The world is full of fragrant flowers in April, and the peach blossoms in the mountain temple are in full bloom.

The climate varies greatly from region to region. When rice was growing vigorously in the Jianghuai region, most of the farmland in Youzhou had not yet been sown.

At the same time, the cold wind in the north of the country completely receded, the spring rain began to continue in the south of the Yangtze River, and Dali had already bloomed in spring.

Tomorrow is Qingming. Standing on top of the newly built attic, looking down on the entire Tengyue Mansion, Princess Duan Lintian was full of sorrow.

"I've seen the princess." Lu Yiming, who was overworked, panted slightly when he climbed dozens of stairs, "I don't want the princess to be here, it's easy to find the princess." ”

The breeze ruffled the princess's hair. The sun shone on the princess's face, and there was some golden yellow in the pink.

Duan Lintian, who was much thinner, made fun of Lu Yiming a few words, looked at Shan Tian outside the city and said: "Spring and Jingming, I hope there will be a good harvest this year, so that more small people can survive." ”

Lu Yiming bowed, "The princess cares about the small people of Dali country, it is really a blessing for the small people." There is no way to do it on the east bank of the river, but his subordinates will do their best to ensure the harvest west of the river. ”

"I just ran over from the east, oh no, Lord Si Nong, who abandoned the darkness and came to the light, said that this year's spring rain is very sufficient, as long as there are no floods and military disasters in summer, there will be a good harvest on the west bank of the river."

"There are two million people in Dali, and everything is complicated, please take care of the princess. His Majesty and a group of old generals will fully support His Majesty and support the princess. ”

Bounded by the Lancang River, most of the territory of Dali is actually in the east.

To the east of the great river, which is churning all day long, the eldest prince Duan Linjie controls a large area of mountains and valleys north of the national capital, and the second prince Duan Linlie controls a large area of hills and valleys south of the national capital.

The internal contradictions in Dali have been intensifying, and the day of a complete outbreak is getting closer and closer. The two princes, with the support and promotion of the domestic Tusi, local tyrants and scholars, constantly pushed the Dali Kingdom into the abyss of disintegration.

To the west of the river, it's a different story.

After losing the queen, the disheartened King Duan Qirui ran to Tengyue Mansion and completely threw the state politics to Duan Lintian, who was obsessed with medical skills, as well as Lu Yiming and other old ministers.

A large number of farmers, merchants, and craftsmen fled west of the river to avoid the military disaster, and a small number of gentry, local tyrants, and old ministers who had lost their power also defected to the old king with their clansmen.

Lu Yiming took the lead and adopted a series of dazzling decrees, tossing and turning between local forces and foreign forces west of the river, and forcibly making the national government and people's livelihood west of the river prosperous.

The genius of the Lu family who has been precipitated for hundreds of years is really extraordinary, and he is worthy of being a man who shocked the literary world of the Great Zhou Dynasty when he was young.

"It's hard to work for the Prime Minister, but fortunately, there is the Prime Minister." Duan Lintian smiled sweetly, and did not hesitate to praise at all, "Brother Wang and Brother Erwang have sent a letter, and they have also heard that the west of the river is now a royal paradise, and it is thriving." ”

Princess Duan Lintian's expression darkened, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, "But both of them want to get the help of their father and me so that they can overwhelm each other." They are brothers, Prime Minister, you say, whether the eldest brother or the second brother wins, can the Duan family keep the throne? ”

In the place controlled by Duan Linjie, the Gao family is gradually expanding its influence. In the place controlled by Duan Linlie, the Dong family already actually controlled most of the army.

To the east of the river, the situation in the north and south of Dong is beginning to emerge, and the two princes will become puppets at any time.

Lu Yiming shook his head slowly, "Dali has accumulated deep shortcomings, and there is no possibility of resolving the contradictions from within. ”

"If the two princes are both west of the river, the Gao family and the Dong family, who are completely out of control, will definitely unite to defeat the royal family first, and then fight each other."

"If there is only one prince left east of the river, then the Gao family or the Dong family will have a name, and the other family will definitely ask for help from the royal family, but it will form a three-legged situation."

Duan Lintian's participation in national politics has not been a day or two, of course he understands what Lu Yiming meant: even if the two princes don't want to fight for power, Dali Kingdom will fight, maybe it will be even worse.

Duan Lintian thought of something, and said with a happy face: "The Prime Minister just said that Dali has not solved the contradictions from the inside and avoided the possibility of war, is it possible to resolve the crisis from the outside?" ”

Lu Yiming let out a long sigh and said with his hands crossed: "Your Majesty does have a strategy, but it's just ...... His subordinates didn't know how many chances they had to win, so they could only give it a try. ”

Everyone in Dali has entered the game, and what is even more dangerous is that the situation may collapse at any time.

Duan Lintian, who grew up in the palm of her hand, has no specific concept of power, her heart is too soft and she has no ability to harm others. Faced with the situation of her brothers fighting each other and the royal family falling into decline, she just wanted to support herself for a longer time so that she could save her relatives.

If the war is chaotic and the royal family is slaughtered by the next master of Dali, Duan Lintian himself can still survive as a princess of the dead country and marry the children and grandchildren of the victor, but the rest of the Duan family will ......

"Prime Minister please make it clear that even if the hope is small, this princess will try her best." Duan Lintian said eagerly.

Lu Yiming pointed to the north and looked at Duan Lintian stunned.

"The possibility of breaking the game should be on Da Zhou." Seeing that the princess didn't know what to do, Lu Yiming explained his calculations in detail, "The princess must not think that the Great Zhou will be unable to extricate herself from the Fangla Rebellion, and she will not be able to interfere in the situation in Dali. ”

Lu Yiming handed over the latest information reported by the merchants of Dali Kingdom to Duan Lintian.

Duan Lintian's goose egg face was full of question marks, and he took it over to examine it carefully, and he was soon shocked.

"It's terrible, it's hard to imagine that Da Zhou has lost so many battles." Duan Lintian was not only shocked by the national strength of the Great Zhou, but also extremely surprised by some of the "feats" of the Great Zhou.

The authorities are confused, and the bystanders are clear.

Lu Yiming, who was very aware of the shortcomings of the Great Zhou army, blushed, of course he was embarrassed to say that the Great Zhou always lost battles, and almost all of them were the credit of the blind command of literati and doctors.

"Ahem, after all, it is the Celestial Empire, which has more than one million troops, and a tax-heavy place like Jiangnan is in war, and it can mobilize such a huge ......"

"Without Jiangnan, Dazhou still has Gyeonggi Province, without Gyeonggi Province there is Jinghu, and without Jinghu there is Sichuan. The Great Zhou of Wenhua is not comparable to Dali. ”

Lu Yiming had both envy and longing on his face.

Duan Lintian gave full play to her imagination, but she had never been to Da Zhou, and she couldn't imagine how prosperous and rich Da Zhou should be.

The princess shook her head, and the hairpin on her head made a crisp sound, "How to do it, please ask the Prime Minister to explain it carefully." ”

Lu Yiming and Duan Lintian sat opposite each other, and the exquisite snacks and tea sets had already been prepared.

Duan Lintian elegantly poured tea for Lu Yiming.

Lu Yiming was not polite, took the tea, took a sip from time to time, organized the language, and said:

"The Great Zhou is now suffering from internal and external troubles, but only last year, there were Tibetans, Uighurs, and Fang La. My Dali country also took the opportunity to send troops, wanting to attack the north and south with the Fangla army and occupy Lingnan, but the result was ......"

"Several rulers of the Great Zhou must be very embarrassed now, if at this time, I Dali Guojin is a minister. The princess said, what will happen? ”

Duan Lintian replied uncertainly: "Da Zhou's situation is very embarrassing, so he will pay special attention to the submission of Dali Kingdom, because this is a good opportunity to strengthen the orthodox position?" ”

"The princess is really smart and smart." Lu Yiming stroked his palm, "Not only will I pay special attention to it, but it is likely that I will also agree to some requests from my Dali Kingdom, such as expanding the mutual market." ”

"As long as the princess strives for enough benefits for Dali and takes this benefit into her own hands, she should be able to keep my Dali country safe for a few years."

The Great Zhou Dynasty prospered in industry and commerce, and took a great advantage in the border trade with Western Xia, Liao, Dali, Nanyue and other countries. However, border trade is a double-edged sword, these neighbors of the Great Zhou Dynasty are also trying their best to steal the secrets of the Great Zhou Dynasty, smuggle armor and iron weapons, and so on.

The Central Plains society, which was based on Confucianism, had always been unable to completely control the trade of the surrounding countries, so it had to impose regulations on the type and scale of trade. Sometimes, it was the Liao State and other enemy countries that took the initiative to reduce the scale of trade.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had a highly specialized city division, which had been much more open than the previous dynasty, but it was mainly set up for maritime trade. Bilateral trade on land, especially with hostile powers such as the Western Xia, Liao, and Tibetans, remained strictly controlled by the Great Zhou.

The trade between Dali and Dazhou has always been tepid, and has always maintained a stable trade volume.

However, a war last year directly destroyed the century-old tacit understanding between Da Zhou and Dali. The mutual market was closed, the market was closed, and the merchants of Dali were dealt a huge blow.

Lu Yiming and other important ministers of Dali, in order to increase income, raise troops to save the people, and encourage merchants west of the river to communicate with Bagan, Siam, South Vietnam and other countries. However, where can those places be compared with Da Zhou, it is dangerous to earn less, and the increase in taxes is only a little.

If trade can be reopened, the Quanchen family, which Lu Yiming called "North Gao and South Dong", will inevitably be unable to withstand the urging of those who support them, and can only temporarily divert their attention and energy.

Once the strategy is successful, within three to five years, Dali will not fall into a big war, this is Lu Yiming's judgment.

Duan Lintian's eyes didn't know where to look, he frowned slightly, and it took a long time to relax his bulging cheeks. She rubbed her little face lightly, and said uncertainly: "Isn't it okay to call the minister directly?" If his father's reputation is damaged, will his father agree? ”

Lu Yiming touched a few handfuls of his beard and raised his head, "Your Majesty is not sure, the burden of persuading Your Majesty can only be carried by the princess, and I and a few old ministers will play this afternoon." Is the princess serious, have you thought about it? ”

Thinking of the tragic situation of the Duan family being bullied and humiliated after the death of the country, the little princess decided to face the difficulties.

Looking at the determined expression on the princess's face, Lu Yiming finally ignited a glimmer of hope in his heart: maybe Dali can really get rid of the fate of falling into war, maybe it's not enough.

On the day of the Qingming Festival, Duan Qirui, the lord of Dali, Duan Lintian, the princess, Lu Yiming and other military generals rarely gathered.

Compared with the Great Zhou, the sacrificial rites of Dali are much simpler. After the ceremony, the courtiers and generals saluted according to their official positions, and then left one after another.

The old king Duan Qirui rarely cleaned up and didn't speak, just looked at the queen's spirit card in a daze. It's not that he hasn't worked hard, when he was young, he conscientiously governed the Dali Kingdom, constantly learned from the Heavenly Empire in the north, and worked hard to suppress the ministers.

Under his rule, the Dali Kingdom has been ruled for nearly twenty years. The national strength is high, the annual income is sufficient, and the number of rebellions is countable, which is very rare.

However, after he was old, the kingdom of Dali became rigid and was not controlled by his will. The number of displaced people grew, rebellions continued, and the court began to divide. Some people support the eldest son, and some people support the second son, all for their own interests.

In the battle with Da Zhou, Duan Qirui didn't want to fight, but he was powerless and had no intention of stopping it. Instead of burning himself, it is better to burn others, this king thinks so, maybe he also wants the Gao family and the Dong family to consume each other and completely solve the domestic problems.

The problem was not solved, but made public.

Dali City, which is so beautiful in spring and summer, was finally patronized by the war. The supporters of the two sons fought in the city, and even the old king himself was almost detained.

The queen's death from illness became the last straw that crushed Duan Qirui. He was disheartened, did not want to pay attention to state affairs, and drank heavily all day, just to have more time to remember the little things when the queen was alive.

"Father, you have a word." Duan Lintian knelt on the futon and looked at his motionless father with tears, "It's not feasible to call Da Zhou a minister, you should say something." ”

Duan Qirui looked at the queen's spirit card, still immersed in memories.

The old Chen Su general, who was kneeling outside, and the courtier general who crossed the river to defect to the old king, shook their heads slightly, and sighed in their hearts, feeling that Dali was really hopeless.

"Father, the sons are so tired, and the daughters are so tired." Duan Lintian was driven to the shelves, and since he took power against his nature, the accumulated pressure finally broke out.

Duan Lintian also misses her mother, and this nostalgia is mixed with pressure, so that she can no longer take care of her image. She stepped forward on her knees, hugged Duan Qirui's leg and cried, "Father, my daughter can't stand it." ”

"Since the father doesn't care about anything, the daughter doesn't do anything, just wait for the Gao family or the Dong family to attack Tengyue Mansion and kill the princes and grandsons of the Duan family. Tian'er was tired, and Tian'er died with her father. ”

"My daughter didn't want to annotate the memora of killing people and beheadings, and what my daughter used to tick off was not the name of the person, but the lives of the people. The daughter didn't want to see the report of how many people were killed by a disaster somewhere. There were also robbers who bullied women, and some people sent messages to the other side of the river...... My daughter doesn't want to see it, I don't want to see it, Tian'er is so tired......"

Duan Lintian, whose tears flowed all over the ground, actually had red eyes, and fell asleep leaning on Duan Qirui's legs. His nose twitched, and he had a cold war from time to time, presumably Duan Lintian was having a nightmare after the collapse.

Lu Yiming and the others either grabbed the ground with their heads, or closed their eyes and didn't look at things they shouldn't see.

After a long time, Duan Qirui called Lu Yiming and several old generals in.

"Lu Yiming, how will you behave after you arrive in Da Zhou, let's talk about it carefully." Duan Qirui asked straight to the point.

Seeing that His Majesty finally cheered up, Lu Yiming hurriedly reported his detailed calculations.

Duan Qirui was silent for a long time after listening, and nodded in approval. He pressed down his palm a few times and said to several old courtiers with indignant expressions, "Lone knows what you have to say. You old guys must say that Dali and Da Zhou are intersecting with each other, but now Dali is a vassal to Da Zhou, which is insulting the ancestors of the country and so on. ”

"Dali has reached this point today, what kind of national system do you still talk about, and what ancestors do you still talk about. Taking a step back, there were emperors and kings of Dali before Lone, and it was not once or twice that he was a minister of Dazhou, so there was nothing to be ashamed of. ”

"When the country is strong, it will be harder, and when the country is weak, it will be soft. As long as you can get the support of Da Zhou, even if it doesn't sound good, what does it matter? ”

Several gray-haired or white-haired ministers opened their mouths wide. They just didn't want to carry this black cauldron that humiliated the country, and they never thought that their majesty would be so open-minded.

Lu Yiming, who has gone through decades of ups and downs with Duan Qirui, was overjoyed, "Your Majesty really still values family affection the most, and for the safety of his children and grandchildren, he actually forced himself to find the way he was when he was young." ”

On the night of the Qingming Festival, Princess Duan Lintian, who had slept well, saw the national letter that her father had printed by her pillow. She held the flattering and low-voiced national letter to her heart and sobbed quietly.

On the eighth day of the first month of March, Duan Qirui bid farewell to the huge tribute mission at the east gate of Tengchong Mansion, and Duan Lintian, the princess of Dali, was also in the mission.

Duan Qirui, the lord of Dali, also didn't know why, but regardless of the possible dangers on the road, he agreed to the princess's envoy to Dazhou.

"Your Majesty, will the Gao Dong family really not attack the princess? It's going to pass through their hometown along the way. "Duan Qiping is Duan Qirui's cousin, an old general with gray hair and a rickety body. Worried about Duan Lintian's safety, he asked again.

Duan Qirui, who seemed to be in good spirits, patted his cousin on the shoulder, "Don't worry, there are few fools among the heads and elders of the Gao family and the Dong family." ”

"Now Lone still occupies the west of the Great River, controlling a large army. With you, a famous general, and they are not ready for a full-scale war, they will not completely tear their faces at this juncture. ”

"Tian'er's mother, as well as Tian'er herself, administers medicine to save people on weekdays, and I don't know how many people are willing to die for Tian'er. Now Tian'er is going to Dazhou for the well-being of the people of Dali, the Gao family dares to embarrass Tian'er, and the Dong family immediately gains power, and the opposite is the same. In this situation of mutual checks and balances, Tian'er is very safe, and there is no safer time than now. ”

"And my two sons who are not angry, will they watch Tian'er being detained?"

Duan Qirui was still nervous in his heart, but he kept emphasizing that Duan Lintian was sure to be safe. The reason given by this old king was not something he came up with alone, but was analyzed by Lu Yiming and other top smart people.

"Lu Yiming, Du Chenyi. Tian'er will be handed over to you, let Tian'er live in peace in Dazhou, don't go back to the mud pit of Dali Kingdom. ”

Duan Qirui strengthened his spirits and watched his only daughter go away.

Just like the analysis of Lu Yiming and others, the Gao Dong family is far from completing the preparations for a full-scale war, they dare not rashly detain the princess who is popular with the people, they don't want to completely tear their faces with the nominally powerful prince in advance, they fail to find out the combat power of Duan Qiping's army, and they can't stop the thirst for wealth of the businessmen who take refuge in their family......

Under the background of the various concerns of the Gao Dong family, the tribute mission led by the princess only took less than half a month to enter the territory of the Great Zhou.