In February, Zhao Huan issued an edict and changed the name of the year to Longxing. Amnesty to the world, why did the Zhao official family suddenly come to this interest? One is that he is happy, the throne is now as stable as Mount Tai for him, and no one can shake it, including the Emperor Taishang who lives in Longde Palace. Second, I am still happy, although the two rivers have been lost, but in recent years, the Southern Dynasties have gradually settled out of the decline of the Jingkang period, and they will collapse at the touch of a button, and the situation of rushing to flee for their lives will no longer appear. Third, they want to stimulate the morale of the whole country and the people through the methods of reforming the yuan, amnesty, and raising rewards, and ambitiously prepare to "restore the two rivers" and "return the homeland"

From the era name "Longxing" he proposed, it can be seen that the ambition of the Great Song Dynasty is not coincidental. This year's name is actually the same as the year name of Song Xiaozong, an emperor who was quite accomplished in the Southern Song Dynasty in history. If you want to recover the two rivers, what do you rely on? It must rely on the soldiers on the front line, to be precise, mainly on the elite soldiers of the Sixth Road in Shaanxi. However, the restrictions imposed on military ministers by the ancestral family law have made the army's combat effectiveness low and the generals' command poor, which is already the consensus of the government and the opposition. Zhao Huan wanted to elevate the status of a military minister. The power of the military ministers was promoted, but the civilian clique strongly opposed it, and the detailed discussion was stunned for more than half a year, but there was no reason for it.

After the reform of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhao Huan forcibly promoted a series of policies aimed at appropriately delegating power to military ministers, one of which was the ownership of military power in Shaanxi Sixth Road. The regular forbidden army of the Western Army is about more than 200,000, if you count the soldiers, village soldiers, and archers. This number will increase exponentially. And it is the only army that can handle it in the Great Song Dynasty at present, and whoever leads the Western Army will be the Optimus Pillar of the Great Song Dynasty. So. Who has this qualification, this prestige, and this ability to suppress the proud soldiers of Shaanxi Sixth Road? Although Li Gang is said to be a propaganda envoy, he is powerless in the army. No matter how respectable you are in Tokyo, it doesn't mean much in Shaanxi.

Someone recommended the withdrawal of troops from Taiyuan back to Shaanxi. He is currently stationed in the Seed Division of Fengxiang Mansion. It is believed that he is the only one left to be a kind of general, with old qualifications, high prestige, and brilliant achievements in the Western Army. Can convince the public. But Zhao Huan never said anything. Xu Shao specially probed the tone, and the official family said "Lian Po is old" The seventy-year-old man may not be able to afford this serious injury.

Since it is not successful in the planter, how about Xu Zhang? He was a general of the Western Army, after the Sticky Han army fell to Luoyang. He rushed to the front line and served as the envoy of the Shaanxi Five-Way System to turn the tide of the war. Now it's stopped. Dong not only swept away the thieves, but also defeated Gao Shiyu's rebels, if you talk about the record since Jingkang, count him the highest! The most important thing is that the Xu family can now be said to be a big general, Xu Yuan, Xu Sheng, Xu Wei and other Xu family children are all in Shaanxi! Fighting tiger brothers, going into battle father and son soldiers, the most suitable!

Zhao Huan was noncommittal, and asked the ministers of the detailed discussion on this matter. Xu Shao has served as a privy envoy for nearly six years, and no one can shake his position, except for the emperor's trust in him and his own talents, he relies on prudence in words and deeds, not publicity, and not domineering. In order to avoid suspicion, he did not express his position. Zhi Yanzhi, Xu Han and others all expressed their support, and Geng Nanzhong said, "Although Xu Shaobao has courage, his prestige is added to the six roads." However, he is in his sixties, and he is sick, and he is afraid that he will be overwhelmed. When Zhao Huan heard this, he also gave up.

On this day, Xu Wei, who had just been promoted to the "Envoy of the Guards Ma Jun Du Yu Hou Da'an Army", had not had time to accept the congratulations of his subordinates, so he rushed to Dongzhen under the rule of Xie County with Yang Yan and more than 100 personal soldiers. Xu Wei's costume can be described as grand, he did not wear armor, but wore a five-grade vermilion official uniform and a black veil on his head. The waist is tied with a gold belt, compared with when he first arrived in the Song Dynasty. is a little less delicate and handsome, and more calm.

And Yang Yan beside him doesn't seem to have changed much. Although there is one eye missing, it is still one, handsome and extraordinary, even if he fights on the battlefield all the year round and gets tanned, he still raises his muscles and white eyes to the blue sky, as bright as a jade tree in front of the wind. To say that such a beautiful man is a fierce warrior who kills people without blinking, people who don't know the inside story really can't believe it.

"My brother is the leader of the Hedong Righteous Army designated by the imperial court. He is just the head of a righteous army, why should he surrender his identity to greet him? Yang Yan didn't figure it out along the way. Brother Jiu is polite to people who are not as good as him, but he is not new, such as Yang Zaixing. But the means of others, among the ten thousand armies, are like entering a no-man's land, going up the mountain to fight tigers, and going down to the sea to capture dragons, as it should be. How old is Ma Kuo? How many times is it worth going to be honored?

Xu Wei looked forward from time to time and said casually: "You don't understand, let's come out of Xiajin, although we have won a few battles, it can be seen that our knowledge is not wide after all." He used to travel among nations and saw many people, and if I could have his help, it would be of great benefit to me. ”

Yang Yan frowned slightly, then shook his head and said, "Then let him come to our Hujie!" ”

"Some people can buy money, some people can receive it, but there are people who have neither fame nor profit. It's the hardest thing to catch. Xu Wei's tone was a little helpless. Now under his command, although not to mention the fierce generals gathered. But Wang Yan, Wu Jie, Zhang Xian and others are all generals who are enough to stand alone. But he always felt that he lacked something, and later figured out that he was a person who could plan the layout and focus on the four seas. Ma Kuo is undoubtedly the best choice, but unfortunately, this person has an arrogant temperament and is extremely difficult to get close to. Xu Wei inquired in many ways, and the reason why Ma Kuo was unwilling to return to the imperial court to serve was willing to be the leader of the rebel army. may be because he was framed by his own people and imprisoned when he was in office. The reason is said to be because he and his father Ma Zheng ran between Song and Jin and promoted the "Maritime Alliance". Now it has been regarded by the Chinese people as a different body clam that causes the Jurchen Jian book to dry fine concave and say that it is not the same body clam", saying that reading is good to go to the root of the curse! And Ma Zheng and Ma Kuan's father and son also made the Chinese people a lot unforgiving. Therefore, he was punished or feared that he would be framed again after returning to the court.

Moreover, Zhao Zhen, who instructed his father and son to envoy Jurchen, has now abdicated, and others such as Cai Jing and Tong Guan have long returned to the West, who knows what the new monarch's attitude is towards him?

As he was thinking, there was a hoof sound in front of him. Xu Wei looked for prestige. I saw a hundred and ten paces away, and a group of people and horses swept over. That horse knight. All of them are strong, everyone is heroic, especially the first one, wearing a diagonal scarf on his head. He wears a long green jacket with iron armor and a long knife hanging from his waist. His eyes are blazing, his face is dark, and he is tough as iron! Isn't Ma Kuo who?

Xu Wei stepped forward immediately, and Lao Yuan smiled and said, "Brother Zichong, I haven't seen you for many days, brother, don't come unharmed?" ”

Ma Daquan never thought that Xu Wei would actually run from Dingrong City to the edge of this Xie County to greet him. Grabbed the reins, hugged his fists and said, "Why is Ziang like this? It's too out-of-the-box. After that, he turned around and shouted, "Why don't you come and pay homage to my parents of Hedong Yishi!" ”

As soon as his voice fell, the hundreds of people who came with him rolled off the saddle one after another, facing the little cardinal who had admired his name for a long time and had not seen his face. Xu Wei waved his sleeves: "Don't be formal, please get up." ”

At that moment, the two groups of people cooperated and went straight to Dingrong. Along the way, Ma Kuo saw that Dingrong was recovering quickly, and he couldn't help but think highly of Xu Wei, the little brother. In the past, it was only thought that he was born as a general. can be used to fighting, and now it seems that he is still a competent shepherd.

Ma Kuan came here to personally send the commanders selected from the Hedong Righteous Army to Dingrong for training, in addition. There are also some situations that need to be discussed with Xu Wei in person. After entering Dingrong City, Yang Yan led the officers of the Hedong Volunteer Division to report to the camp, and Ma Kuo was anxious to talk to Xu Wei, but let the latter drag him to the restaurant.

"I said Xu Zhijun, Manager Xu, now that the black clouds in Hedong are pressing down on the city, how can you still care about drinking wine and eating meat?" There was a hint of dissatisfaction in Ma Kuo's tone.

Xu Wei took the black yarn and put it beside him, beckoning: "Even if the sky falls, you have to eat the rice, right?" What can happen to Hedong? It's nothing more than the Jurchens trying to push a puppet out, Li Zhi or Gao Shiyou? ”

When Ma Kuo heard this, he quickly pulled out a chair and sat down, and asked, "What?" Ziang has also heard of it? ”

"There was a lot of uproar, and the imperial court sent two groups of envoys to inquire about poison, but one did not come back." Xu Wei said with a smile.

"Needless to say, ironclad is definitely detained. If the Jurchens want to establish a different surname in Lianghe, they must choose one person from Li Zhi Gao Shiyou, in your opinion, who will it be? Ma Kuo asked.

The guy brought wine and food, and after Xu Wei ordered him to cover the door, he lifted the wine jug and shook his head while pouring wine: "This brother is really inaccurate." Li Zhi used to be a Weisheng intellectual, he was familiar with Hedong, and he was a military minister, and he knew that soldiers could fight. Before Gao Shiyou surrendered, his status was probably more prominent. In the past two years, with the help of the environment and geographical advantages, the pace of expansion has been very fast, and there are more people under him. It's hard to choose. ”

After Ma Kuo was silent for a while, he said: "In my opinion, Gao Shiyou has a greater chance. ”

"How so?" Xu Wei brought the wine glass to the table in front of him.

Raised his glass and touched Xu Wei. put it to his mouth but didn't drink it, Ma Kuo said: "The reason for the world is to surrender as a person who stayed in Xijing and knew Henan Mansion, and it is a literary rank, if you use him, it will be much more convenient for the Lianghe scholars and retired officials." And talent. It is exactly what the Jurchens urgently need at the moment. ”

Xu Wei drank a glass and let the wine soak between his chest and lungs. After a while, the whole body was comfortable, and the cold was swept away. Ma Kuo's words are not unreasonable, but can Li Zhi agree? He now controls the eastern half of the river, and if Gao Shiyou comes to power, he will never be able to tolerate him. And if the Jurchens push Gao Shiyou to power, it means that they have given up on him, and Li Zhiwu is from a martial artist and will sit still? He's definitely going to make a move. At the beginning, the Jurchens valued Li Zhi as a military minister in Hedong, and he surrendered on his own initiative, brought soldiers and horses, and was familiar with the situation in Hedong, so they ordered him to seize Hedong. After Gao Shiyou surrendered, he valued his prominent status and strong "appeal", and ordered him to encroach on Hebei. It's just that in this way, it has created "one mountain and two tigers".

When he said what he meant, Ma Kuo nodded in agreement: "Yes, I expected it. Before the candidates are determined within the Jin Kingdom, Li Zhi must have a move, and he may even merge with Gao Shi Yuhuo! ”

"That's an opportunity" Xu Wei put down his wine glass, his eyes sharpened.

Ma Kuo stared at the young man in front of him. Tentatively asked, "What does Ziang mean by opportunity?" ”

Xu Wei's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he chuckled: "Brother Zichong, this is testing the brother?" You are stationed in Zhaode Mansion, which is the closest to the Weisheng Army, what Li Zhi has to do, Brother Zichong is the first to know. Presumably I was already confident before I came to Dingrong, so why deliberately embarrass me? ”

Ma Kuo laughed when he heard this, shook his head and said, "Xu Ziang, Xu Ziang, when I was in Wuma Mountain, I really looked away." Great, great, Shaanxi has a cadre like you, and it shouldn't fall. ”

Xu Wei was really taken aback! Ma Kuo actually expected Shaanxi to fall? Historically, after Zhao Gou inherited the throne in the south, he used Zhang Junxuan to pacify Shaanxi, and the Western Army was defeated in a battle, so that he broke his muscles and bones, and never recovered his vitality since. The Wu brothers packed up the remnants of the Western Army, but they could only retreat to the fourth" like Zhuge Kongming. Even though he has great ambitions, he is out of Qishan and has no power to support the world. I know this, and that's because I travel and know history. And Ma Kuo is also a little bit of a mountain and river. This person is ugly and talented. Commit yourself above yourself! Door...

Holding down the excitement in his heart, Xu Wei smiled casually: "Brother Zichong lifted me, Shaanxi Sixth Road." Hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers, hundreds of fierce generals, and even more Xuanfu Xianggong is in charge, which can be described as impregnable, how can there be a fall. ”

Unexpectedly, Ma Kuo snorted coldly and slammed the wine glass on the table: "There are a lot of elite soldiers." But Li Xuanfu can be called a virtuous minister, and if he guards the pastor, he can benefit the people. But don't forget, he is just a scholar, he knows neither soldiers nor war! Besides, the Western Army has been fighting for more than a hundred years, can he hold it down? I'm not afraid that you will blame, it's your uncle Xu Shao who is here. The Western Army does not necessarily sell his face. ”

This was a little embarrassing, although Xu Wei also felt a little hurt on his face, but he knew in his heart that Ma Kuo was telling the truth. Look at our Shaanhua Road, this Qu Dashuai. had an unpleasant quarrel with his eldest brother in Jingyuan, and in order to envelop him, Li Gang kindly transferred him to Shaanxi Hua to be a marshal, and even gave him Huazhou, which he had promised. Didn't he appreciate it too? As soon as he came, he would fight the idea of the Hedong Righteous Army.

Lifting the wine jug and filling it for the horse, Xu Wei smiled and said: "This is also the truth, but it's not my turn Xu Jiuguan, let's talk about Hedong." ”

Ma Kuo glanced at him, probably feeling that what he said just now was a bit too much, and said with a haha: "Manager Xu, don't blame, I have no disrespect for the Privy Councillor." ”

Xu Wei smiled unmindingly, and asked: "If Li Zhi is not convinced, makes a move, and even merges with Gao Shiyouhuo, what should we do in Shaanxi?" Please also ask Brother Zichong to teach me. ”

"That's it, you don't want to say that I say, it's this mouth that is causing the trouble." Ma Kuo sneered and drank the wine. Afterwards. Clicked on the desktop and opened the chatterbox.

"One mountain does not tolerate two tigers, and there are no two monarchs. Of course, the pseudo-dynasty, the pseudo-dynasty. Li Zhi was born as a military minister, and his calculations may not be as good as Gao Rebellion. But the dog is still in a hurry and jumps off the wall, let alone Li Zhi's generation? Shaanxi should make two calculations: First, it is necessary to rebel. As long as possible, do everything in your power to win over Li Zhi. He is different from Gao Shiyou's surrender on his knees, this person is illiterate, and he sees the righteousness and discipline lightly, and only acts on his will. When he surrendered, it was because he asked for words to help him, and he was repeatedly insulted by Fan Ne, and he fell to the golden dog in a fit of anger. If the court can not blame him for the past, there may be hope to win him over. ”

"Second, if the strategy fails.

Then make a second preparation and fix it to the death. Not only rectify him, but also rectify the high and reverse! If he waives his army to fight in Hebei, then our Hedong Righteous Army will fully cooperate with him, whether he wants it or not. If he doesn't fight, we will fight too! He said that he had ordered it. forced him to fight. In this way, when Li Zhi is finished, Gao Shiyou will not have a good time. Shaanxi can take advantage of the chaos to plot against Hedong, wouldn't it kill two birds with one stone? ”

Xu Wei was originally a calm person. But at this time, after listening to Ma Kuo's words. The hand holding the wine glass couldn't help but tremble slightly. To tell the truth, he also thought of wooing Li Zhi and taking the opportunity to try Hedong, but he didn't think that Ma Kuo was so comprehensive.

Just imagine, the southeast of the river is now controlled by the rebels. Li Zhi's occupation area is north of the Weisheng Army and south of Daizhou. If he doesn't accept wooing. Lead the army to Hebei Huohe, then the Zhejia army guarding Fuzhou can take advantage of the situation to go south to take Taiyuan. Now the party members have also been repulsed, and there are no worries for the time being. Zhang Dashuai of Duyan can lead the army to capture the Cifen states. The fourth brother and himself, and even Yao Pingzhong from Shaanzhou, can send troops to Hedong to fish in troubled waters.

"Admire." Xu Wei said sincerely, "I really admire, Brother Zichong, I toast you." ”

Ma Kuo waved his hand and said with a smile: "These are all small skills of carving insects, and they are not enough to worry about." "That's it. His face changed suddenly, "But let me warn you." The disunity within the Western Army may affect this situation, such as Shaanxi, the marshal of Qu, who is not sure to recover the lost territory once he arrives in Hedong, and will focus on attacking our Hedong Righteous Army. ”

Xu Wei knew that he was worried about the attack on the Pingyang Rebels that day. In fact, he has been angry about this for a long time, but Qu Duan is a handsome minister all the way, and as the head of the Hedong Righteous Army, he must maintain the confidence of the Righteous Army in Shaanxi. Otherwise, the consequences are worrying. In front of Qu Duan, he can argue with reason and show him no mercy at all. But in front of Ma Kuo, he must not tell the truth.

"Hehe, don't worry about Brother Zichong. The attack on the Ping Zhen Yi Army was all caused by the brothers of the Zhang family in Hezhong Prefecture. Brother, I was so angry

Speaking of which, hundreds of thousands of rebels in Hedong. Who doesn't shout well? Who doesn't cheer? It is said that Mr. Xu is really our parents! As soon as the Pingyang rebels were attacked, General Manager Xu was furious, and he sent the army to the river in person, seized the weapons of the rebel army, and tied up Zhang Zhongyan back. It is said that he was beaten half to death? Ma Kuo asked with a smile.

That's how the chasing after the wind and shadows came about, and the sesame seeds were passed on to watermelons. Xu Wei smiled bitterly: "What does my brother think? ”

"No, you're not that stupid." Ma Dang laughed.

"Isn't this the end of it?" Xu Wei also smiled.

As soon as he finished laughing, Ma Kuo stared at him with a strange expression, and he couldn't help but ask, "Brother's face hasn't been washed?" ”

Ma Kuo shook his head and said seriously: "If I were Li Xuanfu, I would now mention you as the marshal of Shaanhua Road." (To be continued)