I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

...

More than twenty years ago, a bright and beautiful girl was born into the family of Guillaume X, Duke of Aquitaine, France. Her name was Eleanor of Aquitaine.

From a young age, Eleanor displayed extraordinary intelligence and wit.

Under the rigorous and systematic aristocratic education, she was proficient in arithmetic, knowledgeable in history, and her etiquette and speech were impeccable.

However, fate played a cruel trick on Eleanor when she was eight years old. A sudden assassination took away her gentle mother and young brother, leaving Eleanor as the sole heir to the Duchy of Aquitaine.

Later, her father remarried and had a half-brother named William.

However, Eleanor's father died shortly after William's birth, plunging the entire territory into unprecedented turmoil.

The vast territory of Aquitaine was instantly thrown into turmoil, and Eleanor, as the wealthiest heiress in all of Europe, became the target of covetousness from all sides overnight.

To stabilize the situation and to control this wealthy land, King Louis VI of France placed Eleanor under royal guardianship. He had long heard of the young woman's intelligence and resilience, and while personally tutoring her, hoping she would become a qualified ruler, he secretly plotted to have his heir, Louis VII, marry Eleanor, using marriage as a pretext to completely annex Aquitaine.

Louis VI firmly believed that this marriage would solidify the French monarchy and was a match made in heaven.

Louis VI firmly believed that the marriage between Louis VII and Eleanor would solidify the stability of France and would certainly be a perfect marriage.

But he was wrong.

Eleanor had been Queen of France for less than a month when Louis VI died, and her husband Louis VII ascended the throne.

At first, Eleanor also had expectations for the future and for her husband.

However, she soon realized that Louis VII had never truly accepted her.

For Louis VII, this marriage was nothing more than a political tool to consolidate his power; she was merely a pawn he used to control Aquitaine.

Furthermore, Louis VII desperately needed a prince to inherit the throne, but Eleanor gave birth to two princesses in succession, and he was unable to fulfill his wish.

Disappointment turned into indifference, and indifference into disgust. Louis VII began to publicly criticize her and ignore her, venting all his dissatisfaction on her.

The palace was oppressive, and people's hearts were cold.

Eleanor grew increasingly depressed amidst endless resentment and self-doubt. She tried to communicate and salvage the relationship, but only ended up with deeper isolation.

Ultimately, Louis VII decisively abandoned her with a letter of divorce.

Heartbroken, Eleanor was forced to leave the palace and return to her homeland of Aquitaine.

Little did she know that this was not the end of her suffering, but the beginning of a catastrophe that would sweep across Europe.

Shortly afterward, Louis VII joined forces with Conrad III, the King of Germany, to launch the Second Crusade, but was defeated by Zhao Yu and fled back to Europe in disarray.

Crucially, they led Zhao Yu's army into Europe.

In less than a year, the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force swept across Europe with overwhelming force. Wherever cannons and iron cavalry went, nations crumbled. Germany and France fell one after another, and the royal families and nobles of all Europe became prisoners, all of whom were taken to the City of Ten Thousand Nations in the Song Dynasty for imprisonment.

Meanwhile, daughters of European royalty and noblewomen were all brought into Zhao Yu's harem.

Eleanor and her two daughters were no exception.

For Eleanor, her life was like a script full of twists and turns.

In her previous marriage, she was unable to bear a male heir for Louis VII, which made her a target of public criticism and even led to her being deposed.

Who would have thought that after being taken into Zhao Yu's harem, she would give birth to three sons in five years?

It is said that when Louis VII learned of this in the City of Nations, he was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The key point is that many people use this incident to ridicule Louis VII.

Fortunately-

The City of Nations was a special place, where a large portion of the residents had been cuckolded by Emperor Zhao Yu, and Louis VII was no exception.

For example, Louis VII's close friend Conrad III not only lost his queen Gertrude to Zhao Yu, but even his two daughters became Zhao Yu's concubines.

But then again, what people laugh at Louis VII for isn't that he was cuckolded by Zhao Yu, but that he divorced Eleanor because she couldn't have a son, only to find out that he was the one who couldn't have a son.

More importantly, Louis VII became a prisoner, and Eleanor became Zhao Yu's favorite concubine.

Moreover, everyone in the city of Wan Guo had heard that after Eleanor was taken into Zhao Yu's harem, she did not resist Zhao Yu's advances like many European noblewomen (at least outwardly). She had none of the restraint of a French queen and instead tried her best to please Zhao Yu.

At the time, Zhao Yu needed a few women to help him manage Western women. After all, Eastern and Western cultures are different, and Eastern management ideas are not very suitable for managing Western women.

Therefore, Zhao Yu included Eleanor, Queen Adliza of England, Holy Roman Empress Matilda, Countess de Boulogne (the future Queen of England) Matilda, and German Empress Gertrude in his cabinet.

Eleanor and the other women, using the status and power bestowed upon them by Zhao Yu, not only managed the group of European noblewomen in an orderly manner, but these European noblewomen finally recognized reality and dared not insist on their noble status anymore, obediently becoming Zhao Yu's playthings.

It was precisely because of this that Zhao Yu doted on Eleanor, and in just four or five years, he had her give birth to three sons, which helped her completely reverse her reputation and made her one of the most powerful women of her time.

Undoubtedly, the more successful Eleanor was, the more Louis VII appeared to be a failure.

But Louis VII was already a prisoner and would never have a chance to turn his life around, so his thoughts were irrelevant and no one cared.

This time, Zhao Yu chose to act first because he was worried about unforeseen events on the Song Dynasty's mainland.

Under these circumstances, Zhao Yu would certainly not bring too many women with him, lest their inconvenience in traveling cause him trouble.

However, even though Zhao Yu brought fewer than a hundred women with him in total, Eleanor was still one of them.

This shows how much Zhao Yu favored Eleanor.

At this moment, Zhao Yu's special train had already passed through the various principalities of Europe, then through the principalities of Central Asia, crossed the Pamir Mountains, and entered the homeland of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Yu lay on his side on his imperial bed, looking at the Song Dynasty homeland he had been away from for more than a decade.

Even in the relatively remote Western Regions of the Song Dynasty, wide cement roads now run, carrying all sorts of cars that are still rare in the various vassal states. The people you occasionally see all have happy smiles on their faces.

Crucially, more than half of them are Han Chinese.

Seeing this, how could Zhao Yu not know that Zhao Shou's immigration efforts had been very successful over the years?

The more this happened, the more uncomfortable Zhao Yu felt.

Eleanor, with her captivating, clear yet melancholic brown-green eyes, exquisitely beautiful face, and slender, sexy figure, sat sideways at the foot of the tatami mat, gently and attentively massaging Zhao Yu's legs.

Next to Eleanor was an oriental beauty, or more accurately, a Han Chinese beauty. She was about eight feet tall, with delicate features, snow-white skin, a curvaceous figure, and long, thick legs—a typical tall beauty.

This woman's surname is Wu, and her father is Wu Jin, a minor official in Bianliang, the capital of the Eastern Capital.

Wu Jin once dreamed that he came to a pavilion with a horizontal plaque that read "Shi Yu"; next to it were peonies, only one of which was in bloom, and it was particularly beautiful and precious, with a white sheep under the flower.

Wu Jin was quite surprised after waking up.

Later, when Wu was born, red light shone outdoors, and the old locust tree in the courtyard suddenly bloomed with new flowers, which was clearly an auspicious sign from heaven.

People say that Wu is destined for great wealth and honor, and that she will surely achieve great things in the future.

Wu Jin named Wu Shi "Shaofen" and taught her kung fu and shooting from a young age, carefully nurturing her.

Later, Wu Jin learned that the current emperor's name was "Zhao Yu" and suddenly realized that Wu Shaofen was born to serve Zhao Yu. Therefore, when Wu Shaofen was fourteen years old, he sent her to the palace when the court was selecting candidates for Zhao Yu.

Wu Shaofen was different from ordinary beauties. She was tall and straight, with heroic features, and knew some martial arts and shooting skills. After entering the palace, she was selected to join Zhao Yu's personal guard.

Wu Shaofen was tall and strong, and her martial arts and shooting skills were quite good, so much so that she quickly caught Li Lin's eye and was transferred to Zhao Yu's side to serve as Zhao Yu's personal guard.

Later, Zhang Chun learned that Wu Shaofen was the daughter of Wu Jin and guessed that she was Empress Xiansheng Cilie, the second empress of Zhao Gou in history. He then introduced her to Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu would definitely have to give Zhang Chun face for this.

After Zhao Yu took Wu Shaofen as his concubine, he naturally learned her name and that her father was Wu Jin. He also learned that she was Empress Xiansheng Cilie, the second empress of Zhao Gou in history.

Zhao Yu simply transferred Wu Shaofen to his side, making her his personal bodyguard.

When Emperor Zhao Yu led his army on a western expedition, he brought Wu Shaofen with him.

One day, when Zhao Yu and his entourage were sailing on the Caspian Sea, huge waves surged, and a golden carp suddenly leaped into Zhao Yu's imperial boat, startling everyone on board, who thought it was an ominous sign.

Not long ago, Zhao Yu appointed Zhao Ji as King of Damascus. However, shortly after taking office, Zhao Ji began to build gardens. More importantly, he diverted the money Zhao Yu had allocated for building roads and railways to the gardens, which aroused resentment among the people under his rule, who rose up in rebellion and drove Zhao Ji out of Damascus. Later, Zhao Yu sent people to recapture Damascus and removed Zhao Ji from his position as a vassal king.

However, Zhao Yu did not go too far and appointed Zhao Ji's only son, Zhao Huan, as the King of Damascus.

Unexpectedly, not long after Zhao Huan became King of Damascus, he was caught up in the holy war launched by Al-Azin al-Qaeda of Khwarazm, who led the people of West and Central Asia in a counterattack.

Faced with attacks from West and Central Asia, some advised Zhao Huan to adopt a scorched-earth policy and wait for Zhao Yu to send reinforcements to Damascus; others suggested that Zhao Huan first work with Shah Al-Aytiz to stabilize the hundreds of thousands of holy war forces and wait for Zhao Yu to send the Song Dynasty expeditionary force to rescue Damascus; still others suggested that Zhao Huan first escape Damascus to the east to find the main force of the Song Dynasty expeditionary force, and then return to Damascus; and yet others advised Zhao Huan that the armies of West and Central Asia were no match for them, and that it would be better to take the initiative and defeat one or two holy war forces, so that they would not dare to offend Damascus.

Faced with this situation, Zhao Huan was indecisive about whether to fight or retreat, and the holy war forces saw through his outward strength but inner weakness. As a result, more than 100,000 holy war troops went to attack Damascus and besieged Zhao Huan and his men in the city.

When resisting the holy war forces, Zhao Huan was indecisive, sometimes advocating peace and sometimes resistance, repeatedly changing his mind, leaving the people in the city unsure whether to defend or resist to the end.
The people inside Damascus believed that if they held out to the bitter end, they would fight to the death against the jihadist forces. But if they harbored thoughts of surrender, and their resistance became too fierce, wouldn't the jihadist forces purge them after entering the city?

Under this mindset, some people in Damascus dared not resist the jihadist forces with all their might.

As a result, Damascus was breached by the holy war forces, Zhao Huan was captured, and his queen, several concubines, and children were also captured.

This was not a big deal in itself, but it had a negative impact on the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force, which had always had a smooth run of success.

—Some people can't help but wonder if the Song Dynasty's western expedition has come to an end? Or could it be said that this is the clarion call for a holy war counterattack?
When this news reached Zhao Yu, he was furious. He not only stripped Zhao Huan of his title and permanently deprived him of the opportunity to be a prince, but also demoted Zhao Ji from a prince to a monarch.

At this very moment, the white fish entered the boat.

It's no wonder that those around Zhao Yu considered this an ominous sign.

Wu Shaofen stepped forward, curtsied, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, when King Wu of Zhou attacked King Zhou of Shang, a white fish entered his boat, which was an auspicious omen. Now, a golden carp has entered the boat, which must be a blessing from Heaven. Our Great Song Dynasty will surely unify the world."

These words startled the anxious crowd, and Zhao Yu took the opportunity to bestow upon Wu Shaofen the title of Lady of Heyi County.

Later, the Song Dynasty's expeditionary force defeated the holy war forces and rescued Zhao Huan and others. The Song Dynasty completely occupied Central Asia and West Asia, and Zhao Yu promoted Wu Shaofen to the rank of Cai Ren (a high-ranking concubine).

Over the years, Wu Shaofen has always stayed by Zhao Yu's side, remaining loyal and caring towards him. She also bore him two sons and a daughter, and Zhao Yu promoted her to the position of Guiyi.

It was obvious to everyone that, barring any problems, Wu Shaofen would rise to become Zhao Yu's concubine, or even a noble consort, within a few years, with an unlimited future.

At this moment, only Eleanor and Wu Shaofen were serving Zhao Yu. Zhang Chun and the other five of Zhao Yu's favorite concubines, being older, had voluntarily "retired to the second line" to do what they liked.

Perhaps this is a case of "beautiful women emerging in every generation."

Seeing that Zhao Yu was preoccupied, Eleanor advised him in her fluent Chinese, "Your Majesty, the Song Dynasty is at its peak, and we can turn danger into safety in all things. There is no need to worry."

Wu Shaofen also said, "Yes, Your Majesty is unparalleled in both civil and military affairs, and is in the prime of his life. No matter what happens in the court, as long as Your Majesty returns in triumph, everything will be resolved."

Zhao Yu agreed with this assessment and was not worried that he would be unable to resolve Zhao Shou's serious illness upon returning.

However, this will definitely require some effort, and the key issue is that Zhao Yu may lose a good son he has carefully nurtured for two or three decades.

How could Zhao Yu easily forgive this...?

...(End of this chapter)