Chapter 497 Xu Zhenguan Proposes Marriage

Chapter 497 Xu Zhenguan Proposes Marriage

Chapter 497 Xu Zhenguan Proposes Marriage

The next day, early morning.

Zhao Duan lay on his back with his eyelids open. He habitually touched his surroundings with his right hand, and after confirming that there was no one beside him, he couldn't help but sigh softly.

"When will these hard times end..."

The male dog exerted force with his waist, and Zhao Duan sat up in a somersault. The handsome man in ancient costume had messy long hair hanging down. He stretched out his hand and ripped open the bed curtain. The sunlight poured in from outside, making him squint.

"However, even though I'm alone, it's still more comfortable to sleep in my own bed..."

With a sigh, Zhao Duan rubbed his hair and was pleased to find that his depressed state caused by visualizing "The World" last night had been resolved.

"Although I have the Green Lotus to replenish my spirit, crossing the boundary to forcibly visualize the Human World obviously puts a certain amount of pressure and burden on me, and the time I can stay in that world is also greatly limited...

Well, so, the best thing for me right now is to be honest and practice "The Great Dream Scroll".

Besides, although "The World" is, to some extent, my home turf, I didn't notice anything special about this picture last night... Is it because I am not at a high enough level to comprehend it?"

"But The World also has strategic value. For example, it may contain books and materials... Let's not talk about whether I can find them and memorize them. Most of the materials are not suitable for the current era of Yu State..."

"Moreover, what I should delve deeper into now is the secret of Old Xu, and the answer may be found in The Great Dream Scroll."

Zhao Duan used his clear brain to make the above judgment and decided not to delve into the murals on the fourth floor for the time being, but to concentrate on conquering the Pei Niannu data pack from six hundred years ago.

but……

Before that, he had to solve the problem of the Qingzhou rebels.

……

Zhao Duan got out of bed and quickly finished washing up. When he pushed the door and walked out of the room, it was already bright outside.

In the summer capital, the sun rises very early. My nose flares and I can smell the familiar aroma of food coming from the cafeteria.

"Aunt, sister, good morning." Zhao Duan stepped into the hall and smiled at his family.

The breakfast was very sumptuous. Eugenia smiled as beautifully as a flower. She rolled up her sleeves and used her bare hands to stir the spoon to serve him soup and rice.

Zhao Pan, who was wearing her home clothes, had washed and dressed early and put on makeup. Now she was holding the Pekingese and watching Zhao Duan eating buns with a smile on her face.

It seems like the years are peaceful and quiet.

"Why are you looking at me, girl?" Zhao Duan was curious.

Zhao Pan smiled and said, "Brother hasn't eaten at home for a long time, so I'll take a closer look."

Eugene Hua glared at her and poked her daughter's head with her finger:

"Go wash your hands. You've been playing with dogs all day."

He immediately looked at Zhao Duan and sighed softly:

"But it's right to look at it more. After Dalang and Your Majesty get married, you won't see it anymore."

Zhao Pan was not happy: "It hasn't even started yet."

Although the scandal between Zhao Duan and the empress was already known to everyone in the capital, it had never been made public.

Just at this moment, the three of them suddenly heard noisy sounds of music coming from outside the yard, coming from far away and getting closer.

"What's that sound? Is there a happy event in someone's family?" Eugene Hua was very surprised and looked outside curiously.

Considering the current turbulent situation, the coup has just been quelled, the Li Party has fallen, and the government and the public are in turmoil. Logically speaking, the people around here are all rich or noble, and they would not hold any wedding at such a sensitive juncture.

Zhao Duan, who was drinking soup with his head down, raised his head with a slightly strange expression, thinking that it couldn't be so fast...

Soon, the sound of the music became louder and louder, finally alarming the entire Zhao Mansion. The old housekeeper suddenly rushed into the backyard and shouted:

"People from the palace are outside, playing music and carrying flags. Dalang, come out and see."

Someone from the palace? What are you doing here at this time?
Both mother and daughter were stunned and looked at Zhao Duan. Their instinctive reaction was that some reward had come from Zhao Duan.

"Let's go out and take a look." Zhao Duan remained calm, stood up and led the female family members to greet them.

When we walked out of the gate, we saw that the whole street was filled with palace people. Eunuchs were carrying bright yellow dragon flags, some were beating gongs and drums, and blasting horns to clear the way. There were also several carriages in the team.

At this time, people came out from the surrounding mansions and looked over here curiously.

"Young Master Zhao! Haha, we are sorry for disturbing you by visiting you." The leader of the team was an eunuch with a big smile on his face.

Zhao Duan recognized that this man was the "pen-holding eunuch" in the palace, second only to Sun Lianying and Mo Chou.

He is now the servant with the highest status in the palace.

"Father-in-law, this is..." Zhao Duan's expression became more and more strange.

The eunuch smiled slightly, took out an imperial edict from his sleeve in public, and unfolded it:

"Zhao Shaobao accepts the order!"

Zhao Duan stood with his hands clasped, and the Zhao family members behind him also bowed their heads skillfully.

The eunuch said loudly:
"I have inherited the order of heaven and carried on the great plan. The way to govern the country is to rectify the family. The relationship between husband and wife is the righteousness of heaven and earth. I will respect my ancestors and support them with sincerity. I will only value my resources and obey the will of heaven... Now, I send an envoy with a seal to select with courtesy... and accept Mr. Zhao as my son-in-law... I decree this!"

The words were sonorous and powerful.

The eunuch who was temporarily appointed as the "deacon" put away the imperial edict, smiled and bowed forward and said:
"Congratulations, Young Master Bao. Today, I have come to your house to propose marriage under the order of the emperor."

Propose marriage!

It was like a bolt of thunder striking the earth. Immediately, not only the Zhao family members, but even the neighbors who came out to watch the excitement, all had their heads buzzing before they understood what had happened.

The empress proposed marriage and officially announced the prince consort!
From now on, Zhao Duan is the legitimate "Empress's Consort" and "Husband of the Current Emperor".

"Your Majesty...proposing marriage..." Eugene Hua was stunned, then her eyes turned red. She raised her hand to cover her mouth, excited and happy.

Even though she had anticipated this day, she, as the mistress of the Zhao family, still found it difficult to remain calm when she witnessed the royal proposal of marriage and her stepson's upcoming marriage.

"Propose marriage... the emperor's consort..."

Zhao Pan was also stunned. He didn't expect all this to happen so quickly. He felt disappointed for a moment, but then he remembered the unrivaled demeanor of His Majesty, raised his face again, and forced a smile:

"Congratulations, brother."

Proposing marriage... Zhao Duan, who had never thought that he would be proposed to by a girl in this life, just felt it was strange, with a look of not knowing whether to laugh or cry on his face.

Last night Xu Zhenguan mentioned the proposal to him, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.

After a little thought, he understood that it was because he was about to lead his troops to war, so Zhenbao wanted to finalize this title in advance to make it easier for him to command the Beijing camp.

"Come here, why don't you send the gift to the mansion?"

The eunuch holding the pen said hurriedly, and immediately, a large group of ceremonial guards behind him beat drums and gongs, and took out gifts from the carriage and sent them to the Zhao Mansion.

"Please look, Prince Consort. This is the list of gifts for the marriage proposal. Originally, His Majesty's reception for the bride should have been more grand, but the time was too tight and the preparations were not adequate this time..." The eunuch handed over a gift list in a flattering manner.

Zhao Duan glanced at the gift list and found:
Two hundred taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver, one gold tea set, two silver tea sets, two silver basins, a thousand rolls of satin of various colors, twenty fully saddled and bridled horses...

And such gifts were only the first round. The emperor’s wedding had “six ceremonies” and each one was a grand occasion.

"Thank you for your hard work, eunuch. Someone, come and give you an envelope of silver." Zhao Duan said with a smile.

The latter refused again and again, but finally accepted it reluctantly. The whole Zhao family was shocked, and then the neighbors came to visit and congratulate them.

As you can imagine, with the spread of this news, the Zhao family will be filled with guests all day long.

The Zhao family's status will also be further improved, and it will become one of the top families in Beijing.

After sending away the eunuch in charge of writing, Zhao Du'an entrusted the matter of welcoming the guests to his aunt and sister. He then changed into his official robe, quietly left home through the back door, and rode straight to the Shenjiying outside the city.

The news of the empress's return will spread quickly. In order to prevent the Qingzhou army from withdrawing, he dare not delay and will move camp today.

……

……

Outside the city, the Shenjiying camp is stationed.

Before daybreak, the soldiers in the barracks had already broken camp, lined up, and prepared to set off.

When Zhao Duan arrived, he saw flags fluttering, infantrymen in large numbers, and spears like a forest.

A group of familiar military officers, all wearing armor, were waiting in the morning light. "General Zhao!"

When they saw a horse approaching from afar, the eyes of familiar people such as Shi Meng, the commander of the Shenji Camp, Chen Gui, the chief of the Firearms Bureau, and Tang Ping, the "young master" wearing silver armor and looking heroic, all lit up.

They all came forward to greet him.

"Welcome General Zhao back to the camp!"

"I heard about the incident in the city yesterday, but unfortunately I was tied up in military affairs and couldn't go into the city. I finally got to see it today."

"I haven't seen you for a few months. The general is more heroic than ever!"

Everyone was very excited.

Zhao Duan reined in his horse and stopped, examining the faces one by one with a smile. When he saw Shi Meng, who looked rough and burly but was actually a man of great talent, he cupped his hands and said:

"Commander Shi, long time no see."

Turning his head, he met the young master Tang Ping's bright, fighting eyes, and said with a smile:

"Why? Young Master, do you want to show me your power?"

Tang Ping's face turned red from being teased. The son of the Duke said sincerely:
"I heard that the general has been promoted to the worldly realm, and he has escorted His Majesty all the way from Jianning Prefecture to break through the layers of rebel obstructions. Tang Ping is convinced. Today, I am willing to follow the general, wipe out the rebels, and return peace to Dayu!"

The other generals also spoke excitedly, rubbing their hands in preparation and eager to go to the battlefield.

Shi Meng laughed and said:

"Yesterday, the young guard ordered Chen Gui to bring back the news, and the entire Shenji Battalion moved out overnight. Now, we only need one order to set out and defeat the enemy!"

These generals are so frustrated!
In the Beijing camp, twelve imperial guards were stationed inside the city, and the three camps of Three Thousand, Five Armies, and Shenji were stationed outside the city.

After the rebel king started his rebellion, Xue Shence, the "military god" of Dayu, took away the "Three Thousand Camps" and went south to Linfeng Road to stop the rebels.

The Fifth Army Camp dispatched troops to the east of the capital, on the Qingzhou border, to stop the Qingzhou rebels.

Only the Shenji Camp remained motionless, staying behind to prevent chaos in the capital.

This made Shi Meng and others extremely uncomfortable. As military officers, they only looked forward to fighting, making achievements, and killing the enemy in battle.

Now, Zhao Duan has returned and gave an order to take them to destroy the Qingzhou army. How can they not be excited?
"Very good, where is the firearm?" Zhao Duan nodded with satisfaction and looked at Chen Gui.

The skinny Chen Gui stroked his beard proudly and pointed to the back of the team, where there was a long line of baggage carts protected by the army. Each cart was covered with waterproof cloth and was bulging.

"General, all the new firearms are on it. This time we are bringing a thousand muskets, twenty divine cannons, a number of thunder bombs, fire crows, etc...."

Chen Gui talked eloquently, and this craftsman was more excited than the group of officers at this moment.

The news of the new firearms was top secret in the imperial court, and even the military officials of the Privy Council could not find out.

Over the past year, the entire Shenji Camp has been making firearms behind closed doors. Even the "Three Thousand" and "Five Army" Second Battalions, which are also part of the Beijing Camp, only knew that the Shenji Camp was tinkering with firearms, but had no idea of ​​the specific progress.

Moreover, those people's impression of firearms still remained at the time of Zhao Duan's military exercise.

Little did people know that after a year of hard work and transformation, today's firearms are no longer the same as those used in the original military exercises.

"Very good, very good," Zhao Duan smiled, reached into his arms, took out a "troop mobilization order" that the empress had ordered the Xiuwenguan to issue to him last night, and threw it to Shi Meng.

This military order stated that Zhao Duan was appointed as the temporary military commander in charge of suppressing the rebellion.

To mobilize troops for war, the necessary procedures must be followed, otherwise he, a third-rank military officer, would not be able to mobilize a single soldier.

Shi Meng took it quickly, unfolded it and took a look. After confirming that it was correct, he smiled:

"In this case, Shi and others will follow your lead on this trip."

"Hey, this is..." Suddenly, Tang Ping, who had good eyesight, noticed that half of the imperial edict was "accidentally" revealed when Zhao Duan took the order to mobilize troops.

"Oh. This, I just received it this morning." Zhao Duan smiled and threw the imperial edict to Tang Ping.
"Young Master is curious, just take it and have a look."

After saying this, he turned his horse around and headed towards the front of the army.

Tang Ping took it with doubt, unfolded the balled-up silk imperial edict, and then his eyes widened and his expression became dull.

Looking up, he saw Shi Meng and other officers looking at him suspiciously. Tang Ping silently handed the imperial edict to the general beside him.

After reading it, the military officer's pupils trembled, and then he silently handed it to the third person.

After a while, everyone took turns to look at the "marriage proposal" imperial edict, and couldn't help but breathe in. Chen Gui said enviously:

"Your Excellency is very lucky."

Shi Meng folded the imperial edict respectfully and said:

"Next, Zhao Shaobao's orders are His Majesty's orders."

If the troop mobilization order only gave Zhao Duan the title of commander-in-chief, and the real commander in name was still Shi Meng, then this imperial edict would truly make the entire Shenji Camp understand who was the boss.

At this time, the voice of Zhao Duan, who was far away, came: "Speed ​​is of the essence in war, let's march."

Soon, the army in the suburbs set out to the east. Considering that the Qingzhou army is not far from the capital, the Shenji Camp traveled at full speed and would arrive at the latest tomorrow.

……

royal palace.

In the imperial study, Xu Zhenguan was dressed in white and his long black hair flowed like a waterfall.

She stood quietly at the door of the study, looking towards the suburbs.

"Your Majesty, the marriage proposal has been delivered to the Zhao residence. The ministers have also entered the palace and are waiting in the side hall."

The eunuch holding the pen walked over in small steps, stopped in the corridor, and bowed his head to report.

Today is the first official court meeting held by the empress after she returned to the palace. Due to the Li Party’s coup, all government offices were busy and closed until late.

Therefore, the empress postponed the time of court session today.

And this court meeting undoubtedly has a lot of things for her to deal with. The border of Qingzhou is a battlefield, and today's court meeting is also a battlefield without the smoke of gunpowder, right?

"Do you think that the Shenji Battalion plus the Five Army Battalions can quickly put down the rebellion and prevent the Qingzhou Army from escaping back to Qingzhou Road?"

Xu Zhenguan suddenly asked.

The eunuch was stunned for a moment. He did not expect His Majesty to ask him this question. He said without hesitation:

"Qingzhou has few soldiers, and King Heng has great ambitions but little talent. With only the 15th Army Battalion, there is no doubt that he can defeat the Qingzhou soldiers. If the Shenji Battalion is added, there will naturally be no suspense. We will definitely win the battle."

This is not flattery, but a common belief in the court.

No one thought that the Qingzhou soldiers could really threaten the capital. The ministers were only worried that Prince Heng would see the situation was not good and run too fast. Once he retreated to Qingzhou Road, it would take too much time to fight again.

And now, what the court lacks is time.

"Yes," Xu Zhenguan nodded, "Get ready to go to court."

She turned around and led a large number of palace servants towards the Golden Palace.

However, when they were halfway there and approaching the Meridian Gate Square.

Suddenly, in the empty, blood-stained square, a "messenger" with a scarlet chess piece stuck on his back came running towards them!

From afar, seeing the empress about to enter the throne room, the messenger rushed forward, knelt on the ground in panic, and shouted:

"Urgent report from the Flying Eagle of the Fifth Army Battalion!!! The Qingzhou rebels took the initiative to start a war yesterday. The two armies clashed and the Fifth Army Battalion... was defeated!! Now the defense line is in danger. I beg the court to send troops and provide quick support!!"

The empress was stunned.

……

……

Qingzhou Road border.

The five military camps of the imperial court were shrouded in dark clouds.

In the central army tent, Yuan Feng, the commander of the Fifth Army Camp, who was about 40 years old and had a square face, sat in the tent with a gloomy and ugly expression, looking around at the generals.

(End of this chapter)