When the two noblewomen of Prime Minister Zhao's Mansion were itching their teeth with hatred, Zhao Xingde was sighing with his future brother-in-law. In the study room of the Li Mansion, except for one side with doors and windows, tables and chairs facing south, the bookshelves on three sides are lined with all kinds of books, exuding a faint smell of spiritual herbs. The two books were spread out on the wide table, Zhao Xingde turned his back to the door, window and desk, and the bright and warm sunlight shone into the study from behind him. Li Ruoxu had a sad face and sighed repeatedly. He has a handsome face, because he is only sixteen years old, his figure is still very thin, and he only has a shallow beard on his lips, but he looks trapped in love and has a lot of worries.

"It's just a one-sided relationship, why can't you forget it, is it evil?" Zhao Xingde said with a smile, after the outing on the Qingming Day, Li Ruoxu inquired about the woman in the light yellow shirt and green Luo skirt, who inquired about it, and turned out to be the princess Zhao Huan, who was very favored by Zhang Guifei, although the Li family is a scholarly family for generations, it is difficult to climb the royal family.

"Tracing back to it, the road is long and the road is long, the road is blocked and the right is the right, alas-" Li Ruoxu sighed again and was silent. Zhao Xingde looked at his cheeks, which were slightly pale due to lack of sleep, and said secretly: "Are the people of the Li family so sentimental?" Stretched out his hand and patted Li Ruoxu's shoulder, and explained: "Why bother to suffer so much for a woman, I was shocked when I saw one face, maybe she was just gorgeously dressed, and after removing her makeup, her appearance was not even enough for the posture of a middle-aged person." ”

Li Ruoxu closed his eyes and thought about it for a long time, shook his head seriously and said: "Looking at it from a distance, it looks like a morning glow, and up close, it looks like a hibiscus out of clear water, and it will never be just the posture of a Chinese person." Zhao Xingde shook his head in his heart and said: "Since Zhao Huan is the pearl of today's palm, he must be arrogant and indulgent, you haven't been with her for a long time, if you stay together for ten days and half a month, you will definitely not be able to stand the princess's temper." ”

Li Ruoxu said: "The appearance is the surface of the heart, although I have only said one word to her, but it will never be what you say." There was a bit of anger in his words. Zhao Xingde secretly shouted, didn't I want to enlighten you, and said with a smile: "If you are empty, you have not been in the world, how can you say that you can see through people's hearts at a glance." Asking what is the situation in the world, and directly teaching people to promise life and death, how can such feelings be determined by seeing one or two sides and saying a word? There must be a feeling that everyone is looking for him thousands of times, and suddenly looking back, that person is in the dim light. ”

Li Ruoxu's face was red, and he was about to refute, but Zhao Xingde, who had just found a little preaching, stopped him and continued to his own thoughts: "In my opinion, you are too strict with your tutor, and there are too few opportunities to contact women, so when you see a little girl, you indulge in it." It's like a person who hasn't tasted all kinds of delicacies, and once in a while he tastes a good dish, he has to eat it every day. What's more, you only glanced at this dish, and you haven't even tasted it yet. Alas, how can you give up the forest for a small tree, how much more this tree is still 108,000 miles away from you. ”

Li Ruoxu raised his head and was about to speak, but his expression was stunned, his face showed embarrassment, and he was silent. Seeing that he didn't pick up, Zhao Xingde took a big deal and said: "In this way, I have a little friendship with the teacher and girl in Gonglou, and I will take you to see the wind and moon there, and you will think about whether my words are reasonable." Li Ruoxu looked embarrassed, and said, "I will never go, this is not good." Zhao Xingde smiled: "You are also over sixteen this year, you should also ......" He noticed that Li Ruoxu only looked behind him, so he stopped talking and laughing and looked back, and suddenly opened his mouth. Li Ruoxue stood outside the door of the study, her pretty face was slightly red, and when she saw Zhao Xingde turning around, she moved her eyes elsewhere, her mouth was slightly open, her chest was rising and falling, and her face seemed to be angry.

"Alas, the passing of the year is not good, the passing of the year is not good." Li Ruoxue can go in and out of the study at will, but Zhao Xingde can't explain to Li Ruoxue in the inner courtyard, and in a depressed mood, he remembered that he still has an appointment with Kangde, so he told Li Ruoxu to explain to his sister on his behalf, and promised his brother-in-law to take him with him next time he posted the post, so he sighed and walked out of Li's mansion.

At the beginning, Li Ruoxu found that Zhao Xingde was writing a revelation post, and those few revelation posts happened to attack the power traitor of the current dynasty, so he admired Zhao Xingde's style very much, thinking that this was what Qingliu Shizi should do, and resolutely asked to participate, Zhao Xingde secretly said in his heart, I attacked the power traitor for Qingliu today, and I may attack Qingliu for the power traitor tomorrow, but it is just to subsidize the cost of living. But after today's misunderstanding, Zhao Xingde wanted to ask Li Ruoxu to say good things to his sister, so he had to agree to him.

The Kantian residence is behind the Bianliang branch in Fuhai Xing. "Looks like this man is a wealthy businessman." Zhao Xingde handed over the name card to the porter and looked at the tall lintel. Fuhai Line is a century-old shop jointly opened by businessmen in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is also one of the largest commercial houses in the Central Plains. Later, people in the firm thought that the word "floating sea" was too crude, so they took the color of "Furu East Sea" and changed the name of the firm to the word "Fuhai". Fuhaixing's branches and business spread all over the world, from Japan and Goryeo in the east, Dashi in the west, the Middle East, to Annam, Tianzhu, and Sriwijaya in the south, and even with the Kunlun slave producing countries. From Bianliang to Jinling, I don't know how many high-ranking officials and eunuchs have invested in the floating sea line, if the Kangde people have a good status in the Fuhai line, what is the point of building an illegal tall gate in Bianliang, maybe Lord Yin of Kaifeng Mansion will get dividends from the Fuhai line every year, Zhao Xingde shook his head with a smile.

To Zhao Xingde's surprise, Kangde was wearing a loose white robe, stepping on clogs, and personally welcomed him into the study at the door, and the servant withdrew after setting up the tea set, Zhao Xingde looked around and found that this was not like a merchant's study at all, and it felt very strange.

Usually in the merchant's study, the books must be very exquisite, and because the servants often clean them, they are often spotless, but as long as the people who deal with books a lot, they naturally do not feel the popularity of these books, and all kinds of books are neatly stacked on the shelves, as if they have never been turned over, but the books of accounts and deeds placed on the desk are often polished because the master often inspects them, and the hard and thick covers are polished.

This is not the case in the Kantian study, all kinds of books are old and new, judging from the exposed cover titles, there are not only poetry and the art of war, but also astrological medicine and divination, and even agricultural books, both beautifully bound and extremely simple, disorderly inserted on the shelves, the closer to the desk, the more messy it becomes, it should be a place to put the account book, but there is a bundle of letters neatly stacked, a silver paper knife is placed next to it at will, a bow and quiver are hung on the wall, and there is also a sword, Zhao Xingde also carefully studied the blades of this era, and at a glance, he knew that this sword was not a sword, but a sharp weapon that could fight and kill.

The Kant personally poured the tea and said with a smile: "People who are at home from all over the world, in order to seek knowledge and benefit, are good at reading." As time goes by, I move more and more, but I am always reluctant to throw away these burdens, and I always have to take them with me. His eyes were bright when he spoke, but it didn't make people feel uncomfortable, leaning on the bamboo chair, as if he had been an old friend of Zhao Xingde for many years, casually relaxed, and his gestures revealed a sense of confidence.

Zhao Xingde picked up the teacup and said with a smile: "I hate less when the book is used." Kang Gongzi's amazing archery skills are already breathtaking, and he is still a person who is both civil and military. Kant waved his hand and said with a smile: "Brother Zhao is not far behind." ”

After some humble greetings, Kant sighed: "With Brother Zhao's talent, it is a matter of time before he becomes a leader, but now that the Great Song Dynasty is mediocre, and Cai Jing, Li Bangyan and other traitorous ministers are in charge, I think Brother Zhao's character, if he enters the officialdom, it will be like a pearl thrown into the quagmire." ”

Zhao Xingde didn't want the people he met for the first time to dare to say such slanderous words about the government, and said with a smile: "There is a mixture of good and evil everywhere in the world, where is there no hiding filth and dirt, if a righteous man and a gentleman only cares about cleaning himself, wouldn't he hand over the world to a traitorous person." Kangde was slightly stunned, turned the teaglass, and muttered: "I didn't expect that Brother Zhao had the heart to clean up the world, but he was as open-minded as Chen Zhongju." ”

Zhao Xingde arched his hand and smiled: "How dare you, it's just that the world rises and falls, and the husband is responsible." The two laughed, and the Kant no longer persuaded Zhao Xingde, but only told him about the Xia Kingdom, the Liao Kingdom, and even the Rus' and Turkic countries beyond. Kantian laughed it off.

At this time, a servant with a grim face came in from outside and handed a note to the Kande, who opened it in front of Zhao Xingde and glanced at it hurriedly, rolled up the note and put it in his arms with an expressionless face, still talking and laughing freely, but Zhao Xingde faintly felt that he was a little distracted, so he knew the opportunity to leave.

Kangde sent Zhao Xingde out of the door, and did not turn back to the house, but hurried to Xichun Building, and went straight to the embroidery room where the singer who had been bought by Luo Ruji lived outside the embroidery room, first evened out his breath, coughed, and reached out and knocked lightly on the door twice.

"What are you doing here?" She wore a fallen ponytail at will, and was wearing a half-worn light green Luo shirt, which no longer had the glamorous color of the country when she danced for the prince, but it was just comfortable to look at.

"I'll stop you." Kantian said with a calm face.

"You don't have to worry about my business." There was a faint chill in her words.

"Your business is my business." Kantian said forcefully, reaching out to grab her arm, but she took half a step back, and Kantian's hand froze in mid-air, sighed, and retracted.

Han Ningshuang had a cold face, looking at the disappointed and lost expression of the Kantian people, her starry eyes were slightly dark, and she turned her gaze to the side and said in a low voice: "Your Highness has a noble status, it is best not to confuse it with a hard-working and weak woman like me, whose country is ruined." ”

"The queen mother has agreed, you can go back to Dunhuang with me." The Kantian stared at Han Ningshuang's side face, although it was noon at this time, the look on her face was like a ghost in the moonlight at night, so pale that the Kantian felt distressed for no reason.

"Really?" Han Ningshuang said coldly, "Her Majesty the Empress is no longer worried about me being a red face?" She stretched out her hand to hold her hair bun and smiled faintly, this smile with a thousand charming and charming styles was as cold as ten thousand years of ice in the eyes of the Kantians, "Chen Kang, you better go back to Dunhuang by yourself," she looked at the noon sun outside the window, as if she was talking to the Kantians, and seemed to be talking to herself, "You have your responsibilities, I have my responsibilities." The path of you and me is two different directions. ”

"Ning Shuang, Kang De said slowly, "You are scheming, trying to enter the East Palace of the Prince of the Song Kingdom, with your talent and scheming, and with the help of the old people of the Han family, it is not difficult to become a concubine, and in the future, when Zhao Ke dies, you will follow the old example of Liu, Gao, and Cao, and listen to the government, and then you will promote the Northern Expedition of the Great Song Dynasty to the Liao State, in order to avenge the revenge of the Liao State for killing the Han family." He paused, and with a certain determination in his tone, said, "But I will not allow you to do that." ”

When the Kant spoke, Han Ningshuang's face became more and more pale, and she couldn't hold it anymore at this time, she raised her head sharply to look at him, her eyes widened, her fists clenched, and she said sharply: "Chen Kang, why don't you allow it?" She panted and stroked her violently fluctuating heart with her hand, "The national policy of the Xia Kingdom is to defend the fundamental place, and to observe the provocation of the world according to the soldiers, one blow will win two tigers." I pushed the Great Song Dynasty to destroy the Khitan, and the Song Kingdom was also greatly damaged. She laughed miserably: "It will take twenty or thirty years for this to be done, and by then, the Xia Kingdom will just dominate the world." ”

"Hmph", Kantian's face turned cold, and he said in a deep voice: "My Great Xia is not despicable enough to trade with women. He said in a slightly slower tone, "Since the foundation of the ancestors, Daxia has been united, all industries are prosperous, and the country is thriving, on the other hand, the Liao and Song dynasties are constantly changing, and the upper is the lord faint and the ministers are treacherous, and the lower is mourning all over the wilderness, in my eyes, those are just dry bones in the grave, you don't need to make senseless sacrifices and burials." ”

"Senseless sacrifice?" Han Ningshuang seemed to be stung, she looked at the Kantian and said in a deep voice, "With the strength of the Xia Kingdom, in order not to pay such a sacrifice, I would rather wait another fifty years, a hundred years, right?" She raised her voice slightly because of her emotion, "You can wait, but I can't wait, even for a day." Have you ever seen the tragic situation when the king of Goryeo handed over the fleeing Han family to the Khitan, all the men were killed, and the daughters were ravaged? After the Khitan destroyed my Han clan, the Han people were already untouchables like pigs and dogs, have you ever had a day when you couldn't eat enough moldy coarse chaff? Have you ever seen a slave in a workshop in Liaodong who did not live past the age of forty? Have you ever seen a horse for five slave girls? Have you seen it? She clenched her fists, fine sweat already dripping from her forehead, and smiled sadly, "You know what? ”

She sighed and added, "What am I telling you to do with all this nonsense. I forgot that without the consent of the two governments of Great Xia, even His Majesty could not arbitrarily conscript troops to declare war. The two governments would never agree to such a 'senseless sacrifice', would they? ”

The Kantian was speechless by her question. According to the system of the Xia Kingdom, if you want to start a war with the enemy country, you need to obtain the consent of the Protectorate and the Pillar State. The Xia kingdom was a vast land, bounded by Hangu Pass, the Yellow River and Song Liao in the east, and had crossed the green mountains in the west to reach the land in the middle of the river, bordering the fanatical Turks and the ambitious Rus' kingdom. In order to consolidate Hezhong, the Xia State mobilized the strength of the whole country to forcibly suppress several cults that advocated the interference of the country in politics with military strength, and then immigrated from Guanzhong and Bashu to the river for reclamation, and accumulated over the past hundred years, and the number of Chinese people who settled and cultivated in the west of the Green Mountains reached five or six million, so that the Chinese forces could be regarded as laying an unbreakable foundation in the west of the Green Mountains.

As more and more people settled and multiplied west of the Green Mountains, the two governments also paid more and more attention to safeguarding the interests of the Xia State in the western region, and the two governments preferred to maintain a stable and delicate balance between the Liao and Song dynasties, so that no one country would be the dominant country, and the Xia State would be able to maintain the security of the eastern border at the minimum cost.

"In terms of the size of the threat, the Rus, the Turks and other Hu countries in the west are the old enemies of our country, and the land of the four battles in the river, once the backup is not available, they will take advantage of the situation to enter. If you want to expand the territory, the east and west sides of the stone mountain, the north of the Altai Mountains are mostly terra nullius, and the Tianzhu princes to the south are also extremely weak, so they only need to slowly cultivate and encroach. There was nothing to do on the eastern border, so why pay the precious blood and lives of the sergeants to fight with the Liao State and the Song State? "This is the policy of the two governments, even the Chen royal family, it is inconvenient to forcibly start a war in the east.

Kangde was silent for a long time, and then made up his mind: "Although it is not possible to convince the two provinces to attack the Liao State at present, I will never allow you to marry Zhao Ke." A dispute between Zhao Ke and Zhao Qi for the crown prince, it is not yet known who killed the deer; Second, the Song government and the opposition are war-weary, even if you really come to the court to control the system, and you insist on provoking the border, you must be infamous and scolded by thousands of people; Three," he paused, with a look of disgust on his face, and said, "Just because Zhao Ke is a wasted person, he is not worthy of you at all." ”

"Since it is something that His Highness must prevent, there is naturally no hope of success." Han Ningshuang said coldly, she turned around, there were faint tears in her eyes, and she looked at Chen Kang with a thin back, and said in a low voice, "You go, I don't want to see you again." ”