In Jinyang, the capital of the Northern Han Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin had just returned home from the court, and Li Jixun, Shi Shouxin and other brothers greeted him outside the door and hurriedly welcomed him into the house. is really because Zhao Kuangyin's status in Jinyang is not good now, and he is usually not qualified to go to the court at all, and today is unprecedented.

Li Jixun took the lead in asking: "What does the lord of the country mean by inviting Brother Zhao to go?" Shi Shouxin also asked urgently: "Are they going to take the opportunity to go south?" ”

Zhao Kuangyin shook his head and said: "The current lord of the country is not the ancestor of the Northern Han Dynasty (Liu Chong), for so long, I have long guessed their plans, and they want to unite with the Khitan to protect themselves, and they have no enterprising spirit, so it is impossible to take the initiative to send troops to war with the Great Zhou for the time being." Besides, Guo Shao was so capable of fighting in the Southern Tang Kingdom, and he crossed the river to besiege Jiangning City in a few months, how could the lord of the (Northern Han) country dare to act rashly? ”

Shi Shouxin disagreed, and snorted in his mouth: "What he holds in his hand is the elite of the Great Zhou Dynasty who has fought for many years, and according to the upstream, the general trend is not unusual, and it is not uncommon to be able to defeat the Southern Tang Dynasty." ”

Li Jixun said: "But it's too fast." ”

Zhao Kuangyin listened and groaned: "This person has some ability to fight. ”

Shi Shouxin then asked: "Then the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty is looking for Brother Zhao, what is the matter?" ”

Zhao Kuangyin frowned when he heard this, and said: "Before Li Chongjin led his troops through the Northern Han Dynasty, he encountered Guo Shaobu (the battle of the Pinger Li rebellion). The Northern Han army sent scouts out of the border to watch the battle, captured a Zhou army scout, and captured a pair of armor. The armor was forged from a single piece of iron, and it was very strong, smooth, flat......"

Li Jixun immediately said: "I have really seen this armor in the battle array. ”

Zhao Kuangyin continued: "The Northern Han Lord Qizhi, if he wants to get the forging method of this armor, he thinks I know, so he asks me. ”

Shi Shouxin said: "That must be Guo Shao's search for a master, we have never seen this armor when we were in the forbidden army." ”

"Exactly." Zhao Kuangyin said, "But the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty doesn't believe it, and he doesn't want to persecute me in person; I mentioned that we have lived in Tokyo for a long time, so we are familiar with the place and should be able to find old friends. Tell me to send someone to Tokyo to make contact and bring back two armor makers. ”

Shi Shouxin said: "Since the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty suspects that we are secretly hiding armor-making techniques, I am afraid it is not good not to agree to him, after all, under the fence, everything is controlled by others." Brother Zhao might as well follow the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty. ”

Zhao Kuangyin said: "I had to agree first. However, if the lord of the Northern Han Dynasty obtained this armor, it was very likely that in order to curry favor with the Khitans, he would offer the armor-making technique...... It is really helpless for us to take refuge in the Northern Han Dynasty, although the Northern Han Kingdom is the sworn enemy of the Great Zhou, it can be regarded as an internal strife; The Khitan people are not of my race, and they always have the heart to destroy me. If this kind of armor is sent to the Khitans, I will lose a lot. ”

Shi Shouxin didn't think so much, and said: "Then what can I do, I can't help but obey the orders of the Northern Han Lord." Besides, this is not a big deal, (later) the Jin Dynasty ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to lead the Khitan south, and the Southern Tang Kingdom and many times wanted to form an alliance with the Khitan to clamp down on the Great Zhou, who cares so much? ”

Zhao Kuangyin shook his head and said: "In today's world, if you ignore the righteousness, you will lose the hearts of the people, there is no way out, and it is impossible to win the ...... Otherwise, you and my brother and others should have been treated like this in the Northern Han Dynasty, and they should have gone to the Khitan a long time ago; Why not? ”

Several big men looked at each other, all silent. Zhao Kuangyin also knew that it was difficult to find an opportunity to make a comeback, and his heart was blocked for a while.

Zhao Kuangyin thought of something, his face was blue and white for a while, "Guo Shao is now prosperous, and this time he will rebel and be self-reliant!" ”

"Oh?" Shi Shouxin was surprised.

Zhao Kuangyin said coldly: "Since ancient times, opening up the territory is a great achievement, he has conquered the two major countries in the south, cultivated party henchmen inside and outside the court, and the army is alone in charge of the military power outside, taking advantage of the fame and holding heavy troops, not seizing the opportunity to stand on his own, let alone when to ......."

He remembered that after the death of the first emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he once had great power in the army of the palace commander, only under Zhang Yongde. This opportunity should have been his, but now he watched others gradually approach that position; The feeling in his heart, the frustration, pain, and sadness, really can't be resolved.

Winning the world with cloth clothes, there are only a few people in the ages, and only a few opportunities? What you get is not only as simple as glory, wealth and power, but also a place in the history of eternal youth, and you can fight for supremacy for many generations of future generations. This kind of thing is really a once-in-a-lifetime and unattainable feat!

Zhao Kuangyin now sees Guo Shao's opportunity, and his heart is dead, and he can't calm down! I only say in my heart, one wrong step, you can regret it for life, and you will die without turning a blind eye!

Li Jixun said: "Brother Zhao is reasonable, it is strange that such wolf ambitions do not usurp the throne." It's a pity that Taizu and the first emperor had a hard time starting a business, and finally had a foundation, which cheapened outsiders in vain. This person can only bully orphans and widows to take the position, and he is not a hero! ”

Zhao Kuangyin's face was ugly and said: "The widow can't be counted in it, the Fu family has already breathed out of the same nostril with Guo Shao; If there was no Fu family, could Guo Shao have today? ”

Shi Shouxin said: "Brother Zhao thinks that when and where Guo Shao will mutiny?" ”

Zhao Kuangyin pondered for a while: "To destroy the Southern Tang Kingdom, the time is the most appropriate when the class teacher returns to the dynasty...... Place, Songzhou. When he said this, his heart was even more uncomfortable, because he had been the envoy of the Songzhou Returning Army to Germany, although he was only a remote leader, but it was also the place where he made his fortune, and the most unpleasant person was likely to be the emperor there.

His voice was simply full of sadness, and he sighed together: "The army of the Southern Tang Dynasty has a large number of sailors, and the ships of the sailors can also help the army carry heavy loads by water. When the Zhou army was in class, he should have chosen the road along the water; After crossing the Huai River from the south of the Yangtze River, the Bianshui River is the closest and the river is the widest. Since the army of the class division went to Bianshui, the closest place to Tokyo on this river was Songzhou; He could be erected there and then return to Beijing. ”

Not only Zhao Kuangyin was annoyed, but even Shi Shouxin and other brothers were also very angry. Even if they can't take the throne, it is still natural for them to be a founding hero and a marquis to worship the prime minister, but now they are like lost dogs here, who is comfortable?

Sure enough, Shi Shouxin patted the table and said, "Lao Tzu just doesn't want to see him fulfill his wish!" ”

Zhao Kuangyin and Li Jixun almost raised their hands and feet in agreement, and everyone felt the same.

Shi Shouxin said: "Since Brother Zhao has guessed his time and place correctly, why don't we think of a way to let him make the bamboo basket empty, at least let the world see the face of this guy clearly!" Lao Tzu makes you proud, makes you proud......"

Li Jixun couldn't help but ask: "There are Guo Shao's people inside and outside the court, and he has heavy troops. What's more, if a person who does such a big thing does not make comprehensive arrangements in advance, how can he dare to allow his subordinates to support him casually? What can we do? ”

Zhao Kuangyin paced back and forth a few steps: "How deep is Guo Shaocai's foundation?" There should be any way, let's sum it up. ”