Zhao Gou was puzzled: "Master, if Senior Brother really betrays the Song Dynasty, my strength is not enough to compete with him at all?" ”

Zhou Tong said with a smile: "As the king of the Great Song Dynasty, you are the most beloved son of the saint today. If you take the initiative to ask Ying to lead the troops into battle, it will definitely be a matter of course. As for the military generals of the DPRK and China, you can choose as much as you can, especially Marshal Zong Ze will definitely be able to help you. If you do lead the troops, I recommend one to you. ”

"Who?" Zhao Gou wondered.

"Haizhou Zhizhou - Uncle Zhang!" Zhou Tong said with a smile, "This person is an all-round talent in humanities and martial arts, and I had dealings with him when I was in Bianjing. This person is brave and loyal to the country. However, Cai Jing gained power. In order to avoid its edge, he could only choose to go to Haizhou Renzhizhou. If you can use this person, you will definitely get twice the result with half the effort. ”

"This person is resourceful, there is no need for Zong Ze to be much worse, the only deficiency is that he was born at the wrong time and cannot be reused by the court. If you go, say I mean it. At that time, he will definitely help you, and there are fewer and fewer officials who are dedicated to serving the imperial court, especially military generals, who can be reused. ”

Zhao Gou was puzzled: "Master, why don't you use the eldest brother and a few of them?" ”

"Pengju's martial arts and art of war are all taught by me, how can I not know their depth." Zhou Tong replied with a good understanding, "Several of them still lack experience, only when they really go to the battlefield and experience the edge of life and death, can the years of Jin Ge Iron Horse really grow up." If there are only a few of them, the single-round martial arts are no worse than others, and if the art of war is still a lot worse, he can assist you in quelling the uprising, and maybe you can even recruit them into your camp. ”

"If you are crowned, you will definitely be crowned king, and if you want to change the situation of the Great Song Dynasty at that time, you can only do it if you have great power. Otherwise, it can only be a symptom rather than a cure. Even if you don't want to face fratricide, you have to make a choice, for the sake of the world, personal life and death have long been put aside, and you remember. ”

Zhao Gou nodded solemnly, he didn't understand the meaning of Zhou Tong's words. After all, no dynasty can escape fratricidalism. In the past, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, killed his brother in Xuanwumen, forcing his father to abdicate, so as to achieve a generation of masters; Later, Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty seized the power of his nephew, and the Jiulong of the Qing Dynasty became a household name.

Even though Zhao Gou did not have the heart to compete for the throne, even if he knew that he was the founding monarch of the Southern Song Dynasty in history. In his view, everything is determined by man, and things are done by man. If he is unwilling, even if Song Huizong Zhao Jichuan is located in him, it will not help. However, the history of the Great Song Dynasty has changed, and who can say for sure what will happen in the future.

Maybe he crossed Song Qinzong, that is, the eldest brother Zhao Heng ascended the throne as the emperor, maybe he didn't cross over to let Zhao Heng ascend the throne as the emperor, and he was willing to assist him. Everything can only be known until that time, and now we still have to face other things, if the Great Song Dynasty wants to rise, only by starting from the root and managing internal troubles can we calm the external troubles.

"If you can, do your best to save their lives!" Zhou Tong sighed.

Zhao Gou nodded and said, "The disciple should do his best to save the lives of them and others. ”

"In this way, I will be relieved!" Zhou Tong nodded with satisfaction and said, "The people who gather together are not only my personal disciple Lu Junyi, but also another person and two registered disciples. As for others, I also have some friendships. I had pointed out one or two back then, but the time was not long. Those two named disciples, also for special reasons, I expelled them from the sect because they broke the precepts. ”

"Broken the precepts?" Zhao Gou was a little puzzled, raised his head, and asked in surprise.

Zhou Tong sighed: "As a teacher, he is a native of Shanxi, and he worships under the Shaolin sect and learns martial arts." After that, he walked the world, like you, looking for famous teachers. Therefore, more than half of the rivers and lakes are more or less related to me. Ever since I entered Beijing and became the head of the forbidden army, I have slowly lost much contact with these people. First, they are worried about some people in the DPRK and China, so as to stir up trouble and prevent them from being killed; Second, if you enter the court as an official, even if your official position is not high, you will be subject to some restrictions, and you will not be able to associate with people in the rivers and lakes, so as not to save your own life. ”

After that, I resigned and went into hiding, and these people knew that I was no longer an official, and gradually came into contact with me. However, most of those old friends are no longer alive, leaving only some descendants. Therefore, some of them have some connection with me, and some of them I have never seen or heard of, and they have also made a name for themselves in recent years. If you can take these people under your command, you don't need to worry about the generals in the future; In addition, Wenchen can only rely on you to find it yourself, and there are some Wenchen among them, who are also depressed, if they can, let them be useful, and they will not gather righteousness. ”

Zhao Gou nodded, he didn't know how many people on Shuibo Liang Mountain had an old relationship with Zhou Dong. Although Lu Junyi's letter also stated the names of those people, some of them did not have their names at all in later generations, only thirty-six people. Among these people, it is not known which ones are named disciples. However, Zhao Gou could also guess that at least half of them had something to do with his master.

In the romance novels that circulated in later generations, the combat effectiveness of these people in Shuibo Liangshan was very strong, and even Fang La was pacified by them. It's just that there are basically few people who can die well, just because some traitors in the court don't want to see them get important to the court, if these people are really reused by the court, it will not be Yue Fei and a few other people to resist the Jin soldiers, with their strength, they will definitely be able to resist the invasion of foreign enemies with Yue Fei and others, which can be regarded as the evil result of self-destruction of the Great Wall.

Therefore, Zhao Gou decided to protect these people, even if they were a group of reckless people, they were all a group of righteous and thin, chivalrous and heroic, loyal to the people, and free from violence and peace. If these people are not reused by the imperial court, it will really be a big loss for the Great Song Dynasty. When he saw that there was no Lin Chong in his name, he couldn't help but feel a little happy, and he also knew that Lin Chong followed his advice, resigned and returned to his hometown.

After Zhou Tong and Zhao Gou explained everything, they returned to the village. The sky gradually darkened, the climate was relatively hot, Zhou Tong felt dizzy and couldn't sit still, so he stood up and slowly stood up. It took a while before he stopped. Zhou Tong muttered indifferently: "This time it is really difficult to escape, and it is time to prepare." ”

Zhou Tong knew that his destiny was difficult to violate, and his life should come to an end. However, he was ready and did not have any fear. At his age, he can be regarded as a long life. Some things have long been seen, no longer afraid of death, and face them calmly. The next day, Yue Fei and others all arrived.

On this day, Zhou Tong personally cooked, had a meal of wine with everyone, and ordered Yue Fei and Zhao Gou to go to the market to buy braised beef and water wine. They had been with Zhou Tong for so long, they had never seen him drink once, only tea. Even if it is an old friend, it is not an exception.

This time, Zhou Tong's drinking really shocked Yue Fei and others, and only Zhao Gou was sad. He knew that Zhou Tong was unwell last night, and today was just a return to the light. At the wine table, Zhou Tong told Yue Fei, Tang Huai, Zhang Xian, Wang Gui and others one by one, but Zhao Gou didn't say much, he had already lost too much yesterday, so he didn't say anything more.

The meaning of Zhou Tong's words to Yue Fei and others was, without exception, to let them serve the country loyally, for the country and the people, and they must be good at practicing martial arts. In addition, Zhou Tong also instructed several of them to obey Zhao Gou's arrangements in the future. As for the reason, Zhou Tong didn't say it, even Yue Fei was very curious, why he had to listen to Zhao Gou, with his identity, he should be the biggest among the five, and he should listen to him. However, Zhou Tong only said that he would know in the future.

After the wine was finished, Yue Fei and others wanted to stay and serve, but they were all driven away by Zhou Dong, and only Zhao Gou stayed. Everyone told Zhao Gou to take care of Zhou Tong, and left in a hurry. That night, Zhou Tong was lying on the bed, his headache was even worse, and his body was alternating between cold and heat, Zhao Gou waited on the side, never left a step, and took care of Zhou Dong wholeheartedly.

After several hours of tossing, Zhou Dong's body was even hotter and colder, and Zhao Gou was busy before and after, but he still didn't get better. Anxious, Yue Fei and the others came again. Zhao Gou couldn't help but be stunned when he saw them go and return. It turned out that the more the four of them thought about it along the way, the more wrong they became, and they always felt that something was going to happen, and they recalled Zhou Dong's words as if they were their last words. So, the four of them rode back again, and happened to see Zhao Gou, who was anxious, sweating profusely, and was busy.

"Fifth brother, what's going on, master?" Yue Fei glanced at Zhou Dong's figure, and saw that Zhao Gou was anxious, knowing that something had happened to Zhou Dong.

Zhao Gou looked sad, his eyes were red, and he choked up: "Big brother, master, master, he ......"

When Yue Fei and the others saw him like this, they couldn't help but panic, and said in unison, "What's wrong with the master?" ”

"The master is seriously ill and in danger!" Zhao Gou's eyes were ruddy and he said, "After the brothers left that day, the master returned to the manor, and he felt unwell and dizzy. ”

Yue Fei roared angrily: "In that case, why don't you want to tell me to wait today!" ”

"The master doesn't want me to talk to all the brothers, especially the eldest brother!" Zhao Gou said sadly, "The master said that the eldest brother is very affectionate, and he is a righteous son, if he knows that he is seriously ill, he will definitely be sleepless all night and unwilling to return home." In addition, your brothers will go to the capital to participate in the final interview after a while, and I don't want to distract you. If I did, the master would expel me. ”

Yue Fei and the others slowly flowed down in tears, and they finally knew why Zhou Tong was reluctant to look at everyone at the table today, especially looking at Yue Fei. At that time, he already knew that his body was not good, and he was afraid that he would die soon. It's just that he deliberately concealed these things, just because Zhou Tong didn't want to worry about them.

"Fifth brother, you are so confused!" Wang Gui roared angrily and reprimanded: "Fifth brother, even so, you shouldn't hide it from us!" The master treats us like a father, teaches us martial arts, and instructs us in the art of war, if the master has any mistakes, I am not around, then what face to see him, do you dare to call yourself a disciple? ”

Zhang Xian came up and directly slapped Zhao Gou, and scolded angrily: "Fifth brother, are you still treating us as brothers?" At the beginning, we said that there are blessings and hardships. Today, the master is seriously ill, and I don't know. If it weren't for the fact that we felt something strange on the way, if the master had three longs and two shorts, and I didn't know, what would we do? ”

The force of Zhang Xian's hand was extremely heavy, and the corners of Zhao Gou's mouth were overflowing with blood, and he was silent. He quietly listened to everyone's reprimands, especially Yue Fei was Zhou Dong's righteous son, and he should be served by him, but he was preempted by himself, so how did he face Zhou Dong, even Yue Fei gave him a slap, the red palm print on his cheek, and bright red blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

"Fifth brother, as my father's righteous son, filial piety comes first, do you want me Yue Fei to be an unfilial person?" Yue Fei's face was red, and he roared angrily.

Zhao Gou was speechless, he knew the mood of Yue Fei and the others. If it were his own, he might have done it even better. After all, Zhou Tong treats them like sons and is impartial, even if Yue Fei is his righteous son, Xi Wen and Wu are the same teachings. It's just that some martial arts are passed on to daughters, even if Wang Gui and others are his disciples, they won't teach it, this is also human nature, everyone can understand, the only thing that is incomprehensible is that Zhao Gou concealed the news that Zhou Tong was critically ill, and he was angry and slapped him without hesitation.

This slap was not an insult to Zhao Gou, but to let him know what brotherly love was, especially since Zhou Tong was still their master. Zhao Gou can understand these behaviors. Zhao Gou was speechless, and said intermittently: "Big brother! ……”

Yue Fei was furious and yelled, "Daddy is seriously ill, why do you want to hide it from me? ”

"This is an order for the division!" I don't know when, Zhou Tong, who was lying on the bed, was pale with a pale face, white lips, cold sweat all over his body, and his trembling body was struggling to support, so he could only support the wall, his eyes glanced at Yue Fei and the others, and said sternly: "What? Do you want to rebel and not even listen to the orders of your teacher? Zhao Gou just obeyed my orders, do you still have doubts? ”

Zhao Gou, Yue Fei and others shouted in unison: "Master! ……”