bastard returns

"This is just one of them. It should be noted that there is another possibility. The Empress Dowager Xia values ​​such a fine iron ore, perhaps not just to allow Daxia to stabilize the military over Dazhou, but to fill her own pockets. What?" Ning Yuan said.

"Filling into private pockets?" Everyone was taken aback for a while, and after a while, Emperor Xia seemed to understand something, and said with a gloomy face: "Master Ning, what does the empress dowager want to monopolize that mine?"

"This matter is not impossible." Huyan Yuanchen thought for a while, and agreed: "Otherwise, there is no need to hide such a thing as refined iron ore, which is very important to Da Xia, and the Queen Mother can take it away. The matter is made public in exchange for higher morale of the army, so why should it be kept so secret."

"That's what I mean." Ning Yuan nodded and said, "The Empress Dowager Xia kept this matter secret, so she didn't know that she had a desire to monopolize it. Now that His Majesty is in decline in the court, if the Empress Dowager Xia really let the Murong clan monopolize the whole palace." Iron ore, His Majesty thinks, can the name of the first family of Great Xia still fall safely on the head of the Huyan family?"

"If this is the case, let the Murong family monopolize the entire mine. With the current strength of the Murong family, it is easy to build an elite army. In addition, the Queen Mother still controls the government. Day..." The more Emperor Xia said, the more ugly his face became, "Could it be that the Empress Dowager really wants the Murong family to replace the Huyan family as the royal family!"

"I'm afraid this is the only way to explain your Majesty's current situation." Ning Yuan said: "Your Majesty is the son of the Empress Dowager Xia. As the saying goes, mother and child should be heart-to-heart, even a tiger's poison does not eat its offspring, and Your Majesty is the king of a country." , but was so restrained by his biological mother, the throne is not worthy of the name, and even the royal family around him will be removed by the queen mother." Speaking of this, Ning Yuan glanced at Huyan Yuanchen, and then said: "The queen mother isolates your majesty in this way, and empties her majesty. One purpose, but it is definitely not for the stability of the imperial court, but to pave the way for one day to completely replace His Majesty sitting on that dragon chair."

Ning Yuan's tone was neither light nor serious, but what he said was like thunder, making everyone silent.

I don't know how long it took before Emperor Xia let out a long sigh, "I don't know what Master Ning said. The emperor told me so before, but the queen mother is also my biological mother. If there is no conclusive evidence, I don't want to go too far." mistrust him."

"Your Majesty's current situation is actually the best evidence." Hu Yanyuanchen said in a deep voice: "Although there are many military generals in the court who look forward to the Queen Mother, Your Majesty is not alone. I have been running in secret these days. I have contacted many royal family members who are willing to support His Majesty, but they are still a bit dwarfed by the power of the Queen Mother's party. If you want to make achievements, you still need to wait for the time. The most important thing now is how to stop the fine iron mine into the hands of the Empress Dowager."

"Brother Huyan is right." Sikong Xuan also echoed, "It seems that this refined iron ore is closely related to the current war between the two dynasties. , and it will be solved.”

"I know the queen mother's personality very well, but it is absolutely impossible to give up what she wants." Xia Di sighed softly, "If she is going to get that mine, unless the Zhou army can completely Only by driving Xia Jun out of the territory of Yanzhou and letting her know that there is no hope of getting involved can she stop thinking about it, but judging from the current confrontation between the two armies, this matter is not easy to achieve."

"Not necessarily." Ning Yuan suddenly said lightly.

The eyes of several people fell on him again, and Huyan Yuanchen said strangely: "Ah Yuan, do you have some tricks?"

Although Emperor Xia didn't have a thorough understanding of the relationship between Huyan Yuanchen and Ning Yuan, he also knew that it was extraordinary, so he didn't show any abnormality when Huyan Yuanchen said such an affectionate name in front of him. Sikong Xuan It's more commonplace to see it a lot, but Ning Yuan couldn't bear it, his face became slightly hotter, and then he shook his head and said: "It's not really a clever plan, it's just my guess, but there are seven or eight points. feasible."

Hearing his words, Emperor Xia and Sikong Xuan also showed curious eyes.

"The Empress Dowager Xia's move to send troops is just to get the news of Yanzhou's refined iron ore from Sikong Xu, but if you tell her that there is no refined iron ore in Yanzhou at all, and everything is Sikong Xu who is lying to her?" As Ning Yuan said, there was still a strange look in his eyes.

Emperor Xia and Huyan Yuanchen looked at each other, and after a while, Emperor Xia said: "This matter is feasible, but how can we convince the queen mother that the matter of the refined iron ore is non-existent? The reason why the queen mother mobilizes troops is likely to be that Sikong Xu should come up with something that can win her trust."

"Your Majesty, I may not be able to guarantee anything else, but when it comes to Empress Dowager Xia's trust in Sikong Xu, I can be sure that there will be absolutely no unbroken trust between them. I can even assert that, Empress Dowager Xia may have always been dubious about the fine iron ore."

"How can you see this?"

"If the Empress Dowager Xia really believes in the existence of refined iron ore in Yanzhou, and knows the exact location, why bother to send me a message to negotiate with His Majesty, and just press the army regardless of losses. With Great Xia The strength of the army, coupled with the fact that Yanzhou is already extremely barren, in the face of the onslaught, it is very likely that our Great Zhou will temporarily withdraw from Yanzhou to avoid the edge, and consolidate the front line in the rear. At that time, Yanzhou will naturally become The items in the Empress Dowager’s bag are no longer used to argue with me, but if this is done, it will be a very huge expenditure, whether it is the consumption of combat power or the consumption of food and salaries. It seems that even the Empress Dowager Xia will feel very heartbroken."

"I understand what you mean." Emperor Xia nodded, "If the refined iron ore really exists, the consumption of a little material and combat power is naturally nothing, but if the refined iron ore is a non-existent thing, then this matter The gain outweighs the loss, and it is precisely because the Empress Dowager is dubious about this matter that she did not do so."

"It's not just that." Ning Yuan continued: "I can even say that maybe Sikong Xu just revealed the existence of the refined iron ore to the Queen Mother Xia, but where is the specific location of the mine, Sikong Xu has no idea. He didn't say a word, he is the person who cherishes his life the most, and now he lives under the fence, even though he is a man's favorite, it is impossible not to give himself some backup hands. Out of greed for mines, it is useful to keep him for the time being, and it is not worth it. He would do things that would endanger him, and for Sikong Xu himself, he would avoid the situation of being caught dead, and he could even use this to trade with Empress Dowager Xia in exchange for greater benefits to himself."

"It's really a good strategy. If the trust between them is weak, this tactic is the best way to use it. Once the Queen Mother is convinced that the refined iron ore does not exist, then under the situation of insufficient preparation, Whether the army will be in a stalemate with Da Zhou is still a matter of opinion. There are nine out of ten chances that the troops will retreat, and once the troops retreat inexplicably, this child's play-like advance and retreat will naturally cause criticism in the army, and the empress dowager's prestige will also be shaken. Not only that, but Sikong Xu has to bear the empress dowager's wrath, and his fate will not be much better." Huyan Yuanchen was a little excited, and he clenched his right fist and slammed the left palm, "It's nothing else, once the empress dowager is in the army Once the prestige starts to waver, His Majesty will have a chance to set things right, it is really a clever plan to kill two birds with one stone."

"This strategy sounds good, but how to implement it." Emperor Xia was not as optimistic as Huyan Yuanchen, "Do you want me to persuade the Queen Mother?"

"I'm afraid that even if His Majesty is willing to go, the Empress Dowager will not trust His Majesty, but will be self-defeating instead." Ning Yuan pursed his lips and smiled, "The villain is already a little fussy about this matter, Your Majesty just needs to be patient with Huyan, but there is one thing, The villain has to explain to His Majesty in advance."

Emperor Xia's face turned serious, "Lord Ning, it's okay to say."

"The villain and His Royal Highness King Xi are willing to help His Majesty. One of the reasons is naturally for the truce of the two countries. The other is that Hu Yan once said that His Majesty is a wise king who cares about the people. Your Majesty understands that war can bring nothing but disasters and pain."

"Benevolence and righteousness are the first, and it is also the way of governing the country, I will remember it." Emperor Xia nodded solemnly.

****

King's Mansion of Jincheng County.

Murong Cheng received a post in the evening and went to Qian Jinghou's house to have a drink. Because Qian Jinghou knew about Murong Cheng's preferences, he found a lot of juicy and tender young men from the famous Nuanyu Pavilion in the city to accompany him. He couldn't hold back those young men After a gentle persuasion, he drank a few more glasses.

In Nuanyu Pavilion, all the teenagers who can leave the pavilion have been specially trained. Not only are they all outstanding in appearance, but they are all thirteen or fourteen years old. Their bodies have not yet fully grown. Murong Cheng couldn't put it down so much, after drinking a few cups of yellow soup, coupled with the teasing of the teenagers, Murong Cheng almost couldn't hold it back, he wanted to hug the most handsome ones and became absurd on the spot.

But when Qian Jinghou, the landlord, wanted to choose a quiet room for Murong Cheng, a distinguished guest, so that he could indulge in pleasure and enjoyment, Murong Cheng refused instead, and even blushed, no longer being tempted by those teenagers , got up and said goodbye.

Although Qian Jinghou was different, he didn't dare to keep guests, so he personally sent Murong Cheng outside the mansion, just got into the carriage, Murong Cheng rubbed between his legs, and told the driver to go back to the mansion quickly.

Of course, Murong Cheng is not a gentleman, the reason why he can sit still in the face of the temptations of those teenagers is nothing but because he has better things waiting for him at home, and he is unwilling to waste his energy outside.

Speaking of the better guy at home, even though Murong Cheng was sitting in the carriage, he couldn't help laughing lewdly a few times.

Since picking up Su Che from the inn last time, this little goblin seems to be a completely different person. He smiles at him like a flower every day, and his ability to serve others has improved by leaps and bounds. Murong Cheng has benefitted him endlessly.

In the past, Su Che was also the best among the men of the place, and he knew a lot of secret arts in the room. In addition, when he was with Sikong Xu, Sikong Xu specially found some rare exercises for Su Che to make himself happy. As Che practiced, those exercises had no other effects, but he was unique in the matter of splitting peaches and cutting off sleeves. Not only could the man's back eyes become smooth and firm like creamy fat, but he could also control their tightness and wriggling at will.

When Su Che served Murong Cheng before, it was only with perfunctory emotions, how could he use this kind of kung fu on him, but after Su Che fully unleashed this miraculous skill, Murong Cheng finally realized what it means to be swaying. The feeling of immortality, not to mention loving Su Che even more, those rouge and vulgar fans outside can no longer look into his eyes, so that no matter how excited he is to be teased outside, he has to hold back hard, and then as soon as possible Go back to the mansion, so that before the strength is over, I can go to Wushan together with Su Che.

Apparently it was the same this time.