Zheng Shuang saluted Liu E's mother, raised his arm and said to everyone sitting in the living room: "Please go to the back garden of Wang Xiangye with Xiao Ke!" ”

Wang Qinruo heard Liu E ask Zheng Shuang to get his moth out, staring at the two of them with big eyes and not knowing what was going on; Zheng Shuang said that he went to the back garden again, and the second monk was even more confused.

After Zheng Shuang finished speaking, he took the lead in the front; Wang Qinruo approached Liu E in fear and asked, "Niangniang, is this such a thing?" ”

Liu E glared at Wang Qinruo, and said teasingly: "Your moth is not a good bird, and she was half killed by her if she wanted to misbehave with Leng Bingshuang; After Zheng Shuang found the back garden, he drove him to the magpie's nest on the top of the big tree! ”

"Back garden...... Magpie nest ......" Wang Qinruo muttered ignorantly, and followed everyone to the back garden; When I looked up to see the magpie's nest, it was high in the clouds; I gasped in my heart: In such a high place, how did Zheng Shuang's kid talk about Yan'er......

Without waiting for Wang Qinruo to finish thinking about it, he saw Zheng Shuang leap to the canopy with a swift leap, and his feet lightly; Then he hung on the magpie's nest in the branch, stretched out a hand and grabbed it in the nest, and lifted Wang Yan back to the ground; The face is not red and breathless.

Wu Wei, Lang Zhen, Ba Si, and Hou Fang, who were standing on the side and watching, were dumbfounded, and couldn't help but mumble together.

Zhang Di walked up to Wulang Bahou and smiled, "I don't think you four know what you four are doing!" ”

When Wu Wei heard Zhang Di say this, he was already pale with fright; Just as he was about to truthfully explain to his master that the four of them were hired and kidnapped by Wang Qinruo at a high price, Zhang Di waved his hand and said: "The old man doesn't want to track down your festival, so from now on, follow Zheng Shuang to protect him and atone for his sins!" ”

Wu Wei, Lang Zhen, Ba Si, and Hou Fang looked at each other when they heard Zhang Di say this, and they didn't know what the master meant.

Zhang Di sighed and said: "The emperor summoned Zheng Shuang to entrust him with a heavy task, what is the important task?" It's not about defending against the Liao army! Now that the Liao army is pressing the border, Zheng Shuang wants to lead the army to attack; If you protect him, you will protect the emperor and protect the Great Song Dynasty......"

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Zheng Shuang, Zhang Di, Wu Wei, Lang Zhen, Ba Si, and Hou Fang walked in succession, followed by Liu E and Chun Yu Wanyun sitting in the sedan chair.

Sun Jincao, Ye Lingfang, Shi Lidan, Renduo Xuelian and dozens of guards walked in the rear.

The color of the fish belly in the east sky has become early glow, and the morning glow is very tender; It is as if the spring sprouts that have just emerged in the spring give people a warm feeling.

Zhang Dile slowed down his speed a little and said to Zheng Shuang: "The emperor asked the old slave to come with Liu Niangniang and Chun Yu Niangniang, nominally to protect them; In fact, you want the old slave to test your martial arts! ”

Zheng Shuang laughed a few times and said, "Then why didn't the seniors try it?" ”

Zhang Di laughed and said: "Just now, the young general spun on the big tree and carried Wang Yan out of the magpie's nest, which has already shown that your martial arts are superior; Don't be tempted! ”

Wu Wei laughed loudly and said, "Master, you are not wrong, the four of us felt that he was extraordinary as soon as we fought with General Zheng last night; Especially the Fang Tian painting halberd, it is really the prince of Pingyang who is alive! ”

Wu Wei, Lang Zhen, Ba Si, and Hou Fang are now Zheng Shuang's bodyguards, so they don't hide them; told the story of Wang Qinruo's hiring and asking them to kidnap Leng Bingshuang on the last night.

Zheng Shuang said excitedly: "This is called no fight, no deal, in fact, Xiao Ke entered Wang Qinruo's living room; I recognized the four masters at a glance, but I just didn't want to find out! ”

Zheng Shuang said thoughtfully: "As for Wang Qinruo's hiring of the four to kidnap Leng Bingshuang, it's better not to mention it again; Xiao Ke didn't want to make too many enemies when he first came! ”

Zhang Di saw Zheng Shuang so generous, and couldn't help but burst into tears; said: "The little general is really benevolent and righteous, and the old slave has been waiting by the emperor's side for many years; I have seen an upright man who has been carrying a bucket, but it is really rare to see a little general who takes the overall situation into account like this! ”

Zhang Di said, impassionedly: "Last night, Chun Yu Niangniang mentioned that the four masked people hijacked Leng Bingshuang, and also said that the masked man's secret weapon was very good, and the old slave immediately raised four disciples, Wu Wei, Lang Zhen, Ba Si, and Hou Fang, and their secret weapons were taught by the old slave; I can't figure it out, Wang Qinruo hired them at a great price! ”

Zhang Di said and pondered for a moment and said: "The four disciples of the old slave are extraordinary, but they like women, and if they want to play women, they have to get money; It's also easy for them to make some money with their superb martial arts! ”

After a pause, he swallowed his throat and said: "The old slave thought so in Yishu Garden, so he intended to summon the four of them to Wang Qinruo's mansion on Monday to observe the words; When Zheng Shuang and Leng Bingshuang appeared, the four of them really looked nervous, and the old slave planned to deal with these four unfilial sons; But when I look back, I think where I fell, where I got up; Since the emperor entrusted Zheng Shuang with a heavy responsibility, why not let the four of Wulang Bahou make up for the little general's merits to resist the enemy together......"

"Gong Zhang, you are Tao Zhu Gong Fan Li!" Zheng Shuang praised a sentence and couldn't help reciting Ouyang Xiu's verses:

Ten miles long street five drums,

The mud is deep and the rain is urgent.

Listen to the sound of the bamboo house,

But I remember when Chuzhou slept enough.

Ouyang Xiu's poem describes that he was on his way to the court in the capital, and he could hear the drums of the five watches; However, because the road is muddy and the rain is heavy, the horse walks very slowly.

From this, it is not difficult to deduce how difficult it was for the ministers of the Song Dynasty to get up and wash up at least on the fourth watch.

Zhang Di listened to Zheng Shuang suddenly recite the poems, and couldn't help but sigh: "The young general's martial arts are excellent, and his literary style is also outstanding; The old slave admires! ”

Zheng Shuang laughed loudly: "This is Ouyang Xiu's poem, Xiao Ke is just reciting!" ”

"Who is Ouyang Xiu?" Zhang Di asked unreasonably: "Why hasn't the old slave heard of this name?" ”

Zheng Shuang was stunned, and then remembered that it was the first year of Jingde of Song Zhenzong (1004 AD), and Ouyang Xiu was born 3 years later, of course Zhang Di didn't know; Then he smiled and said: "Ouyang Xiu is Xiao Ke's teacher, he saw that the ministers of the court braved the rain and went to the court at dawn, so he made a poem and I wrote it down!" ”

Zhang Di sighed: "The early dynasty of the imperial court is a tradition left over from the ancestors, the ministers work hard, and the saints work even harder!" ”

Zheng Shuang saw that Zhang Di was speaking seriously, and looked at him with interest and said: "Senior Zhang, Xiao Ke just came to the capital, and he doesn't know the situation of the early dynasty; Can you tell me about it! ”

"What's so hard about this!" Zhang Dixin said happily: "The little general is willing to listen, and the old slave will give you a few words!" ”

The early dynasties of the Song Dynasty implemented an irregular time system, which was often adjusted according to the sunrise; In general, it is four watches.

Zheng Shuang thought about it: The fourth watch should be from two to four o'clock in the morning, and it is really hard for the ministers of the Song Dynasty to go to the court so early.

Bianliang City in the Northern Song Dynasty is divided into palace city, inner city, and outer city, most of the ministers live in the outer city, and many ministers arrive at the Anyuan Gate of the inner city, and wait for the opening time while reading the "Bai Juyi Anthology"; At the fifth watch, the gate of the outer city was opened, and the officials were allowed to enter.

Officials generally ride horses in the court, and the roads are frozen and snow is deep in winter to prevent traffic accidents; There are also chartered officials who ride in sedan cars.

The officials attending the court meeting gathered outside the forbidden gate, and the prime minister and the ruling ministers all wrote their official positions on a white paper lantern; Then, in front of the horse's head, the spectacular sight of lanterns surrounding the imperial city is called the "Fire City".

The prime minister arrived at last, after which the lanterns were extinguished one by one; The ministers entered the waiting courtyard and waited for the forbidden door to open.

Since the officials entered the hospital earlier, the hospital provided a supply of wine, meat, melons and fruits.

The officials got up early, so what time did the emperor get up? The emperor had to get up before 10 minutes of dawn (2 hours and 24 minutes), wash up, and wait for the court meeting to begin.

There are roughly three kinds of court meetings in the Great Song Dynasty: 1. The Great Qing Hall Dynasty Meeting is generally held when the country is on New Year's Day and the state has major events. 2. The arch hall is overlooked, and important ministers below the prime minister are allowed to participate; There are often important things going on. The vertical arch hall is a kind of daily court meeting, and the emperor accepts the Zhongshu, the Privy Council, the three divisions, the Kaifeng Mansion, the Trial and Criminal Court, and the official of the court; I returned to Ouchi for breakfast at about the time of the hour. 3 The Wende Hall Chang Dynasty is the Standing Counselor held a meeting of the Chang Dynasty in the Wende Palace, and the emperor did not attend, but just took a form.

Zhang Di gushed about the procedures of the early dynasty, and Zheng Shuang couldn't help but say: "It seems that it is not easy to be an emperor or a minister in the Song Dynasty!" ”

This is true! Especially it's not easy to be an emperor root style! Zhang Di was deeply touched and said: "Let's just say that the true Son of Heaven is really benevolent; He trusts Wang Qinruo very much, and it wasn't that Wang Qinruo helped him once when he was the Yin of Kaifeng Mansion! ”

Zhang Di raised his arm as he spoke: "Wang Qinruo will definitely attack Kou Zhun in the morning court for a while, Zheng Shuang wants to check Kou Xiangye's pulse......