Jing Dynasty, the northern suburbs of Dadu, the royal hunting ground.

June 25 every year is the neutralization festival of Jinglian people, which is the most important festival of Jinglian people in addition to the New Year Festival and Shengyuan Festival.

For three days in a row, the capital was filled with a sea of celebrations, officials rested at home, the people stopped working, the imperial court distributed meat and rice to the people according to the custom, and the streets and alleys were filled with a joyful atmosphere.

In the southeast of the hunting ground, a group of Jinglian aristocratic men dressed in luxurious clothes and accessories are carrying out a traditional activity called "willow shooting".

The so-called willow shooting refers to planting a row of willow trees on both sides of the flat ground, and the people who participate in the willow shooting are arranged in the order of respect and inferiority, and then each chooses a willow branch a few inches from the ground, cuts off the cyan bark on a part of the willow branch, and then ties his own handkerchief as a logo.

After the willow shooting begins, one person gallops in front as the lead, and the participants follow behind, and then shoot the willow branch of their choice with an arrow without tail feathers, each person is limited to three arrows, and the others beat the drum and shout to help the voice.

After the participants shot their own willow branches, they arrived before they landed on the Pegasus and caught the fallen willow branches with their hands, and the broken place happened to be at the place where they were peeled, which was superior. Even if you shoot a willow branch but can't catch it, it's inferior. In the rest of the cases, the loser is judged.

Shooting willows is a great test of the participants' eyesight and riding and archery skills, and for the Jinglian nobles who have lived on horseback since childhood, it is one of the means to show their personal strength, so it is extremely popular with young men.

What's more, today, His Majesty the Emperor is here in person, and he is drinking and feasting with a group of Jinglian nobles in the pergola not far away.

Although Emperor Jing may not be able to pay attention to the movements on the willow shooting field at all times, the final result will definitely be reported, and these young people on the field are naturally fighting bravely one by one, and even the princes are not far behind.

In the midst of the clamor of shouts, a tall and slender woman stood a little further away from the group of young men, calmly watching the horses gallop on the field.

Once upon a time, she, like most Jinglian women, felt that these men of the same clan who were skilled in bows and horses were quite brave, whether they met the standards in her heart or not, at least far better than the timid and cowering rotten people in the south.

However, looking at those vigorous postures on the field now, she can't help but compare with the Nanqi Wuxun who brought her humiliation.

Since she returned to Dadu, no one would knowingly mention Lu Shen's name in front of her, but that person's face and voice would always quietly appear in her mind.

It's a very mixed emotion.

The humiliation that Lu Shen inflicted on her, using her safety to blackmail Jing Chao, and then making her father's situation in the court more difficult, these are indisputable facts, and she dare not forget them for a day.

But during the time when Heluo City was captured, Lu Shen respected her quite well and did not let her be treated as a prisoner.

As a noble woman who witnessed the rise of the Jing Dynasty, of course she knew what would happen to the prisoners on the battlefield, especially the women, and this was the reason why she was bent on dying outside the Heluo Palace that day.

She knew that Lu Shen had little to do with herself, mainly out of consideration for grabbing benefits from the Jing Dynasty, and at the same time wanted to separate the relationship between the Qingyu clan and the Jing Dynasty's royal family.

But......

Qing Yu Huaijin looked at the movement on the willow shooting field, and suddenly felt excited.

Had it not been for her father's insistence on bringing her, she would have preferred to stay at home and think about what to do with the enemy to the south.

At this moment, there was an even more enthusiastic cheer on the willow shooting field, and a young prince was seen galloping on his horse, stretching his bow and arrows in the high-speed process, and shooting down the wicker with only one arrow.

Before the wicker hit the ground, the young prince arrived on horseback, picked it up calmly, and then waved to everyone.

The cheers around them grew louder and louder.

The young prince did not return, rode his horse straight to the vicinity of Qingyu Huaijin, and then jumped down, walked to Qingyu Huaijin with a smile on his face, and said: "Lord Yongping, this wicker is given to you, please don't dislike it." ”

He is the fourth son of Emperor Jing, the nineteen-year-old Brother Ali Hehai.

His three elder brothers are all married, and as early as three years ago, the eldest prince Ali Henaran was established as the crown prince, and the government and the opposition all agreed.

Brother Hai was quite loved by Emperor Jing, his temperament was hearty and open-minded, he was skilled in bows and horses, and often studied the art of war, and his mind was full of ideas about conquering the world for his father and the crown prince.

Seeing that he took the initiative to walk towards Qingyu Huaijin, there was a commotion over there, including Brother Hai's two imperial brothers, and the crown prince Nalan was naturally serving Emperor Jing on the pergola.

Brother Hai smiled and scolded twice, and then looked at the woman in front of him expectantly.

Qingyu Huaijin looked at the wicker in his hand and said indifferently: "This is His Highness's spoils, and the ministers dare not accept it." ”

Brother Hai suffocated slightly, and then smiled: "Yongping, what kind of trophy is this?" In the future, I will lead the troops for my father and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and bring back all the good things from the south, and then you can take whatever you like. ”

Qing Yu Huaijin smiled lightly: "Then when His Highness wins a great victory, the minister will receive His Highness's reward." ”

Brother Hai was a little thin-faced, and immediately withdrew his hand a little embarrassed, and said with pride: "Then it's decided!" ”

Qing Yu Huaijin said no more.

Under the pergola in the distance, Emperor Jing looked at the nobles below with a smile and changed the cups, and his long and deep eyes immediately turned to the other side, and he just saw the fourth son Haige and Qingyu Huaijin standing opposite, and couldn't help laughing: "Yongping, this kid still has to go out for a walk, and they often go out to hunt and relax, don't blindly stuff the house." ”

As everyone knows, Emperor Jing cared for Qingyu Huaijin a lot, and even did not hesitate to use tens of thousands of war horses to rescue her from the hands of the Qi people.

After Emperor Jing spoke, the surroundings immediately quieted down, and the other nobles naturally had their own thoughts after hearing these words, Qing Yugong didn't seem to notice the gazes cast by others, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty is very kind, and the little daughter of the minister has thanked the Holy Grace." ”

Emperor Jing smiled, got up and said, "The two marshals will accompany me for a walk, you continue to drink and feast, and if you don't get drunk today, you won't return." ”

"Obey."

Everyone hurriedly stood up and saluted.

The royal hunting grounds cover a wide area and have excellent scenery.

The breeze blows through the meadows, and the summer heat is dispelled a lot.

Qing Yugong and Sagai followed behind Emperor Jing, both of them did not squint, obviously not having any idea of communicating secretly.

After the more than 10,000 war horses were handed over, several major commanders and nobles of the Jing Dynasty were moving closer to Sagai, and they were quite dissatisfied with Qing Yugong, the marshal of the Southern Courtyard, because the battle of Heluo really humiliated Jing Lian, and the root cause was that Qing Yu Huaijin was captured by mistake.

Originally, the strength of the Qingyu clan was only below the imperial family, which was a notch stronger than the Hui Luo clan from which Zhi Sakai was born, but as the other major clans changed their positions, the two sides gradually reached a delicate balance.

Emperor Jing looked at the green sky in front of him, and said leisurely: "Recently, the court hall of Qi has been very lively. ”

Sagai echoed: "The minister has read the relevant reports, but I didn't expect the Emperor of Nanqi to have such courage to fight against those gate lord clans in Jiangnan under so much pressure, and what is even more surprising is that he can still achieve results." ”

The reason why he dared to openly exaggerate the Emperor of Southern Qi was because Emperor Jing had always asked his subordinates to tell the truth, and he could neither be afraid of enemies outside the Jing Dynasty, nor could he deliberately despise nonsense.

Emperor Jing smiled and said: "Li Duan is a very capable person, if the first emperor of the Southern Qi Dynasty made him the crown prince and abdicated early, my iron cavalry may not be able to cross the north of the river." Even so, he fled to Yongjia alone, supported the Southern Qi court, gathered power little by little, and took out silver from the hands of those nobles to support the development of the border army, so that Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun had no worries, which shows that their people should not be underestimated. ”

Speaking of this, he stopped and turned his head to look at Qing Yugong, and asked, "What does King Changshan think of this?" ”

Qing Yugong muttered: "Your Majesty, the choice of the Emperor of Southern Qi is right, if you want to reorganize your military to deal with our army, it is imperative to weaken the Jiangnan Gate valve." It's just that in the minister's opinion, his move is a little urgent. ”

Emperor Jing's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said with a smile: "The county king is indeed meticulous, and I think so too." ”

Sagai couldn't help but bow his head, and a little disgust for Qing Yugong was added to his heart.

Emperor Jing continued: "Judging from Li Duan's performance in the past 14 years, he is a very patient and calm person, but his actions in the past few months have highlighted the word impatience. Tell me, why did an emperor who was relaxed and relaxed suddenly have such a big change? What was the reason why he couldn't wait to get rid of the troubles? You know, our dynasty has not sent troops so far. ”

Qing Yugong said in a low voice: "Perhaps...... It's because he didn't die long. ”

Sagai was shocked.

Emperor Jing was not happy when he heard this, he looked up at the clear sky, and said slowly: "If this is the case, it will be a pity." Among the monarchs of all countries in the world, only Li Duan is barely worthy of being my opponent. ”

The two marshals did not dispute this.

After Emperor Jing ascended the throne, he used his tough hand to cool down the nobles of the Jinglian clan, so that this dynasty that relied on killing and growing stronger and rising stopped the momentum of expansion, and on the premise of consolidating the internal foundation, he methodically plotted the world.

With such a heart and vision, it is not inferior to the Ming monarchs recorded in the history books in the south.

Emperor Jing retracted his gaze and said, "Of course, this is a good thing for my dynasty, and I won't be too hypocritical." Since Li Duan's health is not very good, then I will naturally send him a few big gifts to hasten his death. After the autumn, the Southern Courtyard can send a few elite troops to the south to kill the sharp spirit of the border army of Qi State on Dongyang Road in Yan State. ”

Qing Yugong bowed his head and said, "The minister obeys the order." ”

Emperor Jing turned his head to look at Sagai, and said indifferently: "The battlefield in the south will not divide the final victory or defeat for a while, and I will not underestimate Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun." But the world is not limited to one place, I told you before, if I can subdue the seven departments of Shazhou, I can ignore the Hengjiang moat and go straight to the heart of the Qi country. Therefore, I give you a month to think about how to get that piece of land in Shazhou without alarming the world. ”

Sakai grinned, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, the minister will definitely live up to expectations!" ”

(End of chapter)