"But, what is so difficult about that?
That they could enter the War Academy was their own ability, but after leaving, where they went was still decided by us, wasn't it?
Did we not plan before to let the Black Armored Army flourish everywhere? Isn't this a perfect opportunity?"
Seeing that Lu Qingwan did not seem to have thought of it on the spur of the moment, Si Fengwu became serious, "Princess, please elaborate. This King is eager to hear your detailed plan."
"It's very simple. Those who come out of the Black Armored Army, after graduating from the War Academy, need not return to the Black Armored Army. Let them go and shine elsewhere.
This way, they can bring the fine traditions of the Black Armored Army to other places, and also apply what they learned in the War Academy. Isn't it killing two birds with one stone?"
Si Fengwu's eyes lit up as he listened and he followed up tacitly, "Then let others from the War Academy fill the vacant positions in the backbone of the Black Armored Army. In the long run, there will be no factional disputes within the army."
The Black Armored Army was Si Fengwu's personal guard. Whether it was the Black Armored Army itself, or other generals and their subordinate soldiers, they all knew clearly that with the establishment of the new dynasty, the Black Armored Army was the legitimate eldest son of the new dynasty.
At first, everyone might have acknowledged and respected this meritorious elder brother out of consideration for the Black Armored Army's great contributions to the new dynasty.
However, with the passage of time, the Black Armored Army had received too much preferential treatment and was bound to become arrogant.
Si Fengwu, seated on the throne, could not supervise everything as he did before. It was uncertain whether the Black Armored Army could maintain its original aspirations.
If at this time, they were still allowed to stand high above the armies of various regions, and other local armies harbored resentment, and then faced a war, the consequences for their combat effectiveness would be unimaginable.
Therefore, when Lu Qingwan initially proposed letting the Black Armored Army flourish everywhere, nurturing all the armies of the new dynasty to be as strong and valiant as the Black Armored Army, but not wanting them to be as clannish as the Black Armored Army, he had not objected.
Now that such an opportunity had arisen, he felt it was perfectly suitable.
Si Fengwu, somewhat excitedly, hugged Lu Qingwan and gave her a heavy kiss, a loud smack that even Li Yang, who was driving outside, could hear.
Lu Qingwan, amused and exasperated by his childlike exuberance, pushed his face away in mock annoyance, "We're discussing serious matters. Why are you being so playful?
Who was it just now who was frowning, worried about the future of the War Academy, and now you're so exhilarated? Can you be a little more normal?"
Si Fengwu, clinging to her like an octopus, smiled foolishly, "I said that the Princess is my lucky star. Indeed, the most correct thing this King has ever done in his life was to capture you back from the city gates three years ago."
Thinking of her own timidity when she first arrived in this world, scared by the arranged marriage and wanting to flee, Lu Qingwan couldn't help but laugh herself.
"You still have the nerve to say that! If you hadn't used my father to scare me, I wouldn't have foolishly married you?"
At that time, she had used her stereotypical impression of imperial cunning to assess Emperor Jingyou, thinking that if she left, Lu Zhenting would become a "naked official."
Without a travel permit and unfamiliar with Daqian, she was intimidated by Si Fengwu and obediently followed him back.
Now, looking back, Emperor Jingyou was not that kind of suspicious emperor at all. And if Lu Zhenting had truly been a man with ulterior motives, a useless daughter like her would not have been able to constrain him.
Si Fengwu's threat with Lu Zhenting back then was clearly pure deception.
Si Fengwu, smug, grinned like an old fox who had succeeded in his scheme.
"That's impossible. Since this King accepted the imperial decree of marriage from His Imperial Brother, I have plenty of ways to make you marry this King obediently."
He gently stroked Lu Qingwan's fingers, as if holding a cherished toy.
"It was hard enough to find a satisfactory little Princess, how could I let you run away?"
This was a normal sentence, but as he spoke, his eyes gazed at Lu Qingwan with a lingering intensity, which made Lu Qingwan feel extremely awkward.
Manually closing her eyes, Lu Qingwan belatedly remembered an important issue she had overlooked.
"By the way, the incident that happened to us was a misunderstanding. Given your relationship with the late Emperor, if you didn't want to, couldn't you have refused the imperial decree of marriage? Why did you agree?"
As Si Fengwu's bed partner, Lu Qingwan knew his temperament too well.
Love at first sight was simply not something that would happen to him.
Her marrying him could be considered a choice based on weighing pros and cons, but Si Fengwu's agreement to the marriage was a bit difficult to understand.
Upon hearing this question, Si Fengwu's expression showed a rare moment of blankness.
Before his eyes had regained clarity, Lu Qingwan had already given him a sharp, deadly warning, "Confess honestly, don't try to fob me off with sweet talk?"
Si Fengwu never expected that a careless remark made in a moment of pride would dig such a large pit for himself.
Helplessly, he raised his hands in surrender, "Alright, alright, I won't fob you off."
Lu Qingwan, looking as triumphant as a judge, only lacked a striking board in her hand.
"Speak, I'm listening. I'm all ears."
Si Fengwu, showing great desire for self-preservation, said, "Let's agree first. Before I met you, this King had never thought about marriage.
After meeting you, this King has never thought about marrying anyone other than you."
Lu Qingwan: ...
Although these words were quite touching, why did they suddenly sound so familiar?
While recalling where she had seen this sentence in the writings of some great literary master, Li Jin's voice came from outside the carriage.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, someone else has come to claim the King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes and the True Dragon Token. According to the intelligence sent by Wufeng, it should be the responsible persons of Sansheng Tower and Hanxiao Hall in Daqian.
Tang Xiao has sent someone to ask if they should be brought to see Your Highness and Your Highness."
That's right.
Since Si Fengwu had posted an imperial proclamation, countless people had flocked to the palace gates daily demanding the King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes and the True Dragon Token.
Some people didn't even know what the King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes was, yet they dared to claim it as their own.
Others' understanding of the King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes was limited to the military tally of the Black Armored Army, thinking that this was another new tactic by Si Fengwu and Lu Qingwan to recruit talent, and they also came to join the fun.
More than ten days had passed, and those who truly understood the importance of the King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes and the True Dragon Token had also received the news, but only a handful could rush to Shangjing in such a short period.
The two people reported by Li Jin were arguably the most qualified among all those who wanted to obtain the King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes and the True Dragon Token to have access to these two items.
However, Lu Qingwan and Si Fengwu exchanged a glance and flatly refused, "No.
Tell Tang Xiao that apart from the people in the portrait I left him, everyone else, regardless of their status or background, is to be turned away."
Li Jin responded and left. Lu Qingwan had already forgotten the topic she and Si Fengwu were discussing before Li Jin's arrival, and headed straight back to the palace.
As a result, the moment the two arrived at the Imperial Study, the three old ministers, Wen Xiang, Academician Chi, and the King of the South, had already arrived.