Today, the guards of Weiyang Palace are extremely strict, and the soldiers of the Royal Forest Army are all in full battle, and even the air is a little nervous.

If the newly appointed Inspector Shi wants to interrogate and execute a number of officials today, it will inevitably cause turmoil, and may even impact Weiyang Palace, and the palace guards and generals are cautiously prepared.

And the actual controller of Great Qin was not in the palace at this time, she crossed the white jade bridge and walked out of the south gate.

The palace complex near the Weiyang Palace is the residence of the princes who have been knighted.

The guards in King Qi's mansion didn't know the martial queen in ordinary clothes, but they could recognize the father-in-law who was following him, and immediately knelt on the ground.

"Quick, go and inform His Royal Highness King Qi to come out and pick up the driver." The steward commanded in haste.

"No need, just go in the palace by yourself." Empress Wu waved her hand and said, and then crossed everyone into the palace.

"Stop." As soon as Empress Wu entered the front yard, the two subordinates from afar saw her, and instead of kneeling in place, they wanted to run away in a panic.

"Meet the Empress Wu." After hearing her words, the two subordinates hurriedly fell to their knees, buried their heads deep in the floor, trembling, and did not dare to move.

"Where is King Qi now?" Empress Wu asked with a frown.

"Back to Niangniang, in the back garden." The subordinate replied in a trembling voice.

Empress Wu didn't ask much, and walked straight towards the servant.

Near the back garden, I heard faint sounds of crying and begging for mercy and bursts of laughter.

"Hold her, I'm going to do it. Look at it, haha. ”

"Hurry up, don't lose your debts."

"No, His Royal Highness King Qi, please..."

"Hey, hey, hey..."

A heart-rending cry was mixed with a sinister laugh.

Empress Wu followed the prestige and saw his son King Qi sitting in the stone pavilion with a beautiful woman in his arms. On the dirt floor outside the pavilion, several servants held down a woman who was seven or eight months pregnant. The woman had little clothes left, and she struggled in panic with her big belly and round eyes, and screamed for mercy. On the side stood a eunuch with his sleeves rolled up, holding a snowy short knife, smiling and gesturing.

"What are you doing?" Empress Wu shouted.

A group of people turned their heads and saw Empress Wu, hurriedly let go of the pregnant woman, and knelt on the ground. When King Qi saw his mother appear, he also stepped forward and knelt down and said, "Queen Mother, why are you here?" ”

"I have some free time today, so I'm coming to see you, why is that?" Empress Wu pointed at the pregnant woman and asked, her face slightly cold.

"Oh, I saw this pregnant woman with Mu Ji at the gate of the house earlier, and she said that the children in the pregnant woman's womb were all headed down. It's stupid, it's ridiculous, everyone walks standing up, and the unborn child should naturally be on his feet. Then the retainers asked the people in the house, and they all said that they were on their feet. But Mu Ji still didn't believe it, but wanted to make a bet with Erchen. So the son asked the pregnant woman to be arrested and prepared to open it to see what was going on. Li Qi said to himself, not noticing the change in Empress Wu's face, from ugly to iron-blue, and then shocked.

"Ridiculous." Empress Wu slapped Li Qi in the face, raised his foot and kicked him to the ground.

Li Qi was blindsided for a moment, and he couldn't understand why his mother was so angry. Zhao Xian behind him knew how angry this powerful woman was at the moment, for decades, she had never seen her hit someone, she had always been happy and angry, and it was the first time she had encountered it today.

The Empress Wu trembled with anger, turned around and drew her long sword from the side of the guard who was kneeling beside her, raised it high, and was about to chop it down with a sword.

"Don't want the queen mother, spare me." Li Qi's initial blindfold became frightened, and he really felt the anger and killing intent of the woman in front of him. At this moment, she really wanted to kill herself, and no one could save him when the sword was cut down.

The moment he raised his sword, he looked at his son who fell to the ground crying bitterly and wetting his urine. Empress Wu's mind suddenly flashed the young man she saw outside the palace some time ago, the young man who talked and laughed calmly in front of him, calmly handed over to the rebel ministers and thieves in tens of thousands of eyes, and had the same temperament as his father.

I can't help but compare with her, she snatched away the man she loved the most, is she inferior to her? Now, twenty years later, is not even the son he has born as good as his?

If you had chosen me back then, I would have been married and taught by my children in that house with peace of mind, and now my children must be a generation of pride. But why do you have to be the eldest lady of the Cheng family.

For her sake, she refused to even marry a concubine. It has caused me to be up and down in the palace for so many years, and I have no time to take care of others. Neither child could spare time to discipline him, which made the child what he is now.

Alas! It's not all his fault, it's not all about me, it's inseparable from my lack of discipline. I used to be involuntarily, but now that I am at the top of my life, I should do my duty as a mother.

Thinking of this, Empress Wu's face softened slightly, and she sighed secretly. She swung her sword down and slid over the slender snow-white neck of the beautiful Mu Ji who was kneeling beside her.

"Ahh There was more orange liquid on the ground.

Warm blood splattered on his face, scaring him out of his mind.

"Come on, drag them all out and behead them." Empress Wu threw her sword on the ground and pointed at all the servants present, her anger unquenchable. His Royal Highness wanted to do such a ridiculous thing, but no one dissuaded him. On the contrary, it is to help the abuse, which is really damned.

"Send her out." Empress Wu ordered the pregnant woman to be sent away.

"Get up." Empress Wu took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood and tears on Li Qi's face. "Go change into clean clothes and talk again."

In the palace of King Qi's mansion.

"The Queen Mother." King Qi changed into a brocade robe, but he was also a handsome and beautiful man, but his face was as pale as snow, and he was still shocked.

"Sit down and talk." Empress Wu pointed to the table and chair on the side, her face returned to normal, and she tried her best to make her face pleasant, so as not to scare him.

Li Qi approached cautiously, not daring to sit down, just standing at the table.

Why do you do this today? I don't know that as the prince of Great Qin, should I love the people like a son? Empress Wu said.

"Erchen... Son..."

"Say whatever you want, you are my only parent, will I really kill you, what are you afraid of." Empress Wu relieved him and asked him to sit down.

"The son couldn't understand why his mother was angry, she was just a pariah. I'm the Prince of Great Qin, what's the big deal to kill someone. Li Qi said.

"Although you are a prince, if you kill innocent people indiscriminately, it will cause the anger of the people, and if the people below are resentful, they will rebel." Empress Wu patiently explained that she wanted to take advantage of today's opportunity to teach him some ways to be a king, and in the near future, he would ascend the throne as the emperor.

"Whoever dares to rebel will be killed, I have 30,000 city guards, countless masters, who can resist?" Li Qi said.

"The 30,000 city guards under your command were all selected in this Luoyang City. You want them to kill the rebels, and those who rebel may have their brothers and sisters among them. Should they heed your command to raise their butcher's knives to their relatives and friends? Empress Wu asked rhetorically.

"Naturally, you should listen to my orders." Li Qi said.

Empress Wu shook her head secretly and was silent for a moment, "Do you know how the earliest king came from?" ”

"I don't know." Li Qi thought for a moment.

"In the earliest and earliest times, our human race did not form the state we have now. Rather, they lived together, and a large group of people lived in one place, which was a city-state that had not yet been established. Every day people have to endure all kinds of threats, from demon orcs, wild beasts, or other tribes. ”

"Whenever a threat comes, there is a group of people who volunteer to protect the weak people of the tribe. Later, the strongest leader of the group of people who came forward to protect them was called "king." This is where the king comes from. Empress Wu said, this allusion that the person once said, she kept it in her heart, and now she also tells it to her son.

Empress Wu paused for a moment and continued: "So do you understand? As an emperor, in addition to holding the power of life and death, you also have an obligation to protect your people, not to slaughter them at will. Once you kill them for no reason, they re-embrace a new man who protects them, the Emperor. Got it? ”

"How dare they? This is a capital crime of rebellion and rebellion, and the punishment of the nine clans. Li Qi said.

"When they are cornered and they are dead, they dare. The poor are submissive, they are used to it. As long as there is a way to live, they will not be able to resist. Therefore, when you ascend the throne as emperor in the future, you must learn to give grace and power, so that they will fear you, understand that there is only one way to die against you, and obey your will to live. Empress Wu said that she was well versed in human nature and knew how to control the people.

"The retainers know." Li Qi replied.

"It's good to know, after a hundred years of your father's emperor, the throne will naturally be yours. As the future ruler of a country, you need to take a long-term view and have big ambitions. Empress Wu said frankly that there were only two of them mother and son around, and there was nothing to scruple about.

Li Qi was overjoyed when he heard this, although he had already understood that the queen mother was only one of his sons, and the throne would fall to him sooner or later, but today he still felt extremely happy to hear the queen mother say it herself.

"Erchen has always been ambitious and acts according to the standards of the king of a country." Li Qixing rushed to respond.

"Oh? Then why did you privately order someone to attack the Zhenguo Mansion? This kind of means is not like the style of an emperor. Empress Wu frowned slightly, and got carried away after only a moment.

"The people of the Zhenguo Mansion deserve to die." Li Qi muttered.

"What the hell?"

"That Jing Ge, he despised our royal majesty, and gave a blow to the rebels and thieves in front of so many people. If you don't take your father and you in your eyes at all, you naturally deserve to die, and if you don't kill him, it will damage the face of my royal family. Li Qi said.

"Alas!" Empress Wu sighed and explained patiently. "Those in power should consider the overall situation more and not rely solely on their own will. Mo said that it didn't matter if he did this, even if he really lost a little face? His father was the Generalissimo of the Soldiers and Horses, and was deeply supported by the Northwest Army. It will do no good to kill him. It will only increase the discontent of the North-Western Corps. The army is the most important weapon of the country, and it cannot cause chaos. Did you know? ”

"Stabilize the world, pacify the eight wildernesses and four seas, and unify the mountains and rivers of Jiuzhou. Restoring the glory of the First Emperor and achieving a generation of hegemony is your ambition. Instead of trying to kill one or two people you don't like. A king has a measure of a king, and what is good for the tyranny should be used even to those whom you hate. When you break through the Six Kingdoms and dominate the world, whoever you want to kill is all up to your heart. "The martial queen is colorful.

"Can you just let him be arrogant?" Li Qi said.

"Hmph, don't let him be arrogant, did the people you sent succeed?" Empress Wu snorted coldly, and was slightly angry in her heart. After saying so much before, he was just thinking about this, and Wang Tu Baiye obviously didn't listen to it. "That woman in the Guogong Mansion is not simple."

"No matter how simple it is, as long as the queen mother gives you an order, isn't it a head-to-head?" Li Qi said.

Empress Wu glanced at him coldly, which made his heart tense slightly, and he suddenly remembered what his mother had said before.

"When I ascend the throne, I will command people to conquer all countries and rule the world." Li Qi hurriedly said, intending to please the queen mother.

"Heh, if it's so easy, why would Great Qin be divided for two or three hundred years." Empress Wu laughed, "My Great Qin army is slightly stronger than the Qi State, but compared to the fierce Xiliang army, it is still a lot weaker. Especially twenty years ago, Xiliang annexed the Song State, and the national strength was even greater than in the past. If you want to dominate the world, you need to set foot in Xiliang, and if you want to defeat Xiliang, you must get the full support of Qi State. But Qi Guo knows very well that after we destroy Xiliang, we will definitely turn around and attack him. So it categorically will not fully support us. The momentum is difficult to crack. ”

Zheng and Wei have been dragged down by the Great Wall in the north, and there is nothing to worry about, they are just empty shells, while the southern barbarian land, the uncivilized natives, the tribes are numerous, and the differences are extremely great, and they cannot unite at all. These three countries can't provide much help, let alone Zhao Guo, which is far overseas.

"Wouldn't it be better to recruit more troops?" Li Qi said that there are so many people in Great Qin that it is not a problem to levy millions of troops.

"Thousands of troops are easy to get, but good generals are hard to find." Empress Wu said, thinking of these things, I can't think of a solution in my heart. The ambition she wants her son to have is not her own.

Few people know that she is a woman and has such ambitions.

"I have more money in my house, Mo Xiang and others are familiar with military books, they are resourceful, they can be a general and lead the troops to the battle." Li Qi thought of several outstanding generals in his house.

"Such cats and dogs are also worthy of being generals? Don't say that Xiliang, even the small countries on the frontier are not something they can fight. Even Yang Wei, Shangguan Junhong and the like didn't dare to say that they could withstand Xiliang's attack, let alone pacify it. Empress Wu said with a smile, Xiliang has made a lot of moves recently, which makes Yang Wei dare not leave the northwest border easily. This worries her.

"It's just talk on paper, a real general's talent is more rare than a million soldiers. For two hundred years, there have only been two peerless generals. Empress Wu raised her head, looked into the distance and said.

"Which two?" Li Qi asked.

"Bai Ze, the king of Xiliang, led the Xiliang army to seventy cities twenty years ago, broke through Handan, destroyed the Song Kingdom, and completed a feat that no one has completed for more than 200 years. Hundreds of battles of all sizes, without a single defeat, the momentum is like a rainbow, and he is trying to calm the world in one fell swoop. Until... Until the soldiers came to the border of my Great Qin. Outside the Yanmen Pass in the Xiqi Mountains, he was repelled by Jing Qing, who was in danger, and Jing Qing led the Northwest Army to garrison the border for more than ten years, but Bai Ze was never able to take a step forward. Only these two people can be called famous generals in the world. ”

"And three years ago, Jing Qing died at the hands of your father, if Xiliang broke through the Yanmen Pass, once the iron horse entered the vast and flat land of the Central Plains, galloping, no one could stop it." Empress Wu said, with sadness in her eyes.

"So the situation doesn't seem very rosy." Li Qi said, in fact, he was not panicked in his heart, it was ridiculous, how could Xiliang break through the Yanmen Pass. It hasn't been broken for more than 200 years, and it won't be broken when I become emperor.

"Therefore, the palace plans to marry the Qi country, and send the young general to lead the troops to pacify the small countries around the border. At the same time, select and reuse talents for future needs. Empress Wu stood up and said.

"It's not too early, the palace will go back, there are many affairs in the court, and the queen mother can't watch you all the time. You need to always remember that you should not be close to villains, especially those who are cunning and murderous, you can only use them, not be gullible. Then this palace will send you a teacher, and you need to learn humbly and change those bad habits of the past. Empress Wu instructed.

"Yes, the child knows." Li Qi nodded.

Empress Wu went out of the Qiwang Mansion and went straight back to Weiyang Palace. It was too late, she sighed. is as smart as her, how can she not see King Qi's thoughts, and those words will not reach his ears even if they are half a minute.