To Rule in a Turbulent World

In the south of the Yangtze River in late spring, catkins are flying.

On the tenth day after Li Zhifeng left, Zhao Chao finally announced the negotiation plan for taking back the two emperors in the court. The whole process was formulated by the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Academy. Under the coordination of Li Zhifeng, talks will be held with the Tatar side through the Xiongnu and Dier tribes.

At the same time, the internal struggle for the throne of Tatar also came to an end. Hu Richa Khan died, Queen Baoyin, who was born in Wuhu, listened to the government behind the curtain, and the little prince Natu came to the throne.

On the surface, this is good news for the Han people, but in fact it is not.He Motie'er still holds a large number of troops, but they are only stationed in the area east of the Central Plains.The whole Central Plains was divided into east and west, the east belonged to the Tatars, and the west belonged to the Xiongnu.And the Chaoliang West Plain went deep, and became the territory of the Di, Jie, and Qiang separatists.

The next most important thing is to test Tatar's attitude towards the apocalypse.

Yes and war are all in one thought.Xie Hui, Tang Yu and others believed that if Queen Baoyin agreed to the peace talks, then for a long time to come, perhaps for at least ten years, the whole world would be divided into three kingdoms.The Tatars occupied the northeast and the north of the Central Plains, while the Xiongnu and other Huns, as well as Xianbei, which was hit hard by the apocalypse, separated the Central Plains from the West and Northwest.

Apocalypse The Han people retreated to the southern half of the country south of the Tiger Pao River and became the Southern Dynasty.

Once the situation is formed, it will be time for the Southern Dynasty to make great efforts to govern. Within three to five years, it is not appropriate to use troops rashly, but to seek development in the south of the Yangtze River, and then go to war in the north after raising enough troops.

It has to be said that this is an inevitable situation, and everyone in the DPRK and China very much agrees with Xie Hui's inference.And You Miao keenly discovered one thing - everyone's discussion almost didn't pay much attention to Zhao Chao.After all, these are the duties of the prince after he returns.

Zhao Chao watched the crowd discuss with cold eyes, and suddenly said, "You Miao, what do you think?"

You Miao was also a little distracted, thinking about the series of changes that would be triggered after the prince's meditation position, and was suddenly asked by Zhao Chao, and came back to his senses.

"I think this statement is reasonable." You Miao said.

Everyone nodded, and You Miao said again: "Jiangnan has collected 40 shi of grain this year. After several years of accumulation, it will be able to feed 20 soldiers and horses. After three consecutive years of fighting, Kukong is exhausted now. It is indeed time to rest. Yes. The implementation of the new law went smoothly, but because last year, the year before last was an extraordinary period, so all places in the south of the Yangtze River had to accept it.”

"But the new law itself has many disadvantages, and it needs enough time to ease and digest." You Miao said again: "The military training takes a long time, so I agree with the opinions of Master Xie and Master Tang. In the next three years, it is not appropriate to take it lightly. War is declared."

Zhao Chao didn't respond, just nodded.

"Then let's follow Zhuqing's opinion." Zhao Chao said.

After saying this, Chaozhong was silent for a while.

Zhao Chao said again: "Who still has the copy? There is the copy."

All the ministers in the DPRK and China were thinking about the return of the prince, but no one played for a while.

Zhao Chao said, "I'm tired too, so I'll leave the court without a reason."

The ministers bowed one after another, and Zhao Chao got up and left.

This time, the retreat in the early court was a bit bleak and desolate, all the officials did not expect it, they had been noisy and gossiping for the past few days, and Zhao Chao had already made a decision about welcoming back the Second Northern Emperor.

You Miao came to court, and finally someone from the palace summoned Zhao Chao to see him.This is the second private meeting between the monarch and his ministers since the last time they had a big fight with Nie Dan.Originally, You Miao was here almost every day, and every morning after court, Zhao Chao had something to discuss with him.But recently, gradually, Zhao Chao always feels like avoiding him.

You Miao was a little nervous about this for a few days, but she remembered what Sun Yu had mentioned before, the way in the officialdom.Once a person is in a high position, he has to face the emperor's mind, power ministers' checks and balances, etc. that he has never encountered before.The same is true of the struggle between Li Yan's father, Li Xiangguo, and Sun Yu.Occasionally, the old emperor would temporarily leave one of them alone, not because he fell out of favor or offended the king.To do this, firstly, to take into account the wishes of all the ministers, and secondly, to prevent the ministers from being self-sufficient, it is also a common thing. When You Miao thought of this, she stopped worrying.

However, seeing him today, You Miao vaguely sensed something——Zhao Chao was getting old.

That kind of feeling is indeed old. When they met in the morning, they were far away from each other. They didn't look carefully. When they came to the imperial study, they found that Zhao Chao had a lot of gray hair on his temples, and his face was tired and haggard.

The last time Zhao Chao gave him this feeling was when You Miao met again when You Miao returned to Beijing to take the exam after a few years of separation.At that time, Zhao Chao changed from a boy to a mature young man.But now, Zhao Chao is already aging prematurely.

You Miao felt a little uncomfortable watching it, and couldn't say it for a while.

"Did Your Majesty sleep well?" You Miao asked.

Zhao Chao asked back, "What do you say?"

You Miao said: "If you can't rest well, let the imperial doctor prescribe some medicine to soothe the nerves and nourish the mind."

Zhao Chao nodded. You Miao knew that there were not many papers sent to Zhao Chao recently, and most of the government affairs were in the political affairs hall, so she helped him deal with them.What else could bother him?Of course that's all there is to it.

Zhao Chao said, "Are you blaming me for not letting you go as an envoy, but instead sending Li Yan and Xie Quan?"

You Miao's heart trembled, and she hurriedly said, "I dare not."

Zhao Chao looked at You Miao, and You Miao subconsciously wanted to lower her head, but she thought that she must not be guilty at this time, and she could not avoid Zhao Chao's gaze, so she said, "It is indeed most appropriate for Your Majesty to send Li Yan and Xie Quan. Li Yan had a good relationship with the crown prince back then, and Xie Quanneng represented the Jiangnan family."

"Hmm." Zhao Chao nodded.

You Miao was still a little worried, and said, "I'm afraid Li Yan can't do it."

Zhao Chao said: "He can, you forgot, that kid Li Yan also understands the overall situation."

You Miao nodded silently, and Zhao Chao said again: "I know you are worried. After all, Li Yan once took refuge in my elder brother, and I asked him to negotiate for fear that he would change the direction of the wind again. But Li Yan, who wants to climb up, is still the same. You have to rely on me. My emperor brother will not reuse him."

You Miao could only say: "Yes."

Zhao Chao got up, paced in front of the desk, and said: "Back then, my imperial brother was always guarding against him, it should be said that he was guarding against the Li family father and son. No one would believe my imperial brother. Besides, even if the imperial brother came back Well, I'm letting go, the only ones he wants to win over are the Jiangnan family, and he won't miss Li Yan, and Li Yan won't get any benefits."

You Miao understood, and replied, "Yes."

"I won't let you go." Zhao Chao said again: "I want to pick you out. After all, it's better for the courtiers to be less involved in the abolition of the establishment. You are willing to do this for me. The third brother appreciates your kindness. But If you do it, you will not be able to escape the reputation of a treacherous sycophant in this life. After the two of us die in the future, we will inevitably be talked about by future generations. The eldest brother will also turn against you, so if you can not let you go into troubled water, just try your best I won't let you go. Let Li Yan be the treacherous minister."

You Miao couldn't laugh or cry, knowing that Zhao Chao was also trying to protect herself, so she nodded, feeling a little moved in her heart.