Liang Tao, Yang Wei listened to the words of this promise, and his expression was dark.

At the moment of the great enemy, it is not a good phenomenon that there are so many deserters!

Although Zhao Xu was surprised, he could figure it out when he thought about it. How could these wealthy gentry, who enjoy the glory and wealth of their accustomed and carefree lives, be willing to let their sons and nephews fight desperately, even if the enemy hits the door and thinks that 'peace is precious'?

Thinking back to the history, the Jin people surrounded Kaifeng, and the court was still 'peace talks', and even the absurd drama of asking the emperor to go to the Jin barracks to 'seek peace', Zhao Xu was angry in his heart, looked at the Privy Council's decree, and said lightly: "Pass the decree to Huanqing Road, and anyone who flinchs in battle and escapes from the disruptive army will be decided!" Within three generations of his family, the imperial examination is prohibited, and those who have official positions will be deposed and never used! ”

Yang Wei immediately bowed, his eyes flustered.

Liang Tao also quickly thought about whether his family was a soldier in the north, and whether there would be any escapes and returns.

In this case, the official family will not be kind to them!

Chen Pi responded and turned around and went out.

Zhao Xu looked at the promise and said, "The Privy Council and the Ministry of War jointly discuss a strict military discipline, and it must be strict." In addition, the Judge Advocate General's Office should be set up as soon as possible, with the Privy Council and the armies under dual control, and submit it to the authorities. ”

"Obey." Cheng Zhi raised his hand.

Zhao Xu thought for a while and said: "Regarding the battle report on Huanqing Road, no matter what time it is, I must see it as soon as possible, and in addition, all roads in the north have entered a state of combat readiness, and we must not slack off at all!" ”

"Obey the order!" Promise the road.

When Zhao Xu was talking to them, the 'pigeon fang' carrier pigeons in the palace fluttered back and forth, carrying information from all over the world, constantly gathering.

Huang Men took down the letterhead, recorded it one by one, and then quickly sent it to the confidential room.

In one of the rooms of the confidential room, a group of scribes were writing hard to deal with various things, and then sent them to each room, handed them over to each principal, and then summarized them and sent them to Zhang Dian or Zhao Xu.

A few days later, in the middle of the night, Zhao Xu was woken up by an eager knock on the door, and Chen Pi's voice sounded outside: "Official, the Xia people have besieged Huanzhou." ”

Zhao Xu was sleeping with Meng Meiren in his arms, listening to the sudden opening of his eyes, he lifted the quilt and was about to go out.

Meng Meiren hurriedly said: "Official, please change your clothes." ”

Saying that, she didn't care about not wearing clothes, so she hurriedly got out of bed, took clothes for Zhao Xu, and put them on for him.

Zhao Xu was sleepy, hurriedly dressed in clothes, and said to the door: "Where is Xianggong Zhang?" No matter where he is, send him to ask for a room, quickly! ”

"Yes." Chen Pi responded loudly and quickly arranged for someone to pass the word.

Zhao Xu got dressed, bent over to put on his shoes and jumped out with one foot.

Meng Meiren put on her clothes and looked at Zhao Xu's eager back, pursed her lips, and looked worried.

When Zhao Xu rushed to the confidential room next to the vertical arch hall, the confidential room was brightly lit, and the officials did not dare to breathe, all of them were dignified.

They saw Zhao Xu coming in with a cloak, and hurriedly got up and saluted.

Zhao Xu waved his hand, sat down on the main seat, and said, "Say it quickly." ”

Langzhong of the military department took a piece of paper, handed it over, and said, "Official, the carrier pigeon on Huanqing Road has just arrived." ”

Zhao Xu almost grabbed it, turned it on under the lamp and looked at it, only to see a line of small characters on it: November 18 of the seventh year, Xia surrounded Huanzhou, and then attacked Mubo Town, and the minister ordered to hold on.

Just such a short sentence, Zhao Xuzai looked at it carefully, frowned and thought for a long time, looked up at Lang Zhong, and said, "Is there anything else?" ”

Lang Zhong said: "No." ”

Zhao Xu's brows tightened, and his face was gloomy.

Huanqing Road is the collective name of Huanju and Gyeongju, Huanqing Road is surrounded, then Gyeongju and are also in danger, and the state capitals along other roads are also under pressure.

Zhang Qi's letter is a circular, and there is no other strategic and tactical content.

Zhao Xu didn't know the specific situation, and he was uneasy, and said: "Confidential room, make a code word for the military communication, make it as complex and concise as possible, increase the content of the communication, and send it to Zhang Jingluo as soon as possible, and send the message like this in the future." Also, write to Zhang Jingluo, don't ask anything, and ask him to report as much as possible. ”

"Yes." Bingbu Langzhong raised his hand and left with a cautious expression.

Zhao Xu took Zhang Qi's letter again, and there was no other content in it except for the Xia people besieging Huanzhou.

Just when Zhao Xu was pondering, Zhang Dian hurriedly came from outside the palace, regardless of the hot and cold sweat on his head, raised his hand and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, with the ability of Zhang Qi, to control the 200,000 army, gather my Great Song Dynasty elite soldiers and strong generals, it is impossible to collapse at one touch, please rest assured!" ”

Last time, Cai Bian appeased Zhao Xu, and Zhang Dian came again.

Zhao Xu secretly took a breath, and understood in his heart that these ministers probably felt that he was young and had not experienced this, and would be like those emperors of the previous dynasty, who were ambitious before the war, and retreated at the slightest difficulty and turned to peace.

Once Zhao Xu, the emperor, turns to sue for peace, the wind in the court will change rapidly, and Zhang Dian and other 'main battle factions' may not be able to stop it.

Zhao Xu waved his hand and said, "Sit down and say." ”

Zhang Dian observed Zhao Xu's face, sat down on a chair on the side, recalled the geography of Huanqing Road, and said slowly: "Official, the five roads in the north are densely walled, and there are heavy guards, Huanzhou has not been lost, and it is not a big problem." ”

Zhao Xu nodded silently and did not speak.

This battle is very important to Zhao Xu and the Great Song Dynasty. For Zhao Xu, it is about whether he can have enough prestige to suppress conservative forces and promote reform. For the Great Song Dynasty, if it was defeated again after the defeat of the Northern Expedition of the Five Routes in the Yuanfeng period, the confidence of the Song Dynasty court, the army and the people would be unimaginable, and there might never be a day of the Northern Expedition.

Zhao Xu pondered, suddenly stunned, looked at Zhang Dian and said, "You just said that there are heavy guards?" Why can the Xia people still reach Huanzhou unimpeded, and even surround Huanzhou? ”

Zhang Qi's letter Zhao Xu read it many times and could recite it, but this time he subconsciously looked at it carefully.

No problem.

Zhang Xuan's expression was serious, but he couldn't answer Zhao Xu.

On the Song-Xia border, the Song Dynasty built a large number of walled cities to defend, these began in the Qingli period, and for decades, it was impossible to let the Xia people easily break through without preparation, so that they surrounded Huanzhou Mansion!

Zhao Xu looked at Zhang Dan's expression, sat up straight, and his expression changed slightly under the dim light.

Seeing that his heart was jumping, Zhang Dian said more and more deeply: "Your Majesty, the Xia people are carrying an army of 300,000, the Queen Mother, the emperor is personally conscripted, and it is natural that the border army is not supported, and I also ask the official family to give Zhang Qi and other generals some time." ”

Zhao Xu glanced at him, pondered in his heart, and said slowly: "I don't understand military affairs, I can't fight, so I won't interfere with outsiders, I can't, and neither can the imperial court." In addition, I want the result, not the process. But what tactics and strategies Zhang Kai used, I hope to know. ”

The more Zhao Xu said this, the more Zhang Xuan didn't dare to be careless, he was afraid that Zhao Xu would cringe under the victory like Zhenzong, not to mention that the war had just begun, and he groaned, and said: "Your Majesty, Zhang Qi is the brother of the same clan of the minister, and his ability is very clear and trustworthy. The minister guarantees with a head, Zhang Qi will never be cowardly, and the battle of Huanqing Road will never be defeated! ”

Zhao Xu saw that Zhang Dian was trying to comfort him, and he didn't know how to say the words in his stomach, so he put these aside and said: "These can only be known by the confidential room, and it is forbidden to spread them." From now on, the confidential room will be listed as a forbidden place, and no one will be allowed to enter or leave without my permission! ”

Zhang Dian got up, raised his hand and said, "The minister's order." ”

Zhao Xu waved his hand, motioned for him to sit down, and said, "Just the two of us, there is no need to be so vain. As soon as the war begins, there will inevitably be a lot of trouble. If you and Cai Xianggong, Su Xianggong and others can't handle it, you can recommend it, and the government hall is full of nine people, so you can recommend two more people. ”

After Zhang Duan sat down, he was silent for a while, and said: "Your Majesty, the auxiliary ministers are very important, and at this juncture, you need to be cautious and cautious, and let the ministers and others discuss it properly. ”

Zhao Xu nodded, tilted his body and said: "This is also a good opportunity, take the opportunity to sort out the rights and positions after the restructuring, and if there are any problems in the operation, we will step up to solve them." It is convenient to use people, we must learn the lessons of Xining's change, and use the ability to use the virtuous, if the wrong person is caught by someone with a heart, I can't protect ......"

"I understand." Zhang Dian leaned sideways, stretched out his head, and listened attentively.

The Xining Reform was the time when the struggle between the 'old and new' parties was at its most intense, and the struggle between literati often completely negated each other through 'morality'. Therefore, from Wang Anshi onwards, almost everyone was attacked without a complete body, and plausible rumors were overwhelming.

Wang Anshi held his integrity in the end and was not caught. But many of the people below are different, and Wang Anshi is stubborn and tries his best to protect some people, which adds fuel to the fire and makes the party struggle more intense.

This is also an important reason why Emperor Shenzong wavered in the law change, Wang Anshi resigned twice, and the 'Xining law change' failed.

The two of them talked in detail under the light, and in the eyes of outsiders, the two of them were just heads together, whispering like old friends.

The two chatted until dawn, and then went their separate ways.

Zhao Xu returned to the Vertical Arch Palace, and continued to deal with political affairs according to his uneasiness.

As if nothing had happened, he held a meeting in the political hall according to the plan to deal with various affairs inside and outside the court.

But the subtle changes still can't be hidden from the courtiers, and they can't help but look in the direction of Huanqing Road, wanting to explore the extent of the war.

A day later, in order to alleviate the excessive tension in Kaifeng City, Zhao Xu took Meng Meiren and walked around Kaifeng City in person.

First went to Xiangguo Temple to pray for blessings, then went to Taixue, Guozijian, and finally went to Taimiao.

Han Zongdao, the governor of Kaifeng Prefecture, accompanied him all the way, and in the evening, when he was about to return to the palace, he followed Zhao Xu and slowly reported the recent events in Kaifeng City.

After talking for a long time, Han Zongdao suddenly bowed down and said: "Official, there is a lot of disturbance in Kaifeng City, and the Inspection Department has been taken away by the Criminal Department. ”

Meng Meiren followed on the other side and glanced at him.

The folding fan in Zhao Xu's hand snapped, closed together, stopped in his footsteps, and said, "Han Qing's family, this is to retreat bravely?" ”

Han Zongdao's expression was slightly condensed, and he said, "The minister is old and frail, and he is overwhelmed by his heavy responsibilities. The Kaifeng City affair involves Gyeonggi, and the responsibility is heavy, and the ministers dare not drag down the state affairs, and ask the official family for permission. ”

Zhao Xu slowly held the folding fan in his left hand, combed it smoothly, and said softly: "Han Qing's family, you have chosen a good time." ”