Chapter 335 Constraints
After a pause, Su Qingqing sighed softly and looked at the old ladies around her.
"As you have just seen, there will always be other people around His Majesty. Even if His Majesty does not take the initiative, there will be all kinds of people trying their best to get close to him.
Yue Niang is already married, and yet she is like this, let alone others.
I thought, while His Majesty is alone in front of me and cannot tolerate others, we should first consolidate the military power. I don’t , and your families are all my elders. "
Su Qingqing spoke humbly but with a hint of helplessness.
“Historically, the struggles of the previous dynasties were inseparable from the interference of the harem, and the ones who hindered the emperor the most were those whose mothers’ families had military power or those who were at the peak of their careers in the court.
Now that Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, things are not going smoothly. If the military power is allowed to fall into the hands of others and be restricted by others in the future, then I will be truly an eagle with broken wings.
I hope the old ladies can understand me."
After she finished her emotional speech, she didn't say much more. She just paused for a moment to let them calm down. Before anyone could speak, she pointed to the map and said, "There are three places on this map, one in the northwest, one in the northeast, and one in the southwest. These three borders are not easy to defend, but once someone takes over, the troops stationed there will definitely be absolutely loyal to him."
They are all from military families, so no one will not understand what he is saying.
Su Qingqing spoke frankly.
“It’s not that there are no people guarding these three places now, but I don’t trust the people guarding them, and I don’t trust the soldiers guarding them either. At that time, King Yu was in turmoil and held the late emperor hostage, and no one of these three places sent any help.
Later, the crown prince left the capital and the young emperor ascended the throne, but these three places remained indifferent.
I am afraid that their hearts are no longer with the court, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they want to be kings themselves.
I don't mind them calling themselves kings, but I don't want them to eat the military pay and rations from the court but not protect the people of this country.
What I said today came from my heart, so you don't have to promise me anything right away. Go back and discuss it with your family. If you are willing, we can discuss it in detail. If not, I hope that the elders can keep it a secret for me, considering that I went through life and death in my early years."
An old marquis's wife spoke immediately.
"There is nothing to discuss in our house. My grandson has been in contact with the kid named Xiao Yu from Rong'an Marquis's house. At first, he knew nothing and complained that Xiao Yu was unwilling to make progress. Later, when he found out that Xiao Yu joined the Su Family Army, he became jealous and went crazy at home every day, wanting to join the Su Family Army."
Su Qingqing smiled and said, "I'm sorry, the Su family army will not expand its enrollment. What I just said..."
The old lady said, "I am not old and confused, how can I not understand what you mean? I know that the Su family army is not recruiting people. You want our people just to be sent to the northwest, northeast, and southwest to let them develop into forces, right? No problem, we can go to any of these three places. Not to mention sending a few men from our mansion, even if the entire mansion is moved there, it will be no problem.
The conditions in the northwest are difficult, but when we followed the old marquis in his battles, none of us had not suffered on the battlefield.
You have endured the hardships of the battlefield, and now at your age, can you not endure the hardships of this environment? There is no problem in our house, as long as the queen arranges it. "
When she said this , the two old ladies next to her immediately expressed that there was no problem. Of course, not everyone could support it so absolutely.
After all, over the years, these former military families have been deliberately suppressed, excluded or lured away by the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, and they are no longer as strong and steadfast as they used to be.
Su Qingqing invited these people here today, but she didn't really think that they would agree immediately as soon as she mentioned it.
This is not a matter for one person, nor is it something that can be decided in the heat of the moment.
The southwest, northwest, and northeast have already formed their own mature garrisons. If they go there, it would be like poaching their talents and destroying their jobs. She didn't mention how dangerous it was, but these people all understood it.
Just as the topic was over, Xiao Rui came in from outside and leaned over to whisper a few words in Su Qingqing's ear. Su Qingqing frowned slightly to indicate that she understood.
When Xiao Rui went out again, Su Qingqing poured tea for these senior ladies.
"There is something I want to ask you guys."
An old marquis’ wife smiled and said, “We are all old enough to be living fossils. Just tell me what you want to know.”
Su Qingqing laughed, "It's not a secret, it's just..."
Su Qingqing glanced at the pavilion where Rong Que and Yue Niang had just appeared, and seemed to speak with inspiration, "In the past, were there people in the palace who originally had a low status, but rose to a high position because they won the favor of His Majesty?"
The old ladies looked at each other and the old ladies all laughed.
"I thought the Queen was broad-minded and wouldn't get jealous, but it turns out that it's unavoidable. The Queen is worried that although His Majesty didn't choose a concubine from outside the palace, there are too many women in the palace and some might slip through the net."
Su Qingqing smiled awkwardly, looking as if she had been exposed.
An old lady said, "If you want to talk about people who were originally of low status but rose to prominence because of being favored, there have been such people in every dynasty. It is not rare. During the reign of the previous emperor, wasn't there a foot-washing maid who rose to prominence and became the Jade Concubine?"
The old lady next to her said, "Although she gained power overnight, she has no foundation. She relied on the emperor's favor to rise to prominence, but once she loses favor or the emperor shows even a little bit of disinterest in her, she will easily fall. Moreover, for someone like her, who has no one to rely on outside the palace and no prince to back her up, it will be very difficult for her to get up once she falls."
Su Qingqing asked, "Did this Concubine Yu also fall? Why haven't I heard of such a Concubine in the palace?"
Su Qingqing married Rong Que and became the Crown Princess. She entered the palace several times and participated in various palace banquets, but she had never heard of such a person as Jade Concubine. It was normal for her to ask such a question.
An old lady explained to her, "This Jade Concubine fell from grace so quickly. She was promoted from a palace maid to a concubine. I heard that it was so fast that it took her less than a month. But she moved into the concubine's bedroom for less than three days before she was banished to the cold palace."
Su Qingqing gasped, opened her eyes wide, and asked in surprise: "Demoted to the cold palace? Why?"
The old ladies looked at each other.
Although many matters in the palace were confidential, it was not difficult for aristocratic families like them to know some of the palace's secrets, especially since such secrets did not involve state affairs.
“I heard that when she was serving the late emperor, it was discovered that she had used inferior Huanyi incense, which caused the late emperor to have some health problems, so she was banished to the cold palace.
This was just a rumor at the time, and not many people knew what exactly happened.
Her time as a concubine was so short that even the Empress Dowager at the time didn’t have time to place someone near her before she was deposed.”
