked up at the map of Nanyang on the wall, and began to consider the differences and gains and losses of the two plans.

"Your Majesty, Sister Qiying." After less than half a cup of tea, Xing Xiuyan entered the imperial study with a few memorials in her arms, "Just now I was outside and heard your discussion. I shouldn't have been involved in war affairs, but the Government Affairs Council sent you Among the memorials that came, there happened to be a few of them in this area, so I brought them together." "Oh?" Zhou Yang frowned, he knew Xing Xiuyan's habits, and if there were no major problems, she would not be involved in military affairs. The one who spoke, since he came here specially this time, there must be a conflict between the papers from the Government Affairs Council and the Privy Council, "I won't read it, tell me about the situation."

"The most important thing is the report from the Ministry of Finance. It is said that if the war is delayed, the military expenditure will not be enough to support it," Xing Xiuyan said softly.

"Qiying?" Zhou Yang immediately became angry and turned to look at the "Military Secretary".

"Your Majesty, although our war in Nanyang has been delayed for a long time, the total number of troops has never been large." Zhao Qiying said immediately, "Currently, the main ones being deployed are four pure infantry rifle regiment battalions, each with a strength of [-] After deducting losses from the household system, there are still about [-] left; two cavalry per thousand, basically full strength, and three ten-pound field artillery for suppression, basically full strength."

"Where's the navy?" Zhou Yang asked.

"Because the main force of the red-haired people was completely lost in last year's decisive battle, Prince Jinghai withdrew about half of the warships and all the marines. Currently, only six warships with 20 materials and more than [-] ships are left. We don’t need to worry about patrol ships with less than [-] yuan to help block the remaining navy of the red-haired people." Zhao Qiying said immediately, "Even until now, the business between the prince and the red-haired people has not been affected."

"Interesting." Zhou Yang said with a cold tone, "Xiuyan, if I remember correctly, the imperial court should have a balance of nearly 300 million taels at the end of last year, right?"

"Your Majesty, this is a secret from the Hanlin Academy." Xing Xiuyan had already prepared. "Because there was a large balance last year, they believe it was caused by the imperial court's excessive taxation from the people. They strongly recommend reducing taxes and opening it."

"That's enough!" Zhou Yang couldn't help but sneered, "The two sides are cooperating very well, Qiying, please take the time to find Ronger and cooperate with us to investigate the problems of the Ministry of Finance; also, I remember At the military and political summary meeting at the end of last year, we already requested the Government Administration Council to trial 'coinage' and let them make silver and copper dollar prototypes. Now three months have passed, why is there no news at all?"

"Your Majesty, I have never seen anything like this before." Xing Xiuyan said without hesitation.

"Did the Ministry of Finance's report just now conclude that the imperial court was unable to bear the burden and suggested that the war in Southeast Asia should be stopped or that the Ministry of Internal Affairs should take over military expenditures?" Zhou Yang finally asked.

"Your Majesty is wise." Xing Xiuyan nodded.

"Excellent." At this point, Zhou Yang still couldn't guess what the problem was. "Qiying, you go to Ronger now to discuss it. Tomorrow morning, we will call Mr. Sun Ge who is in charge of legal affairs and the Supervisory Office. Organize all the materials on all the issues, and then I will ask if the Government Affairs Council thinks there are too many people, and then I will help them reduce their staff!"

"Your Majesty, don't worry." Zhao Qiying turned around and went out.

"Your Majesty, it's understandable that the Ministry of Finance doesn't want to spend money on concubinage, but the policy of minting has many benefits, so why are they opposed to it?" Xing Xiuyan asked in confusion after watching Zhao Qiying go out.

"Because in this world, there is a legal way to make money called 'fire consumption'." Zhou Yang said with a sneer, "They can blatantly use three-thirds of the silver when smelting the broken silver, purifying it, and transforming it into official silver ingots. Even seven points are reported as 'fire consumption', and then put in one's pocket. The coin does not need to be recast, and naturally there is no fire consumption!"

"This—" Xing Xiuyan was stunned, "It's obviously a good thing for the country and the people."

"You, after following me for so many years, why are you still so naive? Policies that benefit the country and the people may not benefit certain people. Fortunately, I can kill them." Zhou Yang smiled helplessly, hugged the girl and shouted outside, " Qingwen, bring a pot of hot tea over here, and send someone to call Yan Ling back and tell her that I have something to ask her."

"Don't worry, my lord!" Qingwen's sweet answer came from outside immediately, and then she arranged for people to go out, and after a while, she entered the study with a tray, "My lord, this is the new Mingqian tea this year. The servant girl can't drink it good or bad, so you just come to try something new."

"Stupid girl, you can't drink it, so I drink it?" Zhou Yang laughed dumbly, knocked the maid lightly and said, "You don't have to help me cover up, let's come out of the tavern together, how do you know anything about tea? It's nothing more than This one tastes better, that one looks clearer, and who knows if there are more?"

The two girls next to me couldn't help laughing.

"Brother-in-law, what are you laughing at?" The three of them were talking, when Zhao San's teasing voice came from outside.

"We'll talk after you come in." Zhou Yang breathed a sigh of relief and ordered to Xing Xiuyan and Qingwen, "You two go out first - Qingwen, you go to Changchun Palace and tell Yuan Chun that I won't go over for dinner anymore and let her No need to wait any longer; Xiuyan, please sort out the documents from the Government Affairs Council, pick out all the ones that are with the Ministry of Finance and the Hanlin Academy this time, and give them to me tomorrow morning."

"Your Majesty (Emperor), don't worry!"

"Brother-in-law?" Zhao Yanling, who had already entered the door, looked at Zhou Yang in confusion.

"Come here!" Zhou Yang took her in his arms and pulled her into the lounge next door. He sat on the edge of the bed, pushed her down and knelt down in front of him, and then said angrily, "Three Heroines Zhao, I remember You sisters have been with me for more than ten years, and you are now over 30. Qiying has given birth to a son and a daughter for me, why are you still lazy now?"

"Brother-in-law is talking nonsense again. Who can decide whether or not this kind of blessing is coming? Probably" Zhao Yanling said with a blushing face.

"Are you so worried?" Zhou Yang sighed helplessly, pulling the girl up and hugging her in his arms, "You and Qiying are in charge of the Ouchi guards and the Jinyi army respectively. When Qiying is pregnant, you can take charge of both sides. They all accepted it. Zhao Sanxiao, who was only in charge of the sword at first, suddenly learned to read the secrets, sort out the news and manage the people under her.

Your second sister and your second brother-in-law were both running escorts in the beginning. Now Cai Hanying has joined the Jinyi Army and has become a commanding officer from the fourth rank. Even your second sister with such a bad temper is now helping you in the capital. In charge of the manpower outside the capital area, I deliberately pretended not to see it, but I didn’t even dare to get pregnant, right? "

"Brother-in-law, I..." Zhao Yanling, who has always been heroic, couldn't help crying, and said while lying in Ai Lang's arms, "My eldest sister and I don't have the ability to 'not grow old' like other sisters. We are worried that we will be useless, so we can't be with my brother-in-law. Living together, there are plenty of courtyards in this palace, just find a place to throw them away, maybe it will be your destination in this life."

"You two fools." Zhou Yang sighed helplessly. With too many women, this kind of intrigue is inevitable, but no matter how powerful he is, he can't really solve it completely. "Okay, you are alone now. It depends on you. Give it up to Qiying every time, be obedient, and conceive a baby for me and yourself. If a woman gives up her right to be a mother, what will happen if she has more things in her hands?"

"Brother-in-law——" Zhao Yanling's cheeks turned red and she squinted her eyes and allowed him to be pushed down.

(End of this chapter)