After the rebirth, the queen took the Meiqiang tragedy script

Upon hearing this, Ye Qinghuai immediately opened the hand-bound booklet.

It really recorded the customs of many places in Yunzhou, from vegetation and climate to food and clothing, and even which restaurant had famous snacks and how much they cost, and many places were also accompanied by illustrations.

Every stroke was written by Lu Yanchen himself.

The markings on the maps are also in Lu Yanchen's handwriting.

"Some of these places I have been to when I was young, and some I heard from fellow soldiers. Although I cannot trust them all, Your Majesty can use them as a reference. The map of the west is not yet complete. Your Majesty has sent me to the west this time, and I will take this opportunity to complete the map of the Hanhai area as well."

Lu Yanchen explained, but Ye Qinghuai didn't seem to listen carefully.

Her eyes traced the winding outline of the White Mountains on the map inch by inch, the fortresses along the Baishui River, and the detailed and concise annotations.

The towering mountains and snow-capped mountains of Yunzhou, the ingenious fortifications, the shouts and aroma of wine in the bustling city, all seemed to appear before her eyes one by one.

"Sir...how long did it take to do this?"

"About four or five months."

Ye Qinghuai suddenly remembered that when she asked Shen Guidi about Lu Yanchen, Shen Guidi once said that Lu Yanchen had been asking about the local situation along the way, and he would foreshadow it until late at night every night.

It turns out that’s what he was doing.

Just because she once said in a letter that she wanted to visit Yunzhou.

Lu Yanchen took it to heart, even though Ye Qinghuai had forgotten such a polite remark. He couldn't take the emperor out of Shengjing, but at least he could present Yunzhou in his eyes to Ye Qinghuai in this way.

Ye Qinghuai's nose suddenly felt sore and his eyes were a little misty.

Her husband was devoted and dedicated to her, the emperor, and the Ye Dynasty without reservation.

But she still doubted him.

She sent the Eagle Guards to monitor him secretly, ready to kill him at any time if he defected. She was even wary of him when she sent him to lead the troops westward, and was only willing to give him a few thousand men.

A mixture of guilt and emotion surged up in Ye Qinghuai's heart, making his throat feel blocked.

Since her rebirth, she has learned many truths that she did not understand in her previous life. For example, the relationship between people is essentially an exchange of interests; for example, people's words often have subtexts, and that is their true intention; for example, there is no such thing as good intentions without reason in this world.

The young emperor, who has just come of age, is stumbling around learning the rules of the game in the world of power in a court full of scheming old men.

She learned quickly. She learned to be patient and wait, to check and balance and win over others, and to be wary of everyone.

Unconsciously, she had erected a high wall of suspicion around herself.

She doubted everyone around her equally, including her closest people Zhou Shouyi and Aunt Fanghua.

This suspicion made her feel safe, yet lonely.

But at this moment, Lu Yanchen silently broke down the high wall with a map and a handwritten travelogue.

After a long while, Ye Qinghuai said, "Thank you for your trouble, sir. This is the best birthday gift I have received this year. I will keep it properly."

Hearing this, Lu Yanchen's usually serious brows seemed to relax a little, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

  As he smiled, Ye Qinghuai silently made a decision in his heart. And this decision will change the fate of many people.
-

The year 2014 is destined to be a restless one.

This can be seen from the frequency of cabinet meetings at the beginning of the year.

The annual budget, which was supposed to be finalized before the New Year, was not finalized until the fifth day of the New Year.

The cabinet started working on the new year in advance from the second day of the Lunar New Year, after all, all the states and ministries were waiting for the money to be allocated in the new year. However, the budget had not yet been finalized, so the Ministry of Revenue could not open its purse, and the work of the states and ministries was difficult to advance.

The budget for the new year was not released until the day before the Lantern Festival.

Among them, the budgets of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry have both increased significantly, while the budgets of the other four ministries have shrunk to varying degrees.

Along with the budget, a series of new policies for the new year were also released. The biggest change was in the military system. Not only did some of the land that was previously considered civilian land become military land, but the demarcation method of military land and the tax grain collection policy were also refined according to the conditions of each prefecture.

The military farming system has always been used to prepare for war. Now that it is being implemented on a large scale across the country, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Dajing is going to war.

In addition, the fourteenth day of the first lunar month is also the day when Lu Yanchen leads his troops to set out.

Ye Qinghuai ordered that only 5,000 troops be drawn from the front-line troops for Lu Yanchen, but issued an amnesty order giving Lu Yanchen the privilege of selecting personnel, including the composition of the entire army, and gave this new army better treatment than ordinary troops.

Because the military pay was almost doubled, many people in the army wanted to join the Western Army and the recruitment office was crowded.

But there are also people who are cautiously watching.

"I told you before that General Lu used to be the emperor's teacher and was His Majesty's confidant, but you didn't believe it. Look at the situation now, where have you seen it before? The salary of a centurion in this Western Army is as high as that of a thousand-man captain and a lieutenant in the rear army." Several centurions sat together and chatted in a small tent.

"At that time, I thought, if your Majesty's confidant could be exiled to such a far and cold place, it would be better to start as a military advisor."

"But this is strange. If your majesty values ​​General Lu, why did he transfer him to Hanhai where there are few battles? The people there are much more miserable than here, and he was only given 5,000 men."

"Speaking of this, do you know anything? I heard that in General He's previous plan, the Western Army was to deploy 20,000 troops, but later it seemed to be rejected by His Majesty, and only 5,000 troops were given."

"Ah? From what you said, why do I feel that General Lu doesn't look like His Majesty's confidant, but more like General He's confidant?"

"You don't know this, right? Who is behind He Shuai?"

Several people nodded in sudden realization.

"Minister Gu is General Lu's mentor. It was Minister Gu who recommended General Lu to the court."

"Didn't General Lu pass the imperial examination and become an official? What else do you need to be recommended?"

"There are so many Jinshi in every imperial examination. How can the emperor know who is who? Without the recommendation of a high-ranking official, how can one sit in the position of the emperor's tutor?"

"If you put it that way, it makes sense. No wonder His Majesty wanted to slash the number of troops allocated to the Western Army. It turns out that it's because General Lu is Prime Minister Gu's man."

"But if that's what you said, why did Your Majesty pay the Western Army such a high salary?"

"Who knows? Maybe He Shuai or Gu Xiang fought for it."

Several people were talking about some secrets of the imperial court that they had heard from somewhere. (End of this chapter)