Realm of Power

The originally busy Imperial Capital Business Road became much less crowded in one day.

The setting sun was in the middle of the sky, illuminating the dilapidated ruins in front of them like undulating red hills. Song Lu opened the curtain of the carriage, looked ahead with some pale faces, sighed, and had to raise his hand and ordered the entire Song Dynasty. The tribal envoys all stopped

Standing in the middle of the commercial road ahead was a young man with black hair wearing a Zhongbia robe, waving to the Song envoys. He seemed to be an acquaintance of Song Lu. He was slightly fat, and his appearance could only be considered average, but his pair of bright eyes were unusually bright. His eyes gave this ordinary face a strange charm. Even the female relatives in the envoys looked at the young man curiously and were a little surprised.

Most of these female relatives were Song Lu's wives and concubines. They crowded on several carriages behind Song Lu, sticking their heads and looking outside.

The Royal Court Registration Ceremony was an opportunity that had not been seen once in many years. I was brought out after thinking hard about Song Lu. Although the Yelu family had a hostile relationship with the Zhongbia court, the Song family was no longer in Zhongbia. Ya Chaotang, the hostility between the two parties has long since disappeared automatically, and the Song people are also greatly affected this time. Fang Fang's coming here completely represents a force. The Yelu family is also polite and does not dare to be careless at all. After all, as a newly established royal court, the more forces it has recognized, it also represents its influence. As the largest force in the south, the Song clan naturally tries to win them over in every possible way.

"This man is so bold, he dares to stop my Song family's convoy like this!"

"I don't know where this frivolous scribe comes from. He always wants to use some special way to make himself famous. If such a person were in my southern mountainous area, he would be dragged down and beaten to death."

"I don't know how the master is going to deal with it this time?"

"What else can we do? Even if we don't beat him to death, we must order him to be driven away." The female relatives whispered and burst into laughter. Then they saw Song Lu, who was in a high position, tidying up his clothes very formally. Uncharacteristically, when I got off the carriage, the atmosphere around me suddenly became silent.'

"Look, the master has actually gotten out of the car!" The women were stunned one by one.

Song Lu had already arranged his clothes and got off the carriage alone. The guards almost tried to follow, but Song Lu waved their hands to stop them.

After the No. 2 figure of the Song clan died in the Southwest, Song Lu, the No. 3 figure, was already the number one power under Song Que. This time, he came to the Imperial Capital with full authority to represent the Song clan, and also to show his support to all the forces in Central and South Asia. Showing his status within the Song clan, Song Lu never imagined that he would see this person at the intersection entering the Imperial Capital.

This has to make Song Lu feel a little hesitant. His status in the Song clan is really nothing in front of this person. Even if the entire Song clan can avoid the destruction of Southwest this time, it is only because of this person's slight pull. The result of a handful, as for the price paid, only if the other party has the ability to take it.

What can be said to this person must not be spread, otherwise it will be a disaster for the Song clan. Song Lu is still aware of this. He came to the young man and whispered with a polite face.

"Your Majesty is so excited that he came to the Imperial Capital in person this time."

"Someone owes me a big debt. He is hiding in the south and dare not see me. I can only wait for you here." The fat man looked at Song Lu, who could not hide the hesitation on his face, and said with a faint smile.

"Haven't we, the Song Clan, fulfilled that agreement? All documents are stamped with the Song Clan's seal. Your Majesty just needs to send someone to take over." Song Lu sighed helplessly. He knew that he was here. The emperor is completely incompetent in front of him. Regardless of his identity or strategy, he is completely unable to compete with the opponent. Instead of doing this, it is better to pretend to be stupid and not let go anyway. How can the emperor chop himself down? The Song clan would never do it blatantly, ceding six coastal port cities, something that was destined to be infamy for thousands of years. The leader of the Song clan, Song Que, fled back to the southern mountains in a panic. He was not even willing to stay in Guangmu City for a moment longer. They didn't even get off the deck of the ship. They were just hiding from this person. The Song people simply withdrew from the court. It was also for this reason that if the Song people were not in the court, the seal would be useless. It was useless for the empire to hold it, but Song Lu didn't. Thinking that the other party would be waiting here.

"It seems that the Song people don't know that they are about to die. I originally wanted to help you, but it's a pity!" The fat man glanced at his mouth calmly, looked at Song Lu's drooped head, and said in a condensing voice.

"What do you mean by your majesty?" Song Lu suddenly raised his head. He didn't care what others said, but the man in front of him was recognized as a god of war and the most terrifying strategist in the entire continent. Strong grass The original person has also reached the point of being frightened by him. Even if the other party just sighs, Song Lu can feel the earth under his feet shaking slightly, not to mention that the other party is now saying that the Song clan is in imminent disaster. Even if it is just a threat, there must be some basis.

"Did I say something wrong?"

The fat man said in a deep voice, "Although the Song clan was defeated in the Southwest Battle and eventually had to withdraw from the competition for the Sino-Biya court, the foundation of the Song clan has not been shaken and the situation of still being the largest force in the south has not changed. But I believe Now, this is no longer the case. The Long family now has an ambitious intention to expedition to the north. With hundreds of thousands of troops, the military resources and combat readiness required are simply astronomical. According to the figures, the Zhongbia court was defeated by the Yelu family and Xinjing Linhang was retreated in a hurry. Most of the reserves were probably lost. The rest should have been basically consumed in the southwest battle! Don’t tell me that this time the Long Family didn’t ask for military supplies from the Song Clan, and I’m afraid the Long Family won’t be able to get the required amount even by selling everything!”

The fat man paused, glanced at Song Lu, whose face had changed color, and said in a low voice, "It has only been less than a month since the Long family took over the court, and now they are ambitiously planning the Northern Expedition. Song Lu, you are considered a member of the Song clan. Those who are veterans of government affairs should know very well that the Long family army is powerful in combat, but in terms of government affairs it is a mess. As soon as Long Po entered the Zhongbia court, he immediately ordered the army to prepare for war, and he was ready to go to the Northern Expedition. , the Long family is here Before the Northern Expedition, we must first eliminate the most likely threat. Who else could it be besides you Song clan? Don’t forget that the Southwest War was a knife stabbed in the back by you Song clan. The Long family has already been injured once. Will you suffer it a second time? Let's see, before the Long Family's Northern Expedition, even if they don't send their troops south, they must at least force the Song Clan to hand over sufficient guarantees and combat supplies. At least they must ensure that during the Long Family's Northern Expedition, the Song Clan will no longer be able to fight back. The Long family stabbed you in the back! "

"How did your Majesty know!"

Song Lu looked horrified, his lips trembling slightly,

"Tell me, what does the Long family want?" Fatty said nonchalantly. Everyone is not a fool. Even if he were the Long family, he would have to severely weaken the power of the Song family first and let the Song family live for at least twenty years. There is no way to fight within the country, otherwise the Northern Expedition would be a joke

Song Lu said bitterly, "Your Majesty is right. The Long family has indeed made a huge request to the Song people. As compensation for no longer pursuing the Southwest War, it only requires 150,000 pairs of soldiers and armor, as well as military rations and clothing." After that, the Song Clan’s hundreds of years of hoarding can be emptied out, and finally the Song Clan will have to scrape together 30,000 high-quality war horses.”

"Thirty thousand excellent war horses!" The fat man blinked. With his sharp eyes, he naturally saw the way Song Lu gritted his teeth when he spoke. It really didn't seem to be false. If it was true, then Song Lu's acting skills would be the best actor in the movie. "Superior," Your Majesty also knows, where did the war horses come from in the southern mountains? "Song Lu's eyes were trembling angrily." Who doesn't know that the war horses in the southern mountains of China are all , even the war horses of the Long family were purchased from the empire at high prices. Now that the Long family has fallen out with the empire and has cut off the way to purchase ordnance, they simply force the Song family to buy war horses. Thirty thousand horses, even if they are owned by the Song family. If all the funds are spent, the most they can do is buy 10,000 war horses. If the Song people can afford 30,000 war horses, the battle in the southwest will not end like this! "

"Tsk tsk... It's pitiful, but even so, the Song clan is not at the point where they need to sell their women!"

The fat man looked silent and looked at the carriage behind Song Lu. The carriage was full of women, although some of them might be Song Lu's wives and concubines. These women were easy to recognize. Women in the southern mountains were not allowed to be traditional women from central China. That kind of outfit, all of them are mountain women with beautiful blue and green colors on their bodies. The clothes and eyes are bold and fiery, but it can also be seen that several of the carriages have never opened the door curtains from beginning to end. The door curtains are decorated with women's decorations. On both sides of the vehicles are following these maids, Song I'm afraid that the clan's entry into the Imperial Capital this time is not just a matter of congratulations.

After all, there are many young and promising disciples among the various forces that have gathered because of the Yelu family ceremony this time. The Song family is now in a precarious period, with the full force of the Long family above and the rebellion of the mountain people internally. If it cannot be brought to an end, After this disaster, the Song people may become a name in history. Under such circumstances, it is understandable that the Song people would seek foreign aid.

Seeing that Song Lu couldn't hide it at all, he simply accepted it and said with a wry smile, "No matter how bad the Song people are, they are still the largest powerful family in the south. They control the mountains and rivers of the three thousand miles of the southern mountains. Such an identity and status, for many Central and Asian people, Local forces are quite attractive." Song Lu paused, glanced at the fat man, and said, " And I heard rumors that the first thing Yelu Hongtai did after establishing the royal court was to marry the empire. I heard that the daughter of the Yelu family, Yelu Qiyeguang, is the most famous beauty in the grassland. I wonder if your majesty has ever seen her? I'm afraid that the rumors are false and that she is completely an ugly girl..." Song Que gave the fat man a pointed look and stopped talking.

"Okay, I don't want to go into the issue of women. Let's talk about it. What's going on when the Long family gave Yeluguda's head as a gift this time?"

The fat man snorted at the corner of his mouth. They said that this new number two figure in the Song clan was hiding something. It was true. When he ridiculed the Song clan for selling girls, Song Lu immediately countered that he was greedy for beauty, but he still couldn't. Refute the past, because the marriage between the empire and the Yelv family has been decided for a long time. The fact that this news came down has been known to everyone in the Yelu family for a long time, but because of this, Fatty is even more sure that the second-ranking figure of the Song family definitely knows the reason for the gift given by the Long family, otherwise How dare Song Lu enter the imperial capital with so many women from the Song clan?

"I don't understand what your Majesty means? The Long family is the Long family, and the Song clan is the Song clan. Your Majesty should be able to distinguish clearly."

A trace of complexity flashed in Song Lu's eyes, like a candle fluttering in the wind. This was his inner struggle. The unexpected appearance of the emperor made others unable to help but have more expectations, but thinking of the fact that the Long family is now in full swing. In this situation, his expectations were automatically dashed again. The Long family had already entered the court. And it has the support of more than 20 provinces in Central and South Asia. Compared with the Song clan which only had 13 provinces at the time, it is a huge difference. Even the Song clan, who least wanted to see such a situation, had no choice but to Admit it, the Long family is already ready, and they are waiting to move north and officially replace the original Zhongbia royal family.

In this case, once the news of the meeting between the Song people and the Imperial Emperor reaches the ears of the Long family, it will really force the Long family to start a war against the southern mountains.

The Song tribe has just managed to stabilize the southern mountains. More than half of the Song tribe's mountain troops were lost in the southwest battle. After returning to the mountains, due to the rebellion of the Nanshan tribe, they are still fighting in the south. The tribe still has to pay for the mountains of supplies provided. Everything is empty. Once the Long family really moves south in a big way, the Song clan may be in catastrophe. If not, I am the second most powerful person in the Song clan. It has never been reduced to a situation where it is necessary to use women to find foreign aid for the Song clan. Most of these women are noble ladies of the Song clan. Under normal circumstances, they must at least be the lord of the land. But now, As long as they can help the Song people, as long as they are willing to use military resources to prepare for war, even some small wealthy families with fifth or sixth family backgrounds can only hold their noses and admit it.

It has reached such a level that even if Song Lu is slightly moved, he does not dare to reveal it in any words.

"It seems that you really don't dare to say it, so forget it!"

The fat man looked away from Song Lu's face like a knife, turned around and prepared to leave, saying in a cold tone, "Although I don't know what the Long family means by this move, if this matter touches my empire and you deliberately conceal it, Then don't blame me for not caring about my relationship with your Song clan. Yi, don’t forget that the reason why the Song people can still stabilize the southern mountains is because the Song people can still purchase supplies from imperial merchants. Once the empire cuts off the arms trade with the Song people, according to the current situation of the Song people, even if If the Long family doesn't go south, how long can you, Song and Lu, sustain it?"

"Your Majesty, you can't do this!" Song Lu's face changed, and then Song Lu quickly lowered his head, as if he realized that he had said something wrong.

"So, they are really heading towards my empire! What do the Long family want to do? To frame or attack the camp?" The fat man's eyes were shining like the stars in the night sky. Song Lu's words basically showed that the empire was also being attacked. There's a plan inside!