A group of thieves in Qianniu Mountain, who at first wandered in the territory of Jinan Mansion, were chased by Zhang Shuye's troops, fled all the way west, and fled into the Daimyo's Mansion. Several times in a row repelled the official army, plundered the village, broke through the Wucheng, occupied the Qianniu Mountain, and for a while there was a tendency to sit on the throne. But who is not easy to mess with, just bumped into Xujiazhuang, folded for a while, attacked Xia Jin and kicked the iron plate. Xu Wei bluffed, frightening the leaderless thieves to flee in a hurry.

Uncle Zhang, who chased him all the way, effortlessly eliminated the nest of the Qianniu Mountain thieves in one fell swoop, and this gang of thieves officially announced the suspension of cooking. The good news flew into Kaifeng Tokyo and spread to the Privy Council, where the privy envoy Tong Guan led the army to attack Liao and retreated to Taiyuan. The person in charge of the Privy Council is Cai You, who is "also aware of the Privy Council". This person is the son of the Prime Minister Cai Jing, but he turned against his father for power and profit, and now although he sits in the second position of the Privy Council, which leads the country's military affairs, on the one hand, there is his father's attack, and on the other hand, Tong Guan is pressed on the top.

Jinan, as soon as the good news of the two Daimyo Prefectures was delivered, Cai Shumi thought that the opportunity had come. The previous time, Tong Shumi led the army with himself to attack Liao, and returned defeated, which made the official family angry. has moved the heart of blame, although a few scapegoats have been pushed up, but the anger of the Son of Heaven has not subsided. This is not right, several times repelled the official army, and the thieves who attacked the daimyo Jinan actually put an end to the thieves' den. If this matter is put in normal times, it is not bullshit, but it can be put on this juncture, but it can be played.

Therefore, Cai You did not hesitate at all, and quickly entered the palace with good news to meet Emperor Daojun.

Today's son Zhao Ji believes in Taoism and wants to cultivate into an immortal. At first, most of the military affairs were taken care of by Cai Jing, Tong Guan and others, but now, Cai Tong and the others are old, and their sons and nephews have ascended to heaven and become noble. Especially this Cai You, when the official family was still Duanwang, he was already flattering, and the relationship was extraordinary.

After entering the Forbidden Palace, I asked where the official's house was, and it turned out that he was cultivating in the Douqi Pavilion. When I arrived at the Douqi Pavilion, I saw an inner servant serving outside the door, and when the Son of Heaven was cultivating, he didn't like to be disturbed. Cai You waited patiently outside, thinking about the words later. Waiting left and right, he looked down and counted hundreds of ants, and finally waited for a bell to ring in the pavilion. Cai Yu stuffed an ingots without a trace, and smiled without saying a word.

The little eunuch was also silent, put it in his sleeve, and then went in to report it. After a while, he came out and said that he was summoned by the official family. Cai You dressed up slightly, and only after confirming with the waiter did he enter the house. There is a reason for this, when today's Zifeng is elegant and elegant, there is also a standard for employing subordinates, and the appearance must be outstanding. The people in power in the DPRK and China, such as Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Liang Shicheng, etc., are all dignified, how dare Cai You be careless?

There was a person in the Douqi Pavilion, wearing a three-clear robe and a five-old crown, sitting cross-legged on the futon, with his back to the outside. There were books piled up all around, and the man took one of them, and he didn't study them, but only stroked them. It is the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, Zhao Ji, known as the Emperor of Daojun.

"Minister, Cai You, knock on Your Majesty! My emperor ...... "Cai Shumi pushed the gold mountain, poured the jade pillar and paid homage."

"Less noise, there is something to say, nothing to ask for guilt." Emperor Daojun opened the scroll as if he was watching.

Cai You's heart sank, knowing that the official family must be angry about the defeat at the front, and hurriedly played: "Your Majesty, good news!" ”

Emperor Daojun's hand turning the book paused slightly, and then he hummed: "Returning from defeat, you can say that it is a strategic transfer, preserve strength, and Xu Tu is enterprising." I still dare to believe your good news? ”

"Your Majesty forgives the sin, the minister is only a privy deputy envoy, and there are some things, the minister has the heart, but he is powerless." The tone is helpless, that is called a grievance, that is called a depression. Push everything cleanly, yes, we're just the second, and the boss is pressing on top, lying about the military situation, naturally it's none of my business.

Emperor Daojun snorted coldly, but he didn't refute it, and after a little hesitation, he asked, "Where did the good news come from?" ”

Cai You hurriedly handed over the military reports sent by the Daimyo Mansion and the Jinan Mansion, and said loudly: "Your Majesty Hongfu, the soldiers have used their lives to bring disaster to Hebei and Shandong, and the thieves have been eliminated!" ”

Zhao Ji was noncommittal, and after the chamberlain presented the military report, he looked at it slightly, seemed impatient, and said: "I don't have enough energy today, you can talk about it." ”

"Obey the order!" Cai You answered, but before he could speak, he listened to the official family and sat down. Secretly happy, I know that there is a door!

After sitting down, he cleared his throat, and Cai You spoke: "Your Majesty, the strategy of the self-army is ...... After the defeat, one remained in Taiyuan, and the rest withdrew to Henan. The Diao people in Hebei and Shandong took advantage of the situation to intrude on the prefecture and county, causing disaster to the township. Among them was a thief, led by a man called 'Saiyid', who made a spear and slashed the people. At first, there were only a few dozen people, doing some work of cutting paths, and day by day, they gathered in the mountains and forests, and plundered villages and towns, which can be said to be all evil and sinful. A few days ago, this gang of thieves broke through Wucheng County and burned them on a large scale, pitying the simple people, suffering from this unjustified disaster, suffering heavy casualties, and leaving their hometowns......" Speaking of this, his tone was sad, his face was sad, and he couldn't continue.

When Zhao Ji heard this, he turned his head slightly and asked, "Why didn't you report this matter?" ”

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty has been diligent in cultivation recently, and the minister has already arranged it, so he doesn't dare to disturb." Cai Yu flickered. After the Wucheng tragedy was reported that day, he was afraid that this incident would anger the already unhappy emperor, so he suppressed it and did not report it. Now, the battle below has been won, and it has become his arrangement.

I saw Zhao Ji, who was facing away from the outside, bowed his head slightly, as if he agreed: "Go on." ”

"After looting Wucheng County, this gang of deserving plague thieves went straight to Xiajin ......"

Zhao Ji interjected: "But Taizu Chao Ma Renyu's hometown? ”

"Exactly! Your Majesty, it should also be unlucky for this gang of thieves, that Xiajin has been the hometown of martial arts since ancient times, especially under the rule of Xujiazhuang, which is even more remarkable, and the men in the village are all strong in martial arts. Your Majesty, I don't know if you still have an impression of Xu Zhang? Cai You asked.

Emperor Daojun didn't hesitate: "No." ”

Cai You was bored and continued: "That Xu Zhangnai is a fierce general of the Western Army, originally a subordinate of the plant, and the party is afraid of him like a tiger, and he is the Marquis of Yu to the forbidden army. At that time, the minister also played to retain. Although this is true, but at that time, Xu Taigong offended Tong Guan's henchmen, Tong Guan greeted Cai Jing, and Cai Jing put pressure on Gao Yu, forcing Xu Taigong to retire. At that time, Cai You was already at odds with his father, and I opposed everything you agreed with, and I agreed with everything you opposed. That's why I got a copy and asked to keep it.

Hearing him say this, Zhao Ji seemed to have some impressions: "And then? ”

"Although Xu Zhang is a scholar, his loyalty to the monarch and his concern for the people has not been slackened. He raised his two sons to become talents, and the eldest son was favored and served in the forbidden army. Although the second son is young, he is a brave and resourceful young talent, the thieves and soldiers came to Xujiazhuang, and sent people to ask for money, grain, cattle and horses, otherwise they would slaughter the whole village, and no one would be left! Cai You said this, pausing deliberately.

"How can this be true? The world is my world! How can we allow the thieves to run rampant! Sure enough, Zhao Ji was furious, and threw the chapter in his hand and flew out, so frightened that the waiter trotted over and picked it up.

"Exactly! The Zhuang family is all timid and afraid, but this second son of Xu Zhang sternly refuses! Kill the thief on the spot, in the case of Baozheng and bravely fleeing, gather the young descendants of the village, and use clever tricks to annihilate the thieves. bluffed again, scared back the main force of the thieves besieging Xiajin County, his brother was defending the city, and the two brothers should work together inside and outside, which led to this big victory! Cai You said with his eyebrows fluttering, and he was elated. Zhao Ji listened frequently, and his heart was a little wider.

"Your Majesty, after the minister returned to Beijing from the front, he received a military report and repeatedly instructed the locality. The imperial court has limited troops, so it is necessary to recruit civil warriors who dare to fight to defend Sangzi. This Xia Jin Zhixian obviously implemented and understood the intentions of the imperial court, which made Xu Zhang's two sons have a place to use. "Cai You's words, the first thing is to show that the victory of the thief this time is his own correct policy, and the first merit is of course his own. The second piggyback brought his minions, which was Naxia Jinzhi County. The merits of the two brothers Xu Sheng and Xu Wei were actually obtained under his spiritual guidance and under the specific implementation of Xia Jinzhi County.

Zhao Ji took the piece from the hand of the chamberlain and seemed to look through it, but he couldn't raise his interest, and asked casually: "What is the name of Xu Zhang's second son?" How old is it? ”

"Well, I don't know my name, I don't think I'm old." Cai You had already seen the recital, and in the prefect's recital, he was a passing mention to the two brothers Xu Sheng and Xu Wei. In the recital of the Jinan prefect, fifty or sixty words were devoted to Xu Wei's experience in commanding operations, and his feelings of recommending talents jumped on the paper.

At this time, he saw that the emperor did not seem interested in reviewing the chapter, and deliberately concealed Xu Wei's name. When he was still the emperor and King Duan, he often took various opportunities to meet him, and later King Duan asked, "Who is this person?" The waiter who received a lot of benefits from him responded with a sentence of "Cai You", and in this way, King Duan left an impression, and he has today. Xu Wei is not related to him, so there is no reason to help him in vain.

Since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, especially in recent decades, there have been many rebellions. If it was usual, such a thing as exterminating thousands of thieves would not be reported to the emperor at all. This time, there is only one reason why Cai You made a special report, and even specifically talked about the battle experience, that is, after the defeat of the Liao attack, the emperor needed a victory to make Long Yan happy, and he needed a victory to stabilize his position.

Judging from the current situation, this goal seems to have been achieved.

"The official army attacked the Khitans who were weakening in the western mountains with superior forces, and were defeated and returned; These country boys gathered in a heap, but they can defeat thousands of brutal thieves, since you are in charge of the Privy Council, have you ever thought about the reason? After a long time, Zhao Ji asked.

Cai You was speechless for a while, and said: "The minister is stupid, please give instructions to Your Majesty." ”

"What the officers and soldiers lack is this heart to fight! Think about that...... Xu what? The Emperor asked the question again.

Cai You pretended to be stupid: "Xu Zhang." ”

"I asked about his second son's surname...... That's it, that Xu Zhang's second son, even if he was born in a family of soldiers and was nurtured by his father, but he did not join the army, and the second did not go into battle, with the determination to defend Sangzi, he defeated the strong enemy, this kind of courage to fight is exactly what the official army lacks. Both the Privy Council and the Privy Council have to pay attention to this issue. Zhao Ji admonished.

Cai Youlian claimed that it was, Zhao Ji paused, and suddenly asked, "Ju'an, are you almost fifty?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the minister is eight out of forty this year." Hearing the emperor suddenly weigh his cousin and ask his age, Cai You's heart was ecstatic. Today's performance seems to have worked!

"Hmm." Emperor Daojun nodded, and then said: "Stand down, meritorious people, the reward will be rewarded, the country is eventful, you need to be a monarch and a minister, and the people can work together to tide over the difficulties." ”

Cai Yu responded, bid farewell to the emperor, and just as he left, he suddenly heard the same question behind him: "That Xu Zhang's second son ......"

Cai You still didn't answer, looked back and bowed and said, "What else does Your Majesty command?" ”

"A young man like Xu Zhang's second son should be given more opportunities to hone his skills, and if he is really talented, he can be appointed as appropriate, or even promoted exceptionally, to become a national reserve."