Empress in her second playthrough: Something's not right with this plot!

Shangguan Xuanran, who was standing to the side, seemed to have noticed something and turned to look at the Empress.

The Empress immediately straightened her hands and stopped moving.

For four consecutive days, Jiang Qingying did nothing but watch the Rainbow Feather Dance.

The dancers were also puzzled. Wouldn't His Majesty get tired of watching the same dance every day?

What they didn't know was that Jiang Qingying had already mastered the dance by now, almost to the point of being able to perform it perfectly.

As the music ended, a palace attendant entered the main hall.

"Your Majesty, Liu Cheng requests an audience."

Jiang Qingying's heart was pounding, and upon hearing this, she immediately dismissed the dancers.

"Let him in quickly."

Liu Cheng entered the main hall, where the dancers were walking out one by one.

Looking at the beautiful women, Liu Cheng frowned slightly.

"It's common for emperors to be fond of women, but even empresses..."

"Liu Qing, what is it?"

Liu Cheng bowed and said.

"Your Majesty, what do you think should be done after Xiahou Xun destroys the Wei?"

Jiang Qingying knew that Liu Cheng had come to test her.

She had thought about the follow-up questions, so she quickly gave an answer.

"Officials from the noble families of Wei will be retained, while officials from our Great Chu will be stationed there to prevent them from making any moves."

Liu Cheng nodded and continued to ask.

"What does Your Majesty intend to do with the troops on the border of Great Chu and the surrendered soldiers of Wei?"

"Increase trade between the two regions and encourage intermarriage between aristocratic families in both regions."

"We must quickly win the hearts of the people of Wei over to Chu, and the surrendered soldiers can also be used for our purposes."

After a pause, Jiang Qingying continued.

"Wei has natural defenses that can resist the Western Zhou, which is a natural geographical advantage. It is sufficient to leave a portion of the army to guard it."

After listening to the Empress's thoughts, Liu Cheng spoke slowly.

"Your Majesty, most of the generals on the southwestern border are former subordinates of Fei Su."

Now that Wei poses no threat to Great Chu, Li Yunsheng will definitely try to purge these generals and install his own men in their place.

Jiang Qingying nodded.

"Apart from the troops stationed in the garrison, I intend to send the rest of the troops to Huainan Circuit."

Facing the Western Zhou directly, heading north could prevent the Liang state from breaking its alliance and also serve as reinforcements for the northern border, while heading south could prevent a rebellion in the Wei region.

"The surrendered soldiers of Wei and Xiahou Xun's troops all belong to me; Li Yunsheng should not even think about getting his hands on them."

Liu Cheng revealed a slight smile.

"If Your Majesty has such thoughts, I can go to see the late Emperor with peace of mind."

To bring Wei into the territory of our Great Chu, we need to invest manpower and resources.

Now that our Great Chu has enough grain, and trade between the two regions has resumed, we don't need to worry too much about Wei's food supply.

What I wanted to talk about was the human resources aspect—

"By holding the imperial examinations, I want to cultivate some of my own new talents, and send them to the State of Wei for training."

This matter will require the assistance of Minister Liu.

Liu Cheng bowed and said.

"This is my duty."

"Your Majesty, I have another matter to discuss."

"What is it, Lady Liu? Please speak freely."

Liu Cheng raised his head slightly.

"Your Majesty must not indulge in sensual pleasures."

Jiang Qingying: I was forced into it too.

"I know what I'm doing."

……

The Royal Palace of Wei.

Wei Wenyu had lost a lot of weight, and without the border army, Xiahou Xun's advance was unstoppable.

Before long, the enemy will be at the city gates.

Upon seeing Wenren Xu enter, he hurriedly stood up and asked.

"how?"

Wenren Xu shook his head.

"The State of Chu is determined to destroy our State of David and will not accept any peace talks."

Wei Wenyu kicked over the table in front of him.

"A mere empress dares to be so arrogant and has gone too far in bullying me!"

"Have the people sent to Western Zhou returned yet?"

"They're back," Wenren Xu said in a low voice. "The Western Zhou refused to send troops."

"I have offered such terms, yet the Western Zhou still refuses!"

"If I, David, am dead, how can the Western Zhou Dynasty prosper?"

Wenren Xu was helpless in the face of this.

From the perspective of the Western Zhou Dynasty, this is understandable.

Normally, the Western Zhou would certainly have sent troops.

However, at present, the Western Zhou Dynasty also needs to rely on the grain of the Chu State.

In addition, the country was also plagued by rebellions caused by severe drought, leaving them with no time to deal with their own problems.

Wei Wenyu felt troubled.

"Isn't there any good news?"

"There is good news: the rebellions in Yunzhou and Yanzhou have been quelled."

"What good news is this? In the end, the suppression of the rebellion will still benefit the Great Chu!"

Wenren Xu bowed and said.

"Your Majesty, the rebellion has been quelled. By consolidating our forces and holding the capital, we still have a glimmer of hope."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope ignited in Wei Wenyu's eyes, but it was quickly extinguished again.

“I, David, am short of food. Even if I hold the capital, how long can I hold out?”

Wenren Xu stepped forward and whispered.

"Your Majesty, we can feign surrender."

“Go on.”

"Your Majesty may feign surrender and kill Xiahou Xun while he is accepting the surrender."

With the Chu army leaderless, I, David, have an opportunity to counterattack.

This is the only solution at the moment, but Wei Wenyu's eyes darkened.

"When the surrender is accepted, the Chu army will surely be heavily guarding the area. How can I, alone, kill Xiahou Xun?"

"We can find a skilled warrior to accompany His Majesty in surrendering the city."

In fact, both of them knew who that person was, but neither of them said it out loud.

Wei Wenyu was always secretly protected by a first-rank expert. This person's identity was extremely secretive, but Wenren Xu still found out about it.

This was tantamount to spying on the emperor's secrets, so naturally he wouldn't directly admit that he knew about it.

However, this is indeed the only chance to turn things around.

With the Chu army penetrating deep into Wei, the border defenses will inevitably be weak.

If he can turn the tide and win, he can directly attack the border of Chu.

"As you say, my dear minister."

……

September.

The Chu army approached the capital of Wei, but before they could even attack, Wei sent an envoy to declare its willingness to surrender to Chu.

Then, the State of Wei opened the city gates, and Wei Wenyu led his officials out of the city.

At the city gate.

"Wei Wenyu led all his officials out of the city to surrender!"

Wei Wenyu stood at the forefront of the officials, holding the State Seal of Wei and the Tiger Tally.

Chapter 84 A Mere First-Rank Official [Happy New Year!]

The capital of Wei may appear peaceful, but in reality, archers are lying in ambush on the city walls.

With just a single command, the city's guards will come out in full force.