"What, Chen Dong is here?" Zhao Xingde felt a burst of surprise in his heart, and said to Lu Mingyu, "Please take me to meet Shaoyang." Lu Mingyu nodded hurriedly, Luo Xianshi didn't give in to him just now, and at this time he also followed behind Zhao Xingde unceremoniously, walking side by side with Lu Mingyu. In an instant, these famous figures on the rivers and lakes were greeted out. Some of the Shui Kou Zhanger were confused, and asked each other, "Which one is Chen Dong?" "Although Chen Dong is the leader of Confucianism, he is not as talked about by the people in the market as Zhao Yuanzhi, and some thieves are lonely and unheard, but they don't know who Chen Dong is? After others explained it clearly, this person suddenly realized "oh" and sighed, "It turns out that this official is a friend of Mr. Yuanzhi." ”

On the Shuizhai pier, a clipper boat is quietly moored. Yang Zaixing told the crossbowmen on the ship to be ready for battle, and the rockers were all in good spirits. If something changes, turn around and walk away. Although Yang Zaixing is a northerner, since the army went south, because of the relationship between the cleansing and suppression of the water bandits, he is also quite familiar with the southeast water towns and the habits of bandits. After arranging these, he stood behind Chen Dong, had nothing to do, and observed the reality of the water village, under this look, Yang Zaixing came to be interested, and said secretly: "This village is very tightly governed, almost catching up with the climate of Wuma Mountain, if I raise an elite army to fight, how can I fight down?" ”

"This is the Ezhou Town National Army," on the dock, the villagers whispered, "Are you here to recruit An?" The same guess of a question, some people expect, some people are afraid, and some people disdain. Xie Daya spit in the lake and scolded: "Straight lady thief, recruit a bird!" Lu Da, who was next to him, looked timidly at the flag on the official ship: "If you recruit An, the two taxes, additional consumption, conversion, service money, and buying, and science rate," Thinking of these already unfamiliar variegated names, Luda's face became a little pale, "At the end of the year, it is not enough to shave my belly." He couldn't help but see the rickety corpse in the thatched hut in front of his eyes, and looked at the extraordinary Chen Daguan at the bow of the boat with a complicated expression, and he couldn't see any difference from Li Dashan, who forced his family to die.

A group of people turned out from behind the small round hill behind the wharf, and it was the owner of Lu Zhai who walked in front, followed by many leaders in the village, Mr. Zhao, who everyone was familiar with, and some heroes with fresh faces. When the villagers looked over, Lu Mingyu had already walked up to Liu Gao in three or two steps and asked, "Where is Lord Chen?" Liu Gao pointed to the fast boat moored on the outside of the trestle and said, "That person said he was Chen Dong." ”

Chen Dong was dressed in civilian clothes and stood on the bow of the boat, like an ordinary squire visiting friends. He seemed to be aware of it, looked over here, and suddenly saw Zhao Xingde. No matter how anxious he is, he is still idle outside. At this time, he couldn't hold his breath anymore, his face was surprised, and he lost his voice: "Yuan Zhi!" "After revealing the big case, I haven't seen each other for ten years, and when we meet at this time when the country is in a difficult situation, each other's appearance is very different from ten years ago, and I dare not recognize each other, he looked at it again, and was sure that it was Zhao Xingde. The figure is bigger than it was then, his cheeks are slightly dark, and his chin and beard are shaved iron blue. It's still a gentle smile, but it inadvertently reveals a cold look.

"Xingde, it has not been easy over the years." Chen Dong said with emotion. From Zhao Xingde's letters and articles, he also roughly experienced Zhao Xingde's weathering and dying on the battlefield in the past ten years, and often spent 3,600 days and nights in Rong Ma and Yan. I am afraid that the suffering experienced is not enough for people to understand. Just a moment ago, Chen Dong also reminded himself that Zhao Xingde represented the power of the Xia Kingdom, and he must treat each other calmly and calmly. But at this moment, in a state of excitement, I didn't care about anything.

"Put the plank," he hurriedly urged, "let me get on the trestle!" ”

With his urging, the forbidden army became more and more hurried, only to hear the sound of "clang", the thick wooden plank smashed obliquely on the trestle, the two ends were hit, and the middle was still trembling, Chen Dong walked over in three steps and two steps, and met Zhao Xingde who was walking opposite.

"Yuan Zhi, I haven't seen you for ten years, and your style is better than back then, and you came back well this time! That's great! ”

"The rise and fall of the world, the husband is responsible, how dare he fall behind!"

The two looked at each other and laughed. At the time of national crisis, the reunion of old friends was a mixture of joy and sorrow, and for a while I forgot to greet the heroes of the rivers and lakes next to me.

Lu Mingyu stood next to him and sighed secretly: "I know each other in Hanwei, one is high in the temple, the other is far away in the rivers and lakes, singing and harmonizing with each other from afar, how many great things have these two done together." If the Science Society did not have these two people, it would not be able to make a big noise, so that it would have the tendency to respect the Son of Heaven from afar and not obey the order. Ten years ago, who would have thought that a group of scholars who were too learned would be able to compete with Cai Jing, Cao Di and others who regarded Zhao Qi as the Son of Heaven! This is the time when heroes create the situation! He took refuge in Zhao Xingde, originally had the intention of chasing Jiwei, but now when he saw Zhao Xingde and Chen Dong seeing each other, he couldn't help but feel excited, and the scar on his forehead seemed to be hot.

"Chen Shaoyang is a lover of personality," Luo Xianshi sighed, "When I saw it today, it really deserved its reputation." Luo Xianshi looked up, and saw a tiger standing behind Chen Dong, who had just taken his eyes off from this side. Who is so powerful? Luo Xianshi's self-confidence and vision were extremely accurate, and he secretly kept a heart, "The fierce generals in the Ezhou Zhenguo Army are like clouds, and this is probably not an unknown person." "If it weren't for the grudge between the Zhenguo Army and the southeast bandits, he would have wanted to have a friendship with the other party.

Yang Zaixing stood quietly behind Chen Dong and glanced at these reckless people, many of whom glared back, their eyes faintly hostile. Yang Zaixing has long been used to it, he is just doing his best to protect Lord Chen. After being sure that these people had no ill will towards Chen Dong, Yang Zaixing's eyes fell on Zhao Xingde. Ten years ago, when Zhao Xingde served in the tent of Wang Yan in Hejian, Yang Zaixing was just a good man among the bandits in Wuma Mountain. Now, he is the commander of the Zhenguo Army, from the seven-rank martial arts, while Zhao Xingde has been in the rivers and lakes for ten years, recruiting reckless heroes in Dongting to serve the country. During this period, the vicissitudes of life and personnel changes. Back then, the common enemy of him and Zhao Xingde was Tong Guan, a thief, and now he is the Liao Kou who invaded the south. In addition to sighing, Yang Zaixing's gaze at Zhao Xingde was also a little more friendly.

If Zhao Xingde was aware, he saluted Yang Zaixing, and then brought Lu Mingyu and the others to Chen Dong. Chen Dongjiu is in the center of the imperial court, and he is also a well-known leader of the Qingliu River, and now his every move is attracting the attention of the world. After he calmed down, with a smile on his face, he met the reckless heroes one by one, although he was not inhibited at all, but it always made Lu Mingyu and others have a feeling of looking up. In comparison, Zhao Xingde is still closer, which makes people feel like a spring breeze.

Lu Mingyu and the others sent Chen Dong to the guest room, let him rest for a while, and then go to the Juyi Hall to wash the dust for him after half an hour. After Chen Dong sent these Jingxiang heroes away, the smile on his face dissipated, and he deliberately opened the door wide, seemingly informal, but in fact, he saw the outside clearly, in case someone overheard him and Zhao Xingde talking.

"Yuan Zhi's trip was ordered by the Five Mansions?" When he turned around, Chen Dong hid the complicated look in his eyes.

"Yes." Zhao Xingde nodded, "On both sides of Hangu Pass, the brothers are on the wall, and they are insulted outside. The five governments intended to help the Song attack Liao, but Cao Di and others refused to let go of the Hangu Pass because of their private abolition, so the Xia army was not allowed to march east to fight the Liao army. He shook his head and sighed, "I waited for a long time in the camp of the Eastern Expedition, but what I was waiting for was the news that the Liao army had broken through Bianliang. On the way to this journey, I heard that the Liao army was like a bamboo. None of the famous cities and towns could be defended for more than three days. Chuzhou, Huangzhou, and Jiangzhou fell successively. I heard that the Liao army had advanced to Taiping Prefecture on the Yangtze River, but it was only because of the poor water warfare that it had to stop at Quarshidu. He paused for a moment and muttered, "It is said that the northerners are good at riding, the southerners are good at boats, and they rely on the great river and natural dangers, maybe they can stifle the edge of the thieves a little." ”

"It's too late," Chen Dong shook his head and sighed when he heard this, "Just three days ago, the two rebel generals Li Cheng and Kong Yanzhou, in the name of respecting the emperor's order to welcome the Liao army, suddenly made a rebellion. The natural danger of the river is no longer owned by me, and the Liao army brigade is already crossing the river. ”

"What about Jiankang Mansion?" Zhao Xingde asked anxiously, "Jiankang is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is more controllable to control the river, as long as you hold the ......."

"Jiankang is also finished!" Chen Dong didn't wait for Zhao Xingde to finish speaking, and slapped the table: "Zhao Qi named Cai Jing as the prime minister and asked him to preside over the situation in the southeast, but Cai Lao Thief was afraid of the enemy like a tiger, and as soon as he heard the news that the Liao army crossed the river, he fled from the water gate like a frightened bird. The soldiers and horses of the brigade that were originally concentrated in Jiankang, some fled with Cai Lao Thief, and others scattered in a hurry. Now there is only one empty city left in Jiankang, and the Liao army doesn't even need to attack the city. ”

Zhao Xingde was dumbfounded when he heard this, and sighed: "I knew that the southeast was empty, and the forbidden army was unbearable. But I didn't expect it to be so erosive! He originally thought that Jiankang was the most important place in the southeast, and no matter how much Zhao Qi and Cai Jing and others were afraid of the Liao people, they wanted to keep half of the southeast of the country, and they had to protect Jiankang no matter what, so the clinker was easily given up.

Chen Dong said hatefully: "It's a pity that the old thief Cai did not hesitate to ignore the ancestral family law in order to compete with our society for Jiankang, Hangzhou and other places. How many people in our society have been imprisoned for punishment, and in just over the past few months, many people have been sentenced to death. He went to great lengths to snatch it from us, but as soon as the thief came, he gave it up. They just gave it to the Liao thieves with both hands, and they refused to let us do it well! He sighed heavily, "The situation in the southeast is already dangerous, and the Liao army even sent only more than 100 horsemen, dozens of horsemen, to escort the eunuchs who came out of Bianliang to the prefectures and counties to recruit surrenders. Yelu Dashi wants to coerce the Son of Heaven to order him not to be subordinate, this piece of Cao Mengde used a rotten trick to really become a fig leaf for many incorruptible and shameless people! ”