I am a soldier in the border army

Chapter 569: The Ladies in the Inner House! These Ten Years!
Once the days calm down, day after day, this cycle repeats itself.

Time tends to pass quickly.

"What are the ladies doing today?"

"Your Majesty, Madam Chen went to inspect the properties in Dongyuan a few days ago. Madam Jiang is checking the accounts with Madam Chen right now."

"Madam Gongsun of the West Garden is currently inviting the ladies of various families to the mansion with Madam Tushan to enjoy tea, appreciate flowers, and chat about family matters."

In the study room of the mansion.

The female officials around him answered Han Shao's questions one by one.

Han Shao laughed.

"They are very clear about their differences. They are distinct and don't bother each other."

As the old saying goes, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes.

With so many people, it is normal to form cliques and support each other.

Han Shao was not so naive as to insist on harmony in the backyard, with every sister loving each other sweetly.

It's good like this now.

Everyone is in charge of their own affairs and has things to do, so there are fewer disputes.

Jiang Wan is thoughtful and resourceful, making her suitable for managing the government affairs in the mansion, with Chen Wenjun, who is proficient in business, assisting her.

Over the years, not only did he manage all affairs in the mansion in an orderly manner, but he also opened up many industries and financial resources for Han Shao.

For their newly wealthy family, this is a huge contribution.

Gongsun Xinyi, the former female general in the army, has gradually lost her edge after so many years of hard work.

Now she is a lady with graceful manners.

On weekdays, he often invited the ladies of Han Shao's subordinates to meet in his house. Sometimes they would drink tea and appreciate flowers, sometimes they would have banquets and entertain, and sometimes he would even act as a matchmaker for the young men and girls of each family to help them find marriages.

Don't think these things are easy.

A qualified mistress often helps her husband to stabilize the hearts and minds of his subordinates and build their affections through these subtle details.

As time went by, a big network woven by the ladies of each family's inner chambers was formed.

But it was not only Gongsun Xinyi and Tushan Feixuan who were doing this, but Jiang Wan and Chen Wenjun from Dongyuan were also doing it.

At the beginning, there was even a lot of friction between the two sides, which caused Han Shao a lot of trouble.

Fortunately, both sides were smart people, and gradually they reached a certain understanding again.

As Li Wenjing's adopted daughter and disciple, Jiang Wan was naturally close to the literati.

Not to mention Gongsun Xinyi. Not to mention that although her father Gongsun Du has retired behind the scenes for many years, his influence in the army is still as solid as Mount Tai.

Let’s just talk about Madam Gongsun herself.

You have to know that she and Han Shao had gone through the desperate situation of death together. Which of the new military officials like Li Jing did not respect her?

So gradually, the two gardens were divided into civil and military.

Han Shao was happy to see this happen.

To put it more coldly, power politics is nothing more than balance.

Haven’t you seen that in all the dynasties over there, the times when the royal power was at its strongest were either when the country was founded and at its peak, or when the party struggles were most intense at the end of the dynasty.

The only thing you need to consider is how to strike the right balance.

Gongsun Xinyi and Jiang Wan did surprisingly well in this regard, and Han Shao didn't even need to do the "dynamic balance" for them himself.

In general, it can be summed up in two words - worry-free!
Thinking of this, Han Shao took a sip of tea with great satisfaction.

But after putting down the teacup, he couldn't help but frowned slightly and continued to ask.

"Where are the other ladies?"

The female officer replied.

"Mrs. Bai lost a lot of money playing cards yesterday, so she pulled Mrs. Yu and Mrs. Shangguan over early this morning..."

Well, they are both concubines, but the difference is so huge.

If Chen Wenjun and Tushan Feixuan belong to the "Rolling King" faction, the remaining three women belong to the "Lie Flat" faction.

It was fine when we first got married. In order to have children, we would at least focus all our attention on gambling in the evening.

But as time went by, there was no sign of pregnancy in their stomachs. In addition, Han Shao had created mahjong, poker and other leisure and educational games for them in order to distract their attention. Gradually, they even began to let things take their course in this regard.

Such a result made Han Shao feel helpless and amused.

“Who won the most yesterday?”

The female official said.

"Madam Shangguan."

Han Shao was stunned when he heard this, "Why is it her again?"

Speaking of which, among all the women in his inner palace, the prime minister's concubine has the least presence.

Even in bed, they were just going through the motions and there was no fun at all.

But no one expected that since the chess and card game craze started in the backyard, this woman seemed to have finally hit the right skill point and was killing everyone in the entire inner house.

Over time, except for Bai, the unyielding young man, almost no one was willing to play with her.

"Forget it. I'll take some money out of my treasury and give it to Bai later. I'll say I'm lending it to her."

It's called a loan, but it's probably like throwing meat buns at a dog, it's gone and never comes back.

But he really has to pay this money.

If he doesn't pay, it will most likely be Yu Xuanji who pays.

Yu Xuanji was unlucky to have encountered such a disaster. Almost all of her monthly salary was used by that spendthrift woman to fill the gambling debts.

The last time he stayed at Wangshu Garden, he had a meal there, and it was so shabby that Han Shao felt distressed.

However, the female official did not respond after hearing Han Shao's words. Instead, after hesitating for a moment, she spoke.

"Last night, Madam Shangguan actually asked someone to send the money she won to me, and told His Majesty to dispose of it, and it would be best if she could return it to Bai Shi for her."

Han Shao was startled when he heard this.

"Why doesn't she go herself?"

After saying this, Han Shao finally reacted.

Shangguan Zhi appears to be cold and deadpan on the surface, but she is actually extremely timid and cowardly, and has severe social phobia.

I guess he didn't know how to bring up the matter, so he entrusted it to him.

Han Shao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Send it back to her. She won it with her own ability, why should she give it back? Oh, and tell her that I don't need her money."

After saying this, Han Shao suddenly felt a little compassion.

"Forget it, I will stay in her garden tonight, and I will take her there myself in the evening."

After a casual chat and learning about the women's situations, Han Shao withdrew his thoughts and buried himself in his work again.

I have to say, putting aside the sense of satisfaction of exercising power and controlling the fate of others with a single word.

Having to deal with these documents and memorials sent from all over the country every now and then is really a boring and tedious task.

Even with Han Shao's current cultivation level, he could already understand all of this with just a glance of his divine sense.

But this also has a disadvantage, that is, in that state of almost absolute rationality, the problems handled are inevitably too rigid and inhumane.

It is simply not applicable to certain complex issues that require discretion.

Take the death penalty list in his hand for example. Some of them can be killed or not, so Han Shao needs to deal with them from a humane perspective.

Yes, since Han Shao truly came to power, he immediately took back the power to sentence people to death from the county governments across the country.

In addition to preventing local officials from oppressing the people and acting recklessly, Han Shao generally adhered to the principle of killing less and killing with caution.

After all, people themselves are a resource.

Han Shao scribbled a few lines on the list with his red pen and threw the death penalty list aside.

Looking at the next memorial, Han Shao frowned, then gave instructions to the void.

"The magistrate of Shangguang County has reported that a local noble family is involved in smuggling and violating the law. Go and investigate. If there is solid evidence, kill those who should be killed and confiscate the property of those who should be confiscated."

As he spoke, his voice became chilly.

"Also, check the six local gates. If there are any problems, deal with them together."

Although the grassland is now under control and the various strategies Han Shao has given are extremely generous, they also set many restrictions.

This just proves the saying that the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish.

People are always tempted by profit, and there are always people who choose to take risks for the sake of wealth and fame, and test his authority by the way. In this regard, Han Shao always kills one person to warn the rest, and never tolerates it!
"Here."

As the response came from the void, Han Shao didn't bother to pay any more attention to it.

If he has to do everything himself, what's the point of having so many people?

Just give him a result when the time comes.

After this matter was dealt with, the following memorials were no longer of any importance.

After all, everything that could be placed in front of him had been screened by the Secretariat and arranged in order according to the urgency of the matter.

In addition, except for some things that Zhou Xuan really didn't dare to do on his own, he had already made annotations on them, which undoubtedly saved Han Shao a lot of energy.

For example, one of the letters read, "A group of barbarian cavalry looted villages and killed several border residents."

Zhou Xuan's comment on it was [It is advisable to send soldiers to search for the enemy].

Han Shao drew a big X on it, and then picked up the pen and wrote [Order all the tribes here to hand over ten times the number of heads within three days. If they fail to do so, they will be exterminated].

Perhaps this incident affected his mood, Han Shao thought.

"I really want to eat something sweet to adjust my mood."

As soon as this thought came to my mind, a warm and sweet feeling suddenly came to my lips.

Han Shao was stunned, and subconsciously took a light bite of the peeled fruit flesh that was handed to his mouth.

Turning his head to look at the red face of the female official beside him, which was somewhat similar to Yun Chan, Han Shao was also a little embarrassed, and then said.

"Zhenniang, how long have you been with me?"

Zhenniang, who is now in charge of the salaries of both the Six Gates and the female officials in the mansion, was absent-minded for a while and said in a soft voice.

"Your Majesty, it will be ten years in a few months."

She entered the palace in the 61st year of Taikang.

In the blink of an eye, many years passed and it was already the 70th year of Taikang.

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

Han Shao was also a little confused by this.

In the past ten years, he has been living in Youbei and has hardly stepped out of this small place.

At this moment, I feel that time flies so quickly, and I actually have a feeling of "there is no year in the mountains, and I don't know the years when the cold ends."

Looking up at the female official named Zhenniang beside him, Han Shao suddenly realized that the girl who was still a bit childish at the beginning had quietly grown into such a beautiful girl.

Well, the surface is slightly red, tender and juicy.

In a nutshell, it's ripe.

"It was my negligence that caused you trouble."

Upon hearing this, Zhenniang hurriedly said.

"It is my great honor to be able to always be by your side, my Lord. I dare not say that I am a burden to you."

Han Shao shook his head and then asked.

"How old are you now? Do you have a man you like?"

"If so, I will arrange a marriage for you and I will not let you suffer any injustice."

The maids, servants and female officials in the palace would be allowed to leave the palace when they reached age to avoid wasting their youth and delaying their marriage.

The only difference is that female officials who are in charge of many core affairs have greater restrictions when it comes to marriage.

Faced with Han Shao's well-intentioned words, Zhenniang not only did not show the slightest joy, but her face turned pale.

"Sir... Sir, I don't have anyone I like..."

As he said this, he mustered up the courage to look deeply at Han Shao, his eyes reddened, and he gritted his teeth.

"But if Your Majesty wants me to serve someone, I am willing to do so!"

Although she was called a female official, she was actually still a servant in the palace.

It was not uncommon in the world to use attractive female slaves, maids, or even concubines as a means of winning over or using them as spies.

Looking at the female official kneeling on the ground and then carefully pondering her words, Han Shao felt that something was not right.

Why does it sound like sending a girl away?
Do I still need to do such a dirty thing?
Han Shao, who had come to his senses, was speechless.

Han Shao said, waving his hand to help her up.

"I don't mean that. A man's achievements are achieved on horseback. Why would he sacrifice a woman's body for those dirty tricks that are not worthy of public display?"

Seeing Zhenniang's tense body suddenly relax after hearing what he said, Han Shao sighed with some amusement.

"I just saw that you were old enough, so I didn't want to waste your life."

"Don't worry. If you are worried that staying with me for too long will cause suspicion from your husband's family, I will let you change your appearance and name, and I will never embarrass you."

Of course, all memories will be erased and modified.

Zhenniang raised her head with resentment in her eyes.

"I don't want to get married. I just want to stay by your side every day."

There is an old saying that when you are young, you cannot meet someone who is too amazing.

She is probably the same.

The women near the mansion would only have all kinds of fantasies about Han Shao when they saw him from afar, let alone Zhenniang, who served him closely.

Hearing the determination in Zhenniang's tone, Han Shao couldn't help laughing.

"Are you planning to stay in this mansion until you become an old lady?"

Zhenniang spread her hands and knelt again.

"This is what I wish for."

The smile on Han Shao's face became a little stiff.

He is not a fool. On the contrary, there are not many people in the world who are as smart as him.

He can guess the general thoughts and moods of anyone who appears in front of him at a glance, let alone those who often hang around in front of him.

It's just that his appetite has become a bit picky, and Zhenniang's face is quite similar to Yunchan's, but also inferior.

I'm too lazy to spend time thinking about this.

But now seeing her attitude, Han Shao thought about it and changed his mind.

"Well, if you want to stay, then stay."

He has so many people to feed, so he doesn't need a bite of food.

We can still make a difference by having one more woman to expand the population base.

At worst, I can let her have a taste of this soup so that she won't be lonely and live in vain for the rest of her life.

"Get up."

In most cases, Han Shao has never been a person who likes to drag things out.

After personally helping Zhenniang up, Han Shao lightly raised his fingers to meet those beautiful eyes full of tears, and suddenly he began to like these big eyes.

"Come to think of it, you have been with me for so many years, and I have used you very well."

"If I let you leave the house like this, I won't be willing to do so."

Look, just this one sentence "I can't bear to let go" is enough to make the woman in front of him burst into tears and unable to control her emotions.

But just when he was about to take further action, he suddenly stopped.

After sending out a divine thought to tell the secret guards in the mansion to be calm, a female figure with the sharpness of swordsmanship and the Zen spirit of Buddhism appeared in the study.

"Who is this lowly maid? How could she be so like a concubine?"

We are all good sisters, why do you start cursing at me?
Han Shao frowned in dissatisfaction and was about to scold him.

But the holy woman who leaned forward looked at Zhenniang carefully for a few moments, and said with a feeling of guilt and emotion.

"I never thought that my husband would be so kind to me after I've been away for so long."

If not, why would he specifically look for a substitute to ease his longing?

Han Shao was stunned for a moment, then he reacted.

Yes, yes, that's what you think.

In just a moment, Han Shao introduced it with ease.

"This is Sect Master Yun of Cihang Jingzhai. Zhenniang can call her Sister."

……

(End of this chapter)