How to sabotage Jing Country's cooperation with the Grassland tribes?
The suggestion from Chu State was to have Sanda's infected son return to the Grasslands and die suddenly, so that Sanda would surely resent Jing Country.
Duoti closed his eyes.
"Good, since General Duoti is willing to stay, then rest for ten days, and after that, you shall lead the Grassland warriors to spar with the elite soldiers of Jing!"
Xiao Yunzhou spoke.
"This will also provide us with some advice on cavalry."
Sanda's eyes lit up, but he soon said with regret, "Unfortunately, I must return to the Grasslands. I shall await the results of the contest in the Grasslands."
Sanda patted Duoti, "You must bring glory to our Grassland warriors."
Duoti's expression was complicated.
The King of Chu had instructed him to plot the Khan's son's demise, but if there was another way, he did not wish to go that far.
Last night, he had his strategists think of other ways to appease the King of Chu, but they could not come up with any.
But now that he was being kept in Jing Country, he had another opportunity!
Duoti touched his chest and bowed to Sanda.
The next day, Sanda departed for the Grasslands with great fanfare. On their journey back, they not only brought Jing Country's two imperial physicians but also ten deluxe sets of the 'Landlord' board game.
Xiao Yunzhou personally saw them off at Zhengyang Gate.
Five days later, Xiao Yunzhou brought the Minister of War and Duke of Dingguo to the West Mountain Camp to observe the contest between the West Mountain soldiers.
He also brought the down jackets, instant noodles, and thermos flasks that were to be awarded as prizes.
[Woo, how come I can't go and watch? Why not? I don't want to stay in the palace.]
Chu Chu was left in the palace, pouting unhappily with a sullen little face.
Concubine Liu, who had recently been granted a higher rank, looked at her son Cheng Qian with an amused expression. "For the next few days while your father is away, read your books, and spend more time playing with your sister after."
"Son understands." Cheng Qian quickly agreed, taking out a rattle drum to entertain Chu Chu.
His father really...
Well aware that his sister was at an age where everything was new and interesting, he still made the West Mountain Camp contest widely known.
This stirred up Chu Chu's desire to go out and see the excitement, only to leave her behind in the end.
"The path to West Mountain is windy and cold, and there was the recent incident with the Earth and Moon Sect from the previous dynasty. Father definitely wouldn't take sister out."
Cheng Qian consoled his sister with these words, then opened the 'Landlord' wooden box, preparing to play a round with Concubine Liu and Qiu Li.
"Sister, why don't you watch us play? See who wins, okay?" Cheng Qian teased Chu Chu, trying to divert her attention from her unhappiness.
[Ah, Landlord again, I'm so bored of it.]
Chu Chu closed her little eyes.
But she soon opened them again, eyes sparkling, and used her spiritual power to purchase a live stream of her father's journey to West Mountain.
She gasped in amazement, [There's so much dust in Jing Country!]
Indeed, unless the rain washed it away, the official routes would be covered in dust clouds whenever horses passed by.
Concubine Liu, who had traveled by carriage on the official roads before, nodded silently in agreement.
[Hahaha, the poor Minister of War! He was in the carriage, wanting to drink some hot tea to soothe his dusty throat, but then the carriage jolted, and all the teacups spilled over.]
[His pants got soaked, ahaha, and just then, someone came to summon him for an audience with the Emperor. How embarrassing!]
[The Minister of War looked so distressed, wiping his pants with a cloth without even having time... But if he changed his pants, it would make the Emperor wait, so awkward hahaha.]
Chu Chu was laughing uncontrollably, her little face flushed red.
Concubine Liu and Cheng Qian both coughed lightly, setting down their own hot tea cups in unison before they too burst into laughter.
The little princess's spiritual awareness allowed her to see and hear from all directions, and sometimes the things she heard were truly amusing.
Mother and son suppressed their smiles and continued listening curiously.
Sure enough, Chu Chu's mind voice went on, [In the end, the Minister of War changed into a new set of clothes to avoid appearing disrespectful and insulting the Emperor.]
[But he should just give me his cloud account, I'll make him famous!]
[He got into the Emperor's carriage but didn't even dare accept the teacup that Wei Zheng handed him, hehehe.]
[The Duke of Dingguo took a sip of tea and noticed the Minister of War next to him leaning back, shuffling three steps backwards while kneeling, hahahaha.]
Chu Chu was having too much fun.
[That spilled cup of hot tea really traumatized the Minister of War.]
Pfft, cough cough cough.
Cheng Qian lowered his head. A high-ranking Minister of War, to be reduced to this!
Even if tea had spilled in front of the Father Emperor, it was a small matter that the Emperor would not be angered by.
Cheng Qian felt the Minister was being a bit too cautious.
But just as he was thinking the Minister lacked composure, he heard his sister's voice again.
[A sports water bottle would be perfect for the Minister of War.]
[The spiral cap could be screwed onto the bottle~]
Cheng Qian and Concubine Liu were both taken aback.
[Or they could put a small opening in the cap, and just unscrew it to drink directly from it.]
[The small opening means less spillage if it falls.]
[Great for bumpy journeys too...]
Chu Chu rambled on, continuing to watch the Minister of War and the Emperor's carriage game, before soon starting to doze off.
*
The West Mountain contest lasted only a day, but Xiao Yunzhou was already missing his little celestial princess in the palace. He did not linger at West Mountain and quickly returned to the capital to attend to state affairs.
"General Hou, the ten victors of the West Mountain Dragon Guards this time shall return with me to spar with the Grassland cavalry!"
Xiao Yunzhou selected these ten elite soldiers to return to the palace.
He also wanted to let his daughter see the level of their martial prowess.
"Oh, and have their rewards been distributed?"
The commanding officer of West Mountain, Hou Yuchuan, quickly replied with a smile, "They were sent out overnight. Each victorious soldier received one share, and everyone is energized. Those who lost are already vowing to win next year!"
Xiao Yunzhou was pleased and brought Hou Yuchuan directly into the palace to discuss the sparring session with Duoti's cavalry.
"Even if we can't win, you must demonstrate our might to me."
Xiao Yunzhou issued his orders.
He tentatively consulted the old generals of the Duke of Dingguo, and they all said that there was no best in civil affairs, just as there was no best in martial arts.
To win over a military commander, the best approach was—to defeat him in combat!
Xiao Yunzhou decided that this time, he must show Duoti the capabilities of Jing Country.
[Hmph, Father Emperor is back?]
Just as Xiao Yunzhou was about to continue giving instructions, Chu Chu's mind voice came from outside.
With the Emperor's return, the ever-flattering Wei Zheng hastily sent someone to carry Xiao Chuchu over.
By the time Xiao Yunzhou reached the study room, Xiao Chuchu had also been brought to the entrance by her nanny.
Xiao Yunzhou immediately frowned at Wei Zheng, "Insolent fool, who gave you the authority!?"
But as Xiao Yunzhou turned his head, he saw Concubine Xiao Chuchu at the entrance. In an instant, he dropped the commanding officer of West Mountain, Hou Yuchuan, with whom he was discussing state affairs, and his face bloomed into a flower of joy.
"Oh my, who do we have here?"
"Ah, it's my most beloved treasure!"
Hou Yuchuan: "..."
Damn it, the rumors were true - the Emperor favors Concubine Xiao Chuchu, loving his daughter but not his son.
Xiao Yunzhou was about to have him sit down and embrace his daughter before discussing matters further, when he heard his daughter's whining complaint.
[Father Emperor, you have returned.]
[You were gone for five days, but I only watched three days of your livestream after the West Mountain competition. It got so boring after that.]
Xiao Yunzhou: "..."
[It was truly dull. These past few days, I was so bored that I even went through all the gossip from the Ranking Pavilion.]
Xiao Chuchu felt that her father was very uninteresting.
While silently complaining, she suddenly remembered an urgent matter.
[Hey, guess what - I discovered Duoti's plot to cause trouble!]
"!"
Xiao Yunzhou's arms embracing his daughter grew tense.
What? The Duoti he had been trying to conquer was already planning to do evil?
[Oh, how do I tell Father Emperor? Duoti has been urged by the King of Chu, and has finally come up with a way to cause disruption while staying in Jing Country.]
[He plans to slip maps of the grassland tribes into the armor of our Jing Country soldiers during the martial arts competition between the two nations' warriors, and then accuse Father Emperor of sending people to steal military secrets from Wu Yun Country!]
[Using this to shatter the relationship between our two countries!]
[Oh, I'm so anxious! I've seen such an important matter, but I have no way to speak about it!]
Xiao Yunzhou took a deep breath and looked down at his daughter's adorable, flushed face.
No, daughter, you did speak.
You said so much, and so well!
