first minister

It was getting late, and a girl with bright eyes and white teeth stood openly in the hall of Lieyangguan City Lord's Mansion.

Her hair is not pulled up like a Daxia woman to reveal her snow-white swan neck. Instead, she wraps her hair with a very prairie-style headdress, with more than a dozen thin pigtails hanging down, following her movements in the wind. dance.

The Beiliang clothing on her body is not a rare style, but the leopard skin pattern on her waist just adds a rare hint of wild beauty.

If it were just like this, it would be nothing more than a little exotic, but that face was so beautiful.

Oval face, water-cut pupils, beautiful nose and soft red lips;

The waist is slender but not weak, the legs are slender and energetic,

Just standing there, she felt an indescribable vitality, as bright as the morning sun on the grassland.

Jin Jiancheng and Xia Yunfei stared blankly at the woman in front of them. It was getting late, but this was clearly the rising sun, or at least the pearls were shining brightly, filling the room with brilliance.

Yelu Caiqi looked at the two men in front of him and said calmly: "Have you seen enough?"

"Cough cough!"

Jin Jiancheng coughed twice, straightened up, and touched the corner of his mouth pretending to be unintentional to see if there was any drool that had flowed out unintentionally.

With his status, he is not in such a bad situation.

On a normal day, of course, it would be stable. Even when he saw the beautiful and fragrant Concubine De, he never lost his composure. But this is in the army. When he opens his eyes, he will see a rough man in the army. Sometimes he looks at a sow. They all felt that among the handsome and handsome soldiers, who could not be confused when they were caught off guard and met such a stunning beauty?

Xia Yunfei's performance was much better. He cupped his fists and saluted, "Girl, you are saying that you are the granddaughter of King Dingxi of Daliang?"

Yelucaiqi nodded and looked curiously at Xia Yunfei, who was dressed in casual clothes, "Are you the Marquis named Xia from the Southern Dynasty?"

According to Daxia's etiquette, her actions and words were somewhat rude, but the way she showed it was just natural simplicity and not offensive.

Xia Yunfei nodded, "I am indeed the Marquis named Xia, but the person you want to see should be another person."

Yelu Caiqi looked at him, "Then who do you think is more powerful, you or him?"

Xia Yunfei pursed his lips and said, "It depends on what aspect you are talking about."

Yelu Caiqi's face suddenly turned red, and the maid accompanying her said angrily: "You are so rude! How can you be so rude!"

Xia Yunfei frowned and was about to speak when Jin Jiancheng, who had seen him before, quickly pulled the old virgin's sleeve and explained with a smile while changing the topic, "Young lady, I misunderstood. Marquis Jianning and Marquis Xing'an are cousins." , each has his or her own merits in both literature and martial arts. But is the girl here here to give advice on behalf of King Dingxi, or is it for something else?"

Yelu Caiqi nodded calmly, "Yes, the little girl is following the order of grandpa to find Marquis Jianning of your country to discuss anything."

However, although her performance was flawless, the panic in the eyes of the maids behind her did not escape Jin Jiancheng's eyes. He chuckled and was about to speak. This time, he was interrupted by Xia Yunfei. Xia Yunfei looked at Yelucaiqi, "Miss Yelu, you have worked hard on this journey. It is getting late now and Marquis Jianning is not here. How about you rest in the city first and we will make arrangements tomorrow?"

Yelucaiqi nodded, then suddenly turned around and looked at them, clutching his chest, his eyes moving, "You won't do anything to a weak woman like me, right?"

This style, which was completely different from that of Daxia women, was an eye-opener for both Jin Jiancheng and Xia Yunfei.

Jin Jiancheng twitched his lips, "Miss Yelu, you don't know how many people are following you to protect you secretly, right?"

Yelu Caiqi's eyes showed slyly, "Thank you very much, sir! I'll wait for your news early tomorrow morning!"

Jin Jiancheng was worried and personally sent them to a separate courtyard and asked his personal guards to closely guard them. After ensuring their safety, he returned to the house.

"Dingyuan, why did you stop me earlier? Do you have any ideas?"

Xia Yunfei ignored his teasing, but looked at him and said, "What were your original plans?"

"What else can we do? Of course we need to send him back to Daliang quickly!"

After listening to Jin Jiancheng's words, Xia Yunfei smiled and said, "It would have been natural to do this before, but now Yelvshi has successfully abolished the throne and became a powerful minister in the Northern Liang Dynasty."

Jin Jiancheng thought for a moment and raised his eyebrows, "Are you trying to say that you will use Yelu Caiqi who came to your door as a handle to control Yelv Shi?"

Jin Jiancheng knew that Xia Jingyun had conspired with Yelvshi. Although he didn't know the specific content, he could guess some of Xia Yunfei's intentions when he heard what he said.

Xia Yunfei hummed, "I just think this may be an opportunity, but it's up to Erlang to decide how to use it. It just so happens that Miss Yelu wants to see him, so let's send someone to Yuyan Prefecture. , let Erlang decide whether to return it or not."

"That's true." Jin Jiancheng nodded, then with a hint of a smirk and a wink, "You didn't think about staying by yourself?"

Xia Yunfei turned to look at him, "I still know myself."

Jin Jiancheng patted him on the shoulder, "The Marquis who fought for himself at the age of twenty-three! What woman can't get him!"

Xia Yunfei said slowly: "Erlang is only twenty-one years old."

Jin Jiancheng glanced at him resentfully, as if he hated iron for not becoming steel.

It's okay. Why are you comparing yourself to that monster?

If you are so humble, I am afraid it is not Marquis Jianning who uses Yelu Caiqi as a handle, but Yelu Caiqi who uses Marquis Jianning as a handle! ——

In Lieyang Pass, two men were discussing Yelu Caiqi's future.

In the palace of Prince Dingxi, which is now the most powerful in the capital city, her father Yelu De was already a little panicked.

"Father, I just received a reply. Girl Caiqi went directly to Lieyang Pass!"

Yelvshi calmly flipped through the official documents from the court without raising his head, "Is there any problem with safety on the road?"

"That's not true. When she escaped from Shangjing City with her maid, our tribe secretly followed to protect them."

"Then just let her be. It's not necessarily a bad thing."

"what?"

Yelvshi did not explain, but simply said: "Think about it for yourself. Even if you are a close relative, you must remain absolutely calm at all times so as not to be controlled by emotions and feelings."

Yelude knew that this was also a test for him by his father, so he immediately forced himself to calm down.

When her father said to let her go, it wasn't because he didn't care about Yelu Caiqi. On the contrary, because of the relationship between relatives, he regarded Yelu Caiqi as the apple of his eye.

In this case, the reason is that he doesn't think there will be any problem if Yelucaiqi goes to Lieyang Pass.

Why is this?

In Lieyang Pass, there is Jiang Yuhu, the God of Killing in the Southern Dynasties. Oh no, according to the intelligence, this person is now in Yuyan Prefecture.

There were also defenders from the Southern Dynasties, but as long as his baby daughter's identity was revealed, her safety should be guaranteed and she would most likely be returned directly.

This is indeed not a bad thing.

Wait, that’s not right!

If that was the case, her father would have said "That's no problem, just wait" instead of just letting her go.

If you let her go, where can she go?

If the Southern Dynasty defenders didn't send her back, where else would they send her? Zhongjing City in the Southern Dynasties?

Should it be handed over to the Queen Mother of the Southern Dynasty, or to that Xia Jingyun?

Xia Jingyun!

When this name came to mind, his instinct as a cabbage guardian instantly alerted him!

Yes! Xia Jingyun!

He immediately realized an issue that he had ignored until now. The reason why his precious daughter ran away from home was precisely because she was dissatisfied with her family using her marriage as a pawn.

It was just that her majesty forced her to marry a prince of Zhennan whom she didn't love at all. She finally broke off the engagement, but was sent to the palace by her family on her own initiative. Based on this, she would find ways to run away from home secretly.

And in this situation, what will she do?

This seems like a good thing to speculate on.

And that ending is what my father said, and it's not necessarily a bad thing.

Thinking of this, he thought about the logic again secretly. After confirming that there was no problem, he whispered: "Father, the Marquis of Jianning in the Southern Dynasty already had two wives and two concubines."

Yelvshi glanced at his son with relief, put down the document in his hand, and said slowly: "That's something he should consider, isn't it?"

Yelude's first reaction was that his father was saying that Xia Jingyun should consider how to marry his daughter. It was only in the next moment that he understood what his father really meant.

It is precisely because Marquis Jianning already has these wives and concubines that nothing will happen to his precious daughter. This is just an encounter, and Yelu Caiqi will still be returned safely and intact.

And even if he is really obsessed with beauty and wants to happen, with his wisdom, he will definitely arrange it properly and will not lose his status in the Yelu family. This is also a place where he can feel safe when interacting with smart people of the same family.

Needless to say, Xia Jingyun's talents were not limited to her father's personal experience. He thought that marrying her would not count as marriage.

If what my father said is really feasible, this marriage will be a bond between the North and the South to ensure mutual trust.

After thinking about this, he felt relieved. As long as Yelu Caiqi could arrive at Lieyang Pass safely under the escort of the Yelu family, this would really not be a problem.

The only possibility is some rumors in the court, but do the Yelu family still care about those things now? ——

At the same time in Yuyan Prefecture, Xia Jingyun, who had no idea that a cauldron or a piece of good fortune had been delivered to him through the air, was sitting in his room in Prefecture City, calmly reading the information.

Thanks to the joint efforts of Mr. Zhao and Yanzhi, Heibingtai's intelligence network recovered quickly.

At the same time, he also seized the opportunity to push back from Longshou Prefecture to Yuyan Prefecture, and rebuilt the intelligence network in Yuyan Prefecture through the rare opportunity of large-scale population migration and resettlement. Therefore, Xia Jingyun's actions in Yuyan Prefecture were not taken lightly. A touch of darkness.

It is precisely because of this that his eyesight is not blinded, allowing him to see from the pieces of information these people who use practical actions to interpret "people die for money, birds die for food".

It is obvious that the entire Yuyan State has been firmly controlled by the imperial army, and no one can afford to cause any trouble;

Obviously, so many aristocratic families who had stubbornly resisted have been wiped out of this world;

Obviously what he wants to do now will not cause a devastating blow to the local wealthy families, but it is just to find out the family background of Yuyanzhou so that he can take the next step;

However, some wealthy families are still unwilling to obey obediently, but they try their best to contact and respond in an attempt to stop this matter.

Jiang Yuhu sat aside and said calmly: "If you ask me, just kill him and it will be over. There are many people rushing to fill their positions, so you don't need to think so much."

Xia Jingyun nodded, "This is indeed an idea. It's just that there are generals in Swift State, so they can do this, but the other states don't have the military power of the generals to suppress them. It will be difficult for them to deal with it then."

Chen Fugui on the side stared silently, as if to say: No, is this possible?

Jiang Yuhu pursed his lips and said, "If you want to ask for trouble, then there's nothing you can do. Just work hard on your own, and I'll go out for a walk."

After Jiang Yuhu left, Xia Jingyun continued to flip through the information in his hand and said with a smile: "Brother Chen, what do you think these people will think of to stop this?"

Chen Fugui smiled and said, "Young master, when you ask me, you are asking blind questions."

"There will always be some things I didn't expect when we are three together. Can you tell me?"

Seeing Xia Jingyun's insistence, Chen Fugui thought for a while, "The only place where these people can exert their strength is in the court. Wan Xiang and Yan Xiang are not able to deal with the young master, and they often make trouble in secret. If If they interfere, there may be some setbacks.”

Xia Jingyun hummed, "On the surface, it seems like this is the only way they can go."

Chen Fugui understood as soon as he heard it. It seemed that he had guessed wrong, "Young master, you mean they want to find another way?"

Xia Jingyun did not answer directly, but smiled softly, "What do you think is good and what is evil?"

Chen Fugui twisted his thick black eyebrows and gave a simple but correct answer, "Doing good things is good, doing bad things is evil."

"From a personal level, that's true." Xia Jingyun nodded, "But from a court level, what is goodness? Let the whole society have a stable order and have a lower cost for the whole society to operate. This is goodness, or this is what is called kindness. Simply using personal goodness and evil as the standard to perform the functions of the court may eventually cause great evil at the social level."

Perhaps knowing that Chen Fugui could not understand, he continued to explain: "For example, the imperial court took pity on those who worked part-time and could only earn meager wages, and ordered that the daily wages of all hired workers within the imperial court should not be less than five yuan. Wen, is this good?”

Chen Fugui nodded, "Of course."

“But if the social economy is not developed enough, the result will be that many employers will reduce the number of people they employ, leaving many people who could earn money every day to maintain their basic livelihood to starve because they have no work to do. Die in the streets.”

Chen Fugui's eyes widened, but his experience from the bottom told him that this was very likely to happen.

"Another example is that the imperial court took pity on those who sold themselves into slavery. Seeing that they were often beaten, scolded, humiliated and even killed, they announced the abolition of slaves, restored all slaves to civilian status, changed them to employment relationships, signed contracts, and killed them as if they were civilians. This is Benevolent government?”

Chen Fugui hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded unable to refute, "Yes."

"But for the vast majority of slaves, they will not appreciate it, because they can have a place in the houses of wealthy families, and they only need to do their part. But as soon as the court's decree comes out, among them Many people will inevitably be driven out of their families. From then on, they will have to face corvee, tax, livelihood, and ups and downs alone. Then what can they do? Refugees, robbers, bandits. This method may be able to save some people. But it will cause unrest at the level of society as a whole.”

Chen Fugui was shocked when he heard this, but had no way to refute, because he also knew that this was indeed very likely to happen, but he still frowned after all, "But isn't this wrong and shouldn't be done?"

Xia Jingyun looked at him with a smile on his face, "It's not that we won't do it, but we can't do it all at once. In my hometown, there is a famous saying that if you take too big a step, you will easily end up in trouble. If the political situation of the court is stable, With light corvee and low tax, and at the same time sufficient land distribution, you can slowly plan for it. Every year, every three years, some people will be released according to a certain proportion and a certain standard. In this way, there will naturally be no problems. This is also This is the reason why I only checked the fields and people this time, without any other actions."

Chen Fugui finally understood, "Young master, what you are saying is that these wealthy families may make a fuss about this, make things worse, make the people complain, and finally let the master bear the public grievances?"

"That's right!" Can the New Deal still be implemented? People are so angry that not even my sister can protect me, right?"

When Chen Fugui heard this, he was subconsciously panicked at first. Then he looked at Xia Jingyun's calm and calm expression and smiled, "Since the young master has already guessed their route, I don't think they can escape from the young master with all their tricks."

Xia Jingyun narrowed his eyes slightly and looked out the window with a murderous look on his face, "Let's take a look. I hope they don't go too far, otherwise I'm afraid I won't be able to restrain my murderous intention."
-

At the same time, outside the capital of Yuyan Prefecture, in an ordinary Zhuangzi, many carriages came quietly tonight.

These carriages all have an ordinary appearance, and do not have any decorations that symbolize status. They are just like ordinary cars rented from a carriage and horse shop.

Almost no lanterns were lit in the village. Figures got off the carriage one by one and silently entered a secret room by the dim light of the lanterns.

In the secret room, a dim candle lit up the gloomy faces of everyone in the room.

When the last person walked in, the door was gently closed, and an old man on the main seat slowly spoke, "Now that Marquis Jianning wants to implement a new policy in Yuyan Prefecture, what do you think?" (End of Chapter)