Chapter 171 Border

Su Quan's eyes were fierce and cold as he stared at the person beside him.

"After staying in the palace for a long time, I felt that I had also inherited the noble aura of my master.

Your Highness, do you think you have the right to speak against slaves and servants?

Whatever happened in the Sixth Princess's Mansion today must not be leaked. If I hear any gossip, I'll be in trouble!"

The young eunuch was terrified and begged for mercy repeatedly, but he was still driven out of the car and could only jog along.

Su Quan looked out of the car. These guys knew nothing.

After staying in the deep palace for a long time, what use is wealth and status?

There is no direction, loneliness, and despair... Otherwise, how could there be so many people who live together and adopt godsons and grandsons?

Don't be fooled by the way people treat him respectfully wherever he goes. Is that for him? It's for His Majesty.

On the contrary, it was the Sixth Prince who was harsh in his words and shook him by the collar, which showed that he did not treat him as a eunuch.

Otherwise, look at other people, who would be willing to touch his clothes without worrying about getting their hands dirty?

Su Quan sighed.

Yes, the Sixth Prince didn't treat him as a disabled person, nor did he treat him as a human being...

"Your Highness!" Sui Mo glared at Qin Zhaoyue, the meaning was self-evident.

Qin Zhaoyue was not afraid at all. He scratched his ears and turned back to the hall.

She is not stupid. She is the most popular person in front of the emperor. Why would she offend him for no reason?

It was nothing more than a small test. Now it seems that his tolerance for her is quite high, otherwise he would not have taken away the old ginseng.

"Your Highness, did Eunuch Su mention the three people he sent to his mansion last night?"

“Not at all.”

Sui Mo breathed a sigh of relief. Since no one mentioned it anymore, it seemed the matter was settled.

Since His Majesty has dismissed his attendants, he must have something important to tell you.

Sui Mo knew her limits. Last night, His Highness entrusted her with all the keys and cards of the mansion. So it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for her to take out a ginseng from the storehouse today according to the circumstances.

But the master did not mention His Majesty's errand, so she didn't dare to ask.

There is still some time before noon, so I had some pastry batter to eat first.

"How much do you know about the Four Border Paths?"

Sui Mo didn't answer directly, but called Mo Er over. "She stayed in the northwest border for more than a year."

Mo Er is that cute girl with big eyes who is small in stature but very strong.

According to Sui Mo, they need more than one year of practical experience before they can officially become Qingluan Guards.

Everyone's experiences were different. Most of them went to the front line, while others went to suppress bandits or go to the border.

"What kind of information does Your Highness want to know?"

"Just talk about it, whatever comes to mind."

Qin Zhaoyue searched his memory, and apart from knowing the existence of these four, he was really lacking in other information.

Mo Er thought for a moment. She had returned from the northwestern border two years ago, so the information was not too old. Her first impression from the description was that it was chaotic.

The Dagan court implemented education, but this is not comprehensive, it should be called differentiation.

According to the contract, the imperial court reserved some of the clan lands of the border nobles, but did not station troops there, but only surrounded them.

Additionally, slavery was outlawed.

In the past, apart from the nobles, 80 to 90 percent of the remaining people were slaves.

After the abolition of slavery, the ruling power of the aristocracy was greatly weakened.

Many people fled their tribe, but were not allowed to leave the border, so they could only rely on the garrison troops to make a living.

They raised horses for the garrison, trained in riding and archery, and joined the army. Gradually, the nobility became a mere name.

Qin Zhaoyue curled her lips. This must be her mother's idea. How sinister.

Without spending a single soldier, the control of the nobles could be weakened, and those who had escaped slavery would risk their lives out of gratitude if they were allowed to live like human beings?

No wonder Da Gan has always been able to maintain his advantage in cavalry.

In addition to armored equipment, it is also closely related to the breeding of war horses and training in mounted combat.

Isn’t this better than direct occupation and imposing a policy of high pressure?

"How do those nobles make a living?"

"Live off the old stuff."

"How many years has it been since we started eating this?"

"It's good to eat. A gold mine was discovered in the northwest border area.

Slaves are not worthy of using gold; it is all in the hands of the nobles.

Although I no longer have a large number of slaves to drive me, I can still exchange gold for supplies with Da Gan.

Because of the greater abundance of goods, they lived a more luxurious life than before."

Good man, having said that, any noble with a little bit of common sense would understand the principle of living beyond one's means.

No wonder he submits letters every year. He wants to truly integrate into the big work while he still has some money.

If children are allowed to take the imperial examinations, and if they pass, they must become officials and settle down, then isn't it reasonable to bring their family members over?

So does settling down here require spending money and not buying real estate?

Not to mention the cultural erosion, if they didn't have that kind of money, how could they dare to submit petitions year after year to participate in the imperial examinations? I guess they must have read the classics, history books, and miscellaneous books to pieces.

With great efforts, a benevolent and righteous army and a conciliatory policy, it has both the appearance and the substance.

Aside from the fact that it takes a long time, there's nothing wrong with it.

As they were chatting, news came from outside the door that four princesses were coming together.

Qin Zhaoyue waved his hand and asked the kitchen staff to prepare quickly.

It would be inappropriate not to let them have a free meal since they came at this time.

"Sixth sister, we see you coming!"

The voice came before I even entered the house, and I knew it was Xiaojiu.

"Sixth sister, I heard you were sick?"

Qin Zhaoyue nodded. "I'm tired from the journey and have a headache."

Qin Zhaoqiong: ...

How did she manage to lie without blinking?

A cold gaze swept over, although it was fleeting, but Qin Zhaoqiong would never be wrong.

"Eldest sister, you're here!"

He was warning her with a cold look one moment, and the next moment he came up to her with a smile, holding her hand and shaking it. Qin Zhaoqiong nodded awkwardly.

"Third sister, fourth sister, Xiaojiu, come in quickly."

The matter of illness was ignored. After all, Qin Zhaoyue would cause some trouble from time to time, so it was no big deal for her to use illness as an excuse to not enter the palace.

Qin Zhaoqiong had no intention of pointing it out, as any rumor would not be good for her sixth sister.

Everyone sat comfortably in the hall and after a few pleasantries, they talked about the main point of the trip: the eldest sister and the second brother were conferred the title of prince.

Qin Zhaoyue pretended to be surprised and congratulated them, but he was actually secretly observing the reactions of his third and fourth sisters, and he didn't notice anything unusual.

Before the disaster relief, the three of them should be considered to be on par with each other, with their own strengths and weaknesses, and Your Majesty should not have a very obvious preference.

As a result, not only did he gain a lot of credit after returning, but his political experience also made great progress, and the gap between them was widened immediately.

Qin Zhaoyue didn't believe that the two of them had no ulterior motives.

But they are all good at hiding things and not showing off, unlike that silly girl Xiaojiu.

"Zhao Yue, after the morning court session, the second brother and I were called to the imperial study.

I will set off for the northern border, and the second brother will go to the southern border..."

This year, the northern border has been attacked one after another, and the southern border is also not peaceful. Sending the two newly crowned royal heirs at this time is like another test posed by His Majesty.

Isn't there an undercurrent of competition for the throne within the court? Now that the two most outstanding candidates have been selected and sent to the frontier for testing, what else can the officials say?

Moreover, the autumn harvest is approaching, and it is customary to increase attention to the border at this time.

Both of them are titled as military inspectors, which seems fair and reasonable.

But Qin Zhaoyue knew that his old mother would always hide secret orders, so there was no telling what orders the person accompanying her might have.

"Eldest sister is really working hard. She just came back and didn't even have time to rest."

Qin Zhaoqiong waved his hand.

“I’m fine, the second half of the journey in Bailu County wasn’t too tiring.

There is another thing. The envoys from the Shuofeng Dynasty will soon arrive in Fengjing. Has Sixth Sister heard about it?"