At the turn of the sunset, the lights have been lit in Nanjing.

When Xiao Xuan's chariot and horse entered the Qing Jin Gate, the sunset was still red, the clouds floated in the sky like brocade, and the city of Nanjing was very clearly presented on the horizon, making people not realize that the night was coming.

Walking into the Xuanhe Palace, Xiao Xuan was so illuminated by the bright candlelight that he couldn't see the hall clearly for a while, and only heard the people standing in the hall noisily. Seeing Xiao Xuan coming in, they kowtowed one after another.

After a while, Xiao Xuan finally saw clearly that almost all the ministers of civil and military affairs were present in front of him. Xiao Sui walked through the crowd, walked up to the Danqi, sat down, and then asked the ministers to stand up, Xiao Sui turned his head to look at Yelu Longxu, and said, "Your Majesty, what happened, and you didn't let the Zhongqing family go back to rest so late?" ”

Yelu Longxu bowed and said: "Back to the Queen Mother, something big happened in Shanxi, and it was difficult for me to discuss it with the Zhongqing family, so I waited for the Queen Mother to come back." ”

Xiao Sui said: "What stumped the emperor? ”

Yelu Longxu handed over a recital and said: "This is the recital of Pu Dali, the envoy of Shanxi Jiedu, saying that Wang Jizhong communicated with the enemy chieftain and conspired to commit treason, and is now detained by him in prison and waiting to be dealt with. ”

Xiao Sui was taken aback, hurriedly opened the fold and took a closer look, and then raised his head and said, "What does this Wang Jizhong want to do?" It's too bold. ”

Yelu Longxu said: "Yes, I have said that the Song people are not credible, and he clearly wants to go to his homeland and take Shanxi as a gift to atone for his sins. ”

Xiao Xuan looked at the audience and said, "Everyone thinks so too?" ”

The audience immediately echoed a chorus.

Room Fang didn't speak, and Xiao Sui asked, "Room Aiqing, why don't you speak?" ”

Mu Fang said: "The minister did not dare to assert that Wang Jizhong was treasonous. ”

Xiao Sui said: "Pu Dali's recital is clearly written, Wang Jizhong wants Shipu to collude and make an alliance, why can't it be considered treason? ”

Room Fang said: "As far as the old minister knows, it is true that Wang Jizhong and Shi Pu signed an alliance, but the content of the alliance only said that the Song and Liao sides were bound by each other and did not invade each other, and did not form an alliance. Based on this alone, it cannot be said that he has committed treason. ”

Yelu Hugo said: "I have a grudge with the Song Dynasty, and when the country is crusading against Zhao and Song, he is not good at crusading against the Song State, but he privately concluded a peace treaty with the enemy, isn't this disobeying the emperor and committing rebellion?" ”

Han Derang said: "Wang Jizhong is indeed bold and reckless, but the situation in Shanxi is special, and the people's livelihood is withering, so during the Southern Expedition, the imperial court did not use troops in Shanxi, but only ordered to stick to the border, and Shanxi did not send troops to fight out of holy will." ”

Yelu Longxu said: "But he can't advocate making peace with the enemy, does he still have a court in his eyes?" ”

Xiao Sui looked at everyone and said, "Okay, it's late today, Zhongqing will go home and rest, and we will discuss it tomorrow." ”

But the next day, Xiao Xuan seemed to forget about it, complained about the hot weather in Nanjing in the court, and wanted to find a place to cool off.

When it comes to cooling off, everyone feels the same way: this year's summer is indeed coming quickly, and it is not yet May, it is already unbearably hot, and Nanjing City is like a big steamer, walking on the street with bursts of heat rushing to the body. These Khitans, who are accustomed to life in the grassland, have long wanted to leave here and drill into the lush vegetation and cool ground. Therefore, as soon as the Queen Mother proposed to cool off, she immediately got a response from everyone, gossiping about the summer vacation, and forgetting the serious things.

Yelu Longxu couldn't figure out the queen mother's thoughts, and he didn't dare to ask rashly, and the queen mother was discussing with the ministers for the summer vacation, and he couldn't defeat her interest. In this way, until the Scattered Dynasty, he did not say a word about Wang Jizhong.

After the dispersal of the dynasty, Yelu Longxu left Yelu oblique and said to him: "The Queen Mother said yesterday that she would discuss the matter of Wang Jizhong today, why did she forget it today?" ”

Yelu sneered and said, "When did the emperor see the queen mother and forget the big thing?" ”

Yelu Longxu said: "Then why didn't she even mention Wang Jizhong today? ”

Yelu slanted and said: "Don't be anxious, the emperor should not be anxious, when it is time to mention it, the queen mother will definitely mention it." If the minister guessed correctly, someone had already gone to Shanxi, and Wang Jizhong's matter would soon come to light. ”

Yelu Longxu thought for a while and said, "That's right, the Queen Mother must have let Kang Yanxin go to Shanxi, how will the Queen Mother deal with Wang Jizhong?" ”

Yelu obliquely said: "The queen mother is an understanding person, and the emperor can rest assured." ”

Yelu Longxu said: "No, I don't worry, the Queen Mother loves Wang Jizhong, and I am afraid that the Queen Mother will let him go." ”

Yelu obliquely said: "Your Majesty, the minister said a disrespectful word, the Queen Mother dotes on Wang Jizhong and is selfish, isn't it selfish that the emperor hates Wang Jizhong?" Isn't it that Wang Jizhong defeated the emperor at Qigou Pass, making the emperor lose face, does the emperor still remember this bit of revenge? ”

Yelu Longxu said, "Who has a grudge? Am I a grudge-bearer? ”

Yelu obliquely said: "Of course, the emperor is not a person who holds grudges, the emperor has the world in his heart, how can he account for personal grievances?" ”

Yelu Longxu said: "But this time Wang Jizhong is indeed bold and reckless, how can he govern the country without punishment? ”

Yelu said: "The emperor is not in a hurry, since the queen mother sent Kang Yanxin to Shanxi, the minister thinks that she may release Wang Jizhong to Nanjing, and when the time comes, the emperor will personally interrogate and punish him for his crimes." ”

Yelu Longxu said, "What? Did the Queen Mother send Kang Yanxin to Shanxi? How do you know? ”

Yelu obliquely said: "The Empress Dowager summoned Kang Yanxin in Xishan, but Kang Yanxin did not return to the palace with the Empress Dowager, where did she go?" ”

Yelu Longxu woke up like a dream and said: "Yes, Kang Yanxin must have gone to Shanxi to save Wang Jizhong." ”

Yelu slanted and said: "Yes, the Queen Mother asked her to bring Wang Jizhong back." ”

Two days later, Wang Jizhong had not yet arrived, Yelu Longxu could hardly wait, and said to Yelu Xuan: "Big brother, will Kang Yanxin let Wang Jizhong go?" ”

Yelu obliquely said: "The emperor can rest assured, Wang Jizhong will not leave." ”

Jerodun said, "How so? ”

Yelu obliquely said, "Does the emperor remember how he came? If he wanted to go, he would go. ”

Yelu Longxu said: "What the eldest brother said is that Wang Jizhong is still very honest. ”

Yelu obliquely said: "Your Majesty, the minister has been thinking about it for the past two days, is it right for Wang Jizhong to conclude a peace treaty with the Song people? ”

Yelu Longxu immediately said: "Of course it is not right, the Song Kingdom is our enemy, and if we conclude a peace treaty with them, is it to reconcile with the enemy who killed our relatives?" ”

Yelu obliquely said: "The emperor is right, we can't let go of the enemy, but we and them, today I will kill the past, tomorrow he will kill him, when is it a holiday?" ”

Jerodun said, "Then drive them all out." ”

Yelu obliquely said: "The emperor must not say that, killing people cannot conquer people, besides, killing a thousand people will damage eight hundred, and both will be injured, who else does the emperor expect to serve?" ”

Yelu Longxu was speechless for a moment.

"If the conclusion of a peace treaty is really conducive to the stability of the place and the peace of the people, it is also a long-term recuperation plan. ”

Yelu Longxu said: "Big brother, how can you say such a thing, haven't you always wanted to sweep the universe like Huo Qubing and Li Jing, sweep Liuhe, and achieve great feats?" How can you say such frustrating words today? ”

Yelu sighed obliquely: "Your Majesty, it's not that the minister is saying frustrating words, it's really that the minister has been thinking about it repeatedly recently, and he can't find a good way to help the emperor build a peaceful and prosperous world." Emperor Wenjing of the Han Dynasty rested his soldiers, recuperated, and finally won great governance; Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was reckless, and although he established immortal achievements, he exhausted his national strength, and the Han Dynasty declined since then. At the beginning of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, Li Tang was the most prosperous, the world was peaceful, and the four seas were auspicious, but later the Yuyang drum sounded, the beacon smoke was everywhere, and a world full of flowers was beaten to a thousand holes, and the Tang Dynasty has declined since then, which is a pity. ”

Yelu Longxu said: "Big brother is saying that it is wrong to fight? ”

Jelu slanted and said, "The minister hasn't figured it out for a while. ”

Yelu Longxu was displeased: "Then you go back and figure it out." ”

Jerod slanted out.

It took more than ten days for Wang Jizhong to be escorted to Nanjing. Xiao Xuan was in the Yuanhe Palace, busy ordering him to come in. Wang Jizhong met the queen mother and the emperor.

Before Wang Jizhong finished his salute, Yelu Longxu asked, "Wang Jizhong, what did I ask you to do in Shanxi?" ”

Wang Jizhong said: "Back to the emperor, the ministers went to Shanxi to appease the people. ”

Yelu Longxu said, "Since you know that I have asked you to pacify the people, why do you want to cause trouble, and what is your intention? ”

Wang Jizhong said: "The minister is dedicated to the people, and there is no trouble. ”

Yelu Hugo said: "Okay, you Wang Jizhong, you still dare to quibble, you fornicated with the Song people and concluded a peace treaty, do you want to betray us?" ”

Wang Jizhong said: "Lord Yu Yue Mingjian, Wang Jizhong did conclude a peace treaty with the Song people, but it was a peace treaty signed with the Song people in front of Lord Jiedu, and there was absolutely no fornication with the Song people, let alone betraying the Khitan. ”

Yelu Nugua said: "Wang Jizhong, did you sign a peace treaty with the Song people without authorization, did you get the benefits of the Song people?" ”

Wang Jizhong said: "Wang Jizhong advocated signing a peace treaty with the Song people, not for myself to get any benefits, but for the people of Shanxi. ”

Jerodun said, "You have received good for the people one bite at a time, and what good has the people gained?" ”

Wang Jizhong said: "Your Majesty, the people of Shanxi are suffering, they have experienced repeated wars, and the people are not able to make a living, they need a peaceful environment to recuperate, so that they can live in peace, no longer be ravaged by war, no longer displaced, no longer afraid. Everything the minister did was for the peace of the country and for the people of Shanxi to live a stable life. ”

Xiao Sui said: "Wang Jizhong, you signed a peace treaty with others without asking for instructions, acting arbitrarily and alone, without the emperor, are you not afraid of death?" ”

Wang Jizhong said: "The minister did commit a capital crime, but if the minister's death was exchanged for a balance, the minister's death deserved it." ”

Xiao Sui said: "Wang Jizhong's crime is not only an alliance, there are many crimes that you are not aware of, now move them out, let you see what he has done in Shanxi." ”

Xiao Xuan waved to the back of the hall, only to see Kang Yanxin come in with a cowhide box, walk next to Xiao Xuan, and put down the box.

Xiao Xuan pointed to the box and asked, "Everyone, who knows what's in this box?" ”

Yelu Nugua said: "Don't guess, this is Wang Jizhong's box, which must contain gold, silver and jewelry." ”

There was an immediate buzz from the hall, and all eyes were on the box.

Xiao Sui said: "Yelu Nugua is right, this is Wang Jizhong's box, I don't know what it contains, I'll know when I open it later." ”

So, Xiao Xuan asked Kang Yanxin to open the box. A pair of fiery eyes shot at the box that was about to be opened.

Kang Yanxin opened the leather box, took out the contents one by one, and put them on the bookcase. The bookcase was piled with stacks of books.

Xiao Xuan stood up, picked up a booklet, and said, "Everyone, what is this?" ”

Everyone looked at each other, unable to guess what it was.

Room Fang said: "The old minister guesses that it should be the account book made by Wang Jizhong. ”

Xiao Xuan raised the booklet in his hand and said, "Yes, it is the booklet made by Wang Jizhong, so who knows what is written on it?" ”

No one answered.

Xiao Xuan handed the booklet to Kang Yanxin and said, "You read it to everyone." ”

Kang Yanxin opened the booklet and read: "Jiazi in the first month of the fifth year of Tonghe, reclaimed the barren high cliffs, gained a hectare of land, and planted more than ten willows. Yi Chou, two high cliffs and ditches. Recently, the temperature has risen, the snow has melted, and the weir embankment has been compacted twice. Bingyin, someone from more than ten families returned, who was a former Cypress Bay person, and welcomed him. The previous houses were all destroyed, and the grass shacks were created for them to live in~~~"

Xiao Xuan waved his hand and said: "Okay, these booklets are Wang Jizhong's diary in Shanxi, what reclamation, weir building, sowing, canal, cattle, sheep herding, appeasing the homeless, eliminating bandits and the like, according to his records, he built a total of 36 weir ponds, opened more than 120 canals, reclaimed more than 1,380 hectares, planted more than 100,000 hectares of wheat seedlings, and recruited 53,582 displaced people. ”

Speaking of this, Xiao Xuan stopped, pointed to these brochures and said to Kang Yanxin: "Take these things down and show them to the adults in the hall, and see what crime should be condemned to Wang Jizhong?" ”

Kang Yanxin held the booklet and distributed the booklet to the ministers one by one, and the ministers who got the booklet read it while talking to each other, whispering, and there was another buzzing noise in the hall.

Waiting for the commotion to subside, Xiao Sui took out another excerpt and said: "I have a copy of Pu Dali's recital, which is a report on Shanxi's public security recently, and the number of incidents in Shanxi in the past six months has decreased by eighty percent compared with previous years, and there have only been two cases of banditry and only two cases of theft. What does this mean? ”

Yelu Hugo said: "This is because Podali has done a good job in suppressing bandits, and the bandits have been eliminated, so naturally there will be no incidents of committing traitors. ”

Mu Fang said: "No, Yu Yue's words, I don't dare to agree, bandits are being suppressed every year, but they have not been eradicated, sometimes the more they are suppressed, why is this?" ”

Yelu Hugo was speechless, and it took a long time to say: "Why does the Prime Minister think this? ”

"If you want to find out why the bandits disappeared, you have to find out where those bandits went. According to the Shanxi war report, they did not exterminate many bandits, so where did these bandits go? The old man thinks that they haven't gone anywhere, they must have changed their evil and turned to good, become obedient people, and are still in the land of Shanxi. This is all done well by Wang Jizhong's appeasement. The queen mother, the emperor, and the old ministers felt that Wang Jizhong had made great contributions in appeasing the people. ”

Xiao Sui said: "The prime minister is reasonable, Wang Jizhong has indeed done a good job. ”

Before Xiao Xuan's words fell, Yelu Longxu said: "It is Wang Jizhong's duty to do a good job of appeasement, but he is guilty of signing a peace treaty with the enemy without authorization. ”

Han Derang said: "Wang Jizhong is indeed guilty, but from the current point of view, all the borders are not stable, there are constant conflicts, only one corner of Shanxi is quite calm, the enemy and us do not interfere with each other, and there is a peaceful scene." Wang Jizhong did do a good thing. ”

Jeruxiu said, "You always say that peace is peaceful, can a piece of paper bring peace?" Only by beating and subduing them can the world be peaceful. ”

Yelu Longxu said: "Yes, Yu Yue is the true insight, if you want the world to be peaceful, only if the world is ours, then the world is peaceful." ”

Xiao Sui said: "Okay, let's not talk about this for now, let's talk about Wang Jizhong." ”

Yelu Longxu said: "Wang Jizhong has no monarch, and he signed a peace treaty with the enemy without authorization, and his crime should be executed, but he has merit in appeasing, and I think that he will be stripped of his official position and let him wear the guilt and make meritorious service." ”

Mu Fang said: "No, Wang Jizhong is also enthusiastic for the sake of the stability of the Great Khitan, and besides, the people are meritorious and should not be punished." ”

For a while, some people supported the emperor, some people supported Mu Fang, the two sides were deadlocked, and in the end, they both set their sights on Xiao Xuan.

Xiao Sui said: "Since the emperor thinks that Wang Jizhong is guilty, then he is guilty, so he will do what the emperor says." ”

Xiao Sui then said to Wang Jizhong: "Wang Jizhong listens to the order. ”

Wang Jizhong hurriedly knelt down.

Xiao Xuan said: "Wang Jizhong privately concluded a peace treaty with the Song Dynasty in Shanxi, without the emperor, removed Shanxi to pacify the envoy and served as the household envoy, Kang Yanxin in Shanxi supervised Wang Jizhong meritoriously, and he still exercised the responsibility of supervision, and was sent to the palace on a certain day to marry Wang Jizhong. Chin this. ”

Yelu Longxu looked at Xiao Sui with wide eyes, and saw that Xiao Sui ignored him, so he had to turn around.

Wang Jizhong opened his mouth to say something, but swallowed it back.

Xiao Sui said: "Why don't you want to get married? Thinking about that Miss Zhang? ”

Wang Jizhong hurriedly said: "How dare the minister have such an idea, the minister is afraid that he is not worthy of Miss Kang." ”

Xiao Sui smiled: "You know that you are not worthy of others, which means that you are still a little self-aware, you don't keep such a good girl, what are you thinking about Zhang Yuan Li Yuan." ”

Wang Jizhong said: "The minister is afraid that Miss Kang will suffer with me. ”

Xiao Sui said: "What you said reminded me that you came to my Khitan alone, with no roof in the house, housework and floating wealth, living in the temple, and not even a tent, I can't stand you." However, rest assured, I will build you a mansion in the south of Shangjing City as your newlywed house, and send some slaves for you to drive. ”

Wang Jizhong said: "The minister doesn't ask for anything else, just give the minister a tent to shelter from the wind and rain." ”