In the next few days, Ye Qing lived in Shouchun Mansion without any preparation for leaving.

Just like becoming an official in Shouchun Prefecture, as long as the prefect He Chong, who was forced to stay in Shouchun by him, and the appeasement envoy Sima Jian, arrived at the yamen, Ye Qing would immediately follow him on time.

Then he didn't speak or ask, and sat in the conference hall. No matter He Chong or Sima Jian dealt with the political affairs of Huainan West Road or did other things, Ye Qing just sat on the side with an easy-going smile and listened silently without saying a word.

There is no need to pay attention to him and let the two treat him like air and ignore him. But as a hero like him, and with what he said to others on the first day, it is conceivable that it is difficult for all the officials of Shouchun Prefecture to treat him as air. Everyone is cautious and serve him tremblingly.

No matter He Chong or Sima Jian, even other officials in the yamen office, since Ye Qing came to Shouchun, he always felt a thick layer of black clouds pressed above his head. From time to time, he would feel a chill feeling coming from the back of his neck and back. The sweat steamed by the heat waves in the scorching summer seemed to have turned into cold sweat.

He Chong and Sima Jian talked with Ye Qing once, and told Ye Qing very tactfully that their attitude towards the combination of Huainan East Road was still hoped to be based on the court's meaning, rather than taking the lead in talking about this matter.

Facing the implicit sound that is not a fool, Ye Qing, the comforter of Huainan East Road, still smiled casually and told He Chong and Sima Jian politely: Think about it again, you two will discuss more and look at the long-term and think about the problem. Don’t worry, we have time.

Sima Jian and He Chong looked at each other, and after a glance, they slowly walked out of Ye Qing's residence. The two faced the heavy sighs of the sky for three days. Every time they went to Ye Qing to show their unclear positions and attitudes, they would be exchanged for Ye Qing's easy-going words.

This sentence has been said to them for three days. As long as you are not a fool, you will understand. Ye Qing is obviously not satisfied with the answer given by them. What they obviously want is an answer with a firm and clear attitude.

"Do you want it..." He Chong looked at Sima Jian and asked in a negotiated tone.

"Do you mean to inform the court?" Sima Jian's smile had disappeared for several days, which made He Chong sometimes feel unbelievable. The person who was frowning in front of him was Sima Jian, who could smile on weekdays, who could be comforted by Huainan West Road, who was able to smile on his face.

"Mr. Ye is so hard-working... Isn't Master Sima still clear? He just needs someone to pave the way for his proposal and get a response in the court. There is really no one more suitable person than us. What Lord Ye wants is to propose it ourselves, and the two roads of Huainan East and West are one." He Chong frowned and followed Sima Jian under the sun, both walking forward with heavy steps.

"I'm not worried that this matter will be brought up by us. What I'm worried about is... what to do afterward?" Sima Jian's expression was less flattering in front of Ye Qing. At this moment, there was a moment of being uneven and mighty. He also frowned and sighed, "My concern is that if you and I report to the court that the east and west sides of Huainan are combined into one, then the court will treat us like this next? Do you already treat us as members of Ye Qing's party? If so, what should we do? Should we follow Ye Qing, or...."

"So we can't let go of this, we can't propose it to the court..." He Chong bit his lip, his mouth was dry and his tongue was distracted.

Today, when I went to Ye Qing's residence, I didn't even get a cup of tea. I was still full of enthusiasm when I went there on the first day. Tea, snacks and snacks filled the table. When I went there yesterday, there was only a cup of tea, snacks and snacks left. But the snacks disappeared without a trace.

When I went there today, the table was empty and there was no tea. Oh, no, there was a cup that he had brought in his hand to drink, and he and Sima Jian could only stare blankly.

"Can't we let go of this mouth?" Sima Jian smiled bitterly, and said with a melancholy expression: "Yes, we can't let this mouth go, but if we don't let this mouth go, will Lord Ye let us go? Can't you see this situation? He is bound to win."

"Have you been consuming it all the time?" He Chong asked.

"Mr. Ye will not bother to waste time with us." Sima Jian smiled, and then said, "Didn't you notice it? You and I went there on the first day, tea and snacks were entertaining us. Yesterday I went there only tea left. Today I didn't even get a cup of tea. Maybe tomorrow, there would be a knife on the table."

How could He Chong not know about this inconspicuous behavior? Ye Qing was hitting them, nodding speechlessly, and then as if he had remembered something, he first said, "Mr. Sima took a step to speak."

The two of them specially chose a place with few pedestrians on the street and walked forward. Then He Chong looked at Sima Jian with a serious expression and said, "I have thought about it in the past two days, and the talk of some merchants who rest in inns, teahouses, and restaurants has made me feel a trace of clues."

"Oh? I don't know what's going on?" Sima Jian asked in confusion.

"It has something to do with Lord Ye's sudden arrival in our Shouchun Mansion." He Chong lowered his voice, then pulled Sima Jian to sit down in the corner of an inconspicuous teahouse. Although the clothes on the two of them were not luxurious, they were not the coarse cloth clothes of ordinary people. So after entering this small teahouse, they still seemed a little out of place compared to those people dressed in short clothes.

At this time, the two of them didn't care about so much, but just found a place to discuss. After asking for some tea, they began to look around the corner vigilantly. After He Chong said, "I have figured out some clues about the merchants in the market, coupled with my hard thinking over the past few days. "

"Sir Sima, don't be anxious, listen to the official and tell you slowly." Looking at Sima Jian's somewhat anxious look, He Chong signaled to take a sip of tea first before continuing.

"Sir, I don't know if you have heard such a thing in the past few days. It is said that Lord Ye suddenly rushed back to Yangzhou from the distant Jingzhao Mansion Road because the court wanted to transfer Lord Ye's dispatch from Huainan East Road, so he forced Lord Ye to rush back to Yangzhou impatiently." He Chong said in a low voice.

Sima Jian frowned, nodded or shook his head, and did not admit it or deny whether he had heard these rumors before.

Looking at the unparalleled tea leaves on the table floating in the tea cup, he lowered his eyes and said, "If this is the case, what do you think?"

All of them were officials who had been in the court for many years. Without any explanation, they immediately knew why Ye Qing suddenly appeared in Shouchun Mansion on Huainan West Road: Ye Qing naturally would not do it if the court wanted to remove Ye Qing from the position of pacifier on Huainan East Road.

Not to mention Ye Qing, even He Chong and Sima Jian, they put themselves in Ye Qing's shoes and would never agree to the court to dismiss him from the mission of the pacification envoy of Huainan East Road. After all, Huainan East Road can be regarded as the link between the Song Dynasty and the Northland. If they lose control of Huainan East Road, it means that they will only turn against the court and establish themselves.

Ye Qing, the inmate, could see clearly and understand the court's thoughts clearly. Bystanders like He Chong and Sima Jian naturally could not be more clear.

"Double-edged sword." He Chong sighed, "If the court did not reach out to Lord Ye to return to the mission of the pacifier of Huainan East Road, then all this is still a matter between the court and Lord Ye. No matter how it is caused, at least it will not affect other innocent people, such as you, Lord Ye. But now the court takes the lead in provoking Lord Ye, Lord Ye, and Lord Ye will naturally fight back. From this, Ye Qing's power in the north has been quite stable. Otherwise, he would not have taken action so decisively to retaliate against the court. In this way, the affairs of the court and Lord Ye will begin to involve the court and officials from all walks of life."

"You and I are the first to bear the brunt." Sima Jian sighed. He had already vaguely guessed since Ye Qing arrived at Shouchun Mansion on the first day, but he was unwilling to face and admit it. After all, these innocent people did not offend anyone, so why bother to force them to take the team?

He Chong nodded in agreement, and then continued to analyze and said, "Sir, you just asked Xiaguan, if we agree to Lord Ye's request and take the initiative to propose that the two roads of Huainan East and West are one, then what should we do in the future? It is the other side of the double-edged sword that Xiaguan said."

Sima Jian looked at He Chong quietly and said slowly: "What you mean is that Lord Ye does not mean to be independent now. He wants to protect Huainan East Road, or even combine Huainan East Road into one, just to increase the bargaining chips in his hand, and he must... be independent?"

"Yes. But this is all the guess of the Xiaguan. If this is true, the Xiaguan and the Lord will not be forced into a desperate situation. No matter what, at least they are officials of the Song Dynasty, and they have not treason, right?" He Chong looked at the empty teacup and shook his head and said, "In fact, what Xiaguan is even more afraid of is that in the future, the court and Lord Ye can still be at peace. Even if the east and west Huainan roads are combined into one, it is a foregone conclusion. But this

What will happen in the future? If one day Lord Ye and the court really have a quarrel and cannot be like today, even if they maintain the illusion of peace in a disagreeable way, what should we do then? Follow Lord Ye or return to the court from Huainan West Road? Can we go back? Will the court accept us then? Will we still trust us? Even now, since Lord Ye arrived at Shouchun Mansion, has the court already doubted us?"

"So even if we want to be a bystander who is indifferent to the world, it is impossible." Sima Jian sighed again: "If I had known this, I would not have come to Huainan West Road for a mission back then. Even if I could not be promoted to a pacifier, it would have been much better than now. Now, I am blocked by someone in Shouchun Mansion and have to make a choice. It's difficult."

He Chong looked at Sima Jian with helpless face, sighed in his heart, and subconsciously touched the edge of the teacup with his fingers and murmured: "The career of the Xiaguan and the Lord, even the fate of the family, now depends on Lord Ye. If he is determined to be independent in the future, even if we do nothing, we may not be able to escape the reputation of being accomplice for the tiger. Therefore, it depends on whether Lord Ye has the ambition to be independent."

"The current situation is that even if Lord Ye doesn't want to be independent, what can we do if the court is forcing him to go on the road of independence? If the court does not touch Ye Qing's rebellion, wouldn't everyone be able to be harmonious and safe? But now the court can't hold back... To be honest, Lord Ye will recover so many territory in the north, and now there are more than seven or eight routes? But the court is not only unhappy, but also worried, as if he is afraid that Ye Qing will continue to regain his lost territory and avenge the shame of the two saints.

The behavior is like Yue Fei back then. If I were Ye Qing, I would be disappointed. In front, I led the soldiers to kill the enemy in blood and recover the lost territory, but behind the court behind them, the court behind them obstructed and framed them. If it were me, I would have revenged the court." Sima Jian shook his head. For a moment, he didn't know who should stand on. Of course, the best thing is that Ye Qing and the court make a random fight and don't involve them, but now they have to be involved in this open and secret struggle, and they are forced to start choosing to stand.

"Sir, how will Lord Ye force you to follow the officials next?" He Chong returned to reality again, and smiled with a hint of joy in suffering: "I will never go with you tomorrow, so I'll just put a knife on the table, right?"

"Mr. Ye was able to go from an imperial guard to such a high position today in just over a decade, except for luck, but he naturally had strong strength as a backing. Some colleagues always thought that he had lost his luck and was influenced by the favor of Emperor Gaozong and the Supreme Emperor. But over the years, who has taken advantage of the big and small battles in the court? Where is the court? It is full of intrigue, open and secret struggles, eating people without spitting bones. There is no extremely deep cunning and forbearance that is different from ordinary people. It is difficult to move step by step in the court. If you accidentally get a bone, you will even lose your bones.

,I, Sima Jian, always believed that those who can be an official in Lin'an and in the capital, whether they are powerful officials or loyal officials, are truly powerful people with absolute strength. They are the strong and the strong, especially in the court. There are many rumors about Ye Qing in the past few years. It is no wonder that they are cruel and decisive and sharp, but in my opinion, this person's vision is even more different from ordinary people. He can still be so sharp in the situation, and can understand the intention of the court at once, and in turn it is a sharp revenge." Sima Jian shook his head and murmured: "Mr. Ye must not be underestimated. If he becomes a hero in one day, he may be a hero who monopolizes power like Cao Mengde."

"Hold the emperor to command the princes." He Chong murmured to himself, glanced at Sima Jian, and then hesitated and said, "So, have you already had a scheming in your heart?"

"Cao Mengde spent 17 years not only unifying the northern land, but also divided the Huns who disturbed the people of the Central Plains into five, so that they no longer had hidden dangers in the Central Plains. Now... the situation facing the northern land is not simpler than Cao Mengde, and even more severe. Jin, Xia, Liao, and Tatars may become tigers and wolves that erode our Song Dynasty. It is obvious that Ye Qing had no problem in trying to survive in the cracks with his own strength. But if he wanted to unify the northern land like Cao Mengde back then, he would not see any hope for the time being." Sima Jian asked with some regret and regret: "So what do you mean?"

He Chong lowered his head. When the future is uncertain and cannot make a decision, different people will choose different ways to find answers when they are confused. Ordinary people or most people will choose to ask Buddha and ask God, or make choices by respecting God and divination.

Some people like to choose similar situations from the vast river of history to compare and judge, then make their own choices and analysis, and finally make their own choices.

"If Ye Qing could become a hero like Cao Mengde, the subordinate... would be..." He Chong said in the end, giving Sima Jian an attitude that could only be understood but not expressed.

"There are many elite soldiers and strong generals under Cao Mengde's command. Now, according to your opinion..." Sima Jian asked, turning the empty teacup in his hand.

"The recovery of many lost land is enough to prove that the battle of Guanshan can prove that there is no shortage of elite soldiers and powerful generals. The lower officials think they are no less than their predecessors, let alone now..." He Chong said with a playful smile.

"Forget it, let's think about it calmly for a day, tomorrow... we hope we won't see a knife on Lord Ye's desk tomorrow." After Sima Jian knew He Chong's attitude, he stopped continuing the topic. As for his attitude, he would not give He Chong a clear answer until the last moment.

I have been in the officialdom for so long. At this sensitive time, no one wants to make a real difference. Of course, if I stand in the same camp, it would be a different matter.

After He Chong smiled, he stood up with Sima Jian, and then after making up the tea money, he followed Sima Jian out of the teahouse.
Chapter completed!