Dong Lingjiu was slightly stunned, digested the news for a while, and then stood up and walked to Wang Wanrou, holding her hand, looking at her face first, and then moving down to her body.
　　She exhaled and said slowly: "Good child... You have suffered this hardship. Does the emperor know?"
　　Queen Wang said: "I haven't had time to tell His Majesty yet."
　　"You should tell him first, why go to Cining Palace first." Dong Lingjiu ordered, "Let Yuewan tell the emperor that after he comes back from Shenying Palace today, he will come directly to my place for dinner."
　　"Yes."
　　Dong Lingjiu said: "Besides you, there are concubines in the palace, but the emperor is also indifferent and doesn't care much. You just take good care of your body, and ensuring safety is the most important thing." Queen Wang
　　said softly: "Your son knows."
　　Dong Lingjiu nodded, and asked someone to serve tea and cakes to the queen.
　　This is indeed a happy event.
　　But Dong Lingjiu did not feel very happy. She was even in a state of confusion that she could not believe it completely. I don't know whether this is because of the sparse population of the palace over the past decade or because her emotions have been polished smooth and calm by the position of the person in power.
　　As for the concept represented by the three words "newborn", her "motherhood" as an imperial grandmother has been greatly consumed. Her love and preference have been classified on a specific person, so that Dong Lingjiu can't even substitute the concept of "imperial grandson" into the so-called family happiness.
　　This subtle anxiety continued after the meal.
　　Dong Lingjiu supported her chin, turned a cup of tea in her hand, and watched the emperor asking the queen about her health with a smile on his face, and his mind was a little empty.
　　By the time Meng Cheng noticed it, Dong Lingjiu's thoughts had already extended far. She thought silently that although ordinary people at her age would have long been enjoying their grandchildren, she still felt a very subtle difference - in short, even someone as far-sighted, calm and open-minded as the Empress Dowager could not help but sigh at the unforgiving time. Is
　　she really getting old? Dong Lingjiu stroked the beads and happened to think of Zheng Yuheng's face. She also thought that if he came back and found that there was a real child calling her the Imperial Grandmother, then the young Doctor Zheng, who was not yet old enough to start a family, would have a very interesting expression, right?
　　Meng Cheng saw that she was not very happy and didn't know the reason, so he asked in detail: "What is your mother worried about? Can you tell me clearly?"
　　Dong Lingjiu glanced at him and expressed a real concern: "You are nineteen years old this year and your birthday is in June. You two are still immature, especially you. You are going to raise another child?"
　　Meng Cheng said: "Didn't your mother have me and Yingying when she was very young?"
　　"That's why you didn't raise you to be very successful. This is my and Meng Zhen's fault." Dong Lingjiu said.
　　Meng Cheng did not dare to speak, and after a long while, he tried again: "Please teach me more, mother."
　　Dong Lingjiu said: "You have made great progress recently. I think the emperor has almost understood the knowledge of governing. As for the rest, you can't learn it by watching for one or two years. You still have decades to polish it. I just need to arrange the court officials inside and outside, fight the Northern Expedition, open up the sea, set taxes, and then clear the mud in the court and the country. I think I can relax and retire to live out my life."
　　Meng Cheng was stunned for a long time after hearing this. When he first heard this, although he was not as panicked as when he first took power, he was also uneasy. His brows were furrowed, and he only said: "Mother, this..."
　　"You don't have to be afraid." Dong Lingjiu looked at him and said, "A real man should be upright and upright. How can he look ahead and behind and be restrained? You are also going to be a father. The trees in the courtyard that provide shelter from the wind and rain are changing. To tell you the truth, the words of 'retirement and not involving in government affairs' that deceived them before were not empty words."
　　"Mother." Meng Cheng had to stand up and kneel down.
　　Wang Wanrou, who was standing beside him, saw this and was about to kneel down. Dong Lingjiu raised his hand, and Ruixue supported the queen and pulled her back a few steps.
　　"It is very rare for people in power in this world to die young like your father, but leave a name behind. There are more mediocre, foolish, playful and willful people who are often criticized and scolded by future generations." She said, "When you ascended the throne, I thought that this body was not mine, and I died for managing the world, and I had no regrets. But after this year, it seems that I have a new realization, and I want to leave a good life for myself in this turbulent dream of the world for the rest of the year."
　　Meng Cheng said, "Your son will be filial to your mother."
　　"I'm not talking about you, Cheng'er knows it in his heart." Following Dong Lingjiu's words, Meng Cheng's body trembled and he exhaled heavily.
　　"But don't worry." Dong Lingjiu added, "Abandoning my country is not what I do."
　　After she finished speaking, she asked Meng Cheng to get up and discussed the Northern Expedition with him after dinner, and talked about the movements of the Jurchen tribes in recent years.
　　Among them, two victorious generals of the neighboring Northern Lu Su State were mentioned.
　　The first one was the son of the king of the Su Dynasty, the sixth son of the king, named Zhuli Alitai, who led 10,000 Jurchen cavalry, was brave and good at fighting, and all the tribes could fight on horseback, and were called the Alitai tribe.
　　The second one was a veteran of three generations of Jurchens, over 60 years old, who had fought countless victories against other small countries around him and was famous. His name was Qiliehechi, and he was also the "general" of the Su State. In name, he was the supreme leader of the military forces of all tribes, and his status was only below that of the king.
　　It was precisely because of Qiliehechi's repeated victories and the Sixth Prince Alitai's ability to fight that the Northern Su was not satisfied with those barbaric small countries and turned their attention to the Great Yin with a superior geographical location. Moreover, they also knew that the emperor Mingde, who unified the country and ruled the country, had passed away and the new emperor had been on the throne for less than two years, so this was a great opportunity.
　　Therefore, frequently harassing the herdsmen in the northern border, looting cattle and sheep, and even letting the cavalry occupy the land and point the tip of the gun at the forehead of the local prefecture governors, is in contrast to the booming ambition of Beisu.
　　Their population has increased to a point that the bitter cold land cannot satisfy.
　　After Dong Lingjiu finished talking to him, he said, "What I call 'knowing the army' is just the insights I gained when I encountered wars beside the late emperor. It is not enough to be a standard. Once the military emergency report is delivered, you must always be sober and respond, supervise the war, and listen to the words of the adults in the Ministry of War, but not all of them. The situation outside is different. Some imperial edicts can only limit them, not help them."
　　"Son, I understand." Meng Cheng responded, and then he took two steps forward and told Dong Lingjiu about the order he gave to Zheng Yuheng to mobilize the central army of the imperial camp and the reporting channel.
　　The Queen Mother remained silent, gathered her sleeves and sighed, saying, "You kid, I'm afraid you're not helping him, but giving Zheng Junzhi the confidence to go into a dangerous place. He appears to be humble, but in fact he is extremely aggressive and rebellious. It's fine if nothing goes wrong, but if something does happen, you can just wait for him to send back some stupid secret reports."
　　She paused, glanced at the little emperor again, and said, "If Zheng Junzhi dies because of this, I will..."
　　Meng Cheng felt a chill on his back and lowered his head to wait for her words, but Dong Lingjiu kept silent and said nothing.
　　...
　　Half a month later, Hongtian Pass.
　　Zheng Yuheng and Zhang Jianqing were responsible for supervising the transportation of grain and grass from Hongtian Pass to the front line. When they arrived at this place, Zhang Jianqing had to ride a horse.
　　In addition to the militia transporting grain, there were not too many imperial camp troops. The leader of this group of troops was He Chengfei, also known as He Tongzhi. He was a general who had a say in the big tent in the central army. Because he offended the general above, he suffered a loss in the struggle in the military camp and was chased to escort the logistics and supplies.
　　Two civil officials and one military officer, this is the standard configuration of each grain and grass transportation route. It’s just that other routes have one central dispatch and one local official. Like this, two Beijing officials are here, which means that this section of the road needs strict supervision and escort, which is very important.
　　"I say... I say Junzhi." Zhang Zimo was so tired that he was panting. He drove his horse forward and climbed onto Zheng Yuheng's shoulder. "How come you are not tired at all? Marching, escorting, reading and writing letters, how can you be so capable? The reason you didn't pass the imperial examination is not because you took the military examination?"
　　Zheng Yuheng was talking to a sergeant under General He. Hearing this, he helped him a little and said, "Why is it like this? Zimo should exercise more."
　　Zhang Jianqing waved his hand, let out a long breath, and said, "We are traveling day and night, and our faces are weathered. I feel like I have aged a few years. Why are you different?"
　　The sergeant next to him also spoke, with a dialect in his voice, "We are also surprised. Our Lord Zheng has fair skin and tender flesh and never gets tanned. He rides steadily on a horse and has a strong physique. It is you, Lord Zhang, who is a little weaker."
　　Zhang Jianqing waved his hand unwilling to argue, and said sadly, "I am unstable because of my waist injury. My waist is injured."
　　In fact, Zheng Yuheng was not as good as he said.
　　His hands, which he usually used to write, were wrapped in bandages because his palms had been rubbed by rough objects such as reins. At first, they were just red and swollen, but after a few days, the skin was broken and bleeding, and a large area was injured. At this time, it was said that his physique was particularly inconvenient. Not only was it painful, but it was also particularly shocking to see.
　　Zheng Yuheng had no choice but to wrap his hands with bandages to prevent others from being so surprised. He just said that he was afraid of rubbing his hands. Many soldiers said that he was delicate and delicate... Who knew that his hands had been rubbed to the point of bleeding, and he applied medicine, scabbed, and then cracked. Fortunately, it didn't ulcerate due to the cold weather. Today, some of the knuckles that were rubbed several times have formed thin calluses, and they don't hurt when they touch anything anymore.
　　The three of them walked across the river, and Zheng Yuheng glanced at the river and saw his appearance in the reflection.
　　It is impossible to say that there is no change at all. He felt that he had matured visibly, with a gloomy chill in his eyes. Although he was still full of energy, he was no longer the famous scholar with a clear mind and bright moon.
　　Zheng Yuheng sighed, worried that he would not be liked by Tan Niang after returning to Beijing.
　　There were young and lovely young men everywhere, and she was so beautiful and powerful. He was very worried that someone would take the opportunity to seduce the Queen Mother - there was no way, he was a jealous husband. Zheng Yuheng confirmed this in his heart without blushing.
　　The sound of horse hooves, and the heavy load of food and supplies behind made the wheels press two deep ruts on the road.
　　Zheng Yuheng asked as they walked, "According to Commander He, fighting has already begun on the front line. This is the second batch of grain and fodder we have arrived."
　　"That's right." The sergeant was a low-level officer under him. He replied carelessly, "Hongtian Pass is the granary of the state closest to the battlefield. This time we are delivering supplies to General Li and General Li under the command of the general. He is already at the border of Yin and Su, fighting with several thousand households over there!"
　　"How many thousand households?" Zhang Jianqing also asked.
　　"They are under the command of the Sixth Prince. What bullshit prince? Those barbarians in Beisu call any baby they have a prince, without distinction of eldest son. How can these kids not quarrel?"
　　Seeing that he was about to talk about the customs and government over there, Zheng Yuheng was about to speak to pull him back when he heard the sound of a horsewhip not far away and a strong voice shouting, "Grandson!"
　　The soldier's name was Sun Ziye. He was so angry that he trembled all over. He turned around and saw General He's frowning look, so he quickly stopped talking and retreated.
　　Commander He rode up on horseback and skipped the formalities, saying, "My lords."
　　"Commander He."
　　"We're about to pass Heguan, and then we'll reach the snowy front line." Commander He spoke in a deep and loud voice, "You two are civil servants, so you'd better stay at the back and stay with the militia in the county ahead. There's no need to go any further."
　　Zheng Yuheng said, "But this time, the logistics governor, Minister Xu, has arranged for us to supervise the advance..."
　　"You're just ignorant children's opinions!" Commander He spoke wildly and glanced at the two of them with contempt, no longer showing his outward friendliness. "I say this to save your lives. There are no eyes on the battlefield. Even the logistics troops will encounter some roving bandits and small enemy troops. Who will take care of you then? Who is willing to care about your life or death? This is not a joke!"
　　Zhang Jianqing was dazzled by the yelling, thinking that this guy is really setting high standards. He wiped the spit from his face and was about to persuade him, when he saw the gentle and gentle Zheng next to him speaking coldly: "Without our supervision, who knows whether the food and grass have entered the military camp, the military pay has been issued, or it has been used for something else."
　　"Junzhi, hey, no, he didn't mean that, Commander He..."
　　"Do you suspect me of corruption?" Commander He's eyes widened. He glanced at the bandage on Zheng Yuheng's hand and suddenly sneered, "You little boy, as delicate as a girl, still want to set foot in the northern border? Do you believe I will -"
　　Zheng Yuheng sighed, took a brocade bag from his waist, opened it, took out a piece of paper, and stood it up to show him.
　　Commander He's last words were lost in his throat, but his eyes were still staring, and his breath turned twice in his throat, and was cut off intermittently like a broken gong.
　　He slowly retracted his stretched neck and lowered his nostrils that were looking up at the sky. His face changed color. After a long while, he finally said, "Why didn't you tell me about this order earlier?"
　　Zheng Yuheng put away the imperial edict and put it back into the brocade bag. He said calmly, "If the road is peaceful and smooth without any obstacles, Commander He has been through hundreds of battles and is experienced. I still believe in Commander's judgment and command. Why would I need this thing?"
　　Zhang Jianqing rubbed his shoulder blankly, "What did you take?"
　　He paused and said, "Well, "The Book of Persuading People to Be Good."