Rebirth of the High Gate Mistress

Chapter 341: Conspiracy to frame up

 The poorer and weaker a dynasty is, the more turmoil it will experience.

This year it was easy to survive the severe cold winter. As soon as spring began, a mob uprising broke out in the northwest. The rebel army rose up and captured three cities in succession.

Emperor Ming ordered Li Ling to be the commander-in-chief and Zhao Jin, the king of Jin, to be the deputy commander-in-chief. He led an army of 100,000 people to rush to put down the rebellion.

King Jin was the beloved son of Emperor Ming, and Emperor Ming would leave many important matters in the court to him. However, he never had military merit. This time to suppress the rebellion in the northwest, Emperor Ming asked Li Ling to take King Jin with him, in order to accumulate wealth for his son. Reputation was the thought that paved the way for the Jin king to inherit the throne.

After Emperor Ming's decree was issued, another turmoil was inevitable in the former harem. Emperor Ming's intentions were clearly exposed, and the princelings were naturally panicked.

After learning the news, Empress Cao did not care about any taboos. As a queen, she lived deep in the harem. Naturally, she could not meet with foreign ministers in private, so she had to invite her mother-in-law, Xia, into the palace to discuss the matter.

Empress Cao's brother is the first assistant in the cabinet, and her nephew is the military secretary. The Cao family can be said to occupy both civil and military positions. The Cao family has deep roots and huge power in the court.

When Empress Cao saw the Xia family, she shooed away the people in the palace, leaving only the confidant female officials by her side. She spoke to the Xia family and went straight to the point: "It seems that the Holy One has made up his mind to depose Bi'er and replace the king with Jin." Now that he is the crown prince, my brother has a way to deal with it."

As the wife of the chief minister of the cabinet, Xia was naturally not an easy person. Seeing Empress Cao's anxious expression, she replied: "Your Majesty, please be patient for now. Your Majesty's move is just to let the King of Jin follow the Li family's heir to earn more money." Military merit, but even if the eldest son of the Li family is a victorious general, there is no guarantee that he will not suffer defeat, right?"

King Jin's reputation in the court is increasing day by day. If he has more military exploits, and if the princelings continue to obstruct him, Emperor Ming will probably stop everyone on the grounds that King Jin is talented but the prince is incompetent, and change the throne to a crown prince. Yes, but if Li Ling is defeated this time, Emperor Ming's wishful thinking will be in vain.

After hearing this, Empress Cao felt relieved and asked, "What are you going to do, brother?"

Xia stepped forward and quietly replied: "These soldiers have to wear clothes and eat when fighting. If the soldiers can't fill their stomachs, they will not have the strength to go into battle to kill the enemy. So what will happen to the Li family's eldest son, no matter how brave he is? Where can he go? There is a reason why a polished commander can win a war."

Xia Shi smiled slightly and continued: "Brother Ning is in charge of the errands of the Ministry of War. The food and salary supply for the front line must not be handled by the Ministry of War. What I mean is that we can do something about the military pay."

Empress Cao is a meticulous person. After hearing this, she thought for a while and replied in a low voice: "If you directly manipulate the military pay, it will eventually become a thing. If the Holy Emperor pursues it, it will be exposed."

Her phoenix eyes moved slightly, and she whispered to Mr. Xia: "If you want to do anything, you have to do it halfway. You must clear the relationship."

Xia replied: "Don't worry, Madam, I have thought carefully about it. My plan is to let the news out during the escort, and then let the mob come and rob it."

After hearing this, Empress Cao nodded slightly. His phoenix eyes moved slightly, thinking: "If we can use this disastrous defeat of the Li family's son to annihilate the entire army and take the opportunity to kill King Jin in one fell swoop, then in the end, It couldn't be better."

Xia took the opportunity to say: "I have also thought about doing this, but I still feel that it is too risky. If one of them fails, everything will be lost. Besides, the heir apparent of the Li family is the flesh and blood of the eldest princess. If Li Ling has something wrong with him, then everything will be lost." , I’m afraid the eldest princess won’t be able to fool her.”

After hearing this, Empress Cao replied: "Although this plan is dangerous, the chance of success is high. What will happen if the eldest princess and the Holy Master find out something afterwards? King Jin is dead and King Qi is stupid. I don't believe they are still here." Is it possible to give up the throne to an outsider? Besides, let’s do it more secretly and leave no one alive. If we just want to find out, what can they find out?”

Xia still felt that this move was too risky. She sighed slightly and said, "It would be great if we could get the support of the eldest princess. Why waste all our efforts." Upon hearing this, Empress Cao echoed: "How could I have ever done this before? I don’t want to win over the eldest princess, but over the years, no matter how hard I try to please me, it’s all in vain. I originally wanted to capture her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Shen, and then slowly pursue her. I didn’t expect His Majesty to be so impatient.”

She sighed deeply and said with a sad look on her face: "It can be seen that he is cruel enough to ignore the jade."

With that said, Empress Cao looked at Xia and said helplessly: "This matter is of great importance. You go back and tell your brother my thoughts, and we will make a decision."

Xia Shi nodded and agreed to Empress Cao's instructions, and then said: "On the Shen side, I think it is a good breakthrough. While Li Ling is far away from the northwest, I might as well find a way to capture her, and we will have more. The way back is not.”

Empress Cao replied to Mr. Xia: "I will make arrangements for this."

 Empress Cao was plotting painstakingly here, and Concubine Meng was naturally not idle either.

She got the news that Emperor Ming had indeed asked his son to take command with Li Ling to pacify the northwest, so she dressed up and came to Qinzheng Hall.

Emperor Ming was in charge of government affairs. When he saw his beloved concubine coming, he quickly put down the busy affairs in his hands and said with concern: "Aren't you feeling unwell? Why did you come out if you didn't have a good rest in the bedroom?"

Concubine Meng stepped forward, put down the food box in her hand, took out the carefully prepared meals one by one and placed them on Emperor Ming's desk. She said with a smile: "Your Majesty only cares about your concubines, but you don't know how to cherish your own body. I have specially prepared some nourishing meals for you, please eat them while they are hot."

Emperor Ming glanced at his beloved concubine who still had bright eyes and white teeth, smiled and pulled her over and said, "Let's use it together."

Concubine Meng has always been favored by Emperor Ming. She did not refuse after hearing the words, so she sat next to Emperor Ming and ate meals with him.

Concubine Meng brought the filled soup to Emperor Ming and said, "Does Your Majesty really intend to let Jin'er march westward with the eldest son of the Li family?"

Emperor Ming smiled and said: "The imperial decree has been completed, how can it be false?"

As he spoke, he reached out and pinched Concubine Meng's cheek, teasing her and saying, "What? Concubine, you don't want our son to go into battle?"

Concubine Meng smiled at Emperor Ming: "You take care of everything every day, and Jin'er should share your worries. How could I not be willing?"

Emperor Ming laughed loudly and replied: "Jin'er has always been filial and sensible. I know it well. Don't worry, Bo Yue is witty and brave, and is very good at using troops. He will definitely return in triumph when he goes to the northwest to quell the chaos. Our Jin'er has already I have a lot of merits. This time I returned in triumph with Bo Yue, and I have gained more military achievements. I can also silence the mouths of those who oppose me."

 (End of this chapter)