A rebellious minister forced me to be a foolish king

Chapter 568: What I Lost, What I Learned

"That's right. This routine may be too much for your majesty. Let's recall again, why would Lanling Wang, who is an old tree that has just begun to fall in love, and a stubborn person, be so determined to distance himself from you? Is it because of King Ande? I don't see that he is jealous of his younger brother."

Yuan Wuyou sighed, "Even if he is jealous, he doesn't hate his brother, nor does he blame me. He even blamed me just now because I didn't trust him and didn't lead him into battle. Gao Changgong does have a broad mind, but he cares too much about others and has lost his own humanity. His sensibleness makes me want to kill myself."

Xiao Tongyan thought about it for a moment and came up with a solution.

"Then coax him like a child. Since he is inexperienced and has no experience of love, he must still be a child at heart."

"Why?"

Xiao Tongyan said seriously:
"Lanling Wang is like the kind of reliable son-in-law that the older generation would like. He is serious yet lively. He doesn't do anything out of line, so he is easily attracted to quirky girls and becomes obsessed with them. The more you treat him like a child and let him be free, the more novel he finds him. But he is also stubborn. Once he sets his mind on someone, nothing can change his mind. If you don't have a sense of responsibility for him, it's best not to abandon him after having an affair with him."

Yuan Wuyou agreed with what Xiao Tongyan said.

During this period, no matter how much gossip people had, saying that this man was not qualified or that man was not worthy, no one said that Gao Changgong was not worthy of being her husband. Even Gao Wei, who was so shrewd that he denigrated Gao Yanzong as a prostitute, only said that Gao Changgong's character was not suitable for being the queen, but he did not say that his character and talent were not worthy.

"I've always said that I wanted to marry him back to Huaxu to be the queen, but he refused to go with me."

"Heh!" Xiao Tongyan suddenly put his hand on his chin and leaned closer to the mature young princess opposite him, his eyes full of joking. "Your Majesty, do you really think he is worthy of being the queen?"

Hearing this, the little empress raised her eyebrows arrogantly and turned her head away, "Why do you say that?"

"If the queen of a country is helpful to you, her family power is the second power of your family. Even if the emperor of Zhou Kingdom doesn't like the queen from the Turkic region, doesn't he still dare to challenge Qi Kingdom by relying on the Turkic soldiers?" Xiao Tongyan's words were very logical, and when he was excited, he slammed his palm on the table! As the severe pain came, he realized that it was his injured right arm. He grimaced in pain, sweat on his forehead, and continued:
"And what about Prince Lanling? Even if you marry him, the Gao family may not be of any use to you. Besides, there is the Northern Zhou between Northern Qi and Huaxu. You are like a broken bridge, useless."

Although Yuan Wuyou had heard this too many times, now that Xiao Tongyan said this, she felt uncomfortable, but she had to accept her fate and compromise.

But she didn't show it on her face, her brows were still furrowed and her face was still cold.
"You just told me to be responsible for him, why are you pouring cold water on me again?"

"I'm just stating the facts. Of course, if you want to avoid a dead end, you might as well change your mindset."

"what?"

The woman at the opposite table smiled slightly:
"Incorporate Northern Qi into the territory."

As soon as these words were spoken, the majesty and dominance of Princess Jiangxia of Southern Liang were fully revealed. When she mentioned this, she became interested and spoke eloquently!

"It may be difficult for you to replace the Gao family, but if you return to Chang'an to seize the throne of Northern Zhou, then send troops to Northern Qi, and then marry Lanling King, make Qi's little emperor Xiaoyao King, and marry the Zhou emperor, it will all be legitimate."

The little Empress Huaxu nodded. "Indeed."

"Tsk, you're just young. A little girl can't handle a conservative old man when she's in love. Let me tell you how to control a man who is so restrained and polite and only wants to get married."

"He's not old..." "I'm talking about the inner heart, don't interrupt!" Xiao Tongyan scolded, then continued, "You should let him participate in everything, play with him like a child, tell him that there is more than just the wedding ceremony between you and him, and that there are also things like you and Gao Yanzong. Let him know your behavior and thoughts, your difficulties, and let him participate in your imperial cause. In this way, even if you don't get married, you can still gain a deeper relationship than physical intimacy. Maybe he will figure it out and stop clinging to rigid dogma. By then, he can not only help you, but also actively persuade you to be radical."

Inside the side room of the inn, Princess Jiangxia of Southern Liang was joking around with Prince Fengling of Northern Zhou who was dressed as a man, when suddenly there was a shouting and screaming outside the house.

As the knock on the door sounded, Jia Luo shouted urgently:

"Young Master, something bad has happened! The Qi people are attacking the city!"

Yuan Wuyou stood up suddenly.

"Attack the city? Come in and talk!"

On the other hand, Xiao Tongyan didn't care and stood up calmly.

The voice of the Garo who came into the house came before he arrived.

"Young Master was deceived by the Emperor of Zhou and that Princess of Nanliang! Tonight, the Duke of Wei imprisoned the governor of Xiangyang on the pretext of a birthday banquet. I'm afraid that the land of Jingxiang has been..." She looked up and saw Xiao Tongyan beside Yuan Wuyou, and her eyes immediately flashed with ferocity, "Young Master, why is she still here?"

Yuan Wuyou understood immediately after seeing this, and immediately turned around and sneered at Xiao Tongyan, "Oh, you are deliberately trying to hold me back, right? Do you think that by helping Northern Zhou hold Governor Yu hostage, you can take over all of Jingxiang?"

Xiao Tongyan shook her head, "It's unfair, Master Qingtang! How dare I covet the land you hold in your hands? It was the Zhou Kingdom that forced me to come here to hold you back. Jingxiang is across the river from Jiangling, and it's also my hometown..." As she spoke, she suddenly revealed a strange smile.
"Your Majesty, we are now in the same boat. Jing and Xiang are unwilling to submit to the imperial court. Now that the governor of Xiangyang has been held hostage, the people of Jing and Chu have lost their backbone and are in disarray... If Your Majesty does not come forward to win back the people's hearts, what will happen to hundreds of thousands of people? Do you know what will happen?"

"I am afraid that my words may come true, so I dare not make any rash judgments."

"Your Majesty, have you ever seen a massacre in a city? Today's Jingxiang, Jiangling, and even the current Bowang City are all places where the Han Dynasty prospered! In the Three Kingdoms period, Emperor Zhaolie of Han was defeated by Cao Cao and withdrew his troops across the river. Why did 100,000 people in Jiangling follow him with their families? Because Cao Aman really massacred the city!"

Yuan Wuyou frowned, "Does the Northern Zhou dare to massacre the city?"

Xiao Tongyan smiled coldly.

"Why was Shu Han the only one among the Three Kingdoms that won the hearts of the people? Because only Emperor Zhaolie never massacred the people in the city and treated the people as human beings! This group of people wanted to win back the hearts of the people, while the others only wanted to conquer the cities and lands, regardless of whether you resisted or not, they would all be killed."

Yuan Wuyou looked at her coldly, "If you had come earlier to report the news, I would have gone to rescue the governor of Xiangyang."

Xiao Tongyan sighed.

"People learn something only after they have lost something. If Xiangyang had not fallen, would Your Majesty have joined this battle? Now the land of Jingxiang still inherits the integrity of Shu Han and Guan Yu, and will certainly not surrender to the White Barbarians. The Zhou Kingdom will certainly conquer the land instead of the people, just like it did to Jiangling in the past."

"I treat Jingchu like my fellow countrymen. Indeed, if the enemy does not take action first, I will not be able to gather the people's strength to fight a desperate battle."

"Then I will ask Your Majesty to go out and take a look."