I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 218 Encounter
Tang Zhao traded dozens of sacks of sprouted potatoes for a large area of ​​mudflats, feeling he had made a great profit.

However, considering the despicable character of the emperor and crown prince, Tang Zhao decided to postpone the salt production project. As for when...

"When will Father rebel?"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Gu Ci scolded lightly. "Your Majesty's throne was ordained by the late Emperor. Your Majesty and Father are siblings from the same mother. Why would Father rebel?"

Although there have been disagreements between Your Majesty and your father, they can still be considered to have a harmonious relationship as ruler and subject.

Tang Zhao pointed out, "What if the Crown Prince succeeds to the throne? Right now, the Crown Prince is trying to find all sorts of excuses to embezzle military funds in the Northwest. What will happen after he takes the throne?"

Gu Ci pursed her lips, "Let's take it one step at a time."

Fine, she'll openly produce salt whenever King Xuan rebels.

On one side, Tang Zhao was secretly plotting a rebellion, while on the other side of the military camp, Prince An was doing his utmost to win over the Duke of Wei in order for the King of Wei to succeed to the throne.

"His Highness Prince Wei is also the Duke's son-in-law. I have heard that Prince Wei's concubine is deeply loved by the Duke. Prince Wei asked me to tell the Duke that if the Duke is willing to help Prince Wei seize the throne, Prince Wei will make his concubine the Empress, and the Duke will become the Duke's father-in-law."

"May I ask, Prince An, how does Prince Wei's statement imply his intentions towards Princess Wei? Does the Mu family know of Prince Wei's plans?"

"The locust plague in Qin Prefecture has caused disaster in several northern prefectures, and the people have no harvest. Mu Liang, the prefect of Qin Prefecture, cannot escape responsibility. The Crown Prince took the opportunity to implicate Grand Secretary Mu, who has already submitted a letter requesting to retire."

The most powerful person in the Mu family has retired from the court. When the King of Wei ascends the throne, he can simply recall the Mu family to the court to achieve his goal of bestowing favors. Why waste the position of empress?
"Duke, the Crown Princess comes from the Zhang family. She has two children and has never made a mistake. She is deeply loved by the Empress and the Empress Dowager. The Zhang family has also done everything in its power to help the Crown Prince win the throne. The future Empress position will definitely belong to a woman from the Zhang family."

Prince An spoke with a pointed remark, "The Duke has already achieved a first-class merit, and there is nothing more to be awarded. Are we to bestow the title upon Princess Zhaoshan as before?"

The Duke of Wei remained unmoved. “Your Highness, Prince An, we, as subjects, should not interfere with the important matter of succession. Whoever His Majesty passes the throne to will be the next emperor.”

"I will pretend I never heard these words today, and I hope Your Highness will not repeat them in the future."

Prince An watched Tang Zheng leave and murmured, "Could it be that the Crown Prince promised to make Tang Zheng's daughter Empress?"

No, that's impossible. Then why is Tang Zheng so determined to choose the Crown Prince? What kind of conflict of interest exists between the two of them?
Within the Turkic territory, Geshu Yong had just arrived in the capital when he heard that the Northwest Army had already captured the Ejin Banner region. The Turkic Queen Mother and Khan were both afraid and furious, and immediately dispatched Geshu Yong to lead cavalry to reclaim the lost territory.

The Great Yabghu objected, saying, "Khan, Your Majesty, cavalry campaigns consume enormous amounts of provisions, and the national treasury is now empty. How can we wage war? In my opinion, we should immediately negotiate peace with the Great Yu."

The Turkic Queen Mother was so angry that the veins on her forehead bulged, but she could only swallow her anger and ask, "What bargaining chips do you have for negotiating peace with Dayu?"

Geshu Yong stepped forward and said, "Our Turks have occupied five cities in the northeast of Chongqing."

"Dayu has also occupied my Turkic Ejin Banner and even Jiayuguan!" The Turkic Queen Dowager was heartbroken. Those were places that the former Khan had fought his whole life to seize from Dayu!

“Your Majesty, Khan! The Ejin Banner region is mostly Gobi Desert, with a harsh environment, and was never of much use to our country,” said Da Ye Hudao. “However, the five cities in the Northeast are the hometowns of hundreds of thousands of people in Dayu. Dayu values ​​its homeland the most and will definitely take it back.”

"Most importantly, the emperor of Dayu also did not want to see the Northwest Army so powerful."

Ge Shuyong seconded the motion.

The Turkic Queen Mother took a deep breath to suppress her anger. "Geshu Yong, you lead the troops to stop the Northwest Army and do not allow them to advance another step eastward."

Ge Shuyong accepted the order and left.

"Great Protector, draft the official letter and negotiate peace with Dayu!"

Half a month later, the Turkic peace treaty was sent to Luoyang by fast horse.

Emperor Sheng'an, who had been delirious with illness, suddenly regained his spirits and agreed to peace talks without hesitation. He ordered the Turks to send envoys to negotiate, and simultaneously sent a messenger on an urgent mission to the northwest, ordering Prince Xuan not to wage war against the Turks again. Prince Xuan tore the letter to shreds, exclaiming, "Your subject obeys!"

Deputy General Gao asked cautiously, "Your Highness, if the two countries are negotiating peace, should we still issue an arrest warrant for the Eighth Prince of the Turks?"

"Wanted my ass!" King Xuan cursed. "Take down all the notices."

Deputy General Gao accepted.

"Send men to search secretly, and once found, kill them without mercy!"

Vice General Gao responded loudly, "Yes, sir!"
Ashina Bolu traveled through the mountains and forests southeastward, intending to bypass the northwest and return to the Turkic Khaganate via Qin or Jin. However, his injuries were aggravated by days of travel, and he eventually collapsed from excessive blood loss and exhaustion.

"Girl! There's someone here!"

"Who goes there?" Bai Rouyin had been staying in the courtyard for too long and was dragged out by the Lady of Zhongyong to admire the snow.

Lianqiao poked Ashina Bolu, who was neither alive nor dead, with a stick. "Judging from his appearance and clothing, he should be a Dayu person."

Bai Rouyin asked listlessly, "Is he still breathing?"

Lian Qiao mustered her courage and stepped forward to check her breathing. "She's still breathing!"

"Take him back to the yard; whether he lives or dies is up to fate!"

"Hey!" Lian Qiao first helped Bai Rouyin back to the carriage, then called over a few old women to put her into the servants' carriage and take her back to the small courtyard.

The guard who was assigned to watch over the courtyard asked, "May I ask, Miss Bai, who is this person?"

Bai Rouyin said irritably, "I don't know, I found it!"

"Miss Bai, it's best to avoid contact with people of dubious origin. We'll send them away now!"

Bai Rouyin's stubbornness flared up immediately. "Let's see who dares! Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Who dares to stand by and watch someone die?"

“Miss Bai, we are not going to stand by and watch someone die, but our courtyard lacks medicine. This person is so badly injured that if we delay, he may die. It would be better to take him to Renxintang…”

The words "Renxintang" seemed to trigger something within Bai Rouyin: "If we send him to Renxintang, we might as well let him die in the courtyard!"

"Don't think I don't know, Renxintang is inextricably linked to Tang Zhao!"

Based on the fact that the doctor from Renxintang helped Tang Zhao point out the killer bees in the Meng family, Bai Rouyin concluded that Renxintang was related to Tang Zhao.

"Don't even think about sending him to Renxintang to further enhance Tang Zhao's reputation!"

The guard didn't know what to say.

"Someone, carry him inside!" Bai Rouyin walked at the front, forcing the guards back step by step, and escorted Ashina Bolu into the courtyard.

The guards of the Protectorate General's mansion, who were hiding in the distance, took out a charcoal pencil and wrote down everything that had just happened on a piece of paper. Then they tied the letter to the gyrfalcon's foot.

"Go find the princess!"

The gyrfalcon spreads its wings, circles twice, and then flies towards the horizon.