The emperor rubbed Da Tuǐ's hand back and forth, and said, "The ministers think that with the current strength of our dynasty, there is no need to negotiate peace with the Jurchens. He also said that this was a plan by Beiyi to delay the army, and should be ignored. After resting for a period of time, he raised troops to the north again to restore the ancestral foundation. ”

"Which ministers are they? Xu Liang? The queen stretched out her hand to block the lychee that the palace maid handed to her mouth, and asked.

Zhao Jin nodded: "Xu Xiang's attitude is very resolute, thinking that the conditions proposed by the Jurchens are too excessive, and there is no room for peace talks. ”

"I guessed it was him." Empress Liu was a little resentful. "For the sake of the reputation of his good ministers, he did not hesitate to launch a war, ignoring the people of the country. Your Majesty, how did he come? ”

Zhao Jinyan explained: "That's not what he said, many ministers in the DPRK and China support his opinion. Besides, Xu Liang is not for himself. Feng Niang, I don't need to dwell on this matter anymore, you are pregnant, and after giving birth, I will issue an edict to crown your father as the king of the county. ”

When Liu heard this, he got up and knelt down towards the emperor, which made Zhao Jin a little surprised, and asked while going to help, "Why is this the queen?" Get up. ”

Liu got up and said very seriously: "Your Majesty, does you think that the concubine just wants to benefit her father and brother?" Zhao Guanjia couldn't answer for a while, he originally thought that the queen was indeed working for the benefit of his father and brother, and this was understandable, it was a normal thing.

"The concubine has méng and is in charge of the middle palace, how dare she abandon His Majesty's great cause with the benefit of a family? The reason why the concubines were worried about this matter was entirely for His Majesty's consideration. Liu said.

"How do I not know? Hurry up, hurry up. Zhao Jin insisted on picking his wife up and sitting down again. I only heard the queen still talking.

"Your Majesty is the lord of a country, and your Majesty naturally has the final say on this military matter. Xu Liang is hindered everywhere, is this the way to be a minister? Your Majesty is always forbearing, is it a long-term solution? ”

Zhao Jin explained with a smile: "Xu Liang not only supported my ascension to the throne, but also made great contributions to the country. He is an important matter for the peace and military affairs, and when it comes to peace talks, it is natural to listen to his opinions, and he will not say anything to hinder him. What's more, Xu Qing's loyalty is world-famous, the first emperor relied on him very much when he was alive, and when I first ascended the throne, he won the victory of the Northern Expedition, and Xu Liang made great contributions. "There is another point that Zhao Guanjia did not say, that is, he has no intention of going to politics. For example, if it weren't for his wife's urgency, he wouldn't have bothered to talk to the ministers.

"But Your Majesty has not thought about it, now in the court, the Xu family is dominant. Not only in the court, but also in the locality, the children of the Xu family have heavy troops, and there are not a few people in high positions, is this in line with the ancestral family law? Empress Liu asked.

Zhao Jin didn't think about these problems at all, and when he heard his wife mention them, he subconsciously said: "What's wrong with this?" Isn't your father and brother ...... too?"

"How can this compare? His Majesty and his concubines are married couples, and his father and brother are His Majesty's courtiers and His Majesty's relatives in Sī, and their loyalty to His Majesty is unquestionable. Liu retorted.

"The queen is too worried, the Xu family is loyal and martyrful, and they are all loyal ministers." Zhao Jindao.

"Isn't Taizu a loyal servant of Sejong?" Liu was not the first to say this. In the past years, when Renzong was in the Dynasty, the ministers all encouraged the emperor to belittle Di Qing, Song Renzong distinguished Di Qing, saying that Di Qing was a loyal minister, and the prime minister at that time, Wen Yanbo, said "Taizu is not a loyal minister of Zhou Shizong", which made Song Renzong speechless. This remark involves the most sensitive incident of the Zhao and Song dynasties, and the prime minister and the emperor said that it was nothing, but the Liu family mentioned this matter in front of the emperor, which shows that he has no fear.

Zhao Jin asked. Although he does not have the ambition and intelligence of his brother Zhao Chen, he is not a foodie either. knew that the queen was dissatisfied with the Xu family, but in the final analysis, it was because Xu Liang blocked the reward for the Liu family several times and offended the queen. It's just that he loves this wife very much, so everything goes with him.

Now that the Liu family has moved out of the ancestors, forcing the Zhao official family to retreat, they have to ask: "What should you do?" ”

"You go down." As soon as Empress Liu raised her head, she retreated left and right.

After the inner shì palace ladies were dispersed, she said: "The official family, regardless of whether Xu Liang is loyal or jiān, he is now in charge of the government alone, and he has his children supporting the army outside, so he must be guarded against." ”

"How to prevent it?" The Emperor asked casually.

This time, she stopped Liu, don't look at her noisy and energetic, she really asked her to think of a way, but she didn't know anything. After holding it for a while, she said: "The concubine just wants the official family to have a number in their hearts, and it is inconvenient to say more." ”

Zhao Jin smiled and shook his head: "Okay, I'm about to become a mother, so I don't have to worry about it, and it's important to raise the baby with peace of mind." ”

In the first two days, the court was discussing whether to negotiate peace with Jin, and with Xu Liang's attitude, no matter how it was discussed, it was impossible to form a unified consensus. The emperor had already made up his mind, so he listened to Xu Liu's advice and refused to negotiate peace. But at this moment, an unexpected thing happened.

said that it was unexpected, but in fact, it was expected by Xu Liang, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly.

On the night of June 11, Xu Liu was tired all day and had already slept with his wife. In the drowsiness, I don't know where I came, I felt that it was dark around me, and the further I went, the more I felt some light. Gradually, the light grew brighter, and a figure was faintly visible, standing there motionless.

When he got closer, he saw an old man, thin and thin, with messy hair, and wearing a very ordinary straight jacket, and he looked at him with a pestle. Xu Liu took a closer look and was surprised, it was not someone else, it was his deceased father, Xu Shao, the king of Qinghe County!

Frightened by this, he screamed out of his mouth, and woke up with a sweat profusely. He also woke up the Hun family on the chuáng, and mō pulled his arm and said, "Guanren, what's wrong?" ”

"I just dreamed of my father, dry and thin, haggard, looking at me and not speaking!" Xu Liu exclaimed.

"I think about it every day, I have a dream at night, and the officials talk about my father-in-law every day, so I have this dream." Xu Liu's Hun family said with relief.

Wiping his sweat, Xu Liang calmed down a little, and just wanted to lie down, suddenly! There was a sudden knock on the door! Accompanied by a panicked voice shouted outside: "Xianggong! Messire! The old lady can't do it! ”

Xu Liang's heart thumped! blurted out: "Palm lamp!" "Panicked so much that the Hun family mō rolled down the chuáng, panicked, and couldn't light the light for a while, how could Xu Liu wait? Grabbed the clothes and wrapped them around his body, and mō black rushed out! The old servant outside trotted all the way behind with a lamp, and said as he ran: "It's fine in the evening, I said I want to eat pears." Jin Lan heard movement in the old lady's room, and when she went in, she saw that it was Taijun pounding chuáng, and she ...... when she saw it."

Xu Liu ran all the way to the courtyard where his mother lived, and rushed into the room, where the lights were already bright, and the maids and servants were all gathered together, shouting nonsense. Xu Liu took the servant away and stepped forward, and when he saw by the light, his mother's eyes were closed and she was no longer moving. His feet were weak, he squatted down, took the old lady's hand and called: "Mother, mother!" ”

I saw that the old lady's mouth moved slightly, and no sound came out, and at the same time, Xu Liu also felt that his mother's hand was a little stronger, but he didn't know what she was trying to express. Xu Liu was so anxious that he was helpless, and hurriedly ordered someone to go to the Tai Hospital to ask for a doctor. Although the imperial physician mainly provided medical services to the palace, he also took care of the noble ministers. An official of Xu Liang's level can enjoy the treatment of a doctor.

"Six ......" Suddenly, the old lady made such a vague sound in his mouth.

Xu Liang turned his head, took his mother's hand and said softly: "Mother, where is my son here, what does my mother want to say?" ”

The old lady grunted for a while, and Xu Liang heard his mother say the word "five", thinking that the old lady missed her son and thought about Xu Wu. Xu Liu nodded again and again and said: "Mother relax, the front line is not very important now, my son will Zhang Luo tomorrow and let my brother go home." If you want to open more, you have to wait for your brother to come back, and Xu Yong, doesn't your mother want to be a grandson? ”

But the old man didn't react anymore, Xu Liu felt that something was wrong, and slowly reached out to probe the old lady's snort. The hand seemed to have been bitten, and it shook involuntarily. He still felt that he shouldn't, and shook his mother's hand several times, but still didn't respond at all.

At this time, there was already a maid behind him who was crying with a suppressed voice. Xu Liu's wife arrived with her children, and when she saw this situation, she stood stunned on the spot, not knowing how to deal with it.

Xu Liu seemed to calm down at this time, stroking his mother's hand, over and over again, before putting it back for a long time. He continued to squat beside the chuáng for a while without moving, and finally slowly stood up and ordered: "Send a letter to the fifth brother and let him come back." After speaking, he turned around and walked out, out of his mother's room to the outer room, and felt that he had no strength to go out further. So he sat down in the outer room, hung his head, and remained motionless.

Finally, the cry still came out of the mouth of the prime minister of the Great Song Dynasty......

Although the old lady of the Xu family is a foreign life, she is a fù after all, she has no official title, and she has never held any important positions, it is said that her death is only a funeral of the Xu family, and it has no impact on the national court. It's no wonder, she is not only Xu Shao's widow, but also the mother of the only "Pingzhang military affairs" in the current dynasty, so her death is not trivial.

The next morning, the news of the death of Xu's mother and old Taijun had already spread among the courtiers. This matter can't be hidden, and no one dares to hide it, Xu Liang reported the matter to Taichang Temple as soon as possible. As soon as Taichang Temple knew, soon, the officials in various institutions knew about it, and after that, the palace also got the news.

Therefore, the court officials who have a relationship with Xu Liang do not need to mention it, even if they don't have a deep friendship, when they encounter this kind of thing, they have to rush to greet and mourn. Since this morning, there has been an endless stream of people who have come to Xufu to mourn. Even the emperor sent Neishì to come, and even the Emperor Taishang of Longde Palace sent people to pay their respects.

This is out of respect for the Xu family. The Xu family is loyal to the martyrs, from the three brothers Xu Mao, Xu Zhang, and Xu Shao, to Xu Yuan, Xu Sheng, Xu Liang, Xu Hong, and Xu Weige, they either fought in the field and fought bloodily for the country and the court; Either strategize in the center, work hard for the country and the community, and work hard for the community, which is indeed the merit of the community. Second, the Xu family is now not only the number one general, but also a powerful family, who doesn't give three points of thin noodles?

The mourning hall has been arranged, only black and white are seen, and the body of the old lady has been solemnly buried. In the main hall of Naxu Mansion, you can see the court veterans, serving ministers, and celebrities and gentry who came to mourn everywhere. These people, without exception, all have solemn faces, and when they go to the old lady's spirit, they salute respectfully, don't forget, she is not only the biological mother of the prime minister, but also a good life.

But the grief on the face is grief, and what is thought in the heart, it is not known.

However, Xu Liangfu, who was on the spiritual side, and their children, were all dressed in filial piety clothes and full of sorrow. Xu Liu was the prime minister, and his eyes were already red. In this world, throughout the ages, no matter how bastard, there are probably few people who are unfilial to their mothers.

"People can't be resurrected after death, Xu Xiangjie mourns." Xu Churen, who has been idle for many years, is rare to see. But Xu Liang was once his subordinate, and he had a great friendship with the Xu family, and such a big event was definitely coming. Xu Liang didn't speak, only bowed his head. He'd done this countless times this morning. In the court, you are a prime minister, but here, you are a filial son who serves his mother.

After Qin Hui saluted in front of the old lady's spirit, he came to the chief and said sadly: "When I went to the Prime Minister's Mansion the day before yesterday, I wanted to see the old lady, but I didn't want to ...... By the way, it is to mourn on the public day. ”

"I have a heart." Xu Liang led the whole family and bowed his head. When Qin Hui and Zhu Zhuo finished mourning and walked out, they saw that there were still people coming in and out, and when they went out, they saw a long queue outside the gate of Xufu.

Because there were too many people, the officials' bridges slipped to the end of the street, and Qin and Zhu had to walk to the place where their official sedan chair was. Qin Hui said as he walked: "Zhu participates in politics, the old lady leaves, and the matter will come out." ”

Of course, Zhu Zhuo knew what he was referring to, and said with a solemn expression: "Yes, I am also thinking about this matter. ”

"What do you think?" Qin Hui said tentatively.

"Although I rule the world with filial piety, Xu Xiang is not an ordinary person after all, and it is easy to move Xu Wujing in Shaanxi?" Zhu Zhuo said.

"Are you planning to play and ask the official family to win the favor?" Qin Hui asked.

"With this intention, how about Qin's joint political participation?" Zhu Zhuo suggested.

The reason why Xu's mother died is extraordinary. The reason is that since the Han Dynasty, there has been a system. If a person in public office dies of his parents, he must leave his post and mourn his parents for three years, which is called "Ding Wei". Before the Tang Dynasty, not only the death of parents had to worry about Ding, but even the death of brothers and sisters. Moreover, all dynasties and generations attach great importance to this matter, and "benevolence and filial piety" is China's core value, and it is not allowed to be careless. If a parent dies and the official hides and does not report it, he will be dismissed.

When Xu Shao died, Xu Liang was subject to Ding Wei, and later because of the operation of the ministers of the DPRK and China, he was reinstated and held an important position before the period of Ding Wei expired. This time, his mother died, and according to the system, he also had to leave his post and mourn for three years! ro！。