Bozhou City, Laojun Temple.

Unlike Suzhou, which is not far away, this place is more prosperous than many famous caves, except for the local army, the local people worship Laojun in every household.

There is no him, just because this place is the birthplace of the legendary Lao Tzu.

There is a statue of the old gentleman who is more than a zhang high in the temple, there is a couplet on the left is 'the soil of the capital, the shore of the vortex', and a couplet on the right is 'it is for the blessed land, the holy monarch of the real birth', on the wall on the right, there is a poem left by Sima Guang, the prime minister of the former dynasty:

'Whoever says the son, the reply is like the emperor'

'After dividing the heavens and the earth, there is the legend of the Holy Master'

And in front of the statue of Lao Jun, the middle-aged man wearing a white robe and worshipping incense is none other than Li Qiong, a rebel general of the Song Kingdom, the current envoy of the Taining Army of the Jin State, and a person who knows the affairs of Bozhou.

Speaking of which, from the pacification envoy of the Great Song Dynasty to the Jiedu envoy of the Jin Kingdom, this person is even a year younger than Yue Fei, who is already on the rise...... I don't know if Lao Jun is here to make people feel at ease, anyway, this person does not have the anger of more than ten years in the army, on the contrary, he is very peaceful and gentle.

Waiting for the three sticks of incense to be inserted, this person who seemed to be a teacher was silent for a long time, not knowing what wish he had made in his heart, and finally made a deep bow towards the statue of the kind eyebrow, and everything was over, he turned to look at the few people in front of him.

The first two were Wang Shizhong and Jin Sai, who were with him in Beitou back then, and there were many generals in the army behind him, plus the officials of Bozhou City, almost all of the people with rank and rank in this city arrived.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

Li Qiong was wearing her clothes while asking questions to the visitor, Wang Shizhong and Jin Sai exchanged glances, and then stepped forward and said:

"Marshal, Emperor Song has arrived in Suzhou."

Although there has long been news of the Zhao family's imperial conquest, Li Qiong has never believed it.

Even if the city of Yingzhou was broken last year, and the Jin Kingdom lost the three kings at once, Li Qiong only regarded it as Uncle Liu Xin's ability, and Emperor Zhao was just a person who borrowed his name.

As he said back then:

"The marshal of the Jin Kingdom came to the front line to supervise the battle, his expression was calm, and he won with soldiers, all of them were similar to Sun Tzu and Wu Qi. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Jin State can defeat the Song State and open up a land of thousands of miles in one day. ”

"And the commanders in Jiangnan are not as talented as ordinary people. Whenever an army is dispatched, it must be hundreds of miles away from the battlefield, which is called the so-called weight. Some overseers summoned the army, replaced the generals, and only one soldier took the order to proclaim. The decisive victory of the enemy was entrusted to the deputy position of the general, so the smart ones were scattered, and the stupid ones were wiped out. Occasionally, if he was fortunate enough to win a small victory, the good news was frequent, and he increased the credit of the prisoners as his own merit, and also restrained the resentment of the soldiers. Even if some generals come to the battlefield in person, but the momentum is not right, they will definitely flee first. Moreover, Jiangnan National Affairs has no program, and only small merits are rewarded, and some are guilty of major crimes, but they are shelved and not killed. Jiangnan did not perish immediately, it is already a blessing, how can it be invigorated? ”

These words seem to be a sycophant of the Jin people, but they are indeed his sincere words, and they are also some small experiences that he summed up after serving the Song Kingdom for more than ten years.

Wanyan Wushu is now in charge of the government of the Jin State, and he is a real and unknown emperor, he likes Li Qiong very much, just like the Lord and Wanyan Chang likes Qin Hui, he is very demanding to go south Song General, and even has been introduced as a confidant, last time he was going to slaughter the city, no one can speak, but Li Qiong, who abandoned Bozhou, persuaded him, if it weren't for Li Qiong who was almost forty, then the fourth prince of Jin said that he would marry a daughter to him.

With such a backstage, Li Qiong can be regarded as one person in the land of Lianghuai.

So Li Qiong understands very well, understands very well where Song Guo's weaknesses are, and also knows very well why Jin Guo was able to win.

When the news of the former owner in Suzhou was confirmed at this time, Li Qiong still had no expression on her face, and her heart was ...... I did feel something else.

When the Song Kingdom has no reason to continue to fail, then, do they still have a reason to continue to fail?

"How many people came?"

At this time, it was Jin Sai who answered him, and they were supposed to be good, otherwise they would not have risked the danger of the Yi clan and Li Qiong to defect, and they got along well over the years, and they were called subordinates, but they were actually close brothers.

"It should be Zhang Jun's people...... About fifty or sixty thousand, as well as the tens of thousands of people brought over by Han Chang, plus Zhao Mi and Yang Yizhong's troops, I am afraid that this time there are about 130,000. ”

This number is only an estimate, and it is certainly not entirely correct, but it is not far off.

And it stands to reason that when the officials here heard this number, they should not say panic, but they had to be a little stunned, this is not an ant, it is a living person.

But they didn't, not even talk to each other, the only old man who was a little excited was an instructor in charge of the local students, who came from Shangjing three years ago, and was considered a local.

Seeing that Li Qiong was silent, Wang Shizhong continued to speak:

"Marshal...... Do you want to talk to the fourth prince and ask him to send some men and horses...... After all, Emperor Song is here, and the elite of the Song Kingdom is bound to follow, in case there is anything ......"

Li Qiong directly interrupted him: "Yue Peng is in Zhengzhou, and Tokyo is already within reach, so don't make trouble with him anymore." ”

"Come on, come on, Zhang Jun's soldiers have never been elite, Bozhou City is here, they can't take it."

He didn't even give half a reason, and directly said that the Song army couldn't capture Bozhou, but everyone trusted him incomparably and said yes.

However, saying that, Li Qiong still didn't dare to be careless, and ordered:

"It's about to be spring ploughing, let everyone rest first, and don't be busy with rice planting and sowing first...... If you don't have food to boil, you can go to the government office to get some food for emergency relief. ”

"Shut the city first, so that the people don't interfere in the war anymore...... It's none of their business. ”

The first thing, although there is not much food in Bozhou, everyone has no objections, but this is the second thing...... Wang Shizhong was a little embarrassed:

"I've said it many times, and I've persuaded it many times, but everyone just doesn't listen, and they do it for our sake, and they don't dare to say it seriously, which chills the hearts of the people."

"This is not child's play," Li Qiong's tone was not negotiable, "If there are any more people who take it upon themselves to deceive the Song army, there are those who are unwilling to enter the city and want to fight hard, and there are those who still set traps outside the city,"

"Lock them all up first."

"But ......"

"That's it!"

Wang Shizhong sighed and finally agreed.

"Emperor Song is good at killing ministers, and even the officials of the Song State say that he is a ruler, how can such a person think about caring about the lives of the people?"

Li Qiong's tone softened: "Don't be unbearable, this is for their good." ”

After saying this, they discussed for a while about strengthening the walls and building fortifications, and when it began to rain outside, and after a little while, it was time for supper, and then they all dispersed.

This is a major matter that is known from top to bottom in Bozhou City, no one dares to slack off, let alone add to the chaos, but everyone does their own errand, and the rest ......

There will always be a win.

Marshal Li said that he would win, and that would be the winner.

When everyone was almost gone, Li Qiong looked at the old man who was standing still and asked:

"Mr. Xin, what else do you have to do?"

Before he took people to Zongze, he was just a student in Xiangzhou, and he learned how to draw a sword, draw a bow and ride a horse, and he already had an inexplicable sense of belonging to these literati.

What's more, this Xin Zan is still a teacher from Shangjing, I heard that he was originally going to Kaifeng to be the prefect, but he was worried about the talents of the Jin Kingdom, so he went to Bozhou first and came to do an errand of teaching.

So Li Qiong did have some respect for him in the face of him.

Xin Zan stroked his beard and said: "It's not a big deal, it's just the name of the Ying Ning monk, I don't know if the marshal has ever heard of it?" ”

Liu Zhan of Bozhou is a well-deserved Lianghuai celebrity, his literary style is elegant, poet Yiye, and he is a talented person...... Of course Li Qiong has heard it, not only he has heard it, just by virtue of Liu Zhan himself in this chaotic year, he can still look for teachers and friends everywhere, and many people have heard his name.

At this time, hearing Xin Zan mention it, Li Qiong was not surprised:

"Ying Ning Jushi naturally knows about it in his later life, but he has been away from Bozhou for many years, and he has never seen him in his later life, Mr. mentioned him, but what is the matter?"

Xin Zan nodded and said: "The marshal also knows about my family's affairs, my son died early, leaving only a wife and a son to take care of me, the daughter-in-law is virtuous and generous, the grandson is also healthy, Your Majesty trusts me, let me do this errand of teaching and educating people, blessing the younger generations, it stands to reason that I should be content and should not ask for anything else." ”

"But most of the people live a lifetime because they can't help themselves, and my grandson is already two years old, and he will soon reach the age of speaking and writing, so he wants to find a wise teacher for him, and fortunately, after I die, he will not go astray."

Li Qiong was a little puzzled: "But a two-year-old child, is Mr. a little anxious?" ”

Speaking of this, Xin Zan couldn't help but sigh:

"The marshal doesn't know me, but it's normal, I'm already a sixtieth person, I've wasted dozens of time, I can't tell when I'll be like my unsuccessful son, and I'll let go."

"It's good to think more."

I probably guessed what he meant, but I really didn't have much to do with Liu Zhan...... Take 10,000 steps back and say, even if there is a friendship, then the student is so easy to receive?

It's not a matter of putting your mouth on the go, it's a lifetime thing.

So Li Qiong is very honest: "Don't blame sir, Yingning is not in Bozhou, and he has no dealings with him in his later years...... When you came to me, I'm afraid you made the wrong payment. ”

"Not really!" Xin Zan waved his hand, "Don't dare to worry about this marshal, I have already told him about the apprenticeship, and he has already agreed." ”

"What do you mean?"

"Don't dare to hide it, he was already on his way back to Bozhou a few days ago, and when he came back this time, he also wanted to work with me to teach the talents of this old monarch's blessed land."

"If that's the case, that's a great thing! With you and the layman, it is the luck of this Bozhou student! Mr. Dade, you should be worshiped by the students! ”

As he spoke, Li Qiong's movements were not slow, and she bowed directly towards Xin Zan.

This person couldn't be dissuaded, so he forcibly accepted Li Qiong's worship, and then continued to talk about his own affairs:

"But this time the marshal ordered the door to be closed, and I'm afraid that Yingning Jushi would be unable to come in...... This person has a strange nature, and I persuaded him for a long time to persuade him, in case he has other plans, whether it is for my grandson or this Bozhou student, I'm afraid it will not be good. ”

"That's why I gave up this old face and wanted to ask the marshal, is there any way to put him in the city?"

"What do you mean......" Li Qiong hesitated a little, "The layman has already arrived near Bozhou?" ”

Xin Zan nodded: "Yes." ”

"And where are the others?"

"Suzhou."

I didn't expect it to be in Suzhou, but Suzhou was occupied by the Song people, not to mention, even their emperor was there.

Even if he has great ability, even if Liu Zhan is a figure like Su Shi and Li Qingzhao, no matter how good it is for Bozhou, he can't take it!

"Mr. also heard just now that Emperor Zhao has arrived in Suzhou, I'm afraid this matter ......"

He clearly saw the disappointment flashing on Xin Zan's face, but he didn't dare to gamble with the lives of the whole city, so although he felt pity, he still couldn't agree to Xin Zan.

"If Bozhou really has no chance with Yingning layman, then he will admit it later, I only hope that Mr. will be able to talk to the layman in the future, and I hope that after the Southern Dynasty retreats, Mr. and the layman can teach Bozhou students together."

"At that time, there will be no one to stop the two, and the gate of Bozhou will always be open for the two."

Xin Zan sighed: "Hope, hope that there will be a day." ”

There was silence in the temple, and a Taoist priest came out to light a candle, and although the rain outside was falling in a daze, it was enough to wash the world outside.

The green ones are greener, the red ones are more red, and the bluestone slabs under the steps outside have become like pieces of jade, which people can't bear to step on.

"Can Bozhou really be able to hold it?"

Sinzan had been here for several years, and for the first time asked about anything other than teaching.

Li Qiong stretched out her hand and let the rain fall between her fingers, bringing a little coolness.

Spring has arrived.

"We must be able to hold on," Li Qiong was very resolute, "Yue Pengju and Uncle Liu Xin are not here, so they will definitely be able to hold on." ”

He and Yue Fei were both working under Zong Ze back then, and later the emperor dismissed Liu Guangshi's military power at the suggestion of Zhang Jun, originally he and Wang De and those tens of thousands of people were all going to be assigned to Yue Fei, and even the emperor even said it, but then he regretted it, and the Zhao family was used to it repeatedly.

If the person who came to collect troops at that time was Yue Fei, I am afraid that he is still a Song general.

And Liu Jian ...... When Uncle Liu Xin was fighting the enemy in Yingzhou the year before last, it was not only Han Chang who was by his side, he was also there.

He only convinces these two, and the others, whether it is Han Shizhong or the dead Wu Jue, Li Qiong is one who can't look down on.

Sinzan then asked, "What if they come?" ”

"If they come, Bozhou falls into their hands, which is not a bad thing after all."

The two fell silent again, and Xin Zan didn't understand the meaning of his words.

"Marshal!"

A soldier trotted in, saluted the two men, and then handed a letter in both hands.

Li Qiong took it, read it back and forth several times, and then clutched the letter in her hand, clenching her fists, as if she was going to crush the letter.

I don't know what happened, but Xin Zan knew that he shouldn't care about it, so he kept silent, and after a while, he heard Li Qiong say:

"Sir, Sakura Nin...... It should be possible to come back. ”

His tone seemed sad and happy, and for a while, Xin Zan couldn't figure out what kind of mood he was in.

(End of chapter)