boyutpedia Chapter 419 Achievements
Chapter 419 Achievements
The crown prince was deeply saddened. He clung tightly to his father's neck, his gaze resolute as he watched the scene unfold before him. The warships of the Great Zhou were directly ramming into the smaller vessels of the provocateurs, their cannons relentlessly bombarding the enemy. The men of the Great Zhou drew their bows and arrows, excitedly firing at their opponents…
He seemed to understand many of the things his mother had said: only the strong have a voice, the weak will be attacked, and a king will die for his country...
The second prince had already achieved merit in this battle, while he, as the crown prince, had no merit at all.
"Father, in a few years, when I'm older, I want to join the army too. I want to protect our country." He was afraid his father wouldn't agree. "Mother said that Father also went to the battlefield back then. Mother said that a monarch who has not contributed to the country and its people has no credibility. I want to make contributions too!"
Li Yuanke usually took care of the children's basic needs, while Shen Shixi handled their education. He patted the prince's head and said, "Alright! Father will take you there!"
"No, I want to be like Father, I want to go myself!"
The warships of the Great Zhou were very tall and large, covered with a layer of iron. Compared with the warships of the Great Zhou, the warships of Baekje and Japan looked like toys.
The victory in this battle was a foregone conclusion.
Li Yunjue was captured alive and thrown before the Emperor like a stray dog. He grinned maliciously and said, "Li Yuanke, do you think you're where you are today because of yourself? Without Shen Shixi, would you be where you are today?"
In front of numerous nobles and ministers, he pointed at Li Yuanke and cursed, "You are an incompetent ruler! You have disgraced the Li family ancestors! You rose to power because of Shen Shixi, you stabilized the court because of Shen Shixi, and you only have what you have today because of Shen Shixi!"
The more he talked, the less he angered Li Yuanke; instead, he angered himself even more.
Heaven is unjust! Why can a coward like Li Yuanke become emperor, while he can't?
The ministers looked at each other anxiously, wondering which side they should take if the emperor and empress were at odds.
Shen Xianzhang's legs went weak; could they please spare his entire family?
Let's discuss this: three races are already enough!
Li Yuanke said unhurriedly, "Oh, you're right! Being able to marry the Empress means that I am the most extraordinary man in the world. What's the problem?"
Li Yunjue was dumbfounded. Shouldn't Li Yuanke be furious and turn against the Empress?
Li Yuanke said, "The Empress chose me from the very beginning. Among all the princes and grandsons of the late Emperor, she chose me! She is of noble status and was willing to enter my harem because of her deep affection for me."
She bore me four children, offered me advice and strategies, and was my strongest support. The world acknowledges her capabilities. I am fortunate to have such a virtuous wife; what can you do if you are jealous?
Li Yunjue used all his strength, but his punch landed on cotton.
"A shameless person is invincible." He finally understood the weight of this saying before he died.
Li Yunjue nodded. "Since you trust Shen Shixi so much, I have nothing to say. I only hope that Shen Shixi can have the same loyalty as the Grand Tutor and never harbor any rebellious thoughts!"
This is sowing discord!
Shen Xianzhang hurriedly stepped forward to vouch for his daughter, saying, "The Empress's heart is as clear as the sun and moon. The Shen family will never produce a traitor. I am willing to guarantee this for my entire clan!"
Li Yuanke said, "I know better than anyone that the Empress is devoted to the country and the people; as for the words of traitors, Father-in-law, please don't take them to heart."
Li Yunjue said, "Eighth Uncle, don't be too happy yet. What Grandfather experienced—fathers turning against each other, brothers becoming enemies—you will not escape either. Hahaha, you will not escape either. As an emperor, you will definitely witness your sons killing each other!"
This refers to the Third Prince and several others; Li Yuanke's face was so dark it looked like it was about to drip water.
He no longer cared about his illegitimate sons, nor did he want to see trouble arise within his own family.
Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Li Yunjue laughed loudly and turned to run outside, preparing to jump into the sea. How could Li Yuanke let him escape? He raised his hand and struck Li Yunjue squarely on the shoulder and back.
The force was so great that it lurched him forward, and the thugs quickly surrounded him and took him into custody.
Three days later, Li Yunjue died of a high fever on the ship.
Whether it was truly incurable or whether the emperor was unwilling to bring him back to the capital to avoid further complications remains unknown.
The father and his five sons rushed back the day before Shen Shixi's birthday. Shen Shixi led civil and military officials to welcome them at the city gate. The couple looked at each other and recalled the scene when Li Yuanke returned from his personal campaign. It was here that Li Yuanke proposed to Shen Shixi.
This time, the four children ran to their mother, surrounding her from both sides. Li Yuanke came over, took her hand, and called out to the assembled officials who were bowing deeply and shouting "Long live the Emperor!" "Rise!"
At night, Li Yuanke wanted to do something with his wife, but because the four children had been away from their mother for a long time, they all wanted to sleep with her and squeezed onto the dragon bed, leaving Li Yuanke with nowhere to sleep.
Li Yuanke lay sprawled on the couch.
After coaxing all four of them to sleep, Li Yuanke carried them back to their own beds, returned to his own bed, and cuddled his wife for a good while.
Having not done it for a long time, the two were very excited and their playful antics lasted until dawn.
The next day, the family of six planted the twenty-fourth peach tree in the peach orchard. The peach blossoms in the seventeenth year of Yongxi were just as abundant, as bright and beautiful as the clouds.
The Crown Prince and Xihe went to school as usual and shared their experiences of leaving the palace with their brothers and sisters. Xihe brought a lot of conch shells to give to the Seventh Prince and his three older sisters.
The Crown Prince also brought a conch shell for the Ninth Prince, which made the Ninth Prince even more affectionate towards his younger brother.
When the Prince of Xun met with misfortune, the Third Prince was terrified. Xie Qingguang was sentenced to death, and the Emperor decreed that the Third Prince should supervise the execution.
As the knife sliced into Xie Qingguang's body, the Third Prince trembled all over, barely holding back his urge to urinate. When the final cut was delivered, Xie Qingguang finally breathed his last. The Third Prince's legs went weak, and his whole body turned cold.
He was soaked to the bone, and felt both fear and resentment.
The church in Luzhou that was involved in the "eating vegetables and cursing demons" was wiped out. Wen Zhaojie, the commander, was summoned back to the capital to report on his duties. During the audience between the emperor and his ministers, Shen Shixi asked Bai Ping to come in and serve tea and water. She also took the opportunity to look at the prospective husband that Li Yuanke had given her.
Wen Zhaojie was a scout by training and was extremely skilled, but he had a very ordinary appearance. He was the kind of person you would never remember after seeing him once in a crowd.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be suitable to be a scout.
Wen Zhaojie also felt something was strange, but he didn't take it to heart. He briefly recounted the events in Luzhou, focusing on the current border defense issues there.
"Xiling is still not behaving itself!" Wen Zhaojie said. "The old emperor of Xiling took his own daughter-in-law, the crown prince's wife, and the crown prince murdered his father. The old emperor was not killed, but the crown prince has been deposed."
"Now that the princes are vying for the throne, the country is unstable. The Prince of Nanping has been transferred to guard the eastern front of Xiling. The six eastern prefectures all follow the Prince of Nanping's lead. If it weren't for the Tianfei Pass's defensive advantage, I would believe that the Prince of Nanping intends to invade the east."
Li Yuanke said, "The Prince of Nanping will not invade the east for the time being. He is doing this because he is worried that our Great Zhou will take action to advance westward. The Great Zhou has just quelled the war on the northeast front, Silla has annexed Baekje, Goguryeo has submitted to the emperor, Japan is now also in turmoil, the North Sands are divided in two, and only the western front is strong."
If Xiling were at peace, the Prince of Nanping would have no worries. But now, the struggle for the throne in Xiling is fierce, and chaos has already broken out. The Prince of Nanping fears that our Great Zhou will take the opportunity to invade the west, merely putting on a show of force.
Otherwise, Li Yuanke wouldn't have allowed Wen Zhaojie to return to the capital.
Shen Shixi also asked Bai Ping, "What did you think of Commander Wen?"
Bai Kui and Jiang Lingyou had already hit it off, and Jiang Lingyou had even asked Shen Shixi for Bai Kui's hand in marriage. However, Bai Kui refused to agree to marry, insisting that she would not leave the palace if Bai Ping did not marry her.
Bai Ping was a little unsure. Although Wen Zhaojie's appearance was average, his abilities were not bad. She had her eye on him, but did he have his eye on her too?
If the marriage is arranged by the Empress, then it is a forced marriage.
Shen Shixi said, "You don't need to be so self-deprecating. If he didn't have this intention, I wouldn't have forced you to marry him off. Have some confidence in yourself."
Sure enough, Li Yuanke told Wen Zhaojie about the Empress's personal maid, "You saw the one who came in just now, right? What did you think of her?"
Wen Zhaojie's heart pounded like a drum. He came from a humble background, but he followed the right person. He joined the army when the emperor was still a prince, and he and the prince were comrades-in-arms. The emperor thought he was good and brought him out.
What does it mean that the Emperor was able to marry the Empress's personal maid to him?
It means "one of us".
Wen Zhaojie knelt down and kowtowed to express his gratitude to the emperor almost without hesitation.