Ma Kuo was reluctant to go, and Xu Wei didn't want to embarrass him, so he lowered his specifications and sent a cadre from the Xuanfu Division to meet with the relevant officials of the Jin State in the Datong Mansion of the Jin State, mainly to disperse the loyalty, report on the return of the Jin Su Army in Yongbyon Prefecture, and the repatriation of the surrendered soldiers.

At the same time, because the emperor issued an edict to reprimand the minister, you can't eat it as a bowl of lasagna, and the emperor criticizes you, you either admit your mistake or justify, there must be an explanation. Of course, Xu Wei will not defend himself, and directly admits his mistakes. said, because the minister was careless and negligent, so he made this matter. It is the fault of the ministers who violated the peace agreement of Song and Jin, and also violated the orders of the saint and the imperial court.

Xu Wei originally thought that the emperor's edict reprimanded him was more symbolic than practical, and he just wanted to warn himself. Unexpectedly, the emperor and the court recognized the truth this time, and his recital was sent across the Yangtze River in 20 days, but on the 35th day, the emperor's "gold medal" was transmitted back to Xingyuan Mansion.

As mentioned many times above, the so-called "gold medal" was not a gold brand, but the fastest postal system at that time. The gold medal is a wooden plaque with a length of more than a foot, painted red sè, with eight golden characters written on it, "The text in front of the emperor, no entry into the shop", which is transmitted day and night at a speed of 500 miles a day, and must not stay for a moment. Therefore, after the emperor received Xu Weizuo, he could send it back to Sichuan and Shaanxi in half a month.

What does the gold medal say? Because Xu Wei did not obey the constraints, he intervened in the Jinliao War without authorization, and caused considerable impact. He himself also admitted his mistake, asked for punishment, and stripped him of the title of "King of Taiyuan County", demoted to "Tianshui County Duke", and served as the envoy of Sichuan and Shaanxi Xuanfu with the title of "Taiwei".

This command is unusual. First of all, Xu Wei originally thought that this was just a formality, even if he took the initiative to ask for punishment, the big deal would be to criticize a few words. But the emperor and the court actually played really! Secondly, even if you play really, if you want to demote the lord, the "county king" will go down, and there will be the same "Guogong" from the first grade, like this kind of plausible thing, just reduce it to "Guogong", but the emperor actually directly downgraded from the "county king" of the first product to the "county prince" of the second grade!

For military ministers, this kind of demotion is mostly used to bear the responsibility for defeat. And Xu Wei was stripped of the prince just because of a "ridiculous" crime, which is no longer disgusting him, but really wants to cut him! Xu Wei often said that he didn't care about the false title or anything, but this time he cared, and he cared about the deep meaning behind the "demotion of the knight"!

Sichuan-Shaanxi Xuanfu Division, Yamen Staff Officer Ma Kuo, Senate Military Zhang Qing, Consul General Caifu Liu Ziyu, and Supervisor Ji Yi Wu Gong, these four main staff members all stood in Xu Wei's signature room, and each of them had their feelings written on their faces, some angry, some dignified, and some worried. And Xu Wei also stood behind his public case, his hands propped up on the table, his eyes staring at the emperor's imperial note placed on the case.

After a period of silence, Xu Wei took off the hat on the top and threw it to the side, and sat down with an expressionless face. In officialdom, don't say anything like "deceiving people too much", but recently, the court has been pressing and aggressive, and he has deeply felt it. Take back the privileges, take the king, what's next? Divide Sichuan and Shaanxi? Excuse for suppression? And then fabricate charges?

"The King." Zhang Qing shouted with a special mouth. But when the words came out, he stopped, and changed his words, "Xuanfu Xianggong, the matter has been clarified, if you wait any longer, you will really be passive!" Xu Wei was stripped of the king, so naturally he can no longer be called "king", but he doesn't want to call him "Taiwei", Taiwei is now a rotten street! Huanqing Liu Guangshi is a lieutenant, and Xihe Yao Pingzhong is also a lieutenant, are they qualified to compete with Xu Xuanfu?

Liu Ziyu also said: "Yes, these tricks, in fact, we expected them a long time ago." If they don't respond, then the next thing is to send people to restrain them, divide Sichuan, Shaanxi, and even divide the Western Army. Great, Xuanfu Xianggong, the advice of the humble position is to fight back immediately. ”

Ma Kuo only said one sentence: "You can't sit still." ”

Xu Wei let out a long sigh: "The reason why I didn't take action when I discussed with the Four Classics that day was because I considered that the time had not come. Now that it has come to the point of 'revealing it'......" The expression gradually became yīn owl, and the eyes of the purple golden tiger lit up.

Liu Ziyu interjected at this time: "Xuanfu Xianggong, although the things discussed that day are feasible, they are more negative after all. There is a way to do it, or, more appropriately. ”

Xu Wei looked at him, waiting for the following, and Ma Kuo also urged: "What is the best plan, Yan Xiu said!" ”

"Didn't the official family strictly order us to return the Jin Su army in Yongbyon Prefecture and repatriate the Jin State to surrender the soldiers? This is an opportunity for us to do something about the pawns. Liu Ziyu stepped forward and said.

"Pawn? Isn't it ......," Zhang Qing guessed.

Liu Ziyu didn't wait for him to say it, and said directly: "The surrender of the Ningbian Prefecture and the Jinsu army is to take the initiative to surrender to our army when they are desperate. Once repatriated, Jin Guo will definitely not be treated well! I believe the soldiers also know this! They must not be willing to be sent back, and since they are unwilling, why don't we secretly fulfill them? "The Jin army surrendered voluntarily, if he went back, he would be strict in governing the army with his servants and loyalty, and those who were soldiers may not be like that, but the officers would not survive.

"Even if they go, the Song, Jin, and Liao kingdoms will all gather heavy troops on the border, what can they do?" Zhang Qing was a little puzzled.

Liu Ziyu looked at him and said with a slight smile: "Why is Senator Zhang confused for a while?" If we have these thousands of troops, to the east and north is the Yellow River, they can't pass, to the south is Linfu, they can't come down, looking in all directions, there is only one way to the west! ”

Zhang San suddenly! High-fived: "Yes! Once they go west, there's a reason for that! ”

Wu Gong, the supervisor of Jiyi, also echoed: "What's more, in this way, both Jinliao and Jin Liao will smell the smell. The Jurchens knew that something had happened to us, and the Khitans also knew how our dynasty worked closely with the Jin. When the time comes, the king will ...... again" Speaking of this, he knew that he was speechless, and immediately changed his words, "Taiwei will ...... again" But this seems to be even more inappropriate.

Zhang Qing stared at him and said, "Captain? Liu Guangshi is also a captain, and Yao Pingzhong is also a captain, who is the captain? ”

"Yes, the humble duty is a gaffe, and when the time comes, the minister will act according to the original plan, and the direction of the situation should be expected by us." Wu Gong bowed his head.

Ma Kuo looked a little sad and sighed: "I didn't take this step, why did I persecute too much?" ”

Zhang Qing laughed at him for being a little nervous, and said: "270,000 Western Army, more than 100,000 soldiers, archers, and village warriors, well-armed, strong soldiers and horses, Brother Zichong still need to worry?" ”

Ma Kuo thought about it, as long as the army was kept in chaos, everything could be recovered.

When Xu Wei heard this, he said: "Yan Xiu's strategy, I think it is feasible, let the Lin Mansion Pacification Division handle it." Wu Da, when you go in person, you must be thorough, don't leave some handles, and you will make trouble yourself when the time comes. However, this should be done after I am gone. ”

Arch should be the road.

Xu Wei stood up, looked at the four most trusted staff, and said solemnly: "The four marshals, I have already explained, once you act, the Xuanfu Division's mess, please leave it to you." No matter who comes, you only remember one thing, and don't worry about other things, but as long as it is related to the four economic strategies of Yanyan, Yongxing, Qin Feng, and Jingyuan, you must try your best to deal with it. Our brothers started by conquest, and the army is the foundation, and if we lose this, we are all finished! ”

When the imperial court was approaching, Xu Wei also began to prepare a counterattack, but in terms of expression, he expressed his loyalty to the imperial court. Although the emperor stripped him of his title, he offered to accept the punishment. His "deferential" attitude paralyzed the emperor and even Qin Hui, but it aroused the vigilance of Zhi Yanzhi.

Xu Wei has been friends with him for many years, in Gong, once fought side by side, and in Sī, he was a close friend, so he has a certain understanding of Xu Wei. Zijin Tiger is definitely not a submissive person, with his knowledge, he will definitely not be able to see what the imperial court wants to do to him, Sichuan and Shaanxi have been in business for decades, how can he let go? Now he is so deferential, he slapped the left cheek, and stretched out the right cheek, there must be an article here!

After exchanging views with Qin Hui, the latter also thought that it was necessary to guard against it. He then ordered Han Shizhong's troops stationed in Xijing to be vigilant, and ordered Zhang Jun, the envoy of Hedong Xuanfu, to pay attention to it at all times. Because this matter can't be spread out, it is inevitable that the words will be vague in the order to Zhang Han and the others, and as a result, Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong will be confused, what do you want us to be careful against?

In June, after the preliminary preparation, Qin Hui officially asked the emperor to issue an edict to appoint Liu Guangshi, the pacification envoy of Shaanxi Huanqing Road and the head of the soldiers and horses, as the judge of Sichuan and Shaanxi Xuanfu. His original position was represented by Liu Qi, the general of Huanqingsu. In fact, Liu Guangshi had already received the news and knew that he was about to be sentenced and had already made preparations in advance in Qingyang Mansion. Therefore, as soon as the edict arrived, he immediately handed over his official duties and quickly set off for Xingyuan Mansion to take up his post.

This day is the seventh day of the seventh month of July, the begging festival, the girls are preparing melons and fruits tribute, worship the fairies in the evening, thread needles and beggars, in order to ask the fairies in heaven to give them dexterous hands, so that their knitting women are skilled, of course, the purpose of yesterday is to hope to get a happy marriage. On such a beautiful and romantic day, no one must know that a Sichuan-Shaanxi earthquake is about to break out.

Liu Guangshi was in a hurry to take office, so he left his family and baggage behind, and he only took a dozen or so personal soldiers and rushed to Xingyuan all the way. It's also a shame that he is a handful of years, and he is not afraid of breaking his bones.

"Taiwei, there is Xingyuan City ahead!" A majestic soldier shook his horsewhip, pointed to the front, and said to an old man about sixty years old with gray sideburns. This is, of course, Liu Guangshi, among the marshals of the Western Army, he and Yao Pingzhong are the oldest, and they are both veterans.

However, although he is old, Liu Guangshi is from a general, with white sideburns and wrinkles on his face, but he can't hide his majesty. Especially now that the new official has taken office, it is even more meaningful, stop the war horse, look at Xingyuan City, and say loudly: "Go, enter the city!" ”

The caravan marched forward and ran along the post road for hundreds of paces before someone noticed that something was wrong. I saw that in front of the city gate tower, the black pressed a crowd, and I don't know what to do? reported to Liu Guangshi, and he also felt strange, so he couldn't help but slow down and observe carefully. When I was looking, I saw two horses galloping over, and the people on the horse were all wearing red robes and gold belts, showing that they were important members of the fifth grade or above, and when they got closer, Liu Guangshi found that it was Ma Kuo and Liu Ziyu!

The two of them came to the front and reined in their horses, and they both said: "Liu Xuan's sentence!" ”

Liu Guangshi was suspicious, what is the situation? Then he returned the salute and said: "These are ...... of you."

"Announce the verdict and take up the new position, and come to welcome you!" Liu Ziyu smiled all over his face.

"Oh, how dare you do this? You said that everyone will work together in the future, why are you so polite? Mrs. Xu didn't come, did he? Liu Guangshi asked with a fake smile.

Ma Kuo was a little displeased for a moment, and Liu Ziyu took over the conversation and said: "Xu Xuanfu is in front, and the staff of the Xuanfu Division and the gentry in the city are waiting for the verdict, please!" ”

"Oops! Mrs. Xu is too outward, now everyone is a colleague, he is still my boss, how can this be? Come on, get off the horse! In this Sichuan-Shaanxi realm, who dares to hold up in front of Taiwei Xu? As soon as Liu Guangshi called, Ma Kuo couldn't hold back, what is this? With guns and sticks in and out of the words, how old the hell are you in the Western Army? It's not for the identity of the royal family, who the is looking at you?

It's just this kind of scene, he can't do it, Liu Guangshi dismounted, and he and Liu Ziyu could only abandon their mounts and accompany him on foot. Before arriving at the city, I saw that the front was the Xuanfu Division and the relevant officials of the Xingyuan Mansion, the back were the gentry and celebrities in the Xingyuan area, and then the ordinary people who watched the excitement.

Liu Guangshi saw Xu Wei at a glance, hey, what about it? Hundreds of people were standing at the scene, but he was the only one sitting, is this here to welcome me, or to demonstrate to me? Thinking so in his heart, he didn't stop at his feet, walked forward quickly, and gave up his hand from afar: "Captain, I haven't seen you for a long time, it's always good?" ”

Xu Wei still sat on the chair, hugged his fists and said, "Captain Lao Liu is worried, so he will do it." ”

Although it is a relationship between superiors and subordinates, the rank of the two is generally the same, because Liu Guangshi is not serious, he only stood in front of Xu Wei and said: "This time, the emperor is appointed as the judge of Xuanfu and assists Xu Taiwei in Xiangli Sichuan and Shaanxi, and I hope that the minister of Xuanfu does not have to see outside, but there are orders, dare not obey his orders?" ”

"Haha!" Xu Wei laughed heartily. "Where did Taiwei Liu come from? Don't dare to take orders, let's discuss it. ”

Liu Guangshi liked to hear this, nodded and said, "That's exactly how it should be." ”

Xu Wei stopped gossiping, and introduced to him the officials of the department, as well as the Xingyuan celebrities in the back. After that, Liu Ziyu and others next to him asked about their families and other matters, and after gossiping, they invited them into the city. Liu Guangshi didn't want to go too far, so he asked Xu Wei to go first.

"Well, if you're polite, I'm not welcome." Xu Wei laughed, but didn't move. When Liu Guangshi was wondering, he saw a cool bridge, called "sliding bar" in the place, and lifted it over. At that time, his face was pulled down, Xu Wei, Xu Wei, how are you welcoming me, you really give me a horse! I dismounted and walked in order to honor you, and you fell in front of me and set up a score? These few steps, you still have to take a sedan car? Are you confused? It's no better than ever! was about to have a seizure, but when he saw Xu Wei stretch out his hand, the two staff members of the Xuanfu Division behind him immediately stepped forward to support him left and right, got out of the chair, and slowly moved to the cool bridge.

Liu Guangshi was stupid at that time! Which one is this? Because of surprise, before he could ask, Xu Wei had already been carried away. Liu Ziyu stepped forward: "Pronounce the verdict, please." ”

Hao Guangshi replied indiscriminately, walked forward in disbelief, and finally couldn't help asking, "General Commander Liu, what is going on with Taiwei Xu?" ”

"The verdict is ......," Liu Ziyu asked puzzled.

"I remember that when Xu Taiwei Fang arrived in Shaanxi, he was only a weak champion in his youth, and now he is only too old, just in the prime of life, how can he ......," Liu Guangshi asked.

"Oh, it's sad to talk about it." Liu Ziyu shook his head and sighed as he walked.

"What's that saying?" Liu Guangshi asked.

"Xu Xuanfu has been fighting for more than 20 years, and this sentence is known, and it is inevitable that he will be injured when he goes into battle, and this sentence is also clear. Xuanfu Xianggong has been injured for more than 20 years, and he was able to hold on to his youth in the past, but now he is no better than a young man, coupled with his busy official duties and overwork, so that the old injuries recur. In particular, the war wounds suffered in Dunzhou that year were the most serious, and recently they have been inconvenient to move, and it is very difficult to lift a pen and a hand. Liu Ziyu explained.

"I see." Liu Guangshi nodded slowly. "Which of us who led the troops was not wounded in battle? When I was young, I was fine, but at my age, it was really miserable! ”

"Oh? Is Liu Xuan's sentence also? Liu Ziyu was surprised.

"I'm fine, my back, my back hurts." Liu Guangshi said. "But seeing Mrs. Xu like this, it's really sad."

Liu Ziyu shook his head: "This is also a matter of no choice, Xuanfu Division is a mess, which day does it not matter seven or eight things?" Fortunately, now that the verdict has been announced, it is our local officials in Sichuan and Shaanxi, who are familiar with the situation, and will definitely be able to share the burden for Xuanfu. ”

"That's natural." Liu Guangshi said casually, but he was secretly happy in his heart. Isn't this a blessing of heaven? The official family and the imperial court were asking me to restrain Xu Wei, but he himself became like this. Looking at the walking is a little slow, I think the injury is not light, in fact, it is easy to understand, there are many old injuries, and the affairs are complicated, and now the court accepts his rights, and the mood is definitely not good, these few things are added, and good people have to be sick!

After entering the city, the gentry, celebrities, and common people dispersed, and the officials of the Xuanfu Division threw themselves into the yamen. When Liu Guangshi arrived at the Xuanfu Division, Xu Wei's bridge had already stopped by the door and waited.

"Taiwei Xu, I just listened to General Liu's words, and I knew that Taiwei was sick. These days are hot, and the captain is unable to move, so he should rest more and not work too hard. Liu Guangshi stepped forward and said. Without waiting for Xu Wei to speak, he added another sentence, "Zai Gong, Taiwei is my peak, but in Sī, I am older, and I am considered to be a person from the past." I have to persuade the captain that when we march to fight, it is inevitable that the war will be created, and if we don't pay attention when we are young and strong, when we are old, we will be a disaster. ”

Xu Wei always maintained a very personable smile, nodded and said: "Thank you Taiwei Liu for your concern, I am really unwell today, so I will not sit in the hall and go back to the house." The official duties of the division and its own staff officers and staff members shall report to the pronouncement of the verdict. Today's inconvenience is another day, and a banquet will be set up to catch the wind for the pronouncement of the sentence. ”！。