Traveling through the emperor, overthrowing the empress dowager at the beginning

In Taiqian Palace.

"Empress, if I can persuade the Qiang people to deploy their troops on the Tatar border, will the Tatars, distracted by this, withdraw their troops?"

Ye Chen suddenly asked.

Tubo was too far away from Tatar and was out of reach, while the Qiang people were located to the west of Dayu, right next to Tatar.

"what?"

Su Mengjiao widened her eyes slightly, extremely surprised.

"Emperor, what kind of joke are you making? Why would you let the Qiang people fight for you?"

After being surprised, Su Mengjiao felt as if she had heard a huge joke. This was simply a fairy tale.

"Queen Dowager, the Qiang people are neighbors to the Tatars. Have they always been friendly neighbors, with no previous friction?"

Ye Chen asked in confusion.

Based on his understanding of these barbarians, it is impossible for two neighboring barbarian forces to live in peace forever.

"Emperor, there was indeed a war between the Qiang and the Tatars, but the Tatars grew stronger over time, and we haven't heard of any friction between the Qiang and them in recent years. By the way, the Qiang Khan even married the eldest daughter of the Tatar Khan, and the two sides have reached an agreement, almost an alliance."

Su Mengjiao sneered.

In his opinion, given the current relationship between the Qiang people and the Tatars, how could they possibly fight?

"Then Queen Mother, there must be many tribal forces within the Qiang people. Even if the Qiang Khan does not want to fight the Tatars, there should be forces within the Qiang tribes that oppose their Khan. I intend to take advantage of this."

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes and said in a very confident tone.

Hearing this, Su Mengjiao frowned slightly, and after a moment's contemplation, she said, "Emperor, you are taking things for granted. We know nothing about the internal situation of the Qiang people. Even if there are forces within the Qiang people who do not submit to their Chanyu, what gives you the right to let them serve you?"

"What you said is just wishful thinking."

Su Mengjiao shook her head, still feeling that Ye Chen's statement was unreliable.

Ye Chen also agreed with Su Mengjiao's words.

Indeed, these are problems.

We must first understand the internal situation of the Qiang people, formulate a reasonable foreign policy, and then send someone who is eloquent and has a say among the Qiang people.

Even so, the success rate is not necessarily high.

"In short, we need to find someone who is familiar with the Qiang people to ask first."

Ye Chen frowned and thought. As far as he could remember, there was no such talent among the civil and military officials in the court.

Even if there is, he is Yang Dechang's man.

"Your Majesty, Du Min is in charge of the horse market. Many of the horses there come from the western frontier. If you really want to know about the Qiang people, you can go and ask him."

When Su Mengjiao saw Ye Chen's frown, she suddenly felt a little reluctant. After all, Ye Chen and she were on the same front at this time, both for Dayu's country, and she also wanted the Tatars to withdraw, so she spoke up to remind him.

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen's eyes suddenly lit up.

Yes, he had indeed seen many barbarians in the horse market, and among them might be the Qiang people from Xihammer.

As an official who has managed Ma City for many years, Du Min must have a deep understanding of these Qiang people.

"By the way, how's Du Min's progress in checking the Ministry of Revenue's accounts?"

Ye Chen suddenly asked.

"Half of the account books submitted by states and provinces across the country this year have been reconciled."

Su Mengjiao smiled slightly, with a smile between her eyes, and there was a hint of obvious joy in her eyes as she looked at Ye Chen.

Ye Chen might be a little impulsive, but Su Mengjiao also acknowledged the ability he showed in the Ministry of Household Investigation.

"Oh, he's in the side hall now, I'll go find him."

Ye Chen stood up and walked towards the side hall.

Seeing this, Su Mengjiao did not stop him, but stood up and walked away.

She also wanted to hear about the Qiang people.

Even though she felt Ye Chen’s plan was unreliable, it would be useful to learn more about these foreign races.

In the side hall.

"Click!" "Click!" "Click!" The sound of the abacus kept ringing.

Around Du Min, bamboo slips were piled up like a small mountain. He was counting numbers on an abacus. His eye shadow was a little dark and his face showed fatigue, but he looked very excited.

Suddenly, the door of the side hall was pushed open.

Du Min was shocked all over, and when she looked up suddenly, she saw Ye Chen standing at the door.

"Long live my emperor, long live the emperor!"

Du Min quickly stood up and bowed.

"Be flat."

Ye Chen waved his hand and looked at Du Min, frowning slightly: "Minister Du, did you get enough rest last night?"

"Your Majesty, in just one more day, the accounts of all prefectures, counties, and cities will be fully verified this year. I do not need to rest!"

Du Min shook his head, his face firm.

Seeing this, Ye Chen stopped trying to persuade him and said directly, "Come here, serve the imperial tea to Minister Du."

"I thank you Lord for your kindness!"

Du Min was deeply moved.

"Minister Du, I came to see you today because I have something to ask you."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

Du Min listened attentively.

"You've been managing the horse market for these years. Do you have a good understanding of the Qiang people?"

Hearing this, Du Min frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I only deal with horse merchants and not the Qiang people very often. However, I know that Qiang horses are strong and have great endurance, and their Ferghana horses are the finest of horses!"

Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"but."

Du Min changed the subject and said, "I do know a horse merchant who has been dealing with the Qiang people for a long time. He must know everything about the Qiang people."

"Oh, where is that person?"

Ye Chen asked immediately.

"Your Majesty, this person is usually at the horse market, but recently, he has not appeared much, and the horses he collected have been resold by people from the Jing'an Marquis' Mansion."

Du Min said so.

"Who are you talking about? The Marquis of Jing'an's Mansion?"

Ye Chen was slightly stunned. This was not the first time he heard this word. He immediately remembered Chen Tao, whom he had met at the horse market. He still had a horse in this guy's hands.

"Emperor, what happened to the Jing'an Marquis Mansion?"

Su Mengjiao was a little surprised.

Ye Chen's reaction was obviously wrong.

"Empress Dowager, I have had some dealings with people from the Jing'an Marquis' Mansion. Anyway, if we find the people from the Jing'an Marquis' Mansion, we can find the horse merchant, right?"

Ye Chen smiled slightly, then looked at Du Min and asked, "Minister Du, what is the name of that horse merchant?"

"Your Majesty, his name is Zhou Nanyi!"

"Ok!"

Ye Chen nodded and turned to look at Su Mengjiao.

"Empress Dowager, I have to leave the palace for a while. I want to meet Zhou Nanyi in person. If he is truly talented, I will definitely make use of him."

Hearing this, Su Mengjiao's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she said with some concern, "Emperor, he's just a horse dealer. Do you really have to go find him in person? Can't you summon him to court?"

Hearing this, Ye Chen insisted: "Queen Dowager, people can pretend, some things still need to be seen to be believed."

Du Min also said, "Queen Dowager, Your Majesty, this Zhou Nanyi is obsessed with business. I once tried to help him change his status to a good person and stay with me to help me manage the horse market, but he refused. Just summon him to the palace. Whether we can find him or not is another matter. Even if we do find him, based on my understanding of him, he will definitely not come."

Su Mengjiao was surprised when she heard this.

She had never seen anyone who was unwilling to be an official but only wanted to be a businessman. After all, among the five classes of people, scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants, merchants were of low status.

After hearing this, Ye Chen became even more interested in Zhou Nanyi.

He doesn't want to be an official, he just wants to do business. This person must have a story.

Perhaps, this person is like Du Min. Seeing the powerful officials’ influence, he does not want to be involved in corruption or waste time.

Then this person might be a talent.

Ye Chen must go and see it in person.