Aspirations for Nation and Beauty: Chapter 75: Scheming

On December 26, 695 in the mainland calendar, when the people of the entire continent were preparing for the arrival of the new year, the situation in the northern part of the empire changed dramatically. Under the arrangement of He Zhiqiu, the Minister of Military Affairs of the Empire, the five divisions of the Imperial City Guards Corps changed their outfits with the Imperial Guards Corps. Some troops from the Imperial Guards Corps were taken out to pretend to be the City Guards. The real City Guards went out of the city overnight to attack the Taiping Army's southern invasion The bridgehead of the city - Niutou Town in the south of Qinghe Prefecture, where nearly 150,000 Taiping troops have assembled.

Caught off guard, the two armies met head-on on January 2, 696 in the mainland calendar and started a fierce battle. Relying on their powerful combat effectiveness, the four divisions of the Imperial City Guard Corps participating in the battle annihilated two teams of 10,000 infantry from the Taiping Army and defeated a team of 10,000 cavalry from the enemy, winning the first battle since the Taiping Army Revolt. The entire empire was shaken, and it was known as the "Niutou Town Victory" in history.

Just as the Taiping Army was adjusting its deployment and preparing for another decisive battle with the imperial army, it seemed that He Zhiqiu, the wily Minister of Military Affairs of the Empire, did not give them a chance.

On January 3, 696 in the continental calendar, before the Taiping Army adjusted its deployment, when the main force of the Taiping Army was attracted by the four divisions of the Imperial City Guard on the frontal battlefield, the long-planned Imperial City Guard The third division of the Legion suddenly made a detour and entered Qinghe territory from the east of Qinghe Mansion, threatening the rear of the Taiping Army, and defeated the partial division of the Taiping Army who came to reinforce them.

The Taiping Army was immediately thrown into disarray, and the more than 100,000 troops on the southern front were forced to shrink and defend. Yehou was finally defeated across the board, and only 30,000 of the more than 100,000 troops escaped and retreated to Qinghefu City. In this service, more than 80,000 Taiping soldiers were wiped out, and nearly 30,000 of them were captured. This is the most glorious and grand victory of the imperial army since the Taiping Rebellion, known as the "Battle of Qinghe" in history.

This major victory not only greatly eased the military threat of the Taiping Army in the north to the imperial capital, but also greatly inspired the hearts and minds of the people and soldiers in other parts of the empire. There were only 40,000 Taiping soldiers in Qinghe Prefecture, and they all huddled in Qinghe Prefecture and dared not go out. The Imperial City Guards also paid a considerable price, especially the four divisions that were fighting frontally. The number of deaths and serious injuries that lost their combat effectiveness reached nearly 30,000. most significant loss.

When the news of the victory came back, the whole emperor was filled with joy. The gentry in the city put up lanterns and festoons one after another, set off smoke and fired cannons, and the inside and outside were full of joy. , Maybe everyone wants to use this to relieve the mood that has been suffering for such a long time.

Looking at the bustling night scene outside the window, Situ Tai seemed absent-minded. This is the third floor of the very famous Tianya Haijiao Building on Shuiyue Street in the Imperial Capital, and it is also a large box with the best location. From here, you can clearly see the big platform in the middle of this prestigious place. Tianya Haijiao Building is a typical Tanghe-style building complex in terms of architectural style. Its main body is a square building facing the street. It occupies a large area and has four floors in a ring shape. There is a large open space, but a large stage about two stories high is built on the open space as a place for various groups to perform.

The first floor is mainly for ordinary consumption places. From the second floor onwards, there are boxes of various styles with extremely high prices, where you can directly watch the performances in the middle. Philippines, and it is often difficult to book a seat a week or two in advance. If there is no special strong relationship, I am afraid that it will be difficult to sit here no matter how much money is spent. The fourth floor is the boss's private place, no one can usually go up, and those who can go up are definitely not ordinary people.

This square-shaped building is connected to a large group of courtyards, where the staff of the establishment live, and there are also luxurious small courtyards for guests to stay overnight. The facilities are complete and the styles are different. It is no wonder that the top romantic place in the imperial capital is always overcrowded, and I have never worried about the source of tourists.

Seeing his master feeling irritable, the skinny old man beside him was indifferent, half-closed his eyes, silently resting his mind. All kinds of snacks on the table have already been prepared, the surrounding curtains are half-closed, and by the window sill

"Old Leng, do you think this guy will come?" Finally, unable to bear it anymore, Situ Tai looked away from the window and couldn't help asking.

"Your Highness, don't be too anxious. According to this old slave, even if Mr. Zhou comes that day, I'm afraid it will be difficult to find out what is true." Seeing that his master is like an ant on a hot pot, the old man had no choice but to open his eyes. replied.

"Oh?" Situ Tai was stunned, thought for a while before saying: "But at present, the father's body has not recovered, and he has not been in the court to govern. Even us sons can hardly meet the father, but Zhou Baozhong This guy has to enter the palace almost every day, even He Zhiqiu and Lu Wenfu, whom the emperor has always valued, are far behind." Situ Tai did not shy away from his clearness of the information in the palace in front of his confidants.

"Hmph, Your Highness thinks too much of Master Zhou. It's true that Lord Zhou may have been invited by His Majesty to spend more time in the palace during this period, but according to the old slave's estimation, it is because the situation in the north is tense and His Majesty needs to be in the palace at any time. The reason for paying attention to the situation of the war, as the Minister of Intelligence, he naturally needs to report to His Majesty from time to time, which does not explain anything." The thin old man shook his head disapprovingly.

Situ Tai's heart gradually calmed down. He also found that he had been a little too restless these days, and many things were a little ill-considered. Thinking about how to fix this situation.

As if seeing through his master's hesitation, the thin old man's mouth twitched slightly, and he said with a smile, "Your Highness, don't worry too much. The matter can be hidden from him. Today, His Highness invited the Minister of Intelligence, Mr. Zhou, to come to the Tianya Haijiaolou in an open and honest way. Your Majesty can see it."

Hearing what his confidant and think tank said, Situ Tai felt a lot relieved. He knew that his confidant often saw things differently, but it happened to be accurate every time, so he respected the old man very much. Almost to the point of obedience.

After sitting down slowly, Situ Tai's expression became much calmer. Following the sound of footsteps outside the door, the two people in the room exchanged glances. The old man stood up first, and Situ Tai also walked two steps to the door.

"Your Highness, I'm late, please forgive me." The intelligence minister who stepped into the door swept away the submissive appearance in front of Situ Mingyue, his face was full of joy, but he didn't dare to lack in etiquette, just walk in. A great gift.

"Your Excellency Zhou is too polite. It's really hard for you to be busy with your work during this time." Situ Tai's sincere smile touched people from the bottom of his heart.

Zhou Baozhong was also a man of sophistication, and repeatedly bowed and saluted to show that he did not dare to do so.

The host and guest took their seats amid mutual compliments, and the beauties who had been waiting for a long time rushed out of the next room like butterflies, and took their seats according to the pre-arranged arrangement. At this time, the performance on the opposite stage also Just started playing.

The guests and the host had a good time, and some political affairs of the current situation were unavoidable. One asked implicitly, and the other answered cleverly. Of course, they were all conducted under the premise of avoiding other people, but even if there were people present, it would probably be difficult to listen to. Understand the conversation between the two like charades.

After watching the other party leave, the generous smile on Situ Tai's face slowly faded, but the brows were full of thinking.

"Your Highness, what did Lord Zhou say?" Although the skinny old man had been sitting beside him, Situ Tai and Zhou Baozhong kept their heads down and whispered, so even he didn't hear anything substantial.

"Hmph~IndoMTL.com~ This old fox, whenever he asked about his father, he would gossip about him, and he couldn't find anything useful at all." Situ Tai's tone was not dissatisfied, perhaps he had expected it a long time ago. got to the point.

"Oh, of course Zhou Baozhong is not a mediocre person to get to this point. He has his own way. I'm afraid it will be difficult for ordinary people to get something out of him." The skinny old man was not surprised by this either.

"Yeah, but he's kind enough, he leaked a lot of news about the third child to me. I didn't expect the third child to start to move again after being clouded for so long. I thought he was really honest." Situ Tai turned his gaze out of the window again, outside the window was still full of traffic, a bustling scene.

"Your Highness, you have underestimated the Third Highness. Although His Majesty did cut off many people from the Third Highness in the last purge, behind him is a very powerful force. These people have already shared weal and woe with him. So it is impossible for him to stay dormant like this, so it is inevitable for him to take some action." The old man saw this very clearly, he did not ask Situ Tai what the Third Highness's actions were, but directly made an assertion.

"Well, I also know this, but I didn't expect that the third child not only has close contacts with some people from the Fourth Army, but also has a line with Li Wufeng! This is simply beyond my expectation." Here, Situ Tai's face has darkened a lot.

"What? What did you say?" This time even the skinny old man was taken aback, and asked in a much louder voice, his eyes fixed on Situ Tai's face.

Situ Tai was taken aback for a moment, and repeated what he said just now. The old man frowned, shook his head with some doubts and muttered to himself: "Impossible, it shouldn't be possible?"

The room was silent for a while, and Situ Tai didn't speak, he didn't want to disturb his think tank.