Bi Zhenye agreed to Pei'er and was ready to follow him up the mountain, but he was a son in a high-ranking official's mansion and a county lord raised in a deep palace, where could he tell what was grass and what was wild vegetables, he didn't hold back before going up the mountain, and asked Shen Qing softly: "Has the county lord picked wild vegetables?" ”

Shen Qing shook her head: "What about you?" ”

Su Su carried the basket and took Pei'er in front of her, complaining to the little fat man: "It's still so cold at this time, where do the wild vegetables come from?" You little guy, your heart is also big, your father's whereabouts are unknown, your mother goes out with her belly, do you still have the heart to go up the mountain to play? ”

Pei'er smiled: "Anyway, they'll be back soon." ”

Su Su said angrily: "Yes, I wish they would come back tomorrow." ”

As he spoke, he looked back, the county lord who had been pampered since he was a child really wouldn't walk in this roadless mountain, and he was slow and nervous step by step, so Bi Gongzi waited patiently to the side, always holding on to the side with one hand, protecting the people around him.

"Auntie, let's go." Pei'er tugged at Susu's shirt and went deep into the mountains and forests.

On this side, the emperor and his entourage are quickly going to the place where Ling Chaofeng disappeared, it will take three or four days to walk slowly, and it will take two or three days to walk fast, so Xiaowan is slower here, and the emperor is faster, and they will meet at the foot of the mountain after saying goodbye.

The eldest princess Xiang Yuan, because she came with her, crowded into Xiaowan and Aunt Zhang's car, and left Uncle Biao and Su Su with Pei'er in the store, and Aunt Zhang came to take care of Xiaowan along the way.

Aunt Zhang has a relationship with the palace, so she naturally knows about the eldest princess, and it is really novel to see that this little woman has the temperament of her own mother, but she has a completely different personality.

There is a person in the Great Qi Kingdom who can be rampant and domineering, and it is not in the way to poke a hole in the sky, and that is the eldest princess.

But at this time and that time, she is also a princess, Aunt Zhang is well versed in the way of the palace, and she understands what it means to be a son of heaven and a courtier, as the emperor's daughter, who can be lawless and be the emperor's sister, but it may not be.

But this is not Aunt Zhang's nosy business, and the people in front of her are happy as if they are no different from before, she may sigh that being a princess must be reincarnated in the Xiang Dynasty to really have the meaning of golden branches and jade leaves.

"Xiaowan, have we seen each other somewhere before?" The eldest princess asked several times along the way, "I always think we've met, but I just can't remember the slightest thing." ”

Xiaowan shook her head timidly but surely: "Eldest princess, the folk woman has never been to the capital, and she followed Xianggong last year, and only went to the mountains and the seaside, but never walked to the north." ”

The eldest princess held her cheek and recalled vigorously, she always felt as if a piece of memory was missing, this time she followed her younger brothers and sisters to hang out, Lizhou Mansion in Baisha Town, she felt familiar no matter how she looked at anything, especially the delicate and weak little woman in front of her.

She asked again, "The child in your belly, doesn't it matter if it's so bumpy?" ”

Xiao Wan bowed her head and said: "Thank you for your concern, the woman is fine, the woman's body is very strong." ”

Xiao Wan is very confident in her body, on the contrary, she can often see the eldest princess looking out the window, and the bumps in the carriage and horses will not make her uncomfortable or uncomfortable, but she does not seem to be happy.

Sometimes, the eldest princess would say to herself, "The world outside is good, but unfortunately he is getting busier and busier, and there is almost no time to go out and walk." ”

This "he" Xiaowan can guess, naturally it is a colt, the elder brother of the county lord, Xiaowan now knows a little about some of the magnates in the capital, but these magnates are completely different from what she imagined.

They are noble, every word and smile is noble, but there is no arrogance at all, each of them is so approachable.

Sure enough, the people who are really in the clouds no longer care about the level of status, on the contrary, those who are a little proud, wish everyone would raise their heads to look at them.

Xiaowan also had to laugh at herself, when did she still have the heart to think about other people's lives, her father-in-law was gone, and she was dying.

However, at this moment, deep in the mountains, Ling Chaofeng followed several white-haired old men to the bottom of a towering tree.

The trunk of the tree, which rises to the sky, precipitates the years and vicissitudes of life, which makes people awe-inspired.

Ling Chaofeng looked up, and the people around him said to him: "These woods can survive thousands of years of wind and rain without being eaten by insects, and the emperors of all dynasties will cut them down to build palaces, and if they are used to build ships, it is also very suitable." ”

Ling Chaofeng touched the trunk of the tree, as if he could feel the power from the earth.

But the old man sighed, "But if you want so much wood, cut it all down at once, and the mountain will die." Emperor Taishang fought for many years, built chariot forts, consumed countless plants and trees, worthy of 30 years, has not recovered half a point, and has to be cut down in large quantities again. Shopkeeper Ling, in the future, landslides and mudslides will be submerged, and it will be the people who will suffer. ”

Ling Chaofeng bowed his head: "What the elder said is true. ”

The old man said: "From the end of the Zhao Kingdom to the present, before and after 50 years, we have done our best to protect the mountains and forests, I have never been out in the mountains in my life, and I have watched the lush mountains in the past become bare now. ”

He walked forward with Ling Chaofeng, the sunlight was no longer blocked by the lush branches and leaves, and his eyes were open, but what he saw in his eyes was a bare loess slope.

"We mountain people can't restore the mountains and forests." The old man said solemnly, "However, the imperial court only treats everything in the mountains as inexhaustible, but no one has ever come to see what this place has been ruined. We have gathered the best woods, the most suitable wood for building palaces and warships, and we have grown them here, but I am afraid that in another twenty years, even birds and beasts will not be able to live here. ”

For more than 30 years since the founding of the Great Qi Dynasty, after experiencing the depression and corruption in the last years of the Zhao Kingdom, the Emperor Taishang not only conquered the east and the west, but also built a large number of buildings to rebuild homes for the people all over the country, and spent countless timber before and after.

Even though Daqi has a vast territory and a wide range of forests, only a few mountains in the territory of Lizhou Prefecture are enough for the people to cut wood and burn fires to live, but those timbers cannot be used to build palaces or warships, and the best timber is only available here, but here, there is already a depression and desolation.

"The Emperor should be coming soon." Ling Chaofeng said, "It's time for him to take a look with his own eyes, if the imperial court doesn't do anything more, the emperor's generation will not have good wood in the future." ”

The elder said: "We have great concerns, Shopkeeper Ling, you must also know that ten officials and nine greedy. If the imperial court pays to help restore the mountains and forests, it will inevitably appoint officials to supervise us, we are originally free mountain people, and no one knows every grass and tree in the mountains better than us, but if an official who doesn't understand anything comes and criticizes us, it will definitely be unpleasant at that time. If that's the case, we'd rather not have the court intervene. But if the imperial court doesn't interfere, we really can't save these mountains. ”

"The meaning of the elders, the juniors all understand." Ling Chaofeng said, "I will definitely ask the emperor to come up with a perfect strategy, the emperor's work is not in the present, but in Qianqiu, he is a rational and wise person, you can rest assured." ”

The white-haired old man stroked the trees beside him and said, "If they can turn into warships to protect Daqi and protect the people, it is our honor, but if we can't defend this mountain forest in the end, my life will be meaningless." ”

At this moment, a young man climbed up from the bottom of the mountain neatly and told the elders and Ling Chaofeng: "Someone is here, there are many people, Shopkeeper Ling, go and see if it is the emperor and his party." ”

Ling Chaofeng said to everyone: "Introduce them into the mountains and forests, don't act rashly, don't have a head-on conflict with the emperor's people, if you can trust me, leave it to me to negotiate." ”

These mountain people, they have never left here in their lives, and they can't turn their brains, where do they know how to deal with the Heavenly Family, they naturally trust Ling Chaofeng and entrust him with carte blanche to do so.

This time, although the method of deliberately making trouble and luring the emperor in, although it was easy for the emperor to see through it, Ling Chaofeng's purpose was to ask him to see through it, so that he could wonder what was going on here. Naturally, he also expected that he would definitely be scared of Wanwan.

The emperor and his entourage arrived at the foot of the mountain, Xiaowan was still a day's journey behind, and said that they would enter the mountain together after the meeting, and Xiang Run took the smoke and set up camp here.

From the outside, this mountain can not see the desolate scene inside, like smoke followed the emperor to stand at the foot of the mountain and look up, and listen to the minister next to him say: "Your Majesty, in this mountain, there is the best wood in Daqi, the pillars and roofs in the imperial city, and the wood cut from here in the past Zhao State." Emperor Taishang built the Hanyuan Palace, the palaces in various places, the Qinzhou Imperial Mausoleum, etc., all from here. ”

Like smoke said naturally: "Wouldn't this mountain be bald if cut like this?" ”

The emperor looked at her with a solemn expression, and the ministers beside her smiled dryly: "What did Niangniang say...... There is some truth to it, but you see, it is still lush here. ”

Ruyan smiled: "If it's all bald here, won't we use it?" Adults, look at these trees, they are neither tall nor short, they are not the wood you said, they are trees that can be seen anywhere. ”

The minister swallowed his saliva and lowered his head to listen, the queen came from Sichuan and Chongqing, and she walked through countless mountains and fields, so in front of her, don't be forceful.

Xiang Run's brows tightened, he seemed to realize something.

"Your Majesty, don't blame me for talking too much, when you enter the mountain in the future, you must be prepared in your heart, maybe the scene you see here will make people feel cold." Ruyan sighed softly, "I hope we can keep some for us to build warships, but I'm afraid that we will run out, and our children and grandchildren will not know when they will be able to use it in the future." ”

The emperor was silent, he seemed to understand why Ling Chaofeng had disappeared.

A day later, Xiaowan came in a hurry, when she saw the emperor, she felt the atmosphere solemn, where could she think that it was a matter of the mountains and forests, she thought that there was something wrong with Xianggong, and when she saw Xiaowan's tense face, she hurriedly comforted her: "Don't think nonsense, we haven't gotten any news yet, just wait for you to arrive, let's go into the mountains together." ”