In the early days of the Great Song Dynasty, the six departments were basically imaginary, and most of their positions were fictitious, and they were only used for fixed products.

After the reform of Yuanfeng, the ministries gradually resumed their previous functions, and although their chief officials still did not sit in the government as usual, the subordinate departments gradually became the central organs that ruled the huge country, and this situation continued until after Nandu.

However, even so, the military department should be the one with the most power among the ministries, because there is the storage of the Xifu, and most of the military-related functions are directly attributed to the former, and it has become a veritable Shimizu Yamen.

As the head of the lightest leisure department in the Qingshui Yamen, Meng Zhijin, the staff of the Ministry of War, walked on the road of errand very late, and there was nothing to do and no horses to ride, he simply walked along the street with an entourage, and there were still a lot of idle officials like him along the way, and he could also say hello and walk together when he met.

After the Taimiao Temple and the White Horse Temple, it is commonly known as the "Three Provinces and Six Departments" large building complex, the most onerous political affairs of the Great Song Dynasty are handled here, and the huge office area has been stretched along to the other side of the city.

There are no merchants in this area except for the gates and the guards standing in front of them, so there is less of the usual noise of the Beijing Division, and it looks quiet and solemn.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please let me go, I really have something important."

Parting with a staff officer of the Ministry of Works, Meng Zhijin and his entourage turned to the yamen of the Ministry of War on the other side, and suddenly heard the pulling sound of () at the door, and he fixed his eyes to see that a man with a stick was pushed and shoved by several sergeants.

This is an unusual sight, although Song Lu can't help but civilians come here, but generally speaking, dressed so tattered, he looks like a beggar, how can he escape the eyes of the guards at the door?

"I really have something important, I can't make a mistake, I can't make a mistake." I was going to bypass them, but when I heard the man repeat this sentence, it aroused Meng Zhijin's curiosity.

"What's wrong?" Even if he is a guard at the gate, how could he not recognize who he is, seeing that he spoke, the two sergeants stopped their movements.

Hearing the sergeant's report, this man appeared here early in the morning, and at first he thought he was asking for food, but after driving him away a few times, instead of leaving, he got closer and closer, and now he is shouting for the officer, so it has become like this.

After looking at the man, he looked forty or fifty years old, although he was unbeatably dressed, he looked a little wolf, and there was a strange smell on his body, but his eyes were very dignified, and he did not have the panic of ordinary beggars when they saw officials.

"What's your name, where do you come from, do you know what this place is?" Meng Zhijin waved his hand to stop the sergeants from continuing to drive away, and decided to inquire into the matter himself, anyway, he would have nothing to do when he entered the ya.

"The little one is called Xingzhong, and he wants to find the head of the military department, so he found here, but he doesn't know where the official works?" The man glanced at him, as if to make sure he was of sufficient grade.

"Bold dog" His entourage shouted angrily, and was about to scold, but was stopped by Meng Zhijin.

"Show him the letter card of the company." The man's mysterious style intrigued him even more, and if he was a liar, he wanted to know what the man would do.

The entourage reluctantly took out a sign, and Meng Zhijin glared at it again, and then he held the sign with his hand, showing the side with the words to the man, and muttered in his mouth, "I don't know if this person is illiterate." ”

Seeing the words "Ministry of War" on the sign, the man's face suddenly changed, he threw away the stick in his hand, and reached out to grope in his arms, and the sergeant and entourage on the side all showed nervous expressions, for fear that he would want to do something wrong.

"Come with us." The moment he got that thing, Meng Zhijin's face also changed, the two sergeants didn't see it clearly, his entourage had sharp eyes, and he saw at a glance that it was also a brand, but it seemed to be very old.

His department is a little behind the left wing of the gate of the military department, like the other three divisions, it is also an independent courtyard, there is no difference between the lobby and the back room, and when you enter the courtyard gate, it is his room.

"The subordinate Fang Si Jingdong Road Deacon Xing Zhong has seen Lang Zhong." There were only two of them in the room, and even their own entourage was sent out.

Jingdong Road! Meng Zhijin listened to this geographical term that was both familiar and unfamiliar, and his heart was mixed, which was the name before Nandu. Since the north was occupied by the Jin people, the north of the Huai River was changed to Shandong East Road, West Road and Nanjing Road respectively, and now, the Yuan people changed it to Henan and other places in the province of Zhongshu.

It is only in this department of his own that these terms are still retained, so as to show that he has not forgotten the fundamentals. The person in front of him turned out to be from the enemy area, and he didn't know how much he had suffered along the way.

"Xing Zhong, this department is here to ask you, when did you go out, who was the chief official back then, and what are your specific affairs?" Meng Zhijin looked at the brand, the lacquer on it had already been polished, revealing the original color of the hardwood, but fortunately, the words were carved, but they could still be recognized.

"Yu Langzhong, his subordinates were sent to Jingdong Road in the fourth year of Baoyou, successively in Guide Mansion and Xuzhou, responsible for the exploration of local terrain, roads, rivers, bridges and garrisons, etc., and sent people back to Beijing to report the news in the second year of Kaiqing, and then never received an order."

Xing Zhong's thoughts were clear, Meng Zhijin was secretly shocked in his heart, Baoyou was four years old, it was already eighteen years ago, at that time, Emperor Lizong had just experienced a fiasco at Duanping, and the country was turning from offensive to defensive against the Mongols, and their foreign dispatch was actually useless.

"And what are you returning for?"

"Military intelligence, 100,000 urgent military intelligence, if this is not the case, the subordinates will not be so presumptuous."

Xing Zhong untied his bun and took out a roll of paper from it, Meng Zhijin unfolded it and looked at it, it was full of dense small letters, but he didn't expect this person to write well, but the content made him more and more shocked the more he looked at it, if it was all true, this was no longer something he could handle.

"You take a short rest, and as usual, the division will check and verify before reasoning."

Meng Zhijin is a cautious person, and he must ensure the reliability of the source before reporting it.

Like the ministries, the Division has its own archives, where a wide variety of documents are piled up in separate categories and covered with a thick layer of dust.

"Find out all the documents from Baoyou to the Kaiqing year, and check whether this person is true." Meng Zhijin wrote a name on the paper and instructed the subordinates, there is nothing to do in the division now, most of the people are idle, which just comes in handy.

With the name and the ministry, with the efforts of the subordinates, several yellowed documents were found, and what Xing Zhong said was not wrong, he sent more than a dozen people in that direction, some of whom later returned, and some of whom were never heard from again, and he was only in his twenties at the time, and now he looked like an old peasant in his fifties.

It is also easy for people to verify that he is not an orphan, the household registration shows that he lost his father since he was a child, and there are widows and siblings at home, and the place is not far away, at most he can go back and forth in a day, which is true eight or nine times out of ten.

Thinking of the news he brought back, Meng Zhijin couldn't sit still anymore, and had to report to the court quickly, in a hurry, he didn't even want to wait for a day, so he went out with his things.

"Where are the people now?" Wu Jian, who knew the Privy Council, was silent for a while after reading it before asking.

"At Xiaguan's place, after investigation, everything he said is true, and the fast horse to his hometown has been dispatched, and he can return tomorrow at most. The lower officials thought that most of this matter was true, so he came to report it. ”

Meng Zhijin was afraid that he would doubt the correctness of the news, so he hurriedly explained.

Who knew that Wu Jian glanced at him and shook his head speechlessly, they had received similar news more than once, it was not a question of believing it or not, but a question of what to do. The whole court is staring at this peace talk, and the changes have been repeated again and again, whether it is the princes of the political hall or the saints, they will not want to see it again.

"There's no need to verify, this person has a credit to the court, you go down to prepare a commendation post and send it directly to the old man, you might as well be thicker, don't lose him."

Before Meng Zhijin could accept it, Wu Jian made a gesture that made him stunned, he actually stretched out the piece of paper full of news to the candlestick next to the table, and lit it like this.

Meng Zhijin walked out of the gate of the cardinal mansion in a daze, and looked back, the two Pixiu at the door stared at him with their big mouths open, which made people shudder.

"It's a shame to say that when I entered Beijing, I went back to my hometown and took a turn, only to learn that my mother had passed away seven years ago, and I was not filial to my son, and I couldn't serve in front of my bed when I was dying."

"Old Punishment, you married a wife and gave birth to a child over there, how can you come back."

"The ministry is in the body, what is the law, originally the family had to go out of a ding, in order to embark on this trip, a fifteen-year-old child had to go up, the mother-in-law almost threw herself into the river in search of death, and when she went back, she wanted another one."

"You want to go back?"

"The news has arrived, I have done my duty, and I still have a wife and children at home, why don't I go back."

Listening to the conversation coming out of his room, Meng Zhijin retracted his outstretched feet again, looking at Lang Lang Qiankun in front of him, he seemed to be full of resentment but had nowhere to vent, piling up in his chest as if it was about to explode.

The forbidden army camp in Yuhang County, Lin'an Prefecture, is located at the intersection of the county government, very close to the Beijing Division. Therefore, in the early morning, Jin Ming, who was directing the sergeants in the camp to practice, received Liu Yu's call request and immediately rushed over with someone.

"What is this?" Jin Ming lifted the two thickened cartons one by one, making Liu Yu look at his little arm speechlessly, why is the gap between people so big?

"Send a few people to my house, why did you come in person?" Liu Yu didn't say what was in it, it wasn't anything important, and it would take a long time to explain, so he didn't want to bother with it.

"If there's nothing to do, I'll take a look." Jin Ming seemed to have something, Liu Yu knew it as soon as he saw his expression, and it happened that he also had something to say to him, so he simply asked the sergeants to deliver something, and the two of them walked slowly along the shore of the lake.

At this moment, the West Lake is very quiet, there is a layer of mist on the surface of the lake, it seems hazy, if you get a painting boat, take Jing Niang to play on it, will there be some drunken dreams and death? Liu Yu folded off a wicker stick and waved it unconsciously in his hand.

"The cardinal government added a certain official a few days ago, I don't know what the intention is, you can help you refer to the details." Jin Ming's face did not have much joy at being promoted, but Liu Yu pondered it carefully.

He was originally the deputy commander of the guards and horses, and now he has become the commander of the guards and horses, and it seems that he has been added to the ranks, but in fact, the grade is still the same. Sanya now has no soldiers, and at this time, let him become the chief officer of the Ma Jun Division, Liu Yu really can't think of any deep meaning.

"Can you say that you will be able to fix the horses?"

Seeing Jin Ming shaking his head, Liu Yu was even more confused, since Wang Lixin's death, Jin Ming no longer had any backers in the court. His military exploits have already been paid, and he was suddenly promoted to an official at such a short time, no wonder he himself couldn't figure it out. R1292