Tibet

After chatting with the women for a while, the old lady felt a little tired. Xinyue helped her go back to rest. She looked back at Li Ye, who smiled and nodded to her. She blushed and was overjoyed. .

Dugu Lie came over and said with a smile: "My dear nephew, come and sit in my study!"

Li Ye nodded, "I just have something to give to uncle."

Four people were sitting in the outer study, Li Ye, Dugu Lie, Dugu Ming and the eldest son Dugu Jinyang.

Li Ye handed the brocade box to Dugu Lie, "This is a relatively precious gem that my father asked me to give to my uncle as a gift!"

Dugu Lie opened the brocade box, and a group of extremely dark green gems like water were reflected on the golden satin surface. The three of them marveled together.

Dugu Lie was shocked and said: "My dear nephew, is this the treasure you got from the Western Regions?"

Li Ye nodded, "This emerald, like that piece of lapis lazuli, is also something passed down from generation to generation in the King's Palace of Bushi. Bushi Kingdom is the place that produces the best emeralds and lapis lazuli. It is on the crowns of the kings of the Western Regions." The gems basically come from the Bushi Kingdom.

However, the Bushi Kingdom was occupied by the Eastern Legion of Great Food and robbed the treasures in the palace. I captured all the treasures last year and these treasures fell into my hands again. I also have an emerald to give to Mrs. Guo. I We have an agreement with her. She will keep my father safe and I will find gems for her. "

Dugu Lie nodded, "Look for Mrs. Guo Guo. She is so powerful now that even Yang Guozhong can't compare to her."

Li Ye said in a deep voice: "I have another important matter when I come back this time. I want to increase the number of people in the Hezhong Governor's Mansion to 24,000. Does uncle think it's feasible?"

Dugu Lie was the Minister of the Ministry of War, and he controlled part of the military power. He pondered for a moment and said: "The number of troops stationed is directly related to the level of the Jiedu Mansion. The Hedong Dudu Mansion and the Lingnan Jinglue Mansion are both small Jiedu Mansion. At most, they can only There are 12,000 garrison troops. Judging from the current situation, it is unlikely to increase the number of troops. Unless the level is adjusted and the Hezhong Dudufu is upgraded to Hezhong Jiedufu, which will be on the same level as Anxi and Beiting, then it will be possible."

"Then how can I upgrade?" Li Ye asked again.

Dugu Lie smiled and said: "There are many conditions, including the area under jurisdiction, population, and war needs. I remember there are more than a dozen, but to put it simply, it is actually just a word from the emperor, and you have to convince the emperor."

Li Ye nodded: "What if the emperor agrees? Does the Ministry of War have any troops to send?"

Lone Lie sighed and said: "Just a few days ago, Yang Guozhong and I had a big quarrel. He asked the Ministry of War to send an additional 50,000 troops to Jiannan Jiedufu to participate in the second war against Nanzhao. I thought the imperial court had insufficient troops. I rejected him for some reason, and the emperor also agreed with my opinion and did not send more troops to Jiannan Mansion, so once my nephew proposed to send more troops to Hezhong, Yang Guozhong would definitely oppose it with sufficient reasons."

Li Ye pondered for a moment and said: "If we can't increase the number of troops, is it possible to borrow troops? Is it feasible to borrow 6,000 troops from Anxi and Beiting each to Hezhong?"

Lone Lie smiled slightly and said: "It's completely feasible in the Ministry of War, as long as you can convince the emperor."

After Li Ye left, Dugu Ming looked at the gem carefully for a moment and said to Dugu Lie: "This kid is very smart and did not take out this gem in the back hall. Otherwise, if the news spread, I don't know how many people would peep at it. This gem It is a priceless treasure, worthy of being passed down in Qianying Pavilion."

Dugulie smiled bitterly and said: "When I saw this gem, I knew that the white jade screen as a dowry was a bit hard to get rid of."

"Then what should I do? I don't know how many precious treasures this little General Li has collected in the Western Regions. His mother's necklace is worth at least hundreds of thousands of guan. If you exchange it for a three-acre garden house, hey! If it is not used as a crescent moon We really can’t accept the dowry.”

Dugu Lie thought for a while and said, "How about giving him the red-skin mutton-fat jade, one of the ten treasures of Qianying Pavilion? I know that his grandfather had a piece of mutton-fat jade with three mountains and five mountains engraved on it. It was later taken away by the emperor. ”

Dugu Ming nodded, "The piece of lapis lazuli he gave to his mother is also the most precious treasure in the world. It is not even in the imperial palace. Its value is no less than this emerald. That piece of mutton-fat jade can be used as a companion for the new moon to marry him."

The mutton-fat jade of the Dugu family was a piece of beautiful mutton-fat jade that the King of Khotan presented to Emperor Sui Yang when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty placed it in Khotan County. Yang Guang gave it to his mother's natal family, the Dugu family, and it has been passed down to this day.

Dugu Lie pondered for a moment and then said: "When he mentioned the Khazar Khanate, I felt that he seemed to have something to say, but he hesitated. Maybe he has not truly become the son-in-law of the Dugu family!"

Dugu Ming nodded, "I feel the same way. After Xinyue marries him, if the eldest brother finds a chance to chat with him again, he will probably say it."

Li Ye left Dugu Mansion, and then came to the home of Guo Guo's wife Yang Yupei. After waiting for a while, a eunuch took him in.

Li Ye knew in his heart that to get the army, he had to use a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, he did the work of Guo Guo's wife, and on the other hand, he bribed the emperor.

It is now the twelfth year of Tianbao, and there are still two years before the Anlu Mountain rebellion. Time is already very tight. If he can exchange a few gems for tens of thousands of troops, he thinks it is worth it. Besides, the gems will not be lost, and they will return sooner or later. Back into your own hands.

Arriving at Yang Yupei's living room, Yang Yupei greeted him with a smile on his face, "Did General Li bring me good news?"

Li Ye took out a brocade box and presented it to her, smiling and saying: "This is the heart of the prairie."

Yang Yupei cheered like a little girl, quickly took the brocade box and opened it. She was stunned. The bright green color was so green that it touched her heart.

After a long time, she closed her eyes and held the brocade box tightly to her chest. Then she opened the brocade box and took a closer look. She couldn't take her eyes away from it. Compared with this emerald, her other gems were like broken stones.

"Sit down quickly!"

Yang Yupei was so happy that she quickly asked Li Ye to sit down. She was filled with gratitude. For the first time, there was no ambiguity in her eyes. Her mind was completely attracted by the peerless treasure, and she lost all desire for men and women.

"Tell me, how did you get this heart of the prairie?"

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "As I told my wife before, there is no other way except to use military threats. Last autumn, after I destroyed Juzhanti, I led the army to Samarkand. I clearly told the Zoroastrian Pope, If they don’t hand over the Heart of the Prairie, I will completely ban the spread of Zoroastrianism in the river and change it to Buddhism. They discussed it for a long time and finally had to hand over the Heart of the Prairie to me.”

Yang Yupei fully believed that this was the only way to force the other party to hand over the sacred object.

She asked again: "How about the other gems?"

Li Ye shook his head, "There are three main gemstones in total, and the other seven are auxiliary gemstones. The main gemstones are blue, green, and black. The sapphire heart of the ocean is in the hands of the imperial concubine, the emerald heart of the prairie belongs to the lady, and there is another A black gemstone of the Night Sky, and the other seven secondary gemstones are similar to the five gemstones I presented to my wife last time, but far worse than the three main gemstones."

"Heart of the ocean! Heart of the ocean!"

Yang Yupei recited it several times in a low voice, his heart filled with yearning.

Li Ye didn't say anything. He needed to play hard to get and let greed grow crazily in Yang Yupei's heart before he spoke.

He stood up and saluted: "I have nothing else to do. I'm leaving my humble post!"

Yang Yupei smiled sweetly and said: "Don't run away in a hurry, I haven't rewarded you yet!"

Li Ye was startled. He did not dare to ask for Yang Yupei's reward. He quickly bowed and said: "Ma'am, keeping my father safe is the greatest reward for a humble position."

Yang Yupei nodded, "You are good at talking, okay! When you get married, I will give you another reward."

"Thank you madam, I will take my leave."

"Go! Maybe I'll find you again."

Li Ye bowed and left. Yang Yupei untied his clothes, took out the gems and put them on his chest. He took a bronze mirror and looked carefully. The more she looked at her, the more fascinated she became. She said to herself: "If there are more red, yellow, blue and pink ones, Yes, if five of the best gems are inlaid into a flower, it will be a peerless treasure."

She bit her lip lightly and said, "I want the heart of the ocean too!"