In the next few days, Mo Lingsha would send Ning'er every day to summon Bai Yixue to meet in the Calyx Pavilion. Every time the two of them see each other, they grind their ears and temples, and there are always endless words, which is really an experience that the two have never had in their lives, and they feel that the time they get along always passes too fast.

This day coincided with the white clothes and snow on duty, and at the right time, Rong Xiang rushed over, mysteriously pulled him into the room, and said: "Brother Bai, there is a good thing tonight, don't eat dinner here, Duanmu Duxiao asked me to inform you specifically." ”

Rong Xiang has been losing every gamble recently, and he often has a sad face, but today he is full of spring breeze, and he seems to be in a good mood, Bai Yixue smiled and said: "Brother Rong, what's a good thing?"

Rong Xiao smiled and said: "Brother, you have only been here for a short time, so it is not surprising that you don't know this great thing." ”

Bai Yixue saw that his eyes lit up, and he was quite excited, and couldn't help laughing: "What kind of great thing is it, look at you like this." ”

Rong Xiang said: "Brother, you don't know, now that the new is coming, every year Xifu will feast on the palace marshal, Ma Shuai and Bu Shuai, as well as the deputy commander of the three yas and Du Yu. Our brothers, who are under him, also followed the army to get rid of the light and beg for a glass of wine. Brother Bai, you are lucky, as soon as you come, you will meet the annual feast in Xifu, I will open your eyes and feast your mouth tonight, you say, isn't this a great joy?"

Bai Yixue secretly thought: "It turns out that Zhao Xuan has to win over these leaders of the forbidden army every year, and his intentions can be described as far-reaching. He said, "Yes, yes." The so-called 'no merit is not punished', the younger brother has just arrived, and he has not made an inch, this great good thing has been sent to the head of the younger brother, is it appropriate for the younger brother to follow?"

Rong Xiao glanced at him and said with a smile: "Suitable, suitable! Duanmu Duxiao thinks it is suitable, then it is very suitable." I thought: "Who doesn't know that you are Princess Xijia's sweetheart, Duanmu Kami wants to slap you, and I'm afraid it's too late, and besides, taking you to Xifu for a banquet is just a favor, and he doesn't need to pay a penny himself." ”

Bai Yixue smiled: "Since this is the case, it is better for the little brother to be respectful." It's just that the younger brother is rarely heard of, and he doesn't know what the rules are, and when he arrives at the palace, it's nothing for the younger brother to lose face, but if he loses the face of the commander in front of the palace, it is a big sin. Brother Rong is a frequent visitor in the palace, and I hope that Brother Rong will remind the younger brother more. ”

When Rong Xiang heard him say that he was a frequent visitor to the palace, his heart was overjoyed, and he immediately straightened his waist, patted his chest and said, "It's easy to say, it's all wrapped around me." ”

At sunset, Rong Xiang ran over happily and shouted, "Brother Bai, let's go, let's go." When the two of them came to the courtyard, there was a lot of jubilation in the courtyard, and dozens of leaders of the forbidden army who commanded the envoys in front of the palace had gathered, and everyone had a smile on their faces. Bai Yixue knew some of them, and some of them met for the first time, and Rong Xiang introduced them to him one by one.

When everyone was disturbing themselves, three people came under the corridor, leading one with sword eyebrows and phoenix eyes, looking forward to Shengwei, Bai Yixue knew that it was the commander of the palace in front of the palace, and he had a relationship with Shi Zhongmo's mansion before. One of the two people behind him is Duanmu Katsumi, and the other is a tiger with a bear waist, and the beard on his face is hard and long, and his roots are like halberds, and his appearance is very powerful. Rong Xiang introduced in a low voice, it turned out to be Du Yu Hou Mu Hancha, who commanded the envoy in front of the palace.

The leaders of the forbidden army stepped forward one after another to sing and salute, and Minghua sharpened his chin and smiled. Duanmu Kemi stepped forward and whispered in his ear beside Ming Huali, who raised his eyes and looked at Bai Yixue. Duanmu Katsumi smiled and beckoned, "Brother Bai, come here." ”

Baiyi Xue stepped forward and saluted Minghua. Ming Huali returned the salute and said with a smile: "Brother Bai deigns to be here, and Ming is very uneasy. If there's anything you're not used to, just say it. ”

Bai Yixue said: "Palace, I have not made any achievements here, but I am deeply favored by you, and I am terrified. Today, I was recited by the palace marshal, and I was really ashamed. ”

Ming Huali smiled and said, "Brother Bai doesn't have to be polite. He turned his head to Duanmu Kemi and said, "It's not too early, let's set off now, it's too late, let the prince wait for everyone, it's not like talking." ”

The group then set off for Enping Palace. There is still some distance from the palace, the bells and drums in front are noisy, the silk and bamboo are deafening, and it is very lively. Although Bai Yixue had visited the Enping Mansion at night before, but had no time to take a closer look, this time again, I saw the Zhu Yongbi tile of the palace from a distance, painting the carved beams, and the style was extraordinary. Walk close, there are two rows of servants standing on both sides of the palace gate, there are dozens of musicians behind the servants, the bells and drums on the square are ringing, the silk and bamboo are ringing, many guests are coming, for a time the people in front of the door are boiling, it is really a city.

A person at the gate was full of joy, bowing again and again, greeting guests from all walks of life, and Bai Yixue recognized this person as Shang Linggao, the head of the palace. Shang Linggao saw Ming Huali in the crowd, hurriedly took a few steps, stepped forward, and said loudly: "Palace Shuai, I haven't seen you for a while, you are getting more and more healthy, everything is okay at home?"

Ming Huali smiled and said: "Thanks to the general manager's thoughts, it's all good." Mr. Shang is also radiant, presumably there has been a happy event recently, did he ask for another concubine?"

Shang Linggao said with a smile: "Where, where! If there is a happy event, it is a great joy to see the palace marshal today." ”

Bai Yixue saw that his face was full of red light and his complexion was excellent, and he pondered: "If the Feng brothers arrest the twilight crow, this person's traitorous act of collaborating with the enemy will be exposed, but looking at his appearance today, could it be that the Feng brothers actually lost their hand? Or is the twilight crow seriously injured and has died?"

Shang Linggao exchanged a few words with Duanmu Kemi and Mu Hancha, nodded slightly to Rong Xiang and other leaders of the forbidden army, and personally led Minghua Li, Duanmu Kemi and Mu Hancha into the upper seat, and the rest were led by the guests of the palace one by one, and sat down separately at several seats in the east head.

In the hall, guests came in one after another, and although many leaders of the forbidden army belonged to the three ya, most of them were familiar with each other, and they greeted each other one after another, which was very lively and joyful.

Most of the white clothes and snow don't know it, and they are alone knocking melon seeds, tasting fruits and vegetables, but they also fall quietly.

Rong Xiang was worried that he was left alone, so he chatted with him from time to time, and introduced the three military commanders who came in one after another, except for the guards and pro-army Ma Jun who Bai Yixue knew, the commander of the envoy Fengye Temple, the deputy commander Huang Gongyi, and the commander of Dong Xiechuan, the commander of the guards and the infantry army, the commander of the envoy Gan Yuecheng, the deputy commander Bao Pengnian, and the Du Yu Hou Suohuang, all of whom attended the meeting. Before Yang Cao was demoted, he was the deputy commander of the Commander of the Infantry Division of the Guards, and now this position has been taken over by Bao Pengnian.

Bai Yixue saw Dong Xiechuan talking and laughing with everyone from a distance, and seemed to be in a good mood, and couldn't help but think of Yang Caolai, and thought in her heart: "The queen mother has a kind temperament, and she is too doting on her grandson, the king of Enping County, so that Zhao Xuan is arrogant and self-pampered, and the power is terrifying." It is reasonable for villains like Dong Xiechuan to tolerate him, such as Fengye Temple, Ming Huatong and others, most of them are hindered by their feelings, or they are afraid of their power, so they have to make friends. ”

Then he thought again: "Before Taizu Zhao Kuangyin added the yellow robe, it was Emperor Zhou Gong's palace that was inspected and in charge of the forbidden army in front of the palace. The position of the crown prince has been vacant for a long time, and Zhao Xuan has been enveloping the Sanya Forbidden Army like this, and deliberately accepting it, is there any disobedience?"

He swept his eyes, and in the chaotic crowd, he saw two familiar faces, it was Feng Mengyan and Feng Zhongzhe Kunzhong, the two brothers looked gloomy and depressed, but the third Feng Jisheng did not see a figure, his heart moved, and he thought: "The Feng brothers have always been inseparable, it seems that Feng Jisheng has not recovered from his injury, and I don't know if Feng Mengyan and Feng Zhongzhe have already succeeded and won the twilight crow?" Brother Rong, I heard that the three Feng brothers of Ma Junsi are very good at kung fu, why do I only see the eldest brother and the second brother, but the third brother does not show up?"

Rong Xiang smiled and said: "It turns out that brother, you know the three Feng brothers? brother, I also have some friendship with them, and we will be closer to each other after a while." ”

Bai Yixue smiled: "Where did I know? I just heard of the prestige of their three brothers. Since he didn't know it, how could he know that among the three brothers, the third was the only one who was absent.

Rong Xiang smiled happily, in an excited mood, as if he hadn't thought about it at all, and said with a smile: "Oh, that brother, you don't know, when the Feng brothers were on business a while ago, the third brother was accidentally injured a little, and it has not healed yet. ”

Bai Yixue raised her eyebrows, and deliberately wondered: "Injured? The Feng brothers are strong in martial arts, who can hurt them?"

Rong Xiang was stunned for a moment and said in a low voice: "This...... This one...... I don't know exactly what that is. ”

Bai Yixue frowned and said: "I didn't expect that in Lin'an City, there are still people who dare to break ground on Tai Sui's head? Inadvertently, among the servants of the palace, I saw Jia Yin's figure, and wondered: "Who is Jia Yin assigned to take care of the crow in the inn, and I should find an opportunity to inquire in person in the future." ”

Rong Xiang glanced at him and said, "The brother over there is also a secret about this, since this is the case, it is inconvenient for us to inquire carefully." ”

Between the words, the guests were busy guiding the guests into the table, more than ten banquets were gradually filled with people, dozens of gray-clothed servants shuttled back and forth, bringing all kinds of liver and phoenix breasts, wine elixir, flowing water to bring up, in the golden and brilliant hall, the crown was gathered for a while, and the bottles were starry.

Rong Xiang looked at the carved plates and food on the table, his eyes lit up, he rubbed his hands and smiled: "Brother, we work errands on weekdays, and today is rare and relaxed. ”

Bai Yixue patted her belly and said with a smile: "I can't lose." Looking at the delicacies in front of him, he secretly sighed in his heart: "This time I went south, along the way, most of the people lived a life of cold and hunger, and often ate the last meal but did not have the next meal." Zhao Xuan invited a guest and had a meal, and he was so extravagant, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes today, it would have been hard to imagine. ”

Rong Xiao picked up the wine jug, poured a glass of wine for Bai Yixue, and said: "Today's Qiong Yu and Lan Zhi from the prince's family, where can we drink such fine wine? Bai Yixue responded with a smile.

When it was noisy and noisy, I suddenly heard a guard shouting in the distance outside the hall: "The king of Enping County has arrived!" The call was high and long, and it spread into the distance. When the cry came, there was a chaotic sound of chairs dragging in the hall, and everyone stood up and stood solemnly, and the hall, which was still lively like a bazaar, was suddenly silent.

I only heard the leather boots outside the hall, and a person walked in with high steps, and the white clothes and snow looked intently, the person was dressed in embroidered clothes, fair-skinned and short, and it was the fat boy he saw when he visited the palace that night, and said in his heart: "This person is really Zhao Xuan." I saw more than ten people following him one after another, some tall and short, some fat and some thin, dressed in different ways, Bai Yixue recognized that among them were Tang Wai, the sect leader of the Tang Sect, the love and education injury made Jin Pestle sad, and Pi Qingtian of the Lingxu Cave, and the rest did not know any of them, and they were all strange people from the rivers and lakes invited by Zhao Xuan.

Under the gaze of everyone, Zhao Xuan walked to the main seat with a smile and sat down on a brocade stool, and the people who were waiting for the guests next to him, Ming Huali, Fengye Temple, and Gan Yuecheng also sat down one by one, and the rest of the people sat down one after another. Tang Wei and other high-rollers also sat down in their seats.

After a while, Bai Yixue suddenly saw that the people around him picked up their wine glasses again and stood up, and he had to stand up again. It turned out that Zhao Xuan announced the official start of the feast, and everyone toasted together.

After drinking the wine and sitting down, the leaders of the forbidden army and the high-rollers of the rivers and lakes who had been waiting for a long time were hungry in their stomachs, and they immediately pushed the cups and changed the lamps, and ate and drank to their heart's content. Most of the people are martial arts practitioners, and they are not informal, and the hall is noisy.

Bai Yixue pondered: "If you come, you will be safe, and you will fill your belly first." In the face of the table full of delicacies, he was not polite at the moment, frequently raised chopsticks, ate up, and toasted each other with Rong Xiang and other leaders of the forbidden army at the same table. During the banquet, Rong Xiang took great care of Bai Yixue, constantly poured vegetables and wine for him, and was diligent. These leaders of the forbidden army and high-rollers in the rivers and lakes are all martial artists, and the amount of food and alcohol is amazing.

On the occasion of entertainment, more than ten family girls came to the open space in the center of the hall, singing and dancing, and helping everyone to drink.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, the dancing girl in the open space in the hall has already left. Rong Xiang's face was flushed, and he laughed in a low voice: "Brother Bai, a good show is about to be staged." ”

Bai Yixue was puzzled: "What kind of show?"

Rong Xiang pretended to be mysterious and said: "Brother will sell it first, and brother will know in a while." ”

After eating a few more glasses of wine, the hall suddenly fell silent, and Bai Yixue looked at it with everyone's gaze, only to see Shang Linggao had come to the open space in the hall with a smile. He looked around, cleared his throat, and said loudly: "Spring is coming, and the great energy is coming from the east." Today, the king of Enping County set up a special feast, inviting the palace marshal, the horse handsome, the step handsome, and all the good brothers, to drink and talk happily, it is really a group of sages, full of friends. According to the practice of previous years, after the dance is finished, it should be used to help the fun with 'martial arts'......" The voice did not fall, and the hall was already full of applause, and the crowd was excited.

Bai Yixue didn't know why everyone applauded, turned to Rong Xiang and asked, "Why are you so happy?"

Rong Xiao smiled: "As soon as my brother came back for the first time, I didn't know the reason. We rough people who wield guns and sticks have no other skills, except for a loyalty to the official family and the court, only brute force. ”

Bai Yixue said with a smile: "Brother Rong is too modest, you are a good martial artist, and the younger brother admires it in his heart." ”

Rong Xiang looked left and right, and said in a low voice: "What about good martial arts? Brothers don't know, the gold thief steals according to the north, and the heart of the Great Song Dynasty has never died. The external troubles are still there, and the imperial court needs to raise a large number of soldiers, and raising soldiers is nothing more than money, and the treasury of the imperial court has long been tight. I'm not afraid of your jokes, brother, the brothers who commanded the envoys in front of the palace, if half of the monthly money can be received, they will be grateful and burn incense to worship the Buddha. ”

Zhao Kuangyin established a unified dynasty after ending the situation of division and dispute in the five dynasties at the end of the Tang Dynasty, and he carried out a drastic reform of the military system in order to correct the disadvantages of the generals of the previous dynasty who supported the army and respected themselves, so that the division and division of the military system. Its military legislation followed the institutional principle of "taking advantage of malpractices and being the law for the establishment of the country," and was laid down in the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Zhao Kuangyin said, "It can benefit hundreds of generations, but only 'raising soldiers'." Fang is hungry and hungry, and there are rebels but no rebels, and there are rebels but no rebels. Based on this idea, the Song Dynasty established a system of raising soldiers, which completely separated soldiers and civilians and managed them.

The Song Dynasty recruited troops mainly from the forbidden army and the Xiang army, the forbidden army was the regular army of the central government, and its duty was to defend Kyoto, garrison the prefectures and counties and frontiers, and the Xiang army was the local army.

Since the founding of Zhao Kuangyin, the construction, mobilization and command of the army have been directly controlled by the emperor, and the military power has been completely concentrated in the emperor alone, and the military and government have been divided by the ministers.

During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty (968-976), the number of forbidden troops and the Xiang army in the country was 378,000, and by the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty (995-997), the size of the army reached 666,000. Zhao Kuangyin's series of reform measures to govern the military with civility, internal and external control, and internal and external defense have greatly strengthened the centralization of power. After the formation of the new military system, the emperors of all dynasties, including Gaozong Zhao Gou, all took this as the basic national policy and followed it unchanged. In the first year of Emperor Youyou of Song Renzong (1049), the number of imperial armies reached its peak, which was a staggering 1.4 million people, and consumed eighty percent of the country's finances.

Under the condition of not changing the garrison, military generals were regularly transferred to other places to defend them, so that they could "travel on roads that are sufficient to learn from hard work, and the northern and southern garrisons are sufficient to work evenly", so as to achieve the goal of "not having to specialize in their troops, and the soldiers will not be arrogant." However, the Zhao and Song dynasties were peaceful for a long time, and the imperial court implemented the law of changing the military for a long time, although there were many generals and generals, but the generals did not know the soldiers, the soldiers did not know the generals, and the disadvantages became increasingly apparent, and the quality and combat effectiveness of the troops declined year by year, so that in the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the redundant soldiers sat and ate, and the combat strength was weak, which can be said to be difficult to return. Redundant soldiers, redundant officials, redundant expenses, coupled with the use of the royal family, were also extravagant, and eventually led to the decline of the national power of the Zhao and Song dynasties. The emperor was deaf and the generals were tired, so there was a disaster of Jingkang, and the Central Plains also fell into the hands of foreign races.

The Song dynasty crossed to the south, and the official system followed the previous dynasty, and the problem of redundant officials became more prominent. The Zhao Imperial Court favored the south of the Yangtze River, and its territory was greatly reduced, and the official positions available to the imperial court were drastically reduced. In order to stabilize the situation in the court, the ancestral officials who ignored political affairs and were paid at home appeared in large numbers, and the number was very large. In the early years of Shaoxing, there were more than 1,400 ancestral officials, and the already scarce financial resources of the imperial court could not make ends meet.

During the Gaozong period, the official salary was used in the old official monthly salary standard of Jiayou and Yuanfeng. During the reign of Song Renzong Jiayou (1056~1063) and the reign of Song Shenzong Yuanfeng (1080~1084), the three divisions, the three dukes and other lords could reach 120 per month alone. In addition to the monthly salary, the officials also have clothes and millet distribution, plus additional money, public money, and income from the field, and the treatment can be described as quite favorable.

After the construction of Yan Nandu, low-level officials such as Rong Xiang were paid 12 to 15 guan per month, and silk and silk were distributed in spring and winter, as well as silk and Luo, and Lu Su 2 to 4 stones, in addition to the annual rent income of the field. The salaries of these low-level officials are generally not high, and they can probably get by, while the officials in the prefectures and counties have almost no legitimate and stable salaries, and most of them rely on "receiving money to make a living." However, in the early Southern Song Dynasty, there was a shortage of officials, and the monthly income of civil and military officials was reduced compared with the old Jiayou and Yuanfeng. There are many leaders of the forbidden army like Rong Xiang, who are small and poor, and who live in poverty.

Bai Yixue knew that he was a good gambler, and he was afraid that half of the monthly money was given to the casino, and said: "Oh, if Brother Rong is short of money and can't turn around for a while, the younger brother has some silver taels here, you can use it." ”

Rong Xiang patted him lightly on the shoulder and said, "Good brother, your brother has received it, and the silver taels given by your brother last time have not been used up! Besides, how can my brother always be cheeky and ask you to borrow silver?"

Bai Yixue said with a smile: "Between you and my brothers, why be polite? I am alone, and there is no place to spend money on weekdays, you can come and get it at any time, and you are not in a hurry to return it, and when you have enough money in the future, it will not be too late to pay me back." ”

Rong Xiang was so moved that the corners of his eyes moistened, and sighed: "What a good brother!" He secretly sighed in his heart: "You are Princess Xijia's sweetheart, and you will not worry about spending money in the future, where do I have your rich life?" Every morning when I open my eyes, more than ten mouths in the family are still waiting to eat. ”

Bai Yixue knew that he had always been good at gambling, and most of his salary was actually spent on the gambling table, and said: "As the saying goes, 'You can only save suffering, not gambling.'" Brother Rong will have to be more temperamental in the future and go to fewer casinos. ”

Rong Xiang looked slightly embarrassed, and said continuously: "Yes, yes." ”

Bai Yixue smiled slightly and said, "Little brother is stupid, I don't know what the good thing Brother Rong said, what is the matter?"

Rong Xiang said with a smile: "Every year at the banquet, the king of Enping County will arrange a 'martial arts competition' to help the fun, that is, let the guards in the palace learn martial arts with our brothers in Sanya. Hehe, we are guests, Wang Yeyan can let the guests lose facelessly? It is said that it is a competition of martial arts, but he is sympathetic to the little ones and gives some silver to the brothers in disguise. ”

Bai Yixue smiled: "Oh, what's the way to send it?"

Rong Xiang said: "The prince has set the rules, those who win one game can get one or two silver tattoos, and those who win two games can get two taels of silver, if they can win three games in a row, they can get five taels of silver, but one person can compete at most three times." At the end of the feast, everyone who was present received a great gift, and you will never be left empty-handed. ”

Bai Yixue glanced at Zhao Xuan, who was drinking and laughing with Ming Huali and the others, and said, "This King of Enping County is very generous. ”

Rong Xiao smiled and said, "Isn't it?" While the two were talking, Shang Linggao had finished explaining and returned to the seat, and in the open space in the center of the hall, a leader of the forbidden army of the infantry division of the guard and a guard of the palace took the lead in the competition.

The two of you went back and forth, and after a while, the leader of the forbidden army shouted: "Go!" waved his right palm, knocking the palace guard to the ground. Amid the cheers of the crowd, he quickly stepped forward, helped him up, and said, "Brother, offended, offended!" Immediately, another palace guard appeared on the stage and competed with him.

Bai Yixue looked at it for a while, these people's martial arts were mediocre, but they were just some superficial fighting skills, and they couldn't help but be interested. Rong Xiang watched it with relish on the sidelines, and applauded loudly from time to time.