The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 975: best of both worlds
Chapter 975 The Best of Both Worlds
After hearing this, many widows in the capital city who were living by their husbands’ tablets were inevitably moved and began to tentatively take the step of remarrying.
There are still differences between couples from poor families and couples from high-ranking officials and nobles. Those from poor families almost all get married blindly, and most of them work hard all their lives to make a living and to continue their bloodline. Couples can fall in love with each other over time… and not many of them have a love so deep that they depend on each other for life and death.
Even if a couple has feelings for each other, the man will find life difficult after his wife dies, and it is too hard to be alone, so he will remarry. But when a woman loses her husband, she is required to remain chaste until death. Many women feel resentful but helpless.
Now with the new law as a support, they are considering taking that brave step, either for the sake of their children who cannot be raised by themselves or because they do not want to endure loneliness any longer. Some have already boldly discussed remarriage with their mother’s family.
Since Bai Qingyan, a student of the Imperial Academy who was good at debate, dealt with the elder of the Bai family who wanted to drown his daughter-in-law in a pond, the pace of implementation of the new law has gradually accelerated.
The nobles in the capital city saw the trend and sent their widowed daughters-in-law back to their mother’s home and allowed them to remarry.
Dong Changyuan seized the opportunity and informed all the matchmakers in the capital city, asking them to focus on finding a matchmaker for the widow. If a marriage was successful, he would reward the matchmaker with three gold coins.
For a time, widows became popular candidates for marriage proposals, especially young ones who were still of childbearing age, whose doors were almost broken down by matchmakers.
·
Li Zhijie felt very uneasy as he watched the Great Zhou Dynasty implementing the new law in full swing.
From the time Bai Qingyan ascended the throne to now, the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty has not given a clear answer as to whether to make an alliance with Rongdi or with Xiliang, and they are dragging their feet on both sides.
Besides, Li Zhijie didn’t dare to leave unless the ghost-faced prince of Rongdi left…
Li Zhijie leaned on the soft couch, his elbows propped up on a ginger-colored hidden bag embroidered with acacia flowers, staring at the gauze curtains swaying gently in the wind, tapping his palms with his fan from time to time, his brows grim: “We have been in the capital for eighteen days, and the Queen of the Great Zhou has been on the throne for eight days, but the covenant has not been finalized yet. What suggestions do you have?”
The Xiliang advisers brought by Li Zhijie sat on both sides of Li Zhijie, and they were obviously helpless about the matter.
“I heard that the Lord Liu Rushi, who was in charge of the peace talks, handed all the generous gifts that the prince had sent him that day to General Lu. It seems that this man is very stubborn.”
“Lord Liu brought together our Xiliang envoys and Rongdi envoys, isn’t he just wanting the highest bidder to win the alliance? But now we Xiliang are willing to cede twenty cities and pay countless treasures as compensation, but the Queen of Great Zhou is still reluctant to make an alliance with us. I think… the Queen of Great Zhou seems to intend to intervene when the war between Xiliang and Rongdi breaks out!” analyzed the counselor beside Li Zhijie.
“If this is true, we should return to our country immediately and live and die with Xiliang!” said another Xiliang strategist.
Li Zhijie paused tapping his palms with his fan, pursed his lips and said, “Don’t worry, send someone back to deliver a letter to His Majesty, saying that the Great Zhou seems to have no intention of forming an alliance with us in Xiliang. We can’t leave until the Great Zhou has received the exact news!”
The oldest counselor beside Li Zhijie said to Li Zhijie: “Your Highness may want to meet the Ninth Prince of Dayan. If the Great Zhou really wants to attack Xiliang together with the Rongdi, see if Dayan is willing to hinder the Great Zhou in the west of Jin.”
Li Zhijie had thought of this method as early as the day when Bai Qingyan’s coronation ceremony ended, but… this is a method that can only be used as a last resort.
Li Zhijie, with a serious look on his face, put down the fan in his hand, picked up the teacup, pursed his lips and said nothing. It was obvious that he did not want to use this trick yet.
“Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, it is better to go straight to the ghost-faced prince of Rongdi. Rongdi actually has no deep hatred for our Xiliang. They want to attack Xiliang just as your majesty said before, and they want Rongdi to form a three-kingdom situation with Dazhou and Dayan as soon as possible.” Seeing that Li Zhijie did not object, the counselor continued, “They are just trying to grab territory. We will give all the land originally ceded to Dazhou to Rongdi, asking for a chance to breathe and try to drag out the three-year period of the alliance between Dayan and Rongdi! Once the alliance with Rongdi is established, if Rongdi attacks Xiliang again, it will be unjustified. Then it will be natural for us to ask Yan for help!”
Li Zhijie raised his eyes, his eyes became colder and colder: “According to what you mean, why don’t we Xiliang pay tribute to Dayan… wouldn’t that be safer?”
Seeing that Li Zhijie was speaking sarcastically, the strategist immediately knelt down and apologized: “My words were out of turn…”
“Get up!” Li Zhijie said in a steady voice, and sat up after putting down his teacup. “I will personally go to see the Queen of Great Zhou. This time, the Queen of Great Zhou must give us Xiliang a definite answer, and decide whether to fight with Great Zhou… or make peace. Then we can discuss countermeasures.”
“Your Highness is wise!” The counselors bowed deeply to Li Zhijie.
Li Zhijie didn’t think he was wise. Xiliang was too weak now…
When the late emperor was alive, Xiliang was at its peak of strength and felt it could compete with the State of Jin. Although Li Zhijie had advised against it, the late emperor insisted on attacking the State of Jin together with Southern Yan. But what was the result… Hundreds of thousands of Xiliang’s elite troops were killed on the battlefield in southern Xinjiang, and the people of Xiliang trembled in fear when they heard the name of the Bai Family Army.
That battle caused Xiliang to go from prosperity to decline, and it has yet to recover.
If there had not been the battle in Southern Xinjiang, why would Xiliang fear the Rongdi now? !
·
Liu Rushi was sitting below Bai Qingyan, reporting to Bai Qingyan about the alliance with Rongdi and Xiliang.
Bai Qingyan picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea. He put the bamboo slips in his hand aside and listened carefully to Liu Rushi’s words.
“Although I have not replied to Rongdi and Xiliang about who they will ally with according to your majesty’s order, but… it is not appropriate to drag it on like this. After all, the diplomatic relations between the two countries are not a joke.” Liu Rushi has always been fearless, so he boldly said to Bai Qing, “Your Majesty, I know that your majesty and Xiliang Yun Poxing have a deep hatred, but… for the diplomatic relations between the two countries, the conditions given by Xiliang are indeed beneficial to our Great Zhou. Your Majesty may wish to consider it!”
Wei Zhong personally served hot tea to Liu Rushi, then stepped aside and whispered to the eunuch to raise the wicks of the lamps in the palace higher.
“We can wait until Xiliang and Rongdi are both defeated, and then reap the benefits…” Liu Rushi was afraid that Bai Qingyan would not let go of the hatred for the Bai family, so he said, “Engaging in an alliance with Xiliang, revenge will only be delayed by one or two years, but it can weaken the military strength of Rongdi and Xiliang! When the time comes, we can send troops from the Great Zhou… and avoid unnecessary casualties of soldiers. I think this is the best of both worlds.”
Second update, continue to ask for monthly tickets…