"Saint, saint."

Opening her heavy eyes, Empress Xiang felt that her head was still groggy and she still wanted to sleep. After looking at the sky, it was completely dark, and the hall in front of me was dark, only the light outside was there.

Reaching out and being helped up, he asked the queen, "What time is it?" ”

"Shen Shichu." The intimate palace maid replied in a whisper.

"Why is this all at this time?"

Originally, I was tired just reading the chapters, and I wanted to rest my eyes and take a nap in the east wing of the apse of the Chongzheng Palace, but now I slept for more than an hour.

"The saints work day and night for the affairs of the state, which is why they sleep more deeply."

Xiang Empress looked out, the window had not yet been replaced with glass, and she could only feel the darkness outside, and the sky at the beginning of Shen Shichu should not be dark like this, "This day is not like this." She asked.

"It's going to rain. The clouds are heavy. The palace maid asked, "Sage, do you want to make up?" ”

Sitting in front of the dresser, Empress Xiang still didn't have much energy: "Keep it simple." There is no need to see the minister. ”

She was lazy to comb her makeup, only loosely tied up her hair, and wore the clothes she wore every day in the palace, looking no different from an ordinary lady of an official eunuch.

On the front of the dresser, there is a square mirror, which is different in color and shape from ordinary copper mirrors, and has a crystal reflection on the surface.

This is a new product of the Shosakuto Glass Workshop, but I heard that I learned the craft from Kansai. The flat white glass is covered with a layer of silver, then lacquered and embedded in an ebony frame. This one-foot-square mirror was specially selected from many pieces of flat glass, and most of them were palm-sized, and few of them were as square as the seal.

The queen is in her thirties, and her face in the silver mirror is still as young as ever. But if you are in the daytime sun, you can already see fine lines at the corners of your eyes.

Facing the mirror, he sighed to the queen: "This silver mirror is not good at all, and if there is anything bad, it is clearly reflected." ”

"Saint, do you want to change back to the original bronze mirror?"

"That's it. If you can hide yourself, can you hide it from others? …… Hurry up, you have to go to the Funing Palace. She urged, but her voice was powerless.

The husband's mind is becoming more and more elusive, and it feels more and more strange, and going to the Funing Hall is like coping with an errand.

The peace agreement that was finally reached was ruined in one sentence.

Saying that the person who restores the Youyan can be crowned the king, it happened to be rumored together with the great victory in Hedong, and many people in the capital felt that the Liao people were not to be afraid. shouted to attack the Liao State. The envoys of the Liao State also heard about it, and sent people back overnight, and even clamored to go to the temple to meet her, so that she had to send Zhang Qi to appease.

Thinking of this, she inevitably complained, but it was inconvenient to say it.

Just after cleaning up, Jiang Rong outside came in and reported: "Sage, Song Duzhi is here." ”

"Song Yongchen? What's the matter? The queen sighed, "Let him in." ”

Song Yongchen came in, holding a piece of music in his hand, beaming with joy: "Sage, Wang Sunchen of the Western Regions played the victory in the court, and the official family and the sage blessed him, and the official army won the first battle." The combined forces of the Gaochang and Huangtou Uighurs were defeated, more than 2,000 were beheaded, and countless were captured. Now it is pursuing westward, and it is going straight to Gaochang's lair. ”

Hearing the good news, Empress Xiang was not happy, and waved her hand without much energy: "In the future, if it is not the military situation from the north, don't send it in such a hurry." In the matter of the Western Regions, let the two governments send someone to check and understand, and then give a reward according to the rules. As for the military state that was defeated, whoever is willing to go to the Western Regions to be an official will let him go. ”

A few days ago, Wang Sunsin played from the Western Regions, saying that it was winter, the snow on the road had melted, and he would continue to move westward. Before, almost all of them forgot about him, it wasn't for his recital, and no one remembered it.

Regarding Wang Sunchen's actions, half of the people in the court said that they would take advantage of the situation to set up the Anxi Protectorate to govern the Western Regions, and the other half said that they would immediately withdraw their troops so as not to be troubled in the Western Regions in the future, and some people simply wanted to treat Wang Sunchen's crimes, saying that he was vain and provoked - but that was the emperor's edict before, which was set before the emperor's illness, and there was an edict to protect himself.

Empress Xiang is tired of listening to military information every day, she has a different temperament from the emperor. She won't be ecstatic when she hears good news, worried when she hears defeat, and even can't eat for days because of the war, she's just a little woman who likes to be safe and stable.

Now there is no big war between Hebei and Shaanxi, that is, Hedong, Han Gang also said in the secret recital that was transmitted back at the same time as the good news, and the subsequent actions did not seek to conquer the city, but only to recover the lost land, and then give the Liao thieves a lesson, so that they would not dare to peep south in the future, and at the same time, they would also strengthen the momentum for peace talks.

"The prince is about to get out of school, you should step back first."

Not long after Song Yongchen left with the good news, the mother-in-law of the old palace who took care of Zhao Maid took Zhao Maid's hand and came in. Zhao Maid's two nurses, Dou and Li, followed behind, and the accompanying attendants and palace people stayed outside.

Seeing her son, the queen's face had a smile on her face: "The sixth brother is out of school." ”

Zhao maid saluted with a glance, "The child greets the mother." ”

Zhao maids generally attend classes in the morning, follow Wang Anshi and Cheng Hao to study literature, and in the afternoon, they learn etiquette and archery in the afternoon.

These are a few members who are good at martial arts and are honest and steady selected by Empress Xiang from the class. Let Zhao Maid practice archery with them. The six arts of a gentleman, one of them, do not ask Zhao Maid to become an archer, just to be able to boil the muscles and bones, so that the body is strong and Amitabha.

At noon, the queen was busy with business and couldn't eat with Zhao Maid, but now that she sees it, she talks more.

"Sixth brother is Mr. Cheng's class today, what did you learn?"

"Mr. said the Book of Filial Piety today."

"So fast?!" Surprised the queen and praised Zhao Maid, "The sixth brother is really smart." ”

Although there are some worries that it is fueled by the seedlings, Empress Xiang is still happy about the speed of her son's progress.

The chamberlains and palace maids also smiled. The crown prince is very intelligent, as if he was bestowed by God, and he has only been enlightened for more than two months, and he can memorize the "Thousand Character Text", and the first few articles of the "Analects" can be recited. Now I have begun to learn the Book of Filial Piety again. He will definitely be a promising and good emperor in the future.

"Which paragraph did Mr. Cheng teach?"

"Hmm......" Zhao Fu thought for a while and said, "The son can't blame the father, and the minister can't blame the king." If the father and the emperor have been, the son should admonish him. ”

Empress Xiang's smile stiffened suddenly, and she only nodded: "...... That's right, the sixth brother is really getting more and more progressive. Indeed it should be. ”

"What else?"

"Soldiers, murder weapons, saints have to use them as a last resort. If the thief seeks peace, if his heart is sincere, he should allow it. ”

"Huh?!"

Now she couldn't even keep the smile bean.

Where are the words spoken by a five- or six-year-old child, enlightened to learn the "Thousand Character Text", the "Analects", and although the queen has read little, she also knows that there is no saint in the "Analects", "Thousand Character Text" and "Filial Piety Classic" that no saint has to use it as a last resort.

"Then according to the sixth brother, what should I do?"

"I'll go to my father's place today."

"But your father is sick now, what if your father is angry?"

Zhao maid opened his mouth and stammered. He was still young, and suddenly he couldn't think of anything other than a few words that he had memorized.

"When you visit your father later, don't talk nonsense, and when your father is well, I'll mention it to him."

Seeing that Zhao Maid nodded honestly, he breathed a sigh of relief to the queen, and then said to Zhao Maid: "Niangniang still has something to do below, Sixth Brother, you go outside to rest first." ”

Let the nurse Dou leave with Zhao Maid in her arms, the queen's face changed suddenly, and her hands trembled with anger, "Who taught the prince this?!" Zhang Wenbing! Wan Chenghei! The prince is young, so are you too young? Children are not sensible, are you not sensible, national affairs are also the power of that village to talk nonsense! Why didn't you stop him when he said that? ”

Zhang Wenbing and Wan Chengsi knelt on the ground and kowtowed like pounding garlic, and below the mother-in-law, the nurses, waiters and palace maids who served Zhao did not dare to answer, but only dared to look down at their toes. In fact, no matter how old the qualifications are, the chamberlain would not dare to interrupt the prince's teaching, but who would defend the two unlucky ghosts in front of the angry queen?

The prince is smart and studious, respects his teacher, and has such a prince, which is a blessing for the country. But his teacher has become a thorn in the queen's side, and the prince will definitely be affected in front of the queen.

"Call Shi Deyi, the prince should be replaced by two old people, don't want these unreliable."

Shi Deyi arrived soon, heard the queen's request, and agreed to it, promising to choose two internal servants who were reliable in terms of personality and sexuality.

The queen nodded, and Shi Deyi asked again: "Sage, what should Zhang Wenbing and Wan Chengsi do?" ”

Xiang Empress thought for a moment, "Let's go out of the palace and go to the meditation hall." ”

"The saint is benevolent, and the slave and maid will arrange it."

There are temples and Taoist temples in the capital that are dedicated to the palace people for the elderly, and of course there are eunuchs, and after being expelled from the palace, most of them are placed here.

The court of the Northern Song Dynasty may have been a habit passed down from Renzong in order to accumulate yin virtue and seek heirs, and the kind of palace people and eunuchs who were killed because of minor mistakes were rare.

Although it was the queen who wronged them, in the eyes of the queen, it was really a big mistake to let the prince's teacher discuss state affairs in front of the prince, but the worst thing was just to drive them out of the palace and get a place to live.

"Shi Deyi, you prepare a reward, send it to Cheng Hao, and tell him that it is hard to teach the prince, and the prince's learning is gradually improving because of his credit. Tell him again that although the prince has longing wisdom, he is young after all, and he cannot pull out the seedlings to help him grow. ”

Shi Deyi took the decree respectfully, and sighed in his heart, it may be because of the accumulation of experience, the queen is more and more handy in handling government affairs.

After taking a sip of the decoction, the queen asked again: "Shi Deyi, what do the rumors outside say about Liao recently?" ”

"There are many people who want to recover the clouds, but more people still hope to live a peaceful life as soon as possible."

"People's hearts are back." The queen nodded: "Fight with Liao thieves." It was with Han's secret talent that he commanded an army of 100,000, and he also consumed grain and grass against the Liao thieves, forcing Xiao Shisan to withdraw his army, and then broke the enemy in one fell swoop. ”

In the military register, it takes an extra 20,000 or 30,000 to be sent from the capital, excluding the soldiers and horses guarding along the way, Han Gang can only take out 50,000 to fight against Xiao 13, but in Beijing, the vast majority of people think that Han Gang is fighting against the Liao army with more than twice the strength.

is the queen, and some people usually remind her that the phenomenon of empty salaries in the army is everywhere, especially in Beijing. But once the number of people in her frontiers is counted, the queen always forgets this.

Han Gang can bring the situation back in Hedong little by little, which is much harder than Shaanxi and Hebei.