Western Turkic, Shenmu Plateau.

The pastures had not yet recovered from the remnants of the snow, and as the glacier began to open, news of war came from the north, and hundreds of Turks were forced to migrate south with the generals of the Central Plains.

The foals run after the horses, and the herders sit in their carts with their belongings, and their melodious songs waft over the new green grass. The young Turkic girl, carrying a horsewhip, drove her horse to the Qi soldiers who were escorting them, and said in a crisp and non-standard official dialect:

"Big brother, is there really a war going on in the north now? I, Atta, have also taken a knife before, and he wants to go back. ”

The soldier blushed, cleared his throat and said, "Yes." Entrusted by your khan, Daqi brought iron tools from Guannai to help the Western Turks defend against the Eastern Turks on the other side of the Suzhi River. ”

"I, Atta, said that Qi is a very strong country and has always been very good to us. Last year, we had a female doctor about the same age as me living in our house, and she was very powerful, so she went to Fanjing!"

The girl's long braid flicked under the little flower hat, and a small mouth chattered: "I also followed Atta to the border city, and I used to go to the market to sell things when the Chinese New Year came." I really want to go to the capital of Qi to have a look!"

The comrades around him smiled and pushed the soldier, and he said sneeringly: "In return, you Western Turks also gave us horses......

"Ayimu!

In the distance, a boy in his early teens shouted, "Atta told you not to make trouble." Come back!"

The girl snorted through her nose and said to the soldier with a smile: "Thank you, thank you for your hard work." With a flick of the skirt, the brown pony spread its hooves and ran forward.

The soldier touched his nose, "I'm right, right? They give us good horses, and we give them weapons, and it's only spring now, and the Eastern Turks won't make a big move like in the autumn, so it's better for us to make a good deal." ”

The comrade covered his face, "You deserve to not even have a good match." ”

The soldier frowned, "You say, we didn't have enough horses? Also, where did the iron come from?"

The colleague said: "I went home before leaving, you know that I am from the Tianjin Mansion." Ten miles and eight towns are saying that the iron mine on the other side of Xuanying Mountain has become our Qi country, and truckloads of weapons are transported to Fanjing. ”

"That's not the iron of Liang Guo!"

"yes, I don't know how I got it. As you said, the Eastern Turks will not do their best to attack the Shenmu steppe, so there will not be many iron weapons transported here, let alone firearms. Our general and the khan said that the good horses are borrowed and returned, and after the end of the year, some of the horses will be returned to them, can people not be grateful to Dade?"

The long procession of herdsmen stretched for several miles, and a soldier sighed: "It is estimated that after this escort, the general will take us to the north." It is said that General Rong has led his troops to be stationed in Xuanying Mountain, the gang of Beiliang...... It should be this year. ”

*

"Smack!"

The indigo grape narrow-mouthed vase that was paid tribute was shattered into pieces in an instant.

The palace maids in the Lizhu Palace all looked at their noses and noses, and they didn't dare to move at all when they lay on the ground.

"Queen Mother, I'm fed up! Take a good look, are the Yuwen family's 150,000 sons and daughters worthy of your daughter? When have they ever been to the official office after they went down to the court? One by one, they know how to spend all day drinking and pleasing women! The second cousin took the place of Helan Province, but as a result, the Helan clan led 150,000 troops to the Mobei barbarians before, and now you and your grandfather are going to send more than 100,000 people to fight them!"

Empress Dowager Yuwen's face turned pale, and she stood up stiffly, her pointed armor pointed at her: "Anyang, don't think that I only gave birth to one daughter of you, so you can be so presumptuous! Do you still put your mother in your eyes! What is wrong with Jiaheng's child, in terms of character and appearance, he is not much better than your grandfather back then, besides him, did I force you to meet other people? I am all for you!"

She took a breath, "If one day your mother and grandfather are gone, who can you rely on? Do you rely on your brother who is not right? Or rely on the child in Concubine Le's womb? You can not marry, but you must have the confidence to send those who are not used to you to the edict prison in a bright and bright way! What we are planning now is not to make ourselves never fall from this Jinluan Palace in our lives? Jinlan, I don't want to see you mess with us for so long because of this matter, you are almost twenty years old......

Princess Anyang clenched her hands, raised her head suddenly, and said, "When did I say that I would not marry!"

"But I will not marry my daughter to an enemy country thousands of miles away, to marry a person with evil intentions!"

"No!"

There was a dead silence in the hall for an instant, An Yang was pacing back and forth frantically on the carpet, her phoenix eyes were shining unusually bright, and the Empress Dowager Yuwen stared at her tightly, and the blood on her face faded.

"No...... I can't look down on anyone but him!

The Queen Mother approached to look at her, her rose-like delicate face was full of unwillingness and longing, and that look suddenly reminded her of herself when she was young.

"A-Niang, were you willing to marry into the palace back then?"

The Queen Mother then retreated, shouting loudly: "Shut up!"

"Everyone only loves the best one, when you look at that woman in the West Night, you won't hate her so much that you want to kill her! She gave birth to a child for the King of Jingbei, her daughter can be favored by the imperial grandmother, she can stay away from the miasma of Mingdu, she can hide from the sky and cross the sea in the country of Qi, and even be blue-eyed by him! I don't want that bastard to be like this! I want to watch her be trampled on!"

An Yang raised his finger and looked at it, the well-tended nail shone like a pearl in the gilt armor, "A-Niang, think about yourself and then think about your daughter! I really don't want to stay with someone I don't like, stay for a lifetime!"

The palace maids on the ground are like falling into the ice cellar, and they can't escape this time, and when they hear these secrets, the only end is to be killed with a cane.

The shattered porcelain vase fell at his feet, left unattended.

The Queen Mother looked at her daughter for a long time, and spoke softly, as if to say to herself:

"Your grandfather has made an agreement with the Khan of the Eastern Turks that there will be no more losses in the north. ”

"The honor of the Yuwen clan does not need to be proved by a princess. ”

"If there is an abnormality in the Qi State, the Liang State will unite with the Turks in the west to enter the Xuanying Mountain boundary and knock on the opening. ”

“…… Jin Lan, if you insist on marrying to the Qi State, then come up with a reason that can convince me, your grandfather, hundreds of officials from the government and the opposition, and all the people of Daliang. Until then, I will never agree. ”

An Yang loosened his fist at the corner of his clothes, walked forward quickly and hugged his mother, and said softly: "A-Niang, although I have only seen him once, he is the most outstanding man I have ever seen." In the past few years, I have done so many things for Helan Jin without regard for my identity, and now I think about it, it's really stupid!"

She closed her eyes and curled her red lips, recalling the sunshine that filled the room. The man leaned towards her, and the silhouette in front of the mirror was as white as broken ice, long and graceful, like a green pine leaning against a window in the snow.

At the bell of the institute, the elegance is prosperous.

The Queen Mother's eyes fell on the trembling back of the attendant, picked up the saucer, and said in a cold voice: "Xiuluo, get these people out, you don't have to say what to do." ”

An Yang was still overjoyed, "A-Niang, Lan'er will definitely listen to you in the future!"

"Your Highness spare your life! Your Royal Highness the Queen Mother! The slaves and maids didn't hear anything!" Several palace maids turned pale and kowtowed desperately, and blood immediately oozed from their foreheads.

The female official in charge of the Lizhu Palace indifferently ordered: "Respect the Empress Dowager's decree, if you wait for the palace maids to serve poorly, each go and receive fifty sticks, and there is an inner prison outside the palace to take you there!"

"—Your Majesty has arrived!"

Everyone in the room was shocked, Empress Dowager Yuwen waved her hand, and the female official said sharply: "Move faster!"

At this time, he should have been in the upper court, but noon had not yet arrived, how did he break through the door of the West Palace?

"Queen Mother, why are these people going against your will?"

Su Huan's smiling voice came from outside the bead curtain, and the figure had already arrived in front of the screen.

An Yang stomped his feet fiercely, "Why did Your Majesty have the time to visit the Queen Mother today?"

The Queen Mother still ordered: "Xiuluo!"

The female official bowed to Emperor Liang: "Your Majesty doesn't need to bother to take care of these subordinates, the concubine will take them away and punish them now." ”

Su Huan turned around and said, "Do you receive the punishment?" The king knows that this is your business, so you can take these four palace maids to Jingqiu Palace." ”

An Yang blurted out: "Brother Don't work ...... the emperor"

"Look up. You are all palace people from the Pearl Palace?"

The palace maids suddenly ignited hope, and a seventeen or eighteen-year-old palace maid took two steps on her knees, and pleaded bitterly: "Slave Bihe, I have served Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother for two years, and today when I was serving water, I knocked down the vase on the shelf, which shocked the Queen Mother, and I deserve death!

An Yang sneered secretly, this girl would find a life-saving straw for herself, and even made up an excuse, implying that they didn't know anything, but also didn't mention the fifty sticks that hurt their lives, it was all up to the emperor's will. If the conversation just now spreads out, it will be difficult to seal the courtiers' mouths if they kill a few people!

Su Huan bowed, "Next to you is your twin sister?"

The palace maid who looked exactly the same lowered her head and said: "The slave Danfeng is the combed palace maid of the Lizhu Palace, who has served the Queen Mother for three years, and Bihe is the sister of the slave maid." ”

Su Huan said: "You guys kneel down." ”

Wang Duzhi bowed his knees to the Queen Mother and the female official in charge, and the Queen Mother hummed: "Excuse me! Out of sight and out of mind, the emperor stays, and everyone else goes out." ”

There were only two people left in the Warm Pavilion, and Su Huan said respectfully: "If the queen mother is not annoyed, the sons will enter to discuss with you." I came in a hurry today, just because the scout reported a major event in the court, and I wanted to tell the queen mother as soon as possible. ”

Empress Dowager Yuwen re-seated and raised her sleeves, "Since it is an important matter, how can the mourning family be delayed?"

Su Huan took a few steps closer, stood far away from his seat, and said solemnly: "The lord of Qi is not in Fanjing now, and the imperial capital is controlled by several ministers. ”

The Queen Mother was shocked: "Is that really the case?"

"In addition, their troops are mobilized extremely frequently, the south of Xuanying Mountain is already full of Rong family's own soldiers, and the generals of the Yuwen family are stationed at the northern foot of the mountain range, and there have been more urgent reports in the past ten days than last month. ”

The Queen Mother thought for a moment, "You mean, the Qi State is going to go on a northern expedition in advance?"

Su Huan said solemnly: "At this time, the southwest grassland is probably full of soldiers of the Qi State, and the Sheng clan announced to the world that he promised to help the Western Turks resist the southward movement of the Eastern Turks, and the Turks gave him tens of thousands of good horses. In addition, the Astronomical Academy and Si Tianjian predicted that there would be a lot of rain in Qi this year, and the grain and grass would not be able to cover it after autumn, so the best choice was to take advantage of the wind and rain to go north in advance. ”

The Empress Dowager stroked the Bodhi rosary on her wrist, and suddenly slapped the case and said angrily: "Su Huan! What did Sheng Yunyi use to help the Turkic barbarians? Southern Qi is a poor and remote country, and there are neither chariots nor horses, nor iron tools, and the household servant told me earlier that the smuggling of pig iron in the south of Daliang is dangerous to the national body, and I will go to the Yuheng Palace to sue you on the second day! Could it be that you did not stop it, and let Nanqi get great benefits from it? This ancestral inheritance will be destroyed by you!"

Su Huan took a deep breath and said with a wry smile: "The queen mother still has a grudge against her son...... I have stubborn qualifications, and I can't even take care of the affairs of the court, so how can I have the extra energy to deal with the smuggling matter? Yuwen Jiaheng just took over the post of transfer envoy a few years ago, and I trusted him to be competent, so I didn't interfere with salt and iron at all, and I didn't feel anything wrong until the Zhengdan court meeting!"

The queen mother's right hand hung down suddenly, and after the left minister sealed Xuanping, it became more and more like the sky, not only the defenders in the north were all replaced by the cronies of the Yuwen family, but the south actually stretched out her hand? She has been worrying about marriage since she returned to Beijing from Anyang, she has not seen her father, and she has not paid attention to the little wings cultivated by Su Huan.

Smuggling with the enemy is a big matter, if this responsibility is really counted on the head of the Yuwen family, there will be all kinds of harm and no benefit.

She frowned and thought about it, she had to send someone to find out, Su Huan was very strict with her, and she couldn't believe her words.

"Your Majesty, if there is a war, what are our chances of winning?"

Su Huan saw that she didn't ask any more, his heart was relieved, and he still didn't dare to slack off on his face, "Based on a rough calculation of the troops, grain and grass, there are more dynasties than Southern Qi, but the strength of the other party's generals should not be underestimated." ”

He didn't mention the soldiers who returned from defeat under Zuo Xiangmen, and the Queen Mother was a little satisfied: "Even if we take 10,000 steps back, it's not that we can't compete with Nanqi." ”

She looked at Su Huan's gentle smile, changed her expression and sighed: "Your Majesty, you also know that the kid in Anyang has always been stubborn, and he went to Nanqi once, and he actually mentioned marriage to me all day long." I don't want her to leave me, but the girl is older and has her own ideas...... If it really comes to that point, I, as the queen mother of a country, must not favor the public for personal gain, I hope you will consider it. ”

Su Huan said without thinking: "Anyang is the sister-in-law of Erchen, the only golden and noble princess in the Fuchao Palace, how can I rest assured that she will marry far away?"

The Queen Mother scolded that she was afraid that it was too late for him to be happy, but she was still sad: "Alas...... Never mind. Your Majesty has nothing else to do, have you been getting along with the queen lately?"

The finger bones under Su Huan's fox fur were extremely cold, and his voice was like a warm jade: "Jiayuan is very good, Erchen has always apologized for not having time to accompany her." She slipped out to see her grandfather this morning, and just ordered someone to take her back to the palace. ”

The Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, good." ”

After Su Huan returned to Yuheng Palace, he retreated from everyone, and he had no intention of changing his robe, so he went straight into the dark room.

Walking through the long corridor, Helanjin, dressed in black, sat on the ground, holding half a piece of plum blossom cake in his palm, and poured himself a drink.

Su Huan's face was very ugly: "Helan, you can leave now." The high-ranking army who caught the assassins outside may be able to catch Yuheng Hall in the next moment, you are too risky today. ”

He Lanjin picked his peach blossom eyes, very innocent: "How many times have I been here, if it weren't for the palace maid who left the Pearl Palace who could recognize me by looking at her back, I wouldn't want to bother Your Majesty hiding me." ”

"Just now, I pushed the matter of iron ore mining to Yuwen Jiaheng in front of the Queen Mother, and insisted that Southern Qi would go north before the autumn. She seemed to believe it, and she was ready to marry. ”

Helanjin handed him a glass of wine, "It's really yours." I remember lying to my husband together when I was in school, and you always talked the most like one, three points false and seven points true. He squinted, "I think they may not be able to wait for autumn, and the people of Qi always do things unexpectedly quickly...... However, what is certain is that Sheng Yunyi must solve his family affairs first before dealing with us. ”

"Rong Jianchi guarded Xuanying Mountain, and did not try to advance an inch north, and the Yuwen clan's gang, what else would they do except provoke? In the east, the Turks suffered a defeat, so they came to the south to ask for merit, and my big Liang's face was completely lost by them! Anyang was quite sober, and he couldn't look down on her cousins. ”

Su Huan held the wine glass and pondered: "I didn't believe it when I learned that Sheng Yunyi left Beijing, but now watching Qi Guo's actions, I have a little bottom in my heart. At first, I only agreed to borrow two of the mines, which really lured the wolf into the house, and the smuggling merchants were not under the control of the government at all, and the amount of mining was far greater than expected. They borrowed iron weapons, not to help the Western Turks defend against the Eastern Turks, but to prepare for the use of troops against Nan'an Province. ”

He Lanjin clapped his hands and said: "The monarch of the Qi State has a good calculation, I'm afraid that Anyang will never forget him now, and he also intended to make her think about it at that time." Having said that, how did His Majesty feel after taking the twelve-leaf green sand fruit given by the Qi people?"

Su Huan was silent for a while, and said quietly: "Helan, you don't know, when the secret guard brought the medicine back, I didn't have a little defense. Maybe subconsciously feel that if you die, you don't have to deal with them anymore. It's too tiring to live like this, and there is no way to protect all the important people, and the people who protect me will probably be like the Empress Dowager in the future. ”

He smiled, "Fortunately, it's not □□ that I obeyed, Sheng Yunyi still has this kind of bearing." Without me, he would not be able to contain the Left Prime Minister and his party in Liang, and everyone knows it. ”

Helan Jin sighed and said, "Your Majesty, when my brother and uncle were carried home on the battlefield, I also want to follow in their footsteps. ”

He paused, staring down at the amber liquor in his glass, "Don't always mention the word death. Maybe it will be more uncomfortable to see us all gone than to hurt ourselves, but the reason why we want to saddle up for our majesty is because we don't want to live to see that day-"

"The situation is turbulent, traitors usurp the country, switch to meet the enemy, and the people are struggling to make a living. ”