The wind swept the land with snowflakes, filling in the ditches and freezing the streams, covering the whole grassland with a thick coat of snow. Even the most diligent herders don't go out in such weather, and the wind and snow can make people lose their way and freeze to death on the snow. This season is only suitable for staying in the tent, drinking mare's milk wine, sipping butter tea, blowing the mustache, and singing and dancing merrily.

In the courtyard of the desert king, the golden roof of the golden tent was painted white by snow, and the guards outside the tent had turned into snow piles, still standing. The maid came with steaming mutton, and the guard in front of the door lifted the curtain, and laughter mixed with the boiling heat rushed to the face. In the big tent, Leman Khan sat in the center, flanked by officials of the royal court and tribal leaders, and Qu Zhidao did not appear in the feast.

The copper plate contains the mutton and is divided into small pieces while the knife is hot, mixed with the burning knife and sent into the stomach, in this season when the water becomes ice, the warmth has been secreting into the heart. Li Man raised the golden cup in his hand and said with a smile: "May the immortal heaven bless the children of the grassland with good luck and prosperity, and do it." ”

Everyone raised their glasses and congratulated in unison: "May the heavens bless you!" May the Great Khan be brave and invincible, and the steppe warriors will dominate the world. ”

After signing a peace treaty with Zheng Guo, the steppe tribe elected Liman as the new Khan, Kunbo led his troops to return to the Balga grassland, and Tizhu handed over the Golden Wolf Army to Liman and moved from the royal court to Shenshan to concentrate on serving the gods, and the royal court was the residence of the Khan king Liman.

With the continuous import of Zheng Guo's food and material resources, Mo Guo quickly regained its vitality, cattle and sheep graze freely, singing over the grassland, Li Man bought a large amount of grain from Zheng Guo and distributed it to various tribes, although the snow is heavy this winter, it is not severe cold for the Mo people, as long as there is food, no matter how big the wind and snow are not afraid. By the following spring, the number of cattle and sheep would be doubled, and there would be many children in the tribe, all of which the Great Khan had fought for for the people.

After the Golden Wolf Army was handed over to Liman, Enhan stepped down as the leader on the grounds that the arrow wound had damaged his arm, and the new leader was Liman's confidant Hertde. Het put down the golden cup and said with a smile: "Great Khan, you will lead us south in the spring next year, Zheng Ren's things are so good, the set of porcelain you rewarded me is whiter than jade, I am reluctant to take it out and use it, for fear of breaking it." ”

"Yes, Zheng Ren's silk is so thin, it's like no clothes on your body, it's slippery. It's a good wine, it's stronger than mare's milk, I like it. Great Khan, give me two more altars. ”

"Noza, you bear goods, if you want anything, just stretch out your hand to Zheng Ren, and ask the Great Khan for what kind of hero."

"Gessel, are you not convinced, do you want us to fall again, you are also not an opponent. Zheng people, hmph, the warriors of my tribe have already prepared bows and arrows, just wait for the Great Khan's order, let's go south to take the north city of Zhen, and fight all the way to the place where Emperor Zheng Ren lives. When the time comes, let's compete again, whose knife cuts off more heads, whose tribe grabs more things. ”

Seeing that there was a chaotic quarrel in the tent, Liman slapped the table heavily, and the quarrel fell silent, and everyone looked at him. Li Man was very satisfied with this state, which showed that he was the king of Khan who was listened to, and in order to unite the leaders of these tribes, he did not spend less money and food.

"Ben Khan has discussed with Mr. Qu, and he doesn't plan to go south next year." As soon as Li Man's words fell, there was a lot of noise in the big tent, and Li Man knocked the golden cup in his hand on the table and shouted: "My words are not finished, what are you arguing about?" Do you want to go south, well, whoever wants to go south to Ben Khan will not stop him. ”

Everyone quieted down, and everyone knew that there was no sweat to send troops, and their tribes went south just to deliver food to the Zheng army in Zhenbei City. Seeing that everyone in the tent was honest, Li Man softened his tone and said: "We just signed a peace treaty with Zheng Guo, and the Zheng people pay us a lot of things every year, if Xingshi goes south, these compensation will probably be gone." ”

The old man in the seat nodded in agreement: "Zheng Jun is not muddy, he almost hit the royal court the year before last, if it weren't for the favor of Immortal Heaven, I'm afraid that even the grazing land would have been taken away by the Zheng people." There are many dead and injured Zheng people, and our tribe also needs to recuperate, and the Great Khan is right, it is better to wait for the children to grow up for a few years. Zheng Ren's things are placed there, and you can go and pick them up whenever you want. ”

Li Man nodded at him with a smile and said, "Captain Zuo Hun Green is right, the peace treaty is beneficial to us for the time being, and we should not rush south to move troops. ”

"But the warriors' knives and arrows can't be left rusty, and next year after the snow melts, I am ready to lead the warriors over Hegao Mountain and recall the sons and daughters in the western part of the grassland back to the royal court." Li Man said in an accentuated voice.

The Hegao Mountains divide the grassland into two, and the eastern grassland is rich in water and grass, which is the seat of the royal court, and most of the tribes live in the east by water and grass. The western steppes were even more barren and were originally exiled places. The eastern grassland is constantly fighting, some small tribes to avoid the disaster of war to cross the Helao Mountain, when the Badai, Sa Man and Naifu three departments want to avoid the disaster of war, hundreds of thousands of people are ready to cross the Hegao Mountain, but they were ambushed by the Zheng army, less than 100,000 people really crossed the Helao Mountain.

However, as long as the days go by, the accumulation of days, and the number of desert people living in the western grasslands has reached 800,000. After receiving the report, Qu Guidao discussed with Li Man to recruit these desert people back, and the royal court could have 200,000 more soldiers and horses at once.

The rugged mountain road and dense canyon of Hegao Mountain are a natural barrier separating the eastern and western grasslands. To travel from the eastern grassland to the western grassland, you have to travel more than 1,300 miles north along the mountain range, wait until the mountain gradually eases, then cross the barrier and go south into the grassland. There are not many water and grass on this way, and if you do not fully prepare food, it is easy to starve to death on the way, so the indifferent people regard it as a daunting way, and they are unwilling to go to the west unless they have to.

Li Man saw the embarrassment on everyone's faces, and said with a smile: "Mr. Qu has already led people to explore the road that can be passed by the army, and he has sent someone to send good news two days ago, he has led people to find a shortcut to the western grassland, and this road only needs to be slightly repaired to allow the army to pass." ”

The atmosphere in the tent immediately became warm, and the Great Khan set up a reward tribe for his military exploits, and the more meritorious deeds he obtained, the more troops, cattle and sheep, and weapons he would get, and if he could merge the tribes of the Western Grassland into his own tribe, the higher his status in the royal court.

…………

Zheng Guo, the imperial capital of Yongchang. The red wall of the green tile is draped in silver, and the cornices and corners are like a halberd pointing straight into the sky.

In the thirtieth year of the Chinese New Year's Eve, the drum music on the stage in front of Shou'an Palace was noisy, and "Shengping Except the Year" was followed by "Fushou Yingnian", which is a traditional play in the palace for the New Year, and the Queen Mother leaned on her side in the chair, holding Shi Shousheng in her arms, and was watching it.

The emperor's grandson Shi Shousheng (six-year-old) was obviously not interested in the "babbling" singing on the stage, and struggled in his grandmother's arms, and the queen mother subconsciously hugged him tighter. Shi Shousheng watched with envy the two cousins (Wei Yunlin and Wei Yunqi) playing with his sister Princess Qingyang, the queen mother never let herself play with Qingyang, and let herself read and write all day long, and died of boredom.

Queen Xiong was sitting in the chair, the smile on her face was stiff, her eyes were empty and she looked at the stage, she didn't listen to what was singing on the stage at all, and her ears paid attention to listening to the jokes between the Son of Heaven and Concubine Cheng Shu opposite. Lian Xi held the prince in her hand, and discussed the singing with the Son of Heaven in a low voice from time to time, occasionally singing a few sentences softly, causing Shi Chongwei to nod and smile.

The next head of Lianxi is Wang Meiren, who has entered the palace in person, her hands are lightly covered on her lower belly, and the imperial doctor has already diagnosed the pulse to determine that she is pregnant with the dragon seed. Wang Meiren glanced at the Queen Mother sitting in the center from time to time, she was just a member of the Wang clan, and the Queen Mother had been several generations away, because of her outstanding appearance was sent to the palace, and the Queen Mother took care of her, naturally different from other show girls, and became a beauty in one fell swoop. The Son of Heaven is quite close to her, and she was pregnant with a dragon after two months of entering the palace, if the prince himself should be able to be named a concubine, the mother is expensive, and the parents and brothers in the family can also follow the wealth for a lifetime.

Wang Meiren glanced at Queen Xiong, the Son of Heaven and the Queen are not close to each other in the palace, everyone in the palace knows that the Son of Heaven has not yet appointed the eldest son as the crown prince, which has made many people think about it, and that Concubine Cheng Shu is not thinking about abolishing the queen. Wang Meiren snorted coldly in her heart, just because this Qinglou woman also thinks about the world of her mother, it is really wishful thinking, although she has changed her surname to Cheng, no one knows her background, even if she is abolished in the future, her successor will be herself. Wang Meiren caressed her stomach, a smug smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and prayed in her heart: Child, you must be angry, if you are a man.

Shi Shousheng struggled hard, and said crisply: "Imperial grandmother, the child will peel grapes for you to eat." "The fruits of Huazhou's tribute are hidden in the ice cellar to keep them fresh, even in the cold winter months, there are fruits in the palace.

The Queen Mother kissed Shi Shousheng, let go of Shi Shousheng in her arms, and said with a smile: "Sheng'er, grandmother doesn't want to eat, take what you want to eat." ”

Shi Shousheng stood up, picked a grape from the plate, peeled the grape skin diligently, and raised the juice to the Queen Mother's mouth, "Grandmother, you eat." ”

The Queen Mother didn't like it, opened her mouth to swallow it, and said: "It's so sweet, Sheng'er is so good, you can take whatever you like." ”

Queen Xiong's eyes had a hint of brightness, and she glanced at the interactive grandchildren with satisfaction, Sheng Er was quite liked by the Queen Mother, and she took the time to advise the Queen Mother, and asked the emperor to set up the prince early, as long as Sheng Er set the position of the prince, she didn't have to worry about those foxes in the palace.

…………

Huazhou Huiye Province, Jiangfu Province.

Chinese New Year's Eve every household celebrates the New Year, the sound of firecrackers is sounding one after another, Jiang Anyi and Xin Fei are sitting opposite each other, the table full of dishes is getting cold, and neither of them is not interested in moving chopsticks. Jiang Anyong and his wife originally wanted to take their children to accompany them for the New Year, but Jiang Anyi persuaded them to go back, An Yong has already married and should celebrate the New Year with his family.

Xin Fei sighed and said, "I don't know how the children are doing, I can't be with them during the New Year, it's not a taste in my heart as a mother." ”

Jiang Anyi comforted: "With Tong'er to take care of it, the children will live faster." Didn't a few children write a few days ago to say that they had bought a lot of artillery and were going to have a good time during the New Year. "Tong'er is lively by nature and likes to have fun with children, and several children like her very much.

Xin Fei smiled slightly, the corners of her mouth were touching, the corners of her eyes suddenly became tidal, and she choked up: "I miss Yi'er and Ting'er." As he spoke, tears poured down his face.

Jiang Anyi raised his sleeves to wipe away his wife's tears, and said: "Next year, I will play a book to the Son of Heaven and let the children come to Huazhou to kiss, if the Son of Heaven refuses, then I will resign and not do it." Madame, don't cry, we haven't played together for a long time, you play the piano and I play Xiao, and spend a good night together. ”