Pei Yuanfeng squatted in front of me, looked at my stubborn eyes, let out a long sigh, as if he had given up, and then said: "Qingying, do you know why it is so difficult for the imperial court to depose the untouchables in the south. ”

I was stunned for a moment, I didn't expect him to say this suddenly, and subconsciously shook my head.

"Actually, my father didn't think about it, and not all the people in the court didn't care about the lives of the people in the south, but it was not so simple to depose this untouchable, and it was not a holy decree of the father, a word from the court would do the trick."

"So, why?"

In fact, I have always had such doubts in my heart, Pei Yuanhao is not a narrow-minded emperor, and his actions in Yangzhou when he went south before are really respectful, otherwise Huang Tianba would not have taken the risk of helping him win the heir, but after he ascended the throne, the matter of untouchables in the south has not been followed up for a long time.

What is there to hide?

Pei Yuanfeng looked at me and said slowly: "You have to understand that since there are untouchables, then there will be nobles in the opposite direction. ”

Untouchables? Nobles?

My heart chuckled, and I felt something faintly when I heard the two different titles.

Pei Yuanfeng said: "In fact, it was not without reason that the people of the three provinces in the south of the Yangtze River were reduced to untouchables, because the untouchables had to bear taxes several times higher than those in other places, and Jiangnan was the richest place in the Central Plains. ”

I was taken aback: "So, where did you go?" ”

Pei Yuanfeng glanced at me, was silent for a moment, and said slowly: "Qingying, do you remember where the royal family came from?" ”

"......" I looked at him with wide eyes, and said in a somewhat dry voice, "Guanwai." ”

"That's right, we're from outside the Kanki, and Katsukyo is our hometown."

When Pei Yuanfeng said this, his dark sword eyebrows frowned slightly, and his childish face was also full of faint worry, and said: "When the ancestor emperor went south from Shengjing to the Central Plains, all the way to Jiangnan, although he fought the battle, but in fact, it was Shengjing's people who supported the battle, otherwise such a long front, if there is a shortage of supply, the entire Central Plains battlefield will be dragged down." ”

This is the first time I have heard about the royal family's southward journey, and I suddenly understood: "The taxes in Jiangnan have all gone to Shengjing?" ”

"Yes." He nodded: "This is the transaction between the ancestor emperor and Shengjing, Shengjing's three old and four young people support the war, and the spoils of war are a large amount of gold, silver, silk, spices and iron tools that the imperial court will send to Shengjing every year, these things can account for thirty percent of the treasury revenue, if there is no heavy tax in Jiangnan, the imperial court will not be able to support it." ”

It turns out that this is the real reason why the people of the three provinces in the south of the Yangtze River have become untouchables.

The battle of the royal family entering the customs back then was actually a transaction, a transaction between the royal family and Shengjing, using the taxes of the Central Plains in exchange for the support of the war, only in this way could the royal family pocket the entire Central Plains, and Jiangnan was the bargaining chip in this transaction.

It's no wonder that at the beginning, the royal family attached so much importance to the battle of Yangzhou, and even did not hesitate to transfer troops from Xichuan to slaughter the city, if they didn't take Jiangnan, even if they really established the country, they couldn't repay it at all in the face of the lion on Shengjing's side.

All of a sudden, I felt a little funny, but the sourness in my heart made me want to cry.

Yangzhou slaughtered the city, stained the Central Plains with blood, and pressed the people of the three provinces south of the Yangtze River to breathe, carrying such a heavy burden for generations.

It's really "all things are for dogs"!

I said, "So, this time going south, is it related to Shengjing's side?" ”

"Yes."

“…… So, when you left the capital to go to Qinghai before, you didn't actually go to Qinghai, but to inquire about the news of Shengjing? ”

"Yes."

"So, Shengjing's side, what's going on?"

Pei Yuanfeng was silent for a moment, looked at me and said slowly: "Qingying, do you know the prince, do you know where my eldest brother went after leaving the capital?" ”

My eyes widened all of a sudden: "He went back to Shengjing?!" ”

Pei Yuanfeng nodded silently.

My mind was in a mess for a while, lying on the bench panting slightly, thinking back and forth in my mind - Pei Yuanxiu, he has returned to Shengjing!

No wonder, no wonder after the battle for the heir in the capital, he and Empress Yin seemed to have completely disappeared from the land of the Central Plains, and there was no news of them anymore, but the whole world is not the king's land, Pei Yuanhao has ascended the throne as the honor of the Ninety-Five, how can he not find the whereabouts of a deposed prince!

Only Katsukyo is a place where he can't move!

It's no wonder that I saw a letter from Katsukyo in the Imperial Study, which was put together by him and the intractable Southern Song!

At that time, he had already found out Pei Yuanxiu's whereabouts, but he couldn't do it!

I was still a little confused, but I already felt it faintly, and hurriedly grabbed his sleeve and asked, "Shengjing!" The crown prince, did he have something to do with the south? ”

Pei Yuanfeng nodded: "Although I didn't find out what happened, there is news that someone from Shengjing's side went south and seems to have reached some kind of agreement with a certain force in the south, but you know that some forces in the south have been fighting against the imperial court, and if Shengjing wants to reach an agreement with them, I'm afraid—"

A certain force in the south, that name suddenly rose in my heart - Changming Sect!

This is what I have heard Huang Tianba and those assassins mention, it is the force behind them, but how big this force is, it is unpredictable, a rejuvenation medicine shop has turned Yangzhou upside down, and it seems that this medicine shop is just a small branch of that sect.

Shengjing's people went south, did they reach an agreement with Changmingzong?

I know that the sect and Huang Tianba's wishes are contrary to each other, their approach is so extreme and vicious, if there is really any agreement with Shengjing, what kind of agreement will it be?

Thinking of this, a pimple formed between my eyebrows.

At this time, there was a shadow in front of me, and before I could come back to my senses, a warm big hand gently touched my eyebrows, rubbed my brows, and looked down to see that Pei Yuanfeng was looking at me.

"Qingying, don't worry about going south this time, okay?"

"Lord Wang, you sue me," I paused and said, "Who is the person who went south in Shengjing this time?" ”

"......" A strange fluctuation flashed on his face, and he slowly lowered his eyelids, and said after a long time: "I don't know if the eldest brother has moved, but it seems that the eldest sister-in-law has gone south." ”

It dawned on me.

No wonder, he kept asking me not to care about the affairs of the south, no wonder, he just said that he didn't want to see me hurt again, this time the boat was so urgent, in addition to supplies along the way, there was no time to even kowtow to the coastal officials on the boat, it turned out that the ship was not going down the river, but because it was being towed.

Looking at his worried look, I smiled.

I slowly leaned back in the chair, the pain in my chest did not stop, but after a long time, it didn't seem to be so unbearable, and when I got to it, I saw Pei Yuanfeng still squatting in front of me, holding the chair with both hands and looking at me carefully, his young face was full of concern.

"Lord Wang," I thought for a moment and said, "I have one more question for you. ”

"You say."

"Why do you stay in the imperial court and are willing to help the emperor?"

Pei Yuanfeng's face shook slightly.

This is something I haven't understood all along, Pei Yuanfeng is the child of Queen Yin, according to the relatives, he is also closer to Pei Yuanxiu, but after the battle for succession, Pei Yuanhao ascended the throne, but he did not have any resistance, and even this time he knew the whereabouts of Queen Yin and Pei Yuanxiu, he actually came back and continued to assist Pei Yuanhao!

Seeing me looking at him solemnly, Pei Yuanfeng was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "Qingying, maybe in your eyes, I have always looked like a child, but in fact, I also have my own ambitions. ”

“……”

"I also hope that we can depose the untouchables in the south, let the Han people and our people outside the customs integrate, and let the north and south of the Celestial Empire integrate, only in this way can the Central Plains usher in a real prosperous era, I rode horses to fight, bloody battlefields, not because I am warlike, but because, I have my own ambitions and ideals."

“……”

"Although I am closer to the queen mother, my ambition and that of the emperor are the same."

……

I looked at him stupidly, and for a moment I was speechless in shock.

Perhaps, it is really because all along, he is really like a child in front of me, which makes me forget about jì, in fact, he is the most brave and warlike general in the Celestial Empire, and he is an ambitious and bloody man!

It turns out that he has the same ideals and ambitions as Pei Yuanhao!

At this time, I remembered that the first time I met him, it was actually in Shangyang Palace!

Pei Yuanhao may not be a friendly brother, so Pei Yuanfeng is not enthusiastic about him, but the two have the same ambitions, which is why they did not abandon each other.

In a man's world, feelings may account for a very heavy part, but in addition to feelings, there are more, more important things that guide their lives, so that they can fight, struggle, and even regret it!

My eyes were slightly red, Pei Yuanfeng looked at it, and immediately said, "Qingying, are you angry with me?" ”

"What?"

"At that time, I actually said to you—"

Before he finished his words, I already smiled faintly, stopped him from continuing, and then said: "Lord Wang, I'm not angry, I'm admiring you!" ”

"What?"

"Only those who insist on their ambitions and ideals are real men, in my eyes, you are a man who stands up to the sky!"

He looked at me with some delight.

I slowly looked into the distance, and under the already darkening sky, the south was already close in front of me.

Your ambitions, ideals, who will you meet in the south, and what kind of future will you encounter?