In a simplely decorated room, a piece of dragon incense worth 10,000 yuan is baked in the copper stove, and the room is full of tulips, which is intoxicating. Next to the copper stove is a smooth and shiny sandalwood couch, on which a person lies horizontally, holding a white jade porcelain cup in one hand and a scroll in the other, nodding while reading, as if making a low groan.

In front of the couch, a young man with a long body and a slightly dark complexion, about twenty-six or seven years old, stood with his hands bowed, it was Chen Bingxuan, who had just returned from Zhao Hunting's Mansion. His eyelids lifted slightly from time to time, and from his point of view, he could only see a pair of well-maintained hands holding the scroll of the person on the couch.

It wasn't until the person on the couch gently put the teacup on the table that the groaning stopped, and Chen Bingxuan took a step forward and folded his sleeves: "Father Zhong, the matter is done." ”

The hand holding the scroll was put down, revealing his true face - it was Chen Yizhong, the left minister of the Great Song Dynasty.

Chen Yizhong has three brothers, and he does two, so Chen Bingxuan is called the middle father.

Chen Yizhong put down the scroll in his hand, his attitude was leisurely, his eyelids raised slightly, and he drooped again: "Bingxuan seems to have unfinished words." ”

Chen Bingxuan bowed again when he heard this: "The middle father is aware of everything. The little nephew just felt that Zhao Li's drunkard didn't mean to drink. ”

Chen Yizhong slowly sat up from the couch, crossed his knees and brushed his sleeves, and said lightly: "Tell me." ”

"One is that the things that Zhao Liyu bought on this trip are nothing more than red nitrate sulfur, which is used to make gunpowder, why do he need so many things that cause fire in his army? If it was used to create earth-shattering thunder, his army was only three or four hundred people, so why did he need to prepare so much? Second, the principal person he sent to occupy the city was just a half-crippled man from a boat, and it was difficult to get into the elegant hall. From this, it can be inferred that Zhao Liyu's trip is just to buy as a dangling, but in fact, to borrow the power of my Chen family to find a business route. ”

Chen Bingxuan is not outspoken. Chen Yizhong had planned to go south to hunt to Champong, so naturally he would not be unprepared. He sent his nephew Chen Bingxuan to Champa early in the morning to buy land and build a village, learn about the people and customs of Champang, and set up a good relationship with local officials. It was precisely because of this that Zhao Lie asked Wang Ping'an to accompany him.

Chen Yizhong slowly picked up the teacup and took a sip: "Is there anything else?" ”

Chen Bingxuan was puzzled: "It's so strange, why doesn't he want a bow and arrows, but is so fond of gunpowder?" ”

Chen Yizhong has always been keen to observe people and things, but he can't see through Zhao Lie's actions, and he can't understand the essentials after pondering for a while, so he only said: "It is said that his Dragon Bird Army is mostly based on the Jiang Clan's Zhongshun Army, and I have seen the white-clothed guards of the Zhongshun Army by the side of Daozhai (Jiang Cheng), and they are quite elite and brave." Presumably, you must be brave and brave enough to fight the enemy in close combat. ”

Chen Bingxuan also praised sincerely: "Only this brave person can have the ability to attack Jiyang at night and capture horse thieves alive." ”

If the white-clothed guards heard Chen Bingxuan say this, they would be ashamed of themselves - the night attack that night did not have their share at all, but a group of teenagers. Because Zhao Lie was vague about the specific details of the night attack, many people didn't even know who the participants in the night attack were, and the most elite and famous in the Dragon Bird Army was the White Guard, who was quite brave in the era of Jiang Cheng, the leader of the previous generation of the Loyal Shun Army, so everyone took it for granted that it must be the White Guard.

"Only its courage is more and more pity." Chen Yizhong sighed slightly, "The foundation left by Daozhai is afraid that it will be refried!" ”

Chen Bingxuan was surprised: "Why did the middle father say this? ”

"The military discussion of the festival hall has been completed, and the excerpt has been sent to the Prime Minister's Office." Chen Yizhong took another sip of tea and said, "Originally, the matter of military discussion should not be said to you, but now it is different from the past, this small cliff city can't contain any secrets, and you will know in a few days - Zhang Gongbi is determined to personally recruit the Wan'an Army, and Zhao Liwei has invited himself to be a pioneer officer." ”

Chen Bingxuan's eyes widened, there are more than 2,000 soldiers in the Wan'an Army, how many are there in the Dragon Bird Army? More than three hundred. With such a huge disparity in strength, no matter how brave the white-clothed guard is, how many nails can he hit when he is covered in iron? This vanguard officer is simply an order officer, either urging his own life or the life of his subordinates.

This Zhao Liyu is a clan that all the ministers are optimistic about, and taking such a life-fighting errand certainly shows his loyalty and bravery, but after all, it is too risky, and there is nothing to say in the palace?

Chen Bingxuan thought for a moment and asked cautiously: "Where is the Queen Mother......?"

Chen Yizhong sighed slightly: "The queen mother no longer asks about the government, she only burns incense and prays every day, and all the temples around her worship, even the Buddha Hall Temple (chapel) of those people have also gone." But by the Yang brothers. Yang Liangjie has always been good at dictatorship, and there was a dispute with King Xiu before, so that he went north to meet the enemy, so it was difficult for King Xiu. Zhao Liyu is back this time, how can Yang Liangjie not be guarded? Presumably, it will be understated in front of the Queen Mother...... If my expectations are correct, Zhao Liyu is the pioneer this time, and there is also the power of Yang Liangjie's secret push......"

Chen Bingxuan opened his mouth slightly, lost his mind for a while, his expression was a little complicated, and he stopped talking.

What kind of character Chen Yizhong is, he immediately guessed what his nephew wanted to say, and shook his head slightly to indicate that there was no need to say more.

Chen Bingxuan immediately closed his mouth, the emperors and queens of all dynasties were taboo for their subordinates to talk about the crown prince's affairs, even if the uncle and nephew were chatting behind closed doors, they also needed to be cautious.

At this moment, the uncle and nephew thought that if this Zhao Liyu was just a young boy, things would be simple. It's a pity, it's a pity......

……

"Congratulations to Brother Zhongping, who has been appointed as the judge of Xindi Port in Yazhou (City) City."

Still in that house, Wang Ping'an's position has been replaced by Ma Nanchun. Zhao Liezheng congratulated Ma Nanchun with a spring breeze on his face, but did not mention Ma Nanchun's other higher promotion, the Privy Council.

The reason is very simple, the privy council is equivalent to the secretary general of the Ministry of National Defense, if it was more than ten years ago, this position with access to the central military secrets was still quite hot. It's just that this time is different from the past, just such a small sparrow city, a small and uncertain dynasty, how can there be any military secrets to speak of, and it is just in vain.

And the promotion of Yazhou City, the judge of Xindi Port, is completely different, this is a fat shortage. Zhao Lie didn't want to divide this delicious cake, but if he wanted to get all kinds of supplies conveniently, he had to control one of the three ports of Yacheng.

The main title of the Municipal Ship Division is the Municipal Envoy, and the Deputy Title Judge. As for this Xindi Port judge, Zhao Lie took great pains and even took the initiative to undertake the most difficult task - in exchange for the vanguard attack on the Wan'an Army.

Chen Yizhong guessed correctly, there are many people who divide this cake, and if they want to take food from the mouths of the court magnates, they have to pay a price. At present, the forces of the lower dynasty are divided into three factions: the foreign relatives faction, represented by Yang Liangjie and his son; The door system is represented by Zhang Shijie and Su Liuyi; The Quanchen faction is represented by Wen Tianxiang, Chen Yizhong, and Zeng Yuanzi. These three factions just divide the three ports, and the position of the city envoy is not the turn of others. The second- and third-level forces below can only compete for the position of judge.

Zhao Lie was supported by the Quanchen faction, and the generals did not support or oppose it, only the Yang father and son of the foreign relatives faction had an ambiguous and ambiguous attitude. In the end, Zhao Lie made a condition of attacking the Wan'an Army in the vanguard, in exchange for Yang Liangjie's acquiescence.

Ma Nanchun's face was ashamed: "It's going to take a risk." ”

Zhao Lie waved his hand indifferently: "It's okay, I don't want to stay here anyway." ”

Ma Nanchun thought so: "That's right, if you are guilty, you should go away and avoid it, and find another foundation." The Wan'an Army is a worthy foothold. ”

Next, the two only talked about port affairs, and did not mention this expedition. Zhao Lie didn't mention that he was in the chest, but Ma Nanchun didn't mention it, because he learned that the first batch of breech gun double-barreled shotguns had been put into mass production. Once this bottleneck of the Dragon Bird Army's force was broken, Ma Nanchun didn't think that any force could stop Zhao Lie's full force - at least not on this island.