"People can talk about friendship between people, and only talk about transactions between countries!"

—— "Qianyuan Strange Chronicles: Yan Zhaolie Benji"

The late autumn sun spreads the afterglow down, flows in the Zimu River, rippling towards the distant East China Sea, and the faint smell of rice fragrance in the air renders the autumn harvest here warm and festive.

The busyness in the rice fields is coming to an end, the men carefully carry the loaded grain onto the ox cart, and the women carefully search the fields again, and the busy people enjoy the rare leisure at this moment, and they are thinking about how much grain they can keep after paying taxes this year, and how much grain they should take to exchange for some coins, so that they can buy New Year's goods for the New Year, and their simple faces are filled with the joy of satisfaction.

Laughter rippled as far as the horizon could see, and a knight in full armor rose to the edge of the sky as if he were on the stage, and the knight on the horse rode around the same place for several laps, and then stood in place like a statue.

The slow autumn wind, the slightly withered grass, time froze, about a few breaths later, a ray of cold light quietly flashed, it was the knight slowly pulled out the saber, the blade was aggressive, the cold light was overwhelming, the blade pointed, it was the crowd still laughing in the distance, a hideous evil smile was like a wolf projected in the sky, and the bloodthirsty eyes were eager to kill and devour.

As soon as the horse rushed forward, the torrent hidden behind the curtain immediately poured down, ten, hundred, thousands, surging towards those who had been shrouded in fear, the iron hooves shook the heavens and the earth, and in just a moment it swallowed everything up in a wail, and the originally peaceful fragrance of rice was wrapped in a thick bloody atmosphere.

"The left capital is unified, the periphery is cleaned up, and not even a mouse has been missed."

A general walked from the side, hugged his fists and said to the general in front of him in gorgeous armor, this general's name is Chanados, and he is a general under the command of King Humeng.

Humeng from the Khan, set up the left and right Xianwang, twelve chiefs, a total of fifteen tribes, under the jurisdiction of many small tribes, the Khan's account under the left and right overseers, the Xianwang account under the left and right capital, the leader account under the left and right capital, and since ancient times, the left and right are respected, the right is second, as the vanguard of the right Xianwang Department of the south, Chanados is deeply valued by the right Xianwang.

Chanados shook the blade in his hand, skillfully returned the knife into the sheath, restrained the cold light in his hand, and ignored the dazzling blood stains on the ground, Gu Bo's unshocked face showed the quality of a commander, Chanados felt that under such careful deployment, if even these unarmed people could escape, then this army would be embarrassed, let alone against the elite Central Army of Jinguo.

The adjutant general obviously didn't figure out these psychological activities of his immediate boss, and still asked for merit in high spirits: "Dutong, what to do with those prisoners?" ”

After finishing speaking, the adjutant suddenly realized that he had made a big mistake, and hurriedly added loudly: "Left...... Zuo Dutong, what to do with those captives? ”

As a lieutenant who followed Chanados, he knew very well the temperament of his top boss, because Chanados had always been at odds with another commander under the command of the Right Sage King, that is, Samoyed, the Right Capital, so he hated that others called him "Dutong", which was equivalent to comparing him with the Right Capital, and in the concept of respecting the left, Chanados preferred others to call him "Zuo Dutong" to show that he had a higher status than Samoyed.

Chanados frowned imperceptibly, but he didn't get angry, just said lightly: "I'm not here to fight the autumn wind this time. ”

The adjutant general was slightly stunned when he heard this, and understood what Chanados meant, although he was not qualified to know the military plans of his superiors with his current position, but from the pre-war preparations and the scale of the troops dispatched for this military operation, it can be known that the intention of the high-level leaders must not be as simple as restoring the plundering of the border fortress in the past, so these prisoners staying behind will only slow down the speed of the march.

Looking up at the people of Jinguo who were gathered to watch not far away, he couldn't help but feel related for a while, and beckoned the soldiers around him and ordered:

"The captives, men and women, were executed on the spot, and the carts were drawn with oxen and grain for the army."

"Yes!"

"And ...... Try to be as smart as possible when you do it, and find a place to bury it when you're done. ”

The adjutant general couldn't help but add, in his opinion, at least this would make those innocent people suffer less before they died.

……

Jin established the country for more than 30 years, absorbing most of the remaining institutions of the Yan Empire, still built the capital Yanjing, but changed Yanjing to Jindu, after two generations of imperial governance, the country has basically recovered from the turmoil of the year, the contemporary ruler Jin Wen Emperor Jin Yan since the age of 21 since the accession to the throne, after seven years, rest, heavy production, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the national strength is getting stronger.

Compared with the noisy and noisy palace Taihe Hall in the past, this morning's court meeting seemed quiet and empty, an eight-hundred-mile urgent document from the northern border was quietly lying on the table of Jin Yan at this time, Jin Yan slowly walked down the steps, his face was not shocked or angry, as if nothing had happened.

"Let's talk about it, I've just circulated it all over again, I don't blame anyone now, but I have to come up with a way for me, how to deal with Hu Meng's southward movement this time?"

Due to the secret contract between the ancestors of the Jin family and Hu Meng, the high-level of Jin State has always lacked the vigilance and attention that Hu Meng should have, whether it is the military department in charge of military affairs or the high-level of the Weiwei Department responsible for intelligence collection, most of the forces are concentrated in Jing State.

Humeng's failure to invade the south has been a consensus reached by the people of Jinguo for decades.

This consensus is like the sudden bursting of the ice that was thought to be solid, and the people walking on the ice are mercilessly swallowed into the icy water, which is bitter and at the same time, it also awakens the defenseless heart.

The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty lowered their heads to their chests desperately, if their necks were long enough, they couldn't wait to hide their faces directly with their two legs, everyone thought that Hu Meng would not invade the south, no one had paid attention to Hu Meng, and if anyone stood up at this time, it would be equivalent to taking the initiative to resist this fault.

Hu Weide, the general and secretary of the military department, looked at the old foxes of the other departments next to him and closed their eyes, and knew that they had to fight this matter by themselves, after all, this matter of using troops was within its own jurisdiction, and it was better to take the initiative than to be named by His Majesty, so he gritted his teeth and stood up and said:

"Your Majesty, Hu Meng's southward journey this time seems to be menacing, but in fact, he is powerless, just to follow the example of the past to fight the autumn wind, as long as General Meng Qi is ordered to strengthen the border garrison, urge the people to carry out the autumn harvest as soon as possible, and at the same time dispatch General Liu of Hanyueguan to lead 50,000 elite soldiers to the north for reinforcements, just in case."

"Hmm" Jin Yan hummed noncommittally, did not say right, did not say wrong, and continued to sweep his eyes over the court.

Hu Weide was slightly stunned, what he said was just based on his previous experience in dealing with Hu Meng's autumn wind, and there was no effective proposal, the emperor just responded, and did not give an evaluation, which made him more and more worried in his heart, but looking at the emperor's appearance, it seems that he has no intention of being held responsible, at least not to let himself resist alone.

"Since you Aiqing can't come up with a good idea for a while, then think slowly in this Taihe Palace, when you come up with it, and then let the inner servant inform me."

Jin Yan slowly walked a few steps to the side door and hurried back to his dragon chair, and the ministers who were "thinking hard" all raised their heads to take a look, only to see Jin Yan quickly pick up another urgent document on the table, and said to the Manchu minister:

"Open your eyes and take a good look, this is the border guard Meng Qi's bloody book, dozens of walled cities have been slaughtered, you and so on...... Can the heart still be at ease? ”

Throw the paperwork down the steps and walk away.

After Jin Yan left the Taihe Palace, he still looked angry, and rushed directly to the residence of the Empress Dowager of Cining Palace, because he was eager to solve the mystery in his heart.

The female officials of Cining Palace were waiting in front of the palace gate early, and when they saw the figure of Emperor Wen hurrying forward, they trotted all the way to greet them:

"The slave maid has seen Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager ordered the slave maid to wait here, and the Empress Dowager told the slave maid that if you see Your Majesty coming, let Your Majesty go to the Imperial Garden Glass Pavilion, where the Empress Dowager is waiting for you."

"Got it!"

Jin Yan didn't ask much when he heard this, because he had long admired this old ancestor so much, since he was a child, no matter what secrets he had, he couldn't escape the old ancestor's fiery eyes, and he was not old.

"The little old lady who is a thief and a thief!" Jin Yan commented on the Empress Dowager in his heart, of course he didn't dare to say it.

The imperial garden of Jindu Palace basically occupies half of the entire palace, was built in the second year of the first emperor of Yan Zhaolie, completed in the tenth year of the emperor of Yan Jingdi, the total area is full of 100 hectares, which is generally divided into five large scenic spots and dozens of small scenic spots, and the glazed pavilion is one of the big scenic spots, and it is also the favorite place of the empress dowager.

Seeing His Majesty coming, the chamberlain just wanted to shout "Your Majesty has arrived", but was stopped by Jin Yan waving his hand, Jin Yan quietly walked to the Empress Dowager's side, and saw that she was listening attentively to the story of "Snow Howling Night" read to her by the imperial sister Jin Yue'er, this story is from "Hidden Clouds and Snow Calendar", but its author is still unknown, and this book has also become a compulsory homework for adventurers who want to go to the Hidden Clouds and Snow Regions to adventure.

Jin Yue'er read the story carefully, inadvertently caught a glimpse of Jin Yan, and was slightly stunned.

"The tricksters are here, come and sit, sit next to grandmother." The emperor's reading let the old man know that someone was coming, and the sentence "troublemaker" made Jin Yan cry and laugh, this is the nickname she gave him when Jin Yan was a child, and then she can never take it off again, but Jin Guo dares to call herself like this and now there is only this little old lady.

Jin Yan came behind the Empress Dowager, put her hands on her shoulders and gently kneaded them:

"Grandson greets grandmother, why is grandmother so interested in sitting here today? It's late autumn now, and the weather is getting cooler, so my grandmother should pay more attention to keeping warm. ”

"Ouch, look at this mouth, it's the same as smearing honey, a few days ago it rained in autumn, and it was rare to see such a good weather today, so I came out and walked around, always staying in the house and bored, just today the naughty ghost also came to see me, so I pulled her to sit here."

When Jin Yan heard the word "naughty ghost", she saw Jin Yue'er also looking at herself, and stuck out her tongue in embarrassment, and Jin Yan could only smile helplessly.

"Grandmother, last time Uncle Jin came to the palace to see you, he brought you some excellent purple snail tea, you should still have some there, I'll go get it and let my brother try it too."

After chatting for a while, Jin Yue'er felt that her younger brother had something important to discuss with her grandmother, so she got up and went to Cining Palace.

The old lady took a sip of the water glass and quipped:

"I still love your brother so much, I don't even want to accompany my grandmother, let's talk about you."

Jin Yan listened to her grandmother start to talk about business, and sat down next to her with a serious expression and said:

"Presumably, my grandmother also knew about Humeng's southern invasion, because of the contract between my grandfather and Humeng, the whole Jinguo never took the matter of guarding against Humeng to heart, but this time Humeng went south, and it was menacing, according to what the border guard Meng Qi said before he was martyred, I am afraid that Humeng is not as simple as fighting the autumn wind."

"These are all issues that you and those ministers have to consider, I don't want to and can't get involved, you came to me because you want to know what kind of contract your grandfather made with Hu Meng back then, right?"

Jin Yan didn't expect the old lady to be so direct, so she stopped going around the corner: "Yes"

"There is no such thing as a contract at all" The old lady spread her hands and continued: "The reason why Hu Meng has not taken a step south for more than 30 years is entirely because of that woman's ......"

"The woman? Who is it? ”

"If you want to listen, just listen quietly to me." The old lady glared at Jin Yan, angry that he interrupted her words, but she continued: "Her name is Yan Changfeng, the eldest daughter of Emperor Yan Zhi, and the younger sister of Emperor Jin. ”

"Alas...!" The old lady sighed lightly, her eyes flashed with resentment, but more admiration, and said quietly: "Presumably she has gone now, almost everything your grandfather has done since he ascended the throne is for her......"