"Hahahaha!"

The wind and the sun are beautiful, the emperor is traveling, a large number of forbidden troops have been deployed around, and Dong Songchen led the master of the inner chamberlain to protect him.

Everyone walked between the famous mountains and beautiful rivers, watched the inscriptions along the way, and looked at the temples and palaces from afar, which made the emperor feel happy.

Especially Fan Zhong, the left minister, today can be described as full of witty words, catering to the emperor's mood everywhere.

In the past two years, the emperor has often been advised because of his lazy desire for lazy government, and he has complained a lot about Fan Zhong and others, but he remembers that Fan Zhong and others are his ministers of the humerus, and when he is alone, he also struggles in his heart.

Today's Fan Zhong's words made the emperor feel as if he had returned to the ten years when the monarch and the ministers had the same heart and mind, and he was very happy.

Therefore, when Fan Zhong invited the emperor to rest in the quiet house in the back mountain, and hinted that the emperor should retreat, the emperor did not think much about it, and even Dong Songchen was sent outside the door.

Dong Songchen smiled on his face, first inspected the grass house, and then turned around and came out, watching the emperor and Fan Zhong enter the grass house.

He had already determined that there was nothing unusual about the cottage, but when the two of them entered, as soon as the door of the cottage closed, he immediately noticed that something was wrong.

In these few dilapidated grass houses, the sound insulation effect seems to be too good.

With his Grandmaster realm's ear power, after the door was closed, he couldn't hear the conversation between the two people inside very clearly.

"Dong Gong, the emperor is talking, why do you want to hear too clearly? Anyway, if there is really any danger, it still can't escape your induction. ”

The speaker, with bright eyes, a neat beard, and a leisurely demeanor, looks like he is in his forties, and wears a robe, with a ribbon of hair hanging down to both sides of his head, and holding a folding fan.

This person's name is Qiao Feidu, and he is the commander of the guards beside Zuo Xiang Fan Zhong, and he is also the chief weapon instructor of Fuyao Mountain, and he is proficient in the construction of organs.

As soon as Dong Songchen saw this person talking, he knew that the strangeness of this grass house had nothing to do with him.

But if you break in just because you can't hear the conversation of the monarch and the minister, it's really a bit of a fuss.

Dong Songchen pressed down and smiled softly: "Commander Qiao is reasonable. ”

In the grass, the emperor had already sat down at the small table, and looked at the burrow with a sense of novelty.

"It's really zen rhyme."

The emperor praised it, and when he saw Fan Zhong stretching out his hand to make tea, he couldn't help laughing, "Old Fan, let me come." ”

Fan Zhong hurriedly surrendered his hand: "The official family has tormented the old minister." ”

"Hey! You and I get along in private, don't mention those, just like when I secretly visited Fan's Mansion, you call me Gongzi, I call you Fan Lao, isn't it good? ”

The emperor is just over forty years old now, and Dong Songchen specially prepared pills for him to maintain him, and instructed him to maintain some health qigong, so that he looked only in his twenties, with black hair and a radiant complexion.

He was in high spirits, making tea with his own hands, fiddling with a small stove, and not hurrying.

At the best moment, Fan Zhong casually mentioned Meng Zhaoxuan's matter.

"General Xiao Meng is about to return to Lin'an, and the old minister has also heard some rumors."

The emperor paused slightly, and said disapprenously: "These servants in the palace are really not strict. ”

"Meng Qing is in the prime of life, I think the so-called serious illness is just a little tired, and when he comes back, I will send the imperial doctor to recuperate for him, or in a year and a half, I will be the generalissimo of the Great Song Dynasty."

As the emperor spoke, his hands did not stop.

"General Xiao Meng must be grateful when he learns that the official family cares so much about him."

Fan Zhong said casually, and said, "But I also heard that General Xiao Meng came back this time, and there is something else important?" ”

The emperor showed a little sadness on his face, and said: "Yes, I heard him say that it is some generals of the Mongols who have sealed in Yuzhou, and they have the intention of secretly surrendering to him, as long as the Great Song army is invested in it, Yuzhou can be recovered." ”

Fan Zhong asked: "This kind of major matter, only Gongzi can decide, what does Gongzi think?" ”

The emperor was silent, and his hands did not stop fiddling with the tea set, but his movements were much slower.

"The word Central Plains can be called the Great Kyushu, and it can also refer to Yuzhou, which is also the homeland of the Great Song Dynasty, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Shangqiu, and the place where the three capitals are located."

"If I can really recover it, of course I can't ask for it, but I don't dare to forget the lessons of more than ten years ago."

After the fall of the Jin State, the Song and Mongolia sides did not have a clear agreement on the ownership of the Yuzhou region, the Mongol army had been fighting for many years, exhausted, and retreated northward, leaving only two armies and a large number of Jin generals and troops to defend in the Yuzhou area.

The emperor had not been in power for a long time, and was anxious to establish merits, and after research, he felt that after the corruption of the upper echelons of the Jin State, he could still rely on the defense line of the Yellow River in Tongguan to resist the Mongols for more than 20 years, so that the Mongols lost their troops and generals, and after repeated setbacks, they even took risks and attacked Jin from the territory of the Song people.

If the Song army can recover Yuzhou, it will not only be able to recapture the three capitals of the Northern Song Dynasty and greatly boost the morale of the people, but also re-establish the defense line, so that there will be another solid barrier between the Southern Song Dynasty and Mongolia.

But at that time, many of the civil and military ministers held different opinions from the emperor.

Because in those years, the depreciation of Huizi and the phenomenon of soaring prices have not been able to suppress it, the people of Jinghu are poor, and the maritime gangs on the southeast coast are not satisfied with the government, and more than 20% are disobedient to the government.

In the Song Dynasty, it was unable to supply larger-scale multi-front operations, and Yuzhou's original profound heritage had been exhausted due to years of military disasters, and it had not yet had time to recover.

The emperor insisted on going his own way at that time, and finally pieced together 60,000 soldiers, almost all of whom were infantry, to recover Yuzhou.

At the beginning of this war, Lian Zhan won success, because of the brutality of Mongolia, and there were many Han people in Yuzhou's homeland, and when they heard that the Song army came, they often took the initiative to open the city to greet them.

It's a pity that these Song armies did not withstand the fierce counterattack of Mongolia and ended up in a big defeat, which gave Mongolia an excuse to attack the Song Dynasty and start a ten-year war.

"It's not the same time anymore."

Fan Zhong persuaded and said, "After the destruction of Jin, the Mongols attacked the Song Dynasty, and many generals of our Great Song Dynasty fought bloodily, but it was still difficult to resist. ”

"But over the years, in the bloody war, many civilian righteous men have been honed into cadres, placed in all aspects, defending the border of the Great Song Dynasty, organizing and training new troops, and appeasing the natives.

"Internally, the meeting is stable, the economy and trade are prosperous, and the gangs in the southeast have formed a business alliance, which is mutually beneficial and complementary to the country, which is enough to support the war and deal with the Mongolian counterattack after the recovery of Yuzhou."

The emperor sighed: "Temujin has been dead for twenty years, but his descendants have not stopped, and now the territory of Mongolia is vast, even more than when it was in the Tang Dynasty, I am not arrogant, but with the Great Song Dynasty, it is a great fortune to be able to hold one side, why take the initiative to send troops and provoke a greater backlash?" ”

Fan Zhong laughed.

"It is true that Mongolia has conquered thousands of miles to the west and is strong, but the khanates are far apart, and they already have the intention of dividing one side and doing their own thing."

"From the top, a few years ago, after the death of the Mongol Great Khan Ogedei, his six empresses, contrary to his edict, refused to appoint his grandson as the Great Khan, insisted on supporting his son, and seized power and regent without going through the meeting of the Mongol kings, which has caused dissatisfaction among the khanates."

"If it weren't for the fact that they were too far apart, I'm afraid there would have been an actual conflict, and the current situation would have been the beginning of a split, to say the least."

"From the lower strata, after the Mongolian crusade against all sides, brutal and violent acts, they frightened people, lured them, squeezed the people's strength, selected soldiers, and caused the remnants of various countries to appear several layers of internal division, and those who could join the Mongolian army were naturally superior to others, which was very different from the civilian population."

"In this way, although it can be strong for a while, but the war is endless, and it cannot be safely edified, and after the two or three generations of heroes who have created the foundation have passed, the power cannot be expanded again, and internal strife is inevitable, and there will be people who will incite the common people under the banner of the year and tear the khanates apart."

Fan Zhong talked eloquently, every word, there was a factual basis for the master secret agent from the Western Regions, which was difficult to interrupt.

"What our Great Song Dynasty has actually had to face in recent years is only the national strength of the Mongol Monan, the Jin State, and the old land of Western Xia, taking advantage of the fact that they are not stable internally, and we are in a rare prosperous time, it is by no means without the strength to fight."

Fan Zhong's words, in fact, have two meanings, clearly saying that the power of the Great Song Dynasty is far greater than that of several generations of emperors, and it is stronger than in the past.

Secretly, I am actually worried that if the emperor continues like this, hundreds of officials will have an opportunity to take advantage of it, and the government will be rotten just around the corner, but I am afraid that within ten years, the national strength will decline to the point that it is unbearable to fight.

Click!

The emperor put down the teapot, and was speechless for a while, and after a while, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Since Mongolia is showing signs of decay and division, then let's just watch the fire from the other side, why bother to get involved in the fire."

The emperor said happily, "Yes, he is not the only barbaric opponent that our Great Song has faced, but the Liao State and the Jin State are all boiled to death by our Great Song Dynasty." ”

"I just said, in the past two years, why do I always have a premonition that I can only stay still, and today I listened to Fan Lao's analysis, which confirmed my intuition, and it was really like this."

Fan Zhong's face suddenly stiffened, and he felt that his heart was a little backlash, and he hurriedly suppressed it.

The Great Song Dynasty survived the Liao State, that is, it sent money every year, causing groups of bandits in the territory to gather people to cause chaos, and the Western Xia saw the opportunity and took the opportunity to rise.

The so-called death of the Jin country is to lose half of the country, and Gou An for many years.

Now that you want to survive Mongolia, do you still have half of the country to lose?

We only have half of the southern sky left!

"Ha, ha."

Fan Zhong laughed dryly, touched his beard, eased his mood, and threw out the last chip.

"The officials don't know that the people who secretly surrendered to General Xiao Meng are not only ordinary civil officials and generals in various places, but also the latest batch of secret contacts, including the Mongolian feudal officials, the governor of Yuzhou, Fan Yongji."

"The old man feels old and frail, and he has asked the official family for resignation many times, and sometimes he writes to Xiao Meng, and he also mentions this matter, and Xiao Meng strongly persuades me to serve the court again, so he revealed the matter of Fan Yongji."

"Because he has already set off to return to Lin'an, he may not have time to make a special presentation to the official family to explain this matter."

The collusion between civil and military forces is a big taboo.

But in those years, in order to train new soldiers, Meng Zhaoxuan allocated less than sixty percent of the military funds allocated to them by the imperial court.

The emperor appointed Fan Zhong to be in charge of the transfer and liaison between Fuyao Mountain and Meng Zhaoxuan's army, and it was inevitable that there would be correspondence between them.

Fan Zhong made a special explanation, and the emperor did not delve into it.

"Fan Yongji, I remember him."

The emperor was displeased, "He was originally a Jurchen, he was originally a minister of the Jin State, and he once surrendered to my Great Song Dynasty, and then when the Mongolian army arrived, he descended to Mongolia again, how can such a capricious person be trusted?" ”

Fan Zhong persuaded bitterly: "At the beginning, it was our system that made him unreasonable, so that he was coerced by the general trend, and he had no choice but to do it, if there had been a surrender to Mongolia, it could not be used, and the Jin State could not support it for so many years." ”

"Now that Yuzhou has lost its heart under the knife of General Xiao Meng, whether Fan Yongji and others are sincere or not, the details of all aspects of Yuzhou cannot deceive General Xiao Meng's ......"

The emperor flicked his sleeves and said, "Okay! ”

"Since they surrendered because of Meng Qing's authority, if Meng Qing really can't be saved this time, or if they are transferred to another place in the future, who can guarantee that they can be cured?"

The emperor got up and snorted lightly, "Elder Fan, officials at all levels in various places need to bother to inspect and dispatch, and submit them to me regularly, so don't be distracted by border matters." ”

As soon as the words fell, the emperor turned around and left the grass house directly.

The door of the grass hut was half-open and half-closed, and it shook in the wind, and the footsteps of the large group of people outside were faintly heard.

After Fan Zhong sat quietly for a while, he picked up the cup of tea on the table and took a sip, only to feel that his mouth was full of bitterness, and there was no sweet taste at all.

The light and shadow in the grass house flickered, and somehow, there was one more person at the table.

He was a young man with two eyebrows and sideburns, a long sword on his back, tiger-eyed lips, a burly figure, wearing a gray cloth suit and long boots.

"You heard it all."

Fan Zhong sighed, "He has made so many excuses, in fact, deep down, he is unwilling to bother with state affairs." ”

"Even if you show your true face to persuade him, I'm afraid it's useless, do you still want to try?"

The young man was silent for a moment, and said, "I made everyone think that I was still on the way, and secretly came back early, so that I had to make some preparations to deal with some old friends who might appear, and I couldn't see him now." ”

"Originally, I hoped that you would be able to convince him."

Fan Zhong smiled desolately: "It seems that I have disappointed you." ”

"If you're going to ......"

Fan Zhong paused, "If your illness can be confirmed to improve, there are a few more years to live, whether you are at the border after that, or ...... Whatever you do in Lin'an, we will help you. ”

The young man seemed to laugh, his face a little bitter, and the figure disappeared again.

Qiao Feidu pushed the door in, and a trace of doubt flashed between his eyebrows.

He seemed to see Zuo Xiang talking just now, but he only saw it, and he didn't hear any sound, and he didn't notice that there was another person in the room.

Disheartened by the emperor's blows, silently talking to himself?

Fan Zhong got up, he couldn't see any mood on his face, and stretched his sleeves and said, "Let's go back." ”

When they returned to the city, it was after the emperor returned to the city, and many Lin'an officials were touring along the river, with busy traffic, servants holding umbrellas, striding in gorgeous clothes, and noisy voices.

Qiao Feidu and others escorted Fan Zhong and walked slowly, and many officials recognized Fan Zhong and came to salute.

Fan Zhong smiled and returned the salute with them, and could say a few words to everyone, so it was not lively.

Qiao Feidu shook the fan, the front of the fan was written in gold lacquer with the four big characters of "benevolence, righteousness and morality", and the back was with the ink that appeared when it encountered water, hiding the four secret words of "murder and arson".

Looking at the scene in front of him, the fan in his hand turned and turned, turned and turned, and inexplicably felt that there was a bit of desolation in this noisy market.

The crown is covered with Jinghua, and the people are alone and haggard.

When he was about to return to his mansion, Fan Zhong glanced back, not knowing who he was looking at.

And the young man with the sword on his back, stepping on a reed, went upstream, and had already passed by the small river in front of Shi Miyuan's manor.

There was no bitterness on his face, only a cheerful smile with a slight curiosity.

"Living in this old ghost across the door, I used to think about it, but unfortunately I didn't have time."

The young man jumped to his feet, the water swaying slightly, and his figure had already crossed the courtyard wall, through several layers of roofs, and into a courtyard.

A big locust tree in the courtyard has lush branches and leaves, and the fragrance of the lush and powerful plants and trees comes to the nostrils.

Under the shade of the tree, there was a handsome and elegant young man in a white robe, sitting at the stone table reading a book.

"Alone, no murderous spirit, not like they were sent by those guys."

Su Hanshan was calm and calm, covered his book and raised his head, "Why did the distinguished guest come?" ”

"In Xia, Chen Weiyang agrees with 'I Wu Weiyang', and has the same word as the land of 'Weiyang' in Yangzhou, looking for the successor of the Dragon Sword Sect."

The man with the blade on his back hugged his fists and smiled, "Come here!" ”

Su Hanshan raised his eyebrows slightly, and invited with one hand: "Then please sit down, I'll find out if there is any tea." ”

"Don't be in a hurry to drink tea, I heard that you are very interested in the manor on the other side of the river, and it just so happens that I also want to use that manor."

Chen Weiyang rubbed his hands, smiled, and said, "It's better to hit the day than to choose a day, it's better to go and play now, do you dare?" ”

(End of chapter)