The news of the fornication between the fifth son of the Cai family and the concubine of the Cai family, in less than three days, caused a storm in the city, and everyone knew about it, and even became the talk of the people in Bianliang City after drinking and tea, and talked about it with relish.

Although in the end, it was found that the concubine was indeed blackmailing Cai Yan with her husband, but it also proved that Cai Yan did have an affair with him, and was finally beaten with fifty boards and blasted out.

As for Cai Ying's side, he couldn't tell why he went to Fanlou alone, entered the pavilion of other people's concubines, and drank alone with other people's concubines. And according to the testimony of Fan Lou's attendants, as soon as Cai Yan came in, he designated that he wanted to go to Qingyue Pavilion, and it was the Qingyue Pavilion where the little concubine who Cai Yan personally brought Cai Yan into was located.

Anyway, the Cai family suffered a dumb loss, and they couldn't talk about it.

originally thought that he had taken advantage of this to get close to the official family, but who knew that Cai Yan and Emperor Maode had been engaged for less than five days, and they had been divorced, and they also made the official family Long Yan angry, thinking that the Cai family had disgraced the royal family.

Of course, these are just official and folk statements.

For Cai Jing and his party, the ins and outs of the matter are already very clear, that is, their sworn enemy Zhao Hao, who set up a trap to frame Cai Ying.

The eunuch who came to deliver a letter to Cai Yan was called Zhang Di, and Cai Di would believe it if he recognized that Zhang Di, but in fact, Zhang Di did not leave the palace at all that day, and there were no eunuchs out of the palace.

This case should not have been under the control of Jinyiwei, but Zhao Hao took the initiative to rob the case, and those big men and concubines who pretended to be Zhao Fujin were beaten by Jinyiwei and disappeared, which was already a bit of a cover-up and stealing the bell.

And the most important thing is that Zhao Hao happened to entertain guests in Fanlou that day, and in the pavilion next to Qingyue Pavilion, he inexplicably invited more than three members of different factions.

Although Cai Jing and his party understand it in their hearts, they are helpless, it is related to the innocence of Emperor Maode, if they really seek clarification from the officials, it will only become more and more black, which is counterproductive.

So although Cai Jing was so angry that he couldn't wait to break Zhao Hao's body into pieces, he could only break his front teeth and swallow blood, who told his stupid son's head to short-circuit, and he jumped into the trap set by others.

As for the feud between Cai Jing and Zhao Hao, they have long been incompatible, and they don't care about this incident.

It's just that the fifth son of the Cai family is pitiful, Huang Liang woke up from a dream, and was too deeply stimulated, and after returning home, he couldn't afford to be sick, and he lay in bed for more than two months.

……

The weather is getting colder, the autumn harvest is over, the preparations for the Northern Expedition are almost ready, and the issue of sending troops is on the agenda.

In front of the Xuande Gate, hundreds of officials who came to wait for the court gathered earlier than usual.

Because everyone knows that today is the time to decide some important issues of the Northern Expedition, and no one dares to be absent and take leave.

The Northern Expedition is all ready, only the east wind is owed.

In fact, Tong Guan was in charge of the Western Army for 20 years, and in recent years, he first beat Xixia to cry and beg for mercy, and then pacified the Fangla Rebellion that swept the south of the Yangtze River, coupled with his identity as a eunuch, the position of the commander is almost unshakable.

It's just that judging from the crowd in front of Xuande Gate, the Qing faction, Cai Jing's party, and Tong Guan's party are all talking about it, and I am afraid that there will be another fierce debate in the court.

For Tong Guan's party, it is a sure thing to take Tong Guan as the commander of the expedition as the propaganda envoy, and the problem is that at least we must strive for the position of deputy envoy and capital control, so as to maximize the benefits, after all, the battle of the Northern Expedition is the core interest of Tong Guan's party.

The reason why Cai Jing is gradually not favored, Zhao Hao's repeated suppression is only a secondary reason, and the real main reason is because Cai Jing advocates Lianliao to resist Jin, while Tong Guan, Wang Hao and others advocate Lianjin to attack Liao and recover the sixteen states of Youyun. It was Zhao Ji's dream to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, Cai Jing was not in step with the official family, so he naturally fell out of favor, while Tong Guan and Wang Hao and others gradually gained favor because they advocated the Northern Expedition.

Therefore, Valiao is a trump card for Tong Guan and Wang Hao, who just want to eat clean meat and bones, and don't even want to leave the soup for others to drink.

The Qingliu Party members naturally want to push the seed master and the seed master Dao and others to the forefront, and the position of the capital control and deputy control is indispensable, and it is best to win a deputy envoy, so as to share a piece of the cake of the Northern Expedition.

As for Cai Jing's party, they originally opposed the Northern Expedition, but their intentions at the moment were unfathomable, and Cai Jing, Yu Shen, Bai Shizhong, Yang Jian and other core figures spoke extremely quietly, as if they were afraid of being heard.

As the morning bell rang, the Xuande Gate slowly opened, and the various factions had already been discussed internally, and they all rushed to the palace.

In the vertical arch hall, today's queue was very fast, and soon it quieted down, and everyone held their breath, waiting for the arrival of the official family.

After a while, Zhao Ji was surrounded by Liang Shicheng and others, and the dragon and tiger came in steps, looking radiant and high-spirited, with the momentum of sweeping the Eight Wilderness and sweeping Liuhe.

Everyone still saluted forward, and after saluting, Liang Shicheng still said "You have something to play, and you have nothing to retreat from".

As soon as that opening sentence came out, His Highness became lively.

I only heard Wang Hao take the lead: "Weichen has something to do!" ”

Liang Shicheng looked at Zhao Ji and said, "Jiangming, please speak!" ”

Wang Hao cleared his throat and said loudly: "I am the Great Song Dynasty, and more than half a year ago, I exchanged letters of state with the Jurchens, reached an alliance, and unanimously broke the Liao. Today, the Jurchens are like a bamboo, and even the Liao land has captured Shangjing. A few days ago, the Jurchens sent an envoy to urge our Great Song Dynasty to quickly dispatch troops, and to attack from the north and south, breaking through Liao in one fell swoop, and to snow the shame of our Great Song Dynasty for a hundred years, in order to restore the sixteen states of Youyun, and also ask the official family to show it. ”

Zhao Ji nodded and said, "I also want you to discuss this matter today, according to the general's opinion, who can take command of the expedition?" ”

Wang Hao hurriedly said: "The ministers invited the Taishi, the Duke of Chu, and the privy envoy Tong Daofu to be the commander, and led the army to conquer Liao, Tong Daofu Fubian for 20 years, and shocked Xiqiang, and last year swept the Jiangnan Qunkou, no one can match the martial arts, if the commander goes out this time, he will definitely succeed!" ”

Zhao Ji's words are just a formality, everyone knows that Tong Guan is in charge, and no one can shake this.

Zhao Ji's expression was solemn, and he said loudly: "Tong Daofu, do you dare to take over this position?" ”

Tong Guan came out solemnly and bowed to Zhao Ji: "The official family has a will, how dare Weichen disobey it!" ”

Zhao Ji laughed: "Very good, I will order you to be the Xuanfu envoy, lead an army of 100,000, the Northern Expedition to the Liao, recover the sixteen states of Youyun, strengthen me and my Great Song Shenwei, a hundred years of shame!" ”

Tong Guan's expression was solemn, and he said angrily: "The minister will not disgrace his mission!" ”

Zhao Ji asked again: "Who is in control?" ”

In the late Northern Song Dynasty, the military attache position with a temporary nature was set up in order to unify the command of the various armies going out, and it was abolished at the end of the campaign, which was equivalent to the post of commander-in-chief of the campaign, but was controlled by the commander-in-chief.

Tong Guan said urgently: "Weichen recommends Liu Yanqing, the general manager of Yan Road and the deputy commander of the Ma Army. ”

Zhao Hao was listening attentively on the side, and he was anxious when he heard Liu Yanqing's words. You must know that Tong Guan's invasion of Liaodu in history is a kind of master road, and it still failed because of Tong Guan's blind command, coupled with the limitations of the seed master road itself, it was a complete defeat, if Liu Yanqing was allowed to go, then this battle would not be fought at all, and it would be better to surrender directly.

His original plan was to tell the Seed Master Dao some precautions before leaving, and then put pressure on Tong Guan, requiring his combat command to be based on the Seed Master Dao, so as to avoid another failure of the Liao Expedition.

Now that I heard that Tong Guan actually recommended Liu Yanqing, I couldn't help but be anxious, and suddenly rushed out, and said in a loud voice: "No, all of them are in charge of the position, and they must be the captains!" ”

As soon as Tong Guan saw that it was Zhao Hao, he immediately softened by three points, where did he dare to argue, and immediately responded: "The captain has great military achievements, is proficient in the art of war, and can also be qualified for this position." ”

Wang Hao on the side was about to refute Zhao Hao, but when Tong Guan said this, he gritted his teeth in anger, but he was helpless.

Although Zhao Ji doesn't understand the war, but he is not completely uncounted in his heart, even if Zhao Hao does not jump out, this is the position of the commander, he also has a master in his heart, seeing Zhao Hao's words, he borrowed a donkey to go downhill, nodded and said: "Okay, then appoint Uncle Yi as the commander of the capital." ”

As soon as the words fell, I heard a voice from the front of the hundred officials: "The Taiwei is old, and he can be the deputy commander, not the master!" ”

This voice is no longer familiar to the officials, even more familiar than Zhao Ji's voice, this person is Cai Jing, the husband who has been crisscrossing the sea and controlling the government for decades.

I saw Cai Jing walking unhurriedly to the middle of the main hall, and said loudly: "The old minister is only four years old, and although he is pampered, he often feels physically and mentally exhausted. And the kind of Taiwei is old, the military trip, the dining style sleeping, the carriages and horses are bumpy, the energy is bound to be difficult to maintain a vigorous state, the matter of cutting down Liao is important, there must be no half-point difference, otherwise it will be a disaster for the country, how can it be child's play? Therefore, the old minister thought that the lieutenant was experienced in a hundred battles and proficient in the art of war, and could be the deputy commander, assisting the commander and the commander to fight, but not the master! ”

Seeing that Cai Jing despised himself, the seed master Dao came out angrily, and said loudly: "Who asks, Lian Po is old, can he still eat, although he is old, he can still ride a fast horse and drive a two-stone bow!" ”

Cai Jing didn't argue, but smiled indifferently: "Weichen recommends one person, which is enough to be qualified for the position of commander!" ”

Zhao Hao said coldly: "Among the Manchu Dynasty, who else is more qualified for this position than the Lieutenant of the Plant?" ”

Cai Jing laughed, pointed at Zhao Hao and said, "This person is far away in the sky, close in front of you, it is you Longde County Gongye!" ”

What?

Zhao Hao was messy in an instant.

Not only Zhao Hao, but also the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, Qi Qi was in an uproar.

Even Zhao Ji, who was sitting on the dragon chair, was full of shock.

After all, this is a battle for the whole country, no more than a small fight like suppressing the Liangshan rebellion.

The rebellion of the thieves in Pingliang Mountain was only more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, and it had nothing to do with the overall situation, but this time it was 100,000 forbidden troops, almost half of the elite division of the Great Song Dynasty.

Since Taizong Zhao Guangyi, no sect has commanded so many elite troops.