Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Confrontation

When Di Qing left the palace, he was distracted for a while. Over the years, he has only two goals, one is to lead the Northwest army and civilians to defend the country and resist the Xia army, and the other goal is of course to find Shambhala. But later he discovered that these two purposes were originally combined into one.To go to Shambhala, you must defeat Yuan Hao.He thought hard about making moves, but he never imagined that one day, Song and Xia would suddenly meet and make peace. What should he do next? Walking in the ancient city of Kaifeng, you can see the flow of people like crucian carp crossing the river, and the flower market like the raging tide of the blue sea.Bianjing is very prosperous and lively.But this excitement is always someone else's.

Standing on the street, watching the sunset, finally sinking into the sky, when the night fell, Di Qing suddenly felt a tremor, as if he was standing on the edge of a cliff. "Di Qing...have a drink?" Suddenly someone asked hoarsely. Di Qing was slightly surprised, turned his head and looked over, and saw that there was a restaurant next to him, and an old man was sitting outside the restaurant.The old man had a scar on his face, half of his eyebrows were broken, and his face was weird.Di Qing suddenly thought that he knew the old man. When he wanted to assassinate Xia Sui, he was intercepted by Guo Zun, and then Guo Zun took him to this restaurant. The old man Di Qing was surnamed Liu.

The past goes with the wind, things change and people change.Di Qing entered the restaurant silently, and found that there was no one there. Although the food and drinks here are good, just like people, people don't necessarily appreciate them if they are good. Father Liu has been limping around since he invited Di Qing in. He prepared marinated vegetables for Di Qing, put a jar of wine on the table, and then half-covered the shop to indicate that it was closed. Di Qing was speechless, seeing this, he said: "Father Liu, I just drink, you don't have to go out of business."

Father Liu took another jar of wine, put it heavily on the table and said, "I have something to tell you!" Di Qing looked at Old Man Liu in surprise, wondering what Old Man Liu would say?Father Liu had already taken two sea bowls and slapped the mud seal off the wine jar. The aroma of the wine is overflowing, and it is intoxicating to smell it.The lights flickered, illuminating the different vicissitudes of life of the two. Father Liu held a bowl of wine and said, "I made this wine myself. I have kept it for more than 30 years. There are only these two jars. Alcoholic wine is like a human being, and you can only know its taste after a long time. Good wine is like a knife. It can kill thousands of people in the world. Thousands of sorrows."

Di Qing never thought that the old man could say these elegant words, and holding the wine bowl, he said, "Hasn't Father Liu heard the saying 'Use wine to drown your sorrows and make your sorrows worse'? There are only two jars of this wine. Why do you let me drink the wine that has been brewed for half a lifetime?" Father Liu stared at Di Qing and said, "Master Guo Zunguo originally drank this wine! Back then he made an agreement with me that as long as he untied his knot, he would have a drink with me. I said wait for him After that day, I hid these two jars of wine!"

When Di Qing heard Guo Zunzhi's name, his heart was sour, he drank the bowl of wine, and said sadly: "Brother Guo can't drink this wine." He didn't know how much effort he had to say this. He has been in the army for many years, and it is difficult to let go of many past events, which are difficult to recover and have changed too much.Too many people have left him, maybe he will remember it occasionally, maybe he will forget it forever.But he knows that the people who will never forget in this life are Yu Chang and Guo Zun! Father Liu also drank the wine in the bowl, and filled the wine jar with wine. Before he could say anything, Di Qing suddenly asked, "Brother Guo, what's on your mind?"

Di Qing thought to himself, "According to what Father Liu said, this wine has not been opened, and Brother Guo has not drunk it, so he has not untied his knot." Thinking of this, Di Qing already thought that no matter what, he would help Guo Zun fulfill his wish . Father Liu said: "His heart knot was originally related to you!" Di Qing was taken aback, wondering if it had something to do with Shambhala again?I heard Father Liu say: "Di Qing, let me tell you a story about the past, I wonder if you will listen." Di Qing said: "I will listen to whatever you say!"

Father Liu nodded, discarded the wine bowl, took a few sips of wine from the jar, and let the wine drip down on his chest. At some point, there were tears in his eyes. "Master Guo saved my life. I won't say much about how he saved my life. Since he saved me, the happiest thing in my life is to wait for him to come over for a few sips of wine and chat. He is a Good man, you know that?" Di Qing was surprised that Father Liu asked such a question, and said with a smile: "If he is not a good person, it will be difficult to find a good person in this world." Father Liu sighed and said, "But a good person can do wrong things, and he did one wrong thing, and he will feel guilty for the rest of his life."

Di Qing couldn't help his heartbeat, and he instinctively believed that what Father Liu said would have something to do with him.I heard Old Man Liu say again: "Master Guo is a martial arts prodigy. When he was young, he was highly regarded by the late emperor and was allowed to enter the palace. Although he is young and ambitious, he is bright and enthusiastic. He sees things that have to be flattened. Otherwise, he He won't save me either. At that time, he met a scholar named Di in the capital...and took him to my place for a drink. The scholar named Di looked exactly like you, and he was very handsome."

Di Qing's heart was beating wildly, and without waiting for guesses, Father Liu had already solved the mystery and said, "You don't need to guess, the scholar is your father! Your father and Mr. Guo have known each other for a long time!" Di Qing suddenly understood a lot of things, and suddenly thought, was it because Guo Zun and him hit it off at first sight because they knew him by face? Father Liu drank a few more sips of wine and said, "Although your father is a frail scholar, he is quite straightforward. I am very happy to see them getting along well. At that time, your father was studying in the capital to take the number one examination. Not long after, Then I met a woman surnamed Mei, namely Lingtang. Your father and Lingtang fell in love at first sight, but Mr. Guo also likes Lingtang!"

Di Qing's face was ashen, recalling the past, the hand holding the wine bowl trembled violently, and said in a low voice: "Brother Guo was the one who injured my father back then?" He really didn't want to guess like this, but he couldn't help guessing like this.The past came suddenly, like a wind and snow. Di Qing remembered that his father had been seriously injured, and that his mother had been sad and haggard. He knew that someone injured his father, causing him to fail the imperial examination and to be in despair all his life, but his mother never told his brothers who the enemy was. He didn't expect that the one who injured his father was Guo Zun—the Guo Zun who treated him like his father and brother! In a trance, I heard Father Liu say: "Yes, Mr. Guo was the one who injured your father, but he didn't mean it." Di Qing suddenly stood up, her cheeks twitching. Seeing this, Father Liu shouted anxiously: "He really didn't intend to hurt your father, and everything was because of Wulong!" Di Qing froze, and lost his voice: "Five Dragons? How could it be related to Five Dragons?" Father Liu said sadly: "Wulong is an ominous thing. Do you remember that Mr. Guo once advised you to give up Wulong because he suffered a lot from it. That day was August 15th, the night of the full moon! " "August 15th?" Di Qing was even more startled, wondering if this August 15th was the day the Eighth Prince said?Why did the five dragons behave strangely on this day? Father Liu's eyes suddenly showed terror, and he looked at the bright moon in the sky through the window. At this time, the bright moon was bright and clear, and it sprinkled clear light through the window and spread on the ground, as if the ground had been coated with mercury. Father Liu tremblingly said in horror, "That night, the moon was so bright and round, it was already very late, Mr. Guo suddenly staggered to my wine shop, his face was pale, and he said that he made a big mistake and injured your father. I didn't believe it at the time. I knew that Master Guo liked Ling Tang very much, but he would never bully the weak. If so, how could he attack your father? At that time, Master Guo was incoherent. I could see that he regretted it very much. At that time, he just said, "It's Wulong, it's the cause of Wulong. But who will believe it? No, I have to explain." That night, after repeating those few words, he rushed out of the restaurant..." Di Qing was in a state of confusion, thinking of something, his expression changed.The five dragons showed abnormalities, and the controlled person suddenly increased their divine power. He experienced it personally, and he also injured Ma Zhongli because of it.According to what Cao Yi said, Guo Zun was undoubtedly influenced by Wulong.Could it be that Guo Zuntu was influenced by the five dragons at the beginning and was difficult to control, so it hurt people? Di Qing felt the same way and understood what Guo Zun meant.At that time, Guo Zun already felt that it was the five dragons that caused the trouble, so he later regarded the five dragons as an ominous thing. Guo Zun knew that no one would believe it, and he also knew that Di Qing's mother would not believe it, but Guo Zun still wanted to explain. Father Liu continued: "I was very worried at the time, but after waiting for three days, Mr. Guo turned around again. When I saw him, I almost didn't recognize him. He was so haggard that he looked lonely. Like a ghost, he just said, 'I can't find it, they're gone.' After he said that, he passed out. He didn't wake up until two days later, but he just drank, as if he was going to die." Although Di Qing knew that Guo Zun must be fine at that time, he still worried: "What happened to him...was he better?" Father Liu looked at Di Qing meaningfully, and said after a while: "Later, I held his ear and yelled in his ear, 'If you are a man, you have to find a way to make up for what you did wrong. People look down on you!' After hearing my words, Guo Zun suddenly started to eat for some reason. But then he became seriously ill and almost died. Later he said to me, 'I will do something wrong If you want to make up for it, you trust me.’ At that time I said to him, ‘I trust you, I’ll brew wine and wait for you, when you untie your knot, I’ll have a drink with you.’” Di Qing looked at the two jars of wine on the table, as if he was looking at the agreement between the two men. The wine jars were green and the colors under the light were erratic and elusive, like something Guo Zun had never said on his mind. Father Liu was also looking at the jar of wine, and sighed: "But when we made the appointment, I never thought that this appointment lasted for more than 30 years, and he would not drink the wine I brewed for him after all." Muddy tears flowed down his ugly face. Father Liu turned to Di Qing and said, "Later... Mr. Guo found you and took you to Beijing. You were hard to recover from your injury. Every time he came to drink with me, They were all frowning, always saying, 'I brought Di Qing to Beijing to make up for my mistakes, but I still hurt him.'” With a sore nose, Di Qing murmured: "He has done too much..." He never hated Guo Zun, even when he knew he had hurt his father, he didn't hate him. If it is strange, it can only be blamed on common people for making fun of it! "After the Beijing Revolution, Mr. Guo was even more sad. He told me that he must find Shambhala and help you find Shambhala. He also wanted to solve this mystery himself. He has always wanted to tell you the truth of the year. But he never dared. When he left Beijing, he saw me for the last time and said to me, if he died, please let me convey a word to you. This is why I want to invite you to drink today, because I want to transfer A word from him." Di Qing's heart was beating violently, his face was bloodless, and he said slowly: "Please tell me." Father Liu stood up tremblingly, stared at Di Qing, and said with trembling lips: "Master Guo said, 'Please forgive him!'" Seeing that Di Qing was silent, Old Man Liu burst into tears, and murmured: "He said that in this life I only did two things wrong, and they are all related to you. He has gone now, don't tell me...you really won't forgive him?" The old man was agitated and disappointed, tears streaming down his face, he waited for a long time, just to pass on this sentence, he didn't want to disappoint Guo Zun.All of a sudden, he knelt down on the ground, and before he knelt down, Di Qing grabbed Father Liu and said, "I don't need to forgive him." Father Liu hissed: "Why? Could it be that he did something wrong, and even if he went, he wouldn't be able to get your forgiveness?" There were also tears in Di Qing's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "I don't need to forgive him, just because I never blamed him. I, Di Qing, can only be grateful to Brother Guo. If you like, you can also tell Brother Guo, my mother is also early. I just forgave him. My mother said that she didn't hate the person who hurt my father a long time ago, and she didn't want me to take revenge. If Big Brother Guo is alive, he should know." Father Liu wept with joy, sobbing like a child. Some people rarely make a promise in their lives, and some people never fulfill a promise in their lives.But there are also some people who live their lives for only one promise. Whether it is worth it, the time of flowing water has been engraved. The tears seem to never run out, but the wine... will eventually run dry. When Di Qing returned to the Guo Mansion, he was slightly drunk.The moment he stepped into Guo's mansion, he seemed to feel that Guo Zun was still by his side. Looking at the bright moon hanging high, he murmured: "Brother Guo, you are so stupid." The bright moon seemed to have turned into Guo Zun's face, also looking at Di Qing.The bright moon is speechless, silent as gold. Di Qing withdrew his gaze, and before reaching the front of the room, he saw an oil lamp burning in the room, and a figure was seen through the window paper.Di Qing's heart warmed slightly, and he thought to himself that Guo Kui was the only one waiting for him at this time. Pushing open the door, there was a creaking sound, and the person sitting by the window looked over and said with a smile, "Di Qing, are you back?" Di Qing was startled, saw those bright and affectionate eyes, and said in a broken voice, "Master Fan, why are you here?" The person sitting in Di Qing's room was actually Fan Zhongyan! Fan Zhongyan smiled and said, "Can't I come?" Di Qing was a little surprised, and hurriedly said: "No, it's just a little surprise." After he went to Tubo, he had to transfer orders and went straight back to Beijing, and he didn't say goodbye to Fan Zhongyan. After being in the capital for a long time, Di Qing also knew that Fan Zhongyan had been transferred back to the capital, but he never went to see him. He didn't want Fan Zhongyan to come to him today. Fan Zhongyan saw that Di Qing's eyes were asking for advice, so he didn't go around in circles, and said directly: "I came from the palace. During the day, the Holy Majesty called me into the palace to discuss the reform." His expression was slightly excited, Fan Zhongyan said: "Di Qing , Your Majesty has finally made up his mind to reform, and tomorrow he will announce the reform in the court." Feeling drunk, Di Qing sat on the bed and said with a shy smile, "Good thing." He thought in his heart, "When I was still in the northwest, Fan Gong, Pang Daren and others discussed the reform, and now they finally got their wish. But what about me?" Of course he was not opposed to the reform, but when he heard the news, he was not as happy as he imagined. Fan Zhongyan was so thoughtful that he saw Di Qing's melancholy, and said, "Today in the palace, the Holy Majesty told me that you seem to be against the reform?" Di Qing was startled, shook his head and smiled wryly: "Master Fan, you know it's not like this. How could I oppose the reform? I'm just against negotiating peace with Xia Guo." Fan Zhongyan smiled and said: "Of course I know you won't. In fact, the Holy One is a little angry today. Do you know why he is angry?" Di Qing frowned, and said sadly, "I'm so stupid that I can't guess what His Majesty is thinking." Fan Zhongyan said: "The Holy Majesty told me that he has always regarded you as a friend, but you don't understand him." Di Qing thought in his heart, "I don't understand him, but does he understand me?" But Di Qing didn't want to say more, just kept silence.I heard Fan Zhongyan say again, "The Great Song Dynasty has been suffering from illness for many years. You and I know it, the Holy One knows it, and all people with lofty ideals know it. This situation must be changed, and it will not work if it is not changed. If it is not changed, the Great Song Dynasty can only wait for it to perish when it is dying! Your Majesty It is a blessing in the world to have the will to change the law, and I will fully support it so that I can live up to the emperor and the people..." Di Qing interrupted Fan Zhongyan for the first time, and said calmly: "Fan Gong, since you know that I know, you don't need to talk about it anymore. You came here to wait for me, of course you didn't want to talk about the benefits of the reform." Fan Zhongyan smiled, and said slowly: "The Holy Majesty said that Di Qing in the past, no matter what the Holy Majesty sat on, he would fully support him. But now Di Qing has changed, and he only wants to fight for the northwest, regardless of the overall situation of the world." Di Qing suddenly raised his head, looked at Fan Zhongyan with burning eyes and said, "Then how does Mr. Fan see me?" Fan Zhongyan pondered for a moment, and said: "I know you think Yuan Hao is definitely not sincerely seeking peace. To deal with people like Yuan Hao, you must cut the grass and root out the roots. But the food needs to be eaten in bites. Now that the Northwest has been fighting for many years, the people's livelihood is exhausted. To be honest, the common people are war-weary, and so are all the officials. We can't do much right now, and it might be a good thing to take advantage of this opportunity to recuperate to reform the law and strengthen the country. Now in the temple, listening to Yuan Hao's peace, except for very few people , agreed to the peace talks, the focus is nothing more than the bargaining chip of the peace talks. At this time, you advocate fighting, and you are alone in power. Even if the Holy One speaks with you, I am afraid that you will not be able to resist the voices of the peace talks." Di Qing smiled lonely, "They weren't the ones who died in the northwest, of course they don't matter. Of course they don't care if Yuan Hao can't hit the capital. I don't want to know their thoughts, but Fan Gong...do you support me?" Fan Zhongyan stared at Di Qing for a long time, sighed softly and said: "I have been up and down for many years, and it has been difficult to be reused. It is nothing more than a persistence. Yin Zhu once said that I have changed. He thought that the years of suffering had made me lose my vigor. , being promoted to Northwest made me lose my ambition, Fan Zhongyan is no longer Fan Zhongyan." Looking at those same lonely but still stubborn eyes, Di Qing suddenly felt a surge in his heart, and said slowly, "But I know, you haven't changed." Fan Zhongyan's eyes lit up, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were full of brilliance at that moment, "Yes, my way of doing things has changed, but I will not change as a person. Yin Zhu and Han Qi bet on the lives of soldiers. No matter what, I will not agree. But if I, Fan Zhongyan, gamble on reforms that benefit the country and the people, I will not back down. Di Qing, you must know that nine out of ten people in the world are unhappy. Since I can’t use troops for the time being, I will support it You are nothing more than a wave of peace talks. But if you and I devote all our attention to the reform, after benefiting the country and strengthening the army, we will have a greater chance of fighting Yuanhao again?" Di Qing thought about it: "Fan Gong, so the Holy Majesty asked you to persuade me, but you came to persuade me to stay with the Holy Majesty and support him to reform?" There was approval in Fan Zhongyan's eyes, and he thought that Di Qing was really smart, and he said it right.Fan Zhongyan knew that Zhao Zhen was hesitant, and he also knew the importance of Di Qing in Zhao Zhen's heart. He knew that with Di Qing's persuasion, Zhao Zhen's determination to reform would be strengthened. Thinking of this, Fan Zhongyan got up suddenly and saluted Di Qingshen. Di Qing was astonished, and hurriedly stood up to avoid it and asked, "Why is Fan Gong like this?" Fan Zhongyan said with emotion: "General Di, I heard Zhong Shiheng talk about you a long time ago, and I know that such a choice is very unfair to you. But Fan has the cheek to ask General Di to put the world first..." Although he is good at Speaking of words, one can think of Di Qing's situation, and the following words can't be said anymore. Di Qing glanced far away, staring at the dancing lights.The lights are shining, the sparks are dancing, dancing the loneliness of the dark night. After a long time, Di Qing said: "I'm going to face the saint tomorrow, and I won't mention the battle in the northwest again." Fan Zhongyan was joyful and sad at the same time, looking at the man whose temples were as frosty as late autumn, he was speechless for a while. Di Qing said: "But, can I ask Fan Gong two things?" Fan Zhongyan said: "Please tell me." Di Qing was still looking at the lights, his eyes were full of Xiao Leng's fighting spirit, "The first thing is, do you think the reform will be successful? The second is, how can Yuan Hao wait for the Song Dynasty's reform?" Fan Zhongyan was speechless for a while. After a long time, the lights flickered, and Fan Zhongyan's bright eyes said, "Whether the reform is successful or not depends on man's efforts. I can't answer you at the moment. All I can say is that this kind of opportunity will benefit the country and the people. I will wait for it." You can’t miss it. We just need to do our best, but we want to be worthy of our admiration, so why be afraid of judging success or failure?” When Fan Zhongyan left Guo's mansion, he thought of Di Qing's inquiry and felt sorry for him.He didn't answer Di Qing's second question, and he didn't know how to answer it. Yuan Hao was full of ambitions, but the rulers and ministers of the Great Song Dynasty had always been ignorant of this man.Di Qing is probably the only person in Da Song who really understands Yuan Hao. Obviously, Di Qing is not opposed to the reform, but he is not optimistic about Song Xia's negotiation of peace. Di Qing is no longer the reckless and cunning boy he was back then.Fan Zhongyan believes that under the influence of wind, knife, frost and gold, Di Qing understands the situation in the northwest of course better than the officials who are far away in Bianjing, enjoying peace and happiness. Fan Zhongyan pondered his thoughts along the way, and when he turned back to the mansion, the night was dark, the moon was hidden in the clouds, and the stars were dotted.A housekeeper stepped forward and said, "Fan Gong, Mr. Xia has been waiting for you in the study for a long time." "Lord Xia?" Fan Zhongyan was startled, and the butler whispered, "It's Xia Song, Lord Xia." Fan Zhongyan frowned slightly, a little unexpectedly, but after thinking about it, he understood the purpose of Xia Song's coming here.He nodded and said, "Take me to see you." In front of the study, Fan Zhongyan signaled the butler to step back, and pushed open the door.In the room, there was a person sitting upright beside the oil lamp. He had big ears and seemed loyal, but when his eyes looked over, they flickered slightly, showing that the person was loyal and had a sense of purpose. When the man saw Fan Zhongyan, he got up and saluted, "Oh, brother Xiwen, I came here uninvited, please forgive me." Fan Zhongyan said with a smile: "Don't dare. Lord Xia came, and the officials were not far away to welcome him. Please don't be offended by making Lord Xia wait for a long time." The man rolled his eyes, laughed loudly, and said in a quite hearty manner: "Brother Xiwen was joking. Now you still call yourself a subordinate, you are really ashamed of me." This person is Xia Song, and Zhenzong is here At that time, he was an important minister in the court and once served as the prime minister of the two governments.When he was in the northwest, Xia Song was originally the appeasement envoy of Shaanxi, in charge of Northwest affairs.Although Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi have great reputations, they are still this person's deputy.Without him, Xia Song would not be as qualified. Xia Song is lustful and greedy for money, and is good at power wrestling. Back then, she didn't want to go to the bitter cold place in the northwest, but she had to follow the order of the Holy Spirit.After Xia Song arrived in the Northwest, he continued to have fun, except that he offered a reward of five million yuan for Yuan Hao's head at the beginning, but after being ridiculed by Yuan Hao for two yuan, he did nothing else. However, Xia Song has an advantage in the northwest, that is, he will never interfere with Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi's affairs. As a result, although the Song Army lost to the Xia Army twice, under Fan Zhongyan's management, the frontier defenses in the Northwest became increasingly tight and gradually improved, making the Xia people invulnerable.When Xia Guo asked for peace, it was also when the frontiers changed frontier generals, Xia Song returned to the capital one step earlier than Fan Zhongyan. In the past few years, in terms of contributions in Northwest China, Fan Zhongyan is the highest.Therefore, it is no secret that Zhao Zhen is determined to reform and intends to let Fan Zhongyan take charge of the two governments.Although Xia Song knew that he was Fan Zhongyan's boss in the northwest, but after returning to Beijing, maybe who was in charge, so he condescended and came to find Fan Zhongyan on his own initiative.The word he called Fan Zhongyan originally meant intimacy. Seeing that Fan Zhongyan talked about adults and junior officials, he had no choice but to call himself the official first. After the two sat down, Xia Song rolled his eyes and saw that the walls of the study were cold, with only two chairs, a table and a piano, and pretended to sigh: "Everyone said that Mr. Fan forgets his selfishness, and the country forgets his family. It really lives up to its reputation. By the way, I have only recruited a few singers at home recently, and they are disturbed by the noise. If Mr. Fan is not suspicious, why not give it to you, what will Mr. Fan think?" After speaking, he stroked his beard and smiled. Fan Zhongyan thought to himself, Xia Song came to hear about the political reform. This person is full of thoughts, but it is not easy to pass them off.He smiled and said: "I'm used to being poor and poor, and it's uncomfortable to be served by others. The kindness of Master Xia, I appreciate the kindness of the official." After changing the subject, Fan Zhongyan said: "Master Xia came late at night, it must be more than just checking the study of the lower official. Bar?" Xia Song laughed, thinking that Fan Zhongyan was extremely smart, and it would undoubtedly be stupid to go around in circles with smart people.He turned back from the northwest, and when the reform took place, Fan Zhongyan believed that the reform was something that benefited the country and the people, but in Xia Song's eyes, this reform was a great opportunity to gain fame.He turned back from the northwest, thinking that he had no merits and hard work, so of course he didn't want to let go of this opportunity. But who will take the lead in the reform, only the emperor and Fan Zhongyan have the final say.Today, when Zhao Zhen announced Fan Zhongyan to enter the palace, Xia Song guessed that he must be selecting talents for political reform, so he came here late at night to search. While thinking about it, Xia Song said with a smile: "Fan Gong, to be honest, I know that the emperor is determined to reform the law, and I ask Fan Gong to take the lead. I really want to contribute to the reform. I heard that there will be reforms in the temple tomorrow. Fan Gong and the emperor Recently, do you know how the emperor sent me down?" Seeing Xia Song's nervous expression, Fan Zhongyan smiled slightly and said, "It's a blessing in the world that Mr. Xia wants to contribute to the reform. To be honest, the lower officials don't know how the emperor decides..." Seeing that Xia Song was full of disappointment, Fan Zhongyan secretly He thought, "It's time for reforms, so internal strife is not appropriate. Anyway, the conclusions have already been drawn, so it doesn't matter to inform Xia Song in advance. Although this person is cunning and greedy for fame, it is always a good thing if he is allowed to support the reforms." Thinking of this, Fan Zhongyan said: "Today the Son of Heaven once said that Mr. Xia has ruled the Northwest for many years. He has worked hard and made great achievements. It seems that he can take the post of Privy Envoy." Xia Song was surprised and delighted, and suddenly stood up and said: "Is this really true?" Seeing Fan Zhongyan smiling, Xia Song felt a little lost, sat down slowly, laughed and said: "I don't want to go back to the capital, but I can still be with Fan Gong Joining hands again is really the joy of life." Although he tried his best to restrain himself, he still couldn't hide his complacent expression. Xia Song knew that Fan Zhongyan's words were serious, although Fan Zhongyan's tone was uncertain, but since he mentioned it like this, the privy envoy must be Xia Song. In the Song Dynasty, the Zhongshu Province and the Privy Council held two handles, civil and military, and were known as the two governments.The privy envoy is the highest official of the Privy Council, who is in charge of the military and military power. Although the Song Dynasty emphasizes civility over military affairs, it can be said that a privy envoy is only under the emperor in the court, and is tied with the prime minister.Xia Song took a reassurance, and her affection for Fan Zhongyan greatly increased. She thought to herself that Fan Zhongyan has been up and down for many years, but in recent years he is very good at acting. win over. Xia Song exchanged pleasantries with Fan Zhongyan, and then left in satisfaction. Fan Zhongyan sat under the solitary lamp, pondered for a moment, then opened the copywriting on the desktop, polished the ink and picked up the pen, and perfected the content of "Ten Chen Shishi" again. In the early morning, Fan Zhongyan took a nap, and woke up suddenly when the rooster sang.Although he was indifferent to the ups and downs of the officialdom, but this reform was related to the world, and he was excited, but also inevitably confused. After walking back and forth a few times, Fan Zhongyan finally sat down beside the piano, pressed the strings with his hand, and played a piece of Lu Shuang. The sky is twilight, and the mist outside the window is dewy, and the faint tune is distinctly cold and melancholy, echoing endlessly. At the end of the song, Fan Zhongyan sighed softly and thought to himself, "I like playing the piano and good poetry, but I rarely do poetry in this life. I only play Lu Shuang. I really don't want to delay my work because of this. What he did, Boqi was a filial son, innocent, slandered by his stepmother, and chased away by his father. Weaving water and lotus clothes, picking apple blossoms to eat, walking on the frost one morning, Boqi was wounded innocent and expelled, and made his own frost song To express my feelings, I threw myself into the river afterwards. I, Fan Zhongyan, have been expelled less times than Burch? This reform is mainly aimed at people who have a vegetarian meal in the temple. There must be many people who have offended. After today, there will be more slander In the past, although I said something to Di Qing, "I want to look up and be ashamed, why should I be afraid of success or failure?" But I was always worried, not worrying about my own honor and disgrace, but because I was afraid of missing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the people would suffer even more. Acting flexibly this time can make the reform possible, and Fan will have no complaints in this life." Seeing that the time had come, Fan Zhongyan got up with a shake of his clothes, finished washing, straightened his clothes, and stepped out of the mansion to enter the palace. When we arrived in front of the Wende Hall, there were already many civil and military officials waiting in the side hall, discussing a lot.Many people greeted with smiles, while some still hesitated.At this time, the palace people sang and said, "Mr. Lu is here." The officials were quiet, and those who originally wanted to greet Fan Zhongyan flinched. Lu Yijian and Fan Zhongyan had been entangled for many years. Although in recent years, Fan Zhongyan had been recommended by Lu Yijian before going to the northwest, many people still held a wait-and-see attitude towards Lu Xiang's plan for Fan Zhongyan's reform. Lu Yijian has controlled the government for many years, and now he has been in power three times and in two governments, and has a strong foundation. Although many people want to curry favor with Fan Zhongyan, they are not in a hurry to offend Lu Yijian. Lu Yijian walked over slowly, and when passing by Fan Zhongyan, he paused and said, "Fan Gong, are you all right?" He has always called Fan Zhongyan by his name, but this time he called Fan Zhongyan, which surprised everyone on the side. Fan Zhongyan saluted and said: "Thanks to Xiang Lu's question, it is good to be an official. Lu Xiang's demeanor is still the same, which is gratifying." Although he said this, he noticed how many gray hairs had grown on Lu Yijian's temples. Lu Yijian is getting old, no matter who it is, even if he is in the world and the official is at the top, it will be hard for him to pass the time like water! Lu Yijian just nodded, and walked aside. The officials seemed to have noticed something from this subtle conversation, and most of them were secretly pondering, thinking about which side they would turn to in the court today. Many people already know that the emperor is going to court this morning to announce the reform.Since the reform is announced, there is no room for negotiation.What everyone can strive for right now is how to have a prominent performance during the reform... There is no doubt that Zhao Zhen reused Fan Zhongyan, but many people want to know whether Zhao Zhen will still use Lu Yi bamboo slips. As soon as Lu Yijian left, four people gathered around Fan Zhongyan, and greeted him, "I've seen Mr. Fan." Those four people were all high-spirited, and when they were in their prime, they were extremely respectful to Fan Zhongyan. Fan Zhongyan smiled and said, "Why are you so polite today?" He recognized the four people who came here as Cai Xiang, Wang Su, Yu Jing and Ouyang Xiu, and they were all admonishers of the Court of Admonishment. In the Song Dynasty, the supervisory agencies were Yushitai and Jianyuan. The main duty of Yushitai is to "check out officials' evil, and suppress the rules and regulations", while the main duty of the Admonition Court is to "worship remonstrance, and if the government fails, the big ones will be discussed by the court, and the small ones will be sealed." Yushitai and Jianyuan can also supervise each other, just to rectify the court. Cai Xiang is talented and upright, Wang Su is the son of Prime Minister Wang Dan, young and successful, Yu Jing has experienced ups and downs, calm and capable, and Ouyang Xiu has also experienced many hardships, and still does not change his temper of being outspoken and admonishing. In fact, these four people have followed Fan Zhongyan for many years. Fan Zhongyan was demoted many times without guilt. When the queen mother was in power, these four people spoke up for Fan Zhongyan and were also demoted several times. meaning. It turned out that long before Fan Zhongyan returned to the capital, Zhao Zhen was very dissatisfied with the lack of energy in the imperial court, and quietly adjusted the manpower of the Jianyuan, knowing that Cai Xiang and the others were outspoken, and transferred these four people to the Jianyuan earlier. And these four people did not live up to Zhao Zhen's high expectations. These days, they have spoken out and criticized the government, and now they are praised by the people because of their straightforward advice, and they have long been famous in the capital. Yu Jing listened to Fan Zhongyan's joke, and said with a smile: "Today, it is not for Fan Gong's entry into the two mansions, but for the great fortune of the world." Fan Zhongyan had deep meaning in his words, and said: "There are many variables before things are done, even if you are proud, it's not too early to prevent accidents from happening." Wang Su didn't notice Fan Zhongyan's implication, and said with a smile: "This reform was initiated by Fan Gong. If Fan Gong didn't enter the two houses, it would be impossible. The only thing we are curious about now is who will the emperor send to assist Fan Gong?" ?” Fan Zhongyan frowned, and said in a low voice: "Don't wait to say that..." Before he finished speaking, a bell rang, and a palace official sang, "The Son of Heaven is here." Everyone was silent, Zhao Zhen was already wearing a yellow dragon robe, walked out of the side hall, walked slowly to the dragon chair and sat down. The officials knelt and kowtowed, shouting long live three times.Zhao Zhen came up on the high platform and said: "The family of all the ministers is free from courtesy." His voice was solemn and majestic.Di Qing heard it from afar, with a feeling of strangeness in his trance. Di Qing also went to the Wende Hall. He went to the Wende Hall because the emperor called him.Although Di Qing didn't oppose the reform, but he was not familiar with the reform. He didn't understand why the emperor asked him to come here. After thinking about it, he felt that Zhao Zhen probably didn't want him to go to the northwest again, so he wanted him to participate in the government affairs?But he, Di Qing, had no intention of coming here to muddy the spring water. Although Di Qing used to be in command of Jingyuan Road, and was later promoted to be a regimental training envoy, he still ranked last in the Wende Palace in Bianjing. In the Hall of Wende, civil servants are far above military generals, and civil servants are arranged according to the size of their official positions in the two mansions, three yamen, and three halls. At a glance, there are densely packed heads. Di Qing had already lined up outside the hall, looked up at the sky, and saw white clouds floating... In the hall, Zhao Zhen said: "The Taizu established the country, made great achievements in the world, and the world admires. Every time I think of the greatness of the Taizu, I feel uneasy. Thinking of our army's repeated defeats in the Northwest, and civil turmoil in the Central Plains, Guo Miaoshan and others did it first. It was a disaster for Shaanxi, and later Wang Lun and others disturbed Shandong, and they were at fault for wanting to make trouble for the people. I am not good at governing the country, and I also have an unshirkable responsibility." All the officials looked at each other in blank dismay, thinking that Zhao Zhen would give himself a stick first to seal the tongues of others. It seemed that he was determined to reform.At this moment, those who know the opportunity are all waiting for the next article. Zhao Zhen said again: "These days, I can't sleep at night. I know that the country is suffering from illness for a long time. Only by cutting with a sharp knife can the people be saved... Therefore, I want to change the old ways of the past, and I am interested in peace. Do you have any suggestions?" Everyone thought that Zhao Zhen, with the respect of the emperor, said something to relieve the common people, and his words were very serious, but his dissatisfaction with the courtier Mu Mu Shen was also ready to come out... Without waiting for others to speak, Cai Xiang had already joined the crowd and said, "Report to Your Majesty, if you have something to do, please play." Everyone cheered up and thought to themselves that Cai Xiang had always been outspoken and that he belonged to Fan Zhongyan's school. What he said might be the voice of the new law. Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "Quite playing." Cai Xiang said: "Since the Empress Dowager passed away and the Holy Majesty ascended the throne, there have been many changes in the court officials, but only one person can always sit in a high position and take over the power." Although Cai Xiang didn't say the person's name, the officials knew that Cai Xiang was referring to Lu Yijian.When Lu Yijian was mentioned by Cai Xiang, he looked as usual, but Fan Zhongyan frowned. Cai Xiang said again: "The Holy Majesty has a lot of trust in Lu Xiang. It is reasonable to say that Lu Xiang is grateful for the repayment, but since Lu Xiang took charge of the government, he has been nepotism. He does not look at talents, but only uses people who can understand his thoughts. Now the Northwest has been defeated. , our dynasty suffered heavy losses. Right now the Great Song has Khitan and Xixia covetously, walking on thin ice all year round, why not, the weak are prey to the strong. However, the Great Song is weak, the government is weak, and the daily suffering of the people has led to the rebellion of the refugees. Such internal and external troubles are becoming more and more intense, perhaps the reason多多，但吕相无能，难辞其咎！” 蔡襄言毕，文德殿肃然无声。 群臣或战栗、或振奋，有不安，有扬眉吐气，所有人都知道今日朝堂之上，绝对会有惊天骇地的怒涛袭来，但所有人都没有想到过，范仲淹的死党蔡襄的第一击就轰向了当朝第一人！ 吕夷简把持朝政多年，朝中不少臣子，还是他的门生。他被轰击，怎会束手待毙？众人均认为，蔡襄的这一番话，就是新法拥护者对朝廷保守派的宣战。 吕夷简如何接招？ 文德殿上，已风雨欲来……