Chapter 566 - Chapter 566: Chapter 566. The Battle!
Chapter 566: Chapter 566. The Battle!
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation , Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Yelu Chun was taking a huge risk this time, and Xiao Zeyu was clear about this, so he didn’t try to persuade him to stay. Xiao Zeyu sent Yelu Chun and the army out of the city and cupped his fists to bid farewell,
“We are waiting for the Third Prince’s bridal escort team.”
This sentence was more useful than anything else. Yelu Chun smiled like a spring breeze as he looked lovingly at Xiao Lanxin, standing beside Xiao Zeyu.
Xiao Lanxin’s face turned red as she looked at Yelu Chun’s burning gaze. Her heart was filled with sweetness, and her eyes were filled with unwillingness.
She was a little reluctant to let him go.
The warm sun hung high in the sky today, and there was a beautiful rainbow. It was very magical to see a rainbow this month.
Even Yelu Chun felt this was a good omen and was happy for Xiao Zeyu.
Xiao Zeyu had brought enough food and hay for Yelu Chun to show his hospitality as a host. After sending Yelu Chun off, Xiao Zeyu was busy selecting officials, appeasing the people, and restoring the capital to its vitality. He also had to prepare for his coronation ceremony. Right now, the capital has a lot of things to do, not just the capital but the entire country. If the spring plowing were not done well, it would affect the entire year.
Therefore, Xiao Zeyu didn’t dare to slack off. He woke up earlier than the sun and slept later than the moon. He wasn’t even the Emperor yet, so he had to deal with many government affairs daily.
Furthermore, now was not a good time to ascend the throne. Previously, when he and Wan Yulin were fighting to the death, the surrounding countries took the opportunity to occupy many cities.
There was still half of the mountains and rivers south of the capital that had not been recovered. If he did not deal with these hidden dangers, he could not ascend the throne.
Su Qing didn’t care about the political affairs of the imperial court. When the war stopped in the capital, she wanted to return to Luo City. She had a big shed there and was addicted to farming. The palace was boring, and she was not used to being served by a group of eunuchs and maids.
To keep Su Qing here, Xiao Zeyu had specially sent people to bring Su
Hanxuan, Yang Ruxue, and Little Chen over.
As for where his mother-in-law and the rest will live axes? This was simple. He had to clean up Wan Yulin’s previous residence. It used to be the residence of the country’s father. Su Hanxuan was his father-in-law and the future country’s father. It was just right for him to live there.
Su Qing had no choice but to stay in the palace. However, she was not idle. The three palaces and six courtyards had already been vacated. Each palace had a courtyard. She brought the ten farming guards and started to dig up the floor tiles of each palace and start planting.
Su Qing didn’t leave, so Xiao Zeyu smiled as he watched her tear down the palace.
He just couldn’t bear for her to leave him!
Xiao Zeyu used half a month to select the civil officials and generals. Luan Hong’s father, Luan Qingshan, was entrusted with an essential task by him and appointed as the Minister of Personnel. His father-in-law naturally had to go to court and be appointed the Right Prime Minister. It was equivalent to rising to the top.
Su Hanxuan had never thought that he would one day enter the court. He had done this all thanks to his daughter. Although he had been a businessman in the past, he was also an ambitious person. However, people in business could not enter the court. Even if you were the wealthiest person in the world, it was useless. You were still a lowly person.
Now, he could finally bring honor to his ancestors and change the fate of the
Su family.
Zhong Yong was Xiao Zeyu’s good brother, and he was appointed as the capital’s commander. Zhang Jinglin, who was capable in both literature and martial arts, was appointed as the Heavenly Strategy General, and Yan Shikuan was appointed as the commander of the army. In short, he did not forget anyone who had fought alongside Xiao Zeyu.
The people of Luo City had rendered meritorious service in defending the city. Xiao Zeyu had exempted them from taxes for life. Other than Luo City, there were also Mo City and Jingshi Dao.
Xiao Zeyu had also given them a tax exemption policy. Not only that, but he also distributed the potato seeds that Su Qing had planted so that they would not go hungry from the following year onward.
To let his sister get married grandly, Xiao Zeyu chose an auspicious day to officially declare himself Emperor and change the country’s name to the Great Tang Kingdom.
Su Qing was the one who chose this country’s name for him. She knew the Tang Empire was prosperous, and this country’s name must be very auspicious. Whoever used it would have it!
On the day Xiao Zeyu ascended the throne, Su Qing was crowned Empress. She wore a bright yellow palace dress and a phoenix coronet as she sat beside Xiao Zeyu. Her bearing was dignified, and she was like a mother to the world. Xiao Zeyu wore the yellow robe and instantly changed his appearance. The majesty of an emperor was revealed. He sat on the dragon throne and looked down at the officials below. These were all handpicked by him. Civil officials could bring peace to the country, and generals could win battles.
The Tartan Kingdom sent congratulatory gifts, and the other border countries also sent envoys to test the new Emperor’s bottom line.
They were all countries that had occupied the territory of the Great Tang. They did not want to return it and hoped to occupy more cities. The Central Plains was vast, and the new Emperor would not need these two cities to ascend the throne.
However, they were dreaming. Xiao Zeyu told them to return and tell their master to return to the city they had stolen before discussing the friendly relationship between the two countries.
Xiao Zeyu gave these envoys a show of strength and left them at the relay station. They were not even allowed to participate in the coronation ceremony. On the contrary, the Tartan Kingdom, which had helped the Great Tang, was treated as a distinguished guest.
The envoys of these countries were filled with anger and went back to report to their masters. The most rampant of them were the Japanese pirates.
The leader of the pirates was a warmonger. When he had nothing to do, he would often invade neighboring small countries. His favorite was the Central
Plains.
After Xiao Zeyu ascended the throne, the first thing he wanted to eliminate was the Japanese pirates. These dogs would come to burn, kill, and rob when they had nothing to do. As a result, the fishermen of the Central Plains often had their boats stolen and people killed. The people of Linhai suffered.
While preparing for battle, Su Qing brought Xiao Ying out of the palace in men’s clothes.
She was almost four months pregnant, and her belly was bigger than other people’s six months. Su Qing decided to dress up as an old minister, and her big belly added to her wealth.
Xiao Ying and Jiang Yuyan were dressed up as weak scholars, supporting Su Qing. They looked like a grandfather and grandson duo!
The reason why Su Qing wanted to go out of the palace for a walk was also to see the business circle in the capital.
The family properties of the former ministers were confiscated. Among them, the Wan family had the most treasures. One street of shops belonged to his family, and there were also thousands of acres of fertile land.
Today, Su Qing went to look at the shops and the fertile fields.
It was now April, just over ten days after Qingming, so it was still not too late to plant corn.
It was the first time Jiang Yuyan and Xiao Ying had seen such a bustling city. Carts and carriages and rich people dressed in silk could be seen everywhere.
This coup did not affect the people. The merchants were doing business as usual, and the streets were as prosperous as ever.
To appease the people, Xiao Zeyu issued a proclamation to exempt the capital’s merchants from taxes for a year, exempt the farmers from taxes for a year, and even pardoned the criminals who had committed serious crimes. He also released the innocent people locked up by the Wan family. Other than the remnants of the previous dynasty, all the prisoners were released.
The smiles on the faces of these commoners could be seen. They did not care about who would be the Emperor but who could feed them.
When Su Qing was tired of shopping, she brought Jiang Yuyan and her sister-in-law to the teahouse for tea. As soon as they sat down, they heard the storyteller begin to tell a story.
At first, Su Qing didn’t listen. She leisurely drank her tea and looked at the street outside the window. Suddenly, she saw a group of people who looked very suspicious. These people were all dressed in black and wore bamboo hats that covered half of their faces. When Su Qing looked down at the teahouse, one of the men in black happened to look up. Their eyes met..