It's April, the mountains are full of flowers, the air is warm and the sky is bright, it is the season of beauty. The beautiful scenery of early summer in the city of Tokyo is full of people, merchants, and cargo ships.

In the morning, Tong Guan, who had just returned to Tokyo from the northwest, was urgently announced, and it was rumored that he would immediately enter the palace to wait for His Majesty. Tong Guan didn't dare to delay, and immediately got up and went to the palace.

In the past year, at the age of 60, he quietly ushered in the peak of his life, leading the Privy Council as a eunuch, and leading Yongxing, Yanyan, Huanqing, Qinfeng, Jingyuan, and Hexi to pacify the envoys, which is simply a god. Zhao Ji also trusted him too much. The entire Western Army was entrusted to him. In order to repay Zhao Ji's kindness, Tong Guan sent Xihe Jingluo to make Liu Fa general ride 150,000 out of Huangzhou, and Qin Feng Jingluo made Liu Zhongwu's general 50,000 troops out of Huizhou, and he himself stationed the Chinese army in Lanzhou to support the two roads. The Song army and the Xia Right Wing army fought against the ancient bone dragon, defeated it, and returned with thousands of beheadings. Such a victory made his face so disgraceful, but later Liu Zhongwu and the armies of Jingyuan, Yan Yan, Huanqing, and Qin Feng attacked Zangdihe City in Western Xia, but they were defeated and suffered heavy losses. It's just that Liu Zhongwu is very knowledgeable, in order to hide his sins, he bribed Tong Guan heavily, and there was a high school in Tokyo to check and fill in the gaps for him, so he didn't hear about it in the court. Although the Western Xia soldiers took the opportunity to plunder Xiao Pass, the people who could be damaged were all fart people, and they were not contaminated with these dignitaries.

It's just that Tong Guan is holding his breath and wants to compete with the Xixia people again in the coming year. In February of this year, Song Xia fought again in Hehuang, and Liu Fa led more than 10,000 soldiers to capture the Xixia Renduoquan City, beheaded thousands of ranks, and built Zhenwu City along the mountain and river as an advance fortress. The Tangut people were unwilling, and the Zhenwu City was like a wedge into the central and western parts of the Tangut territory, forming a pincer offensive posture against the Tangut with the Song army in the right direction of northern Shaanxi and Longxi, seriously threatening the flank security of the Tangut, and it was the Tangut who wanted to concentrate heavy troops to launch a counterattack.

And Tong Guan saw that the bitter cold season had been excessive, and the main force of the Western Army, three or two hundred thousand soldiers, had been raised for a winter, and their morale was uplifted and their lungs were full of energy. It is a child who turned back to Tokyo City, one is to pat Zhao Ji's fart well, and enshrine some treasures, such as a few good horses from the Western Regions, and a piece of rare mutton fat white jade from Khotan, Zhao Ji is addicted to jade, and now this piece of jade with a radius of more than a foot can make him overjoyed.

Tong Guan has served Zhao Ji for many years, how do you not know what kind of character he is?

If he wants to fight with Western Xia, he must first pacify the rear, not only to befriend the emperor, the favorite concubines of the harem, and those immortals in Wanshou Mountain, but also to cover all aspects. Otherwise, there is a big war ahead. Suddenly, there was a will to stop the soldiers, and that was to call Tong Guan to sit on wax. Can he still be as disrespectful as he was at the beginning?

At this time and that time, Tong Guan was just a 'fledgling' rookie in the prison army, but now he is the national pillar of the hundreds of thousands of elites in the Great Song Dynasty, if you tell him to go against his will again, Zhao Ji can cut him to death when he turns his head.

And secondly, it is enough money. He needs to communicate well with Cai Jing, Liang Shicheng, and Yang Jian, and the country can't hold him back. He withdrew from the world for major affairs in the court, and all he asked for was 'fighting on the battlefield', and they were no longer satisfied with this, that is, he forced Tong Daofu to cultivate cronies in the court and interfere in the rule of culture.

It's just that as soon as he landed in Tokyo City, the official family sent someone to summon him, which is rare. Although he is a young servant, he has served the current official family for many years, and the official family has long regarded him as a confidant and a self-body, and there is no difference. But after all, he is now an important minister of the country, and Zhao Ji also pays attention to saving him a face, and treats him as an important minister of the court. It's no longer like back then, when many officials did some errands. Therefore, Tong Guan's face was solemn, this sudden summoning mostly meant that something big had happened.

The little inner supervisor in the hall saw Tong Guan being brought in from a distance, and greeted him with a pug-like attitude, and was overjoyed to receive a good word from Tong Guan. Gently opened the bead curtain and let Tong pass in, and a light but long fragrance erupted from the beast furnace and permeated the entire hall. Through this dense screen, Tong Guan saw clearly that in the huge hall, except for the official himself in Taoist clothes, only two palace maids were waiting on the side of the imperial case from afar, which seemed to be extremely empty.

The little inner supervisor led Tong Guan all the way to the front of the palace and sang in a low voice: "Tong Guan has arrived!" At this time, Zhao Ji still leaned over the imperial case, splashed ink, and was drafting an edict, he didn't pick up his head, just moved his chin slightly, indicating "I know".

Tong Guan didn't feel embarrassed at all, Zhao Ji treated him like a pillar of the country, which was enough for outsiders, and now it was the intimate time for the two of them, and they should behave like "their own people". At this time, if Zhao Ji was still polite to him, he would be frightened.

A dan-blue Taoist robe fits very well on Zhao Ji's body, is he the emperor of Daojun, how can he not be worthy of the Taoist robe? And as a world-class calligrapher, a great painter, and a top-notch talent, Zhao Ji is really chic, and that temperament is worthy of this robe. But the gloomy expression on his face spoiled this perfection and harmony. was set off by this expression, Zhao Ji was not chic, but very sluggish, very troubled, and very sad. So much so that for a long time, he seemed to have forgotten the existence of Tong Guan by his side.

Tong Guan was not in a hurry at all, just stood quietly aside, always respectful.

How long has it been? There are always two quarters of an hour. Zhao Ji had already put down the ink pen in his hand, "Daofu knows that the second year of high school is no longer there......" The great painter was really a little sad in his heart. Even cats and dogs have been raised for decades and have feelings, let alone people? When he just received the emergency report, Zhao Ji was so angry that he just wanted to catch Lu Qian and Lin Chong immediately and chop them into minced meat inch by inch.

This is not only to pay tribute to Gao Yu, the good dog he raised, but also to pay tribute to the 100,000 soldiers who were lost in this battle, and to pay tribute to the imperial dignity he lost.

The 200,000-strong army of bandits has ended up like this, it will definitely make the people of the world laugh, so the majesty of the court is safe? This is a great shame for the emperor.

If Gao Yu's death only makes him angry +1, the current Zhao Ji is angry +10. The Emperor of Humanity is such a good-faced person, but now he has lost such an adult, he is embarrassed to go to the court to meet the ministers.

So, don't look at him now, he seems to be smiling very easily, very polite, and his voice is more intimate as if he is talking about family affairs. But Tong Guan had already mustered all his spirit in his bones, even if Gao Yu's death was shocked by him, he was temporarily pressed in his heart.

"Farewell to the last year, the appearance of the Taiwei Gong is still vivid, but I don't want to be gone, I am really jealous of the talent." Tong Guan said in a cozy manner, and his tears seemed to be wholeed up. "I just don't know what happened to the army of thieves?" Tong Guan really didn't receive the letter, and he scolded Cheng Wanli in his heart.

"More than half of the country's 200,000 heavy soldiers have been lost, and many veterans have spilled their blood on the battlefield...... "The only thing Zhao Ji knows now is the situation of the Western Route Army, and he still doesn't know what the Southern Route Army looks like, but he also has a guess in his heart - the bad odds are far better than being safe and sound. Isn't it possible to lose more than half of such an army?

Even if he didn't know anything about military affairs, he would also know that Lu Qian would definitely take advantage of the victory to attack the Northwest, North and East Route armies next. The loss of the imperial court is not limited to the present.

Tong Guan's face flashed with contempt, the 200,000-strong army crusaded against a nest of thieves, and ended up like this. Gao Yu is really stupid. But he hung his head stiffly, so that Zhao Ji would definitely not see his face.

"There are such strong thieves on the side of Gyeonggi, and it is the fault of this minister." Tong Guanli knelt down, took off his official hat and put it on the ground, his head was tightly pressed against the ground, his buttocks were pouted high, and his whole posture was so humble.

"Captain Gao is dignified, generous and fraternal. The palace marshal has been in charge of the palace for several years, and he has respected himself, and the ministers have paid respect. I don't want to fold my wings on a nest of water in Liangshanbo District, and make the country lose the pillars...... "How many years has Tong Guan been a eunuch and an official?" This chanting and fighting is not just coming. After a bit of coyness, Zhao Ji couldn't bear to ask him to kneel on the ground again.

"Get up. You have been running around the border army for many years, what does this military and political mistake in the pass have to do with you? Zhao Ji's gentle voice made Tong Guan finally breathe a sigh of relief in his heart.

"The first time I led the army in the second year of high school, I was unprepared with a large army, and I was in the front army, although there were 100,000 people, it was tantamount to walking alone. So much so that the land thieves poured out of the nest, waved their troops and smashed Cai Zhen, and succeeded with one blow. Let the army of 200,000 be leaderless, and make the country lose good ministers, so that it will be defeated......"

Zhao Ji is still looking for an excuse for Gao Yu's defeat, Tong Guan continues to despise Gao Er in his heart, and he continues to tout this in accordance with Emperor Daojun's words. "This Gao Taiwei is heroic and brilliant, and he is fierce and ...... the world" Anyway, his staff have many words to praise him, and select a few to press on Gao Yu.

He never went to war in person.

"How do you think the current situation should be cleaned up?" Gao Yu's main force has been defeated, this Jingdong and Hebei can no longer threaten Lu Qian's army, if the land thief does not lose his mind, he will definitely take this opportunity to attack the city and seize the land in the future, making the mountains and rivers uneasy. In order to keep the Central Plains safe, Zhao Ji could only pin his hopes on the Western Army.

Tong Guan heard the meaning of Zhao Ji's words, but he was startled, a hundred were glad that he had not yet had time to ask the Western Army to attack Western Xia, otherwise he would have sat on wax.

"The minister is in charge of the northwest military, and he has no time to look inside, and dare to ask Your Majesty, who is the leader of the rest of the soldiers and horses."

Liu Zhen, Zhang Kai, Ma Zheng, and Zhao Ji gave their names one by one.

For Tong Guan, it is no stranger. That Zhang Kai is a figure of the old generation, a hero of the first emperor when Hehuang opened the territory, and Liu Zhen and Ma Zheng are also characters from the Western Army.

"Where did Qing recognize Ma Zheng?" Liu Zhen is the commander of the Tiger Wing Army, and Zhang Kai is a person of ten knots, it is not unusual for Tong Guan to recognize them, but Ma Zheng, it's a little farther away, right?

"The official's family, Na Ma Zheng is also a former member of the Western Army, and he originally served in the Xihe Army. Five years ago, when he was transferred to the post of Dengzhou Soldier and Horse, the minister naturally heard his name. ”

Zhao Ji smiled happily when he heard this: "This is just right, I also entrust the matter of extinguishing the bandits in Liangshan to the Qing family, this Ma family is a heroic martyr, living in the west, defending the territory for the imperial court, fathers, sons, grandchildren, and four people who died in the king's affairs." The Qing family can be entrusted with important tasks. ”

Tong Guan hurriedly expressed his panic, because while he was authorized to be the ambassador of the thief, the original official hat on his head was not taken off by the emperor. Zhao Ji waved his hand and said, it didn't matter.

"Gao Qing was martyred, and the only one I can trust with the country's military is the Qing family. You went to JD.com, and you should act cheaply. As long as I don't rush to Huainan to kill the thief Kou Wufu in Liangshan, lest the two merge after the chaos in Jiangnan, and there will be difficulties in this world......" Zhao Ji is like a slow old woman, spitting things out little by little. For example, this Jiangnan Manichaeism......

[It's too late to check the typo, everyone corrects it]