The night breeze is cool, looking out from the height of the alum tower, you can see the lights of the small half of Bianliang City, the courtyards, the streets, and the boat lights on the waterway will send warm yellow to the night sky. The sound of music came from time to time, and it was a soft sentence sung by the singers of Alum Tower during the performance, such as "I still remember the red boat path, and carry fireworks every day".

The lights in the room were bright, the veils were swaying gently, and Song Yongping was raising his wine glass to drink with Ning Yi. There are two women in the room, Ning Yi is next to the teacher, and next to Song Yongping is a woman named Jin Ruyan, much younger than the teacher, belonging to the talented woman who is popular in the alum building, when Song Yongping was in the capital last year, the two knew each other, and at this time they called her to accompany her.

Originally, he was born in a family of eunuchs, and he was a weak crown in the middle of the year, and then he made up for the lack of the county, and Song Yongping at this time can be called a young man with ambition and high spirits. This time, the local governor prepared a batch of tributes, and Song Yongping went to Beijing to present them, but secretly saw that Song Yongping had some connections in Beijing, and entrusted him to go to Beijing to do some things, which can be regarded as relaxed and revealing. Life is so smooth, and there is a lot of heroism in the words of young people. After thanking Ning Yi for his help in Beijing and casually talking about some poetry, he also said some thoughts on Zhuji.

“…… The younger brother looks at the history, since ancient times, it is always difficult to run a business for a long time. The younger brother also has some business at home, but it is all on the spot, as long as it is enough. Of course, the brother-in-law is on Bianliang's side, and he must understand this matter, and Yu Zhuji's consideration must be more thoughtful than Yongping. For example, in the past year, Zhu Ji has told stories. went to the army to preach chivalry and bravery, and the younger brother agreed very much, but among the people, whether to publicize this matter, I heard that there was a lot of discussion outside...... Anyone who does things for others needs to be ...... slowly"

For Ning Yi, Song Yongping has no malice after all, in a sense, his statement. It's also a heart-wrenching word. The development of Bamboo Kee is too fast. will arouse the vigilance of literati and businessmen, Song Yongping inherited the family philosophy of being an official, and he is also persuading Ning Yi. First of all, the foundation in the capital is firmly established. And then expand the others.

Of course. There are also things he can't say in the middle, such as on Song Yongping's side, Ning Yi is the west seat of the Prime Minister's Mansion. No matter how famous he is, he is not an official, in his opinion, the fundamental reason is that Ning Yi is still the son-in-law of the Su family after all. And Su Tan'er was his cousin, as far as the way of a gentleman was concerned, he couldn't say anything to get Ning Yi out of this identity. This persuasion started with storytelling, then to the reaction of the literati, and then to the businessmen and officials, the logic was still clear, which was also something that young people were proud of, Ning Yi listened carefully, nodded from time to time, and also discussed a few words with Song Yongping, praising his family history.

No matter what you do, of course, it takes time, Song Yongping said it, and he didn't expect his brother-in-law to do anything immediately. But of course, he also hoped that this conversation, which would "benefit Ning Yi a lot", could make some return for his previous help. The two chatted about a lot of things later, and what made Song Yongping somewhat dissatisfied was that even after talking like this, Ning Yi casually asked him about some changes in the business transactions in the past year, which was obviously due to the habit of concentrating on commercial affairs.

Of course, since he has the status of being rich, he has to choose to do business, even if he can interact with many dignitaries and nobles because of the relationship between the prime minister's government, it is difficult for his status to rise. Song Yongping was still able to understand Ning Yi's behavior, so much so that when he was drunk that night, he also said to Jin Ruyan: "My brother-in-law is indeed a very powerful person, but it's a pity...... Identity tied him ......"

Song Yongping was still somewhat proud of Ning Yi's words that night, so much so that on the way back soon after, when he went to Henan Mansion to visit his father, he said it a little happily, and as a result, his father Song Mao scolded him.

“…… Your sister and brother-in-law can erect such a big stall in the capital, and they have dealings with the Prime Minister's Mansion, how can you have a place for your yellow-mouthed child and superficial words! This kind of simple truth, others don't understand, what do you think the right minister's mansion is, how can your brother-in-law not understand! It's strange that he's doing what he's doing now as a father, but your words are ridiculous...... Tell me what you said back and forth! ”

Song Yongping was scolded, so he had to recall the events of the day, retell the ins and outs of the future, and then talk about the subsequent chat. Song Mao frowned, Song Yongping spoke, and then frowned: "If ...... As my father said, it's not easy, so ...... Could it be that the Prime Minister's Mansion is preparing for war? ”

Song Mao glanced at him and didn't speak, Song Yongping analyzed it himself: "Father still remembers, when I was young, I said that the Khitan and Jurchen were all tigers and wolves, and it was better to show the enemy to be weak than to show the enemy to be strong. Later, my knowledge gradually deepened, and I saw that the dust had settled between Liaojin and Jin, and our dynasty also had many measures such as recruiting an edict, and every time I thought about fighting, my mind faded......"

Song Mao said: "If what you said is true, it can explain why your brother-in-law expanded the bamboo record so much, but it seems that it is the meaning of the Prime Minister's Mansion." ”

"It's just that why is the Prime Minister so sure that the Jin people will go south, if he bets on his wealth and ignores the back road, what good is it......"

The people of officialdom, no matter what they do, always consider the way back, just like Tan Zhen's Zhao'an Zhao, if they do a good job, it is performance, and it prevents the possibility of Jin people going south, and if they do badly, they will not offend people. But the development of Zhuji is different, it is a very poor behavior in terms of self-interest, as if some people predicted that they would reach a critical juncture. Therefore, the meaning of the two kinds of preparation is completely different. And Song Yongping still can't figure out the more meanings of this.

Song Mao said: "No matter what they think, Xiangzhou, where you are, is the way to the north. Your brother-in-law asks you about the changes in the local merchants, either for their Bamboo Mark's business, or for the information he has on hand. If the news is good for my father here, after the Zhao'an Zhao, your business will recover very quickly, and there will be an improvement compared to before the disaster......"

Song Yongping nodded: "Improved...... About three to four percent. ”

Song Mao also nodded: "If the Jin people really go south and break the Yanmen Pass." The north will become a battlefield, and when the time comes, there will still be a dumping in the army, and everyone will do everything for profit and life. Do you remember the business warfare methods used by the Prime Minister in the previous disaster relief? From the hands of your brother-in-law, this time, a large number of businessmen were introduced to go north, there are merchants, money, and interests, and there are more people who have pain in their skin, if it is said that your brother-in-law and the prime minister are promoting. That's probably not surprising. ”

Song Yongping fell silent. Song Mao patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction: "If you can use the things of the mall to this Cheng dù, whether it is your brother-in-law or the people in the Prime Minister's Mansion, they are so old-fashioned." The breadth of the layout. It's not what you can imagine, a yellow-mouthed. Be humble and study hard. ”

"That'...... If it does, it will fight. Father, how do I do it......"

Song Mao waved his hand: "It's unlikely that the Jin people will really fight down, this matter is related to the world." Everyone will think about it, you don't have to worry too much, being your county official is, if you are entangled in this matter, the future of the Jin people, you will miss the political affairs, and the gains outweigh the losses. If possible, forget about it! ”

Although his father's words were so, after going back, Song Yongping still paid some attention to this matter, he read a few military books, surveyed the terrain under his rule in detail, and calculated the operation of grain reserves and the transportation of soldiers. It didn't take long for it to happen.

But that's a later story, so I won't mention it for the time being.

On the night when time returned to the alum tower, Jin Ruyan was not an absolute Qingqi person, and he did not refuse a young and promising official like Song Yongping, who had some incense in the past. That night, Song Yongping got drunk and left with Jin Ruyan. Ning Yi and his master stood on the terrace upstairs for a while, the wind blew, stimulating some wine, Ning Yi looked at the lights of the city, and laughed softly: "My brother-in-law still has some knowledge. ”

Shi Shi stood aside and looked at him, and in the light lit downstairs, the man standing next to him held the railing with both hands, and his fingers were lightly tapped, as if there was a kind of momentum of contempt. But also because of the effect of wine, a lot of complicated emotions seem to have been churning in those eyes. The thoughts in his heart, the many things that his subordinates are planning...... But it's still vague and inaccessible.

In the eyes of some high-ranking dignitaries, the master has also seen similar expressions. And she naturally wouldn't say anything bad about Song Yongping, so she smiled slightly: "But what he said, Liheng has already thought clearly......"

"It's not clear." Ning Yi shook his head, "There are some things, I also hope that I have misestimated, and sometimes I feel that it may be misestimated, in that case, two years later, I may be able to leave Beijing." ”

"Leaving Beijing?"

"Well, leave here with your wife and children, if you can really do this......" Ning Yi was silent for a long time, then remembered something, and laughed, "Master......"

The master was still digesting the meaning of his words, and raised his head at this time: "Huh? ”

Ning Yi just looked at her, and something else floated in his mind. Ning Yi didn't know the history of the Song Dynasty, but of course he knew the name Master Li. As a woman who can leave a name for thousands of years, one is because of her scandal with the emperor, and the other is because of her loyalty, righteousness, martyrdom and compassion. It is reported that the Jin people went south, and the woman was taken captive into the Jin people's camp, swallowed a hairpin and committed suicide. If you want to stop these things, you may be able to save her.

The second item in the rumor, Ning Yi can vaguely see it from this woman's body, but the first item, where should the scandal with the emperor fall? Maybe it's different after all? Or maybe a guest that the teacher knows is the emperor of Weifu's private visit? He looked at his teacher, thought about it in his mind, and after all, he just shook his head and smiled. After all, this is the real world I live in, and I really think too much......

The master waited for a moment, didn't see him speak, and said softly: "In Liheng's family, Sister Xiaochan is about to give birth, right?" ”

"Well, I'll have to go back and talk to her and the baby in my belly."

"Talk?"

"There's a saying called prenatal education." Ning Yi explained to her with a smile, "It is said that a woman is pregnant, and when she is about to give birth, the child can already feel the surrounding environment and the joy of the mother." So recently, I always go home to accompany her, and also teach Ning Xi that the one in her belly is his younger brother or sister. The child is quite happy, and he should be a good brother. ”

“…… I have never heard of such a statement. The teacher smiled strangely, "When the wife of the family is pregnant, she comes here a lot......"

The wind blew, stroking the woman's hair and clothes, the master stood there, holding the arm of the right hand with his left hand, her body was thin, and her clothes were also thin, at this time it seemed like a fairy who resisted the wind with nothingness, but she looked a little lonely. The two talked and laughed for a while, and Ning Yi waved away and asked her not to send more.

The city was still full of lights below, and Shi Shi stood upstairs, watching Ning Yi's carriage go out from the side door downstairs, drive onto the road, pass through the crowd, and finally disappear into the bustling city of Bianliang. Waiting in the man's house is a gentle, loving wife and children, and in the early autumn of the near future, he will reap another joy.

Where, then, will my joy be?

She looked at the lights and thought in a daze.

At the same moment, Zhou Zhe stepped on the imperial city that had closed the palace gate, and looked at this huge and glorious city, which belonged to his kingdom. As before, he felt magnificent and gorgeous, and every time he saw it, he became more and more determined to become the king of eternity.

He stretched out his hand, the past was confused, and the road ahead was blurred. But he knew that he would eventually cross this qiē......

……

Outside the Yanmen Pass, the sky is full of stars.

Zhou Tong stood outside the tent, looking back at the towering mountains in the dark, after leaving the pass, all of them looked desolate, although at the moment, these places were already the land of the Wu Dynasty.

This year, the old man was already eighty-two years old.

For a lot of things, last year, he traveled north of the Wu Dynasty. Originally, the leader of the Great Light Sect was still looking for him to duel, but he didn't expect that a junior would kill Sikong Nan, so that Lin Zongwu also had to go south to fight with the enemy, and he was missing a lot of things. He has seen such a change many times, and the important thing is that there are always new heroes.

Because of all kinds of suspicions about the Jin people, he wanted to go to the north to have a look, leave Yanmen Pass, leave the Wu Dynasty, and see if the Jin people would really fight the Wu Dynasty. He is already at such an age, leaving the martial dynasty that has been around all his life and going to such a land of tigers and wolves, even if he is a grandmaster, he may encounter all kinds of accidents, and the biggest accident is the destiny of heaven.

Fu Lu and Zuo Wenying still followed him.

"If I die in a foreign land, burn me, and bring my ashes with you, so that I may not be buried in a foreign land." This is the old man's request to the two of them with a smile.

At that moment, he still made preparations for going north for a while......

************

In July, the capital of the Kingdom of Jin, Huining.

In the cool morning, Xu Zerun, the envoy of the Wu Dynasty, tidied up his clothes and walked into the newly built and simple capital of the Jin Dynasty. He had come with a mission, and it had been three months since he had been in the north, and in order to promote permanent and normal trade between the two countries, he had brought a lot of gold, silver, porcelain, and silk, and had traveled almost all over the mansions of the ministers of the Jin State who could go, and had bribed many people. Today, Wu Qimai, the emperor of the Jin State, is finally going to meet him in person to finalize this qiē.

This is the moment when the dust settles.

It is also the beginning of a qiē...... (To be continued......)