Chapter 1426 Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law work together!

While Li Huan was observing the battle situation, in the Daqian army's camp, Commander Chen Tao was also observing the changes in the battle situation.

Because he had received news from Commander Zhang Meng that Chieftain Li had decided to surrender, Commander Chen Tao did not think much about it and also relaxed his vigilance. He did not send as many scouts as usual!

Therefore, by the time Chen Tao knew that these chieftains' soldiers were coming to attack him, these chieftains' soldiers had already reached within ten miles of the camp!

Chen Tao and the soldiers in his battalion were caught off guard, but despite being unprepared, the First Army, as the ace force of the Daqian army, Chen Tao and his soldiers did not show any panic. They quickly began to deploy and dealt a heavy blow to the chieftain's troops!
But unfortunately, due to the humid and rainy weather in Yunqian, much of the Daqian army's gunpowder had become damp. Firearms without gunpowder were no different from fire sticks. In addition, the enemy had an absolute advantage in military strength, so their situation became increasingly difficult!

Seeing that their gunpowder was almost exhausted and without fire suppression, more and more Tusi soldiers and horses rushed to the front like a tide. Commander Chen Tao's expression became more and more serious. He began to consider whether to continue to hold on and wait for help, or to break out immediately...

His battalion had a full strength of 5,000 people, but because of heavy rain on the road and a landslide, the road became slippery and difficult to walk on, so some of the baggage and heavy artillery were also difficult to transport.

However, in order to rush to Huishe Ridge as ordered by Zhang Meng, he had to leave two thousand people to transport baggage and supplies, and then take three thousand people to Huishe Ridge.

Originally, Chen Tao thought it was nothing because he knew that Chieftain Li was about to surrender. However, facing an enemy that was nearly ten times his size, Chen Tao felt a lot of pressure. The most important thing was that Chen Tao didn't know whether the commander-in-chief knew that Chieftain Li had pretended to surrender and attacked him!

Just when Chen Tao was hesitating and didn't know what choice to make, his sentry leader Zhao Tieniu ran over and reported:

"Commander, we have run out of gunpowder. Now we brothers can only fight them in close combat. There are too many people on the other side. We brothers can't stand it anymore!"

Listening to Zhao Tieniu's words, Chen Tao's heart sank, then he raised the telescope and looked over. He saw that now in the entire camp only sporadic fire of firearms could be heard, while the chieftain's soldiers were rushing towards the camp from all directions with wild roars in the air.

Seeing this, although Chen Tao was still somewhat unwilling to retreat in defeat, his reason told him that if he persisted like this, he and the more than 3,000 Daqian soldiers in the camp would be wiped out!
Thinking of this, Chen Tao gritted his teeth and said:

"Order the entire army to break out! Destroy as many firearms as possible and do not leave them to these chieftains!"

"Yes!"

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October 2, Daqian Palace

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Ye Mingsheng slowly stood up from the chair in the imperial study. He wanted to stand up and walk out of the study to end his work for the day, but unfortunately, perhaps because the afternoon office work was a bit too long, after standing up, Ye Mingsheng only felt a pain in his waist and had to sit on the sofa to relax.

Ye Mingsheng picked up the teacup on the coffee table and took a sip of tea. Looking at the gradually dimming sunset outside the window, Ye Mingsheng felt a little emotional for no reason.

But before Ye Mingsheng could express his feelings, Ye Cheng walked into the study and reported to Ye Mingsheng:
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother would like you to have dinner with her tonight?"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and asked:

"Did the Queen Mother invite only me?"

"No! The Queen Mother also invited the Queen and the Crown Prince!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded without thinking too much, and stood up again. Surrounded by a group of followers, he went to the empress dowager's bedroom. At this time, An Miaoyi, Jingren and his mother had already arrived. They and Ye Cui were waiting for Ye Mingsheng to appear.

After Ye Mingsheng arrived, dinner officially began. Because Ye Cui was a Buddhist and usually ate vegetarian food, this dinner was also vegetarian. This was not very friendly to Ye Mingsheng, who always loved meat!

However, Ye Mingsheng would just eat this meal occasionally to lose weight, but what surprised Ye Mingsheng was that this vegetarian meal was also very delicious!

Especially the vegetarian sweet and sour pork, which looks very similar to normal sweet and sour pork on the surface and tastes very similar to normal sweet and sour pork, but if you look closely you can find that this dish is made with mushrooms, which makes Ye Mingsheng marvel again and again.

The atmosphere at the banquet was originally very good, and everyone was very happy and peaceful. However, after the dishes were served, Ye Cui suddenly said:
"Your Majesty, is Concubine Pei okay?"

As soon as these words came out, the whole room immediately became quiet. An Miaoyi looked at the dining table, and Jingren, who was always lively and naughty, also lowered his head to look at the plate...

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng didn't know what his mother wanted to do, but after a moment of hesitation, he said:
"She's been doing some deep soul-searching lately!"

"It's time for Concubine Pei to reflect on herself. She can't continue to act independently in the harem and do whatever she wants!"

After saying this, Ye Cui looked at Ye Mingsheng meaningfully. Obviously, what Ye Cui meant was that the real purpose is not the wine, but the mountains and rivers!
In order to cheer his mother up, Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything but just nodded. Seeing this, Ye Cui continued:
"Mingsheng, I heard that Concubine Pei recommended Concubine Bai to assist the Queen in managing the harem?"

Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng seemed to realize something and did not answer the question immediately. Instead, he glanced at An Miaoyiren opposite him before answering:

"Mom! That's what happened!"

After getting a positive answer from Ye Mingsheng, Ye Cui said calmly:

"Assisting the Queen in managing the harem is an important responsibility, and I have some ideas as well!"

"Mother, please tell me?"

"I think the people who help Miaoyi manage the harem must be upright and honest!"

Hearing what Ye Cui said, Ye Mingsheng also said directly: "Mom! Do you have any candidates to recommend?"

Ye Cui, who wanted to say a few more words, also said:

"In my opinion, Jinyu is a good choice! She is not only an honest and dutiful child, but also a filial and kind one. It's just that she has a miserable life and has never had a child in her life. In my opinion, she should be promoted to a noble concubine now, which is also a recognition of her past achievements..."

Seeing his mother's true intentions revealed, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said:
"Mother! What you said makes sense. Jinyu is indeed very good. It is only natural for her to be promoted to Imperial Concubine. As for assisting the Queen in managing the harem, it depends on what the Queen thinks."

Hearing Ye Mingsheng using the more official title of "Queen" to address herself, An Miaoyi was also surprised, but after hesitating for a moment, she still said:

"The concubines are all good sisters! No matter who comes to help me, I welcome them all!"

Ye Mingsheng sneered in his heart at An Miaoyi's seemingly open-minded answer, but nodded on the surface and said:

"Since you and the Queen both have this idea, I will have the Imperial Household Department draft an edict to promote Jinyu to Imperial Concubine tomorrow and assist the Queen in managing the affairs of the harem!"

When Ye Mingsheng said this, An Miaoyi and Ye Cui, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, were both very surprised, but also very surprised!

The surprise was that Ye Mingsheng agreed to their idea, but the surprise was that Ye Mingsheng was so easy to talk to and agreed so readily, without any hesitation at all!

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law originally thought that with Ye Mingsheng's personality, it might take some persuasion before they could get Ye Mingsheng to reluctantly agree!
Thinking of this, both Ye Cui and An Miaoyi, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, had a feeling that it was unreal. They subconsciously looked at each other, especially An Miaoyi, who had a bad premonition in her heart.

At this time, Ye Mingsheng continued:
"Mother! The Queen has told me a lot these days. Executing Ye Xingqiang and the others is indeed a bit serious, so don't worry, I will give them another chance to live..."

Hearing her son say that he would not kill anyone, Ye Cui nodded in satisfaction and said:
"Ye Xingqiang's father has made great contributions to Daqian. We should treat them well. I wonder how you, Mingsheng, plan to punish them?"

"Put them in jail for a while first and see how they behave!"

Hearing this answer, Ye Cui frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and didn't say anything but just nodded. All that needed to be said had been said. After eating, Ye Mingsheng said goodbye and left. Seeing this, Ye Cui asked An Miaoyi and Jingren to follow Ye Mingsheng.

After leaving the Queen Mother's bedroom, An Miaoyi seemed to want to say something to Ye Mingsheng, but Ye Mingsheng did not give her the opportunity and directly said:

"I'm going to walk around the Imperial Garden after eating too much. You and Jingren should go back first!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, before An Miaoyi had time to say anything, Jing Ren on the side spoke first:
"Dad, will you come tonight?"

Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything when he heard this. He just smiled and touched Jingren's head, then turned and walked towards the back garden.

Looking at Ye Mingsheng's leaving back and feeling Ye Mingsheng's attitude just now, An Miaoyi's bad premonition became stronger and stronger. She couldn't help but start to doubt in her heart, although her actions seemed to have achieved her goal, had she really won?

Just as An Miaoyi was thinking secretly, Jing Ren beside her said:
"Mother! Isn't Father happy?"

Faced with her son’s question, An Miaoyi didn’t know how to answer··············
After bidding farewell to An Miaoyi and Jingren, Ye Mingsheng came to the Imperial Garden. It was already dark. Accompanied by guards such as Zhang Hu, Ye Mingsheng walked aimlessly on the path alone, feeling a little depressed.

When he went to finish his meal today, Ye Mingsheng was in a good mood, thinking it was nice for the family to get together for a meal, but he didn't expect that today's meal would be a Hongmen Banquet set up for him by the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law!

Ye Mingsheng knew very well that An Miaoyi had gone to such great lengths to help Jinyu take the throne, even at the cost of dragging old woman Ye Cui into the picture, just because she didn't want to see Murong Qingwu take the throne!

Ye Mingsheng was also clear that if Murong Qingwu really came to power and was asked to assist An Miaoyi in managing the harem, there would definitely be another bloody storm, with people's heads being beaten to pieces!
Therefore, for the sake of stability in his own backyard and to have fewer worries, Ye Mingsheng actually wanted to let Pei Zhixiu continue to hold this authority at the beginning. However, during the communication with Pei Zhixiu, Pei Zhixiu said that she was now a criminal and continuing to assist the queen in managing the harem might not convince the public, so she resolutely declined and recommended Bai Yuanyuan.

Although Ye Mingsheng couldn't understand why Pei Zhixiu suddenly recommended Bai Yuanyuan, Ye Mingsheng also knew that Bai Yuanyuan was not a suitable candidate, so Ye Mingsheng wanted to give her to Shen Yutong!

But although Shen Yutong is usually very quiet, she is a sworn enemy of Bai Yuanyuan. When she heard Pei Zhixiu recommended Bai Yuanyuan, she immediately jumped out to oppose and started a fight with Bai Yuanyuan. The two of them exposed each other's secrets, which made Ye Mingsheng very speechless...
During this period, Ye Mingsheng had been unable to make up his mind because there was no suitable candidate. Ye Mingsheng even considered not finding help for An Miaoyi, and was close to making such a decision at one point. However, Ye Mingsheng did not expect that An Miaoyi would actually find Ye Cui to put pressure on him!
Although An Miaoyi's behavior did not touch the red line of interfering in the affairs of the previous dynasty, it also made Ye Mingsheng very disgusted. Ye Mingsheng wanted to teach his queen a lesson and let her understand the consequences of doing so!
Thinking of this, a decision was formed in Ye Mingshen's mind, and then some sounds and some flames were heard in the distance.

Because it was already dark, Ye Mingsheng couldn't see clearly what was happening in the distance, but he could vaguely hear someone shouting something like "Mantou!"
Ye Mingsheng was also confused when he heard the shout. He didn't understand why someone would shout out something like Mahakala!
The guards around Ye Mingsheng, like Ye Mingsheng, didn't understand what was going on, but as guards, for safety reasons, they immediately stepped forward and protected Ye Mingsheng behind them.

Just as Zhang Hu and others were carefully observing their surroundings, some people holding lanterns came in front of Ye Mingsheng, and the leader of these people was Murong Xinyun.

Murong Xinyun looked at Ye Mingsheng in front of her and was also very surprised, but she immediately knelt down with the palace maids and eunuchs behind her and saluted:

"I see you, Your Majesty!"

"Be flat!"

When Murong Xinyun and others stood up, Ye Mingsheng asked with some doubt:

"Why are you running here at night instead of resting in your own yard? And why are you calling for Mantou?"

(End of this chapter)