Dingjiangshan

"Indeed." Ning Yan replied simply: "I'm waiting for Third Brother."

"Ning Zheng?" Ning Huaijin was puzzled for a moment.

"Once Xinyang City is broken, I don't believe he can still sit still." Ning Yan scratched the table with the end of his chopsticks with his backhand, and vaguely outlined the outline of Anqing Mansion: "On the side of Anqing Mansion is the natural danger Yangtze River, and on the opposite side It is the fiefdom of King Yong'an. If the third brother is not crazy, he should not provoke him. Apart from the two southern provinces in the rear, which have nothing but money and food, Xinyang is the biggest pass for him to enter the Central Plains. Therefore, if the third brother He still wants to go to the capital, and Xinyang is the place he must fight back—if he doesn't have the heart, then he doesn't have to think about rebelling, he just sits at home and waits for me to eat away his territory bit by bit Bar."

"Do you think he will personally lead the troops?" Ning Huaijin said.

"He doesn't have many people at his disposal, and even fewer generals—this is his shortcoming." Ning Yan said: "The generals in his hands are either those who slipped through the net like Feng Yuan, or they are himself. House slaves or government officials in his hands. He can’t trust the former, and most of the latter have records in the imperial court. I won’t say how many treasures they have, but they probably know the situation, and there are no outstanding people.”

"So, speaking carefully, my third brother is stronger than them." Ning Yan said with a smile: "After all, the third brother was once the prince of the direct line."

This makes sense, Ning Huaijin thought, these princes, they had to practice their kung fu in piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, riding and archery since they were young.Ning Zheng is the child of Ruan Yin's knees, and he probably learned a lot about the ways of emperors and the art of war since he was a child. Although it doesn't matter how much he learned, it is still much better than Ye Luzi who was born halfway.

"Moreover, his subordinates lost two cities in a row. It is true that there are reasons for this, such as military strength and generals, but Third Brother is used to being arrogant, so he will not be so willing to swallow this bitter fruit." Ning Yan said.

Ning Huaijin also knew Ning Zheng somewhat, and agreed: "If you follow his temperament, after all, he will think that this is all because of the incompetence of others."

"What's more, he was busy with his auspicious son in Anqing Mansion a few days ago, and he may not be able to see the front line for a while." Ning Yan said: "Whether it's a fluke or a last-ditch fight, the third brother will one day avoid it." Unavoidable, come to the battlefield in person and confront me head-on.”

Sometimes Ning Huaijin can't fully understand what Ning Yan is thinking in his heart - such as his attitude towards Ning Zheng.

Ning Yan insisted on conscripting himself, in order to get Ning Zheng, anyone can understand this.But what Ning Huaijin couldn't figure out was that a "rebellious minister and thief", what was there for Ning Yan to get involved in the trap himself, and insisted on meeting him before the battle.

If Ning Yan is ten years older this year, Ning Huaijin also feels that there is no reason to be affectionate. At least when he was young, he got along a lot, and there is always a little bit of brotherhood.

But Ning Yan went out of the palace to be raised in his house since he was a child, and Ning Zheng had already left the capital when he became the throne at the age of six. During this period, at most, he met Ning Yan a few times when he was a child, and nothing more.

Even if they were counting with their fingers, the two of them had no brotherhood to speak of.

Ning Huaijin shook her head, and could only lament that the blood connection is really miraculous, even if they have no affection, they can still be connected by this subtle same blood.

"What's more, in comparison, the third brother can't afford it more than us." Ning Yan said: "Even if the third brother sits in the huge Anqing Mansion, it is not easy for him to support this group of soldiers completely self-sufficiently." .”

As Ning Yan said, he told Ning Huaijin about his contacts with the court these days in detail.

During the days when Ning Huaijin was fighting outside, a lot of things in the court were left behind. Fortunately, Ning Yan had an excellent memory, and everything was clear and orderly, and it seemed messy when he said it.

Ning Huaijin listened carefully at first, but when it came to the matter of grain tax, he interrupted Ning Yan and asked, "So Your Majesty is using this method to monopolize the business route?"

"Half and half." Ning Yan said: "It is a good thing for farmers to pay less tax."

"But if Ning Zheng buys it with higher silver, there is no guarantee that those farmers will not sell it to the Anqing Mansion." Ning Huaijin said.

Ning Huaijin inexplicably remembered Ning Zheng's mysterious herbal garden. It would be an exaggeration to say that the entire garden was prepared for Ning Yan.No matter what happened to Ning Yan, he was just one person, so there was no need to prepare so many things just to harm him.

And Ning Huaijin found out during the last unannounced visit to Anqing Mansion that Ning Zheng seemed to be living a richer life than they imagined all these years. Li has quite a family background.

Ning Huaijin doesn't know whether Ruan Yin saved these wealth for him, or whether he earned it himself in the fiefdom, but if he really has a "small treasury" in his hands, then Ning Yan's move will be short-term. I'm afraid there is no chance of winning.

After all, it is impossible for this battle to last for several years. As long as Ning Zheng has enough money to survive this period of time, even if he spends a little more, it will not be a big deal to him.

"So I asked a wealthy businessman to help me." Ning Yan smiled and said, "The banker's family is strong, and it's just collecting some grain. It's not a big deal for them-the emperor is easy to handle, and the shopkeeper will definitely help. I'm busy."

"Your Majesty is thoughtful." Ning Huaijin heaved a sigh of relief.

From this point of view, Ning Yan probably thought of this earlier.The grain on the market can be collected by the government, and the government will take it away. If Ning Zheng wants to sell the grain by raising the price, there will be rich businessmen following closely behind, and there is no way out.

The government relies on taxes, and the rich merchants rely on money. With this two-pronged approach, Ning Zheng must not be able to afford the money.

"What's more-" Ning Yan said: "I want to temporarily regroup the army, and it's not just for this."

"Three days ago." Ning Yan made a gesture: "I sent a letter to Beijing, saying that some soldiers from the northwest were not acclimatized, and they were seriously ill with vomiting and diarrhea. I asked the Tai Hospital to provide a simple and easy-to-use prescription. Bring it over."

As soon as Ning Huaijin heard it, she knew that Ning Yan was a drunkard who didn't want to drink, and he still had a trick in his hand.

There was a military doctor accompanying him in the army, not to mention that Xie Jue had a little genius doctor with him, if it was just to cure a mere acclimatization, why would he need to send a letter back to Beijing to go to the Tai Hospital.

"Your Majesty, who is this for?" Ning Huaijin asked with a smile.

"The one who knows me is the emperor's uncle." Ning Yan licked his lips and showed a wicked smile. He rubbed the chopsticks in his hand and said in a low voice: "I plan to write to you in half a month. King Yong'an borrowed troops."

Ning Huaijin was not surprised.

When he talked about this with Jiang Xiaohan in the capital earlier, he was already mentally prepared.Ning Yan obviously didn't want to put down the rebellion this time. He thought the fief was not pleasing to the eye, and wanted to take advantage of Ning Yan's reason for raising troops when the two young brothers didn't have a fief. Save any hidden dangers in the future.

Ninth Prince Ning Zongze is a troublesome thorn in his side, with a high status, favored by his family members, and Ning Yan's elder. If he himself has nothing wrong with him, Ning Yan will never touch him.Otherwise, among other things, Ning Yan would be burdened with the reputation of being unfilial to his elders.

Now it seems that Ning Yan has already made up his mind, he not only wants to take advantage of this muddy water to catch a few fish, but also wants to make the water even more muddy by the way.

"The Ninth Prince may not be able to let go of this." Ning Huaijin said with a smile: "Otherwise, when a hundred thousand soldiers go out and come back, it will not be the same."

"That depends on what King Yong'an thinks." Ning Yan said: "If everyone is polite and face-saving, then everyone will be happy—if not, then I have my own means."

When Ning Yan said this, although his tone was relaxed and casual, it was not difficult to hear the sharpness in his words.

Blue comes from blue and is better than blue, Ning Huaijin suddenly thought, Brother Huang has a good eye.

When the late emperor was alive, he was suspicious and liked the feeling that everything was under control. No matter what he wanted to do, he always took one step at a time and three steps to ensure that all situations were carried out step by step according to his own wishes.

But Ning Yan's handling style is much "softer" than Ning Zongyuan's. Most of the time, he will put two completely different paths in front of people, and let them choose freely.

Although these two roads go round and round, they will only converge on the same end point, but Ning Yan can decide the direction of his next chess piece at the moment he sees the "choice".

It seems that he is more risky than Ning Zongyuan in acting like this, but in fact there are more chances.

Even Ning Zheng is counted, although Ning Yan's own factors were involved in Ning Zheng's raising troops, if Ning Zheng hadn't been tempted by the phrase "be careful and keep his heart", he might not have come to this situation now Come.

"Anyway, Huaijin also rests in Nanyang for a while with peace of mind." Ning Yan picked up the chopsticks again, and smoothly divided a poached egg into Ning Huaijin's bowl: "A year ago, I just need to wait and see the changes. The letter general Zheng Shaohui was transferred to Tongbai County, and Xinyang has Zhaoming watching over there, so you can rest assured."

Just as Ning Huaijin was about to nod her head, she saw Ning Yan looking at the poached egg left in her bowl, and suddenly said, "Huaijin doesn't think we are like an ordinary couple."

Ning Huaijin: "..."

The topic changed too quickly!

But when Ning Yan said this, even Ning Huaijin subconsciously lowered her head and looked at the bowl in her hand.

Fu Ya cooker's craftsmanship is good, the poached eggs are well beaten, the one Ning Yan gave him is bigger, with a few green onions on it.

Just now, Ning Yan's actions were too natural, so even Ning Huaijin didn't think there was anything wrong, so he took it casually.Thinking about it now, the act of sharing a meal like this is indeed more intimate than eating at the same table.

Even in such a short period of time, Ning Huaijin subconsciously followed Ning Yan's words and thought about the appearance of an "ordinary couple".

He didn't think about it and still felt that there was something wrong, but after thinking about it for a while, his whole body tensed up unknowingly.

Pian Ning Yan didn't care about it, but added fuel to the fire.

"Does it look like that—" Ning Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, and said with a smile: "The wives of poor families probably save good things in this way, and are reluctant to eat them."