The first day of the ninth year of Yuanyou was originally no different from previous years. The civil and military envoys of the Manchu Dynasty and the envoys of various countries gathered in the Daqing Hall to wish the wise and martial little emperor and the empress dowager a good start to the year and a long life. However, in this year, the Xia Kingdom, which had an agreement with the Great Song Dynasty during the Renzong Dynasty, did not send envoys to congratulate their monarch.

The Empress Dowager and the little emperor were pale, but outside the Daqing Hall suddenly shouted from afar: "Report!" Eight hundred miles expedited! Huanqing Road emergency military situation! ”

Everyone in the hall followed the prestige at the same time, and after a while, they saw a dusty soldier rushing away with a piece of music, gasping and saying, "Report! On October 20 of the eighth year of Yuanyou, the Xia army attacked the boundary of Lanzhou in our Great Song Dynasty for no reason, and Huanqing Road passed through a little pacification so that Zhang Qi had ordered the Zhenrong army to fight back, and the Yanyan army echoed in Qingzhou. Special report to the official's house, please advise on the strategy! ”

The whole hall was in an uproar!

Before the discussion of the ministers sounded, Zuo Xiang Fan Chunren had already stepped forward and bowed to the two saints and said: "Qiqi officials, the empress dowager, the Lanzhou military disaster is a matter of importance, please immediately order the government hall to discuss and deal with it!" Fan Chunren's performance is really an old plan for the country, and in one sentence, most of the courtiers and envoys of various countries are excluded, and the possibility of leaking secrets is eliminated to the greatest extent.

The Empress Dowager and the Little Emperor obviously understood this truth, and replied almost simultaneously: "Good! ”

When the Xuanzhi chamberlain standing under the jade steps heard this, he immediately shouted in his standard eunuch voice: "Retreat from the court!" ”

As soon as the voice of the inner servant fell, the ministers of the palace and the envoys of various countries dispersed one after another, and the only ones who still stood in the hall were Fan Chun, Su Zhe, Su Zhe, Hu Zongyu, Shangshu, Shangshu and Shangguanjun, Liubu Shangshu and Qin Guanguan.

However, as soon as the originally crowded Daqing Hall became empty, Su Zhe, the right minister, also stepped forward and said: "The official family, the empress dowager, Murong Fu was ordered to patrol the place in the matter, and now no one in the Manchu Dynasty is more familiar with the situation on Huanqing Road than him, so please summon Murong Fu to ask for details." ”

"Yes!" The Empress Dowager remembered that Murong Fu had mentioned to her not long ago about the changes in the Xia Kingdom, and immediately ordered the inner attendants. "Quickly summon Murong Qing to see him in the Vertical Arch Palace." After that, she took the little emperor and the ministers of the political hall to take the lead in the vertical arch hall.

After a short time, the Empress Dowager, the little emperor and the ministers sat down in the vertical arch hall and began to circulate the recital of Zhang Qi.

When the chapter was passed to Shangguan Jun's hands, Murong Fu had already arrived in a hurry, accompanied by the inner servants of the Xuanzhi. I saw that he simply gave a salute, and immediately said: "The official family, the empress dowager, please ask the Ministry of Rites to closely monitor the envoys of various countries recently, so as not to let them privately spread news and echo the Xia Kingdom!" ”

"What Lord Murong said is extremely true! Extremely! Without waiting for the Empress Dowager and the Little Emperor to speak, the Ministry of Rites Shangshu couldn't help but echo it.

Murong replied that there must be one, and the most glorious one is naturally the Empress Dowager. I saw that she immediately stroked her palms and smiled: "Don't mess up in the face of danger, plan and act, this is what a minister should be!" ”

The Empress Dowager praised her like this, but Murong Fu still looked calm, and only bowed down and said, "The Empress Dowager praised it falsely!" ”

The Empress Dowager was not polite to Murong Fu, and then said: "Murong Qing, what is the matter with summoning you, you must know it. The situation on Huanqing Road, how much do you know, you might as well say it bluntly. ”

"Yes!" Murong Fu immediately bowed his hand, and told the princes of the Political Affairs Hall that he had mentioned with the Empress Dowager about the conflict between Huanqing Road and the Xia Kingdom, and finally said. Weichen thought that it was expected that Xia Guo would raise troops to besiege Lanzhou this time. And the winter combat losses are huge, which is a taboo for soldiers. It can be seen that the Xia Kingdom has been extremely empty, and it has to rob our dynasty to replenish it. Since I am strong and weak, I don't need to worry too much about this battle. Of course, the details depend on Master Zhang's recital. ”

Murong Fu's voice fell, and Fan Chunren had already gotten up and echoed: "The old minister seconded Murong Qing's words!" Zhang Zhifu is a person who knows the soldiers, and the seed is also brave and good at fighting with Zhi Zunzheng, with these three people, the official family and the empress dowager can rest assured. ”

Fan Chun said, and the ministers behind him also stood up together, and said in unison: "The ministers seconded the proposal!" ”

With the conclusive reassurance of the public affairs hall in the political affairs hall, the empress dowager extinguished her fear, and couldn't help but say angrily: "Since the Qingli Peace Conference, my Great Song Dynasty has rewarded the Xia Kingdom endlessly, but they are insatiable and ungrateful, which is really hateful!" ”

The so-called monarch is worried about the humiliation of the ministers, seeing that the empress dowager was angry with the shamelessness of the Xia Kingdom, the ministers have the ambition to scold the Xia Kingdom together.

Taking advantage of this garbage time, Murong Fu seized the opportunity to read Zhang Qi's recital carefully. Zhang Qi has been up and down in the sea for thirty years, and the skill of writing this chapter is that Murong Fu also sighed to himself. In the recital, Zhang Qi said that the Xia State's troops were extremely dangerous, but this danger was already a trapped beast, and it was only a matter of time before the Great Song soldiers defeated the Xia State. And whether it is necessary to fight back after the victory, this is the real reason why Zhang Qi asked for the imperial court's strategy.

When two countries contend, it is like two hooligans fighting. Now that the little hooligan of Xixia is the first to provoke, since the Great Song Dynasty won the Xixia with its huge size, it seems that there is no reason not to fight back and establish his authority and teach the Xixia to be a man. However, the problem here is that the fiasco of the five-way war in the Yuanfeng period is still fresh in the memory of the empress dowager. At the same time, the party is brave and brave, and I am afraid that once the Great Song Dynasty bullies them hard, they will fight for everything. Xia Guo is a broken stone and doesn't care about losses; Da Song happened to be the peerless jade, and he was really constrained.

The Empress Dowager and the princes of the political hall scolded for a while and extinguished the fire, and then they also remembered this problem, and couldn't help but sigh at the same time. This time, without waiting for a few bigwigs to have any whimsical suggestions, Murong Fu closed the chapter and said loudly: "The official family, the empress dowager, the current situation is that my Great Song has the upper hand. Wei Chen thought that since it was the Xia State that provoked first, he had to teach them a lesson, so as not to make the vassal despise our dynasty and make trouble in the future! ”

The speed of information transmission in ancient times is really devastating, although "The Story of the Peach Blossom Spring" is fake, but some rural people do not know that it is normal for the outside to have already changed dynasties. In this case, there was some friction between the Great Song Dynasty and the Xia Kingdom in the west, and it was easy to cover up the past in front of the foreign vassals. But Zhang Qi's recital was delivered on the day of the Zhengdan Dynasty. The Ministry of Rites can monitor the envoys of the foreign feudal domains, but it is impossible to detain them forever in the Great Song Dynasty, in other words, this time the war in the west of Daliao, Tubo, and Dali will soon be known. They will naturally pay close attention to the development of things and weigh the reality of the Great Song Dynasty.

As soon as Murong Fu said this, the princes of the Political Affairs Hall sighed deeply again. I only heard Murong Fu say again:

"The face of ordinary people may not be as good as the food in hand. But as far as a country is concerned, if the national body does not exist, the country will not be able to be saved. This time, the Xia State refused to send envoys to congratulate our dynasty and sent troops to attack and harass the territory of our dynasty, which is really disloyal and unfilial! Please patrol Huanqing Road to understand the situation of the war. When Lord Zhang defeats the Xia army, he will immediately send out the Xia State to denounce his wrongdoing, and make the lord of the Xia State ask for guilt! ”

When the princes of the political hall heard that Murong Fu had invited him to envoy to Xia Guo, they couldn't help but sit up in shock at the same time. In ancient times, although there was a rule that the two countries fought against each other, if Murong Fu really scolded the Emperor of Xia for being disloyal and unfilial, and the Emperor of Xia was angry and beheaded him, the Empress Dowager would be beyond the reach of the whip even if she relied on him.

The Empress Dowager obviously understood this truth, but she looked down at Murong Fu who was kneeling at the bottom of the stairs with a straight face, and said slowly for a long time: "The envoy to the Xia Kingdom is very dangerous, Murong Qing can be sure?" ”

Murong Fu immediately raised his eyebrows and smiled when he heard this, and said in a deep voice: "Weichen also knows some superficial fists and feet, if there is really an accident, it is enough to protect himself, and the Empress Dowager does not need to worry." Weichen thought that this was inevitable, and in previous years, the Xia Kingdom and our dynasty also had quite a conflict, but there had never been a situation where the Xia Kingdom did not send envoys. This matter is not trivial, only Weichen can understand his mind when he goes to see the lord of Xia in person. If he is not deceived by traitors, but is determined to break off with me, then there is destined to be a great war. Only if we take control of the situation early will we not be caught off guard in the future. ”

Murong Fu said it so clearly, everyone in the hall couldn't help but nod at the same time. I saw Su Zhe step forward and said: "The official family, the empress dowager, Murong Qing is reasonable, just let him go!" ”

The Empress Dowager sighed lightly, and before she could answer, the little emperor actually said at this time: "The envoy to the Xia Kingdom only needs a six-grade official, and there is no need for Murong Qing to risk the arrows himself." The little emperor knew Murong Fu's ability, and knew that once he succeeded in his mission, he would have to be promoted to one level when he came back. This is obviously something he does not like.

"Wechen Xie Guan's family is sympathetic. However, if the lord of Xia Country is indeed opposed, he dares to behead a sixth-grade official, but he may not dare to behead a fourth-grade official. Speaking of this, Murong Fu suddenly smiled playfully and turned his gaze to Fan Chun. Of course, if Fan Xiang went to send an envoy, the lord of Xia must have respectfully invited Fan Xiang in, and he must have sent Fan Xiang back respectfully. It's just that Fan is high-powered and entangled in government affairs, so let's let Wechen go for this little thing! ”

Murong Fu's witty words caused all the princes in the palace to laugh in unison, and even the empress dowager couldn't help laughing. After laughing for a while, she flicked her sleeves and said to Qin Guanyan: "Qin Qing's family, let's make a decree!" ”

Since the Empress Dowager spoke, the little emperor didn't say much, but said viciously in his heart: It's best to go to the place as long as possible, and it's best never to come back!

However, three days later, Murong Fu received a holy decree that ordered him to patrol Huanqing Road cheaply. After Murong Fu entered the palace as usual to thank him, he returned to Murong Mansion to pack up. At that time, Su Zhe and Su Men were already waiting in the hall.

Seeing Murong Fu coming back, Qin Guan took the lead in stepping forward, took his hand and said sincerely: "Take care all the way!" "Qin Guan doesn't know the inside story, but when Murong comes back, Xia Guo is nine deaths. He was anxious and reluctant in his heart, and couldn't help but burst into tears, crying and saying. "You are on this mission, I have a poem to send ......"

Murong Fu was a little moved when he saw Qin Guan's tearful eyes, but as soon as he heard that he was going to compose a poem, he immediately changed color, and hurriedly raised his hand and said categorically: "No need!" Senior Brother Qin's masterpiece should be left in the Qinglou tile shop to coax the girl! ”

Qin Guan was so close that he was not blocked by Murong Fu, only to see him glaring at Murong Fu for a long time and muttering in a low voice: "You wood!" No wonder the teacher and the girl would rather follow a merchant than follow you! ”

Murong Fu couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, and retorted without thinking about it. "Didn't see her follow you?" didn't wait for Qin Guan to quarrel with him again, he was upright again. "Senior Brother Qin, I see that the Empress Dowager's complexion is getting worse and worse, I'm just afraid of ......"

Qin Guan is still at the disposal of the Zhizhi Decree, and often walks in the palace to draw up holy decrees and edicts for the official family and the Empress Dowager. He has had a lot of contact with the Empress Dowager, and naturally he has already seen that the Empress Dowager's energy is not as good as before. At this time, when he heard Murong Fu mention this, he couldn't help but sigh faintly, and said slowly: "The Empress Dowager knows people well, and she is really a female Yaoshun." It's a pity, it's a holiday! ”

"Once the Empress Dowager dies, the official family will be in charge. The official family is biased towards the New Party, and Senior Brother Qin is a ...... of knowledge," Murong Fu said in a deep voice.

This time, without waiting for Murong Fu to finish speaking, Qin Guan already smiled and said: "Akashi, although I am not a historian, I also know what Dong Hubi is. If the rulers want me to draw up their will, I will only do it according to the law! ”

Murong Fu looked at Qin Guan for a long time, and finally showed a happy smile. "Good!"

Murong Fu and Qin Guan listened to the answers, Su Zhe and the others listened to them, but they could only smile bitterly. If they hadn't experienced the party struggle with the Shuo Party, they might still be naïve enough to think that the official Shengming was a traitor who deceived Shengcong. And now, Huang Tingjian, the last backbone of the Shu Party who insisted so much, is still digging with Su Shi in Hangzhou! Once the Empress Dowager dies, the biggest backer of the Shu Party will fall. In the future, they will face more treacherous clouds and waves than when the Shuo Party was in power. Just because this time, their opponent is the official family!

While several people were pondering, Murong Fu had already walked in front of them and said solemnly: "The affairs of the capital will be handed over to Senior Uncle and a few senior brothers. Half a year, as long as we maintain the status quo within half a year, we will not lose! ”

Su Zhe vaguely heard Murong Fu mention that Xia Guo was the key, but Chao Buzhi and Zhang Lei, like Qin Guan, knew nothing. But out of trust in Murong Fu, everyone still said in unison: "You can send an envoy with peace of mind, and the political situation in Beijing has our own!" ”

"Thank you!" Murong Fu hugged his fists and thanked him, saying word by word. "If today's turmoil and the situation are changeable, the only way to live and die is to benefit the country, and not to avoid it because of misfortune and fortune! All of you! ”