All the officials in the government hall retreated. The atmosphere here was so tense today that they didn't want to stay any longer.

Wu Zetian walked to Pei Yan's side and said with a wry smile: "Zilong, why are you bothering with these reckless and fiery generals to be in a hurry? ”

"The Queen Mother, as the Zhongshu Order of the Tang Dynasty, it is necessary to defend the majesty of the political hall." Pei Yan replied, "The minister is not aimed at anyone. Minister, just talk about things! ”

"Okay!" Wu Zetian nodded, "It's hard for you, you have to bear more!" ”

Pei Yan nodded with a wry smile, "The Queen Mother is serious, this is a matter for the ministers!" ”

Wu Zetian left.

Pei Yan sat down a little tiredly, slowly flipped through the file in his hand, and muttered: "As the minister of Gu Ming, I don't take care of it, who will?" ”

……

Xue Shao and his entourage walked out of Zhongshu Province, and when they saw Dugu Yizhi and Sha Zhan Zhongyi, they were standing outside waiting.

"You are so majestic, playing tricks in the political hall!" Xue Shao scolded at the split.

Dugu Yizhi and Sha Zha Zhongyi, who were still in the state of arrogance just now, wilted on the spot, and hurriedly confessed with a smile on their faces, "General, we were wrong!" Punish as much as you want, as long as you don't kill or maim us, let's keep our useful bodies to kill the enemy! ”

"Go back and clean you up!" Xue Shao glared at the two of them fiercely, and then said, "Brothers, remember, don't spread gossip everywhere and don't shake the morale of the army. ”

"Yes!" The people will answer the promise together.

Xue Shao nodded and said, "The soldiers, horses and materials given by the imperial court this time are relatively small. But the materials are dead and the people are alive, and if the court doesn't give it to us, we can figure out our own way - since the court treats me so harshly, they will have nothing to blame at that time! ”

When the generals heard this, they all laughed tacitly, and their eyes were shining, and the thieves were bright!

Xue Shao smiled, "If you have more, you don't have to say it now." Go back and do your part! ”

"Yes!"

All the generals dispersed, and Xue Shao was not in a hurry to leave. He was waiting for someone, and he knew that person would be looking for him.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for an attendant to find the gate of Zhongshu Province and invite Xue Shao to the women's hospital not far from here.

Wu Zetian was waiting for Xue Shao here.

"Chengyu, are you a little impulsive today?" After meeting Wu Zetian, he didn't talk nonsense, and said bluntly: "The arrangements made by the imperial court have their own reasons for the imperial court. How can you contradict Pei Yan like that in the political hall? ”

"Queen Mother Mingjian, I didn't mean to target Pei Xianggong." Xue Shao said, "The same rice raises hundreds of people, and everyone's thoughts are different. I have an army of 200,000 men under my command, and 200,000 men with strong temperaments. Stabilizing the morale of the army is my top priority. The sudden arrangement of the imperial court could easily cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers. Therefore, I had to ask for clarification in person. ”

"I know you're out of the open-minded world, but you should be careful with your words and attitudes. After all, Pei Yan is now the minister and chief prime minister. The prime minister, the ministers avoid the way and pay respects, you might as well take care of his face a little more. Wu Zetian persuaded him very patiently, and he no longer had the tone of "lesson" at the beginning of Xue Shao's career.

"What the Queen Mother said is very true, and the minister remembers it." Xue Shao arched his hand.

"These little things stop there." Wu Zetian changed his words and said, "Taiping is about to give birth, but you are going to go on the expedition again." You must be good at soothing her. ”

"I will." Xue Shao nodded.

"You are going to Fengzhou Guanshan for thousands of miles, the fatigue of the military is still small, and the danger of war should not be underestimated." Wu Zetian said in a soft tone, "Crusading against the Turks is no better than pacifying Bai Tieyu." You must be cautious and don't get into danger, not only Taiping can't withstand that kind of stimulation, but Datang can't afford too much loss at present. ”

"Don't worry, the Queen Mother, I know that I have a heavy responsibility on my shoulders, and I will be more careful." Xue Shao replied.

"I know that you and your generals are dissatisfied with the distribution of soldiers, horses, money and food for this expedition." Wu Zetian said, "But I want to tell you the truth, this is also a helpless move by the imperial court." ”

Really?

Xue Shao smiled faintly, noncommittal.

Wu Zetian sighed and said: "Since Emperor Xian ascended the throne, the Tang Dynasty has been peaceful for a long time, but in recent years, there have been frequent wars, which has made the Tang Dynasty tired of coping. Not to mention, Pei Gong presided over two Northern Expeditions to the Turks during his lifetime, and each time the troops dispatched were about 300,000, and countless money and food were consumed. Although the war was won, Datang's national strength was also greatly weakened, and the results were not preserved. If this continues, no matter how strong the national strength is, it will not be able to withstand such war attrition. Chengyu, have you ever thought of using a safe method to completely solve the Turkic border problem? ”

Xue Shao frowned and said, "Queen Mother, it's a little too early to talk about this. At the very least, the ministers and the Turks had a good understanding of their situation before they could make a decision. Otherwise, it's all marginal paperwork. ”

"Reasonable." Wu Zetian nodded approvingly and said, "I once heard a rumor that Pei Gong once told him when he interrogated the prisoner of war Ashina Fu Nian that you will be a nightmare for all Turks in the decades of this life. Is there such a thing? ”

Xue Shao smiled, "Yes." ”

Maybe it was a joke from Pei Gong, or maybe he was serious. In any case, now I also think that the one that my Datang should send to deal with the Turks is you, Xue Shao. Wu Zetian said, "This time, the imperial court selected a commander to crusade against the Turks, and most of the prime ministers in the political hall advocated letting Cheng Wuting take command. Because Cheng Wuting dealt with Turkic, Xi, Khitan and other foreign races in the north all the year round. In the eyes of the prime ministers, his record and ability are the best among all the Tang generals today. However, this palace strongly advocated the use of you, a young general, to conquer the Turks. ”

"Minister, thank you Queen Mother!" Xue Shao bowed.

"It makes sense for the prime minister to use Cheng to do it. Because Datang needs a victory too much right now. Wu Zetian said, "But what I fancy is not the success or failure of the First World War, but the militaristic atmosphere of Datang in the next few decades." If you can use this arduous battle and hard battle to temper a group of young people like you into real pillars of generals, this is the biggest gain. ”

"The Queen Mother is far-sighted, and the ministers are very admirable!" Xue Shao said goodbye.

Wu Zetian nodded and smiled, lowered his voice a little and said: "The imperial court is indeed short of soldiers and major generals at present, and the treasury is empty. Otherwise, with the national prestige of the Tang Dynasty, the matter of sending troops to conquer the Turks would not have been delayed so far. In other words, if the Tang Dynasty soldiers are strong, strong, rich in money and food, what is the problem of mere Turkic rebellion? ——The conditions given to you at the moment are indeed quite harsh, but the danger is a hero, it depends on whether you can show your excellence! ”

"The minister will do his best!" Xue Shao just said.

"When I was leaving, the palace was still the same sentence." Wu Zetian's face straightened, "This palace will ensure that you don't have to worry about the future, you just have to fight as much as you want in front of you and make contributions!" ”

"Minister, Empress Dowager Xie!"

After talking for a long time, only this sentence was what Xue Shao was willing to hear.

Wu Zetian nodded and said, "There is another trivial matter, do you remember Zhang Renyuan, the palace attendant?" ”

"I remember. What's wrong? Xue Shao asked.

"Last time, when Pei Gong was about to go on the expedition, he promised to take him with him. But unexpectedly, Pei Gong passed away a few days later, and the army's westward expedition was abandoned. Therefore, Zhang Renyuan did not fulfill his long-cherished wish to join the army, and he was still a servant in the palace. Wu Zetian said, "This palace thinks that since Pei Gong made a promise before his death, why don't you fulfill Zhang Ren's wish and take him on the expedition together?" ”

"The Queen Mother's Chrysostom has been opened, and it is the last wish left by Duke Pei, I am duty-bound!" Xue Shao said, "In addition, the minister also believes that although Zhang Renyuan is a civilian official, he is indeed talented in military affairs. The minister is willing to take him on the expedition, perhaps, he will become a famous general of the Tang Dynasty tomorrow? ”

"That's very good." Wu Zetian nodded and smiled, "Then the palace will make arrangements and let him walk with you as the Imperial History Supervisor." After he became familiar with the battle formation on the front line and made military achievements, the imperial court changed him to the position of military attache as appropriate. ”

"Okay."

"The army is about to go on the march, and there are a lot of military affairs, so the palace won't keep you much." Wu Zetian said, "Remember, your own safety must be guaranteed at all times, and you can't afford to lose anything!" ”

"Thank you Queen Mother for your concern! …… The minister is gone! ”

Xue Shao left.

Wu Zetian breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyebrows were a little stretched.

Pei Yan and Xue Shao are like right-hand men to Wu Zetian. But this general seems to be born to be unable to get along, which not only gives Wu Zetian a headache but also makes Wu Zetian secretly happy.

How to control in the middle and how to reconcile contradictions, Wu Zetian did not dare to take it lightly.

……

Xue Shao left the palace and went home directly.

Although there are many military affairs waiting for him, Xue Shao feels that the most important thing he should do at this time is to accompany Princess Taiping.

It was almost lunchtime, and Princess Taiping was still sleeping.

Xue Shao walked into the room lightly, lying on the side of the bed and looking at Princess Taiping quietly.

She slept on her side, her right hand resting softly on one thigh, her other palm caressing her cheek.

Even when she fell asleep, her grace and luxury were so natural and impeccable.

There was a slight provocation at the corner of her mouth on the left side, outlining a playful and witty smile that belonged to Princess Taiping.

Looking at her quietly, Xue Shao couldn't help but show a warm and satisfied smile, and his thoughts flowed out quietly like flowing water...... This is my wife, my other partner in life. In her belly, with the continuation of my life. If I can accompany him carefree to the end of the day, I will have no regrets in my life!

Unfortunately, we and I will face a doom in the future. It's like the fate that God has given us, and I have no other way but to fight desperately!

I'm sorry, Enron...... When you need me most, I'm going to leave you again!

"Xue Lang, our baby is about to be born." Princess Taiping suddenly spoke.

Xue Shao was slightly stunned, did he wake up?

After a closer look, I didn't wake up. She's talking in her sleep.

"Don't go ......"

The muttering of these three words of Princess Taiping made Xue Shao tremble all over.

It was like a thorn that pierced deep into the softest place in Xue Shao's heart.