Harem Daily Life

Chapter 893 Sanctions

Tao Yanyan saw determination in He Linzhang's eyes. She nestled into He Linzhang's arms, speechless for a long time.

This year's Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet was filled with sadness. On the third day after the banquet, Gu Yi led his troops and marched north in a mighty force.

The emperor and empress personally escorted the army out of the city at the gate. He Xuan and several children also mixed in the farewell team. They watched the men of the Great Zhou rushing to the border with tears in their eyes.

Mo Xingzhou was transferred to the cook camp. Feeling ashamed, the young and energetic boy lowered his head and followed the team forward. He did not notice that there was a girl with outstanding demeanor in the farewell team who was searching for him everywhere.

Even after the army had gone far away, the people who came to see them off were reluctant to leave, and they all prayed that God would bless the Great Zhou and that the battle would be a success.

On Dong Fang's side, ever since the Great Zhou decided to go to war with the State of Yan, he received an order from Tao Yanyan, asking him to prepare enough food and fodder and immediately transport it to the border between the Great Zhou and the State of Yan to support the imperial army.

Meanwhile, Tao Yanyan was also busy at the palace. The imperial property needed to be harvested quickly, with new grain being stored, a portion of the old grain allocated for military rations, and the rest sold at a fair price for silver. The various departments at the court were also busy, each doing their own job.

After seeing off the army, He Xuan returned to the palace and began copying Buddhist scriptures every day, praying for Mo Xingzhou and the soldiers who had gone off to the battlefield. After she finished copying a scroll, she would go to the small Buddhist temple in the palace to offer incense, hoping that everyone would return safely.

Days passed, and in late September, news finally arrived from the border.

Gu Yi's army won their first battle against the Yan army, completely driving them back a hundred miles from Wuya City, preventing them from making any further advances towards the Great Zhou. This news sent the entire capital into a frenzy. He Linzhang, overjoyed, immediately sent a generous reward and new supplies to the soldiers, all within eight hundred miles of the city.

Tao Yanyan also breathed a sigh of relief, but she knew that although this war had achieved an initial victory, there was still a long way to go. If the State of Yan was not completely defeated this time, it might make a comeback in the future, so they could not take it lightly.

Furthermore, Yan's confidence in its renewed attack on the Great Zhou was also due to Xia's covert assistance. He Linzhang decided that while fighting Yan, he would also severely punish Xia to enhance the prestige of the Great Zhou.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the Xia Kingdom did not actually participate in the war, but only provided food and a portion of military pay to the Yan Kingdom. We have not torn our relations with the Xia Kingdom, and there is still room for maneuver. If we sanction the Xia Kingdom now, it will damage trade between the two countries and cause huge losses to the Great Zhou. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider."

"Your Majesty, I disagree with Lord Yuan. Food and military pay are the foundation of war. Xia has disregarded its relationship with Great Zhou and secretly supported Yan, making it an enemy of Great Zhou. I believe that if they do something on the first day of the month, we must do it on the fifteenth. We must cease trade with Xia, stop selling Great Zhou products to them, and stop buying their fruits and grain. When the war ends, we can discuss resuming trade."

"But, if we do this, we will suffer heavy losses! A large part of the national treasury depends on trade with Xia State. How can we make up for the losses?" The Minister of Revenue said anxiously. He was in charge of the purse, and life without money was not easy. He had experienced this all too well in the past few years.

The court officials discussed the matter and expressed their opinions, and they were divided into two factions. One faction supported the sanctions against the Xia State, while the other faction did not support it and wanted to turn a blind eye.

After listening to this, He Linzhang raised his hand to ask everyone to be quiet.

"What you all said makes sense, but I have made up my mind. I must punish the Xia Kingdom and will never tolerate it. The Xia Kingdom's move clearly shows that they do not take our Great Zhou seriously. If we tolerate them now, they will become even more arrogant in the future. As for the loss to the national treasury, I have my own way." He Linzhang looked at everyone in the court with a firm gaze.

Since the emperor had made the final decision, no one said anything else. The closure of trade with the Xia Kingdom had to be implemented quickly. All the departments had to issue official documents and respond as needed.

After the court session, He Linzhang returned to the imperial study to continue working. After a while, Chang Tai came hurriedly to report that the empress had started to have abdominal pain and the imperial physician had already gone.

He Linzhang did not dare to delay and immediately rushed to Changle Palace.

The Empress Dowager had been waiting in Changle Palace for a long time. Concubine Xian, Concubine Shu, Concubine De, Concubine Xu and others were also waiting here, all with solemn expressions.

"How is the queen?" He Linzhang asked loudly before entering the palace.

"Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that the Empress's fetus is in an abnormal position and she is currently fumigating it with moxa." Concubine Xian said with red eyes.

He Linzhang's heart instantly began to tighten.

He strode into the inner hall and saw Tao Yanyan lying on the bed with a pale face and beads of sweat on her forehead. He Linzhang hurried to the bedside, held her hand tightly, and whispered to comfort her: "Yanyan, don't be afraid, I am here."

Tao Yanyan was now experiencing waves of pain, and she managed a smile with difficulty: "Your Majesty... don't worry... I... I have given birth to three children... I have... I have experience."

However, as time went on, Tao Yanyan's condition didn't improve; instead, her pain worsened. The imperial physicians were terrified, trying every possible remedy, but the fetus still wouldn't correct its position. The empress dowager prayed silently, and several concubines shared a worried look.

"Your Majesty, please bear with it. I am going to use external force to correct the fetal position!" Doctor Liu began to push Tao Yanyan's abdomen according to the method in "A Thousand Gold Prescriptions". His technique was very careful, for fear that one mistake would backfire.

Everyone waited anxiously, but no one was sure if this method would work. Tao Yanyan struggled through the excruciating pain, and He Linzhang held her hand tightly, as if this could give her strength.

The atmosphere in the palace was extremely tense, and everyone was praying silently in their hearts, hoping that the queen could give birth to a prince safely.

Tao Yanyan was already exhausted, so Imperial Physician Liu hurriedly had someone feed her ginseng soup. After several hours, at dawn, a resounding cry echoed through the sky. Empress Tao of the Great Zhou gave birth to the sixth prince, and both mother and child were safe.

"Urgent military report - urgent military report - get out of the way quickly -" Outside the city gate, a horse galloped, and the scout who delivered the message rode the horse quickly into the city gate and went straight to the palace.

He Linzhang had been guarding Tao Yanyan for several hours and had just taken care of his newborn baby. Before he had time to catch his breath, he received an urgent report from the border.

"Hmph, the Xia Kingdom is indeed insidious." He Linzhang rubbed his brows. He had just wanted to sanction the Xia Kingdom, but he didn't expect that the Xia Kingdom would not even pretend and had already openly sent troops to the Yan Kingdom to jointly attack the Great Zhou with the Yan Kingdom.

He Linzhang felt the immense pressure of facing two countries with the strength of one country. However, he could not retreat from the war and urgently summoned all the officials to discuss the strategy of resisting the enemy.