After Rong Xi woke up the next day, she felt extremely sore and weak. Mu Huai tossed and tossed until the third quarter of Jinyin last night before letting her go.
In this aspect, this man still has a bad side.
As always, Mu Huai is an extremely energetic person. Like Rong Xi, he stayed up almost all night, but the next day when the white dew was faint, he went to the camp with Wang Huai to check and withdraw the troops without any tiredness. matters.
It was night, and in the original Ye territory, several messenger soldiers came at full speed, so that Mu Huai could know the movements there at any time.
Mu Huai handled military affairs in an orderly manner. Although Rong Xi had already woken up, she struggled for a while, but still felt unable to exert strength, especially at the waist. For a moment last night, she felt that her bones were about to be crushed. Broken.
She didn't have the heart to serve Mu Huai anymore, thinking that she would have to travel hundreds of miles on the return journey, so she closed her eyes, determined to close them to nourish her spirit.
Rong Xi was half asleep, half awake, and seemed to hear the voice of Xiangguo Yan Juxu in his hazy consciousness.
Fortunately, there is a screen in front of her, which can cover her.
She peeped through the gap in the screen, and saw that the curtain was lifted, and it was indeed Yan Juxu who was striding forward with Mu Huai.
And beside Yan Juxu, there was an official she didn't know.
It turns out that after Mu Huai returned to the camp in victory, he ordered Yan Juxu to be called from Bianjing to the place where Qi Ye met.
But Yan Juxu called the official next to him Du Shangshu, and the only Shangshu named Du in the court was the Hubu Shangshu, so Rong Xi identified the official's identity.
As dynasties change, the victorious emperor also has many trivial matters to discuss with his ministers.
Rong Xi remained silent, and did not dare to adjust her sleeping position easily. She did not want to make any weird noises when Mu Huai was discussing important matters with his courtiers.
Yan Juxu's voice has the unique clearness of a scholar, and said: "In the Central Plains last year, although our country Qi suffered from drought, due to the deployment of your majesty's eastward tour, the national strength was not affected by it. The northern Yan country is still suffering from the legacy of waterlogging. Bitter. And the poor production of silk and satin in Ye Kingdom this year is also due to the unfavorable year. I heard that many mulberry trees in Yejing were infested with insects. Without the mulberry leaves, silkworms would not be able to survive. No wonder the silk and brocade production in Yejing this year Sharply reduced."
The batch of brocades that Da Qi wanted to buy were mainly used as official brocades.
Just take the city of Bianjing as an example. Since it is the capital and under the feet of the emperor, there are countless officials in this city.
There are Wen San officials and Wu San officials, and there are also a lot of additional officials.
There are countless princes and dukes.
Each official has to make at least two official uniforms according to the ceremonial system every season. In a year's calculation, the official brocade that needs to be consumed is a considerable expenditure.
Whether it is officials of various ranks, or noble princes and dukes, they all represent the dignity of a country. Official uniforms, crowns and ribbons, etc., don't say how gorgeous the design is, but they have to be justified.
It is said that Ye brocade and swallow silk, the Yan country in the north is also rich in all kinds of gorgeous brocade silk, but Mu Huai is unwilling to do this business with Yan country.
After all, the two countries have long been jealous of each other, and the price of silk brocade in Yan State is much higher than that in Ye State.
There is a Ye Kingdom between Qi and Yan, and there is no border between the two countries.
However, the Ukrainian State shares a border with the Yan State. The Ukrainian Kingdom is originally a barbarian land, so naturally there is no developed silk weaving industry, so the two countries have always exchanged horses for brocade in recent years.
Tuoba Yu has also grown up a lot, and has long since faded away from his youthfulness and innocence. However, his adoptive father Luo Lu Khan's health has been deteriorating. Yu was in charge, and I heard that many unpleasant things had happened between him and the officials and members of the royal family of Yan.
Because of Rong Xi, the Qi and Hu countries have always been in a state of peaceful relations, but the relationship between the Hu and Yan countries is getting worse and worse, and the people on the border between the two countries will always have conflicts.
As for what Mu Huai said, since Ye State's borders were disturbed, Yan State must be on guard, but at present, Yan State is too busy to take care of himself, and on the surface he does not dare to break his face with Qi State.
On the iron frame in the center of the tent, hangs a giant Chilong copper pot, inside which is cooking the freshest and tenderest batch of Maojian tea in early spring.
The fragrance of tea was lingering, and after serving Mu Huai, Yan Juxu and Hubu Shangshu each a cup of tea, Mu Huai said with a slight sigh, "It's not that Qi cannot produce brocade, it's just that Yan Ye If a weaver can weave a high-quality brocade in one day, it will take five days for a weaver in Qi, and it is much inferior to Yan Ye's brocade."
Having said that, Mu Huai didn't have much intention to drink tea again.
He put the porcelain cup in his hand behind the sandalwood case, and said in a serious tone: "The Lord Ye is really a cruel person. He knew that I was about to invade the imperial city, so he sent troops in advance to kill thousands of people from the Yedu Weaving Bureau. One of the weavers was burned alive, and nothing of the brocade remained."
After hearing this, Yan Juxu and the Minister of the Household Department changed their expressions slightly.
Mu Huai also said: "Only a few seriously injured weavers were rescued, and none of the brocade officials with titles and rich experience in weaving survived."
The last word has a strong bite.
Even when Mu Huai's voice was calm, it was not angry and majestic.
Now he was a little sullen, the Minister of the Household Department held his breath, the tea in his hand almost spilled, he forced himself to be calm, and secretly felt that if the emperor still held the tea cup in his hand, then the tea cup would probably be smashed to pieces by him .
Yan Juxu's expression was still calm, but there was regret in his eyes, and he persuaded: "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, since all the Ye soil has returned to Qi, the method of making brocade will be found sooner or later."
Mu Huai nodded, but his tone was still quiet, and he said, "I don't want to buy brocade from the Yan Kingdom, but civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty cannot always wear old clothes."
Rong Xi was behind the screen, and could hear the conversation of the three of them clearly, and could feel Mu Huai's anxiety personally.
In fact, the territory of Ye State is far inferior to that of Qi State in terms of farmland and water conservancy. So if all the craftsmen in the weaving bureau were burned to death by Lord Ye, then Mu Huai still didn't get what he most wanted in this attack on Ye.
After Mu Huai poured out his worries to his ministers, he asked the Minister of the Household Department about the expenditure of the treasury.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs replied: "Last year there was a drought in Qi State, and this year it was lucky to have a good harvest. The treasury originally had a surplus, but now the war has consumed a lot of money. The treasury's silver can still maintain the expenditure of the Forbidden City. But the emperor... If you still want to repair If the imperial mausoleum is underground...you can increase the private tax."
Mu Huai waved his hand to stop, and said, "No."
— “There is no rush for Diling.”
Ever since Mu Huai came up with the idea of building an underground imperial tomb, when Rong Xi was still pregnant with Mu Chen, he asked the people from the Ministry of Industry to design the structure of the underground imperial tomb, and also sent them to select a site in the suburbs of Bianjing in advance.
However, Mu Huai was not satisfied with any of the sketches submitted by officials from the Ministry of Industry.
Rong Xi endured the soreness and fatigue in his body, and put on a quilt for himself, but felt that it was really strange that Mu Huai wanted to build the mausoleum so early.
The ancient and modern emperors probably all had such thoughts. They lived extravagantly during their lifetime, and they wanted to continue this kind of life after their death.
But how old is Mu Huai, why did he move the middle-aged emperor's mind to build the mausoleum
Rong Xifu closed her eyes again, she was not afraid of being buried with her, if Mu Huai really went before her, as long as Jue'er and Chen'er had grown up by then, she would immediately swallow gold and commit suicide, and go to the underground mausoleum Accompany Mu Huai.
At this time, the three men in the tent had all got up, and Mu Huai said in a gentle voice, "Yan Qing has worked hard, and I will entrust you with the full authority for the follow-up matters in Yejing."
Yan Juxu replied respectfully: "Don't worry, Your Majesty."
After Hubu Shangshu and Xiangguo Yan Juxu left the main tent, Mu Huai walked behind the screen.
Rong Xi squinted her beautiful eyes, and she saw that Mu Huai was already fully dressed through the slits of her eyes, so she secretly slandered, this man is like this, he always looks like a bad dog to her inside, but he always looks like that person outside. A handsome emperor who looks like a human being.
Seeing that Mu Huai was already sitting upright beside the couch, Rong Xi put the quilt over his head, covering himself tightly.
Mu Huai leaned forward helplessly, put his thin lips next to the woman's soft ear through the quilt, and asked warmly, "Did I wake up Xi'er?"
Rong Xi hummed softly, and didn't really want to pay attention to Mu Huai.
Mu Huai was patted on her through the quilt, his tone pretended to be low, and he reprimanded in a low voice: "Earlier in the morning, I played coquettishly with you."
After Rong Xi was patted that time, he curled up again.
It's like a little lazy cat.
Mu Huai laughed hoarsely, his tone softened a little, and he coaxed him to say, "Get up, we're about to break camp and start our journey."
Only then did Rong Xi nod her head, and muffled under the quilt, she said, "Yes."
After the petite woman got out of the quilt, the Emperor Jingui lowered his figure and personally waited on her to put on her boots and straighten her clothes, his movements were extremely skillful.
Seeing the woman rubbing her eyes from time to time, and there were bruises and purple finger marks on her slender wrists, the color of Mu Huai's eyes changed, and he felt that he had really tossed people hard.
On the way back to Qi, the sun was shining brightly, and the sky was gradually getting warmer.
Rong Xi secretly felt that it only took her more than ten days to go out with Mu Huai, and the surrounding trees were much more luxuriant than when she came here.
Inside the luxurious car, it is warm and spacious.
The huge wooden wheels of the cart rolled over the official road. Rong Xi lay on the man's legs as a pillow in the car, and soon fell asleep. He was not disturbed by the slight bumps in the road, and slept soundly.
In her sleep, she wanted to find something to cling to, so she constantly adjusted her sleeping position, and it was reasonable to use Mu Huai's legs as a pillow.
Rong Xi dreamed that Jue'er's small body was running towards her, but the angry Mu Huai stood in front of her, preventing her from hugging Jue'er.
Then, her mouth was also bitten severely.
Rong Xi felt that this tactile sensation was very real, and it should not be a dream.
While half dreaming and half awake, he found that Mu Huai really pulled her up. He was holding her head, kissing and biting her lip with resentment.
Although the kiss was a bit violent, but the two were in the moving car, Rong Xi didn't dare to make too much noise, and only hummed softly to beg Mu Huai for mercy.
—"Husband...husband...what's wrong with my concubine?"
Mu Huai looked into her flustered eyes, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Just sleep well, why are you touching your hands?"
"I… "
Rong Xi thought about it secretly. She was in a dream just now, and she seemed to have encountered something.
Her cheeks flushed, and she hurriedly explained: "I... I didn't mean it... I really didn't mean it."
But Mu Huai didn't want to listen to her explanation, his cold eyes showed restraint and forbearance, he suddenly lifted the woman's two slender arms, made her sit on his lap with her back facing him.
He also surrounded the petite woman from behind, and said in a low voice: "My dear, since you have offended me, you will have to pay the price."
Rong Xi refused, almost crying out: "No...it won't work."
- "Why not?"
Mu Huaiyuan also wanted to scare this little troublemaker, knowing that she was already very tired, and he didn't want to love her in the car. What's more, just now the coachman told him that there was still more than ten miles to go, and the whole army was about to enter the gate of the capital of Qi.
But Rong Xi didn't know what Mu Huai was thinking, and was still thinking of countermeasures. She asked again and again as if searching: "The concubine...the concubine made a mistake, Your Majesty will forgive the concubine this time..."
Mu Huai kissed her on the forehead, pinched her still freckled face with the other hand, and asked angrily: "Tell me, are you a torturer? You know how to pester me every day, and I want to hurry up!" Grinded to death by you."
After saying those words, the man's strength to hold her was a little weaker, and Rong Xi immediately broke free from the lion's claws like a frightened rabbit.
Rong Xi hurriedly found another place in the car to sit down, and it was quite a distance away from Mu Huai.
It was clearly not that she was torturing him, but that no matter what she did, this man felt that she was seducing him and torturing him.
She can't be near him.
If she complained, she still wanted to say that Mu Huai was clinging to her, and he was going to cling to her to death.