"This-" Li Xianfeng is not a fool, the other party's words are full of guns and sticks, and they are clearly coming towards him, but the other party's status is noble and reasonable, so he has to say yes again and again, and he has to call the henchman who is in charge of the official seal for him and let him go with the eunuch, and after about half a sound, the eunuch came back and sent Baowen back. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Zhu Yujian looked up and down to confirm that the text seal was correct, and said with a smile: "Come, Lord Xu, can you take a look at this Baowen?" ”

"Don't dare!" Xu Hecheng hurriedly took Baowen with both hands, he didn't dare to check it in person and handed it to Xu Wanren on the side.

"Huh!" Zhu Yujian saw Xu Hecheng accept Baowen, his face smiled slightly, and he immediately became serious: "The net worth and life of more than 100,000 people in Nanyang City depend on Lord Xu!" After that, he made a deep gesture to Xu Hecheng. Where did Xu Hecheng dare to accept his courtesy, he hurriedly turned sideways, bowed down and said, "The prince is so humiliated!" ”

"Good, good!" Zhu Yujian stretched out his hand to help Xu Hecheng up, and said with a smile: "Since Lord Xu is the staff of the Ministry of War, he has his own strategy in his chest, please come to the widow's mansion, this matter of guarding the city, I want to ask for a lot of benefits!" As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Xu Hecheng's arm and walked towards his mansion, leaving Li Xianfeng and Wang Shaoyu at the gate of the city, looking at each other.

Xu Hecheng was grabbed by Zhu Yujian's arm and didn't dare to struggle, and in a panic, he turned around and glanced at Temur, who willingly sent his mount over. Xu Hecheng smiled and said to Zhu Yujian: "Lord Wang, most of the Weichen's subordinates are Mongolians, and they are in a rough mood, if they are not well settled, they are afraid that they will cause trouble, why don't you let Weichen settle them first, and then come to the palace to see the prince?" ”

Zhu Yujian looked back at the knight behind Xu Hecheng and said with a smile: "What's so difficult about this, although my palace is small, it can accommodate this little soldier, Cao Bandang!" He called the name of the old eunuch: "You go back to the palace first, prepare a banquet in the warm pavilion next to the shooting garden, and vacate the wing room in the east of the mansion, prepare a meal, and camp for Lord Xu's subordinates!" ”

"Yes, Lord Wang!" The old eunuch answered, and walked quickly.

Seeing this, Xu Hecheng had no choice but to bow down and thank: "Thank you, Lord Wang!" ”

Tang Wangfu shooting garden.

As the name suggests, the archery is a place to learn, practice archery. For modern people, archery is a sport that exercises the body and cultivates sentiment; For the ancient Chinese, archery was one of the six arts of the gentleman, a part of the education of the ruling class, a major event related to the well-being of the country, and a part of religious and cultural activities. The shooting garden of the Tang Palace's palace is on the east side of the temple, next to the social science for the children of the palace. The first few generations of Tang kings often came to the shooting garden to practice shooting in addition to studying, but as the Tang kings of the past dynasties became more and more immersed in the pleasure of wine, this shooting garden became more and more desolate, and by the time of Zhu Yujian, this shooting garden had already become a flower garden. Zhu Yujian rebuilt the archery garden after succeeding to the throne, and he came to the archery garden every New Year's Day to practice shooting, in order to show that he did not forget the martial arts.

"Come, come!" Zhu Yujian raised his wine glass with a smile and smiled at Xu Hecheng, who was at the head of the city: "Lord Xu stayed in Nanyang, and the widow thanked the gentry of the people in the city!" ”

"Don't dare to be!" Xu Hecheng hurriedly stood up respectfully, and drank all the wine in the cup: "I was ordered by my boss to go to Zhejiang on business, but I didn't expect to encounter thieves on the way through Nanyang, and it is my duty to defend the city, how can I afford such high hopes as the prince." Nanyang City is high and deep, and there are Master Li and General Wang leading the troops to hold on, and the thieves are just a rabble, so there is no need to worry! As soon as Governor Hong's army arrives, it will not be difficult to clear up! ”

Zhu Yujian sighed and didn't speak, his face showed a hint of worry, and after a while, he said in a deep voice: "This clan has always kept the ancestral teachings, and has always only asked about local military and political affairs. It is said that this matter of defending the city should not be said much, but since Lord Xu is also in this Nanyang City, he is a person who lives together, and he has to say something. Speaking of this, he nodded slightly, and the eunuch beside him made a gesture knowingly, and the maids waiting on the side retreated one after another, leaving only the old eunuch, Tang Wang, Xu Hecheng, Xu Wancheng, and Temur in the pavilion. Xu Hecheng heard that there was something in Zhu Yujian's words, so he hurriedly cheered up and listened carefully.

"The city walls of Nanyang City are high, there are tens of thousands of households in the city, the thieves have no equipment, and the army of the Hong Governor is in Luoyang, which is said to be foolproof. It's just-" Zhu Yujian's words changed: "It is not the bricks and stones and earth walls that defend the city, but the people, if the people's hearts are in chaos, what is the use of using Mount Tai as the city and the Yangtze River as the pool?" Speaking of this, Zhu Yujian's voice trembled, and his eyes were full of tears.

When Xu Hecheng saw Zhu Yujian's appearance, he couldn't help but be taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "Lord Wang, what's wrong with you?" ”

Zhu Yujian sighed, turned back to the old eunuch behind him and said, "Cao Bandang, Lord Xu is not an outsider, tell your adults what you see and hear at the city gate today!" ”

"The old slave obeys!" The old eunuch answered, and recounted what he and King Tang had seen and heard at the city gate before. Xu Hecheng and his party were dumbfounded when they heard this, they thought that this Nanyang City was high and deep, and the thieves were not enough to trouble, and they were just selling personal favors along the water, but they didn't expect that the people in this city were already scattered and in danger. Before Xu Hecheng could speak, Xu Wancheng had already jumped up and shouted: "Take advantage of the thieves who have not yet besieged the city, hurry up and gather soldiers and horses to go out of the city!" ”

Compared with his younger brother, Xu Hecheng was much calmer, he made a "slow" gesture to his subordinates, looked back at Zhu Yujian, and asked: "Lord Wang, if it's just arrears, why don't you pay for the soldiers and clean up people's hearts?" After all, if the city is broken, there will be mountains of gold and silver, and they will all be thieves! ”

"Presumably Lord Xu thinks that the widow is stingy with some money!" Zhu Yujian smiled bitterly: "Actually, I have donated 10,000 taels of silver and 1,000 stones to give relief in the city." ”

"10,000 taels of silver, 1,000 stone of grain?" Before Xu Hecheng could react, Xu Wancheng on the side had already sneered: "Presumably, the silver and food have been eaten by Lord Li and Vice General Wang, where is there still a little bit left for the sergeants and the people?" ”

"How can this be done in the midst of a siege? Not really! Xu Hecheng had an incredulous look on his face.

"Everyone!" Zhu Yujian sighed: "Although the widow is shallow, he is not enough to do the foolish act of ruining the morale of the army for a little silver. As Lord Xu said, when the thieves enter Nanyang, the widow can't even save his life, even if there are mountains of gold and silver, what's the use? Besides, the widow is the son of the heavenly family, and the country will end up together, as long as the Ming is there, the wealth of the widow is indispensable, the Ming is gone, and the wealth of the sky cannot be kept, so what is the use of asking for silver? I was willing to give the money, but when it came out, it did not fall on the heads of the soldiers; If it is distributed directly and you are afraid that some villains will say that the widow buys people's hearts and has bad intentions, it is really a dilemma! ”

Xu Hecheng and Xu Wancheng glanced at each other, unable to speak. As Zhu Yujian said, he was in a dilemma, and the pledged money was hacked by the officials and could not fall on the soldiers; If you directly send money to the soldiers, and then take off the hat of buying the hearts of the soldiers, as the mean suspicion of today's son, it is also a death, nothing more than a few months at night. Thinking of this, Xu Hecheng asked cautiously: "Lord Wang, then what are you keeping me waiting for?" ”

Zhu Yujian sighed: "If the second ancestor manifests his spirit and can defend this Nanyang City, it is naturally the best." If the first-class thieves break through the city, the widow's net worth and life will be counted on Lord Xu! Speaking of this, Zhu Yujian picked up the wine jug, walked in front of Xu Hecheng, filled his wine glass, and made a gesture of please.

"Don't dare!" Xu Hecheng hurriedly stood up, but his mind was spinning rapidly. He traveled to and from various places, and he had heard a lot of rumors about the vassal kings in various places, mostly wine bags and rice bags, mediocre and incompetent, and some people didn't even know about the cold, summer and hunger, and completely relied on the eunuchs and palace maids beside him to wait, compared to the clay carvings and wood sculptures in the temple. Previously, I saw the Tang King build a thousand golden platforms in the city to recruit talents, and I felt that this was a virtuous king, but now it seems that His Royal Highness the Tang King is not just a virtuous person, he knows the situation, is good at seizing opportunities, and can make decisions immediately.

Xu Hecheng thought about his own thoughts, and Zhu Yujian didn't urge, just stood aside and looked at Xu Hecheng with a smile. Xu Wancheng couldn't bear it on the side, and interjected: "Lord Wang, I don't know what you want my brother to do?" Do you want to defend the palace or-? ”

"It turned out to be Lord Xu's Xian Kunzhong!" Zhu Yujian looked Xu Wanren up and down with a smile, and said with a smile: "Sure enough, it's a talent!" I don't know what official position I am now? ”

Xu Hecheng was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly replied: "The lowly brother has never been out of office, and this time he followed me south to find an errand envoy!" ”

"Oh, I see!" Zhu Yujian smiled: "There is still a lack of a companion in the widow's palace, I wonder if Mr. Xu can give in?" ”

Xu Hecheng was stunned when he heard this, Zhu Yujian said that the companion reading is an official position established in the Song Dynasty, and its function is to accompany the children of the clan to study together, Zhu Yujian himself does not have a son, this companion reading should follow him, although this official position is only the ninth grade, but after all, it is already an official body, and usually the people who serve as companions are the children of the family with profound knowledge. Zhu Yujian used this position to recruit Xu Wancheng, obviously to show favor to Xu Hecheng.

Xu Hecheng was still thinking about the pros and cons, but he heard that Xu Wanqian had already admitted: "The prince is so loving, the villain is ashamed!" He was shocked in his heart, and hurriedly responded: "Lord Wang, the villain brother is very dull in learning, but I am afraid that he will not be able to be the companion of the reader!" ”

"So whatever!" Zhu Yujian said with a smile: "The widow has no heirs yet, and Mr. Xu is just a companion!" ”

Hearing that the other party said everything so bluntly, Xu Hecheng had to kowtow and thank him, and after the three of them sat down again, their feelings were already different, and they were already a lot more intimate when they spoke. Xu Hecheng said in a low voice: "Lord Wang, since you want to guard the palace, please show me, so that you can be prepared in your heart." ”

"You don't have to worry about defending the city!" Zhu Yujian took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "The circumference of this Nanyang City is more than ten miles, what is the difference between more than 200 of you and less of your 200 people?" The widow has also seen it, more than 200 of you have horses, and the director must be galloping and rushing, if the city is broken, please send the widow out of the city, and protect the safety! ”

Hearing Zhu Yujian say this, Xu Hecheng immediately breathed a sigh of relief, what he was most afraid of was that Zhu Yujian asked them to help defend the city, if it was according to what the other party said, the guards in the city were so seriously in arrears, once they colluded with the thieves outside, they would be enemies in the blink of an eye. Although his more than 200 people are elite, they must be a dead end in the cramped streets and alleys of the city. But if you only escort Zhu Yujian himself, it will be much simpler. He thought for a moment and said in a low voice: "In this case, please make some preparations in advance, so as not to rush the incident!" ”

"Hmm!" Zhu Yujian nodded: "Cao Bandang, you take five thousand taels of silver from the treasury and reward Lord Xu's subordinates first." As for the king who has no heirs, he only needs to bring his wife and a few personal attendants, and I can ride a horse, and the lady will prepare a camel sedan chair! ”

Xu Hecheng and Xu Wancheng glanced at each other, their eyes showed surprise, they thought that there would be more than 100 attendants accompanying the vassal king like Zhu Yujian, plus the belongings they carried, they would definitely be a big burden when the time came, but they didn't expect the other party to be so happy. Zhu Yujian saw the thoughts of the two of them, and said with a smile: "Didn't the widow just say it?" Silver money is just an ordinary thing, if everything is fine in this Nanyang City, it will be fine, if the city is broken, what is the use of asking for silver? ”

"Lord Wangming!" Xu Hecheng and Xu Wancheng lowered their heads in admiration and bowed in response.

The north gate of Nanyang City, the city pass.

It was dark, the gates were closed, and a cold wind swept past the city, bringing a whooshing sound that made people feel even more chilled. Due to the imminent arrival of the thieves, there was already a curfew in the city, and there were no pedestrians on the streets, only the intermittent sound of bangs brought a little vitality. In the depths of the alleys facing the streets, the refugees who had fled into the city sighed and sighed at the cold and the impending thieves; He shivered, groaned, and curled up in the cold wind. The women whispered to the old man, mourning and weeping. The children shrunk together in their mother's arms, crying and crying out for hunger, tearing apart the hearts of adults. But when the patrolmen approached, they were patient for the time being, and did not dare to say anything. In order to be able to enter the city, their belongings have long been extorted by the officers and soldiers defending the city, they don't know how long such days will pass, and they don't know if their homes outside the city will be burned down by thieves, and the unknown pain bites people's hearts like snakes and insects.

Under the eaves of the alley, there are more than a dozen people huddled horizontally, and they look no different from the refugees next to them, but if you look closely, you will find that these people are all strong men in their early twenties, and the other refugees are two or three feet away from them, as if this is a group of fierce beasts that may jump up and hurt people at any time. (To be continued.) )