son, don't mess around

In the small courtyard.

The atmosphere suddenly became a little solemn.

Zhao Xi remained silent, looking at Li Piaomiao in front of him with complicated eyes.

This woman was too calm, she didn't show any emotion. Her already cold personality, set off by the white clothes as white as snow, made her look even more lonely.

Zhao Xi didn't know what to say next and didn't try to persuade him any further.

She knew this woman too well!

After knowing each other for so many years, she already knew that Li Piaomiao had a stubborn personality.

She seems to be calm and nonchalant, but once she makes a decision, it is impossible to change it.

She showed up here tonight to inform her of the news.

It's not a negotiation.

…She’s going to the front line!
When this thought came to Zhao Xi's mind, he was shocked.

Although she seemed to be oblivious to what was happening outside during this period, there was continuous intelligence incoming about the battle between the imperial army and the rebel army of Prince Xu in the front line of Xuzhou.

Very tragic!
The imperial army was losing ground and could not stop the army of Prince Xu. If nothing unexpected happened, the imperial army would almost certainly be defeated.

Even if she went to the front line, she probably wouldn't be able to change anything. This situation was not something she could reverse on her own.

If anything goes wrong, the consequences will be disastrous.

Zhao Xi opened his mouth, but in the end, he only said: "When are you leaving?"

"tomorrow."

"So fast?"

Zhao Xi, who was sitting on the swing, had stopped at some point. She sat up slightly, stepped barefoot on the lawn, and looked up at Li Piaomiao in front of her: "So, you came to see me tonight to say goodbye?"

Li Piaomiao nodded without comment.

"Since you have already made your decision, what else can I say?"

Zhao Xi's tone was slightly deep: "Do you want me to wish you a safe journey?"

Li Piaomiao didn't say anything. She looked at Zhao Xi in front of her, as if some emotions were rising up in her.

But in the end, nothing was said.

"Go ahead, go ahead. Just go ahead."

Zhao Xi sighed: "Anyway, I can't persuade you. If you want to go, just go ahead."

"Live well, don't die there."

Zhao Xi paused, a hint of amusement suddenly emerged on his face: "If anything happens to you, your fiancé will be mine."

Hearing this, Li Piaomiao glanced at her, and after a while, he only replied with one word: "Okay."

The word "good" made Zhao Xi a little stunned.

What does good mean?
Did you agree?

still is……

When Zhao Xi wanted to ask again, Li Piaomiao was no longer in his sight.

As quickly as it came, it can go as quickly as it came.

quietly.

Zhao Xi was left standing there in a daze, silent and motionless. After a long while, he finally sighed.

Then he called softly, "Xiao Yue."

"Miss?!"

Outside the yard, Xiaoyue heard the young lady's call and walked over quickly.

"Where's my father?"

Xiaoyue said, "The master just came back from the palace not long ago and is now in the study."

Zhao Xi nodded thoughtfully, slowly stood up from the swing, stepped barefoot on the lawn, and walked towards the room.

"Change your clothes, get ready, and go see my dad."

"..."

It's quiet at night.

Daning Dynasty, Imperial Palace.

There was silence in the Health Hall.

This palace, which was destroyed more than half a year ago, has now been renovated and restored to its former glory.

At this moment, the hall was brightly lit, the wall lamps were bright, and the imperial guards were patrolling around the hall, adding a bit of solemnity to the royal night.

"Cough cough..."

From time to time, a light cough was heard from the hall.

"Your Majesty, it's already late, it's time to rest."

Inside the hall, a chief eunuch was standing by with a worried look on his face, trying to comfort them.

This chief eunuch had been following the Crown Prince when His Majesty was still the Crown Prince. After Li Ci Ning ascended the throne, he was appointed as the chief eunuch.

However, he still serves His Majesty.

Inside the hall, next to a table with a large number of memorials, sat a young man who was no more than 30 years old. Although he was young, he looked extremely weak and pale, as if he had been overworked.

"It's fine with me."

After coughing for a while, his face seemed to have a little more color. Li Qining took a deep breath and said, "You go down first."

"But your Majesty, your health..."

The chief eunuch was worried, "Your Majesty, if you continue to work so hard, it may harm your health!"

He wanted to persuade her, but Li Ci Ning waved his hand to interrupt him: "I know what's going on. It won't be a problem."

"The world is in chaos now, and the north is in rebellion. This is my fault, and I take the blame myself."

The chief eunuch wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say. He had advised many times, but His Majesty didn't listen.

In the end, the eunuch chief could only sigh.

Just then, a report came from the guards outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, Her Royal Highness the Princess requests an audience!"

Hearing this, the chief eunuch next to him looked up in surprise.

Why is the eldest princess here at this time?

He turned his head to look to the side and saw Li Qining looking somewhat happy: "Quick, let Piao Miao in."

The chief eunuch nodded quickly and walked quickly out of the palace to greet Her Royal Highness the Princess.

As the eunuch closest to His Majesty, the chief steward knew clearly that the person His Majesty trusted the most was the eldest princess. Even in the past six months since His Majesty ascended the throne, His Majesty promoted the eldest princess several times and handed over a lot of power in the court to her.

Outside the palace, it was late at night and the cold wind was blowing gently.

Li Piaomiao stepped into the hall.

As soon as I walked into the hall, a light cough was heard again.

She raised her eyes and looked forward.

"Piao Miao, you're here?!"

At the back, when Li Ci Ning saw Li Piaomiao, his face showed joy.

But Li Piaomiao frowned slightly, his eyes focused, and glanced at the eunuch chief beside the entourage: "Did your majesty take the medicine on time?"

The eunuch chief was trembling with fear at the sudden pressure from the princess. He lowered his head and said respectfully, "Princess, I deliver medicine to your majesty on time every day, and your majesty also takes the medicine on time."

Hearing this, Li Piaomiao frowned even deeper.

I wanted to say something else, but Li Qining waved his hand: "You go down first." "Yes."

The chief eunuch bowed his head and stepped back.

Li Piaomiao was silent for a while, then spoke: "Brother, your body..."

"I'm fine."

Li Ci Ning smiled and said, "Thanks to the medicine you brought from Ruyi Tower, Piao Miao, I have been able to prolong my life. During this period, I feel that my health has improved a lot."

Li Piaomiao went to the Prince Lin's Mansion and failed to find a way to cure Li Ci Ning, but she brought a lot of medicine before leaving.

Upon learning that the emperor was seriously ill, Li Piaomiao rushed back to the capital without stopping. When he met Li Ci Ning, he was already terminally ill and in extremely dangerous condition.

With the help of Ruyilou's medicine, his life was successfully saved.

Even with continuous medication, Li Ci Ning's condition has improved a lot in the past two months, and even his spirits have been refreshed a lot.

But when I saw him again this time, I found that Li Ci Ning's condition seemed to be much worse than last time!

This made Li Piaomiao feel something was wrong.

The medicine in Prince Lin’s Mansion seems to be reaching its limit?
The medicine from Ruyi Tower could not cure his illness. Over the years, his body had long since collapsed. Now his condition was getting worse and worse, and it was difficult to cure it.

As the medication began to wear off, the situation got worse.

As if sensing Li Piaomiao's emotions, Li Ci Ning smiled at her with a gentle look: "Piaomiao, there's no need to worry so much. My body is already like this..."

"Don't worry, I won't die for a while."

As he spoke, Li Ci Ning's tone became a little low: "I have not yet fulfilled my father's long-cherished wish and failed to quell the rebellion in Prince Xu's Mansion. I cannot die, and I must not die..."

Li Piaomiao remained silent and did not express any opinion.

Li Qining took a deep breath, and a bitter smile appeared on his face, as if he was mocking himself: "My father always said that I am not suitable to be an emperor. Now it seems that he is right."

"It's all because I'm too soft-hearted."

When mentioning this, Li Ci Ning's tone was full of guilt.

Yes, he is too soft-hearted.

It was because he did not kill his third brother out of consideration for family ties that led to the current situation.

The third brother was used by Prince Xu's Mansion, who rebelled in his name, causing chaos in the country and devastating suffering to the people.

He has an unshirkable responsibility!
If he had been more ruthless at the beginning, the situation would never have become as serious as it is today.

"Xu Hong used the name of my third brother to confuse the public, spread rumors among the people, secretly wooed soldiers from various states and counties, and posed an increasing threat to the court..."

Li Ci Ning's eyes were deep and his voice was low.

He had only been on the throne for a short time, so his foundation was not stable. Although in the past six months, he had quickly suppressed the unstable factors in the court with thunderous means, cracked down on dissidents, and cleaned up various forces, and successfully sat on the throne.

Now in the court, he has the final say and there is basically no force opposing him.

But outside the capital, his influence is very low.

His third brother already had a lot of prestige among the people. Moreover, he had been too eager to achieve success in the past six months, and had indirectly offended many forces. Under the current circumstances, many people secretly defected to the third prince.

In addition, Prince Xu's mansion has strong troops and horses, and the current situation is extremely unfavorable for the court.

Li Piaomiao looked calm and asked, "How long can the imperial army hold out?"

Li Ci Ning took a deep breath and said, "The situation on the front line is tense right now. Fortunately, my father had foresight and laid a natural moat on the border of Xuzhou, which can temporarily hold back the rebels. It will not be easy for Xu Hong to move south quickly."

"With the arrival of the reinforcements from Liangzhou, we can still hold them off. But the biggest problem right now is that the treasury is empty and the military pay is insufficient!"

Insufficient military pay is the biggest problem facing the imperial army today.

As the saying goes, food and fodder must be prepared before troops move forward. Even though Xu Hong had prepared for so long, it was not easy for him to march south due to limited military supplies.

However, the imperial army had to face the problem of insufficient military pay.

The imperial treasury had been empty for several years. Tax revenues in Jiangnan were not coming in, and the imperial government was in serious deficit, having long been unable to make ends meet. The previous emperor had passed away, and the third prince had rebelled. In order to stabilize the situation in the capital, a large amount of money had been spent.

Although many officials’ homes were raided, these were just a drop in the bucket.

More importantly, it is only the beginning of autumn and most of the grain has not yet reached the harvest season, resulting in a shortage of military pay.

If the military pay is sufficient, even if the imperial army is no match for Prince Xu's rebels, they can still rely on the city's support to delay the enemy's steps.

But once the military pay is insufficient, if the army cannot even fill their stomachs, their combat effectiveness will naturally drop significantly, and even more seriously, it may lead to a mutiny.

Li Piaomiao raised his eyes: "Is there a solution?"

Li Ci Ning smiled bitterly: "What else can I do? What my father left me is a mess. If I want to solve this problem in a short period of time, there are only a few ways."

"Or, forcibly collect grain from the people..."

This is the simplest and most direct way, to collect grain from the common people.

This is also the worst way with the most serious consequences. If he had not been at his wit's end, he would never have gone this far.

"Or we can borrow grain from officials and aristocratic families in the capital, but we can't borrow much..."

As early as several months ago, Li Ci Ning had already begun to borrow grain from the aristocratic families, but with little effect.

The reason is self-evident.

This path is obviously not feasible.

"Then there is only one last way left."

"The only way is to collect grain from private merchants. But the treasury is empty now, and there is no extra silver."

Li Ci Ning did not say anything else. For the first time, as the Son of Heaven, he felt that a penny could stump the old emperor.

No money!
"No matter what, there will always be a way."

After muttering in a low voice for a while, Li Ci Ning raised his head again, his eyes becoming firm again.

At this point, he absolutely cannot fall down.

He is the emperor of the Daning Dynasty. He cannot lose his composure during the current turmoil.

"this time……"

Li Ci Ning looked at Li Piao Miao and said, "I'll leave the front line to you. I will find a way to raise the military pay and will never let the soldiers on the front line go hungry."

"Piaomiao, you should also pay attention to safety."

Li Piaomiao remained silent and nodded.

"This is our only chance!"

Li Ci Ning took a deep breath and said, "This trip is extremely dangerous, but it is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Late at night, in the hall, Li Ci Ning's face was pale and he started to say something. Li Piao Miao remained silent the whole time, rarely speaking, just listening quietly.

It was not until a long time later that Li Qining could no longer conceal the tiredness on his face. He breathed rapidly and became weak: "Piaomiao, then, it all depends on you..."

"I can still hold on for a while, but the future of the dynasty can only be handed over to you..."

"Third brother is too extreme and too ignorant. He cooperates with Xu Hong. Even if he wins, he will only be a puppet. He cannot defeat Xu Hong. Xu Hong wants my position. No matter what, you and I cannot let his conspiracy succeed..."

"This Daning Kingdom must not fall into the hands of outsiders no matter what."

"This time you are going to the front line. I will grant you the military seal and appoint you as the Grand Marshal of the Army of the World. You can control the troops of the world. Anyone who disobeys my orders can be killed first and reported later..."

"Your words are my will!"

The lights flickered, illuminating Li Piaomiao's cold profile.

She slowly raised her eyes and looked at Li Ci Ning, whose face was pale. Then, she slowly reached out and took the military token that symbolized the imperial power from him.

Seeing this scene, Li Ci Ning smiled.

He breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Piaomiao, this dynasty..."

"I'll leave it to you!"

"..." (End of this chapter)