novelaction Chapter 1068 Transferring Generals
Chapter 1068 Transferring Generals
Yu Caiwei sat quietly to the side without saying a word, appearing very well-behaved.
Xu and Zhang Lao Er rarely interfered in such matters; their son, grandson, and granddaughter-in-law always discussed and made the decisions.
At this moment, she couldn't help but look at her son.
Because of this relationship, they were unsure how to treat their granddaughter, whom they had never met.
"You must be tired from your long journey. Let's eat first, and then we can talk," Zhang Ping'an said calmly.
Li silently went out and instructed the servants to prepare the meal.
The meal was awkward and tasteless; apart from the two little ones, no one ate well.
After they finished eating, Zhang Ping'an said, "You, come to the study with me."
Upon hearing this, Little Fish wiped his mouth and calmly stood up.
Once in the study, Zhang Ping'an cut to the chase and asked, "You've acted first and reported later. What do you mean by doing this? Where does that leave the Li family?"
"Sigh, Dad, I knew you were old-fashioned and never approved of marriage between cousins, so I brought her back first. I don't think the Li family or the Li family are a problem. It's you who will be the hardest to get past. Now that my aunt and uncle have agreed, I will definitely marry her," Xiaoyuer said casually, but her last sentence was particularly firm.
"Based on my understanding of your sixth uncle, he shouldn't have agreed. What exactly happened?" Zhang Ping'an tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his face serious. He wasn't so easily fooled.
All that talk about love at first sight is just a lie to outsiders. You know your own son best. If he were someone who groveled over beauty, he wouldn't be alive today.
With no outsiders present, and seeing that his father was about to get serious, Xiaoyuer sat up straight and began to recount the truth. It turned out that Yu Caiwei had been tricked in Yangzhou, and he had rescued her by chance.
Although they did not consummate their marriage, from the outside, my cousin had already lost her innocence, and the best solution was to marry her to silence the gossip.
With the Zhang family's current social standing, they are more than a match for the Yu family. Even if she were to be a second wife, it would be seen as a high-status marriage by outsiders, and no one would find fault with it.
Both of Sixth Aunt's husband and wife were people who loved their daughter dearly, and they were not old-fashioned either. They immediately took the initiative to bring up the marriage, their words full of earnestness.
If Xiaoyuer doesn't marry her, his daughter's life will truly be ruined.
Such a life-or-death matter must be treated with utmost care.
Of course, what finally made Xiaoyuer decide to marry her, even if it meant offending the Li family and hurting Li's feelings, was his cousin's talent. Among the seven children in the Yu family, his cousin Caiwei had the highest talent in firearms manufacturing, showing a promising trend of surpassing her parents.
This is thanks to my sixth aunt's husband, who was not sexist and taught his children without reservation.
If my sixth aunt's husband cannot come to Huainan, but marries my cousin Caiwei, then establishing his own firearms workshop in Huainan will be just around the corner, and the military defense will be much more efficient.
After careful consideration, Xiaoyuer brought the person back and agreed to the marriage.
“I see. I was wondering why your sixth uncle, who is not one to curry favor with the powerful, would give his daughter to you as a concubine. Since that’s how it is, then we have no choice but to agree to this marriage.”
"I'm glad you agree. Even though she's a secondary wife, we can't skimp on the betrothal gifts. I'll talk to the Li family; you don't need to worry about it," Xiaoyuer said with a smile.
Seeing his son's confident and in control demeanor, Zhang Ping'an was somewhat displeased. "You really have a lot of suitors. No matter what, remember this: harmony in the family brings prosperity, and disharmony at home hinders career progress. Li is your wife, and you must never mistreat her!"
Xiaoyuer sighed, "I understand, don't worry! This time it was unavoidable, I had no choice but to let her suffer, I will make it up to her in the future."
Zhang Ping'an was in charge of this household, and now that he had given his approval, the matter was considered officially settled. Yu Caiwei would stay at the Zhang family's house temporarily, but her public identity would still be that of the cousin.
Li cried bitterly about this and secretly sent a letter to her family to tell them about it.
However, Xiaoyuer had already sent a letter to the capital, confessing the whole story and expressing his helplessness, while also making various promises.
After much deliberation, Li Chong decided that firstly, the political situation in the court was unclear, and he was reluctant to give up the Zhang family's support; secondly, he also wanted to teach his disobedient daughter a lesson. In the end, he reluctantly agreed to the matter, only writing a letter to Huainan to severely scold Xiaoyuer, and that was the end of it.
Not long after the New Year, Yu Caiwei returned to Huainan.
The Zhang family also sent someone to Huainan to propose marriage. After the formalities of the marriage ceremony, they can choose an auspicious day to get married.
In order to get their daughter away from the rumors in Yangzhou as soon as possible, Liu Ya and her husband finally decided on the nearest auspicious day in March.
Meanwhile, Xiaoyuer was also secretly building his own firearms workshop and recruiting soldiers. The batch of gold and silver he had cashed out during his last trip south was worth hundreds of millions of taels, enough to make Huainan as impregnable as an iron barrel.
Meanwhile, Cui Rong's actions didn't stop either. Ever since Zhou Pu was controlled by the court officials, she seemed to have suddenly become enlightened, realizing that she couldn't continue like this. Her vision was no longer limited to the inner palace, but was looking more towards the court.
What worried him most was that the troops in various places were not his own people, and they had not been mobilized for many years.
This is not a good sign, especially when a monarch lacks sufficient political acumen to balance the court.
So, not long after the start of the year, Cui Rong suggested to Zhou Pu that the generals in various regions should be transferred to each other to prevent them from becoming too powerful in one place.
“These matters were previously handled by the Privy Council, and I didn’t manage them much. Moreover, my father did not approve of frequent transfers of generals when he was alive. In the end, it would only lead to a situation like the previous dynasty, where generals do not know their soldiers and soldiers do not know their generals, which is not conducive to the stability of the border,” Zhou Pu pondered.
Although he didn't manage things much, he wasn't completely ignorant; frequent changes in generals had both advantages and disadvantages.
"Times have changed, Your Majesty," Cui Rong thought anxiously.
"Now the various aristocratic families seem to have behaved themselves, but they won't be so obedient for long. If it weren't for the Yang family standing in front of them, who knows what would have happened to them long ago. It's better to rely on yourself than on others, and the Yang family won't stay like this forever."