Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 32 96 Holy Monarch (3)

According to Mr. Na Han's instructions, Wanyan Zongbi first went to the famous Li Jingduan Clothes and Hats Shop in Bianliang to pick up a custom-made uniform for the Central Plains scholars the day before yesterday, and replaced the leather jacket he wore all year round. The shaving shop shaved off all the beards on his face, changed the messy braids into a Central Plains bun, and even tied a scholar's scarf. Although it looked weird, it was the same as before the change. It can be seen that the barbarians in the north are completely different.

After tidying up, he went back to the inn to take the three heavy gifts of Dongzhu Buddhist Pagoda, sable fur coat and white fox fur coat, hired a beautifully decorated carriage, and went to the gate of Zhao Zhifu's residence, the Second Prime Minister of the Great Song Dynasty.

Although this Zhao Zhifu is far inferior to the prime minister Cai Jing in power, he is not a prince of a foreign barbarian tribe who can see him whenever he wants. The old 'medicine' bottle was handed in, and Wanyan Zongbi waited anxiously at the door.Fortunately, his luck was not bad, Prime Minister Zhao Zhifu was in the mansion, after seeing the 'medicine' bottle, he remembered an old incident, and on a whim, he asked Wanyan Zongbi's two attendants to stay in the gatehouse outside. Let him in.

The servant passed it on, and Zhao Zhifu was still playing with the half-old medicine bottle. He opened the first drawer on the left hand side of the desk, and there was a porcelain bottle exactly like the one in his hand.Although this porcelain vase looks crude and unbearable in the Central Plains, in the northern Liao Kingdom, among the tribes such as the Jurchen and the Five Kingdoms, such exquisite porcelain from the Central Plains can only be owned by the leaders and nobles of the tribes.

At the beginning, Zhao Zhifu had just made his debut in the court of the Song Dynasty, because he belonged to the new party that advocated the Northern Expedition to the Liao Kingdom and regained Youyan. He was sent as an envoy to Liao.The Liao people will naturally treat this ambitious young envoy well.Not only did they take him around in circles in the Liao Kingdom, which tripled the distance, but they also specially invited him to go further north to Tokyo Road to participate in the fish head feast of the alliance with the northern barbarians.

At that time, the weather was freezing, but the fish head banquet was held in the wild.Zhao Zhifu was wearing the leather jacket he had brought from the Central Plains. No matter how much he stomped his feet and rubbed his hands, he felt completely frozen, and the cold wind blew his face like a knife. Supporting the dealings with the Liao people, the skin 'exposed' was almost so cold that no pain could be felt.

In the absence of antifreeze grease, Zhao Zhifu, who didn't know what to do, would have had his head and face festered.However, just as Zhao Zhifu was leaving the meeting to have a rest, a leader of the Xiaoman tribe quietly followed and gave him a bottle of antifreeze ointment.And secretly told him that the Liao people invited him to the fish head banquet held in the wild, precisely to frostbite him.Zhao Zhifu immediately applied this extremely effective secret ointment.At the fish head banquet, the people of Liao were amazed to see that the envoy from Nanchao talked and laughed freely, but he showed no signs of frostbite, and they didn't bother him too much after that.Back in the court, he won the trust of the officials because he fulfilled his mission, and since then, Zhao Zhifu has been very careful not to give others a handle. He finally survived the era when the old party lost power and the new party came to power, and he was promoted all the way to the rank of deputy prime minister. bit.

After going on an envoy, Zhao Zhifu was convinced that he was an auspicious person with a natural appearance, so the barbarian leader who had never met before helped him to escape his doom.The totem of the Wanyan tribe was engraved with a knife on the bottom of the half-old medicine bottle in front of him, just like the one that touched it back then.

"Master Zhao." Wanyan Zongbi seemed to have read some books, unlike his father, who looked like a barbarian.

Zhao Zhifu saw that although his whole body was full of barbarian spirit, but after all his heart was towards China, he nodded slightly in his heart, but his face was light, and said: "What is your relationship with Aguda?"

"It's the strictness of the family." Wanyan Zongbi followed the advice of an expert, exchanged a few words with the unpredictable Zhao Xiangye, and then turned to the main topic: "If the Song Dynasty can help our Jurchen clans to resist the Liao people We will definitely regard the Great Song Dynasty as Zhengshuo, and pay tribute to serve the Celestial Dynasty. The great kindness and virtue of Xiangye, I will never forget in Wanyan Department."

Zhao Zhifu closed his eyes slightly. The official's northern expedition to recover Youyan has become more and more obvious. If the Jurchens in the north of Liao Kingdom can contain the army of the Northern Academy, this dynasty will gather the three major battalions of Hedong, Hebei, and Xijing to make an elite northern expedition. Defeating the Liao army in the south of Yuguan in one fell swoop, and then defending against danger, it is still possible to recover Youyan.According to the secret report of the Privy Council, the Liao people had 30 troops on Nanjing Road and Xijing Road, which could be used for a battle. If you add hundreds of thousands of elite cavalry from the Northern Academy.If Song's Northern Expedition army cannot win quickly, I am afraid that the tragedy of Yongxi's Northern Expedition will repeat itself.

"When I was on a mission to the Liao Kingdom, fortunately my father, A Guda, gave me medicine to save me. Zhao is not an ungrateful person. Your ministry is not angry with the oppression of the Liao people, and resolutely revolted against the Liao. The old man naturally appreciates it. It's just the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty. It has been nearly a hundred years since the country has not used swords and weapons, and forming an alliance with the Jurchen is a major military matter. As the prime minister, I cannot repay my personal favor with public weapons. If the Jurchen can really contain the Liao Kingdom, I will support your ministry with some gunpowder in Song Dynasty , soldiers, food, and so on, is it okay?" Zhao Zhifu smiled slightly, he saw the barbarian's nakedness in Wanyan Zongbi's eyes, and if he was from the Central Plains, he would at least know how to conceal it.Zhao Zhifu paused for a moment, then changed the subject, and asked, "How many warriors in the Wanyan tribe can go to battle now? How many horse warriors and armor?"

Wanyan Zongbi was taken aback, and responded: "There are about five thousand soldiers, more than three thousand horses, and five hundred sets of armor."

"It's a little less." Zhao Zhifu thought to himself, but Wanyan Zongbi seemed to see his thoughts, and said again: "Don't dare to lie to Zhao Xiangye, Jurchen men are all warriors who dare to fight. With the support of my grain and grass by sea, people who used to farm can also practice fighting, and the army can quickly expand to [-] soldiers." Seeing that Zhao Zhifu didn't seem to take it seriously, he paused, and then said, "Your Excellency, do you know that there is a saying, The Jurchens are less than ten thousand and invincible. With food and grass, we can buy war horses from the Mongols on the west side of Da Xianbei Mountain. The iron-smelting and armor-making workshops of the Liao Kingdom are located in Liaoyang Prefecture. As long as the Liaoyang Prefecture is captured, the weapons As much armor as you want."

"Jurchen is dissatisfied with ten thousand, ten thousand is invincible?" Zhao Zhifu repeated this disrespectful sentence to the Song Dynasty with disdain in his heart, but he didn't take it seriously. This Jurchen barbarian is really shameless.The Jurchen tribe dared to rebel against the Liao Kingdom with just five thousand soldiers and hundreds of armors. It was thought that because of the bitter cold in the north, the Liao people conquered the Jurchens, and even if they won, they would gain nothing. Therefore, the Liao Dynasty court did not deal seriously with these barbarian tribes. , as if Da Song also had a headache for the barbarians in the southwest.

Zhao Zhifu pondered for a moment, stroked his beard, and said slowly: "If my Song Dynasty supports your Wanyan tribe's food and grass, you are willing to attack the iron mines, iron smelting workshops and armor soldiers that harass the Liao Kingdom." The workshop of the blade? The truth is that I don’t expect you to really win the Liaoyang Mansion, but you can’t avoid the war passively. The food and grass of the Song Dynasty are the people’s fat and the people’s anointing. The Jurchen must play a role in restraining the Liao people.” Zhao Zhifu calculated In order to subdue the barbarians in the country, the Liao army frequently intimidates and fights in the name of hunting, and the consumption of armor, weapons, blades and arrows is much faster than that of the Song Dynasty. As long as Liaoyang If the supply of iron ordnance is not available, it will greatly affect the replenishment of the Liao army's ordnance.

Wanyan Zongbi immediately patted his chest and assured: "Master Zhao, don't worry, my Jurchen clan and the Liao people have been fighting for generations, and the hatred is as deep as the sea. As long as we have food and grass, we will immediately train our troops and prepare for war. Within two years, we will take Liaoyang Mansion."

Zhao Zhifu smiled slightly, and once again deepened the impression that the Jurchen barbarians like empty words, and said: "Since you have a way to exchange horses, you may wish to exchange more for me, and deliver them in Shandong by sea." In this era, war horses are the most important military equipment. Resources, Song State now mainly buys war horses from Xia State, and Liao State is very wary of Song State's purchase of war horses. If the Jurchen channel can be added to exchange for war horses, it will be of great benefit to Song State.

When Wanyan Zongbi heard it, he was overjoyed, and immediately slapped his thigh and said, "My family will do everything I can to send for Mr. Zhao!" Although Liaodong is remote, it is not closed. Wanyan Zongbi also has experience in trading goods. Xindao took over the task of exchanging horses from the barbarians for Da Song, and the clan would definitely reap many benefits.

Zhao Zhifu waved his hand to stop him and thanked him again, and said in a deep voice: "Although your lord and I have an old relationship, it is not for me to make an alliance with the Jurchen Kingdom to fight the Liao Dynasty alone, but as long as it is beneficial to Song Dynasty, the old man They will do their best to promote it.”

Wanyan Zongbi smiled and said: "Master Zhao is too modest. If half of the court's lords are aware of Wanli, the Liao Kingdom has already become a vassal of the Song Dynasty. My Wanyan tribe and the whole family share the great virtue, and every family will give it to you. Set up a tablet of longevity."

Probably because of the fact that he really had some old friends, Zhao Zhifu patiently listened to Yan Zongbi's half-baked compliments, and then served tea to see off the guests.

When Wanyan Zongbi left Zhao Xiangfu anxiously, Zhao Xingde also left the Forbidden City. In the past half a day, he successively visited the Forbidden City such as the Inner Bow, Sword, Armor, Armor, Tea and Wine Bureau, Hanlin Calligraphy Bureau, Houyuan Zuo, Medical Officer Bureau, etc. In the yamen inside, I saw many technical masters and utensils that were not common outside at this time.In the back garden, he met Meng Kui, the supervisor responsible for the repair of the White Jade Palace. He was the most proficient in architectural craftsmanship that Zhao Xingde had ever seen. Zuo's reputation among Tai students is not very good, and he has no strong backing. Even Yushitai has some criticisms against him.

When Zhao Xingde saw him, Meng Kui was busy changing the design drawings of the buildings of the Da Nei Academy of Painting and Calligraphy into construction drawings that conformed to the current craftsman's architectural style. He is quite warm with Zhao Xingde.Because Meng Kui was the favorite of the official family, Meng Yuan studied in the imperial school, but he was quite envious of the more relaxed life of the imperial students, and volunteered to take Zhao Xingde through the remaining few big inner yamen.Meng Yuan's familiarity with Ouchi is far higher than that of Xingde's big brother Song An. It is like a living map. Zhao Xingde made a deal with him, so they exchanged name cards and asked Meng Yuan to attend the establishment of the Neo-Confucianism Society next month. At the meeting, Meng Yuan was overjoyed when he heard that he had the opportunity to make friends with the scholars of the Taixue.

In the following days, Zhao Xingde continued to write his book posts to earn some money while studying the scriptures. As for the matter of proposing to the Li family, his master and his mother gave him the 'fun'. I feel very proud of myself.

Both parties had the intention of getting married, but the procedure was quite cumbersome. Firstly, Chao Buzhi took the place of Zhao Xingde to draft a marriage proposal post, which included the names and official positions of the three generations of the Zhao family. They exchanged posts with the Li family, and both parties had no objection. , This is the recognition of the door.Then Mrs. Li, the teacher's mother, prepared eight kinds of fine wine, forged flower balls, silk, and silver collars, and sent them to the bride's house. Li's house gave back two bottles of clear water, three mouthfuls of live fish, and a pair of chopsticks.Originally there was a procedure of 'inserting' the hairpin for a blind date, because Zhao Xingde and Li Ruoxue are familiar with each other, but it was avoided.The next step is to make a formal proposal to the bride's family through a matchmaker approved by the government. Chao's mansion will send some jewelry and wine as dowry gifts on behalf of Zhao's family, and Li's family will give back some needlework made by Li Ruoxue and the maidservants in the mansion. It is the first dowry.

Afterwards there will be two betrothal gifts, and there will be some time between them, so it is inconvenient for Zhao Xingde to move to Li's residence for a while, and every time he meets Li Ruoxue when he listens to Chao Buzhi's lectures in Li's residence, the two parties become more reserved. Like the old days, he talked and laughed without restraint, only the corners of his eyes and brows occasionally met, but there was a lot of touching affection.

Time is like an arrow, and it is the Dragon Boat Festival in a blink of an eye. All the shops in Bianjing have already been "planted" with peach blossoms, willow branches, sunflowers and other seasonal flowers and trees. It is full of seasonal snacks such as rice dumplings and water balls.Although the ceremony of engagement has not been completed yet, both the Li Mansion and the Chao Mansion sent servants to send Zhao Xingde seasonal items for the Dragon Boat Festival. However, the mahogany box sent by the Li family contained mugwort, calamus, basil, etc. The items sent by the two families were not the same, and it was not whether the two wives had discussed it in advance.At this time, Chen Dong, Zhang Bing and others who were acquainted with Zhao Xingde in the Guozijian already knew that Zhao Xingde was about to be engaged to Dr. Li's daughter-in-law, and they all congratulated him.

After Chen Dong, Deng Su and other eunuch supervisors contacted each other, the founding meeting of the Neo-Confucianism Society was held in Panlou, one of the 72 main stores in Bianjing, within Xishuimen, because it is close to Xishuimen and Jinmingchi. You can eat the best seafood, and after the banquet, you can go to Jinmingchi to watch the dragon boat race and review of the imperial guards.There were 95 students from Taixue Guozijian, plus Meng Yuan who was invited by Zhao Xingde, a total of 96 people attended the meeting.

Zhao Xingde was late for the meeting, and when he walked up to the second floor of the Pan Building, he saw more than a dozen Accords, all of which were already occupied. Red paper was pasted on the door of these Accords, and the words "self-cultivation", "understanding", and "extensive knowledge" were written on them. , "Yueli", "Lixin", "Benmin", "Wealth" and other words, according to the arrangement of Chen Dong and other initiators, except for Chen Dong, Deng Su, Zhang Bing, and Zhao Xingde, four people were the contacts of the Neo-Confucianism Society In addition, under each topic, there are people who are expected to be in charge of discussion. Chen Dong is in charge of Xiushenzhai, Deng Su is in charge of "Yueli" Zhai, and Zhang Bing is in charge of "Benxin" Zhai. , and although Zhao Xingde is proficient in scriptures, because he accidentally showed his archery skills in the past, he also worshiped the Taishi Bureau of the Imperial Academy as his teacher, and was arranged to be in charge of the "Bing Zhizhai" studio.

At this time, the literati and bureaucrats all valued literature over martial arts, and many scholars in other Accords joined the group. Looking at the empty "management" room, Zhao Xingde couldn't help showing embarrassment, Chen Dong Just seeing this place, I also felt a little sorry for Xingde, walked over with a smile on my face, and said in a low voice: "I'm really sorry to let Yuan Zhi take charge of this deserted topic. Please Yuanzhi." Zhao Xingde couldn't help rolling his eyes when he heard the words, the Neo-Confucian Society set up Twelve Houses to discuss matters, and they wanted to use clear discussions to influence the important affairs of the court, and even hoped that they would help each other in the future, and push their fellows to the Privy Council of the Political Affairs Hall high position.However, according to the practice of the imperial court, whether a civil official can enter the Privy Council depends only on the official's will and the strength of the court, and has little to do with whether he knows the soldiers. The ruling giants who can influence the Privy Council, I am afraid that other scholars think the same way, so they should stay away from "managing soldiers".

With a wry smile on his face, he arched his hands to Chen Dong, and looked at Meng Yuan beside him, but this one was quite winking. His father, Meng Jianzuo, was quite unpopular among the imperial students. Seeing Zhao Xingde looking over, he immediately patted his chest and said: "I am also quite interested in the way of marching and forming formations. Since brother Zhao is in charge of the 'management of soldiers', I will also Enter the 'Zhi Bing' fast!"

Seeing that someone was finally willing to join the 'Zhi Bing' Zhai, Chen Dong immediately patted Meng Yuan on the shoulder and said, "Good brother!" He smiled, looked at the other scholars beside him, leaned closer to Meng Yuan's ear and said: "Although Mr. Meng is not a classmate of Taixue, but after joining Lishe, he has a sympathy with him. If anyone finds things difficult, just come and sue me. I, Chen Dong, will not give up with him!"

Seeing this person speak so affectionately at first, Meng Yuan couldn't help thinking of the legend that many of the Tai students had the habit of breaking their sleeves, their expressions changed slightly, they approached Zhao Xingde for half a step, forced a smile, and cupped their hands at Chen Dong : "Thank you Brother Chen for taking care of me."

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, Chen Dong ordered Pan Lou's servants to close up the painted screens that separate the private seats on the second floor, so that the whole floor can be seen at a glance, as if it were a hall. .Immediately, all the scholars who were exchanging lively greetings stopped talking and laughing, and looked towards the main table where Chen Dong was in the middle, together with Dr. Pan Louzhong, the tea and wine doctor, and the woman in Tsing Yi who was pouring wine for the guests were waiting for orders. The idlers in the neighborhood doing business, the singers singing ditties and sitting in meditation, and the peddlers selling seasonal fresh fruits all fell silent with winks. The originally noisy second floor of Pan Building was as quiet as an imperial academy.

Seeing that everyone understood the rules, Zhao Xingde secretly liked that he had lost some effort to maintain order, only to hear Chen Dong clear his throat, and said in a loud voice: "Today, a group of virtuous people are here, and the house is full of talented people. My generation of scholars is to pass on the teachings of sages." , Tomorrow, the earth is the most rational, and the society of Confucianism. All people in our society should cultivate themselves and keep the etiquette, worry about the country and the people, live in the court to assist the emperor, and be in the state and counties to benefit the people. We are friends of gentlemen, and we are inseparable. To fight against "treacherous" sycophants, to be kind and to regulate the past, to be strict with "fucking", to spread the way of the sage king to rule the world..."