HLnovel Chapter 446 The Fisherman is Not in a Hurry to Close the Net
Chapter 446 The Fisherman is Not in a Hurry to Close the Net
Lord Cai looked at Xiao Mo's determined look and couldn't help asking, "I wonder what tricks the prince has."
"Naturally there is."
As he spoke, Xiao Mo took out the map and his finger fell on a city called Qushui.
"It is very likely that Prince Zheng and Xiao Yi will start a war here. When that happens, Xiao Yi will not be able to mobilize the troops in the Southern Camp, so the Queen Mother can only ask General Song in the east and General Yang in the west."
"Once the war started, everyone's attention was focused on Qushui City, and my 200,000 troops took the opportunity to leave Ningchuan City in batches."
"I will try my best to hide along the way and head straight for Luojiu City. After occupying Luojiu City, I will take a short rest and continue to head for the capital."
"Wait, Your Majesty, why do we have to stop at Luojiu City? Wouldn't it be better to lead the troops directly to the capital?"
"Because I can no longer hide. There are more people than trees after Qingshan City. Even if the army is dispersed, it will be discovered. It is better to take Luojiu City directly."
"More importantly, I am here under the banner of serving the king. If I go straight to the capital, I might arrive there earlier than King Zheng, which would be embarrassing."
Lord Cai laughed as soon as he thought about it. Xiao Mo had set a very strict time limit for this game of chess.
If he had led his troops to war under the banner of serving the king from the very beginning, Xiao Yi, who was far away in the capital, would definitely have stopped him.
But when Xiao Mo led his troops to Luojiu City, it was too late for Xiao Yi to stop him.
Moreover, at that time, Xiao Yi and King Zheng were fighting, so they probably couldn't take care of him.
The road from Luojiu City to the capital is an excellent one, and Xiao Mo's army can reach the capital in 20 days at most.
As long as the time is well controlled, King Zheng will be able to ascend the throne by then.
"Your Majesty has a good plan. I am willing to admit defeat."
Lord Cai bowed to Xiao Yi with great admiration. He only wanted Xiao Mo to lead his troops to capture the capital as soon as possible, but he forgot that Tian Qin was a vast country with rich resources, and there were many troops stationed in various places.
Although Xiao Yi had just ascended the throne not long ago and did not have much military power, the empress dowager had held imperial power for many years and there were still many generals who obeyed her orders.
If the Queen Mother had sent people to intercept from the very beginning, this quick battle for the throne would probably have dragged on for several years.
They only have an army of 200,000, and their food and supplies can only last for a year. If they don't win the battle quickly, they will definitely not be able to hold out.
Xiao Mo was watching King Zheng's every move, planning when to send troops. However, Xiao Yi in the palace had not received any news yet. He was immersed in the gentle fragrance and couldn't extricate himself.
He felt extremely happy when he saw the concubines in the palace fighting for his favor.
In terms of state affairs, Xiao Yi was even more lazy than Emperor Jing. On the one hand, he wanted to concentrate all the imperial power in his own hands, and on the other hand, he did not want to deal with state affairs.
Whenever he encountered a difficult problem, he would consult the Queen Mother. Even his own advisers could not stand Xiao Yi's behavior.
They could only comfort themselves that Xiao Yi was a benevolent monarch, and a benevolent monarch was what was most needed for the country to be peaceful and the people to be safe.
There was unrest in the court, and things were not much better in the harem.
The twins born to Mo Shuang were placed in the care of Gu Congyun. They were almost a hundred days old, and Gu Congyun was planning to hold a hundred-day banquet for the two children.
Ye Yanran was naturally unwilling to do this, but for Xiao Yi's sake she could only do it reluctantly.
When Gu Congyun heard the aunt in charge of the palace talk about the scale of the event, he couldn't help but frown.
"Aunt Fang, please go and tell the Empress that the Second and Third Princes were born when the Emperor ascended the throne. They are very lucky. Their hundred-day banquet cannot be too shabby."
"Besides, there has been no decent banquet in the palace since the emperor ascended the throne. We can take advantage of the Hundred Days Banquet to let the world see that our queen is quite good at hosting banquets."
What Gu Congyun said was very heartbreaking.
Ye Yanran has never held a proper banquet since she married Xiao Yi.
It's not that she didn't want to, but she didn't have the money. Even for the annual flower-viewing banquet, she only invited a few familiar ladies to her house and didn't dare to hold a grand event.
When Gu Congyun brought up the old matter again, Ye Yanran almost exploded from anger.
"What a great Gu Congyun! She just relies on the money that Prince Changping has. What's there to be proud of?"
"You want to use provocation to get me to hold a hundred-day banquet for those two little bitches? Don't even think about it."
"Aunt Fang, go tell Concubine Yun that the emperor has just ascended the throne and the treasury is empty. There are many places where money is needed. The two princes' hundred-day banquet can be held in Concubine Yun's palace. If you want a grand banquet, wait until the first birthday ceremony."
As for whether the two children can live to be one year old, it is hard to say.
Not long after Xiao Yi ascended the throne, he had no political achievements at all, but many concubines in the harem became pregnant.
Especially those newcomers who had just entered the palace, each of them was like a foxy woman, bewitching Xiao Yi to the point that 4 of them became pregnant in just a few months.
Ye Yanran felt unhappy whenever she thought about these things. She was the queen, and Xiao Yi should have come to her place for at least two days every month. However, Xiao Yi always said that he was busy with state affairs and slept in the warm room of the imperial study.
At first, Ye Yanran thought that Xiao Yi was really busy after ascending the throne, but later she found out that he was not busy with state affairs at all, but brought the beauties in the harem to the imperial study to favor him.
Originally, Ye Yanran saw that those pregnant concubines were of low birth and Xiao Yi had just ascended the throne, so she wanted to let them go and give birth to the children.
Now it seems that she is still too kind-hearted. Xiao Yi treated her like this, so does he deserve to have other children?
Ye Yanran immediately asked Su Shu to get some special medicine and secretly give it to the pregnant concubines.
Because the dosage was small, the imperial physician could not detect it when taking Ping An's pulse.
Ye Yanran calculated the time. They had been taking the medicine for a few days and it was time for the symptoms to break out.
Gu Congyun had long anticipated that Ye Yanran would not agree to hold the hundred-day banquet. After receiving a reply from Aunt Fang, she immediately got up and went to the Empress Dowager's palace.
The Queen Mother and Ye Yanran have been at odds with each other for a long time.
Ever since Ye Yanran became the queen, she has always wanted to take control of the power to manage the harem, but the queen mother always said that she was too young and needed to gain some experience before she could hand over the power to the harem to her.
As for how long it will take, it is unknown.
Ye Yanran loves power and is jealous and harsh on the princes. Any one of these is enough to make the empress dowager hate her.
If she couldn't handle her, then she would let the Queen Mother handle her. She wanted to see who had the harder fist.
Gu Congyun had just applied eye drops to the empress dowager. The empress dowager looked at the smiling second prince in her arms and said slowly, "Since the national treasury is empty, I will allocate money from my private treasury to hold a hundred-day banquet for the second and third princes."
"Give orders to each pregnant concubine in the harem to receive a reward, and give them a little more food and clothing in the future. Don't treat the concubines harshly, and don't treat the heir harshly either."
The Empress Dowager's decree was like a loud slap in the face to Ye Yanran.