"So what?" Zhao Qi muttered.

"If Ezhou submits to Your Majesty, the army will be nearly 200,000, backed by Ezhou Jiancheng, and the entire southeastern prefecture and county will be the backup. Isn't Yelu Dashi not afraid of being frustrated by the southern invasion, but being taken advantage of by the Xia State? As for Xia Guo," Deng Su sneered, "The abacus is extremely fine, and he wants to win two tigers with one blow, but he is also unwilling to damage the sergeant more and shake the country's foundation." As long as there is no gap in my court, the foundation of the southeast is consolidated, and the Xia State will compete with the Liao State for Hedong and Hebei at most. ”

"Hedong Hebei?" Zhao Qi was in a trance, but he breathed a sigh of relief. Although it has been less than a year since the fall of Hebei, the Liao army is pressing forward step by step, and the powerful ministers and fierce generals inside are like thorns in the back, and recovering Hebei is extremely far away for him. What he thought in his heart, he said: "Let the Xia State and the Liao State compete for Hedong and Hebei, so that I can calmly clean up the situation in the southeast and Xu Tuzhongxing." He looked at Deng Sudao, "It's just that right now, if Chen Dong wants me to go to the honorific title, it will never be possible!" "Born in the deep palace, Zhao Qi doesn't know the world, but the fact that the emperor can go up or down is clear. Zhao Guangyi, the rebel king of this dynasty, killed his brother and seized the throne, and was later forced to abdicate by Emperor Wuzong's contact generals, and ended up extremely miserable, which is a lesson from the past.

"You can't go to the honorific title," Deng Su also knew the importance of the name of righteousness, and muttered, "But you can promise them that Your Majesty is only temporarily taking the throne, and once the Bianliang one returns to the country, Your Majesty will return the great government." However, if the one from Bianliang has not been able to return to China, then Chen Dong and the others should serve His Majesty as the master. Now that all the clans have been detained by the Liao State, the future of the Great Song Dynasty will naturally be the descendants of His Majesty to inherit the unification. Deng Su said slowly. Once this happens, Jerodashi will face an awkward dilemma. continued to detain Zhao Ke and other Song Dynasty clansmen, but the use value was minimized, and it was almost impossible for Yelu Dashi to let go of the biggest chips in his hand.

Zhao Qi nodded and said worriedly: "What if,...... What about the emperor's return from Bianliang? ”

Deng Su shook his head, his gaze fell on Bianliang, and there was a trace of pity in his eyes: "If Bianliang heard that Chen Dong and the others actually surrendered to His Majesty, I don't know how he would feel?" This is the second time he's asked the question.

Zhao Qi's mind was much more sensitive than just now, and after thinking for a while, he said in a low voice: "Brother Huang must hate Chen Dong and the others. A chill welled up in his heart. No one knows Zhao Ke better than Zhao Qi, or rather, the two opponents who have competed since childhood know each other's temperament best. No matter what merits Chen Dong has, and no matter what hardships he has, as long as Chen Dong and others respect Zhao Qi as the emperor, even if it is an agreement in advance that Zhao Ke will return to the country, Zhao Ke will never believe it, he will only reverse the previous trust in Chen Dong into a doubling hatred, even more than Cai Jing, Cao Di, and Deng Su, who had supported Zhao Qi earlier. If Chen Dong and the others were not fools, at that time, they would do their best to prevent Zhao Ke from returning to China and regaining his authority. In this way, in the Song court, Zhao Ke completely lost the support of all his ministers, and he had a righteous name, but it was as thin as waste paper. Even if Yelu Dashi lets him return to China, Deng Su, Chen Dong and others will make a group of ministers desperately admonish, and virtuous monarchs are rare, and the authority of the country cannot be given up again and again, at most Zhao Ke will be given a respectful title. In the deep palace, Zhao Qi had countless ways to make him disappear slowly.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ke nodded and said, "Aiqing thinks far away. He paused and muttered, "Well...... The military power of the southeast battalion, did they also promise Chen Dong that they could not succeed? "The ancestors of the Zhao family started from the army to win the country, and the previous dynasties paid great attention to military power. Chen Dong and the others were not confidants, so how could Zhao Qi be willing to add more military power to encourage them to oppose him. He even said secretly: "Deng Qing has an old relationship with Chen Dong and others, could it be that he is here to be a lobbyist for them?" Although he didn't say anything, his eyes were already a little suspicious.

Deng Su accepted it calmly and said slowly: "I'm afraid of Ji Sun's worries, within the Xiao Wall." ”

Zhao Qi seemed to be hit by what he said, and asked rhetorically: "What does Aiqing mean by this?" ”

Deng Su looked at the left and right and saw that there was no one on the left and right, then went around the room to look, and opened the door to prevent someone from eavesdropping outside. Seeing him behave like this, Zhao Qi's brows furrowed even tighter, and a layer of gloom was also shrouded in his face. Deng Su turned around and came back, and said in a low voice: "Liu Yanqing is useless, and the southeast camp will have to be handed over sooner or later, but can Your Majesty entrust the military power to the Cao family?" ”

Listening to the word "Cao", Zhao Qi was excited, subconsciously looked outside, and saw that there was no one around, so he breathed a sigh of relief, and a sense of sadness and humiliation came to his heart, sighed, and said in a low voice: "Cao Xianggong is the pillar of the country...... and there are Cai and Li Xianggong to help ......" Under Deng Su's eyes, Zhao Qi's voice became lower and lower.

Deng Su was a confidant, and he said in front of him that he was not suspicious of Cao Di, but Zhao Qi didn't even believe him. After the fall of Bianliang and the momentum of Chen Shaoyang, Hou Huanyin and others, Cai Jing, Li Bangyan and others had no power to resist. Their original protégés in the prefecture and county were either demoted to Bianliang or expelled by the local gentry gathered by the council, and almost one in ten remained. Since the Liao army on the East Road captured Jiangning Mansion and Hangzhou Mansion, Cai Jing and others led the soldiers and horses to retreat in a hurry, and the Liao soldiers pursued and killed everywhere on the Liangzhejiang Road, and even cut off contact with Xiangyang. If it was in the peaceful years, Zhao Qi believed that Prime Minister Cai would crush Cao Di to death, but now that the army is in chaos, Zhao Qi can no longer expect these old ministers to balance the ambitious Cao Di.

"However, the military power in the southeast must not be entrusted to Yue Fei." Zhao Qi said hatefully, he turned around and took out a stack of manuscripts from the bookcase and threw it on the table. Deng Su picked it up and saw that it was a manuscript released by the Zhenguo Army for several months, and he looked at ten lines at a glance, flipping through the past one by one, each with the name of "Welcoming and Returning the Saint", which was particularly dazzling.

Zhao Qi's eyes were gloomy, and he gritted his teeth and said: "When Bianliang was in an emergency, he rushed thousands of miles to help, and the imperial brother also promoted him by three levels. Without the help of this person, how could Chen Dong make such a big incident in Ezhou. This person can't be reused," he paused, as if it wasn't enough to relieve his anger, and said in an accentuated tone again, "You can't reuse it for the rest of your life!" ”

Deng Su sighed, Yue Feishi's good general, rare loyalty and righteousness, he originally agreed to let him be in charge of the soldiers and horses, in order to share Cao Di's momentum, but Zhao Qi was very stubborn, and it involved military power, but he was not good at strength, so he had to mutter: "Your Majesty's bag, there is no one-sided general, if you want to accept the southeast camp, you can compete with Cao Di, it is even more ......" Deng Su kept silent, the major affairs of the country, in Rong and worship, in case of a non-people, the consequences are unimaginable.

Zhao Qi was silent for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said in a low voice: "What does Aiqing think Zhao Xingde thinks of him?" ”

A gust of mountain wind blew, and a few fallen leaves blew into the clean room.

Deng Su hesitated for a moment and said vaguely: "Yuan Zhi is a loyal person. ”

"That's good." Zhao Qi exhaled, and a mysterious smile flashed in his eyes, "Deng Aiqing mentioned earlier that Zhao Yuanzhi was in the rivers and lakes to avoid trouble, and he has been hiding in Tibet for ten years, and he has a good relationship with Chen Dong and others, but in fact, he doesn't have much contact, right?" He sat back on the dragon chair relaxed, leaning back with his back, "In the past few years since the imperial brother succeeded to the throne, he has not returned his innocence to the posting and conspiracy case, and he has not received half of his grace. However, Zhao Xingde turned out to be a person who allowed Wen and Wu, and took over the southeast camp with his prestige and military exploits, and sat on an equal footing with Cao Xianggong, Yue Fei and others, which could restore the generals to a trend of checks and balances. ”

It was rare for Zhao Qi to have such an idea, Deng Su frowned and said: "The military power is entrusted to the generals, and it is Tai'a who holds it." If it is a long-term plan for the country, when the world is peaceful, the military power will be returned to the military department of the imperial court, so that the general will not specialize in the army, the general will lead the army to fight, and the military department will receive the military talisman to dispatch soldiers and horses, and the war will be over, and the soldiers will be scattered in various states and counties, and they will be returned to the court. Then widely implement firearms, and control the state and county battalions with ammunition and food. This is the plan for peace for all eternity. Zhao Qi's temperament is similar to that of the former emperor, a little frivolous and jumpy, Deng Su was afraid that he would entrust the military power to the generals in the future, so when he saw the signs, he persuaded bitterly. These tactics of collecting troops and strengthening weak branches have been repeated over and over again, and Zhao Qi is really calloused when he hears it. But now when employing people, he can't chill people's hearts.

"Aiqing, this is Lao Cheng's strategy for the country," Zhao Qiwen said, "You should think about it in the long run." I have full authority to entrust the matter of contacting Ezhou to the Deng Qing family," he frowned slightly, "But, on the side of Cao Xianggong and Liu Xianggong, how should I discuss with them?" Zhao Qi stood up and looked like he was teaching with an open mind.

"Your Majesty understands the overall situation, and the minister first told Chen Shaoyang that Cao Xianggong is not in a hurry," a sneer appeared at the corner of Deng Su's mouth, "The situation is pressing!" Donating and abandoning Ezhou, if Cao Xianggong agrees, Liu Xianggong's side, there is no need to worry! He stood up, bowed to Zhao Qi, and turned around to go out to decorate. These days, Deng Su has secretly communicated with Ezhou, and he has not completely hidden Cao Di's ears and eyes. Cao Di watched coldly, neither stopping nor relaxing his attack on the city.

The army of the Liao State is getting closer and closer.

On the main road from Xiangyang to Ezhou, the cavalry marched southward and captured a large number of heavy military supplies in Xiangyang, and the cavalry of the Liao army was well supplied, so they did not have to bother to fight the grass valley during the march. The warships carried mountains of grain and grass, and the water and land went down the Han River.

Wanyan Zongbi stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the shore and the cavalry team with a prosperous appearance, Wanyan Zongbi's eyes flashed with a complicated light, and then disappeared. In the battle to conquer Xiangyang, Wanyan Zongbi wore two layers of iron armor and held a big axe, leading the Jurchen sailors to storm the Shuizha City Gate. After thousands of Jurchen warriors were killed and wounded, the defenders surrendered in fear. Wanyan Zongbi was also rewarded by Yelu Dashi for this reason, and many people in the city were enslaved.

"The power of the Great Liao is overwhelming, this expedition to Ezhou, I don't know how long the people of the Southern Dynasty can resist?" A voice suddenly said behind him.

Wanyan Zongbi turned around, hid the different color in his eyes, and smiled rudely: "The King of Jin is coming, Zongbi has lost his welcome." ”