Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but want to touch their foreheads. Obviously it's normal, why are you saying so strangely, Your Royal Highness King Ning. You almost had half of your head cut off by Wei Gongzi, you know?

His Royal Highness King Ning spread his hands: Of course this king doesn't know.

Wei Junmo looked at King Ning calmly, and King Ning looked at him with a smile. There was no fear or anger for the rest of his life that almost had half of his head cut off. For a while, I couldn't see which of these two people was stronger.

After a long time, I heard Wei Junmo ask, "That's it?" ”

Hey? Seeing that he was so relieved, King Ning looked at Wei Junmo with some suspicion. Is there some conspiracy? After a while, King Ning nodded hesitantly. Wei Gongzi nodded and said, "Okay." ”

Is it really that easy? King Ning was a little excited, he just wanted to embarrass Wei Junmo, but if the person who was embarrassed didn't feel embarrassed at all, then he naturally wouldn't feel any pleasure of victory. Could it be that he really didn't get the point right? Wei Junmo didn't care about his two children at all, was the most important thing really the county lord of Star City?

But... Looking at Wei Gongzi's indifferent handsome face, His Royal Highness King Ning still wisely buried the thoughts in his heart deeper. I always felt that if she had just said that she was the county lord of Star City, that finger wind would really fall on his head.

Without His Royal Highness King Ning making trouble, things will be very smooth in the future. The two sides agreed that Tainingwei of King Ning's Mansion would be able to rush to Pengcheng to join the Youzhou army in ten days. With the addition of the intact Tai Ningwei, all the soldiers said that it was not a problem at all to beat the group of recruits in the imperial court.

After discussing the matter of sending troops, all the soldiers retired one after another. In the big tent, only Wei Junmo and King Ning were left to confront each other. King Ning's guards were very worried about this, but they had to reluctantly follow out under King Ning's impatient wave.

The big tent suddenly fell silent, King Ning sat on the side, raised his eyebrows, and looked at Wei Junmo, who was looking down at the file and completely ignoring his meaning. Wei Junmo didn't care about him, he lowered his head and did his own thing. Although the Youzhou Army has a lot of military affairs, Wei Junmo is used to doing it in Chenzhou, and there is no time for Nangong Mo to share the affairs of Chenzhou. It's just that the more calm and calm he is, the more it makes people feel uncomfortable. Some people, as if they were born to handle everything flawlessly, how can they not make people feel jealous.

King Ning looked at Wei Junmo with his chin for a long time before he spoke: "No wonder the third brother values you so much, compared to those three boys, you are more like the third brother." ”

Wei Junmo glanced up at him, his face was blank. No one who has seen him and King Yan will think that they look alike, right? King Ning has a problem with his eyes.

Wei Junmo's appearance is very similar to Princess Changping, if he looks like this as an ordinary person, it will really be a boy and a girl. But Wei Junmo is tall, the water chestnut is distinct, and the most important thing is that the momentum is too strong, and his expressionless appearance all the year round makes people unable to think of words like stunning and beautiful when they see his appearance at first glance. The first reaction can only be fear, surrender.

And Yan Wang is more in line with the standard of handsome men in people's impressions. Heroic and domineering, graceful and dignified, and his gestures are all a king's demeanor.

King Ning shook his head and said, "This king never makes a mistake when he looks at people, and you also know that what this king says is not what he looks like." "It's not even a temperament, it's just a feeling.

Wei Junmo stared at King Ning and said coldly, "You did it on purpose just now. ”

King Ning looked at him with a smile and generously admitted, "Ah, this king did it on purpose, how about it?" ”

"You want to make the people of the Youzhou Army jealous of me, what good will it do you?" Seeing that King Ning smiled and wanted to speak, Wei Junmo said coldly and boldly: "Don't tell me that you think it's funny." "King Ning is indeed afraid that the world will not be chaotic, but as a vassal king, he is actually very measured, and he will definitely not mess around on major matters. The Youzhou army was afraid of Wei Junmo, and it was not good for King Ning. Unless King Ning wants to replace Wei Junmo into the core of the Youzhou Army, but this is almost impossible. Will King Yan rest assured that a half-brother who also has a heavy army in his hands will get involved in his Youzhou army?

King Ning looked at Wei Junmo and sighed a little helplessly. There was a little more solemnity in his expression, "No way, since this king has already made up his mind to enter the game, he naturally has to think about it for the future." Moreover, this king didn't plan to make the people of the Youzhou Army jealous of you, hehe... At most, the three brothers of the Xiao family just have some ideas. ”

King Ning was moved by Wei Junmo to form an alliance with the Youzhou army, and he also named Wei Junmo to agree to his own conditions before agreeing to send troops. So presumably many people can't help but have a question in their hearts: King Ning, is it an alliance with the Youzhou Army, or with the Chenzhou Army, that is, Wei Gongzi?

This is the case with the human heart, not only those of the non-own race, but also those of the other race. Even if it is in the same camp, sometimes it is necessary to divide the Chenzhou Army or the Youzhou Army, and the Youzhou Army must be divided under the command of General Chen or General Xue, etc., the so-called where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and there are disputes.

Looking at Wei Junmo's unkind expression, King Ning hurriedly said, "This king is also a good intention." With the importance that my third brother attaches to you, those three boys will definitely try their best to win you over in the future. Now this king will help you choose which one is suitable, so as not to give you a headache in the future, don't you thank this king? ”

Wei Junmo sneered, "Doesn't King Ning know why Uncle Ning handed over the affairs of the generals to me?" ”

King Ning blinked, his face was innocent, "This king really doesn't know, is there anything interesting that this king doesn't know?" Wei Junmo squinted slightly, looking at him with a smug expression of "what can you do to me", his eyes were slightly dark. Wei Junmo snorted lightly, no longer bothered with him, and just asked, "Taining Wei will be able to arrive in a few days." ”

The look on King Ning's face was also shocked, and he thought for a moment and said, "I will arrive within two days." ”

Wei Junmo nodded with satisfaction, "Very good, then... It's time for us to prepare, too. "Although King Ning is very bad, most of the time it is still very useful. For example, Tai Ningwei, who has hundreds of thousands of elite divisions in his hands, Wei Gongzi feels that for these reasons, he can ignore King Ning's difficulties for the time being.

King Ning looked at him, and his young face was indeed extremely rare Yan Sù, "To be honest, this king was taken aback when I saw your plan just now. Then... Can you predict the current situation? Wei Junmo raised his eyebrows and said, "Even if it's not the same as now, it won't be too far behind." Since the uncle can fall into the encirclement, it proves that the other party must be ready to make a move. Even if not... I'd rather think he had. Since it is impossible to break free from these shackles and difficulties from the inside, it is natural that we can only find a way from the outside. ”

King Ning raised his eyebrows, "What if this king still doesn't agree to send troops?" ”

Wei Junmo looked at King Ning quietly for a long time before saying, "You won't want to know." ”

"What do you mean?"

Wei Junmo shook his head and stopped talking. King Ning didn't get angry when he couldn't ask, he just snorted lightly and said, "Okay, since you are so confident, this king will come and take a look... Will your plan come true this time? ”

Jinling Imperial City

In the imperial study, looking at the excerpt in front of him, Xiao Qianye finally had a little more smile on his face. Obviously, he was in a good mood, and even the news that he had just discovered that a small number of Chenzhou troops had passed through the Li River did not affect Xiao Qianye's mood. Looking at the fold in front of him with a smile, Xiao Qianye breathed a long sigh of relief. On Peng Cheng and Yundu's side, Nangong Huai and Shao Zhong have already been able to gain the upper hand, as long as this plan is successful, defeating the Yan army is just around the corner.

"陛xià." Zhou Xiang came in tremblingly and bowed down to Xiao Qianye. For more than two years, Zhou Xiang, who was already over 70 years old, has aged a lot. In the past two years, the war has not stopped, and Zhou Xiang and Han Min have also worried about Xiao Qianye. Xiao Qianye was young and could withstand it, but Zhou Xiang and Han Min were old. When the news of the defeat in the Battle of Yingchuan came before, Han Min fell ill. Many things also overwhelmed Zhou Xiang's body, and it also made him even harder. Although Zhou Xiang and Han Min have also had some discord in recent years, but now that the old man is suddenly sick, he is also in a hurry and tired.

Xiao Qianye hurriedly said: "Mr. Zhou is exempt from courtesy, didn't I say it, Mr. is old, and these false gifts can be waived." Sir, sit down and talk. "No matter what Xiao Qianye's character is, but for the few old ministers around him who have taught him since childhood and now assist him, he really respects them.

"Etiquette should not be abolished." Zhou Xiang thanked him and got up. Looking at Xiao Qianye's expression, Zhou Xiang asked, "Looking at His Majesty's appearance, it seems like there is a happy event?" ”

Xiao Qianye nodded and said, "I just received the news that King Ning has formed an alliance with King Yan. "It is said that it is an alliance, it is better to say that King Ning has attached himself to King Yan. After all, there can only be one winner in the end.

Zhou Xiang frowned, "Oh? This is not good news. "The alliance between King Yan's Ening Bay is not only not good news, but also great bad news.

Xiao Qianye smiled and sighed slightly. It is indeed not good news for Ning Wang and Yan Wang to join forces, but... After all, it's not the worst news," Sir, rest assured, it will take at least ten days for Tai Ningwei to feel Pengcheng, and I have already sent a message to Nangong Huai, ordering him to send troops to intercept him halfway. And... Since Wei Junmo and King Yan have both focused their attention on Pengcheng, our previous plan ......"

Zhou Xiang thought about it, and couldn't help but nod and smile: "Your Majesty is right, it's the old minister who is too worried." As long as the west wins, then transfer the troops and horses to join Nangong Huai, and the million-strong army will encircle Yanyi. By the time Tai Ningwei arrived, the dust had already fallen. King Ning is a smart man, and if King Yan is defeated, he will never fight with us again. ”

Xiao Qianye nodded, "Mr. Zhou is right. In the past two years, our army's successive defeats and retreats have caused turmoil in the government and the opposition. Just look at this once. Speaking of which, this time Wei Junmo did give us a chance. If he hadn't led his troops to leave Chenzhou, he would have asked Shang Rong to lead troops to support Yingchuan. Ha ha... There are only some literati left in Chenzhou who can't fight at all, and Nangong Hui is a straw bale! ”

Zhou Xiang shook his head and said: "If Wei Junmo doesn't leave Chenzhou, Yingchuan has already been taken by us, and this time King Yan is afraid that he will not be able to get off the line." So ......"

Therefore, Wei Junmo is really their nemesis. After two years of hard work, if it weren't for Wei Junmo, the plague god, the Youzhou army on both sides would have been defeated, maybe King Yan would have been taken down by them a long time ago. At that time, there will only be Princess Yan who is far away in Youzhou and Zhu Hong, who is guarding the border pass, what big waves can the Yan Mansion make?

When Zhou Xiang said this, Xiao Qianye suddenly felt that he was not happy. Thinking about that piece of life about Wei Junmo again, I can't help but grit my teeth, is it really his nemesis? !

Zhou Xiang stroked his beard and pondered: "There is one more thing ...... Your Majesty"

Mr. Zhou said. Xiao Qianye said.

Zhou Xiang sighed and said, "If this war can be won, Your Majesty should immediately reduce and reduce the tax on forced labor to reassure the people." ”

Xiao Qianye frowned slightly and said, "Mr. Zhou, is it too early to say this?" "What is the war, except for the soldiers and horses, it is the grain and grass and the army, where does the grain and grass and the military supply come from, isn't it just the tax? After three years of fighting, the treasury has long been empty, if there is no tax, where will the money be used?

Zhou Xiang shook his head, "Your Majesty, do you know how many young people are on the battlefield in this Jiangnan?" ”

Xiao Qianye frowned, and Zhou Xiang sighed: "With the new faction sent to the battlefield this time, the number of conscripts in the past two years alone is two million. "Two hundred people may not be a pain in the bones for the great Great Xia, but now the place they can grasp is actually less than half of the time of the first emperor. And what is the most in Jiangnan? Scholars, wealthy merchants, and powerful people are not allowed to be conscripted. Therefore, military service had to come from among the common people, who were the main force in the fields, and they went to war, and the fields were uncultivated, and the taxes could not be collected.

Xiao Qianye understood what Zhou Xiang wanted to talk about, and said with a little headache: "When the emperor's grandfather expelled the Northern Yuan Dynasty, there was nothing, and the war had been fought for more than ten years, why can't it be supported now after only three or two years?" ”

Zhou Xiang was helpless, "Your Majesty, the people of the Central Plains were enslaved by the Northern Yuan people, and the people were not able to make a living. After a long time, I naturally don't feel bitter, and the expulsion of the Northern Yuan Dynasty has given the people a hope, so there are many followers. Even after more than ten years of fighting, the people were willing to give their own food to the first emperor. In order to live a peaceful life one day. But... What are we now? "in the same room? Uncle and nephew fighting? Either one will never be able to arouse much support and sympathy from the people. Even because the founding of Great Xia has been in place for too long, many people don't even have the concept of orthodoxy in their hearts. Anyway, they are all surnamed Xiao, and they are all descendants of the first emperor. Whoever makes their lives better, they follow whomever they want.

Xiao Qianye was silent for a moment and said, "We can't support it, will Yanwang Mansion be easier than us?" In the past two years, the soldiers and horses sent to the battlefield by King Yan should have exceeded one million, right? "The north is more sparsely populated than the south of the Yangtze River. Zhou Xiang sighed in his heart, King Yan was really much easier than them. At least, King Yan doesn't need to maintain a huge system of court officials, and even King Yan has not even rewarded his generals and staff with decent official positions until now. Of course, this is to show the people of the world, showing that his cavalry is not for the throne, and naturally he has no right to canonize officials himself. But in the same way, King Yan doesn't need to give his generals and high-ranking officials any good fortune, as well as the families of those officials. And King Yan didn't need to worry that these people would turn their backs on him because of this, because everyone knew that the real glory and wealth were in the future.

Again, King Yan doesn't need to raise that large group of royal relatives. The descendants of the first emperor were prosperous, and everyone who was crowned a king and a marquis even if you cut the domain, you still have to give the royal family a large amount of money every year. Combined, these expenditures are enough to raise another army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

"As far as Lao Chen knows, in the past two years... All the places under the command of King Yan have never been endowed. Zhou Xiang said in a deep voice.

Xiao Qianye was stunned, "How is it possible?" "Even if they are located in a wealthy place in the south of the Yangtze River, they have actually increased a lot of taxes in the past two years. Although the first emperor worked diligently for more than 20 years, Great Xia was already in ruins, and the treasury was never sufficient. Zhou Xiang smiled bitterly: "The old minister doesn't dare to deceive His Majesty. "As for how King Yan managed to support the army for several years of continuous combat without adding taxes, it is actually very simple. The first is to feed the war with war. Although the cavalry of the Yan army may not be comparable to the Northern Yuan, it is definitely much stronger than the cavalry of the imperial court. It's also easy to grab a few grains and grass when you have the opportunity. The second is to sell grain from the south and southwest, and send it to the north as a transit point through Guò Chenzhou. Although the imperial court has long forbidden the transportation and sale of grain to the north, there are always some people who are bold enough to admit money and not people. Even if the south can't buy grain, the Mianzhou generation where King Kang is located was known as the country of abundance in ancient times. The relationship between King Kang and King Yan is good, and the relationship between Prince Kang and Wei Junmo is even better, and it is definitely much easier for Yan Jun to buy grain in Mianzhou than for the imperial court to ask King Kang to buy it.

"Where did King Yan get so much money?" Xiao Qianye gritted his teeth and said.

Zhou Xiang was stunned, he really hadn't thought about this problem. I just feel that King Yan has the confidence to rebel, and he has ruled Youzhou for many years, and he is definitely not short of money. But... Youzhou is barren, even if King Yan can collect it again, where can he get so much money?

Xiao Qianye may never know the answer to this question. After all, everyone who made a fortune at the beginning adhered to the idea of making a fortune in a muffled voice, and never considered revealing the news of their fortune to outsiders. Of course, King Yan doesn't have that much money, His Royal Highness King Yan has... A large stack of IOUs in the study of Wei Gongzi and Nangong Mo in Chenzhou Mansion.

Xiao Qianye waved his hand a little bored: "That's it, let's not talk about this first." I'll have to wait until this is over. Can the grain and grass that Yundu wants over there be delivered? Speaking of this, Xiao Qianye was also full of anger, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses actually let people take no more than tens of thousands of horses to rob and burn the grain and grass. That's the grain and grass of an army of 400,000, which is simply a disadvantage.

Zhou Xiang nodded and said, "The grain and grass should have been delivered." Just 陛xià... The treasury is already there, and next month's grain and grass are only ......"

Xiao Qianye was silent, "What can Mr. Zhou do?" ”

Zhou Xiang said: "For a while, the court is afraid that it will not be able to squeeze out money, so it can only think of other methods." ”

"Please sir."

Zhou Xiang lowered his eyes and said: "There are many powerful and wealthy businessmen in Jinling, and now that the family and country are in trouble, they must be generous." ”

"This..."Xiao Qianye hesitated, he hadn't dealt with those families in the past few years, not to mention the cunning and slippery, he didn't let his own interests be involved. Trying to get money out of their mouths is obviously a pipe dream.

Zhou Xiang sighed and said: "Your Majesty, we can't add any more, not to mention that even if we add it, we can't put it away for a while." Now that the court is worried about internal and external troubles, those people are still singing and dancing, and their thoughts cannot be guessed. Whether it is the reign of His Majesty or in case of King Yan... They are all glorious and wealthy, so why bother with the court? At this time, if you can't identify those people who are willing to respect Your Majesty, I'm afraid... Someday, if a real soldier comes to the city, these people will be the ones who will open the door to meet the enemy. ”

Xiao Qianye's expression was slightly gloomy, he had thought about what Zhou Xiang said. It's just that these powerful families are intertwined and the relationship is too complicated. Now that he is confronting King Yan, he really doesn't want to provoke these people anymore. After thinking about it, he had to say: "Let's wait for the matter in Chenzhou to settle down." Presumably, there should be results in these two days. ”

Seeing him like this, Zhou Xiang could only shake his head helplessly and no longer persuade him. Those powerful people in the family are clearly the idea of discounting the grass on the wall. If His Majesty doesn't curb it, I'm afraid that one day I will suffer from it.

Seeing off Zhou Xiang, Xiao Qianye was also a little tired and leaned on the dragon chair to close his eyes and recuperate. After a while, I couldn't help but open the fold and look at it carefully, while thinking about whether there were any loopholes. It wasn't until I was sure that all the plans were perfect, and I was secretly relieved. He was tired for the past two years, but he had to continue. He is the successor to the throne personally designated by the emperor's grandfather, how could he lose to King Yan, who raised an army?

Last time, King Yan escaped death, this time... This time, it must be successful.

Outside the door, the Queen Mother followed the gate she was looking at and saw her tired son sitting on the throne inside. A trace of helplessness and distress flashed in his eyes, and he shook his head and turned around to leave.

"Mother." The eunuch who followed the Queen Mother said in a low voice: "Didn't the Queen Mother come to visit Her Majesty?" Why don't you go in? ”

"When did Your Majesty rest last night?" The Queen Mother asked.

The eunuch said respectfully: "Back to Niangniang, Your Majesty didn't go to bed until almost four watches yesterday." ”

The Queen Mother sighed and said, "Your Majesty is very tired. Why bother him with these trivial things? Let him rest well. ”

"It's still the Queen Mother who feels the most distressed about Your Majesty." The chamberlain eunuch complimented.

The Queen Mother shook her head, who is distressed if she doesn't feel sorry for her son? Seeing his appearance, she only hated herself for being incompetent and not teaching her son to be better and more outstanding in the first place, so that he worked so hard and helpless in this position. But what can she do?

"It's fate." Looking up at the narrow sky above the palace, the Queen Mother sighed softly. Now that you are in this position, you can only bear it no matter what happens in the future. The first emperor is gone, the prince is gone, and now she is the only one who can accompany Qianye, a mother who can't do anything.

Holding the hand of the palace maid, the queen mother strolled in the direction of the harem. is not yet fifty years old, but the back of the gorgeous phoenix robe is already a little more old and sad.

------Off topic------

Recently, the weather has been too strange, I can't sleep at night when it's hot, and I wake up in the morning. It was still sunny in the morning, and it rained when I went out to buy something. So I have been hovering in the pain of recovering from a cold. Tears run~ Everyone should pay attention to your body, summer is coming, especially don't suffer from heat stroke. Momda

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