Standing outside the imperial city, Du Zhongxiao looked at the towering city tower and said to Liu Ji: "Dading Mansion is built according to Kaifeng Mansion, and even the imperial city has been learned." Although the south gate of this imperial city is not as good as the Xuande Gate, the momentum is also extremely magnificent. ”

Liu Jidao: "The Khitan people want to learn the meteorology of the Central Plains, so they naturally spare no effort. ”

After saying that, the two stood side by side under the city gate, looking at the wide street to the south, and did not speak for a while.

After Yelu Alian and his others surrendered, Du Zhongxiao let them take their respective properties out of the imperial city and settle them separately. Another hundred soldiers were sent to garrison the imperial city. No unauthorized entry is allowed unless there is an edict. Du Zhongxiao himself only went to the gate of the imperial city and did not go in.

An imperial city, no matter how well it is built, can it be compared to the inner part of Kaifeng Mansion? Du Zhongxiao didn't have such a strong curiosity, so he had to go in and take a look. This is the imperial city, although it is nothing to the current Du Zhongxiao, he still avoids suspicion.

I don't know what's going on, since last year, Du Zhongxiao's exploits have reached the peak of being a minister, but he has a tiredness of power. According to Du Zhongxiao's fame and merits, after returning to the dynasty, he should inevitably be promoted to prime minister. So what? When Du Zhongxiao is middle-aged, he no longer has the sharpness of his youth. became the prime minister, at least for a few years, Du Zhongxiao did not have the energy to carry out major reforms.

Reform, how to reform? Du Zhongxiao felt that he hadn't thought it through and didn't want to open it without permission. If you don't carry out reforms, what will you do? He is in his forties, he is still young, and now that he is the prime minister, he has little room in the future.

Du Zhongxiao hasn't figured it out yet, and he has been a little upset recently. It is not easy to be a courtier without rebellion. Of course, the Song Dynasty, except for very special circumstances, does not have to worry about its own safety. At least, Du Zhongxiao can live this life happily, peacefully and wealthily, without worrying about rabbits dying and dogs cooking.

Watching the sun set in the west, Du Zhongxiao said, "Wang Kai and Jia Kui should enter the city." Let's go back to the Stay-at-home and celebrate. ”

Together, the two walked along the wide avenue in the middle and returned to the Left-behind Mansion. Wang Kai and Jia Kui had indeed arrived and came out from inside. When they arrived in the living room, they sat down, and Du Zhongxiao said: "The inner city was broken this morning, and in the afternoon, Yelu Alian led the officials in the palace to surrender. In two days, he captured Dadingfu, the largest city in the Khitan. It seems that the Khitan is already at the end of the crossbow. ”

Zhao Zi said: "The 20,000 defenders of Dading Mansion are already the strongest remaining forces in the Khitan. The rest of the soldiers and horses, I heard that there are less than 10,000 people in Linhuang Mansion, and there are about 10,000 people in Tokyo Province. However, the Jurchens were in turmoil there, and most of the Khitan troops were fighting against them. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "There should be no big war next." Shangjing and Tokyo, how to fight, do you have any ideas? ”

Zhao Zi said: "We have discussed in the past few days, in order to prevent accidents, it is better to occupy the two cities as soon as possible." However, one north and one east, there is always a priority. Although the troops of Shangjing Road are small, it is the fundamental land of the Khitan, and there are many barbarians under the rule of Xia, which is not easy to deal with. Therefore, he wanted to use the two armies of Wang Kai and Jia Kui to advance north, and Liu Ji's army to the east. I wonder what the captain thinks? ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and said, "It's okay." This time, only Linhuang and Liaoyang will be taken, as well as cities along the road. In other places, if the Khitan generals surrendered, then surrendered. If they don't come down, they don't care. When Li Fugui unblocks the grain route, we will find a way. ”

Zhao Zi and Liu Ji, Wang Kai, and Jia Kui made promises together.

Du Zhongxiao stood up and said, "It's not early, let's go to the celebration banquet together!" After so many years of fighting, it is really rare to have such a smooth war. Tonight, if you don't get drunk, you must have fun! ”

Several people applauded together. With Du Zhongxiao to the back yard.

At this time, it is late spring, and although there is a cool breeze in the evening, it is not cold. A table was set up in the courtyard, a few pieces of fruit, and a pot of good wine. A sheep was killed next to it and roasted, and the aroma was overflowing. Khitan produces sheep, and Du Zhongxiao is a little tired of eating these days, but it is not easy to change the taste. The Khitan is not comparable to the Central Plains, except for sheep, the rest of the livestock are much less.

Why eat sheep? In fact, it is very simple, among the common meat animals, mutton is the cheapest. It's not that the ancients didn't like to eat pork, nor did they think that pork was cheap meat, this strange idea was fabricated out of thin air by people in Du Zhongxiao's previous life. The most important reason, of course, is that pork is more expensive than lamb. Moreover, the pig breeds of this era are more difficult to raise than later generations.

In fact, in a long history, the cheapest meat, with some exceptions, was beef. Just like the current Kaifeng Mansion area, mutton costs 100 Wen, pork costs 140 Wen, and beef costs only 20 Wen. Of course, cheap is not good. With such cheap beef, it can only be a sick cow and a dead cow. China banned the slaughter of cattle, and this ban was enforced until the end of the seventies of the twentieth century after the founding of New China. The ban on slaughtering cattle does not mean that beef is not eaten. If people don't slaughter them, the cattle will still die of disease and old age, and the meat of the dead cows still has to be eaten, and they can't be dug and buried. Therefore, the cattle at this time were ploughing cattle and domestic animals for service, not meat. The real meat is the meat of domestic animals, and the cheaper meat is mutton.

There are pigs in the Khitan, and Dading Mansion is a big city in the Khitan, and of course there are pork sellers in the city. But the army is familiar with it, and as soon as it is said to celebrate the achievement, as long as there is no special order, a sheep will be killed. Sometimes, Du Zhongxiao is helpless.

They all sat down, and the soldier brought a roast leg of lamb and cut it into several large pieces.

Du Zhongxiao raised his glass and said, "Let's have a drink first." Tonight, the full moon is good, the wine is good, and everyone has a good time. ”

Several people drank wine, each put down his glass, and gossiped.

Wang Kai said: "Taiwei, this time the Dading Mansion Yelu Alian and others surrendered, and there are quite a few of them. Speaking of which, it is second only to the First World War of Youzhou. I don't know how the imperial court wants to arrange these prisoners of war? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The Khitan is mainly divided into the royal family and the descendants, and they are divided into several rooms. Among these people, there are many princes and nobles. If they are demoted, they will have to arrange corresponding official positions, and the official positions of our Great Song Dynasty are not enough. Therefore, these people were reduced to only be commoners, and each took his wealth to Kaifeng Mansion to be a rich and nobleman. As for what happens in the future, it's up to them to make each of them. ”

Zhao Zi said: "There are so many rich and noble people in Kaifeng Mansion, and Fu Yin is not easy to manage. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled: "What's not to manage." There are so many princes and generals of this dynasty in the city, but they can't control these people? They just have money, but they don't have power. ”

Liu Ji shook his head: "Taiwei, this year, it is better to have money than anything else." These people have money in their hands, and they have relatives and friends, and they can form a party to help each other, but they are not easy to mess with. If it is not defeated, it may be a major force in the capital in a few decades. ”

Du Zhongxiao was stunned. I haven't thought about this possibility yet. Liu Ji is right, at this time, the most useful thing is to be rich. Don't look at them because they have no power, they still have money in their hands. In addition, many Khitan princes are in Kaifeng Mansion, hooked up with each other, and they have really become a big force. If the descendants of these people are developed in a few decades, will they blame themselves for doing evil in Kaifeng Mansion?

Du Zhongxiao shook his head, this is difficult to say. His own decision, originally wanted to eliminate the Khitan princes and nobles, it seems difficult to say.

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