It was early winter, it was a sunny and cold night, the stars and the moon were in the sky, although it was late at night, but the sky was not very dark, under the moonlight, Hu Zhenbang saw Yelu Aoshuang smiling movingly, his eyes flickered like stars in the sky, and he heard her innocent and lovely words in his ears, which was different from the heroic posture he had seen before, and his heart did not move slightly. Suddenly, I heard a dog barking in the distance, and there was a faint sound of beating the watch, and I saw that it was the third watch. Hu Zhenbang's heart sank, and he said secretly: "Time is pressing, but I am thinking nonsense here, I really shouldn't be." ”

It turned out that the two of them were talking and laughing, and they had come to the mouth of Huanghe Alley. The two of them entered the alley for dozens of feet, and sure enough, they saw a tea shop on the right, the door was closed, the lights were all gone, and the people inside had obviously fallen asleep.

Hu Zhenbang whispered in Yelu Aoshuang's ear: "This person's martial arts are very good, if you pry the door in, you will be aware, there is no backyard here, why don't I enter from the house?"

Hu Zhenbang Changhong's sword was unsheathed, and Yelu Aoshuang also clenched the mandarin duck double knife, and was about to break into the door, when he suddenly heard a few soft sounds, as if a hidden weapon broke through the air, and the momentum was extremely fierce. Hu Zhenbang shouted "not good", and the long sword swung away, and "ding" a few times to open several silver needles.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of laughter, the door opened, and a figure went to the courtyard with a loud voice: "Where is the friend who has this Yaxing, visiting late at night." ”

Under the moonlight, seeing that this person was thin, about thirty or so long, with five willows and long beards, and spoke with a Bianjing accent, Hu Zhenbang said in his heart: "There is no doubt that the Song people referred to by Yelu Kokand and Kulun are this person." At that moment, he said loudly: "This brother seems to be the Bianjing clan of the Great Song Dynasty, I don't know how to call it, is this how he greets guests?"

The man laughed and said: "The two of you don't leave the gate and enter over the wall, but you want to blame me for not being thoughtful enough in hospitality? ”

Hu Zhenbang said secretly: "Could this person be the descendant of Kou Zhun, the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, mentioned by his father-in-law?"

That Kou Yun laughed and said: "It is the ancestors of the next generation, I didn't expect that you still have a little vision, and you can actually guess a little bit of my relationship with the prime minister of the former Song Dynasty." ”

It turned out that when Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty ascended the throne in the previous dynasty, the Khitans wanted to take advantage of the new establishment of the Song lord and the foundation was not stable, and frequently invaded the border of the Great Song Dynasty. First, in the second year of Xianping, the Song army was defeated at Gaoyang Pass, and the plundered returned. In the sixth year of Xianping, the Liao army invaded Gaoyang Pass again, and the deputy capital of the Song army deployed Wang Jizhong to be captured and surrendered to Liao. The Song people were defeated in these two battles, and the government and the opposition were shocked.

In the first year of Jingde, urgent documents were circulated on the border of the northern part of the Great Song Dynasty, saying that the Liao army was about to invade on a large scale again, and the ministers of the imperial court were helpless in the face of the pressure of a strong enemy. At this time, Prime Minister Bi Shi'an recommended Kou Zhun to Song Zhenzong as the prime minister. At that time, Bi Shi'an said to Zhenzong: "Kou Zhun is gifted and loyal, and can judge major affairs; At present, the northern strong invasion, only Kou Zhun can defend the country against the enemy. That Song Zhenzong listened to Bi Shi'an's words and appointed Kou Zhun as a scholar of Jixian Palace, and Bi Shi'an was the prime minister at the same time.

Although Kou Zhun was a civil servant, his courage was really extraordinary, and he advocated a battle with the Liao people and would never surrender. He first sent spies to the front line to reconnoiter the situation, and then analyzed the enemy's situation accordingly and worked out various anti-Liao strategies. He spoke bluntly to Song Zhenzong and asked him to accompany him to the northern expedition to boost morale. At the beginning, Song Zhenzong was scared, hesitated, and couldn't withstand Kou Zhun's repeated persuasion, and finally traveled north to reach Lanzhou.

When the Yellow Dragon Banner of Song Zhenzong appeared on the tower of the north city of Lanzhou, the soldiers and civilians of the Great Song Dynasty were thunderous and vigorous. It's ridiculous that after the Zhenzong went to the northern city of Lanzhou to symbolically inspect the city, he quickly retreated to the palace in the southern city, leaving only Kou Zhun in the northern city to be responsible for commanding the battle. Zhenzong was afraid, but he couldn't let go, and he also sent people to visit Kou Zhun many times, and those people came back to report that Kou Zhun and Yang Yi were drinking and playing chess on the city tower, talking and laughing, very calm, and Zhenzong was a little at ease and no longer panicked.

When the Khitan people invaded on a large scale, the soldiers and civilians around the country bravely resisted the enemy under the command of Kou Zhun, and did not give up an inch of land, although the Liao army claimed to be 200,000 people, but because of the lone army going deep, the grain and grass were not continued, and the battlefield was defeated and retreated, and the Liao army pioneer Xiao Tzulan was shot and killed by Zhang Huan, the general of the Song Dynasty Li Jilong, with an elite bed crossbow, and the Khitan army was defeated.

The Khitan Empress Dowager Xiao Yanyan and the Great Prime Minister Yelu Longyun saw that they could not take advantage of the Song people, so they turned to the Great Song Dynasty to propose peace. That Song Zhenzong had no determination to resist Liao to the end, and seeing the Khitan people negotiate peace, it was exactly what he wanted. At that time, above the imperial court, Wei Kou Zhun always opposed the negotiation of peace, advocating taking advantage of the situation to send troops to recover the lost territory, and the Ningbian army, the general of the main battle faction, deployed Yang Zhi to seize Youyan several states. Unexpectedly, Zhenzong's single-mindedness in negotiating peace caused the compromise faction to be arrogant, and slandered Kou Zhun in front of Zhenzong for supporting the army and self-respecting, and plotting against him. The confused Zhenzong actually listened to the slander, ignored Kou Zhun's opinion, and in December of the same year, signed a peace treaty with Liao, which was the so-called "Lanyuan Alliance".

Although the alliance of the Song Dynasty is not commendable, because of the resistance of the Song army, the Liao State did not dare to underestimate the power of the Great Song Dynasty, so after the alliance of the Yuanyuan, the Song-Liao border was quiet for decades. It's a pity that Kou Zhun is upright, but he was slandered by the villains around Song Zhenzong, and that Zhenzong was an old fool, so he demoted Kou Zhun to his official position and sent him to Leizhou, and Kou Zhun died in Leizhou the next year.

Hu Zhenbang's father-in-law Suo Longtu was originally the main and faction, when he was young, he had several encounters with Kou Zhun, Hu Zhenbang was young, Suo Wang Ye often told him some of the past of the Liao and Song dynasties, and when he talked about the story of loyal ministers and traitors, he often mentioned Kou Zhun, and once said to him: "As a minister, he should be like Kou Laoxi in the Song Dynasty, although he is a civil minister, but he is brave and courageous, and he dares to speak directly to the emperor, and he is a loyal and righteous person." "It turns out that Kou Zhun ancestor is a Shanxi person, and the folk call him Kou Laoxi, because the Shanxi people can't eat without vinegar, so every time they go out, they often carry a gourd vinegar on their backs, so the folk love to call Shanxi people Laoxi.

At this moment, Hu Zhenbang saw that Kou Yun was really a descendant of Kou Zhun, and he couldn't help but have respect in his heart, and said loudly and carefully: "Sure enough, after Lord Kou Zhun, he was disrespectful and disrespectful! Hu Zhenbang is polite, dare to ask Your Excellency what kind of business you are doing when you come to my Liaodu Shangjing?"

Kou Yun laughed and said: "You are asking knowingly, now the Song and Liao are good, and the merchants are interconnected, I see that many Khitan people in the north love to drink my Central Plains tea, and although there are many merchants in the south who do business here, there is rarely tea to sell, so I will find a shop here to sell some tea and make a living." I don't know if the two of you visit the shop at night, but it's to buy tea? Why don't you go into the house with me and taste a few pots of good tea?"