At the end of February of the second year of Song Gongjiao, it was the mid-spring season, and the wind and sun were beautiful on this day, and the sky was high and the clouds were light. Located on the north bank of Jishui, a huge convoy crossed Jishui from a wide pontoon bridge.

At the head were armored warriors carrying crossbows and halberds, and there were as many as a thousand people! Scattered around the perimeter was a brigade of horsemen, riding in fresh clothes and angry horses, vigilantly scouting the surroundings. At the centre of the convoy was a huge four-wheeled carriage, richly decorated and eye-catching, followed by a hundred chariots carrying dowries.

Clear-eyed people can see at a glance that this is a team of wedding cars that are married in person.

The warm spring breeze swept more than a dozen flags held high above their heads, embroidered with the scorching bird symbolizing the Zhao family, and the "Ya" family emblem symbolizing the Song State Office. After crossing Jishui, they went all the way unimpeded, and poured mightily into the gate of Pingqiu-eup, which was near the water. It was not hindered, because even the head of Pingqiuyi, which originally belonged to the patriotic country, also fluttered the banners of Zhao and Song.

The city has long been under martial law, as the vanquished, the patriots are not allowed to go out, can only carefully peek out in the crack of the door, but see the occupant of Pingqiu City, Zhao Guangde, a disciple of the Zhao family, with a high crown and a sword, since the morning has been standing at the head of the city to look, seeing the convoy into the city, hurriedly came down to greet.

There was also a gentleman on the side of the convoy who rode a fat horse, wore a light coat, and wore a distant travel crown to take the lead, and led several horses towards Zhao Guangde.

Zhao Guangde's eyes lit up when he saw the visitor, that's right, he was back!

He hurried over and saluted, "Congratulations, cousin! From Qufu to Shangqiu to greet in person, and to go back to Wenxian County to complete the marriage, it was a long journey, and it was really hard all the way. ”

After the comer got off the horse, he also saluted the chubby Zhao Guangde: "Cousin, you have worked hard to guard Jibei and Punan." ”

This person is none other than Zhao Wuxian, the general of the Lu State. I haven't seen him for more than half a year, and the two sagittal whiskers on his lips have become a little thicker. Although the wind and dust are in the dust, there is the joy of the groom on his face.

The two brothers talked. The convoy that was entering the city was also diverted under the guidance of the defenders: the soldiers went to the barracks, the servants had a place to settle down, and the wide wedding carriage slowly drove towards the most prosperous aristocratic village in the city.

Zhao Guangde looked over there and said with a smile: "Doctor Pingqiu of the country was expelled by me, and I requisitioned his mansion, which is full of pavilions and pavilions, as well as flower gardens and ponds, and the comfort level of living is no less than that of the Le Palace." Cousin is going over there to accompany my sister-in-law? ”

Wuxian smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Cousin, you have to bury me, Fu Mu of the Le family and Yousi who is in charge of etiquette are by the side of the bride twelve hours a day." The screen was tightly opened, and although I was personally greeting, I couldn't even see her veil all the way, and we couldn't meet again until we got the wedding night. ”

The so-called kiss welcome is a spring and autumn wedding custom, that is, the groom personally goes to the woman's house to marry the bride.

At the beginning of February, Zhao Wuxian ran from Lu to Shangqiu in the Song State with 500 horsemen, and at dusk when the weather was fine, he asked the envoy to carry a torch in front of the house, and visited the mansion of Sicheng Le with gifts.

Le Hui as the woman's parent. Set up a feast at the family temple and greet you outside the door. Zhao Wuxian held the goose and let him ascend to the hall, bowed, and waited for Le Wei to finish admonishing Lingzi. A couple-to-be Shi Jin Yue, he invoked Lingzi and Kong Jiao, who was a concubine, to board the car and personally drove the wheels three times. He gave it to the coachman to drive, and rode his horse first. On the next journey of hundreds of miles, I couldn't even turn back and talk to the bride......

The Spring and Autumn Rite System is complicated. Even if Shiqing Shilu is overthrown one day and "everyone under the Son of Heaven is equal", it will not be possible to eradicate this kind of etiquette that has continued to the Ming and Qing dynasties and even modern times.

Although Zhao Wuxian was powerful in Song and Lu, no one dared to say anything even if he had the heart to cross the line, but he respected Le Lingzi and didn't want others to think that he was treating this marriage lightly, so he endured it all the way from Song to Weiguo.

So Wuxian could only watch as the bride and concubine wore the white dark clothes admired by the Yin people, got off the ink cart, sat on the chariot, and went away surrounded by Fu Mu and the maid.

Zhao Guangde smiled behind him: "In this case, the Yi Temple has been vacated, and my cousin is still squeezing with me." ”

Wuxian was in a good mood, withdrew his gaze on the slender back, turned around and punched Zhao Guangde in the chest, and scolded with a smile: "You will soon be married to the daughter of the Meng family, Yan'er, and you will know the ups and downs one by one!" ”

The shogunate officials behind Zhao Wuxian looked at each other, and several of them who had been newly promoted to his side to take notes and assistants couldn't help but be speechless.

They secretly thought that the general was majestic when he was in the Lu country, and he spoke with great words, who would dare to disobey? The sons and grandsons of the Dongdi doctors, the Ji family, the Meng family, and the princes of Sishang, and even Lu Hou had to tremble when they talked to him, and only the blood relatives of the Zhao family dared to talk and laugh with this Huqing, right?

They were envious and thought to themselves: "Poetry, beans, and food." The brothers are both harmonious and happy, and they are really good. ”

After laughing with Zhao Guangde, after removing the life points after not seeing him for a few months, Zhao Wuxian said again: "Yi Temple is not in a hurry, you know my preferences, every time you go, you must first go to the local scenic spots to observe and pay respects." Although the horseshoes of the Song and Lu divisions have traveled all over the southern border of the country in the past six months, I have not personally been to the Pingqiu area, so you are the host, why don't you take me to the Pingqiu Huimengtai in the east of the city to have a look? ”

……

Half an hour later, Zhao Wuxian was already standing on the Pingqiu platform, looking up between heaven and earth, and the four fields were in full view.

The high platform at the foot was once beautifully decorated, but now it has gone through the vicissitudes of time, the wind and rain have soaked, and the remaining half brick and tiles after being eroded by the wind and sand still seem to tell the glory of yesterday.

And the open field in front of me, I think it was an artificially flattened martial arts arena back then, how many Jin men raised their spears here, followed the flag, accompanied by the sound of drums, and shouted martial arts, for their monarch, for the hegemony of the Jin country. Now it was empty, only the wind and sand and dust swept by.

"It's really a hegemon......"

Zhao Wuxian let the spring breeze blow on his face, sighed after being silent for a while, pointed to the high platform under his feet, and then stretched out his hand and waved his hand at the wide plain in front of him, and said to Zhao Guangde and the others behind him:

"Thirty years ago, Jin Zhaogong held a meeting of Pingqiu here, under the stage, the four thousand Jin people lined up in chariots for ten miles, and 100,000 Jin soldiers were like a forest. It is said that the first military parade of the Jin army set up a banner without a streamer (built but not destroyed), and the princes did not have much fear; The next day, all the troops added streamers to the flags, and thousands of black cloths fluttered in the wind, and the heaven and earth were suddenly murderous, and the princes of the Central Plains were all impressed. ”

"So there were many participants in the Pingqiu meeting, and there were Zhou Qing Liu Zi, Qi Hou, Song Gong, Wei Hou, Zheng Bo, Cao Bo, Ju Zi, Di Louzi, Teng Zi, Xue Bo, Qi Bo, Xiao Di Louzi and other princes of various countries came to cheer, and the future Lu Zhaogong was severely condemned, and Lu Qing Ji Pingzi was directly detained and almost killed by the Jin people."

In addition to Zhao Guangde and several Wen County military officials who were from Jin, the rest were mostly Lu people, and they were quite embarrassed when they heard the words, and the new secretary, Xiang Lu, who was only fourteen years old, was even more unconvinced.

He ignored his colleagues pulling the corners of his clothes behind him, and boldly protested: "The Pingqiu Society, with authority but not virtue, is the Jin people are unrighteous!" ”

Those Lu people were shocked, this kid, don't you know that the general himself is a Jin person, and this time he will take the bride back to the ancestral temple of the Jin Kingdom to complete the marriage!?

Zhao Wuxian glanced back at Xiang Lu, but he was not angry, and said: "That's right, the Pingqiu Society is indeed an unjust alliance of bullying, even the humble gentleman Uncle Xiang said that although the virtue of the Jin Kingdom is insufficient, it is also available to all!" ”

There are more people who are assistants around him, from the earliest Cheng Ji, to the later Kan Zhi and Gong Xichi, but if there are some talents but not enough to be in charge, Zhao Wuxian will put them by his side and take them, and then go down to the grassroots level to roll around. It is no wonder that the shogunate officials regarded working as a scribe by the shogun's side as a smooth path to becoming a shogun's confidant and superior.

Now, Kan Zhi and Gongxi Chi have successfully "left the school", and the people around Zhao Wuxian have been replaced by Xiang Lu.

But Zhao Wuxian ignored him anymore, but said directly to Zhao Guangde: "What is hegemony? That's what I'm going to teach you today. The Son of Heaven entrusted the overlord to maintain the order of Zhuxia and even Chu Yue, seize this honor, and at the same time enjoy the tribute of the princes, which is the essence of the hegemony. ”

"When Qi Huan and Jin Wen were in power, the princes still respected and revered their faith, and it was the time when the hegemony was prosperous. But after arriving at the Pingqiu meeting, no matter how Jin and Chu struggled, the hegemony could not continue, so why? Not only did the etiquette between the princes collapse, and the alliance alone could no longer restrain each other, but also because the order of the Central Plains could no longer be maintained, the Lile conquest was no longer from the princes, but also from the princes. ”

He asked the ignorant Zhao Guangde seriously: "Do you understand what I mean?" ”

"Brother Foolish ......"

Zhao Guangde was a little flustered, his knowledge was limited, his vision was limited to the competition for one city and one place, he was excited about the strength of the Zhao clan, and he was complacent about Zhao Wuxian's handing over the newly occupied southern border of the Patriotic State to him to garrison, but he did not think carefully about the pulse of the times contained in it.

Xiang Lu hurriedly said: "I know what the lord means, the era of annexation in which the princes and doctors are fighting is coming, and in the past half a year, defending the country is the first sacrifice!" ”

Zhao Wuxian showed a hint of a smile: "You're right. “

This son has the name of a prodigy, and he is often full of clever ideas, but he has a stubborn personality and loves to show in front of others. Zhao Wuxian likes to polish him, and he is not stingy to praise one or two occasionally, and sure enough, Xiang Lu is happy after being praised.

In fact, Zhao Wuxian knew it in his heart, not only among the princes, but also among the princes, he knew very well that the Jin Kingdom was about to usher in a great change in the merger and competition of the six kings!

Although in Sishang, where the situation was complicated, he followed the old path of Qi Huan and Jin Wen, but within the Jin Kingdom, he wanted the Zhao family to take a new path.

It is not the Spring and Autumn style road to hegemony, but the Warring States-style road of annexation! (To be continued.) )