Roufu Diji

Chapter 5
1. Harness the horse
Yingfu turned sideways slightly, turned away from Roufu, quietly wiped away the tears overflowing from the corners of her eyes with the silk scarf in her hand, and said sadly: "Eldest Princess, I don't know what happened to you in the Kingdom of Jin, I must have had a hard time these years. However, you should also be sympathetic to the difficulties of the officials. The Emperor Daojun lived in the official family in Genyue for half a day. In the past few years, he has suffered from internal and external troubles, wars and rebellions, which have caused serious physical and mental damage. You have to remember that today he is the monarch of the Southern Dynasty who has gone through hardships, not the King Kang who came back from the Jinying in your impression."

In the first year of Jianyan, after Zhao Gou ascended the throne, Li Gang, a scholar of Zizhengdian, served as the ancient servant of Shangshu and the servant of Zhongshu, and Huang Qianshan was the servant of Zhongshu.Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan felt that they were assistants to Zhao Gou when he was the Generalissimo of the World's Army and Horses. It is reasonable to say that Zhao Gou should appoint them as ministers. Unexpectedly, Zhao Gou insisted on worshiping Li Gang, who is very popular, as his minister. They are placed in a relatively secondary position, so the two of them have a heart of jealousy towards Li Gang, and they are always against Li Gang, both openly and secretly.

At first, Zhao Gou had more trust in Li Gang, and he consulted with him on all state affairs before making decisions. The national situation gradually had the hope of rejuvenation, but Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan tried their best to persuade Zhao Gou to negotiate peace with Jin Guo. Zhao Gou had no intention of making peace at all. Unexpectedly, Jin Shuai Lou Shi suddenly led a heavy army to attack Hezhong.For a while, there was a lot of turmoil in Nanjing, and the panic of the subjects was just like when the Jin army invaded Bianjing.Wang and Huang secretly asked Zhao Gou to turn his luck to the southeast, and Zhao Gou gradually became timid, so he issued an edict in autumn and July of that year to announce that he would be lucky in the southeast, and return to the spring in spring.

Li Gang tried his best to advise against it, and Shang Shu said: "Since ancient times, the masters of Zhongxing have all started in the northwest. In this way, we can occupy the Central Plains and have the Southeast; if we only guard the Southeast, it is not enough to restore the Central Plains and have the Northwest. Because the world has elite soldiers. The healthy horses are all in the northwest. If you give up, the Jinren will take the opportunity to enter, and the thieves will also swarm. In the future, even if your majesty has plans to return it, you will not be able to get it again, let alone control the enemy to welcome back the second saint! For today's plan, perhaps we should take advantage of Xiang and Deng for the time being to be the heart of the world, and return Biandu after the Jin people are driven away and the world is stabilized." So Zhao Gou received the counterattack order and accepted Li Gang's suggestion and decided not to go to the southeast. Nanyang.Later, in August, Li Gang was appointed as the left servant of the Shangshu and the servant of the sect, and Huang Qian was good at guarding the right servant of the Shangshu and the servant of the Zhongshu.

At this time, the central government and the first faction aimed their spearhead at Li Gang, who was trying his best to fight.Fan Zongyin was also a minister who was in charge of negotiating peace. He told Zhao Goujin that Li Gang's name was superficial and powerful, so he could not be a prime minister.Before that, Li Gang had requested the imperial court to send officials to appease the people who had lost their land, and some spontaneously organized anti-golden teams to expand the combat effectiveness of the anti-golden war. , which became the reason for Wang Boyan and Huang Qianshan to impeach Li Gang.Huang Qianshan, deputy envoy of Hebei Transshipment and Zhang Yiqian who stayed behind in Quan Beijing, hinted that it was not appropriate for Zhang to set up the department in Beijing.Immediately afterwards, Wang and Huang falsely accused Fu Liang of not crossing the river immediately and staying for no reason, deliberately delaying the military plane.Li Gang knew that the two drunkards' intentions were not to drink, but to target themselves, so he said sadly to Zhao Gou: "The establishment of the recruiting department and the Jingzhi envoy was suggested by the minister to your majesty, and Zhang Suo and Fu Liang were also recommended by the minister. However, Wang Boyan and Huang Qianshan framed Zhang Suo and Fu Liang out of thin air, clearly referring to reprimanding his ministers for acting improperly. The ministers often used the Jingkang period as a lesson from the disharmony between ministers and the indecision of the court, which led to the ruin of the country, and discussed with Wang Boyan and Huang Qianshan first. Then make a decision. The two of you are against the minister, and the minister has no land, so I am willing to invite you to return to the field."

Zhao Gouxian tried his best to persuade him to stay, but Li Gang resolutely resigned without moving.Zhao Gou discussed with Wang Boyan and Huang Qianshan again. When they heard that Li Gang's resignation was in the middle of their hearts, they were afraid that Zhao Gou would not agree, so they attacked Li Gang again and again, saying that he recruited troops and bought horses with evil intentions, and they should go as soon as possible.Zhao Gou may not believe all of them, but after thinking about it carefully, he also felt that what Li Gang said, "the ministers were at odds during the Jingkang period, the court had no decision, and the country was defeated and the family died" was very reasonable. Li Gang.

Wang and Huang have been persuading Zhao Gou to visit the southeast. After hearing about it, Zongze, who stayed behind in Tokyo, went to the table one after another, asking Zhao Gou to visit Bianjing.At that time, Zongze was in Bianjing to follow the army and the people, repaired the buildings and sculls, recruited the surrender Kou Wangshan, and recognized the talents with his eyes, and promoted the young general Yue Fei to be in charge.Zong Ze was about to send a letter to Li Gang, asking him to urge Zhao Gou to return the letter, but before the letter was sent out, the left servant shot that Li Gang was dismissed as a scholar of Guanwendian, and the news that he was promoted to Dongxiao Palace had arrived.Zong Ze tore up the letter in his hand angrily, shook his head and sighed repeatedly.

The prefectures and counties of Hebei were attacked by the Jin army one after another. Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan immediately persuaded Zhao Gou to go to Yangzhou.Zhao Gou obeyed the advice of the two men and ordered that the day will start, and ordered elite soldiers to escort the Empress Dowager Longyou and the concubines and concubines to go out first, and then lead the soldiers to go south.

Since Yingfu was brought into the palace by Zhao Gou, she stayed by his side as a maid serving tea and water. Zhao Gou didn't particularly value her, except for asking her some old things about Roufu in his spare time. Take a look at her.After deciding to go to Yangzhou, he also included Yingchi in the list of palace people who followed the queen mother. After learning about it, Yingchi knelt down and begged with tears, asking Zhao Gou to allow her to accompany Zhao Gou.

Zhao Gou shook his head and said: "This time I am lucky to visit the states along the way. I have to ride a horse and sail a boat through wind and rain. The hardships of the journey are not something a woman can endure, so I will not bring a palace lady with me on this trip. You are so weak, neither Even if you know how to ride a horse, you can’t travel long distances, and it’s inconvenient to follow me, so it’s better to go with the Empress Dowager, and you can ride in chariots along the way, escorted by elite soldiers, which is much more comfortable and safe.”

Yingfu insisted, "I have never bound my feet before, so I can travel long distances. Back then, I fled from Bianjing to Nanjing step by step. It is true that I can't ride a horse now, but I can learn it, and I will definitely learn it soon."

Zhao Gou still refused, Ying Chi begged again, his face sank, he turned around and ignored her again.Ying Chi knew it would be useless to talk too much, so she had to leave abruptly.

That night Zhao Gou was reviewing the memorials in the dormitory, when he suddenly heard the neighing of a horse outside, and then the horse's hooves sounded urgently, faintly and intermittently.He was quite surprised, so he got up and went out to find the sound.

Walking into the back garden, I saw a woman wearing a white short-sleeved jacket and purple leather boots, riding a green horse, trying her best to control the horse, but the green horse didn't listen to her commands at all. , running around like out of control, the woman was jolted so badly that her body was already on the verge of falling, she leaned her head close to the horse, her hands scrambled forward, she didn't know whether she was pulling the rein or the mane, her face was pale with fright, Full of horror, his eyes were closed tightly in pain.

Zhao Gou knew it was Yingfu at a glance, and he was not in a hurry to get someone to hold her horse. He just looked back coldly at the group of servants who rushed over, and asked, "Who let her ride the horse?"

A small yellow gate who was in charge of the stables in the palace knelt down tremblingly and replied: "The horses are in charge of the minister. Miss Yingfu came to see the minister tonight and said to help the minister to feed the horses and let the minister go to rest for a while. The minister does not doubt that there is him. So I walked away for a while, I didn't expect Miss Yingchi to lead the horse out for a ride..."

Zhao Gou didn't even look at him, but simply ordered: "Lead another horse out."

After Xiao Huangmen obeyed the order and brought the horse over, he immediately rode on the horse and chased towards Yingpo, and he was at her side in an instant, but he was not in a hurry to pull her, he just followed the horse she was riding And Chi, watching her every move.

Yingchi was gradually unable to hold on anymore, felt a little relieved when someone was approaching, and became weaker and weaker. She didn't want the horse to gallop to a corner and suddenly jumped up, Yingchi was thrown up by it unprepared.Seeing that it was about to fall to the ground and fall under the hooves of the fierce horse, the surrounding onlookers exclaimed in horror.But at this moment, Zhao Gou rode his horse forward, and then bent down and stretched out his arms to wrap around the baby's slender waist. This movement was like lightning across the sky, fast and accurate, and abruptly stopped the baby's fall.Immediately, Zhao Gou raised his arms, carried the infant to the horse he was riding, let her sit astride in front of him, and then rode the horse to slow down and walk slowly.

When Yingfu fell off the horse just now, she was frightened out of her wits and lost consciousness. At this time, Yi gradually woke up in Zhao Gou's arms.The turbulent experience of riding a horse has passed, and now the horse she is riding walks slowly and steadily, and a distinct body temperature passes through her, blending with the familiar fragrance of her clothes and the strange smell of clean body...until she can see clearly what is stretching out in front of her. The hands pulling the reins suddenly realized the pattern on the sleeves of the jacket, and looked back and called: "Guanjia!"

Zhao Gou looked ahead and said indifferently: "You are quite courageous. Don't you know that these horses in the palace are very fierce and often throw strangers off?"

Ying Chi lowered her head and said softly, blushing, "I chose the one that looked the most docile. It was fine before getting on the horse, but when it got on it, it suddenly went berserk. It first raised its front legs and neighed, and then Run wildly forward..."

"How did you get on the horse?" Zhao Gou said, "Before you get on the horse, you should face the left side of the horse's head, approach the horse's neck obliquely, and stand at the level of its left shoulder. Be careful not to get caught by the horse's left front hoof. If you come up from the right side of the horse, it will cause the horse to panic."

"Yes." Yingfu replied, "I have remembered."

Zhao Gou pulled her hand to hold the rope, and said to her, "Come on, you should ride the horse like this..."

So riding on a horse, Zhao Gou personally taught Yingchi how to ride a horse.After she mastered the basic skills, he dismounted with her. Before letting the servant lead the horse back to the stable, he stretched out his hand and stroked the horse's head and neck gently, and told Yingchi: "Choose a horse you like to drive. Ride it You should approach it first, pet it, try to be friendly to it, let it accept you, and treat you as a friend. But if you see it has a displeased or angry look, you should retreat in time, and don't give it a chance to hurt you. " Pausing for a moment, he added: "However, the fact that the horse does not accept you for the first time does not mean that the horse will never accept you in the future."

Ying Chi knelt down and kowtowed, and said: "My maidservant thanked the official family for saving their lives and teaching us today, and this servant girl will remember every sentence of the official family's words in my heart, and I will never forget them forever."

"Get up." Zhao Gou's tone was indifferent as usual, "But I hope you understand that saving you doesn't mean I appreciate your self-assertive behavior. If you are not the maid of Roufu Diji, I will watch you die on the horseshoe Next. I don't want to see something like this happen again."

Yingchi knelt on the ground, the dizzy joy she felt just now dissipated without a trace, she slowly bit her lower lip to resist the pain spreading from the bottom of her heart, and finally answered with one word: "Yes!"

Before Zhao Gou turned back to the bedroom, he finally threw a long-awaited sentence to her: "You don't have to go with the Queen Mother, you are ready to go with me."

2. Riding and shooting
In the next few days, Zhao Gou ordered the eunuch who was good at riding horses to teach Yingchi how to ride. Yingchi also learned very hard, tenacious and tenacious, without the cowardly attitude of ordinary women, so he made rapid progress, and soon he was able to ride a horse alone. .

After dealing with government affairs one day, Zhao Gou walked to the back garden on foot, and saw Yingchi practicing riding.Wearing a white green leather military uniform with black boots, she has a vigorous and graceful figure.At this time, she was quite skilled in riding. She galloped freely on the silver-maned white horse with a relaxed expression and attitude. Zhao Gou couldn't help but stand still and watched for a while.

When Yingfu saw Zhao Gou, she got off her horse and saluted immediately. Zhao Gou signaled her to continue practicing, and then ordered someone to bring her imperial horse and two sets of bows and arrows.After getting on his horse, he galloped to Yingchi and handed her a set of bows and arrows. Yingchi was taken aback for a moment, but immediately understood and happily took it.Zhao Gouxian drew his bow and made a demonstration for her.Yingchi immediately followed suit, Zhao Gou gave her a very light bow, and it took a little effort for Yingchi to draw it to the full. After she drew the bow several times and the movements were more standard, Zhao Gou let her shoot an arrow towards the sky.Ying Chi did not refuse, took out an arrow and led it to the bow, sat astride the horse tightly, then leaned back, focused on aiming at a lone goose in the sky, and then let go of the arrow.

The arrow flew out with a "swish", but after all, the force was not strong enough, and the aim was not enough. The arrow was exhausted and fell in the middle of the flight, but the wild goose fluttered its wings and flew higher and higher after being startled.Ying Chi's eyes dimmed, and she lowered her head in disappointment.

Zhao Goulue smiled slightly, drew the bow calmly, shot the arrow straight into the sky, and hit the wild goose that Yingchi was aiming at just now.

Yingfu watched the wild goose fall from the sky and landed in front of her eyes in surprise, and praised sincerely: "The official is very skilled!"

Zhao Gou looked at her and said: "There is no other skill in riding and archery, but you need to practice more. This palace is too small, which is not conducive to practice. I will take you outside the city to practice when I have time in the future."

Yingfu hurriedly thanked him first, and was curious for a moment, so he asked: "Where did the officials practice riding and archery when they first learned?"

Unexpectedly, Zhao Gou's face changed slightly, and he remained silent for a long time.Yingfu immediately knew that she had asked the wrong question, so she couldn't help feeling nervous. After hesitating for a long time, she was about to apologize, but she heard Zhao Gou slowly say: "I first practiced in the mansion of my third brother Yun Wang Kai."

Yun Wang Kai.Hearing Zhao Gou suddenly mention this long-lost name, Yingchi was at a loss for a while, and for some reason, her face turned red quietly.

Zhao Gou didn't look at her, but looked up at the clouds, thinking of many old things.At that time, horses were generally not allowed in Bianjing University. To practice riding and archery, you must go to the four gardens in Beijing: Qionglin Garden, Yichun Garden, Yujin Garden and Ruisheng Garden, but you must first obtain the emperor's approval, and underage princes are not allowed to enter Therefore, although Zhao Gou was very interested in riding and shooting when he was very young, he could go to the Royal Garden to shoot bows with his father only when Zhao Ji was in a good mood and thought of him.

Among all the brothers, Zhao Ji loves Yun Wang Kai the most.Before he left the palace to live outside, Zhao Ji ordered Tong Guan to build his palace next to Da Nei. Tong Guan said that there were residential buildings near Da Nei, and there was not much open space, so the palace he built might not be spacious enough.Zhao Ji waved his hand, gave Zhao Kai a good horse, and said to him: "Kai, you choose the foundation you want by yourself, and ride the horse around the place you like. No matter what kind of buildings there are, I will order people to demolish them. Make room for you to build a mansion."

"After the third brother's palace was built, the third brother held a banquet in the mansion to entertain the father and the brothers, and I also went with the father. The palace of the king of Yun is luxurious and exquisite. What surprised me the most was the large specially-made The riding and archery training ground...do you know how big it is?" Zhao Gou said slowly and asked Yingfu.

Yingfu shook her head blankly, although she had been to Prince Yun's Mansion, she was quite uneasy at that time, and she couldn't take care of carefully observing the layout and structure of the palace, so she couldn't say anything now.Zhao Gou continued: "It is more than four times the size of the entire palace today. I stopped at that time and just looked at the practice field silently. The third brother walked to me with a smile and said "Ninth brother likes riding and archery? From then on, I will often come to third brother to practice." Then he gave me a pony immediately, and asked me to play immediately."

"King Yun has always been very friendly to people." Ying Chi said softly.

Zhao Gou smiled lightly and said, "You think so?"

Yinglou lowered her eyes and did not answer Zhao Gou's question, nor did she tell him. His memories also reminded her of something. She could feel Zhao Gou's feelings at that time, but asked: "So, the officials declined King Yun's offer?" gift?"

"No, I didn't refuse." Zhao Gou said, "I have always wanted to have the opportunity to practice riding and archery. Why did I refuse? I accepted the horse and future invitations he gave me, and since then I have often visited Prince Yun's mansion. Practicing riding and archery... The third brother actually doesn't like riding and archery, he spends a lot of leisure time reciting poems, painting and women, the training ground in the palace is usually empty if I don't go there."

"It turns out..." Yingchi bowed his head and said, "The official's current good skills were cultivated at that time... King Yun doesn't like riding and shooting skills, so there is no need to build such a large training ground."

"No, it's very necessary, whether it's for the third brother or the father." Zhao Gou raised his eyes to trace the flight trajectory of the swan geese, and said, "Later, I also went out to live outside the palace after the crowning ceremony. You can practice riding and archery in your own spacious back garden without having to go to Sange’s palace. But the first time you step into Kangwang’s mansion, which was also supervised by Tong Guan, you find that the palace is no bigger than the mansions of ordinary Beijing officials, and the back garden is just a small one. where there is no place to ride a horse!"

Yingfu didn't dare to say anything more about it, but said forgivingly: "As long as you have the heart and ambition, it's the same wherever you practice."

Zhao Gou smiled: "So after that, I will continue to practice at Prince Yun's Mansion. Regardless of the cold and heat, I will redouble my practice until I grow up and have the ability to buy land and expand the back garden of King Kang's Mansion."

As he said that, Zhao Gou's expression suddenly became serious, and he drew his bow again and shot upwards. The long arrow left the string and flew up in the air. Only the sound of two birds wailing came from the air, and then the prey fell down.Yingchi took a closer look, and saw that an arrow shot through the double flying wings, and two wild geese fell down.

Yingfu cheered repeatedly, and said with a smile: "Nowadays, the whole world is a place for riding and shooting by officials... The size of this training ground is probably beyond the imagination of the people in Beijing in the past."

The corners of Zhao Gou's lips moved slightly, revealing a thin smile.

3. Calming chaos
After the news of Li Gang's being prime minister came out, the scholars in Beijing were indignant, and they all secretly lamented that Zhao Gou was a villain and a virtuous minister.At that time, Zhao Gou intended to promote and appoint some literati as officials. He heard that Chen Dong, an imperial student, was talented, so he announced him to the palace for an audience.Immediately after Chen Dong came, he went to Shushu and said bluntly that Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan could not be appointed, and Li Gang could not go.

His words were fierce and direct, and Zhao Gou temporarily stopped to answer after reading it. Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan were very angry when they heard about it, and secretly determined to get rid of him.At this time, another civilian literati named Ouyang Che also openly wrote a letter asking Zhao Gou to be a virtuous reprimand, remove Huang and Wang from their posts and reinstate Li Gang.Seeing that Zhao Gou didn't agree, Chen Dong and Ouyang Che jointly organized a group of Confucian scholars to kneel in front of Miyagi, calling for petitions repeatedly, hoping that Zhao Gou would accept their opinions.

Seeing this, Huang Qianshan couldn't hold back any longer, and immediately entered the palace and said to Zhao Gouzou: "Chen Dong, Ouyang Che and others corrected the crowd to demonstrate and make trouble. If they are not severely punished, they may cause commotion in the city. It is not a minor disaster."

Zhao Gou sat on the throne, leaned back against the back of the chair, then stretched out his hand to open the booklet of the two of them again, read it carefully, and looked up at Huang Qianshan calmly.Huang Qianshan couldn't fathom his thoughts, and he didn't dare to speak any more, so he stood with his head bowed, and cold sweat dripped down his face unconsciously.

After such a short while, Zhao Gou suddenly threw the two volumes in front of Huang Qianshan, and calmly said: "The nuclear crime will be dealt with."

Huang Qianshan was overjoyed, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeves, and hurriedly took the book out.Shangshu Youcheng Xu Hanhou was waiting outside the hall. Seeing Huang Qianshan's expression, he knew that the emperor had adopted his suggestion to punish the two of them, so he asked him, "How is Xianggong going to punish them?" Huang Qianshan smiled and raised his head. He waved his palm down resolutely and replied: "It should be cut according to the law." Xu Han shook his head and said: "The country is rejuvenating. It should not be strict about the way of speaking. It must be decided in a meeting with other ministers!" Huang Qianshan did not argue with him, pretending to be He nodded in agreement, but then secretly ordered Meng Yu, the governor of Kaifeng, to behead Chen Dong and Ouyang Che.

On the day of the execution, all the people in Nanjing went out to watch the prison van pass by, whether they knew each other or not, they all sent each other off with tears in their eyes.During this period, a Confucian scholar shouted angrily in front of the crowd: "The Emperor Yizu of this dynasty once warned his descendants that those who speak are innocent, no matter how blunt the admonisher is, they must not be killed. However, from Taizong to Shenzong, all emperors have not beheaded a single sentence. The literati who were convicted. Now that the country is in urgent need of rejuvenation, it needs loyal and direct advice from good ministers, but today it ignores the legacy of the ancestors, which really chills the hearts of the literati in the world!" After listening to the persuasion, a person next to him persuaded: "Quickly shut up, and if you continue talking, you The head on the head is also hard to protect." The Confucian scholar was slightly startled, and then shut up and stopped talking, but his face was still full of anger.

In the winter and October of the first year of Jianyan, after sending away the Empress Dowager Longyou and the concubines, Zhao Gou boarded a boat to Yangzhou in Ding Sishuo that month, and Wu Yingfu was the only maid accompanying him.Passing by the state capitals along the way, they landed and inspected on horseback. They found that many local officials recruited troops without authorization, under the name of King Qin, or claimed to recruit children to practice martial arts to defend the country.So Zhao Gou immediately issued a decree to prohibit and order the dismissal of the militiamen who had been recruited. If there are unauthorized recruiters in the future, they will be put on record and severely punished.

At that time, the world was in turmoil, and bandits and robbers were everywhere, which was a major hidden danger in the country. When officials from various states met Zhao Goujun, they complained and asked him for instructions on how to deal with it.Zhao Gou pondered for a moment after listening to the situation of the previous play, and then ordered the bachelor to accept the decree: "For my draft: recruit a group of thieves who can destroy the thieves, and give them an official."

A few days later, the servant who escaped from the palace during the Jingkang Incident came to seek refuge, and offered Zhao Gou the two bags of pearls and jade that he had brought out from the inner mansion.Zhao Gou took it, and threw all the pearls and jade into the Bian River without looking at it.The next day Zhao Gou told Huang Qianshan about the matter, and after hearing this, Huang repeatedly regretted and said: "It's a pity! Now the treasury is empty, and there are not many things for your majesty to enjoy. Those jewels were treasures from the inner palace of Bianjing. Even if your majesty didn't intend to force it, But since there are some that come to your door, why throw them away?"

Zhao Gou waved his hand and told Huang Qian kindly: "In ancient times, kings destroyed jade and pearls, so petty thieves couldn't afford it. I admire them very much, so I followed suit in order to relieve the trouble of thieves."

One day, Zhao Gou's royal boat sailed to Baoying County, Chuzhou, and it docked at night. After Zhao Gou reviewed the memorials, it was three o'clock, and Yingchi came to help him wash. After that, he waved Yingchi back to his cabin to rest. He promised and was about to go out, but unexpectedly, he heard commotion and noise from outside the cabin, and another fire light penetrated, as if many people were gradually approaching with torches.

Zhao Gou immediately got up in shock, pulled out his untied saber and stepped forward.Yingfu was also shocked, and followed Zhao Gou out.

Surrounding the imperial boat was actually the rear army of the imperial camp accompanying the emperor. All the soldiers were fully armed, holding a sword in one hand and a torch in the other. Zhao Gou did not kneel down to salute, but looked at him with a provocative expression. he.

Zhao Gou glanced at everyone coldly and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Your Majesty, you have been the emperor for a few months and you haven't cleaned up the old land of the Song Dynasty. Is it time to let the virtuous?" One person stepped out, squinted at Zhao Gou with a sarcastic smile, and had an arrogant and arrogant attitude.

Zhao Gou recognized him as Sun Qi, the commander of the rear army of the imperial camp.

On this trip, Zhao Gou led all the civil servants to travel by water, followed by the rear army of the imperial camp in boats, while the main army was led by Han Shizhong, the commander of the Dingguo Army, by land and along the coast. On the edge of Baoying County.Now that Zhao Gou sees Sun Qi appearing, he knows that he must be the one commanding the rear army of the imperial camp guarding the water to rebel. Although Han Shizhong may not be in a conspiracy with them, but it is late at night, and if no one comes to report the news, he will not know for the time being In this matter, I can't rush to save you.

Zhao Gou looked around and saw that the small boats around Yuzhou were also full of rebels, and they were pulling out the civil servants in each boat one by one.Those ministers either trembled in fear, or glared angrily, but they were helpless in the face of the predicament in front of them.They are usually people who discuss affairs generously in the court and give advice, but at this moment, compared with the soldiers who are at war with swords, they seem so weak and helpless.

Zhao Gou took a deep breath, not allowing himself to feel any panic, staring at Sun Qi and said calmly: "Commander Sun, I feel that I treat you kindly on weekdays, why did you commit such a treasonous thing today?"

Sun Qi said in a loud voice: "Heroes have been born in troubled times since ancient times, and the emperor should be a capable person. But you, Zhao Gou, what virtue and ability, are just that your father and brother were captured, and you took advantage of the soldiers outside. Your father and brother are emperors. You have never made a decree to pass on to you, but you have established yourself as the emperor. It is not right and wrong to say it. What's more, the foreign aggression of the Jin Dynasty has not been eliminated, but you are still timid and retreating. You want to escape to Yangzhou and hand over half of the country. The emperor is considered so useless by you, why don't you let me lead the soldiers to fight back the lost country!"

"Boldly chaotic ministers and traitors, how dare you support troops and conspire against them, and rebel!" Zhao Gou had not yet answered, but he heard a man on a nearby boat yelling angrily.Everyone looked towards the source of the sound and found that the speaker was Zuo Zhengyan and Lu Chenzhong.

Lu Chenzhong tried his best to push away the soldiers who blocked him, crossed the auxiliary bridge connecting the imperial boat and walked quickly to approach Zhao Gou, but was still caught by several soldiers on the boat. He glared at Sun Qi while struggling, and continued to reprimand: " The emperor is the biological son of the Daojun Taishang Emperor. After the Jingkang change, he ascended the throne to inherit the fate of heaven and respond to the hearts of the people. With the handwritten decree written by the Empress Dowager Longyou, it is justified to be the emperor! Nanxing Yangzhou is only a measure of rights and interests under the full force of the Jin soldiers, and it will be returned when the situation stabilizes. But you and other traitors and thieves dared to take the opportunity to rebel and covet the throne.

Sun Qi raised his head and laughed, and said: "Rebellious officials and thieves who take the opportunity to rebel will be punished by heaven? I'm afraid it may not be so. How did the emperor of the Song Dynasty get his power? Isn't it also because of Chen Qiao's rebellion? Emperor Yizu used to be from the Northern Zhou Dynasty Every point of the palace is inspected, and I am in command of the forbidden army, and I am the commander of the rear army of the imperial camp, and the situation now is very similar to that of Chen Qiaoyi, Zhao Kuangyin can be the emperor, why can't I, Sun Qi?"

After finishing speaking, Sun Qi went straight to the side of the boat where Lu Chenzhong was standing, and as soon as he stretched out his hand, he grabbed the lapel of his chest and lifted him up. , He immediately flew straight out, and fell into the water with a "snap".Lu Chenzhong didn't know the nature of water, he kept struggling in the water, sinking and floating, seeing Sun Qi and a group of soldiers laughing, Zhao Gou and other ministers felt sympathetic, but they couldn't help each other, in the end they could only helplessly Watching Lu Chenzhong gradually sinking and drowning.

Sun Qi started to approach Zhao Gou again, Zhao Gou immediately stood up with his sword to prevent him from approaching, Sun Qi smiled, looked back at the soldiers behind him, and ordered: "You go and ask the emperor to put down the sword."

The three or four soldiers took the order, and immediately stepped forward to grab Zhao Gou's sword, but before they got close, one of them screamed in pain, and fell straight back, with a stick stuck in his chest Leng Jian came.

Zhao Gou turned his head and saw Ying Chi standing at the stern of the boat with a bow in his arms, staring blankly at the soldier who fell to the ground struggling in pain after being hit by an arrow, his face was pale, but he felt Zhao Gou's gaze, and immediately raised his eyes to respond, his eyes were full of The color of concern.

She was a slender woman, and at this critical moment, she threw arrows at her to save her life. Zhao Gou was quite moved, and immediately turned around and stood, looking at her speechlessly.

When the rest of the soldiers saw that someone was shot by an arrow, they retreated one after another. Although their swords were drawn, they stopped advancing for a while.But after Sun Qi saw that the person who made the attack was Yingfu, he stared at her more provocatively, and walked towards her.

Yingchi shot another arrow, Sun Qi was prepared long ago, dodged it sideways, rushed in front of her in two or three steps, tightly wrapped around Yingchi with his hands like iron pincers, snatched her away with lightning speed and threw the bow and arrow into it. In the water, Zai sneered and said: "The emperor is the emperor, there are beautiful women by his side at any time, it is really a blessing..." As he said that, he stretched out a big hand to touch Yingfu's chin.

Yingchi's expression changed, she swung her head to avoid it, broke free vigorously and retreated quickly, while Sun Qi continued to approach step by step.Zhao Gou swung his sword in a rage to stab Sun Qi, but several forbidden soldiers had already gathered to block him with swords, and a series of intense and startling sounds of golden swords followed.Ying Chi was forced to the end of the stern, and there was no way to retreat, suddenly raised his head to look at Zhao Gou in awe, shouted: "Officials take care!" and jumped into the water.

Hearing the sound of the water breaking again, Zhao Gou was chilled again, guessing that she must have jumped into the water because she refused to be humiliated, so she couldn't help paying respect to her, secretly thinking that she was such a loyal woman, and it turned out that she was underestimated in the past .

After the infant fell into the water, it did not struggle like Lu Chenzhong, but fell into the bottom silently like a stone sinking into the water. The ripples swayed and dispersed, and the river was still calm as before, glowing under the faint moonlight. Sparkling shimmer.A soldier asked Sun Qi: "Do you want to go down and rescue her?" Sun Qi shook his head and said, "It's just a woman, don't worry about it."

At this moment, Zhao Gou was outnumbered and had been hijacked by the forbidden soldiers seizing the sword.Sun Qi ordered someone to escort him back to the cabin, and then said to him: "Please write the edict, Your Majesty, Zen will be in my place."

Zhao Gou said indifferently: "Commander Sun is in control, is it necessary?"

Sun Qi said with a smile: "It's better to act according to Chen Qiao's story. Emperor Yizu was proclaimed emperor in the past because Emperor Gong of the Northern Zhou Dynasty wrote the imperial edict for the Zen position. To be safe, please ask your majesty to write the imperial edict ordering his ministers to ascend the throne. The ministers will be very happy Accept the last order from His Majesty to your subjects."

Zhao Gou thought about it for a while, and said, "Okay. Let someone prepare a pen and ink for me."

Sun Qi said happily: "This is easy." Then he turned his head and ordered his soldiers to find pens and inks.After a while, the four treasures of the study were ready, and Sun Qi urged Zhao Gou to write quickly, but Zhao Gou ignored him, and said with a sideways look: "I don't have the habit of studying ink myself."

Sun Qi immediately asked a forbidden soldier to grind the ink for him. After grinding it, Zhao Gou picked up the pen lazily, and threw away the brush after writing a book, saying: "The ink is too thick, re-study." Sun Qi was furious and said, "There are so many things! There is no difference in the color of the ink, and what is written is not the same!"

Zhao Gou sneered and said: "The light ink will hurt the spirit, and the thick one will stagnate. I always pay attention to the ink color in writing. Everyone in the court knows that if the ink color is wrong when writing the imperial edict, no one will believe you. They will all say that you forged it yourself." Yes. Originally, my personal maid did the research on ink, but now that she has been forced to death by you, I have to trouble you to find someone else to do it."

Sun Qi thought for a while, then suppressed his breath, and ordered the guards to grind again.After grinding this time, Zhao Gou said that the ink color was too light. After doing this three times and changing several soldiers, it took Zhao Gou a long time to say yes. Ken put pen to paper.Sun Qi urged again, and Zhao Gou replied unhurriedly: "Since it is such an important edict, it is natural to carefully consider every word."

Sun Qi beat the case angrily, and reprimanded Zhao Gou: "Don't be pushy, just sketch it quickly, or I will kill you right away!"

Zhao Gou said coldly: "Since you want to kill me, why didn't you do it just now, but you must write some Zen edict."

Sun Qi drew his sword and said angrily, "Do you think I dare not kill you?"

A few panic-looking forbidden soldiers came running outside the room of the dispute, and shouted one after another: "Master Commander, something is wrong! Master Han Shizhong led the army to come!"

Sun Qi said in surprise: "Quickly lift the anchor and set off on the river!"

The forbidden soldier said: "I'm afraid it won't work, there are many ships surrounded from three sides, all of them are officers and soldiers!"

Sun Qi hurriedly ran out to wait and see.Zhao Gou threw out his pen with a shallow smile, and two guards forced him to put their swords on his neck. He turned his head to look at him, and said calmly, "Listen to me, all officers and men: the crime of today's incident is the fault of the thief. If you abandon the darkness and turn to the light in time, and protect me, I will forget the past and not pursue your crimes. If someone can kill Sun Qi, I will make him the commander of the rear army of the imperial camp. I will also reward the rest who have contributed to the peace of the chaos. , promotion and bounty, conferment of wife and son."

The soldiers in the cabin all showed hesitation when they heard this, Zhao Gou said again: "The current situation is very clear, how many people are there in the rear of the imperial camp? How many people are there under Lord Han's command? Now you are surrounded, flee or flee Don’t let it go, those who know current affairs are heroes, you can decide for yourself whether to die or become a meritorious escort.”

At this time, Sun Qi ran in again angrily, and ordered loudly: "Get Zhao Gou out and threaten Han Shizhong to retreat..." Before he finished speaking, a sword pierced his back and came out through his chest.He slowly turned his head in surprise, and found that the person who plotted against him was actually a personal soldier whom he had always trusted.He pointed at the accompanying soldier in disbelief: "You..." The man looked upright and rebuked, "Sun Qi, the traitor, dares to betray and usurp the throne. Today I will get rid of you for the emperor's sake." Disobedient officials and traitors!" After seeing Sun Qi collapsed to death, the man immediately knelt down to Zhao Gou and said, "Your Majesty is shocked. The minister Yang Mu only found out that Sun Qi had a rebellious heart today. Fortunately, he acted in time and was able to kill him." The traitor is killing harm for His Majesty. Your Majesty is blessed and blessed, long live long live!" Seeing the sudden reversal of the situation, the other soldiers also threw down their swords and knelt down to swear allegiance, knowing that the rebellion would not succeed.

Zhao Gou slowly sat back on the throne, gradually showing a ray of smile, nodded to Yang Mu and said, "Okay, you are fine." Then he turned his eyes to look at Sun Qi who was dying on the ground, and said with a sneer, "You little bastard, some brains are too No, he dared to follow Chen Qiao's example."

Not long after, Han Shizhong quickly stepped on the Yuzhou boat to meet Zhao Gou, knelt down and said repeatedly: "I am late to save you, I deserve death, please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Gou raised his hand and said softly, "Han Aiqing, please get up." Suddenly, he saw another person come in, with disheveled hair, a haggard face, tears in his eyes, and the wet clothes on his body were not completely dry. As soon as it lit up, he called out, "Yingchi!"

Yingfu burst into tears immediately upon hearing the sound, and knelt down in front of Zhao Gou, weeping uncontrollably. After crying for a long time, she managed to speak: "Guan, are you alright?"

Zhao Gou smiled and said, "I'm fine. How about you? Master Han saved you?"

Han Shizhong hurriedly explained: "No. It was Miss Wu who escaped by diving and came to the barracks to inform His Majesty that I was in trouble."

It turned out that before Yingfu entered the palace, she had learned to swim with her brothers and sisters in Bianshui, and she was quite good at swimming, so she escaped quietly after diving just now, and immediately ran towards Han Shizhong's barracks after landing, and reported that Zhao Gou was trapped. Tell Han Shizhong.Han Shizhong was shocked when he heard the news, and immediately dispatched troops to rescue him, and immediately contacted the magistrate of Baoying County, asking him to send a boat to the soldiers to surround the rebels on the water, so the rebellion was quickly quelled.

Zhao Gou looked at Yingfu after listening to Han Shizhong's words, his eyes were rare and soft.Then he got up and walked in front of her, reaching out to lift her up himself.

The next day, Zhao Gou ascended to the throne in the imperial boat and discussed with the ministers how to deal with the matter.Zhang Jun, the censor in the palace, came out and said: "I think that although the current court is in a difficult situation, the law must not be abolished. They all control Han Shizhong's undisciplined conduct, which leads to changes in the soldiers, and begs for his punishment."

Zhao Gou thought about it: "Although Han Shizhong should be punished for his lack of discipline as a teacher, if he saves him in time, he can be fined, so he doesn't need to be demoted."

However, Zhang Jun and the officials of Zhongshu Province disagreed, saying: "If Han Shizhong only fines money, how can he punish future generations?" So at the insistence of Zhang Jun and others, Zhao Gou demoted Han Shizhong to an observer.He also pursued Luchen who died in the unlucky Luchen as the doctor Zuo Yan, gave his family silver, and sealed his children and grandchildren as officials.

Afterwards he ordered the arrest of those who participated in the rebellion, and Zhang Jun asked, "What should we do with Yang Mu who killed the rebel leader Sun Qi?"

Zhao Gou waved his sleeves resolutely, and answered in one word: "Cut."

4. wind chimes
After arriving in Yangzhou, Zhao Gou promoted Yingchi to be the guard in his palace, in charge of palace affairs and commanding other court ladies. In addition, he specially gave her a silver-maned white horse of moderate build and several sets of brand-new military uniforms.Yingchi was very happy and knelt down to thank her.

After discussing the state affairs discussed during the day with the important ministers every night, Zhao Gou would spend a lot of time reviewing memorials, writing imperial edicts, and insisting on studying calligraphy. side, and serve him attentively and meticulously.

One night when the news of the defeat came again, Zhao Gouwen was in low spirits. After discussing countermeasures with several ministers in the outer hall, he went back to his study sullenly.In a moment, he ordered Yingchi to prepare pen and ink, and he wanted to write an imperial edict to Han Shizhong.

After Yingfu was ready, he threw the pen to the side in boredom as soon as he wrote two words, tore off the desk paper, crumpled it up and threw it heavily on the ground.

Yingfu quietly picked up the pen and paper he dropped, tidied it up and said to him softly: "The officials need to rest well, and you don't have to do such tiring things as writing the imperial edict. The servants will send someone to announce the imperial edict Let's write."

Zhao Gou asked her, "What time is it?"

Yingchi replied, "It's just passed the third watch."

Zhao Gou waved his hand and said: "No need, it's too late, there are still many things for him to do tomorrow, let him rest well tonight. I will write it myself later."

Having said that, he frowned deeply, stretched out his hands and rubbed his temples, as if he had a severe headache, and his face was full of weariness.

Yingfu bowed her head and thought over and over for a while, and finally plucked up the courage to recommend herself: "If the officials don't think the slaves' handwriting is ugly, or the officials dictate the content of the edict, and let the slaves write it?"

"You?" Zhao Gou looked up at her with interest, "Can you write?"

Yingfu bowed her head and replied: "I can write a few, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to be elegant. Is it better for slaves to write first, and then decide whether to use it or not?"

Zhao Gou nodded, and asked her to prepare a pen and ink and sit down to write, while he dictated and got up and stood beside her to watch her write.

Yingfu has less time to practice calligraphy recently, so now she writes every stroke carefully and solemnly, and wants to try her best to make her calligraphy more perfect.After a long time, it was finally finished. Yingfu looked at it by herself first, and felt that it seemed to be better than expected, but she didn't know how Zhao Gou felt, so she got up and stood aside respectfully, asking Zhao Gou to come over and take a closer look.

Zhao Gou lowered his head to look at it for a moment, and flatly praised: "Not bad, very delicate."

Yingfu was overjoyed, heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly thanked him for the compliment, but before he finished speaking, he saw Zhao Gou push the imperial edict she wrote aside, and took another roll of paper, unfolded it and picked up a pen to write again.

This clearly expresses dissatisfaction with her writing.Yingfu's heart suddenly felt sour, she was ashamed and sad, but she didn't dare to show it, tried her best to suppress the tears that were about to flow, and went to Zhao Gou's side to spread paper and ink silently, watching him personally write what she had just written. The imperial edict was transcribed again.

After Zhao Gou finished writing, he put down his pen, leaned on the back of the chair and sat with his eyes closed to rest in a stretched posture. After a long while, he suddenly asked, "Yingfu, did King Yun teach you your calligraphy?"

Ying Chi was slightly startled, she didn't expect that he could see this from her words, she didn't know how to answer for a moment.Zhao Gou still closed his eyes and didn't look at her, and continued: "My father has devoted himself to the study of calligraphy for many years. He learned Huang Tingjian and Xue Ji for the first time, and also participated in Chu Suiliang's family. He mastered it well and brought the thinness of Chu Suiliang and Xue Ji to the extreme. , and then use Fengshen, and finally become a "thin gold" body. After that, all the princes except me followed suit, vying to learn from the father's thin gold book, but only the third brother Yun Wang Kai imitated the most. But at first glance, what other people wrote is not worth mentioning, do you know why?"

Ying Chi shook her head and said, "Slaves are stupid..."

Zhao Gou said again: "Father Huang's characters are beautiful in nature, clear in strength and majestic in nature, elegant in taste and hazy in writing, clear and clear in style, elegant and uncommon, with Taoist fairy style. Those who are not pure and noble, but also have a leisurely mood and a calm mind cannot learn it. Three The reason why my brother can learn so well is because of his similar nature to that of his father. I see that your handwriting is weaker than flesh and blood, exaggerating your muscles and bones, just like a thin golden book. I think it must be the third brother who is teaching Rou Fudi Ji also taught you that. But you must know that this body has extremely high requirements on people's mind. If you only seek similarity but not change, it will be difficult to make new breakthroughs, and even become cramped. Besides, "he looked deeply at the baby. Fu glanced at him and said, "This style may not be the one I admire the most. The third brother's handwriting has also changed in addition to following the style of the father. The meaning is written first, and it is chic and elegant. It is more beautiful. But it is too pursuit of the beauty of form. , it is a kind of restraint for real calligraphy. San Ge’s calligraphy is beautiful, but in comparison, I prefer the strength and charm of Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu and Er Wang.”

Yingfu listened attentively, nodded slightly, and carefully wrote down every word he said. She regretted that she had rashly recommended herself to write the imperial edict, so that he could see that she was a teacher of King Yun. Identity, don't think about changing, blindly imitate.As he thought about it, his face became hot again, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Zhao Gou was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Yuan Yuan...is her handwriting also made of thin gold?"

Yingfu replied: "King Yun wants to teach her the thin gold book, but Di Ji never studies it seriously, and often finds Jin people's copybooks to study, so although her handwriting is also very elegant, it is more graceful. Make it fatter."

Zhao Gou looked happy and said: "It should be like this, she has always been a very independent woman..."

Zan Rou Fu Di Ji has her own opinion, which is tantamount to implying that I blindly imitated indiscriminately.Yingchi thought to herself, feeling ashamed and sad again.

At this time, there was a wind blowing outside, blowing the wind chimes hanging on the corridor outside the hall, making a series of clear jingling sounds.Zhao Gou then looked a little dazed, and turned his head to stare out the window for a long time, not knowing what he was thinking.Finally, with a long sigh, he stretched out another piece of paper, and picked up a pen to draw cursive on it casually.

Yingfu saw that he wrote a passage in Cao Zhi's "Ode to the God of Luo": "Its shape is as light as a frightened bird, as graceful as a dragon wandering. It is full of chrysanthemums and luxuriant spring pines. It seems as if the moon is covered by light clouds, floating It is like snow returning from the flowing wind. Looking at it from a distance, it is as bright as the sun rising in the morning glow; when observing it by force, it is burning like a flower coming out of Lubo..."

This word is written beautifully and elegantly, very beautifully.Yingfu was admiring it carefully, but Zhao Gou stopped and sighed, "It's broken again. Such a character is really not worthy of such a good poem and such a beautiful woman." After saying this, he tore off the paper and rubbed it up and discarded it.

Yingfu was a little surprised, thinking that this word is already very good, but he still felt uneasy, wondering who the "such a beautiful woman" he mentioned could be referring to.

Zhao Gou bowed his head and said nothing, and turned his eyes to Yingfu's feet.At this moment, the toe of her shoe was slightly protruding from the skirt, and the infant followed his gaze and looked down, and immediately retracted her feet when she realized this.

Zhao Gou smiled lightly and asked, "Yingfu, during the Jingkang period, was it popular for women in the palace to wear embroidered shoes with silver bells on the heels? Have you ever worn them?"

Yingchi was taken aback, and replied: "That kind of shoes are actually rare, not many people wear them, and only the embroidered shoes with small feet have this style, the slaves have never bound their feet, so..."

Having said this, he was deeply ashamed of his own natural feet, and lowered his head deeply again.

"Oh, so it is like this..." Zhao Gou whispered.Then he looked at Yingfu again, and said, "It's getting late, I'm going back to my bedroom to rest, and you should go to bed early after packing up."

Yingchi agrees.After watching him go, he looked up at the wind chimes in the corridor that were blown by the wind from time to time, and the pair of embroidered shoes with silver bells sewn on by Diji Roufu suddenly came to his mind clearly.

5. Darkness
Since May of the second year of Jianyan, the scholar of Zizhengdian who had been stubbornly resisting the gold, the left-behind in Tokyo, and Yin Zongze in Kaifeng repeatedly went to Shushu to beg Zhao Gou to return to Beijing.He also informed Zhao Gou of the careful arrangements for dispatching troops and generals in detail, trying to make him return across the river with peace of mind, even at the expense of his own life as a guarantee.The general meaning of the above is: I want to take advantage of this summer month to send Wang Yan and others to cross the river from Huazhou, and take Huai, Wei, Jun, and equal states; Wang Zaixing and others directly protect the mausoleum of Xijing from Zhengzhou; Zhending, Yang Jin, Wang Shan, Ding Jin, etc. led the troops separately, and marched side by side.The loyal people in the Shanzhai in Hebei have already responded to the agreement, and the number of people reaches one million.May your Majesty return to the capital as soon as possible, and the ministers should bow down and take the arrows, and be the first of the generals, and the cause of Zhongxing will surely be established.If there are false words, I would like to thank the army and the people by beheading my ministers!
But after Shangshu, the situation in each prefecture was not optimistic. The Jin army attacked like a tide, and the Yongxing army Weizhou, Huaining, Zhongshan and other prefectures fell one after another. Zishao and Chen Yu, who knew Zhongshan Prefecture, were all killed in battle and martyred for the country.Zhao Gou saw that the situation was serious, so he didn't reply. Zongze persevered, and continued to persuade: "It's a pity to abandon the foundation of our ancestors."Your Majesty's parents and brothers, in the dusty desert, hope to save soldiers every day, and the mausoleum in Xijing is occupied by thieves. This year's cold food festival, there is no place to worship.And millions of people in Lianghe, Erjing, Shanshi, and Huaidian were trapped in abysses of charcoal. They wanted to be lucky in the south outside the lake and cover up treacherous ministers. and also.Now that the capital has been strengthened, the military equipment is fully prepared, and the popularity is strong, I hope that Your Majesty will not be discouraged by the anger of the people and enemies, but follow the same path as the Eastern Jin Dynasty!

Zhao Gou was quite moved after reading it, and important ministers such as Xuan Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan came to discuss the matter of returning to Beijing on a certain date.But Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan have always been at odds with Zongze, and they also understand that the "treacherous minister" referred to by Zongze Shangshu refers to themselves, and the more they hold grudges, they speak out to prevent Zhao Gou from returning to Bianjing, repeatedly persuading: " Now that the situation in Hebei is not stable, news of the fall of the state capital comes from time to time. It would be very risky for Your Majesty to return to Beijing at this moment. At the beginning of the Jingkang period when the Jin people invaded the country, the Taoist Emperor Taishang once advised Yuansheng Emperor Nanxing to take refuge temporarily, but Xi Yuansheng Emperor did not Adopting the emperor's good words, insisting on staying in Bianjing, which led to the disaster of Jingkang. Your majesty must guard against the lessons learned from the past. The country urgently needs your majesty's rejuvenation, and your majesty is the blessing of all people. Even if you are making a living for the world, your majesty should take care of yourself and be cautious Do not return to Beijing when the Jin army has not retreated, and take this unnecessary risk."

As soon as Jingkang was mentioned, Zhao Gou immediately hesitated.Before the country was broken, Zhao Ji did persuade Zhao Huan to take refuge in Nanxing, to protect himself first, and then find opportunities to counterattack in the future.But at that time, Zhao Huan had not listened to his father's words for a long time, and decided to stay in Bianjing with the support of a group of ministers. "'s son Zhao Huan, Zhao Ji's first words were: "If you had listened to my father, you wouldn't be in such a catastrophe today!"

Zhao Gou sat alone on the dragon chair and meditated. Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan continued to stand up in turn to persuade Xiao Yi in every possible way. Finally, he stood up and announced his decision before leaving with his hands behind his hands: "The matter of returning to Beijing will be discussed later. "

Zong Ze, who was 70 years old at the time, became sick with anxiety and anger when he heard about the incident, which caused gangrene. Sit up and say to them: "I was originally in good health, and I was free from all diseases. It was only because the Second Sage had been dusted for a long time that I could not be rescued and returned. I became ill with anxiety and anger. If you can wipe out powerful enemies for me, I will become the master. With the ambition of revitalizing the country, I will die without regret!"

After hearing this, everyone wept, nodded and agreed: "We are willing to die to fulfill your lord's entrustment."

After the generals left, Zong Ze burst into tears, and said with emotion: "There is a poem in the ancients: 'Death before leaving the teacher will make the hero burst into tears." Now that I am seriously ill and will die, I really understand the meaning of it .”

After that, I was unable to speak anymore, and all I talked about that day were worries about the country and the people, and I didn't mention a word about my own family affairs.The night was rainy and dark, different from usual, Zong Ze lay down and listened to the wind and thunder, suddenly sat up, and shouted repeatedly: "Cross the river! Cross the river! Cross the river!" , the family hurried over to take care of him, but there was no response to calling him. After sniffing, they found out that he had passed away, and his eyes were always open angrily, and he couldn't close them no matter what.

After the Jin people heard the news of Zongze's death, they became more determined to invade the south with troops. The gold master Wan Yansheng ordered: "King Kang must pursue and destroy him fiercely. After Ping Song, he will establish a puppet emperor like Zhang Bangchang." " Then he ordered the left deputy marshal Wanyan Zongwang to continue the southern expedition, and must cross the river before destroying Zhao Gou's Southern Song Dynasty court.

The news has since gotten worse:
In September, in Jiashen, Ding Jin, the old general recruited by Yuan Zongze and the inspection envoy outside the capital, rebelled and led the crowd to invade Huaixi.

In September Guisi, the Jinren broke Jizhou, and Shan, who knew the affairs of Junzhou, hanged himself and died.

In winter and October, the Jinren surrounded Puzhou, and the situation in Puzhou was not optimistic...

Zhao Gou had trouble sleeping and eating. During the day, he was too busy discussing and discussing the war with the officials. When he came back at night, he faced the Empress Dowager and his concubines. He was even more worried when he thought of the tragedy of the palace family during the Jingkang change.The censor Zhang Jun saw that he was worried about the safety of the palace family, so he suggested: "It is better to choose a safe place as the place where the six palaces live, and then your majesty can travel around and plan far away with peace of mind." The agency adopted its suggestion, and after careful consideration and selection, Hangzhou was designated as the residence of the palace family members, and the Liugong was ordered to go first with the Empress Dowager Longyou. Miao Fu, the regiment training envoy of Dingzhou, was under the control of his retinue.

He also asked Yingchi to follow the queen mother first, but Yingchi still refused and cried, please stay by Zhao Gou's side.Zhao Gou didn't say anything more this time, and agreed to her request to keep her.From then on, Yingfu practiced riding and archery more actively, in order to be ready to accompany Zhao Gou to patrol the Quartet with a bow and arrow at any time.

The Jinren's offensive became stronger, and most of the battle reports that reached Zhao Gou's ears were bad news: In November Renchen, the Jinren broke through Yan'an Mansion.In Yiwei, the Jin people broke Puzhou.In Jiachen, the Jinren broke through Dezhou, and then Zizhou.In December Jiazi, Wanyan Zongwang, deputy marshal of Jinzuo, broke through Beijing, and Guo Yong died in the prison at East Hebei Road.Then Guozhou, Xuzhou, and Sizhou fell one after another.In February of the third year of Jianyan, the Jin people attacked Chuzhou again with an army, and the sound of Jin Ge was getting closer and closer to Zhao Gou in Yangzhou.

One night, after Zhao Gou reviewed the memorial, he went back to his bedroom to rest, but all he could think about was the war, and thinking about the current situation of the Song army's retreat, he was very depressed. He was restless and couldn't fall asleep. In the study, I want to continue reading and practicing calligraphy to pass the time.I didn't want to see candlelight shining from a distance in the study before I got to the door, and suddenly felt strange: I have been away for a long time, who is still in it?What are you doing?

Immediately, he quickened his pace and walked in, pushing the door open, only to see a woman in front of the desk got up quickly, hid something behind her, and stared at him in surprise and timidity.

That's a baby.She was the one who served at the side when reviewing the memorial, but now that she has returned to the dormitory, she has stayed here for so long, and she looks flustered at this moment, which is very suspicious.Zhao Gou was displeased and asked coldly, "What are you still doing here?"

Ying Chi lowered her head and said, "Forgive me..."

"I'm asking you something." Zhao Gou asked again in a more questionable tone, "What's hiding behind you?"

Seeing his cold and serious expression, Yingfu became speechless in a panic, stood there motionless, and did not show him the hidden things.

Zhao Gou was already in a bad mood, but seeing her acting behind his back and hiding things privately, he became even more suspicious and annoyed, so he didn't bother to ask any more questions, so he went straight over and grabbed her right hand and pulled her over.

6. Letters
Zhao Gou found that what she was holding was a roll of paper wrapped together. He took it away and unfolded it, but saw that it was Wang Xizhi's "Orchid Pavilion Preface" copybook inside, and the white paper wrapped outside was full of copybooks. The words, the ink is fresh and moist, obviously just written.

Ying Chi's cheeks were flushed, and she immediately knelt down and begged again: "Forgive me, the official." Her voice was timid, trembling.

Zhao Gou asked: "You stayed here just to practice calligraphy?"

Ying Chi lowly said yes, nodding her head deeply, looking shy and frightened.

Zhao Gou looked closely at the handwriting she just wrote. Although it was still jerky, it had begun to take on the meaning of Erwang's running script. It would be difficult to evolve from her previous style to this without repeated practice for a period of time.So I asked her again: "Do you often practice calligraphy so late at night?"

Yingfu hesitated for a moment, but still nodded in agreement, kowtowed and said, "Your maidservant has made a mistake, and will never stay in the official study and use stationery without authorization."

Zhao Gou stared at her silently, vaguely remembering that he had refused to adopt her imperial edict, and told her that "I prefer the character and charm written by Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu and Er Wang". After returning to the dormitory, he stayed alone in the study, practicing calligraphy according to his favorite style, and abruptly changed his own fonts.No wonder she looks haggard recently, with dark halos around her eyes, which turned out to be the result of working day and night.

"Aside from serving me, you spend all your free time studying, practicing riding and archery during the day and calligraphy at night?" Zhao Gou sat down, his tone much calmer.

"Yes." Ying Chi replied, "I am also idle when I am idle, so I want to learn something useful... If I can use this to share the worries of the officials in the future, it will be the greatest blessing for my servant."

Zhao Gou looked at her with some emotion, and smiled after a while and said, "Yingfu, we are very similar."

Ying Chi raised her head slightly, with a hint of confusion in her eyes.Zhao Gou said again: "My father loves calligraphy very much, so he actively guides and urges every prince to practice calligraphy. Every once in a while, he will order us to get together and write in front of him, and then he will judge each one. When he was able to write, the third brother's calligraphy was already very good, and his style was very similar to that of his father. Every time his father commented on the prince's calligraphy, he would always praise him, so the rest of the brothers tried their best to imitate him, hoping to become like his father. The thin gold book, for the appreciation of the father."

Yingfu roughly guessed what he meant, and said softly: "But officials must have their own ideas."

Zhao Gou nodded, and continued: "Father Huangjian took a slant, created a thin gold body and has brought it to the extreme. Later generations can only obtain its shape by simply imitating it, but it is rare to find its spirit. It is very difficult to surpass. Besides, as I said, that kind of The style is not what I appreciate. Therefore, I decided to collect the essence of hundreds of schools, add my own strength of character to form a whole, so that my father and emperor will admire me one day. Since I was a child, I have been diligently learning calligraphy, from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Six Dynasties, All of them are imitated. Beginners learn Huang Tingjian and Mi Fu, and then devote themselves to the Six Dynasties, specializing in the two kings. No matter whether their style is weak, or thin, or Daojin does not return, or they are beautiful and unique, they will first write one by one, and then analyze Choose from its strengths. I have copied the "Lanting Preface" that you are learning now no less than a thousand times, and I remember the shape and style of each character by heart. Appropriate. Over the years, if there were no irresistible major events, I would take time to practice calligraphy every day. When I was young, I usually practiced riding and archery every day, and calligraphy at night—just like you are now... From this point of view, we It can be said that it is a kind of person.”

Yingfu said: "How can slaves be compared with officials. The slaves are dull and clumsy, and it takes a lot of study to achieve the qualifications of ordinary people. But the officials are talented, and they are so sincere and hardworking. Given time, why can't they do it?"

"Yingchi, you don't have to underestimate yourself." Zhao Gou tapped the words written by Yingchi in front of him with his finger, "Learning calligraphy requires talent. If it is not for Fengshen's enlightenment, even if the mechanics are tireless, the bald pen will become a tomb and the research will be like a mountain. , and it’s still not easy to comprehend the subtleties of brush and ink. I can see that your handwriting today, although you are bound by heavy imitation, you can already see that it has its own strength of character, and if you continue to practice diligently, you will surely achieve something in the future.” His eyes moved to On the copybook of "Orchid Pavilion Preface" on the side, it said: "From now on, I will practice calligraphy with you. You don't have to hide from your own thinking. I have some authentic works of Wang Xizhi, and I can give you a reward. He Yannian, a Tang Dynasty man, said that Wang Xizhi wrote "Orchid Pavilion Preface" It is quite debatable to say that there are hundreds of thousands of books later, but there is no one comparable. Wang Xizhi's other works may not be as good as "Lanting Preface", but because of the largest number of posts, it is like a thousand zhang Wenjin. Majestic, for people to roll and stretch, everyone feels pleasing to the eye and is deeply engraved in the heart. It is not like other rulers, it is only a few lines and crosses, like an inch of brocade piece of jade, easy to play Over the years, I have obtained some authentic works of Wang Xizhi one after another. Although they are only a few lines or numbers, I feel that there is little sweetness in my throat after careful tasting, and then it is like eating olives. The aftertaste is long and it is unbearable to put it down. Let’s experience it slowly, seeing its authentic works will be more beneficial to your calligraphy.”

Ying Chi was overjoyed, and immediately thanked her, the joyful look brushed the corners of her eyes and brows, her face was brightened after all her worries disappeared.Smiling softly at the king, his eyes are like water, and the streamer is shining.

Zhao Gou looked sideways, thoughtful.Under his unusual gaze, Yingchi became restrained again, bowed her head in silence again.

"Why did you reject King Yun?" Zhao Gou asked suddenly.

He asked quite calmly and naturally, but Ying Chi felt as if he had received an electric shock when he heard it.She never expected that Zhao Gou would realize that Zhao Kai had feelings for her. Although she mentioned to him that during the Jingkang Incident, Zhao Kai asked someone to save Roufu Emperor Ji and her out of the palace, but she deliberately concealed it and downplayed it. Zhao Kai valued him, and only said that because he was Rou Fu's closest personal maid, Zhao Kai ordered someone to take her out together.At this moment, I don't know how to answer Zhao Gou's question properly, so I just lowered my head and said lightly: "Does the official know?"

"I don't know anything." Zhao Gou said indifferently, "I just know the third brother, he wouldn't spend so much time teaching calligraphy to an irrelevant court lady... How beautiful the third brother was at the beginning, he will always be a glorious one With your eye-catching appearance, all the women in the palace are fascinated by it, since he has taken a fancy to you, why do you insist on not being accepted by him?"

Yingfu lowered her eyes and remained silent. After a long time, she sighed softly and said, "The official said that we are the same kind of people."

Hearing this, Zhao Gou straightened up and looked at her carefully again, finally smiled slightly, then got up and stretched his sleeves, and started to go out.Ying Chi hurriedly followed behind him, stopped in front of the door, and sent each other off with a blessing.Unexpectedly, Zhao Gou turned around to face her again, and reached out to hold her left hand without haste.

Yingchi was taken aback for a moment, not knowing what his intention was, but he had already started to walk again, leading her forward.

Ying Chi followed him in a daze, and turned around a few porches in a trance, only to find that the end of their walking direction was his bedroom.

7. Dream
He led her into the bedroom, went deep into the curtain, and finally sat down on the edge of the bed.At this time, a candle flower suddenly bloomed on the red candle that had been burning silently. The sudden abnormal light and jumping sound made Yingchi stand up suddenly as if awakened, but soon felt ashamed of his actions. The station should still sit.

Zhao Gou looked at her quietly, and she immediately understood the clear hint in his eyes.It's always like this, in front of her, he can use no words, and she can understand his instructions and requirements just by his eyes.

After a brief silence, she knelt down to undress him and remove his boots.This kind of thing has been done before, but it is not as slow and difficult as it is today.When she finally touched the white silk underwear stained with his warm body temperature, her hands trembled slightly with her heart.

He stretched out his arms to embrace her on the quilt pillow, and with a wave of his hand, the hibiscus curtain floated shut.In the light and shadow of candle red permeating the veil inside the tent, he embraced her leisurely and lightly untied her clothes.

She lay stiffly in his arms without any resistance, and her instinctive shyness and blank experience made her never think of how to cater to him.Her indifference didn't surprise or dissatisfy him, he still didn't say a word, and began to feel her soft body with his lips and hands.

They hugged without barriers, the so-called skin-to-skin contact.A drop of tear slipped quietly into her temple.So Zhao Gou stopped and asked her, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Yingchi smiled shyly and hugged him tightly, "We've never been so close."

After a while, he suddenly heard the faint sound of wind chimes, Zhao Gou was taken aback, and turned his head outward subconsciously, his eyes revealed his momentary trance.However, he immediately noticed that the strangeness in himself had entered Yingchi's eyes, so he whispered in a disguised way: "It's windy again?"

His fingers still brushed her flawless skin repeatedly as before, but lost the original warmth.

The wind chimes were beating, and the fragrance was floating in his head. His vague thoughts were swaying with the night.

Ying Chi didn't answer his question that didn't need an answer, but wrapped her arms around his neck sadly, and kissed his lips proactively.

He was a little surprised by her sudden enthusiasm, but he gradually responded and continued to treat her.She accepted the love gracefully, and the pain in her heart was worse than that in her body. Fortunately, his gradually warming embrace gave her a reason to dilute it.

She knew very well that the affection he gave was not what she wanted, and she just got his fleeting affection by chance.

Unknowingly, it was midnight, and suddenly there was loud noise outside, several eunuchs hurried over with lanterns, and vigorously knocked on the door of the sleeping hall, calling repeatedly: "Officials, it's not good!" Before he could hear Zhao Gou's reply, he simply pushed the door open and entered.

Yingfu was so frightened that she cried out in surprise, Zhao Gou was even more furious, and reprimanded through the tent: "Who is so bold to break into my bedroom?"

The door pushers looked at each other.Because the concubines have been sent to Hangzhou, Zhao Gou has been sleeping alone recently, and the situation is urgent, so they pushed the door in without thinking too much, and only when they heard the baby's exclamation did they know that there was someone serving the bed, and they were scared and scared at once. is embarrassing.Most of the people retreated automatically, but only two stayed behind. They bravely ran to Zhao Gou's tent and knelt down, saying: "It is really important for the officials to forgive sins, so I dared to enter the official dormitory to report Play...the Jin army has broken through the Tianchang Army next to Yangzhou, and is about to invade Yangzhou immediately!"

Zhao Gou was vigilant, and when his whole body was cold, he broke out in a cold sweat, and felt a little weak.Before he could think about it, he put on his clothes and got up immediately. He stood up and saw that the two eunuchs kneeling in front of him were Ban Kanglu, the Minister of the Interior, and Kuang Xun, the servant who had been sent by him recently to observe the battle situation of the Tianchang Army.Zhao Gou pointed at Kuang Xun, and briefly ordered: "You, tell me what's going on."

Kuang Xun said: "The Jin people first attacked the Tianchang Army with hundreds of cavalry. The commander had a heavy responsibility, and Cheng Xi fled before the battle. He led nearly [-] soldiers to escape cleanly. Liu Guangshi, the Jianghuai system envoy sent by the government later, was able to guard against the bandits. However, the soldiers under his command had no fighting spirit, and they were defeated as soon as the battle was fought. A few hours ago, the Tianchang army was defeated by the Jin army. I heard that the golden general Matu had received the order to lead a group of cavalry to attack Yangzhou Already!"

Kang Lu repeatedly kowtowed and said: "The officials should get up and drive away from the city. All the generals are out. Yangzhou's troops are really not strong enough to resist the attack of the golden men's iron cavalry!"

Zhao Gou frowned and asked Kuang Xun, "Where are the golden soldiers led by Matu now?"

Kuang Xun replied: "It is said that he has already left, and it is only a few miles away from Yangzhou."

Zhao Gou nodded, and immediately ordered Kuang Xun to say: "Prepare the horse!" Then he said to Kang Lu: "Take out my armor!"

The two agreed to prepare separately.Yingfu also dressed quickly and came out. Zhao Gou asked her to go back to her room and change into her military uniform. The palace wants to leave the city.On the way, Zhao Gou suddenly asked Kang Lu, "Have you brought out all the things in the golden chamber?"

Kang Lu said: "Don't worry, the officials, the jade seal, several important edicts, and precious calligraphy and paintings are all gone!"

"What else?" Zhao Gou asked nervously, "There is a small peachwood box on the bottom floor, but did you bring it out as well?"

Kang Lu was stunned: "The lowest floor? I didn't notice..."

Zhao Gou raised his hand in anger and slammed his whip on him, then immediately turned around and drove towards the palace.Kwong Xun Kanglu called him urgently: "The government can't do it! I don't have time to go back to the palace now!" But Zhao Gou ignored him and rushed to the palace without looking back. The next few eunuchs sighed one after another, feeling very embarrassed, wondering if they should follow Zhao Gou back to the palace.

Zhao Gou galloped straight back to the bedroom, took out the box from the golden chamber and hid it in his bosom, then quickly got on his horse and left the palace, Yingfu followed him all the time.The palace servants who were still asleep also heard the sound at this moment, and they immediately panicked when they saw Zhao Gou in military uniform. A few boldly chased after him and asked: "Where is the official family going? But are you going to leave Yangzhou?" ?" Zhao Gou didn't answer, but frowned and rode his horse with a sullen face.There was a sudden chaos in the palace, and the palace people rushed out one after another, scattered in the city. The people in the city asked what happened when they saw it, and the palace people replied: "The official is gone! It must be the Jin people who attacked!" So the whole city was in an uproar , People immediately packed up their clothes and dragged their children and women to drive horses and swarmed out of the city. The frightened cries from time to time were intertwined with the crowing of cocks and the barking of dogs, and the sound of broken objects, and the city was already boiling.

At this moment, Zhao Gou and Yingfu had no attendants around, more and more passers-by scrambled to catch up with them, running side by side with them, and colliding from time to time. Zhao Gou was jostled several times by them and was able to withstand it, but Ying Chi was riding a small horse, and she was a woman, so she was almost pushed off the horse at the exit of a narrow road.Seeing this, Zhao Gou stretched out his hand to grab her onto his horse, whipped the horse vigorously, broke through the encirclement, and went straight to the south gate of the city.

As soon as they arrived at the south gate, they saw that Kang Lu and others and the imperial guards in the palace had already secured both sides of the city gate, not allowing them to go out easily. Seeing that Zhao Gou finally arrived, he was relieved and hurriedly ordered the imperial guards to forcibly push back the crowd and clear the way out. There is a passage, Zhao Gou, please go first.After Zhao Gou and several eunuchs and generals passed by, even the imperial army lost the order. They rushed out of the city gate like ordinary people, and the rest of the subjects immediately rushed up, and the city gate was instantly blocked by soldiers and civilians. It was full, and countless people were trampled to death during disputes and shoves, or wounded to death by forbidden soldiers' swords and guns.That day, the sun slowly rose amidst Yangzhou's earth-shattering wailing and weeping, and the faint light reflected the bloodstains on the ground, looking helplessly pale.

8. Chong Er

After leaving the city, Zhao Gou decided to cross the south of the Yangtze River. The imperial guards along the way gradually took care of themselves, scrambling to move forward, and less and less obeyed orders. When they reached the Yangtze Bridge, a guard simply stepped out and rushed up the bridge , leaving Zhao Gou and others behind.Wang Yuan, the commander of the imperial battalion, was furious when he saw this, and ordered people to chase the guard back, and knelt down in front of Zhao Gou.

Zhao Gou stared at him and said coldly: "A soldier should take the initiative to defend the country against the enemy, instead of rushing to escape in order to protect himself. No wonder the Song army suffered consecutive defeats recently. It turns out that there are more people like you."

When the guard heard this, he sneered and said: "We are eager to escape in order to protect ourselves, which is just the performance of His Majesty! You emperor is busy hiding in Tibet whenever there is trouble, why do you ask us to do it for you?" How about being a human shield to block the sword of the golden man? Your life is so precious, but the life of our ordinary soldiers is not life?" Turning to look at the infant beside Zhao Gou, he said loudly, "The army of the golden man is overwhelming, Your Majesty blindly listens to Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan's words of whitewashing peace and does not take precautions, the golden man is rushing to the door, but he is still having a good time with a woman..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw a cold light flashing in front of him, but in an instant, a sharp sword pierced straight into his heart.The guard's eyes froze, and he slowly lowered his head to look. The person holding the sword pulled out his hand, and bright red blood gushed out. A trace of winding blood oozes out.

Zhao Gou stood with his sword expressionless, the tip of the sword drooping slightly, the blood on the sword slid across the mirror-like blade, and fell to the ground drop by drop.

There was a moment of silence, and everyone fell silent.The guards didn't dare to move without authorization, and they all stood still in place.And Wang Yuan, Kang Lu and others didn't know how to deal with it, and they were completely silent.

At this time, Yingchi took out a silk scarf from her bosom, knelt down in front of Zhao Gou, and without saying a word, gently wiped away the blood splattered on Zhao Gou's armor with the silk scarf.

"Bring him to the ground and bury him." Zhao Gou looked at the two forbidden soldiers who had just escorted the guard and ordered, "The rest follow me to cross the bridge."

When the group arrived at Guazhou Town, two ministers, Lu Yihao and Zhang Jun, also galloped over. Zhao Gou asked them, "Where are Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan now?" The military uniform left Yangzhou, but I don’t know where it is now.”

Zhang Jun sighed: "They escaped, but it's a pity that innocent ministers were involved. The army and the people complained about Huang Qianshan's deep-seated. As soon as Sinong Qing Huang E ran out of the city, he was mistaken for Huang Qianshan by the soldiers, and they called out to each other: "Huang Xianggong is here." Immediately, someone said: "It's their fault for harming the country and harming the people!" So everyone rushed to Huang E with sharp weapons angrily. Poor Huang E had his head cut off by the army and the people before he could tell. Shaoqing Shi Hui and Cheng Fan Hao heard the news and came to check the situation, but were also beaten to death by the enraged soldiers and civilians. He told the incident that Huang Zhefang was walking on foot, but was also shot by a knight with a bow and died for four days. Li Chudun, a senior official, was also killed by the rebels. Now the courtiers are in panic, and they are all fleeing in commoner clothes, lest they be identified."

Zhao Gou forced a smile and said to Yingfu, "It must have been like this when Bianliang City was about to be destroyed."

Ying Chi shook her head and said softly, "It's different. Since the official family can leave the city to the south, there will be a day when they regain their lost land."

Zhang Jun nodded and said: "This...madam is right. Please move your majesty to Zhenjiang for a while to take refuge. When the court is rebuilt in the future, the ministers will devote themselves to assist your majesty in reviving the Great Song Dynasty and regaining the lost land."

When they were about to cross the river, they realized that due to the haste to leave the city, no boats were prepared at all, and now there was only Yiye's small boat moored on the shore, so there was no room for so many people to cross the river at the same time.Zhang Jun asked the boatman, and after learning that the boat could only carry one horse and two people, he came back and said to Zhao Gou, "Your Majesty and one of his attendants should take the horse first, and I will try to cross the river later."

Hearing the sound, Kang Lu rushed over in a few steps, supported Zhao Gou with both hands and said, "I help the official's family to board the boat."

Zhao Gou withdrew his hand and said lightly, "No need." Then he glanced at Yingfu intentionally or unintentionally.Kang Lu immediately understood that he had always been Zhao Gou's most trusted eunuch, and now seeing that Zhao Gou chose to take care of Yingfu when he could only choose one person, although he was greatly disappointed, he did not dare to show it, but turned around Facing Yingchi, she smiled softly and flatteringly: "Ying... Mrs. Wu, please help the official's family to board the boat. The old slave is not by the official's side, so please ask my wife to serve the official's family wholeheartedly."

Yingfu heard that he deliberately changed his address, but she didn't feel her face turned red, but she felt a little warm in her heart, so she gave him a blessing and said softly: "Mr. Kang, don't worry, I have written down your instructions." .”

After crossing the river, they arrived at Jingkou. Zhao Gou and Yingfu walked along the small road. After walking for a long time, they gradually felt very tired.

Zhao Gou sat in a daze for a while, then pulled out his sword suddenly, stared at the bloodstains silently, then sighed softly, and wiped away the bloodstains with his black boots.At this time, none of the officials came, and none of the guards and imperial guards accompanied him. He and Yingpo were the only two in the temple.Ying Chi stood by and saw him running away for most of the day, his hair was slightly messed up, several locks were floating down, reflecting his dusty cheeks and absent eyes, her desperation made her feel sad.He wanted to stretch out his hand to brush his hair, but he seemed to be startled, and suddenly turned sideways to dodge, and when he saw that it was her, he also waved his hand gloomily, not wanting her to approach.

After a short rest, the two set off again, heading towards Zhenjiang.It was almost dusk at this time, and after a lot of fright and fleeing, they gradually realized that their stomachs were empty and they were very hungry. When they came out, they didn't even think of bringing food, and they didn't find any wild fruits and vegetables that could satisfy their hunger when they looked around.When I was in a dilemma, I suddenly saw a peasant woman walking by with a bamboo basket in her hand. There was a lot of food in the basket, and she thought she was delivering food to someone.Ying Chi gritted her teeth, rushed over to call her, blushed and said, "Ma'am, we have evacuated here in a hurry, but we forgot to bring dry food. We have been walking for half a day since last night, and we haven't eaten anything. I wonder if you can..."

The peasant woman looked them up and down, and said with a sneer, "You are soldiers who escaped from Yangzhou? You have hands and feet, and you wear such a good military uniform. Instead of fighting the Jin people, you escape here to beg for food!"

Yingchi was extremely ashamed, bowed her head and was speechless.Zhao Gou's complexion changed, and when he came, he was about to speak to rebuke but was held back by Yingchi.While holding him back to hint that he should not speak, Yingchi apologized to the peasant woman and said with a smile: "Please don't take offense, Madam, we are the ones who disturbed Madam because of our abruptness."

The peasant woman glanced at them again, reached into the basket, took out a biscuit and threw it on the ground, saying: "I can only give you a biscuit, if you don't mind it, eat it." After saying that, she walked away.

Ying Chi bent down to pick up the cake, carefully dusted off the dust, and then held it to Zhao Gou with both hands.Zhao Gou waved his hands and knocked the cakes to the ground, saying angrily, "A gentleman doesn't eat what is cheap."

Yingfu picked up the cake again, threw it away and carefully removed the dusty surface, but did not throw away the peeled off debris, but held it in his hand, and softly persuaded Zhao Gou: "Heaven will send a great mission to Si people. , will suffer their minds and wills, work their muscles and bones, and starve their bodies. Those who do great things must learn to survive in adversity. Concubine Xian Liji was framed and was forced to go into exile and travel around the world. During the period, she suffered from starvation, humiliation and hardships. When she traveled to Wulu, she was unbearably hungry. She also asked the villagers for food, but the man gave him a large piece of soil. Chong Er was furious. But when he raised his whip and wanted to beat him, Hu Yan stopped him and said, "Mud represents land, and this is the sign that God will give you the land." Chong'er immediately understood after hearing this, so he respectfully kowtowed to the countryman and gave The soil was collected and taken away together, and many years later, Chong'er became the king of the country and became one of the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period. Today's cooking cakes are stained with soil, so why don't the officials follow Chong'er's example and accept it with a smile?"

Zhao Gou's face turned pale when he heard the words, and he said, "Should I carefully collect these dirt-stained debris and bring them back to worship?"

Yingfu smiled and said, "Maidservant, please keep it for the official family. After the official family rejuvenates, it may become a sacred object. The servant girl will also be honored to keep it." She took out the silk scarf and wrapped up the debris. , and then handed the clean cooking cake to Zhao Gou.

Zhao Gou broke half of the cake and gave it to Yingfu, who shook her head and said, "Your servant is not hungry..." Zhao Gou didn't speak, but he didn't take back his outstretched hand.Yingfu knew what he meant, so she took it lightly, and still did not forget to say thank you.

"Yingfu..." Zhao Gou sat down on a big rock by the side of the road, slowly took a bite of the cooking cake, and said, "You seem to have read a lot of books, did Diji Roufu teach you too?"

Yingfu nodded and said, "Di Ji taught some. Later, after serving the officials, the servants took the time to read some official books... There were not many casual readings, did they say something wrong? Let the officials laugh."

Zhao Gou smiled slightly and said, "You speak very well, there is nothing wrong with what you said."

9. deep cold
Because they didn't want to attract too much attention, they kept taking the small road, but gradually lost their way. When they realized that they had deviated from the direction to Zhenjiang, it was already dark, so they had no choice but to find a cave that could accommodate them on a nearby hillside. I plan to stay in the house for a night, and then rush to Zhenjiang tomorrow after dawn.

At that time the weather was still very cold, although the two lit a bonfire, the cave was still very cold.The trip was in a hurry, and the bedding was not complete. Zhao Gou immediately carried only a large mink fur, which he used in the field when he was touring various places on weekdays.Yingfu saw that although the mink fur was not small, it would be enough for one person to use half of it lying down and covering it, but it was too much for two people to cover it together, besides, even though she had been blessed by Zhao Gou, she was still not sure that he would be willing. Call yourself to lie down together.So she spread the ermine fur and still did the same as when she was in the palace. She first asked Zhao Gou to go to bed, and then retreated respectfully to a distance.

Zhao Gou asked her lightly: "Where are you going to sleep?"

Ying Chi bowed her head and said, "It's the same for servants sitting and resting by the campfire."

Zhao Gou stretched out his hand towards her, and ordered concisely: "Come."

This word makes the baby feel warmer than the burning bonfire.She walked slowly shyly, and lay down with Zhao Gou after undressing. Due to the size of the mink fur, Zhao Gou naturally hugged her in his arms. They were like two small animals that had passed the winter, tightly Curled up and snuggled up, Yingchi smiled peacefully, suddenly feeling a little lucky for the unexpected two-person walk alone.

After a while, Zhao Gou started to kiss her like last night, the baby trembled slightly, but then calmed down, not as restless as the first time, just lying in his arms softly to accept his caress.This kind of contact lasted for a long time, but no further action was seen from him.Yingfu felt a little strange, so she couldn't help but opened her eyes and looked at him, but saw that he was frowning tightly, with faint worry and fear in his eyes, and he gradually increased the strength of touching her, she felt a little pain, and couldn't help but sigh After a few calls, he continued to touch and kiss as if he hadn't heard it, but his expression became more and more anxious, and beads of sweat dripped from his head and neck.

Surprised, she observed carefully, and gradually understood the reason for his panic. She was also panicked and at a loss, but let him see her understanding.Embarrassed, he stood up abruptly, and rushed out of the cave in only his unlined clothes.

Immediately Yingfu got dressed and got up, picked up Zhao Gou's cloak and chased him out.But seeing Zhao Gou standing on a rock protruding from the hillside, staring blankly into the distance, he was stunned.

Ying Chi followed his gaze and was also surprised: on the other side of the river, a ball of flames shot up to the sky, and the smoke filled the air. The place where the fire was burned is far away from here, but you can still see such a scene, which shows that the fire is very large and spreads widely.

"That's Yangzhou." Zhao Gou said with difficulty, "The Jin people set fire to the city..."

Ying Chi felt sore, walked over and put the cloak lightly on him, and gently persuaded: "It's windy and cold outside, the officials should go in and rest earlier. When we arrive in Zhenjiang tomorrow, we will discuss with the ministers how to recover the lost land." thing."

Zhao Gou was motionless, his face was bleak, and there was despair in his eyes.

Yingchi stretched out her hand to support him, and pulled him gently several times before barely moving, and turned to look at her with an unnatural expression.Yingfu knew that he felt ashamed because of the matter just now, so he helped him back, pretending to be casual and said: "The official family didn't rest well last night, and they must be very tired after working around for a long time today. Take a rest, after arriving in Zhenjiang, you will take care of it for two days, and your spirit will naturally recover."

Zhao Gou has been silent since then and no longer speaks to her.He went into the cave and fell asleep silently, and no longer reached out to hug her.Yingfu leaned beside him, lying on one arm with his arms around him, thinking repeatedly during the long sleepless night: "He is too tired, he will be fine after a rest..." She felt a little shy because of this thought, and suddenly she Inexplicably, he sighed deeply in his heart.Taking a peek at Zhao Gou, he was lying motionless, as if in a deep sleep, reflecting the erratic flames of the bonfire, his delicate facial features could clearly see the color of worry.She caressed her hand lightly, feeling cold to the touch, and his eyelids seemed to twitch slightly the moment she touched him.

After going down the mountain the next day, the guards of Zhenjiang Qian Boyan sent out soldiers to find them and welcome them to live in Zhenjiang Prefecture.Zhao Gou soon discovered that the warm and soft quilt pillows in the mansion still could not bring back his "spirit". This discovery was undoubtedly a heavier blow to him after losing his land.He couldn't believe it, and tried again and again with Yingchi to regain his lost abilities. Under the anxiety and panic, his behavior became more and more violent and violent. Yingchi silently endured and cooperated with him, but everything was in vain after all. , on the third night, after the last futile attempt, Zhao Gou got up out of control, frantically grabbed everything he could grab and smashed furiously.

Yingchi ran to pull him to persuade him: "The officials don't want to..."

Zhao Gou pushed her to the ground with a wave of his hand, and he said angrily to her, "Get out of here! Don't follow me anymore! Tomorrow I will assign you to a general, so go with that man!"

Yingchi got up, still ran over and hugged him tightly, and said tearfully, "I don't want any generals, my man is you!"

Zhao Gou was still angry, and still wanted to push her away. She ignored his pushing, and continued to hug him tightly and said sadly: "You are my man, my life, my glory, my God! To be close to you , living by your side is the one I hope for, and I have recognized this the day we met under the cherry blossom trees in Huayang Palace... No, no, it will be earlier, when you go to the Taishang Emperor's Palace to help the virtuous When I was a concubine, when you refused the invitation of King Yun, even, on the day I first met you, when you played on the water swing and commanded the dragon boat to compete for bids..."

Zhao Gou gradually calmed down amidst her fierce confession, and after a long while forced a faint smile, and said to her softly, "Yingchi, how could this happen?"

The baby who was hugging him clearly felt that his body was trembling lightly as if he was suffering from the deep cold, and she was even more unwilling to let go, pressing her tear-wet cheeks against his chest: "Official, don't drive me away. It's going to be okay, everything's going to be okay..."

Zhao Gou also put his arms around her, and closed his eyes sadly in the cool moonlight peeping through the small window.

After arriving in Zhenjiang, Zhao Gou called together the ministers who came to discuss whether to stay or not.Lu Yihao, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, begged to stay and support Jiangbei, while Wang Yuan said that Zhenjiang can only defend one side. If the Jin people cross the river from Tongzhou and capture Gusu, Zhenjiang will be difficult to keep. It is better to go to Hangzhou. Qiantang has a heavy river. Dangerous, much safer than Zhenjiang.Zhao Gou then decided to go to Hangzhou, leaving Zhu Shengfei, the Minister of Zhongshu, to station in Zhenjiang, and ordered Liu Guangshi, the envoy of Jiang and Huai, to serve as envoy of the five armies to control Jiangkou.So he led his ministers to set off, Changzhou, Wuxi, Pingjiang, Xiuzhou, Linping, and finally arrived in Hangzhou safely.Zhao Gou took the prefectural government as the palace, and then issued an imperial edict, begging to be frank, pardoning the criminals below the death penalty, and the scholars and bureaucrats returning home with orders, but Li Gang was not pardoned.

In December of the second year of Jianyan, Zhao Gou transferred Huang Qianshan, the right servant of the Shangshu and the servant of the Zhongshu, to the left servant and the servant of the door.Let the two be one on the left and one on the right.However, these two people are self-indulgent, without the foresight and insight that the ruling ministers should have, and the Jin people dared to go south because they saw their incompetence.After arriving in Hangzhou, Zhao Gou learned from the painful experience and hinted that Yushi Zhongcheng Zhang Cheng would investigate the mistakes made by the two of them. Zhang Cheng had always been at odds with the two of them. Your Majesty, to bring dust to Wancheng", "Prohibition of scholar-bureaucrats from moving, too strict legislation, and blame the owner", "Zizhen, Chu, Tong, and Tai's southern states and counties, all smashed by the rout of the army" and other twenty major crimes, and officially listed Sparse impeachment.

Huang and Wang didn't know that Zhao Gou's instruction was for this edict. After the court dispersed, they begged to see Zhao Gou together. They knelt in front of Zhao Gou and wept. It was difficult, and the ministers did not dare to file a letter to ask for retreat. Therefore, they had to endure the humiliation and bear the sneering words of ignorant people, and continued to share the worries for His Majesty..."

Zhao Gou said calmly: "The two lovers really think about me in every way, and they really do their best to share my worries and report good news but not bad ones."

The two were stunned for a moment, and did not dare to answer.Zhao Gou continued: "After Beijing was captured by the Jin people, Zhang Jun led several colleagues to suggest that the Jin army's enemy cavalry would come, and the court could not continue to feast, but it was defenseless. I heard that the two Qings laughed and did not believe it. They are extremely chic. After the Jin people broke Sizhou, the Minister of Rites, Wang Chen, heard that the Jin soldiers would attack Yangzhou from the south, and led several officials to ask the court to make countermeasures. The officials discussed the matter with you, and the two Qing families were still not nervous. It is said that he smiled and said to everyone: "What you said sounds similar to what Sanchi Boy said!"..."

Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan finally understood that he intended to convict him, and immediately kowtowed repeatedly in panic, sweating profusely in shock.

Zhao Gou watched indifferently, and finally said: "Jiangning and Hongzhou have beautiful scenery, and they should be suitable places for self-cultivation and retirement. You two might as well go and live there for a while."

The next day, Zhao Gou announced the news of the relationship between the two in the court hall, ordering Huang Qian to know Jiangning Mansion well, and Wang Boyan to know Hongzhou.Shortly thereafter, these two official positions were also gone.

(End of this chapter)