Realm of Power

The great meadow of Onnacuo, which once made the North Prairie frightened and was known as the place that broke the backbone of the people in the North Prairie, under the bright July sun, was no longer the border battlefield dedicated to the North Royal Court for exile. Instead, it was Since the empire took control of Onnatso, this large grassland with lush aquatic plants has become more and more prosperous. The wildly growing aquatic plants surround both sides of the long silver belt river that crosses it.

The sparkling water surface shimmered with an intoxicating luster in the sun, and white waterbirds fluttered and flew from the reeds beside the river in front of them. At the same time, with the establishment of the empire's rule in the Onnatso grassland, in the absolute Under the protection of force, merchants from the three directions of Oubaluo, Zhongbia and Northern Grassland also came and went frequently, and large-scale trade bazaars were also born.

The evidence that Yelu Qiyeguang proposed that the cold people colluded with the grassland tribes in Onnatso also came from this kind of border trade.

Just like the size of the Bianji in front of us, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a small city. The two-meter-high earthen fortress walls surround it to form a circle three or four miles long and wide. Inside are densely packed houses with earthen walls, and people flow back and forth. , at the entrance of the market, there are several tribal soldiers wearing mail stuck at the entrance, constantly checking the caravans coming and going. If the caravans do not pay, they will not let the caravans pass.

"Ahead is the Yungu Market mentioned in the report, which is also the market closest to the north."

A short and stocky prairie man, wearing the most ordinary prairie mail armor, looked back with sharp eyes from Yunguji in front, and said respectfully to a black-haired Zhongbia young man beside him, the black-haired Zhongbia The young man looks a bit honest, but there is a heart-stopping feeling in his flashing eyes. Behind the black-haired young man, there are hundreds of people. The grassland cavalry stopped their horses neatly. Although Onnatso is an imperial area, since the imperial Dongting Army stationed in Onnatso was transferred south a few months ago, such a scale of more than a hundred cavalry has been rarely seen. You know, although here, It is a large market, but geographically it is far away from the center of Onnatso. Even the imperial border troops stationed there rarely come.

"Who's in charge here now?'

The black-haired young man's eyes paused for a moment on the tribal soldiers at the entrance of the market, without showing the slightest surprise. The mountains and rivers stretched to infinite distance below.

It seems that what Yelu Qiyeguang said has been partially confirmed. Some tribes in the Onnatso area are already collecting taxes. This is definitely a very dangerous signal. You must know that the empire has long issued a decree not to collect road taxes. Yes, Onnatso belongs to the land directly under the empire. Now there are people collecting private taxes within the empire. This is no different from rebellion.

The empire does not interfere with the grassland market without authorization. The prominent status of the emperor's disciple and lover like Bertrand Bonnie, who was also the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army at the time, did not dare to openly and directly set up the market in the northern part of the empire. In the name of the Northern Army of Border Defense, the responsibility is usually given to a nearby tribe.

"It should be Jin Liyang's department"

The strong man also saw this scene, his face became very ugly, he took a deep breath and said, "My subordinates knew that the garrison was not allowed to interfere with the military orders of Bianji, so they just handed over Yunguji to the nearby Jinliyang tribe, and Jinli The Yang tribe is only responsible for the security of Yungu Market and does not have the power to collect taxes from merchants. Unexpectedly, , the Jin Liyang tribe is so bold, because this place is really remote. Even the Zhazaku tribe in the North Grassland, which is the closest to here, has already moved south with its entire clan, and there are no threatening forces around. Even if I am in Oanna To be honest, I have only been here once in more than a year. The situation at that time was not like this! "

"It seems there may be a real problem here"

The fat man frowned slightly and said in a solemn voice, "The secret report that the cold people may have intervened in Onnatso came from the Zhazaku tribe who moved south. Although the Zhazaku tribe moved south, their ancestral land remained in the Inland Sea. There are many people, and now these people have been killed by the cold people, and the area that originally belonged to the Zhazaku tribe has indeed been taken over by the cold people. As the top military commander of the Onnatso area, you have nothing at all Got a report?"

Hearing the emperor's words, cold sweat suddenly broke out on the strong man's forehead. He immediately got off his horse, knelt on one knee in front of the emperor's horse, and said with difficulty, "The Onnacuo grassland is not big, but it is definitely not small." , within a radius of five hundred miles, even if I have too many trees, Even with a few pairs of eyes, it is impossible to do everything in detail, especially in an area like Yungu Market where the three realms meet. There are so many caravans coming and going. Even if Jin Liyang's department collects private taxes, his subordinates have been in the south some time ago. Combat is beyond our reach here."

"Forget it, you were not in Onnatso during this period, and the responsibility for this matter is not yours."

The fat man also knew that he was exaggerating. Onnacuo's transfer of imperial troops to the south was his own order, not to mention that Wumu had been in the Central and South Asian region for two consecutive months, doing his best and not being picky. This place is so remote, if The Jinliyang clan in charge of Yunguji deliberately concealed that even if the Wumu had a thousand more eyes, it would be useless even if it was thousands of miles away.

The fat man waved his hand. Although Wumu was very loyal, he was obviously still a little weak in terms of governance. He said with relief, "I have never doubted your loyalty. I am just a little angry that these people are recuperating on the land of the empire, but they have turned around." I just want to unite with the cold people to take a bite out of the empire. For the original tribes, the empire has no record of being lenient to unfamiliar wolf cubs. Even if they are gentle, it depends on the target. "These tribes were forced to surrender by the empire under pressure from the empire. After two years of recuperation, they have to bear the brunt of it." Relying on the big tree of the empire to obtain considerable resources, one by one early They are no longer what they were when they were in trouble. They are naturally more courageous. The imperial army is still there, so they naturally dare not act arrogantly. However, the grassland tribes have always been like this. Strength and ambition are linked together. Facing the cold people going south, , the great temptation of vast vacancies of pasture, and you During the more than a year of being in Onnacuo, the gentle methods adopted have given these tribes the illusion that you, Wumu, are a bad person who is easy to deceive. It is time to change this image! To become a qualified manager, you must first let the other party know how powerful you are! "

"My subordinate understands that I will immediately investigate this matter thoroughly. If the situation is true, no one from all the tribes involved will be left alive."

Wumu's face was full of shame. As the emperor said, the soft policy was wrong. Wumu was because in the battle of Onnatso, the empire voluntarily surrendered to the empire. In addition, Wumu's new regional governor was not rich. experience, so after taking over Onnatso, he adopted a tolerant policy towards the various ministries after the empire conquered the area. Wumu did not expect that this would be the result.

Thinking of the leaders of the Grassland Department, he still didn't know why they were laughing at him behind his back. His eyes were filled with fierceness, like a bloodthirsty lone wolf. Putting aside the matters of the cold people for the time being, the Jin Liyang Department actually To collect toll tax privately, but I didn't know anything about it. If it were in the past, this would be a naked presumption! These daring guys actually evaded themselves secretly. If the emperor hadn't been alert to something, once the empire and the cold land went to war, they might not even know how they died!

Just as the two of them were talking, there was a slight rumbling sound on the ground. Fatty and Wumu looked at the direction of the rumbling sound at the same time, and saw a black line approximately northeast of Yunguji. According to the With the fat man's eyesight, he could already see that it was a line of cavalry running towards him.

Ten minutes later, the black line of prairie cavalry was getting closer and closer to Yunguji. A golden sheep's head flag running in front made Wu Mu's face turn livid, and Jin Liyang's troops collected the passerby tax privately. , and now they are blatantly mobilizing clan soldiers in the market Showing off one's power nearby, it is obvious that he regards this market as his own territory to get what he wants, and forgets that this is the land of the empire. Seeing this scene, Wu Mu's fingers clenched suddenly, and his eyes were cold and scary, regardless of whether there is a cold land or not. Jin Liyang can’t even keep this batch of people!

Yunguji also seemed to have discovered this group of prairie cavalry staying in the distance. Soon several cavalrymen from Jin Liyang's tribe came surrounded by a charming figure. Although from a certain distance, it could be seen that it was A very beautiful prairie girl, wrapped in a green prairie robe, with She was also half-clad in soft armor, with a head of glossy black hair draped over her shoulders. From such a distance, her appearance could not be seen clearly. Only the long legs astride the horse showed the vitality of a girl. Behind the girl, two people followed. Thirty cavalrymen from Jin Liyang's tribe were galloping towards the direction of the fat man.

"Your Majesty, do you need to take action?" Wu Mu looked at the emperor next to him.

"Let's see what happens."

The fat man waved his hand indifferently, and now he suddenly turned around, which would only scare the enemy away.

The other party probably couldn't recognize him. In order to conceal his identity, he and the Guards Cavalry behind him were all dressed in prairie people's costumes, making it impossible for ordinary people to recognize him. Wumu, on the other hand, had stayed in the warm and humid climate in the south for two months. Because the weather is too hot, Wu Mu, a northerner, has already shaved off his iconic prairie beard. Jing, revealing a white face that looked vaguely bookish, which made the emperor laugh for a while. Such a Wumu, not to mention ordinary prairie people, even Wumu's wife, would not be able to live without her. Even if you look carefully, you won't recognize the person in front of you. It is the fierce and brave Governor Wumu of Onnatso.

In the distance, after seeing the fat man and Wu Mu clearly in front of her, the grassland girl stopped her horse more than 20 meters away. There was a hint of disappointment in her eyes. It seemed that she mistakenly separated the two people. as someone else

The girl gave a grassland salute and said in a clear voice, "I am Ai Qingli from the Jin Liyang tribe. If you are an eagle, you should fly high in the sky. If you are a wolf, you should run in the north." On the meadow, people from afar, are you the eagles passing by in the sky, or the wolves hunting? ""We are just passing by? "I originally wanted to rest in Yunguji. It seems that Yunguji is a little different from before. We will leave soon!" Wumu responded with a calm expression. In his heart, Jin Liyang's tribe is already dead. In three days, the hooves of 80,000 imperial cavalry will destroy everything in sight, so I don’t even have the thought to say another word.

“Yungu Ji?”

Ai Qingli's eyes brightened when she heard the name. She glanced at the hundreds of imperial cavalry behind Fatty and Wu Mu, and her pretty face suddenly turned cold. "It seems that your Excellency is not from the North Grassland, otherwise how could Lian Yun be here?" Guji has already been changed to Jinli Yangcheng. I don’t even know the news. Now anyone who enters within one mile of Jinliyang City needs to pay a toll to my Jinliyang tribe. There are so many people, and without a thousand imperial gold, you can’t even think of leaving the scope of my Jinliyang tribe.” "This is asking for death!"

Wumu's eyes narrowed into a thin line, and there was obviously a faint rolling anger inside. He touched the handle of the scimitar at his waist. There were only twenty or thirty tribal cavalry, even if they were all killed, it would be the same.

"Give her a thousand imperial gold." The fat man raised his hand to Wu Mu from the side.

"This..." Wu Mu looked blank.

"I have long heard that there is the most beautiful dragon blue flower on the prairie in Jin Liyang's tribe. I didn't expect to see it today. It's just a thousand imperial gold, it's really worth it!"

The fat man smiled at the corner of his mouth and had a sultry look on his face, which made Ai Qingli look up in high spirits across from her. Prairie women have always had a bold personality. When the fat man said a few words casually, Ai Qingli's face suddenly lit up with joy, and she felt as if she had not met for a long time. , although the appearance of the fat man is not very good, but the level of flirting with girls is first-class,

"Since you have such a sweet mouth, your toll tax will be waived. You can't stay here for a long time. It's best to leave immediately!" Ai Qingliyu said with a red face and a sweet smile. , full of innocent girlish flavor, she turned around with a slight twist of her waist and was about to lead the cavalry back.

"Of course, we'll leave right away. I saw that Jin Liyang City seems to be very lively today, and the lady is waiting here. Could it be that some big shot is coming..." The fat man paused deliberately in flattery. The Ai Qingli in front of him was obviously The head of Jin Liyang’s department The man's daughter, who just came over here, was not here to collect any toll tax, but was waiting for someone. She only made an impromptu decision after seeing her group of people. It shouldn't be anything that can make a grassland girl like Ai Qingli so anxious. Ordinary people, most likely cold people

"You still have vision, not like this piece of rotten wood." It seemed that what she said touched Ai Qingli's heart. Ai Qingli raised the delicate riding crop in her hand and said crisply, "I'm afraid I'll scare you if I don't say it. Since you insist on it, Ask, then I will tell you, today I, Jinli Yangcheng, will welcome the most distinguished guest."

"The most distinguished guest?" Fatty and Wu Mu glanced at each other.

"My Ai Qingli's engaged husband, even on the prairie, is still the top hero! The Governor of the Empire Onnatso Wumu!" Ai Qingli raised her small and beautiful chin with a smile on her face. I saw the strong man next to the fat man almost fell off his horse

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