Xue Shao and Li Zhi did not stay in the flower garden for long. When the two of them returned to the court and sat down, Wu Zetian happened to change into a special Keju palace uniform and came back.

Seeing Wu Zetian's appearance, Xue Shao was amazed, this is not at all like an old lady who is nearly sixty years old, it is not an exaggeration to say that she is full of "youthful vitality"!

Li Zhi smiled straightly, "My queen is still the same demeanor as she was back then!" ”

"Your Majesty makes fun of it, the concubine is really old!" Wu Zetian smiled and bowed, and inadvertently glanced at Xue Shao, which made Xue Shao feel that her inner activities were not ordinarily rich.

There is no doubt that Wu Zetian must be suspecting that Xue Shao took advantage of her absence to say something to Li Zhi in private.

Later, Wu Zetian entered the court under the begging and pulling of Princess Taiping, and the two most noble and prominent women in the world took a group of eunuchs and palace maids to compete with a group of people under Xue Shao's command. To Xue Shao's great surprise, Wu Zetian's "old arms and legs" did not seem sluggish and weak at all, on the contrary, her juju skills were not ordinarily outstanding, the eunuchs and palace maids applauded again and again, and Li Zhi kept applauding.

Xue Shao was even more amazed, Wu Zetian was five years older than Li Zhi, and now Li Zhi was half-blind and half-paralyzed, Wu Zetian could still live a dragon and a tiger - God, it is really an extraordinary favor for this legendary woman!

After bowing down this time, Xue Shao naturally lost to the "joint force" led by Wu Zetian and Princess Taiping, and the laughter and laughter in the audience seemed to be very harmonious and harmonious.

Later, Li Zhi set up a banquet in the dining hall of the Ice Palace, entertaining the princess and the concubine who came to the province for the first time after the wedding, and Wu Zetian was of course also there.

After three rounds of drinking, Li Zhi retreated from the left and right waiters to cover the door, and said: "Queen of Heaven, Taiping, Xue Shao, it's rare that our family can sit together for dinner, and now let's gossip about family things and talk about some trivial things." ”

Li Zhi said it lightly, but the other three people present all knew that the "little things" in the emperor's mouth were definitely not small.

"Your Majesty, please say, the concubine listens." Wu Zetian took the lead in saying.

Princess Taiping and Xue Shao, the two juniors, listened carefully and did not interject.

"Since it is a common affair, it is not known to outsiders." Li Zhi changed his words and said, "What is discussed today must not be spread outside. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The three of them agreed together.

Li Zhi nodded with a smile, "Actually, it's about Xue Shao's appointment." ”

"Your Majesty, do you have any instructions?" Wu Zetian's eyebrows sank slightly, but he asked quietly and calmly.

Xue Shao and Princess Taiping look at the nose and the nose and the heart, and do not squint.

"It's just gossip, and the queen doesn't have to be too strict." Li Zhi said in a relaxed tone, "I remember that after Xue Shao's return from the Northern Expedition, I said that I would reuse him. But as far as I know, Xue Shao is still only a member of the Sixth Rank Army. Queen, don't you think it's a bit condescending to settle him like this? ”

"Your Majesty, the minister has no talent, no morality, and shallow qualifications, and now he is afraid that he will not be able to do the job of a member of the military department......"

Xue Shao was halfway through speaking, Li Zhi waved his hand to interrupt him, "You don't need to say it." I want to hear what the queen of heaven means? ”

Wu Zetian was still unmoved, unhurried, and after bowing, he said eloquently: "Your Majesty, the concubine did this, firstly, in accordance with the meaning of His Majesty, secondly, with reference to the current situation, and thirdly, it was tailored for Xue Shao himself, and after repeatedly participating in the auspicious situation with the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, the decision was made. The concubine asked herself, the current ministry is the most appropriate for Xue Shao. ”

"Queen, why don't you talk about it in detail?" Li Zhi turned his head and looked at Wu Zetian.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wu Zetian was obviously already in the chest, and she said: "Xue Shao has been paying close attention to him since the first day he entered the office. For Xue Shao's literary talent, martial arts and qualifications, the concubines are all well aware. In the Northern Expedition, Xue Shao did make a miraculous achievement. If it is said that meritorious deeds are rewarded, his position should at least be above Xue Chuyu and Guo Yuanzhen, the five generals of Yulin Wei. However, the environment at that time did not allow Xue Shao to continue to serve in the military. The reason for the concubine was that Xue Shao was Pei Xingjian's protégé, Pei Xingjian had just returned to the field and given up his military position, and there was some chaos in the army, and all forces had a desperate struggle for the military power set aside by Pei Xingjian. Under such circumstances, Xue Shao, who has a shallow foundation and has lost the protection of Pei Xingjian, will find it difficult to win in this competition, and may even suffer unnecessary destruction. The concubine temporarily removed him from the army, in fact, with the intention of protecting him. ”

"Minister, thank you for the love and care of the queen of heaven, the minister is heartfelt!" Xue Shao bowed his hand and bowed.

"The emperor also wants to thank the queen mother!" Princess Taiping also bowed down.

"You two don't have to be polite." Wu Zetian just smiled.

Li Zhi nodded, "I have also thought about this. Xue Shao, you really don't have to complain that the Queen of Heaven temporarily invited you out of the army. After the end of the Northern Expedition, the situation in the army of the Tang Dynasty was indeed very complicated. I heard that Pei Xingjian unloaded his armor and returned to the field, and there were some chaos in the army, but it was Cheng Wuting and Li Jinxing who came forward together to calm it down. For this reason, a group of generals who took the lead in making trouble were secretly arrested and executed. Just imagine, if you were still in the army at that time, those troublemaking generals would inevitably look for you to take the lead. Then if you join them in trouble, you will be a rebel. If you don't, you'll be violating your feelings. Dilemma, where can you go from here? At that time, the Queen of Heaven asked you to leave the army and go out with Taiping to play, just to keep you away from the military disaster - not many people know about this matter, and it is considered a military secret. I tell you today only to clear up any misunderstandings in your mind. ”

"The minister has never complained about the queen of heaven, and there is no misunderstanding!" Xue Shao Zhengse said.

"That's fine." Li Zhi stroked his hair and smiled, and said, "But the queen of heaven, now that Pei Xingjian's matter has almost subsided, Cheng Wuting and Li Jinxing have also stabilized the army." Shouldn't it be time to restore Xue Shao's military position? ”

"This matter, the concubine and the prime minister of the cabinet, as well as the two generals Cheng and Li, are already under discussion." Wu Zetian replied, "I only think of Xue Shao and Taiping newlywed Yan'er, how can you let him go to the army to lead the troops in a hurry?" In this way, Xue Shaoke will not have much time to accompany Taiping. ”

"Mother, I don't mind!" To the surprise of the three of them, Princess Taiping preemptively said, "Xue Shao loves the army and aspires to join the army, and the emperor has always liked heroic generals!" As long as Xue Lang feels like and proper, the emperor will definitely fully support him to do his own career, share worries for the two saints, and contribute to the society! ”

Li Zhi and Wu Zetian invariably showed shocked expressions, "Taiping, it's really different from the past!" ”

"Hey, hey!" Princess Taiping smiled proudly and a little shyly, "The emperor is ...... now is already Xue Lang's wife! The emperor is no longer a willful child! Over the years, hasn't the queen mother also assisted her father wholeheartedly? The emperor is following the example of his mother, and he must be a capable and considerate virtuous helper! ”

"My son, it's true!" Li Zhi laughed.

Wu Zetian nodded with a smile, "Taiping, you have really grown up!" ”

"Thanks to my father and mother, I have taught well!" Princess Taiping bowed down very obediently.

Xue Shao sighed with relief, An Ran, it is really my virtuous helper!

"Diva of heaven, you heard it too. Taiping didn't mind Xue Shao going to lead the troops. Li Zhi said, "My meaning is not much different from Taiping. Since Xue Shao is the protégé of Duke Wei, and he proved that he has a unique talent in military affairs during the Northern Expedition, and he is still Taiping's husband and our half-son-in-law, why can't we give him more opportunities to cultivate? ——Our family talks privately, no matter how we talk about promoting and reusing Xue Shao, it's better than relying on outsiders, right? ”

"What His Majesty said is not unreasonable." Wu Zetian lowered his eyebrows and was very calm, "But right now, there is indeed no suitable vacancy in the army that can accommodate Xue Shao." In fact, the concubine's words were not finished. Let Xue Shao serve as a member of the military department and host the martial arts academy, which may not be reused. This is more meaningful than leading troops, and it can also allow Xue Shao to experience more training and accumulate more experience. ”

Li Zhi was very calm and said lightly, "How do you say it?" ”

"The original intention of opening the martial arts academy was to train the Imperial Forest Army in the form of martial arts lectures and improve the morale and combat effectiveness of the Imperial Forest Army." Wu Zetian said, "The Imperial Forest Army is His Majesty's personal army, and it is an elite division selected from the armies of the world. However, they have been raised in the palace for a long time, and coupled with the drunken gold fans in the gentle township of Jingshi, it is inevitable that those soldiers will become lazy and wasted. If Xue Shao can solve this important problem by opening a martial arts academy, it will undoubtedly make a great contribution to defending the palace and protecting His Majesty. In addition, the annual expenses caused by the elimination and replacement of the soldiers of the Royal Guards, as well as the corruption and depravity of the Royal Guards, are the highest among all the expenses of the harem private network, and have remained high or even unsustainable. If Xue Shao could make the Imperial Forest Army nervous and condensed, there would not be so many problems. As a result, a large part of military spending can be saved. Therefore, the concubine felt that the significance of running a good martial arts academy was very important, and it was no less than leading a government army for expeditionary field battles! ”

After listening to this, Li Zhi pondered for a long time, and nodded thoughtfully, "The queen of heaven is far-sighted and far-sighted, and what she says is very true!" ”

Although Xue Shao knew that Wu Zetian was playing Tai Chi pushing, he also had to admit that what she said was very reasonable. The main body of the Imperial Palace Imperial Forest Army is the left and right Yulin Guards, followed by the Thousand Cavalry, the Left and Right Prison Guards and the Left and Right Jinwu Guards.

If you don't know that firewood, rice, oil and salt are expensive, Xue Shao knows Yu Linwei, and has participated in expeditions and calculated logistics details. He clearly knew that the military expenditure of the more than 6,000 people on the left and right of Yu Linwei alone was twice as high as that of the field army of the two armies (25,000 people). Moreover, the vast majority of Yulinwei's military expenditures are used to maintain Yulin's good food and drink and high welfare.

How much combat effectiveness can a group of soldiers who are well-paid and enjoy all the blessings have? It is indeed imperative to polish the Yulin Army!

After saying that, a smile appeared on Wu Zetian's face.

This smile, in Li Zhi's opinion, is confident, and in Xue Shao's opinion, it is like a warning and a sneer, as if to say-you kid don't need to ask the emperor to complain for his life, it's all in my control!