unclear

Chapter 1282 A Princess Arrives

"Yes, the students have understood. We must severely punish all the scoundrels with wartime laws and resolutely prevent any future troubles!" The astronaut and Tan Mingming had no objection to this order. They both stood up and repeated the key points to avoid omissions.

In fact, according to their opinion, at least one cleanup campaign should be carried out every year, because the garrisons in several places have been killed by such people. Good soldiers, who have been trained for several years, did not fall under the swords of the enemy but were killed in their own homes. Sometimes even the murderer cannot be found. It is too frustrating.

"Yes, that's what I mean... What are you doing?" This time, the understanding and attitude of the two chiefs of general staff were affirmed. The state machinery should function for the country. As long as it is beneficial to the country, you have to do it even if you don't understand it, and do it well.

But just as he was about to say a few words of encouragement, a half-shaved head appeared at the door, with cunning eyes, and winked at Wang Chengen.

"Reporting to His Majesty, the commander-in-chief of the Western Regions, Huang Taiji, has been summoned to the capital, and is awaiting orders outside the palace..." When the flat-headed brother heard about his whereabouts, he immediately stopped making faces, walked into the palace gate in an upright manner, and reported in a low voice.

"I didn't summon him to the palace. Just go to the General Staff Headquarters and wait... Did you accept his favors?"

When Huang Taiji entered Beijing, Hong Tao knew that all the commanders and chiefs of staff who wanted to participate in the battle had to return to Beijing to meet with the army and navy staffs and listen to the detailed explanation of the battle plan formulated by the general staff.

But returning to Beijing and entering the palace are two different things, and I don't remember any order to summon Huang Taiji. If I meet with every commander and chief of staff, I won't have anything else to do all day.

"I have never accepted bribes... I just have something to report..."

The flat-headed brother had no other duties except supervising the inner court guards, unlike Wang Chengen who led the Imperial Household Department and had so many foreign officials to show respect to. But this time he really seemed to have received a benefit from Huang Taiji, a big benefit, and actually reported it privately.

"I am busy with official business. If you have something to say, just say it. If not, please leave immediately!" What inside story? Hong Tao really didn't think that there could be any inside story between him and Huang Taiji. Even if there was a rebellion in the Western Regions, there was no need to hide it from the General Staff.

"Huang Dusi said that he was ordered to bring the Kazakh princess to meet His Majesty. She is now in a carriage outside the palace. I saw her with my own eyes. She is more beautiful than Gulandam, like a fairy in a painting."

Since the emperor didn't need to keep it secret, Flathead Brother didn't hide it either. He immediately told Huang Taiji the purpose of his visit and also described the princess's appearance. He was grinning as he spoke, and all the staff members also showed various kinds of smiles, but tried hard not to show them.

"Princess..." Hong Tao was confused now and turned to look at Wang Chengen.

Why did the Kazakh Khanate send the princess to Beijing? Was it to express its position in advance? There was no need to send hostages. Even if they did, they should have sent the prince.

"…Grand Secretary Yuan mentioned the matter of establishing a queen a few years ago. At that time, His Majesty said that it would be inappropriate if there were no heirs. Grand Secretary Yuan seemed to have mentioned choosing another beauty to enter the palace."

When the emperor forgot or didn't want to remember something, Wang Cheng'en would usually remind him, or he would forget it too. This time, Wang Cheng'en reminded him, leaning in close and whispering.

"Did he say he wanted to choose a princess?" After being reminded of this, Hong Tao vaguely remembered that Yuan Yingtai seemed to have mentioned the matter of establishing a queen, but he forgot how he answered, and he had no impression of such a thing as a princess. "Your Majesty said to let the Grand Secretary take care of it..." Wang Chengen gave another answer.

"What was I doing at that time?" Hong Tao didn't quite believe this answer.

The issue of the emperor's offspring was on the agenda every year, and each time it was perfunctorily dealt with. But the court officials were really not annoyed, and they became more and more courageous with each setback, and they kept making various petitions to persuade him. Of course, he would delay it as much as possible, and would never give in easily. The only possibility was that someone had taken advantage of him not to notice and asked him something.

"Your Majesty was tinkering with the steam engine with the professors at the Royal Academy, and I, the servant and the flat-headed man, were guarding him with shields raised on both sides!"

"Hey, he really knows how to find the right time..." Now Hong Tao finally understood. Yuan Yingtai made some suggestions just when he went to the college to inspect the finished steam engine. Then he dealt with it casually while concentrating, and ended up falling into the trap.

But why did Yuan Yingtai come at such a coincidence, and how did he know that he was prone to make casual remarks when he was concentrating on doing something he liked? We have to look at Wang Chengen.

This guy was loyal, but he also had his own agenda, such as always thinking about the emperor's offspring. Whenever there were memorials about this, he would usually put them at the top without making a sound.

"Your Majesty, please be aware that I have never had any connection with Grand Secretary Yuan!" Seeing the emperor looking at him with sidelong eyes, Wang Chengen knew he was trapped, but he had never taken the initiative to reveal the emperor's whereabouts, and he did not dare to do so.

"Send the princess to the harem and let Concubine Ruan Shufei settle down, and let Huang Taiji come in!" In fact, Hong Tao didn't want to find out who told Yuan Yingtai about his whereabouts. When he traveled, there were at least a hundred people following him, so it wouldn't be difficult for Yuan Yingtai to find out.

Now that the person has come all the way here, Huang Taiji can't send her back. That would be a slap in the face of the Kazakh Khan. So he can be taken in. It's a pity for the princess. From now on, she will have to be a prisoner in the Forbidden City, and she will still have no children.

"You've had a hard time on the journey!" From Huang Taiji's attire, it can be seen that he went directly into the palace. Although his clothes had been tidied by the eunuchs, the traces of the long journey were still very clear.

Although he was a surrendered general, his performance over the years was obvious to all. Since taking over the Western Regions Command, he has managed everything from local government affairs to frontier military affairs. In particular, he has never wavered on the issue of ethnic assimilation, which is commendable.

"I am not tired. I took the rail carriage from Hami. I am not exposed to the wind or rain, and I can eat, drink and sleep without any interruption. When I arrived in Lanzhou, there were carriages and official roads to take. This journey was much more comfortable than leading troops in training. This is a secret letter from Minister Liu of the Ministry of Rites. Your Majesty, please read it!"

Huang Taiji felt pretty good about himself. Although all his clansmen were scattered to live in different places, he knew from the correspondence that they were all doing well. He also became a general in charge of a region's military power, and was not excluded by the Han generals. Apart from having to follow the laws and military regulations, his life seemed no worse than before.

Especially after being stationed in the Western Regions, through personally managing this jurisdiction that is larger than Liaodong and has a larger population, he gradually discovered that his abilities in many aspects were far inferior to those of the emperor. It is not shameful to be a subordinate of a master, on the contrary it is a gift.

(End of this chapter)