The Peace Rift 358. Chaos in the North

In less than a month and a half, He Su had already captured nearly half of the troops near Changqing. There was naturally a lot of bloodshed in secret, but on the surface everything was as peaceful as before.

"The princess's methods are indeed amazing." Queen Helan smiled as she sat in front of Ye Li in the courtyard. She looked at Ye Li with a little more respect. In just over a month, she was able to control half of Changqing's troops and even infiltrate those stubborn Central Plains people. Queen Helan thought she couldn't do it. Although there was a reason why she was born in the North and was naturally guarded and viewed by the Central Plains, Queen Helan had to admit that she was afraid that she would not have thought of Ye Li so much.

Ye Li shook her head and smiled faintly, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. It was just a coincidence that I was able to take advantage of the opportunity. If I were in another place, it would not be so easy." Ye Li was not being modest. In fact, even Ye Li herself did not expect that it would be so smooth. This was because the internal situation of the Northern Territory was too loose. Although these former officials were very knowledgeable about intrigues and scheming, in fact, they and their families were too far away from the government and power. As a result, the Northern Territory looked good from top to bottom, but there were loopholes everywhere inside, and it was just a form in name only. Even if the Ding Palace did not plot against Ren Qining, if Ren Qining did not rectify it himself, I am afraid that the Northern Territory would not last for ten years.

Queen Helan smiled and said, "Those who can seize opportunities are smart. However, those old men in the Central Plains are the most suspicious. How could they not notice that you have done so many things?" These days, the people in the northern border have been secretly preparing to return to the outside of the pass after they were taken out to attack the Zijing Pass. On the other hand, they tried their best to create trouble for the people in the Central Plains to distract their attention. But they didn't even notice that their military power had been taken away by others. This is too much. Could it be that all the soldiers in the Central Plains want to rebel against Ren Qining? How bad is Ren Qining's reputation?

Ye Li played with the teacup in her hand and smiled, "They should find out soon. Don't forget that the Yun family also has a lot of military power. They will definitely find something wrong." It must be said that this is another mistake of Ren Qining for a civil official to hold military power. Or, it can't be said to be a mistake, but it was something he had to do.

"Princess, a letter has been sent from Prime Minister Yun's residence. Please come to the residence for a visit." Zhuo Jing came in with a letter and handed it to Ye Li. Ye Li took it and saw that it was indeed a letter from Prime Minister Yun's residence. The golden letter was outlined with exquisite auspicious cloud patterns, which looked magnificent.

"Where is Tan Jizhi?" Ye Li asked.

Zhuo Jing said, "Master Tan was invited to the Prime Minister's Mansion this morning. Judging from the relationship between my subordinates... the Prime Minister's Mansion might have discovered something wrong. That's why they sent a letter to invite the princess to come over, hoping to find a way to bury the hatchet."

Ye Li stood up and said with a smile: "Then let's go meet this loyal minister of the previous dynasty. Send someone to inform He Su to pay attention to the troops outside the city. If there is any accident, don't be polite. In addition, let Qin Feng block all roads leading to Zijing Pass. Without my order, no information is allowed to be transmitted to Zijing Pass."

"As you command!" Zhuo Jing took the order and left.

Queen Helan also stood up and said with a smile: "Thank you very much this time. I will go back and let them prepare, and cooperate with you. By the way, do you still want those ministers of Ren Qining? Can I kill them?"

Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "Queen, please do as you please."

Taking Zhuo Jing and Lin Han into the Prime Minister's Mansion, Ye Li didn't care when she saw Prime Minister Yun's smiling face. However, Tan Jizhi had been restrained by someone. Ye Li couldn't help but smile and said, "Mr. Tan, what's wrong with you?" With Tan Jizhi's ability, he was able to be restrained by someone from the Prime Minister's Mansion even though he was on guard. Ye Li didn't believe it.

Tan Jizhi smiled and shrugged, "Aren't you waiting for the girl to rescue you?"

Seeing the two of them chatting and laughing freely, and not taking him seriously at all, Prime Minister Yun couldn't help but frown. He sneered and said, "Miss, why don't you tell me where you came from? Could it be that you are really from Cangmang Mountain?"

Ye Li smiled and said, "Yun Xiang didn't believe it at first, so why bother asking again?"

In this way, the Prime Minister naturally knew that he was indeed fooled by the two people in front of him. Ye Li said that he did not believe it at first, but it was not true. He was just half-believing and half-doubting. It was just that he did not care because Tan Jizhi needed his help and these two people were in Changqing City and he was in his control. However, he did not expect that the ability of these two people was beyond his expectations. In just over a month, they could control half of the troops in the northern border.

"You are from Ding Palace!" The Prime Minister stared at the two people and asked coldly. Apart from the people from Ding Palace, he really couldn't think of anyone who could have such ability and means.

Tan Jizhi gave a helpless smile without answering. Ye Li nodded and said, "Ye Li has seen Yun Xiang before."

"Are you Princess Ding?!" Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Yun couldn't help but scream, almost falling to the ground. Ye Li was a little helpless, was her name so scary?

Prime Minister Yun slumped back into the armchair in a daze, and after a long while he paused and sighed, "What a great Princess Ding is! She's so brave and resourceful! I'm sure the princess has been planning this with those northern barbarians for a long time, right?" Prime Minister Yun was no fool. He knew that the Ding Palace had caused such a big commotion in the northern border, but they had only just noticed it. There must have been some accomplice helping them.

Ye Li sighed softly, "It's not that our Dingwang Mansion is cruel. The King of the Northern Territory and the Northern Rong are in alliance and want to destroy our Dingwang Mansion and subvert the Central Plains. This move is really too cruel. If they succeed, our Dingwang Mansion will inevitably be attacked from all sides. So we can only take the risk and cut off his retreat. I hope Prime Minister Yun will forgive me."

"The king wins and the bandits lose, so why should the princess say more?" Prime Minister Yun stared at Ye Li's beautiful face and said in a stern voice, "Princess Ding has such courage and means at such a young age. Even I have to say I admire you. But... since the Ding Palace already knows that its status has been ruined, it still dares to come to my Prime Minister's Mansion. It seems that they don't take me seriously at all."

Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "Prime Minister Yun is your senior. How dare I refuse when he summons me?"

"Good, good, good..." Prime Minister Yun said three good words in a row, and then he was so angry that his face turned blue and he slammed the table and said in a loud voice: "Since you dare to enter my Prime Minister's Mansion, if I don't keep you, wouldn't it be a threat to my Northern Border?!"

"Prime Minister Yun, even if the Northland is heavily attacked, we are the ones who are embarrassed. What does it have to do with you?" A female voice with a hint of smile rang out from outside the door, and Queen Helan walked in with a few people from the Northland. It was as if the entire Prime Minister's Mansion was empty. Prime Minister Yun's eyes narrowed, staring at Queen Helan and said, "I was wondering why you Northern barbarians were connected with Prince Ding's Mansion? It turns out it's because of you, a jerk!" When Queen Helan was clamoring to go to Licheng, everyone thought it was just a gamble for Concubine Yun, and no one cared. But they didn't expect it to bring a disaster to the Northland.

Queen Helan's pretty face darkened, and she said in a cold voice: "You old bastard surnamed Yun, you are so shameless! Your master Ren Qining relied on the status and influence of my cousin and uncle to become the King of the North, so you old bastards have the good life you have today. But now you come to destroy the bridge after crossing the river, and squeeze out my people from the North everywhere. Every time when it comes to war, my men from the North rush to the front, but you take advantage of it from the back. More than 700,000 of my men from the North entered the pass, but now there are less than 300,000 left. You still can't tolerate it, and squeeze us out everywhere, which is really disgusting. No wonder you haven't been able to restore your country for hundreds of years. It can be seen that the great gods in the sky have eyes and know that you are all despicable villains. How could they let you succeed in restoring your country again!"

Prime Minister Yun was humiliated by Queen Helan, and his face turned pale and purple. The most criticized point about Ren Qining's establishment of the North was that he took advantage of the power of the people of the North. And it was not that he conquered the people of the North, but that he inherited his father-in-law's position after entering the North. In this way, it would be unreasonable to claim to be the orthodox of the Central Plains. Even the children born by the previous queen had the surname of the people of the North. How could these former ministers tolerate this? However, the establishment of the North was indeed entirely dependent on the people of the North, which made the former ministers have two very strange feelings in front of these people of the North. On the one hand, they despised these barbarians of the North, but on the other hand, they had to admit that they had received great favors from them. Such complicated thoughts made these self-proclaimed orthodox people even more intolerant of the Northerners. They just wanted to find a way to drive them away as soon as possible, on the one hand to restore the orthodox bloodline of the Lin family, and on the other hand to avoid seeing it.

"Hmph! I won't bother with a woman like you!" Prime Minister Yun said unkindly after being squeezed by Queen Helan and was speechless.

Queen Helan said disdainfully: "It is I who should not argue with an old man like you."

The people around couldn't help but twitch their lips. Ye Li suppressed her smile and asked, "Queen Helan, how come you are here so soon?" Queen Helan waved her hand and said, "Many of Ren Qining's men in the city have been captured by me. Those who were not captured can't escape now. There is also a fight outside the city. Princess Ding, can your people win?"

Ye Li said calmly, "Take out that word 'what'. Since the fight has started, why are you running out instead of staying in the palace?"

Queen Helan sighed, "I heard that this old man has hidden a lot of people in the palace to deal with you. If I had known you were so confident, I would not have come. I'm going back first." Queen Helan had something else to do in the palace, so she came and left quickly. She had just scolded Prime Minister Yun and got rid of the anger in her heart, so Queen Helan walked even faster.

After Queen Helan's words, Prime Minister Yun's face became even more gloomy. Ye Li sat opposite her, calmly looking at his face which seemed to have aged ten years in a moment, and said calmly: "Prime Minister Yun, I don't want to commit murder without reason, please order your men to stop. You have all worked hard for so many years, why don't you put down your burdens and enjoy your old age?"

Prime Minister Yun sneered and said, "I have heard for a long time that the Qilin in Prince Ding's Mansion is mysterious and unpredictable, and no one can stop it. I believe that my small Prime Minister's Mansion is now completely under the control of the princess, so why should the princess pretend to be so righteous?"

Ye Li smiled faintly, without arguing, and waved her hand to have him taken away.

As chaos broke out in Changqing City, Queen Helan ordered the palace gates to be closed, many of Ren Qining's former ministers to be arrested, and the city gates to be sealed. Outside the city, the troops under He Su's command fought with the troops of Ren Qining's former subordinates. Changqing City was in chaos, and at the same time, the news of the internal chaos among the troops in Changqing City spread to Ren Qining's army far away at Zijing Pass at a very fast speed.

However, Ren Qining led nearly one million troops to besiege Zijing Pass. Although the opponent was still Leng Huai, this time it was more difficult than the last time. Last time, Leng Huai's troops were from the Chu State and the two sides had been in a standoff for several months. Now they were replaced by the Mohist Army, which was famous for its bravery. Leng Huai and Ren Qining even had a feud over the murder of their sons. Last year, when Ren Qining attacked the capital of Chu, Leng Huai's eldest son Leng Qingyu died in battle and sacrificed his life for his country. How could Leng Huai not remember such a great hatred? The two armies fought dozens of battles in front of Zijing Pass, but the Northern Border Army did not even touch the gate of Zijing Pass.

The war here was not going well, and he received urgent letters from Yelu Ye from time to time. In the letters, it was obvious that he was dissatisfied with the responsibilities of the Northern Border Army. Ren Qining was already very worried. When he received the news that the remaining army had rebelled, Ren Qining was so angry that his eyes went dark.

"Bullshit!" Ren Qining couldn't help but curse after slapping the letter in his hand.

The reactions of the generals in the big tent were different. The generals under Ren Qining were naturally worried and anxious, while the generals from the northern border looked like they had nothing to do with it. They were eager to see Ren Qining's jokes. Ren Qining knew what these people were thinking, so he suppressed his anger and sent them away.

These northern generals naturally knew that Ren Qining didn't like them, but they didn't care. They all stood up and turned around and left the tent.

In the big tent, the Central Plains generals who stayed behind looked at Ren Qining's face and asked hurriedly, "Your Majesty, what happened in the royal city?" Ren Qining gritted his teeth and said, "The Central Plains cavalry soldiers who stayed behind rebelled."

Everyone was stunned, and they were a little confused for a moment. If they said that the Northern Border troops rebelled, they would believe it, but the Central Plains troops rebelled... But then again, there were less than 50,000 Northern Border troops left near the royal city, so it would be impossible for them to rebel. But those Northern Border people did not rebel, but their own troops rebelled, which was really incredible.

"Your Majesty, is this a fraud?" someone asked doubtfully.

Ren Qining raised his hand and pressed his aching brow, saying, "This matter is of great importance. The Royal City is related to the lifeline of our army, and the army left behind is more than 500,000. If they attack our army from behind, and then attack us from both sides together with Leng Huai, our army will be in trouble, and even homeless."

"Could it be someone from Prince Ding's Mansion who is causing trouble?"

Ren Qining sneered, "Why did something happen at this time? If not Ding Wangfu, who else could it be? Great Ding Wangfu, great Mohist Army..." Everyone present looked at each other, worried. Their millions of troops besieged Zijing Pass for more than a month without any success. If Changqing fell into the hands of Ding Wangfu, they would be finished. Apart from anything else, the food and fodder for more than a million soldiers would be enough to give them a headache. They would starve to death within three months.

"Your Majesty, since the Royal City has sent people to ask for help, I'm afraid they can't hold on any longer. We must return as soon as possible to quell the rebellion." It is important to form an alliance with the Northern Rong to attack Zijing Pass, but it is not as important as their own territory. If the Royal City is really occupied by the rebels, they will have nothing. At that time, even if Leng Huai opens Zijing Pass to let them in, what can they do after entering? Become refugees?

Such an important question, I know that Ren Qining will understand it. After a moment of hesitation, he still appointed a general to lead 200,000 troops to go back for reinforcement. On the other hand, it was also a test. Ren Qining, who had dealt with Prince Ding's Mansion several times, was well aware of Mo Xiuyao's unconventional behavior. Since Prince Ding's Mansion was involved in this matter, he had to be careful.

After deciding on the reinforcements to suppress the rebellion, Ren Qining sighed, picked up a pen and wrote a few letters, then called his men and instructed, "Hand the letters to the princess and the prime minister in person."

Changqing City, Northern Palace

Now Changqing City is controlled by people from the Northern Territory, and there is a chaos outside the city. The entire palace suddenly became the world of Queen Helan, so Queen Helan invited Ye Li to live in the palace, so that she wouldn't have to go out of the palace to find her if there was anything. Ye Li didn't care. Now Changqing City is not only controlled by people from the Northern Territory, but also secretly controlled by the Mohist Army. Not even a fly can fly out. And according to the distribution of Ren Qining's secret power provided by Queen Helan, the Mohist Army also began to secretly clean up Ren Qining's secret power in the North. These were probably originally collected secretly by the previous queen because she was worried that the original power would threaten her son's position in the future, but she didn't want to use it on Prince Ding's Mansion.

"Haha, Princess Ding, take a look at this..." Queen Helan sat lazily in the wide phoenix chair, holding up the letter she had just received and looking at Ye Li with a smile. Ye Li raised her head, put down the scroll in her hand and raised her eyebrows, "What does the King of the North have to say to the Queen?"

Queen Helan smiled and said, "He said the troops were in rebellion and he was worried about my safety. He also told me to be careful and stay in the palace and not wander around to avoid any accidents. And something else... probably he wanted to ask what my father and the other northern tribe leaders thought."

Ye Li nodded and smiled, "He probably just wants to test your attitude. Queen, please read the letter and reply."

"Reply?" Queen Helan blinked her eyes, looked at Ye Li innocently and said, "But I have killed the messenger he sent."

Ye Li smiled calmly and said, "That's the Queen's business. If the Queen doesn't want the 200,000 soldiers to come back, she can ignore him."

Queen Helan slumped her shoulders helplessly, and while finding a pen and ink to write a reply to Ren Qining, she said, "Princess Ding, you are so mean!" Ye Li smiled and said, "Have I ever told the queen that I am a good person?" Queen Helan gritted her teeth, "Can you stop calling me queen?"

"Sure, Princess Helan." Ye Li said readily.

Queen Helan was writing a letter to Ren Qining with a sullen look on her face. The letter clearly and directly stated that the rebellion of the Central Plains troops had nothing to do with her northern border. If she wanted her father to help, she had to offer conditions that would satisfy them. When she finished writing, Ye Li came over to take a look and added a few words to her letter, "Copy it again."

Although Queen Helan was only slightly familiar with the Central Plains language, she could still see that Ye Li's letter contained some vague affection. She shuddered, "Princess Ding, please stop slandering me. I don't like that ungrateful bastard."

Ye Li raised her eyebrows and said, "Haven't you always behaved like that? If you suddenly turn hostile and show no mercy now, Ren Qining will be suspicious." In order to prevent Ren Qining from being suspicious, Queen Helan always competed with Concubine Yun, showing some jealousy. Ren Qining was so smart. If Queen Helan suddenly showed a completely official attitude at this time, it would easily arouse Ren Qining's suspicion and then detain the 200,000 troops.

"Well, I'll bear with it for a while." Queen Helan had to admit that Ye Li was more thoughtful than she thought, so she had to pick up the pen and rewrite the letter with a sense of grievance.

"Helan... come out!" Queen Helan was writing a letter to Ren Qining with a bitter face when a sharp and angry curse came from outside the door. The harsh sound made Queen Helan pause, and the half-written letter was immediately stained with a large area of ​​ink. Queen Helan's face suddenly darkened, and she shouted to the outside of the door: "Let them in!"

After a while, Concubine Yun rushed in with a few women. They were trapped in the palace and didn't know what happened outside. They were forbidden to go in and out every day and had no contact with the outside world. After enduring for so many days, Concubine Yun finally couldn't stand it anymore. So she brought people to Queen Helan to cause trouble. After all, she was Ren Qining's favorite concubine, and Queen Helan didn't let anyone do anything to her. Moreover, most of the servants in the palace were also from the Central Plains. Then she rushed to the gate of Queen Helan's palace.

"Helan! What do you mean? How dare you not let my people leave the palace? Do you want to rebel?"

Queen Helan dropped her pen, looked at her with a half-smile and said, "Yes, what do you want?"

"How dare you?!" Concubine Yun screamed, "Aren't you afraid that the king will come back and kill you?" Queen Helan propped up her chin, looked at her lazily and said, "Don't worry, before Ren Qining comes back and kills me, I will definitely kill you first. Of course, there's also...your annoying father. And your father..." Glancing at the group of women following Concubine Yun, Queen Helan curled her lips in disdain. Since she became queen, these women have been causing her a lot of trouble. And when her cousin was still around, those concubines also often caused trouble for her. Queen Helan didn't like the harem at all.

"You...what did you do to my father?" Concubine Yun was shocked. Queen Helan dared to seal off the palace and to admit her thoughts so openly. She must not be crazy. That means she has a very powerful trump card in her hand.

Queen Helan looked at Ye Li who was sitting on the side reading a book and said with a smile: "I don't have the ability to do anything to your Prime Minister father."

Everyone then noticed that there was a woman in white sitting in the hall. However, she was leaning against a pillar and reading a book. Everyone's attention was focused on Queen Helan, and they only noticed her now.

Ye Li raised her head, looked at Concubine Yun and said calmly: "Prime Minister Yun is fine for now, he is recuperating at home. I heard that Concubine Yun is quite good at calligraphy, and is good at imitating other people's writings?"

"Yes. So what?" Concubine Yun answered unconsciously.

Ye Li smiled sweetly, "It's not a big deal. I don't have many people under my command right now. Please help me write a letter, Concubine Yun."

"Why should I help you? No... who are you? I seem to have seen you somewhere..." Yun Fei looked at Ye Li with some doubt. Ye Li's appearance changed slightly after the disguise, but she still gave her a strange sense of familiarity.

Ye Li just smiled and said nothing.

A voice behind Queen Helan called out sharply, "You are Princess Ding!"