Chen Pu did not wear the red court uniform of General Zhuguo, but wore a four-winged and straight-legged official coat, and the other was a very ordinary brocade robe and soft-soled boots, which was very different from the officials in the square. It doesn't look like she's going to go to the early dynasty.

"There is a meeting in the military department today," Chen Pu spoke first.

The first sentence dispelled the doubts in Shang Cheng's heart. He nodded and smiled, without saying a word.

“…… I happened to see you. Chen Pu said again.

Shang Cheng still didn't speak. He couldn't think of anything Chen Pu had to say to himself at this time, and it was not good to inquire about the content of the meeting of the Ministry of War, so he had to continue to keep a smile on his face.

Chen Pu took a few steps closer to the white marble bridge, and waited for Shang Cheng to follow, before she whispered, "Tell you something, Old General Xiao is back." ”

Xiao Jian's comeback?

Shang Cheng was relieved at first, and then he was relieved. This is not surprising, General Xiao became famous in his youth, and made great achievements for the Great Zhao in the past few decades, whether in the army or in the people, he has a very high prestige, and the imperial court wants to liquidate his responsibility for the defeat of the grassland, so it cannot ignore this layer; There are not a few generals and colonels who have been valued and cultivated by Xiao Jian in the various garrisons of Gyeonggi, and the imperial court wants to punish Xiao Jian, and has to take into account their feelings and ideas, so as not to give birth to more contradictions and turmoil, especially at present, the imperial court intends to dismantle and merge the various armies of Liyuan, and the northern Siwei Town will also make major personnel adjustments...... In fact, after hearing that the imperial court only let Xiao Jian idle without further punishment, he guessed that there would be such a day, but he didn't expect this day to come so quickly, and it was only a year......

He still didn't speak.

Chen Pu continued: "Some time ago, Zhang Xiang proposed a strategy of 'first the south and then the north', and this matter has been discussed in the military department in the past few days. She looked at the city that was becoming more and more majestic in the morning light and was silent for a while, and then said quietly, "Old General Xiao has openly supported Zhang Xiang's strategy at the meeting. The imperial court planned to set up a new camp in Jiazhou, and the military department intended to let General Xiao Lao serve as the head of the camp in Jiazhou, with full authority to command the conquest and suppression of the rebel bureaucrats and the use of troops against the Southern Zhao State. ”

Xiao Jian came out to deal with Nanzhao? It was the first time Shang Cheng had heard about this, and his brows couldn't help but gather together. He knew about the unpeaceful things in the southwest, where the ethnic minorities did not accept the governance of the Han people, and they were rampant and disturbing each other for three days, resisting taxes and taxes was simply commonplace, and there were more than one village of bureaucrats who pulled the flag and rebelled, and incidents of attacking and disturbing the city also occurred from time to time, and the local government and garrison were overwhelmed. On the one hand, there was internal strife, and on the other hand, there were external troubles, Nanzhao in the south and Tubo in the west took advantage of the fire to rob, and from time to time they made some small moves on the border, and there was constant friction with the garrisons of Jiayurong, Liyawei Prefecture. Originally, these "small fights" that you sneak attack me and I ambush you once are still within the tolerance of the imperial court, after all, the real enemy of Da Zhao is the Tuqi people in the north, and the heavy troops are also placed in the north, but now it is different one by one After this summer, the activities of Tubo and Nanzhao have become more and more frequent, and things have become more and more rampant. Obviously, they already knew that Da Zhao had just suffered a big loss in the grassland, and probably injured his vitality, so they had no scruples about their hands and feet......

The hour had passed, and the people of the inner court had not yet come. Chen Pu had already entered the imperial city, and Shang Cheng had no choice but to continue waiting outside the gate.

While he was waiting for someone, he was thinking crankily in his head. This is a good way, at least to let yourself ignore the eyes that are still a little sore after changing the cotton wool.

He was now thinking about using troops against Nanzhao. He imagined himself as a member of the three provinces, and what would he do if he were to preside over the solution of the problems in the southwest?

Although the situation in the southwest is on the trend of deterioration, in his view, this is not much of a problem. As long as the imperial court's countermeasures are appropriate, the rebellion of the bureaucrats is only a trivial matter, and if it cannot cut off the source of the trouble, at least it can restore the apparent calm. As soon as the internal strife stops, the external troubles will be solved, without the echo and containment of the Zhao local bureaucrats, how much more waves can Tubo and Nanzhao set off? Moreover, these two are neither brotherly states nor strategic alliances, and they are even more contradictory to each other, which are just used to divide and exploit. Compared with Tibet, it is more convenient to help Nanzhao in terms of transportation; A small country like Nanzhao can't become a climate no matter how much it helps, and if you help Tibet, it is likely to be a tiger for trouble. He further imagined that this kind of help must also have a scale, and it must be done in moderation, and it is best to let the two families fight endlessly, and Da Zhao just reaps the benefits from it......

He couldn't help but praise himself in his heart for the good idea he had come up with. I can't see that I am the prime minister's material, and even the diplomatic means are so spicy!

But he just thinks about it. He can see the joints in it, and none of the six Jiuqing in the court are vegetarians, so of course he can see it. These people are all veterans of doing these things, and the method he has only thought of now must have been proposed by someone in the court; Maybe the plan is already being laid out......

Just when he was sighing melancholy for his dream of being the prime minister, the inner court finally came.

The two officials of the Ministry of Rites handed over to the inner attendants, and after entering the imperial city, they returned to the yamen. Shang Cheng followed the chamberlain and continued to walk deeper into the imperial city. As he walked, he looked around greedily like a dirt bun that had just entered the city. Judging from the layout, he felt that the difference between the Imperial City and the Yanshan Admiral's Mansion was not too big, that is, there were more houses with blue bricks and roofs. At this moment, the morning sun is rising, the blue sky is like washing, the bright morning glow is sprinkled on the yellow tile roof of the pavilion, in the dazzling golden yellow light, the towering and majestic tall hall at the far end is like a real illusion, and it makes people feel a sense of awe at first sight. The wide road is paved with green stones, probably just washed with water not long ago, the road surface is not stained with dust, the light can be seen, under the sunlight, the green light and shadow flow as if into the painting, wandering in the meantime, it is to teach people to give the soul and the mind is drunk, there is only a sigh in the upside down and blurred, the scenery is really a dream...... Duan Xiu Huayan, who was intoxicated with the imperial city, heard the attendant who led the way whisper: "Lord Shang, the early dynasty usually has to arrive around the end of the day, and then the saint will have breakfast, so I can only bother the lord to wait here first." ”

Only then did he come to his senses.

He thanked the chamberlain and said, "There is the eleventh father-in-law." That's what he heard from the two officials of the Ministry of Rites as the chamberlain.

The eleventh father-in-law is a seventh-rank servant, medium height, with almost no wrinkles on a round face, Shang Cheng can't tell how old he is, he looks like he may be thirty years old and less than forty years old. This father-in-law probably doesn't bask in the sun, his round face is a little sickly fair, his small eyes are squinted, and he always looks happy as if he is smiling, seeing Shang Cheng salute him, he quickly turned his body to the side, lowered his hand and bowed and said in a duck voice: "My lord is the pillar of the imperial court, and he is also a general who expands the territory and defends the territory for our Great Zhao Dynasty, and the lower officials dare not accept the courtesy of adults." Besides, these are all for the sake of the saints, so I don't dare to bother the lord's thanks. As he spoke, he gave a few instructions to the two small reed doors at the door of the public hall, and arched his hand towards Shang Cheng, "Please sit down in this public hall for a while, and wait for the Holy Mission." If you want to do anything, you can tell the two of them to do it, that is, tea and food, and the inner court will also provide it, and the adults can just greet them. Seeing that Shang Cheng didn't have anything to say, he said again, "Sit widely", and went on tiptoe.

Shang Cheng didn't immediately turn around and enter the public hall, and first stood in front of the steps and looked around. Here the east and west sides are the houses with ridges, in the middle of the north is a three-level nine-order pedestal of the palace, although it is also carved beams and painted buildings magnificently, but compared with the five splendid halls in the south and north and the north outside the courtyards in the west, whether it is the shape or the scale, it is undoubtedly much smaller; It seems that this is a side hall.

The two little reeds waited respectfully for him to see enough, and then they bent down and respectfully invited him into the public office.

Opened the thick cotton curtain and entered the house, and there was a hot warmth on the face, and the body that had been wrapped in the cool breeze and drought for more than an hour was comfortable, but the eyes that had just seen it were ready to move. He subconsciously touched his blindfold and squinted around the room. At first, he saw that there were three or four doors open in the east of the house, and he thought it was a large room, but then he realized that this row of side rooms was actually connected, and a long series of fine gauze lanterns that seemed to have been measured with a wooden ruler illuminated the long, narrow houses that were connected together, except for a dozen or so beams and columns, and the rest could not even see half of the load-bearing walls. A question flashed in his heart, the length of this big house is sixty or seventy steps away, relying on these dozen or so columns, can it really support the beams of this house from collapsing? If it weren't for these wooden pillars, how would this house have been built?

On one side of the room against the wall were a dozen short kang beds, with kang tables, soft cushions, pillows, everything, and on the other side there were black square tables, drum stools, and chairs, which were obviously prepared for officials in the south. There were several large braziers burning in the corners, and although the best charcoal was used, the slightly pungent charcoal in the air still made Shang Cheng feel a little unbearable. He frowned, if he really had to wait here for two hours, then he might as well blow the wind in the small square in front of the side hall!

There were already more than a dozen officials waiting to be seen in the room, all of them civil officials, who were either sitting on the kang drinking tea and talking, or whispering around the table at their feet. These people have green robes and green clothes, and there are two shallow scarlets, at first glance, it looks like the mutton fat soup made by the chef of Xiaoluoyi, and there are two red hawthorns floating in the green onion, which looks like it is also chic. Because Shang Cheng was wearing a red robe and a flying winged head, the people in the room knew at a glance that he was a general above the fourth grade, and the expressions of the two small reeds were respectful, but he was a strange face that no one knew, so they all looked at him with their eyes and talked about his identity one after another.

Xiao Zong Men did not immediately invite Shang Cheng to sit, but bent down and asked him to continue to look inside, bypassing a screen, it turned out that this screen also had a door, and it was a large room when he entered, although the display layout was similar to the outside, but since it was so built, it must be different from the outside. What's even better is that although this house is not small, perhaps because there are few people like Shang Cheng who will stay here, there is no brazier for heating, and there is no kang burning, and the room is filled with a cold chill.

The two little reeds probably didn't expect this to be the case, their faces turned white with fright, and their mouths chattered and confessed. A quick mind pulls out his feet and walks out. It seemed that he was going to bring in two braziers from the outer room first. But those braziers are not counting the coals that burn vigorously in the basin, and one weighs at least one hundred and eighty pounds, and a thin and weak young man like him can move it?

Shang Cheng hurriedly said: "No, I don't want a brazier, and you don't burn the kang." That's it! I love it! ”

He was telling the truth, but the two little reeds would never think so. They accidentally snubbed the general sent by the eleventh father-in-law himself, and they were so sad and overwhelmed that they didn't know what to do, but this ugly and terrifying general not only did not blame them, but also excused them, and this thoughtfulness and affection immediately moved the two of them. The one with fast hands and feet immediately came over to take off his boots for him, and he also had to support Shang Cheng on the kang, but Shang Cheng waved his hand and rejected him One by one, when he was not seventy or eighty years old and couldn't move, where did he use such fine service? Another small spring door also reacted, and came back immediately after going out, leading two servants to set a large table with fragrant tea and dried fruits and fruits.

Shang Cheng didn't have much interest in these foods, but this was the intention of the two little spring gates, he just didn't want to eat, so he had to taste two of them.

After eating two pieces of snacks and drinking a few sips of tea, he let the two of them go out with a big stone in their hearts.

He took out a small silver box from his sleeve pocket, replaced it with a wet cotton wool, and then put the changed cotton in another silver box.

A hint of coolness immediately relieved the burning symptoms of his eyeballs and sockets, and soon, the stinging sensation in half of his head also eased. Now, he can think cautiously and seriously about a major event, one by one, and the strategy of "first the south and then the north" proposed by Park, and Xiao Jian's possible appointment as the head of the Jiazhou camp, is there any connection between these two things? If there is a connection, how should it be understood? Does this imply any far-reaching meaning?