The cold wind swept through the vast grasslands and cruined through the mountains, then galloped between the valleys like highways, and swept towards the crumbling walls with a sharp whistling sound, and continued to sweep south.

Dong Chao on the city wall has always been full of doubts, the sixteen states of Yanyun have now been taken by Ye Qing, but Ye Qing was only happy for less than two days, and after arriving in Danzhou, he regained his calm again, and even returned to the tension of wartime.

"Do you really need to save Yan Jing? Wouldn't it be better for them to fight to the death with the Mongols and the Khitan Liao? Dong Chao couldn't help but ask the doubts in his heart.

Ye Qing came to Danzhou now, not to check the garrison of Danzhou, but to be able to enter Xijing Road from now on and rescue Yan Jing at the necessary moment.

This naturally made Dong Chao a little puzzled why at this time, Ye Qing suddenly launched a kindness to the Jin people.

"It's not to save Yan Jing, but to ...... Keep the Wujing Road from being occupied by the Mongols. Ye Qing faced the cold wind, continued to look at the green mountains, stepping into the barren mountains in front of him was only forty or fifty miles away, he could reach the vast grassland, and he could stab Temujin's flank.

Although it will not kill Temujin, it can at least cause great damage to Temujin, and even restrain Temujin's attack on gold.

"We can't afford to fight anymore now, so we can only rely on the current Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures to consolidate our gains. But...... Is it really not necessary to have the territory of Wujing Road? Ye Qing turned his head to look at Dong Chao, and the smile on the corner of his mouth was easy-going: "Wujing Road and the entire grassland, so that I want all the territories that stop in the Tianshan Mountains, but now we can eat?" ”

Dong Chao instantly lowered his head a little helplessly, as long as he thought about the territory of Wujing Road in his mind, and thought about the boundless prairie, Dong Chao had the urge to retreat, which was simply too difficult for him.

Whether it is the Han or the Tang Dynasty, for the vast grassland outside the Guan, it is not long to be able to implement effective actual control, and it is even fleeting.

The herdsmen on the grassland are fierce and difficult to control by nature, coupled with their habit of living by water, it is not easy to completely seize and control the vast grassland, and Dong Chao has almost no hope of controlling the people in the Central Plains with the city as the main body.

But he also has to admire Ye Qing's ambition, he has been steady and steady step by step over the years, and has achieved a height that no one in the Song Dynasty can reach, but now he is still not satisfied with these brilliant feats that have been trampled under his feet now.

"Don't you think it's impossible?" Ye Qing asked with a smile.

Dong Chao patted the cold city wall with his hands a little helplessly, and sighed: "For thousands of years, it is extremely rare for the vast grassland to be ruled by one person. Now Temujin has done just that, and ...... The Central Plains Dynasty, regardless of the Han and Tang dynasties, was only in the Tang Taizong period, which was regarded as making the grassland herdsmen bow down to their vassals, but ...... It's not quite the same affiliation you want from an adult, right? ”

"Yes, it is obviously an extremely difficult thing to do if you want to include them in all aspects of my Great Song Dynasty's territory, but it doesn't mean that there is really no way." Ye Qing looked up at the clear blue sky and sighed.

Although the Tang Dynasty had actual control over the grassland for a short time, the entire Liaodong was never included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and the current Song Dynasty needless to say, it is difficult to completely own the entire Central Plains, not to mention being able to touch the vast grassland and the entire Liaodong.

But now, Ye Qing saw an opportunity because the Mongols were strong, and this opportunity, after the arrival of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, that kind of silent ambition began to grow in his heart.

Although the Ming Dynasty lost control of the grassland, it inherited the Yuan Dynasty's ownership and control of Tibet, and the entire Liaodong was held in its hands.

In the later period of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Chinese nation fell into unprecedented humiliation, but in the early stage, it was able to firmly control the grassland, Tibet, the Western Regions and other places, thus making the Chinese territory truly complete for nearly a hundred years.

The establishment of the alliance flag system also made the vast grassland get a certain degree of effective stability after being controlled by the rulers.

Of course, Ye Qing also knew that there were naturally other objective factors, but if he stood in the era of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, he had to say that under the conditions at that time, this system had its effectiveness.

The Mongols will conquer Tibet in history, so that Tubo will be officially included in the territory of the Chinese nation, Ye Qing does not know how the Mongols did it, but Ye Qing knows that after the Mongols, he should secretly steal this place and negotiate with Tubo according to the agreement of the Mongols.

When Ye Qing began to look farther in Danzhou, the news that the sixteen states of Yanyun, which had been dreamed of by the Song court for many years, were recaptured by Ye Qing finally reached Lin'an.

After the Shangyuan Festival, Lin'an, which was originally a little dull, suddenly ushered in a more lively atmosphere than the Yuan Day and the Shangyuan Festival two months later, even in the court, everyone's face was with a joyful smile, and everyone's waist pole was unconsciously more straight than at the beginning.

Even Shi Miyuan, who had always regarded Ye Qing as a great enemy, unconsciously showed an exciting smile at the corner of his mouth when he heard the news that Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures were recaptured by Ye Qing for the first time, but this smile did not last long on Shi Miyuan's face before slowly dissipating.

Ye Qing's victory over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun was like a shot in the arm to the Song Court, which made the entire Song Court excited by it, while Shi Miyuan had to calm down and analyze the next situation in the court and where he should go next.

There is almost no possibility of peace between him and Ye Qing, the future court will eventually be in the hands of one of him and Ye Qing, and Ye Qing's current brilliant achievements have already made him have a faint situation to look up to, so even if he wants to take the initiative to make peace with Ye Qing, I am afraid that Ye Qing will not agree at this time.

King Qing's hands trembled because of excitement when he returned to Lin'an, and in the imperial study of the Qinzheng Palace, King Qing couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart, and played a more detailed Northern Expedition to Zhao Kuoyu.

Zhao Kuo was a little like he was in a dream, some couldn't believe his ears, some couldn't believe the fact that Ye Qing had created, and he had been told Wei Jing several times in a row, and even told Wei Jing that these pieces must be preserved, this is the proof that the Great Song Dynasty has finally become famous all over the world for so many years, and it is also the great achievement of him as a young king.

"Holy Lord, at this time, it's time for Lord Ye Qingye to return to the court and accept your gift and reward." King Qing's advice suddenly brought Zhao Kuo, who was extremely excited in his heart, back to reality.

Ye Qing won the territory that he wanted most since the founding of the Song Dynasty, such an achievement can be said to be unmatched in the Song Dynasty, and rewarding Ye Qing in this way is not only something that makes Zhao Kuo feel embarrassed, but also a matter of embarrassment

made the Empress Dowager Li Fengniang feel embarrassed.

The power of the envoy of the Beidi Festival is already big enough, and the title of the Duke of Lu is high enough, if you want to give Ye Qing again, then you can only be the king.

But Li Fengniang and Zhao Kuo also had to scruple about Ye Qing after taking the sixteen states of Yanyun, would they suddenly turn their attention to Lin'an? Or is it...... In the future, he will not obey the will of the imperial court at all? Or, with Ye Qing's current merits, is he still willing to be just a Song minister?

Since the beginning of Ye Qing's Northern Expedition, Li Fengniang expected that Ye Qing would win and win, but her most daring vision was that Ye Qing would be able to recover all the territories lost by the imperial court back then, even if she never dreamed that Ye Qing would one day be able to capture the sixteen states of Yanyun.

Ye Qing, who owns the sixteen states of Yanyun, plus the northern land, whether it is the various roads he has operated for many years, or the few roads that have just been recovered, now all the territories added up are no smaller than the territory of the Song Dynasty south of the Yangtze River.

And these territories in the north, whether it is the rule of officials, taxes, imperial examinations, etc., are all headed by Ye Qing, and the imperial court cannot intervene at all, otherwise, the Kaifeng Mansion will not have moved an inch of land a year after Ye Qing's proposal, and the money and grain allocated by the imperial court were all appropriated by Ye Qing to the Northern Expedition.

Whether it is the court or the saint, even if she is the queen mother, she knows nothing, if it were not for Zhao Kuo sent Li Xinchuan, Xie Shenfu and others to Kaifeng Mansion to investigate, I am afraid that Lin'an is still in the dark until now.

"I still need to think about this matter in the long run, let alone ......." Zhao Kuo looked at Zhao Kai, the emperor who was full of excitement, and after a pause, he still said: "What's more, now that Ye Qing has just recaptured the sixteen states of Yanyun, there must be many trivial matters that he needs to deal with, and if he recalls it immediately, I'm afraid it is not very timely." ”

At this time, Zhao Kuo, because King Qing had nothing to do in Kaifeng Mansion, was already faintly dissatisfied with him, but after all, it was a clan, and Zhao Kuo couldn't do anything about King Qing for a while.

What's more, now that Ye Qing has seized the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, it has made King Qing's dereliction of duty by allowing Ye Qing to embezzle money and grain become a great achievement, which naturally makes Zhao Kuo, and now he wants to ask King Qing, and it is difficult to find a suitable excuse for a while.

Looking at the back of King Qing who retreated, Zhao Kuo sighed helplessly in his heart, even if he only wanted to find a trusted courtier to discuss, Ye Qing's affairs in the northern land could not find a suitable and trustworthy candidate for a while.

King Qing, who had just left, already showed signs of elbowing outward, so naturally he couldn't let Zhao Kuo put his heart into him, and Li Lifang had always been a good candidate, but he had always done a mess in the dispatch of the Hubu Shangshu, and coupled with the relationship with Ye Qing, he was also excluded at this moment.

Liuzheng and Shi Miyuan are also not suitable candidates for Zhao Kuo, Liuzheng is needless to say, he just wants to finish his phase safely, and then retreat, Shi Miyuan is extremely ambitious, and the small actions above the court have been continuous, and even his choice of concubines, it is said that Shi Miyuan is behind the scenes.

After all, Zhao Kuo has been on the throne for two years, but if he wants to find a courtier above the court who is truly loyal to him personally, and can be selfless, only for the sake of the court, he can't find one.

Empress Dowager Li Fengniang is the ideal candidate for Zhao Kuo, but Zhao Kuo is fifteen years old after all, and like other ordinary teenagers in this regard, he has already wanted to break away from the protection of Empress Dowager Li Fengniang to prove that he has grown up.

So after the figure of the Queen Mother Li Fengniang appeared in his mind at the right time, Zhao Kuo shook his head again and excluded Li Fengniang.

Since he ascended the throne, Zhao Kuo has been able to confide with him, and there are only Han Yanjia's daughter Han Ying and Xie Shenfu's granddaughter Xie Daoqing.

"Perhaps...... You can ask Aunt Zhu Ye'er what she means first. Zhao Kuo rubbed his chin in his hand, and muttered with a sudden light in front of him.

In the end, Zhao Kuo did not choose to summon Zhu Ye'er in the Qinzheng Palace, but chose to be under Feilai Peak not far from Xiaoxi Lake, and now the weather in Lin'an has begun to become a little hot, and Zhao Kuo didn't want to ask what he wanted to ask, so Zhu Ye'er felt too serious, so he finally chose to see Zhu Ye'er in the pavilion in front of Feilai Peak.

When Zhao Kuo arrived at Feilai Peak, Zhu Ye'er was already waiting for him here, as usual, it was no different, even if Zhao Kuo had told Zhu Ye'er many times, her aunt didn't have to be so polite in private, but Zhu Ye'er has always done her own thing, and she has always handled her status as a slave just right, and she will never exceed her identity in terms of etiquette.

"Auntie, please get up." Zhao Kuo hurriedly took two steps forward, and with a smile on his face, he kindly picked up the bamboo leaves.

"The Holy One is ...... Want to get out of the palace? Zhu Ye'er asked actively.

In these days, every time Zhao Kuo secretly went out of the palace, he would inform Zhu Ye'er in advance, so as to escape being discovered by the Empress Dowager Li Fengniang, and Zhu Ye'er also followed Zhao Kuo's request and did her best to hide his private exit from the palace, which made the relationship between Zhao Kuo and Han Ying more and more enthusiastic.

And Zhu Ye'er, the aunt, also went to the Han Mansion as soon as Han Yanjia returned to Lin'an from Kaifeng, and explained her intention straightforwardly.

Although Han Yanjia did not agree immediately, at least he did not refuse, in Zhu Ye'er's opinion, Han Yanjia was obviously wondering whether the matter of asking Han Ying to enter the palace was directly related to his trip to Kaifeng Mansion.

Because of Ye Qing's misappropriation of money and grain from the imperial court in Kaifeng Mansion, not an inch of land in Kaifeng Mansion has been moved, and Xie Shenfu and Li Xinchuan have been impeaching Ye Qing continuously after returning to Lin'an, which also made Zhao Kuo's wishful thinking of using Han Yanjia to go to Kaifeng Mansion to promote Han Yanjia fail.

Although Zhao Kuo has not yet held Ye Qing responsible, he naturally cannot blame Han Yanjia, Xie Shenfu, and Li Xinchuan, but this also makes Zhao Kuo forced by the pressure of the court and has no sufficient reason to promote Han Yanjia.

Zhao Kuo looked at the bamboo leaves with concern in his eyes, shook his head with a smile, looked at the sparkling lake not far away, and asked tentatively after thinking for a while: "Auntie, do you know that Ye Qing is now fighting with the Jin people in the northland, and has captured the sixteen states of Yanyun?" ”

Zhu Ye'er smiled and said, "The slave already knows about this, and ...... The queen mother also ordered someone to give Ye Qing ...... early this morning. ”

"Armor?" Zhao Kuo's heart shook slightly.

Zhu Ye'er continued to explain: "The empress dowager personally sewed the inner lining, and in addition to the armor, it was the empress dowager herself who wrote the words of Emperor Taizu's evaluation of the Tang dynasty Guo Ziyi: Tang Lijing and Guo Ziyi were all Confucian scholars and made great contributions. In addition to Emperor Taizu's words, there are also the words of Zhao Pu, the Duke of Wei, who commented on Guo Ziyi: Refuse to take prisoners and give three wonderful strategies, and Anbang is only one loyalty. The country recreates only the power of Qingqing, and the image is pampered. ”

"Mother

I'm afraid that the latter move has a lot of meaning, right? Zhao Kuo felt some irrepressible joy in his heart, and he couldn't imagine that the queen mother had already comforted and warned Ye Qing for herself without knowing it.

"The Empress Dowager hopes that Lord Ye Qingye will abandon martial arts and follow literature, and the saint is still young now, so there should be a virtuous minister like Ye Qing who governs the country and the country to assist him. Therefore, the slave maid thought, the reason why the queen mother gave Ye Qing armor is probably this intention. Zhu Ye'er said with a smile.

Zhao Kuo, who was still a little apprehensive in his heart, finally calmed down completely at this time, once Ye Qing had no military power in his hands, then the threat to himself would be much smaller, and if Ye Qing could listen to what the queen mother said, and abandon Wu Congwen's words, then staying by his side would naturally be able to make everyone feel at ease, and even at that time, Ye Qing's future would be in his own thoughts.

But will Ye Qing really give up the power that Beidi has accumulated over the years? Zhao Kuo is not sure, Li Fengniang is not sure, and Zhu Ye'er is also unsure, after all, the imperial court has no convincing power at all about Ye Qing's actions since Emperor Gaozong.

"The queen mother gives the armor, so the expansion of the child should be served?" Zhao Kuo looked at Zhu Ye'er with some solicitation.

Zhu Ye'er nodded silently without speaking, she faintly felt in her heart that Ye Qing would never pay attention to these, and even she felt that maybe the entire court or the whole world would be able to see Ye Qing's true face next.

Over the years, Ye Qing has regained lost territory and expanded his territory, and the imperial court has made Ye Qing's heart cold again and again, and he has to seek self-protection under the persecution of the imperial court again and again, and in the face of the royal family, he has been in a passive situation, and now after occupying the sixteen states of Yanyun, it is like finding a solid place for himself to settle down.

If he was asked to give up the other roads in the Northland, Zhu Ye'er thought that Ye Qing might not care, but once it came to the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, I am afraid that things would not be so simple.

Of course, Zhu Ye'er also knew that whether it was the Empress Dowager Li Fengniang or the entire imperial court, it was precisely because the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were held by Ye Qing in his hands, so no matter what Ye Qing was given, it was obviously difficult to impress Ye Qing.

And the only thing that the imperial court can do now, or who is likely to impress Ye Qing, is to pay homage to the king.

But because of all kinds of scruples, the imperial court didn't dare to do so, after all, Ye Qing had been covering the sky with one hand in the north for so many years, and now with the sixteen states of Yanyun in hand, it can be said that he has full wings, and he obviously has the ability to compete in the Central Plains.

In this case, once the imperial court worships Ye Qing as the king, it is equivalent to fueling Ye Qing's ambition to replace the Song court, so now even Li Fengniang does not dare to easily promise Ye Qing anything.

Some things are like this, when they don't happen, they will never feel the seriousness of the situation under all kinds of assumptions, and only when the things really happen and the stakes are imminent, will they find that the situation is so much more serious than they imagined.

Li Fengniang was originally sure that Ye Qing would never rebel, but when the sixteen states of Yanyun were taken by Ye Qing, Li Fengniang's heart was full of uncertainty, after all, she was a woman who was full of extreme desire for power, and if she stood in Ye Qing's point of view, in the current situation, even she felt that if Ye Qing did not create a rebellion against the Great Song Dynasty, it would be a little unreasonable.

Zhu Ye'er, who returned to Cining Palace, didn't wait to tell Li Fengniang about the conversation with Zhao Kuo, Li Fengniang couldn't wait to ask, "What did the saint say?" ”

Zhu Ye'er told Li Fengniang that Zhao Kuo was going to start subduing Ye Qing, and Li Fengniang sighed slightly with some worry.

"How do you think Ye Qing will choose?" Li Fengniang's eyes exuded worry, and the more she considered the problem from the perspective of power, the more frightened Li Fengniang became, and even faintly felt that Ye Qing was now in Yanjing, ready to lead the army south.

"Slave maid...... The slave said no. Zhu Ye'er was a little hesitant, she had been serving Li Fengniang all these years, and she knew almost all the royal secrets, so she bit her lip and pondered for a while before saying: "But the slave maid thinks that it is better not to force Lord Ye to be anxious for the time being, and everything should be followed by him for the time being." After all, there is such a relationship, and I think Lord Ye should go to ....... ”

"It would be nice if Ye Qing were that simple, this person's mind has always been difficult to figure out. Let alone...... The royal ...... for him all these years If he really holds a grudge, if he is really carried away by power, it is not impossible for Jin Ge Iron Horse to change his life for half his life and against the sky. Li Fengniang said worriedly.

is now a half-old, and she has become less confident in her appearance, not to mention Ye Qing's several wives, which one is not as beautiful as a flower, in comparison, the matter between her Li Fengniang and Ye Qing has become a little insignificant.

Thinking of this, Li Fengniang even had some faint remorse in her heart, maybe she shouldn't have entangled with Ye Qing because of revenge, maybe she should have taken advantage of the fact that he was sleeping beside her, and stabbed all the grievances.

"Maybe ......." Zhu Ye'er suddenly looked at Li Fengniang, blinked her eyes, and then counted with her fingers: "The eldest son of Lord Ye of Yangzhou is now thirteen years old, right?" In the royal family, there must be ...... of similar age. ”

"Ye Gucheng?" Li Fengniang naturally knew the names of Ye Qing's three sons and two daughters clearly: "No, they are already so old in the blink of an eye, and Ye Wujian is already twelve years old that time, but he is just ......." ”

Li Fengniang shook her head, Yangzhou is not without rumors, it is rumored that the two sons of the Ye family have already given the two daughters in the Chongguo Mansion to the inside, although the two families have never talked about the marriage of their children, but who in Yangzhou does not know, the two sons of the Ye Mansion are now equivalent to half of the aunts in the Chongguo Mansion.

"The Queen Mother, you might as well be a favor." Zhu Ye'er looked at the empress dowager's thoughtful expression, and continued: "Settle this matter directly, and then after the marriage of the two families, how about promoting the title of Duke Chongguo?" In this way, presumably Lord Ye Qingye must be able to understand that the reason why Duke Chongguo was promoted to the title is not because of Duke Chongguo himself, but because the Empress Dowager is on the face of Lord Ye, so he will be promoted to Duke Chongguo. ”

"When Shaoxi was in the second year, Ye Qing had four ...... in his thirties." Li Fengniang's expression was a little dazed, even a little incredulous, she looked at Zhu Ye'er and said, "Now Ye Qing has entered the age of not being confused?!" It seems that Hongu is also old. ”

"The Queen Mother is still the same as she was back then, and she has not ...... The Queen Mother does not need to worry. Zhu Ye'er was shocked, and hurriedly comforted her.

"In that case, do as you say, but...... This matter should not be rushed, since it is to give Ye Qing face, then it should be done by Kuo'er. Li Fengniang sighed faintly again, her mind was still entangled, and Ye Qing had already entered the age of not being confused.

(PS: Today's update, I wish you all a happy 520.) ）