In a situation like Shang Shuqing's, it was quite awkward whenever someone mentioned marriage. However, Meng Shan Ming was different. She knew that Meng Shan Ming really cared about her. He wasn't someone who pretended to care about her even though it had nothing to do with him.
In her eyes, Meng Shan Ming was still urging her to get married as an elder. However, Meng Shan Ming kept mentioning this matter recently, so she had to answer him directly. "How many girls in this world can decide their own marriage? Uncle Meng, please let me be the one who can make my own decisions! "
"Little girl!" Meng Shan Ming sighed softly and didn't say anything else.
…
In the pavilion of the Bei Zhou Provincial Governor's Mansion, a group of local officials and a group of young students were clearly separated. They surrounded Shao Pingbo and conversed with him.
This group of local officials were all people who had made great achievements in managing the place over the past year. Shao Pingbo would spend time to meet these officials every year. It wasn't a normal meeting. He would personally send invitations to each and every one of them.
There was no need to mention the rewards. Shao Pingbo would reward these people generously no matter how tight their finances were. He would spend a lot of effort to help these officials solve their problems in life.
As for the other group of young students, they came from the Lingbo Academy, an academy that Shao Pingbo personally built. Every year, Shao Pingbo would spend a lot of effort to select some suitable youths to enter the academy. The teachers in the academy were also carefully selected by him from all over the world.
Back then, the Great Zen Mountain felt that he was spending money recklessly. Shao Dengyun didn't understand why he did this. Moreover, the students' studies were managed by the relevant officials. What was the point of creating an independent academy? He even poached some generals from his subordinates to be teachers.
Shao Pingbo told his father that everyone had been trapped in this chaotic world for a long time and had become numb to it. This chaotic world needed a batch of new people, a batch of new people with new ideas and abilities. The future of the Northern Province, the Shao Family, and even the future of the world could all be seen in these people, and these people were his students!
After seven to eight years of training, the first batch of students who entered the academy finally came out. Some of the students who were good at military affairs were recommended to the military. The rest were the energetic young people in front of him.
After chatting with the group of officials for a while, Shao Pingbo pointed at the group of officials and solemnly warned the group of students beside him, "You can't compare it to what you've learned in books, nor can you compare it to what the teachers in the academy say. These are the real practitioners, and they are also your best teachers. When you get there, you will realize that the actual operation is different from what you imagined. There is a big difference between imagining problems and solving problems yourself. "
"In the process, you will encounter many difficulties that you have never imagined. You will never encounter them in the academy. But I hope that you can persevere. Learn to observe the causes of difficulties, learn to solve them, and learn to overcome them. Always have the confidence... Facing difficulties, with with them. Only then can you live up to the name Lingbo.
"Yes!" The group of young people confidently.
"It's useless to say yes. What I want to see is how many of you can show me results!" Shao Pingbo reminded them with a smile. Then, he extended his hand to the group of officials and said, "Everyone, please follow me for lunch!"
The group of officials immediately followed him politely.
Every year at this time, Shao Pingbo would personally host a banquet for these people. During the banquet, he would let them express their opinions. He wanted to take this opportunity to understand some of the problems in Bei Zhou.
This time, he had to separate the group of students and let these outstanding officials take them away.
The group of young people cupped their hands to send them off.
After leaving the pavilion and passing by the gate of a courtyard, Shao Pingbo stopped. The accompanying officials stopped as well.
At the entrance of the courtyard, two servants came out with food boxes.
Had they finished eating at this time? Shao Pingbo looked up at the sky and walked over. He stopped the two servants and asked, "Sir, have you had lunch?"
One of the servants said, "Sir is so obsessed with the map that he didn't even have breakfast. The food that was sent was returned."
Map? Shao Pingbo frowned. He knew that Shao Dengyun had recently been gathering information on the situation in Bei Zhou. He could understand his father's attention, but it was a bit too much to not even eat.
He turned around and waved at Shao Sansheng.
"Everyone, please follow me." Shao Sansheng extended his hand and led the group of officials to the banquet.
"Come with me." Shao Pingbo led the two servants with food boxes to the inner courtyard.
When they arrived at the entrance of the main room, Shao Pingbo saw that Shao Dengyun was indeed standing in front of the map and pondering. From time to time, he would insert flags on the map, as if he was making battle deductions.
Shao Pingbo took the food box from the servant and dismissed the servant. He walked in alone and placed the food box on the table. He opened it and brought out the dishes and wine. When Shao Dengyun's gaze moved away from the map and noticed him, Shao Pingbo stepped forward and said, "Father, there's no need to rush. Fill your stomach first. There'll be time to slowly study it."
He could understand the feelings of a general. 800,000 men had been defeated in just a few days, and even he was shocked at that time, not to mention a general like his father. He would definitely want to know what had happened in this battle.
Moreover, this was Meng Shanming's first battle after leaving the mountain. As a former subordinate of Meng Shanming, it was inevitable that he would pay attention to it.
Shao Dengyun turned his head to look at the map again and sighed, "Commander Meng is indeed Commander Meng. The treasured sword never grows old. This battle is truly amazing. It's an eye-opener!"
Shao Pingbo, on the other hand, was looking at another point. "The key to this battle is that such a large-scale battle involving millions of men did not harm the vitality of Bei Zhou at all. The people of Bei Zhou did not suffer any losses. This is equivalent to helping Shang Chaozong swallow the entire Bei Zhou. At the very least, it helped Shang Chaozong save several years of recovery time. This Meng Shanming truly lives up to his reputation as a famous general!"
He felt a little uncomfortable about this. This meant that Niu Youdao was quickly closing the gap between them and Bei Zhou. How could he be happy about this?
Shao Dengyun shook his head and said, "I'm afraid Shang Chaozong is no longer in Nan Zhou. Shang Chaozong and Commander Meng are in big trouble this time."
Shao Pingbo was stunned. "What do you mean?"
Although he had been paying attention to Nan Zhou, he did not pay much attention to it. Right now, his main focus was still on his own side in Bei Zhou.
Shao Dengyun picked up a cane from the side, pointed at the map, and explained the movements of Shang Chaozong's forces. He then concluded, "Shang Chaozong's movements are very abnormal. This is obviously to divide and control Shang Chaozong's forces. Shang Chaozong would never do this himself. It's probably Heavenly Jade Gate who wants to burn the bridge after crossing it. If Heavenly Jade Gate cannot tolerate Shang Chaozong, how can they tolerate Commander Meng?"
Shao Pingbo understood. After staring at the map for a while, he quickly guessed Heavenly Jade Gate's intentions. He was overjoyed, but then he frowned and fell into deep thought. Slowly, he shook his head and said, "I'm afraid that Heavenly Jade Gate may not get what they want."
Shao Pingbo grunted. He knew his son's ability. If his son said that it might not be possible, then there must be a reason. He glanced at him and asked, "What do you think?"
Shao Pingbo replied, "I don't know about the others, but I know about Niu Youdao. Unless Heavenly Jade Gate has already taken control of Niu Youdao, I don't think it's possible. Heavenly Jade Gate may not be able to take down Niu Youdao. If they could, they would have done so long ago. They wouldn't have waited until now. Heavenly Jade Gate may seem powerful, but they have always been used by Niu Youdao to protect himself. Those people from Heavenly Jade Gate may be good at fighting and killing, but in terms of brains and tactics, they are no match for Niu Youdao. I don't believe that Niu Youdao will fall so easily at the hands of an opponent that he has always been on guard against. "
Shao Dengyun said, "How can a mere Niu Youdao overturn such a huge situation?"
Shao Pingbo shook his head and said, "Father, you underestimate him too much. Although I don't know how Niu Youdao will overturn the situation, Heavenly Jade Gate's actions have seriously violated his interests. Shang Chaozong is currently his core interest. Once Shang Chaozong's forces crumble, all his efforts over the years will go up in smoke. He won't sit idly by and watch. He will definitely intervene. "
"Father, just wait and see. First of all, I don't believe that Niu Youdao will fall at the hands of Heavenly Jade Gate. As long as he hasn't fallen into their hands, it means that he has already taken precautions …" At this point, he suddenly paused. His eyes flickered as he stared at the map. He seemed to be mumbling to himself, "Since he has taken precautions, why would he sit idly by and watch such a thing happen? Why didn't he intervene beforehand? Why did he wait until the situation was difficult to resolve? He isn't someone who would sit and wait for death … "
The corner of his mouth suddenly twitched. He gritted his teeth and said, "It's very possible that he is deliberately conniving and using Heavenly Jade Gate's power to help Shang Chaozong seize Nanzhou! The outcome of the battle has yet to be decided. Those idiots from Heavenly Jade Gate must still be very happy, right? Cough cough … cough cough … "
In the Yan Imperial Palace, in one of the chambers of the imperial harem, light gauze hung down. The white gauze signified mourning.
Sitting in front of the window was Zhou Qing's Imperial Consort Zhou. She was beautiful, but her eyes were red and swollen from crying.
When she learned that her father had been defeated, she knew that the Zhou Clan was in trouble. Once such a grave crime was pinned on her, how could she still stay in the palace as an Imperial Consort? Even if she didn't receive death, she would be banished to the Cold Palace.
Who would have thought that her father would 'commit suicide after being defeated'? Not only did he protect his loyal name, but he also protected the Zhou Clan and her, the Imperial Consort. She couldn't imagine how much courage her father had to have taken his own life. Even ants lived in vain!
The courtyard she lived in was suddenly deserted. Those so-called sisters who used to know that her father was the Emperor's trusted aide and that she had the backing of her maiden family were now avoiding this place. The preferential treatment they had enjoyed in the past was like a dream. In an instant, it had all disappeared …
Inside the ancestral temple, thousands of oil lamps were brightly lit. The memorial tablets of the Shang Clan's ancestors were arranged neatly. The memorial tablet of the Wu Dynasty's Founding Emperor, Shang Song, was located at the top of the memorial tablets of the Yan Imperial Family. It was also the largest and most conspicuous one.
Under the memorial tablet, Shang Jianxiong was dressed in a solemn and clean white robe. He knelt in the brightly lit lantern and looked up at the memorial tablets of his ancestors. His face was filled with shame and his eyes were glistening with tears. He muttered to himself, 'I've lost another piece of land in my hands!'
Outside the hall, the Chief Supervisor of the Imperial Palace, Tian Yu, and the Commander of the Central Chariot Office, Gamiao Shui, arrived.
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