Zhao Xu was also so surprised by Ximenqing's words that he almost bit his tongue, thinking that he was worthy of Ximenqing in the famous 'Four Tyrants of Yanggu' on the rivers and lakes, and his eloquence was much better than that of the ministers in the court, but I like it!

Sima Bai snorted lightly, the voice was not loud, only Ximen Qing next to him heard it. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info Ximen Qing proudly left Sima Bai, and then carefully looked at the waist card in his hand, the brass cast, the card surface is not very gorgeous, only two big characters "all heads". Isn't this the waist card that Zhao Xu used when he pretended to be a soldier? My Ximenqing felt a little unnatural in my heart, and I didn't know what to say.

At this time, three people came from a distance, not dressed as generals and soldiers or ministers in the palace, but dressed as people from the rivers and lakes. When they walked in front of Emperor Zhao Xu, they did not bow, but only bowed slightly, and the first person said: "See the saint!"

Ximen Qing was stunned for a moment, thinking that there was indeed a master in the palace, looking at these three people's steady pace and long breath, they were all second-rate masters in the world, and the person who was the leader of them had reached the peak of second-rate masters, and Sima Bai was on par. But why didn't I see them when I faced the enemy just now?

Zhao Xu also put away his smile at this time, did not say polite words or anything like politeness to the three of them, and asked quietly, "Why are the three martial arts masters here?"

The leader said respectfully: "Back to the Holy Lord, just now the Queen Mother heard that there are assassins here who want to assassinate the emperor, and she specially ordered me to come to the rescue." We just met those assassins on the road, and we've killed them all with all our might!"

Ximen Qing looked at the clothes on the three people, and sure enough, there were traces of blood stains left after the fight.

"Then you are asking me for credit?" Zhao Xu's voice suddenly became louder, asking these three people, obviously very tired of them!

"We don't dare! It is our duty to protect the holy car, how dare we ask for credit. ”

"What is protecting me, what you should protect is the Queen Mother and her old man. If there are still remnants of sin, it is not good for the Queen Mother, but you leave your post without permission, if the Queen Mother has any accidents, what should you be guilty of?"

"Weichen knows his mistake!" Zhao Xu stopped the three of them, and they knelt down one after another to admit their dereliction of duty.

"I won't embarrass you, step down! Protect the Queen Mother and her old man!" Zhao Xu bit the three words of the old man very hard, which obviously had another meaning. Ximen Qing secretly crumbled: It seems that the relationship between the emperor and the queen mother is not very harmonious.

When the three of them retreated, Zhao Xu's face returned to natural, and after a few explanations, he called Sima Bai and Ximen Qing to go to Funing Palace. It is rumored that Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu of the Song Dynasty, lived in Funing Palace during his reign, and it is now Zhao Xu's bedroom.

Entering the front hall, there is an attic next to it, and the book is written in the Chengqian Pavilion, Zhao Xu brought the two into the pavilion and ordered the left and right to go to the door to guard. Several palace maids served refreshments for Zhao Xu, Sima Bai, and Ximenqing one after another, and then also withdrew.

The room was unusually quiet for a while, and you could hear a pin dropping. The three of Ximenqing were not in a hurry to speak, and each drank tea silently with something on their minds.

Ximenqing secretly looked at the objects in the house, among which there was a pear marble table, on which there were all kinds of treasure inkstones, pen holders, and rice paper, and there was a large Ru kiln flower bag on the side, and a bag full of crystal balls was inserted in the white chrysanthemum. Behind the table is a gold lacquer carved dragon throne, and behind it is a carved dragon screen. There are two rows of solid wood chairs under the table, with Ximenqing and Sima Bai sitting on one side. On the west wall, there is a large rice Xiangyang's "Smoke and Rain Map", and a couplet is hung on the left and right, which is Yan Lugong's ink, and its word cloud: Yanxia idle bones, Quanshiye career. The bookshelves, on the other hand, lean against the east wall, are divided into seven tiers, each of which is filled with books.

Ximen Qing was admiring the "Smoke and Rain Map" on the west wall, and when he was appreciating it in his heart, Zhao Xu coughed and pulled his thoughts back. But it was the imperial doctor who had just arrived and was saluting the emperor.

Zhao Xu had seen Sima Bai heal his injuries before, and after questioning, he knew about Ximenqing's rib fracture, so he invited the imperial doctor to check Ximenqing.

Ximen Qingtong entered the side hall with the imperial doctor, took off the 'borrowed' forbidden soldier armor, took off his coat, and let the bearded old man do it. However, after all, the imperial doctors are all holy hands of medical Tao, and in less than a cup of tea, they reset and connected all of Ximenqing's broken ribs, and prescribed him a few doses of healing holy medicines, luxury supplements, and so on.

Inside the cabinet, Sima Bai reported to Emperor Chaoxu the latest news he had just received from the Assassins. The only thing that is certain is that none of them are Han Chinese, and it is very likely that death squads sent by the Great Liao and Western Xia went deep into the palace to steal military secrets.

"I thought about it repeatedly, these assassins shouldn't have been sent by the Western Xia!" Zhao Xu thought for a long time before he spoke: "In the past two days, Helian Enke, the general of the Western Xia expedition to the east, sent an envoy to Bianliang to meet with me and the Queen Mother, and he should not have stabbed me at this juncture, otherwise wouldn't it be suspicious of themselves." ”

"Back to the emperor, there is a martial arts hall 'Jingwutang' in Western Xia, and the recruits in the hall are all strong martial artists. This time, Helianko sent an envoy to Bianliang, and he brought a lot of warriors in the hall, and his intention is self-evident, that is, to spy on our reality and reality, so they can't get rid of suspicion about tonight's matter. After that, Sima Bai also looked at the side hall and where Ximenqing was, and the meaning was clear: Ximenqing sneaked into the palace late at night several times, with ill intentions, maybe he was a spy of Xixia.

Zhao Xu's head ached a little, as the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty and the lord of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, why did he always encounter things that did not go his way? The empress dowager in the palace controlled the government and had very little right to speak; militarily, the empress dowager had contradictory opinions with her, and she wanted to reform the military system, but she was repeatedly obstructed. Therefore, Zhao Xu has always had a bad relationship with the Empress Dowager Gao, and Zhao Xu still hates her monopoly in his heart. Now that there are enemy assassins who have bullied him, how can he not be furious!

In fact, Zhao Xu also blamed the Empress Dowager Gao for some mistakes. During the reign of Empress Dowager Gao, she was diligent and thrifty, honest and hardworking, so during this period, the politics were relatively clear and the economy was also very prosperous. Therefore, the period of Song Zhezong was the last period of economic prosperity, moderate prosperity, political clarity, and strong national power in the Northern Song Dynasty. This is inseparable from the virtue of the Empress Dowager Gao. Empress Dowager Gao is also known as the female Zhongyao Shun by later generations.

Empress Dowager Gao controlled the government because Emperor Zhao Xu was young and ignorant, the distance between ideals and actual abilities was too great, and many policies were on paper and unrealistic, so she did not dare to delegate power. She was waiting for Zhao Xu to be more mature and able to plan for the world's major events, and then retire to the court.