Sister Yan picked up the letter, got up and walked out, Qinglan saw that she was going out, and hurriedly picked up the cloak on the side to catch up.

Put on their cloaks and hoods, the two took advantage of the night, stepped on the snow, and went to the East Palace, and met the patrolling guards along the way, and they all saluted in surprise.

Fortunately, the prince has not slept yet, and is in the study.

Hearing the report that the emperor was visiting, He Zhou jumped down from the beam of the house and glanced at the prince, something must have happened.

Just as she was thinking about it, Sister Yan had already pushed the door in.

Seeing that she was in a hurry, her hair was still scattered, and she didn't have time to take care of it.

"Why is the emperor here? The prince asked as he waved his hand to let the attendants go down.

Sister Yan took out Grancy's letter from her sleeve and handed it to him.

The prince watched while his sister Yan talked about the relationship with the Gran tribe.

He Zhou also took the letter curiously and looked at it, and also knew that this news was not good for the Chu State.

The prince said, "We haven't received the slightest news that the Jin Kingdom intends to use the grassland, it seems that they attach great importance to this matter." ”

"The letter was sent through my sixth brother's hand, there should be no fake, Xiaoxi is very good to me, he won't lie to me, and the Jin State is very ambitious, the Jin and Shang countries have already taken the Chu State as a bag, and the Jin State should be afraid of hardships and want to get a first move. ”

The crown prince said, "No matter what it is for, we must not let them succeed." ”

"Since my sixth brother knows about this, he will not sit idly by, he will find a way to delay, the Xie family has a wide business route and has a certain influence on the grassland, and the sixth brother has the ability to play games with them. ”

He Zhou frowned and said, "I know that the Xie family is rich, but after all, the other party is the power of a country, I'm afraid that Sixth Brother Xie won't be able to delay for long, since the Jin Kingdom has made a move, there will definitely be conditions that they can't refuse, and this matter can't let Sixth Brother Xie come forward alone, and he can't let him come forward alone." ”

Regardless of whether the Xie family has the ability to take over the matter, this matter cannot be involved in the Su Yue Xie family, the three sons and one daughter of the Xie family in the court are already powerful, if the Xie family comes forward again, it is not to refute the face of the Chu State, and the more selfless they pay, the more suspicious others are.

These He Zhou can see clearly, he is now the person who protects the Xie family the most wholeheartedly, the Xie family seems to be strong, but in fact it is also the most distressing, obviously you can enjoy wealth and prosperity, but you just can't let go of your family and country.

The crown prince also agreed, "Indeed, now the whole court and the central government are suspicious of you, even if the Xie family Liulang is for emergency, others will guess that you are to promote your family and control the government, in this case, the old lady is afraid that it will be affected, and besides, the Chu State cannot only rely on the Xie family, I will find a way to solve this matter as soon as possible, as long as we put forward a reasonable condition, let the grassland be safe and guard itself, and the Jin State cannot take advantage of it." ”

Sister Yan knew that the two of them were thinking about the Xie family, and she couldn't bear to involve the rest of the Xie family, but the Xie family had the blood of the ancestors to protect the country in their bones, even if he asked the sixth brother to leave it alone, he would not obediently go back and sit idly by, and his grandfather would not agree.

"I can let the sixth brother act in secret, the grassland people are very wary of outsiders, he has business dealings with the grassland, there are familiar people, and they can guide him, but the Jin people who have always rebelled are not worth believing in the eyes of the grassland people, and the various departments of the grassland are not so easy to say, and the various departments seem to be independent, but in the face of foreign enemies, they are the most united. ”

He Zhou breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief, "That is, there is still time, that's good, Jin Guo doesn't know that we have gotten the news, and we are finally in the dark once." ”

The prince said, "Then what conditions do we propose in exchange?"

I still don't know the conditions proposed by the Jin State, what price is suitable for the Chu State.

Sister Yan said, "Is there a map, let's study it and see what is most convenient and what they can't refuse." ”

The prince himself walked under the bookshelf and took out the map.

The three of them studied for a while, the grassland looks simple, but in fact, it is very complicated, there are many man-eating swamps in it, which is also a barrier for the self-protection of the grasslands, they have no geographical advantages to defend, but they are protected by these swamps.

The life of the grassland people is not easy, and what they need most is food and salt, but these, the Jin State can also promise, and then it is more suitable land for survival.

If you borrow the road, you will have to leave the money to buy the road, and it is likely that the Jin State promised to give them the land of the Chu State in the future.

After studying for a while, Sister Yan pointed to Luohe Road, "The wealth left to us by the ancestors of the Chu State. ”

The crown prince frowned, "Do you want them to move to the vicinity of the Luohe River?"

He Zhou said, "How can people send it to the door." ”

"You haven't been to the grassland, you don't know, where the living conditions are not good, the largest river in the grassland, only April to September after the snow melts there is enough rain a year, resulting in a shortage of forage in winter, the grassland people rely on animal husbandry can not meet the demand, so there is a stable water source, it is their dream, if we promise to dig a tributary from the Luo River and divert water into the grassland, will they agree to us." ”

He Zhou doesn't know anything else, but he knows that for ordinary people, food is the most important, "Xiao Yan'er means that with the help of others, the food will always be eaten, but if this problem can be solved forever, they will not refuse." ”

The prince looked at the map, his brows furrowed, and pointed to a place on the map on the Luohe River, "This place is only sixty miles away from the grassland, this project is completely feasible, and the source is ours, we have room to control it." ”

"What about the long term?"

The prince looked at his sister's face, "In this way, it will also be beneficial for us to subdue the grassland in the future, and after tasting the sweetness, a few people are willing to go back and endure hardship." ”

The grassland people enjoyed the benefits of bringing water into the grassland, and they could no longer let it go, laying the foundation for subduing the grassland.

He Zhou saw that they had a solution, and he was not in a hurry, seeing that his sister Yan was still looking at the map, he asked, "What's wrong?

"No, I'm looking at the location of the grassland, this location is indeed very important, close to southern Xinjiang, if it becomes a battlefield, it will be connected with southern Xinjiang. ”

He Zhou said, "The Jin Kingdom has bad intentions, and southern Xinjiang must also be guarded against." ”

The prince said, "The king of Yunnan has an old experience, and there is an old marquis in charge of the newly transferred 400,000 troops in the original city, and he will dispatch according to the situation, so don't worry." ”

Sister Yan said, "I still ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to write a secret order to order the Ministry of Engineering to make a plan to divert the water of the Luo River into the grassland, this matter must not be spread to the outside world, and no one else can know about the grassland." ”

"In this case, why don't you invite someone from the inner hall of the school palace to do it, isn't it more confidential, I have long heard that there are talents from all walks of life in the school palace. ”

"First, they are inexperienced, and secondly, in the eyes of outsiders, they are the emperor's subordinates, Your Highness should let someone trustworthy in the Ministry of Industry do it, this plan should not be difficult, but it should be fast, there should be a letter from the sixth brother in the next few days, depending on the situation, the candidates for the grassland will be selected, and then you can go to the grassland to negotiate." ”

The prince sighed in his heart, the emperor seemed to be indifferent, but in fact, he was as careful as a hair, although he knew that she was helping himself like this for the sake of the stability of the court, but he still couldn't help but be moved.

"Candidates do need to be searched, in my opinion, Nan Qi is the most suitable, but he is unwilling, and I can't force it, let me take a look." ”

Sister Yan said, "Then go ahead of time to explore the way, and then wait for the news of the sixth brother." ”

"Don't tell your father about this?"

"Your Majesty is seriously ill, so you shouldn't think about it, and then tell Your Majesty when the situation is clear. ”

"That's all there is to it. ”

"Then I'll go back first, and I'll leave this matter to the prince. ”

"Hmm. ”

He Zhou couldn't help but say, "Next time you wear thicker, don't rely on the good foundation to get cold." ”

Sister Yan smiled slightly, turned and left.

Although this smile was not for himself, the prince was still slightly distracted.

He Zhou somewhat understood his intentions, but he didn't want to break it, lest the prince have other ideas.

The prince pondered for a moment, wrote a secret order to the Ministry of Works, and sent it to the Shangshu Mansion overnight.

This plan is the bargaining chip of the Chu State, and it can't go wrong, and it can't be too late, so it can only be grasped by the Ministry of Works.

In the end, I was still a little worried, so I sent two secret guards to follow, and I couldn't let the Ministry of Industry leak this matter.

With a clue to the matter, Sister Yan felt how cold the cold wind outside was, and took Qinglan to speed up her pace.

Qinglan said, "Fang Cai's subordinates are still afraid that the prince will not believe this letter, it seems that the prince still trusts Miss." ”

"That's the good thing about him. ”

On the second day, I don't know where the news came, saying that the emperor went to see the prince at night, and some people suspected that the prince said that he was on her side because he was confused by the emperor.

Someone even contacted the situation of Emperor Fengyu, and suddenly set off a rumor that the emperor was confusing the dynasty.

These words make people itch with hatred.

The prince severely punished more than a dozen maids and inner supervisors who spread rumors, and killed a few people before the palace was quiet.

But Jingzhong is still spreading these things, although many people don't believe it, after all, the emperor is capable, and with her identity, she can't do this.

The rumor spread for two days, and while discussing with the ministers, the emperor's subordinates arrested a person and came in.

It turned out that this person was the source of this matter, and it was he who had been using the people to incite everyone's emotions and affect the stability of Beijing.

This person was originally a wealthy businessman, and the merchant disguised as a spy of the Shang Kingdom made a fortune, and later the spy of the Shang Kingdom was caught and killed, and he picked up a life because he didn't know it, cut off this person's financial route, and confiscated most of his property, and this person hated the Xie family.

But he can't do anything to the Xie family, he can only lead the rumors and slander his sister's face.

This time, the news of the emperor's visit to the East Palace at night came out, and of course he would not let go of this opportunity to retaliate, so he arranged a lot of unbearable rumors, slandering the two emperors and the prince, which had a very bad impact.

The prince was even more furious when he heard this, and the ministers naturally didn't dare to speak, and those rumors were too much, so he almost said that the emperor was serving people with Israel.

Sister Yan sat there, unable to see joy or anger.

"Are you unhappy for yourself, or do you want to avenge those meticulous deeds? What is the crime of insulting the prince and the emperor?"

The new Criminal Department Shangshu Shufu said busily, "It's a capital crime." ”

Sister Yan nodded, indicating that she understood, and her face was not angry, but the words she said made people shudder, "I want to see if your heart is black." ”