Fu Song

Chapter 148
Zhang Yuan was silent for a while, then suddenly laughed and said: "Erlang, Zhang just wants to live freely now, and doesn't want to put a pair of shackles on himself. I don't even want to be a slave of the Zhao family, but you actually want me to be you A servant of the Xiao family? Isn’t this difficult for the strong?”

Xiao Cheng smiled and said: "Master, it's not that you don't want to be a slave to the Zhao family, it's because they don't want you?"

Zhang Yuan's fair face immediately turned red, and his two long eyebrows stood up, obviously a little bit annoyed.

Killing hearts.

Xiao Cheng poked his heart with a knife and sprinkled salt on his wound.

Once a Jinshi in the dynasty, he immediately jumped over the Dragon Gate.

But he, Zhang Yuan, tried his best to jump several times, but every time he was nowhere on the list.Seeing those guys whose talent and learning ability are far inferior to his own get on the top of the list one by one, they are proud and proud, and they have embarked on a broad road since then, but I can only walk forward on a path full of thorns and bumps.

A small country official can also make himself desperate.

The Xiao Erlang in front of him is not comparable to a small country official.

"A certain family has long been disheartened and just wants to live comfortably for the rest of their lives." Zhang Yuan said dejectedly.

"I also want to live comfortably!" Xiao Cheng sneered: "But in this world, is it that we can be at ease when we want to be at ease? If we really want to be at ease, why don't Master Zhang go to the remote mountains and old forests where there are no people? I can bother you. But since you want to live in this world, you are uncomfortable."

"Now under the command of a certain Topi Xiao commander, he is at ease."

"If the Xiao family falls down one day, Master will still be at ease?" Xiao Cheng said: "From Tianmenzhai all the way to Shentang Fort, Master is really just to have three meals a day and have a shelter from the wind and rain. ?”

Zhang Yuan remained silent.

However, Xiao Cheng picked up the wine pot, filled it up for the other party, looked into the other party's eyes with a smile, and said, "There are many things that cannot be done in the direction of Hebei, but there are many things that can be done here. This is why Master followed all the way here. The reason?"

Zhang Yuan stroked his beard, stared at Xiao Cheng, and said slowly: "Why did Erlang say that?"

Xiao Cheng let out a long sigh and said: "Although the master is far away from the temple, he knows the state of the court and the general trend of the world like the palm of his hand. It is certain that my Xiao family will have difficulties in the future, so I am willing to follow my elder brother from Hebei to wait for the fat man." Why don't you come to this poor country?"

Zhang Yuan laughed loudly: "Does Erlang think I'm a fortune teller?"

"Master is counting the world." Xiao Cheng said decisively: "Master is conceited that he is unparalleled in talent and learning. He has the ability to manage the country and govern the country, but he can't even pass a single division of Jinshi. He resents the officials of the Song Dynasty in his heart. , Those high officials in the imperial court have no eyesight and don’t know talents, so they want to give them a good look. But to be honest, if you want to embarrass the officials of the Huangsong Dynasty, unless you vote for the Northern Liao Dynasty, my master, but the Northern Liao Dynasty has been established for hundreds of years. It also has a long history, and it is still extremely difficult for them to get ahead, and the master is from the south, so it is even more difficult. So the master has been planning for a long time, and finally chose my eldest brother."

Zhang Yuan's back was slightly raised, his head and neck were raised, and the previous decadence or cynicism on his face disappeared without a trace at this moment. After Xiao Cheng finished speaking, he tilted his neck and drank the bowl with a smile. He smiled and said, "Erlang was wrong about one thing."

"I don't know which one is wrong?" Xiao Cheng spread his hands and said.

Zhang Yuan pointed to the empty bowl in front of him.

Xiao Cheng smiled and filled him up again.

"There was a time when I was really disheartened, and I really had to prepare to live my life honestly like this." Zhang Yuandao: "The Zhao family has supported scholars for a hundred years, and they are deeply rooted. If I want revenge, there is really nowhere to start." Even if the natives in the south of the great river want to make a scene from time to time, they can't make a difference."

"I don't know when Master regained his spirit?" Xiao Cheng asked.

"It was King Jing who arrived in Hebei, and it was your elder brother who shocked the border. Of course, more importantly, I saw the letters you wrote to your brother." Zhang Yuan said with a smile.

"My letter?" Xiao Cheng's eyes widened.

"That's right." Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "Your eldest brother is really not a man who knows how to read and write, and he is proficient in copywriting, so I always let me do it for him. In your letters, there are more than just some Parents are short, and there are often some methods of governing the army, etc., so your elder brother asked me to sort it out so that I can study and use it, so I read all your letters one by one."

"So it is!" Xiao Cheng suddenly realized.

"From those letters, I actually saw a person who is extremely far-sighted and unwilling to be subordinated to others, who is unwilling to be manipulated by others, and who is unwilling to hand over his destiny to others to control." Zhang Yuan said with a smile: "From those In the letter, I actually saw that you are trying your best to influence the way of thinking and behavior of your elder brother. At the beginning, your elder brother was a real general who was extremely loyal to the emperor, but now, haha, it is not necessarily the case , because he has his own ideas. And this is the credit you have made over the years."

"You put in a lot of effort, right?" Xiao Cheng snorted coldly.

Zhang Yuan said with a smile: "I see the same thing as you, and I am not optimistic about the future of your Xiao family at all. Your father is a qualified third envoy, but he is not a qualified bureaucrat. He is alone The way you do this will put your Xiao family in danger. If you succeed, you will be ruled by the people for generations, and if you lose, your family will perish. And this is obviously not what you want. Therefore, you have to find a way out. In Hebei, obviously this condition is not Only here can we have this prerequisite. Erlang, you tried your best to influence so many people overtly and secretly, and finally made the imperial court transfer your elder brother here, I am so impressed."

"I'm in Bianliang, and it's not difficult to do these things!" Xiao Cheng said: "Since Master sees it so thoroughly, why do I have to push back when I come to invite you today? Are you waiting for the price? ?”

Zhang Yuan sat up straight and said seriously, "I don't want to be a servant of the Zhao family, so naturally I don't want to be a servant of your Xiao family in the future. I want to see what Erlang can give me?"

Xiao Cheng nodded: "I am looking for a comrade in arms, a companion. I don't need a slave. If you are like this, so is Tuoba Yangwei. In the future, there may be many, many people joining in."

"Companion, comrade-in-arms!" Zhang Yuan murmured again: "Erlang's conditions are indeed very attractive."

"How? Master, would you like to be the shopkeeper of Hengshan Trading?" Xiao Cheng asked with a smile.

"Of course I am willing. I have been willing since you asked me the first sentence." Zhang Yuan nodded and said: "But there is one thing, Erlang needs to understand that this road is not easy to walk."

"Of course, whether it is the Great Song Dynasty or the Northern Liao Dynasty, they have been established for many years and have deep roots. It is impossible to shake them. Therefore, our goal has never been them." Xiao Cheng said : "The world is very big, there are many places for us to use our hands and feet."

"Erlang, you have mastered the Hengshan party project, so you have a foothold. Dalang has laid down Yanzhou, which can be regarded as a temporary solution to the source of finance." Zhang Yuandao: "But the next road is really difficult. Because we not only have to Faced with Li Xu's counterattack and the plot from behind, Ma Xing won't just let it go."

"Ma Xing wants to take advantage of my elder brother's ability to conquer and fight, but also wants to turn him into an obedient colt. If he asks too much, he will inevitably get nothing!" Xiao Cheng said lightly: "Master, go to Hengshan for business. Master, no matter what kind of demons and ghosts come here, there is always a way to deal with it, some things, our brothers are not easy to come forward, you go and end it, but there will be no future troubles."

Zhang Yuan nodded: "It's a trivial matter."

"Defeating Li Xu is only our first step. Taking Xingqing Mansion, controlling Gan Ning, and firmly holding Hetao, a place of victory, will give us a real foundation." Xiao Cheng said excitedly : "Li Xu is an idiot. He has wasted so many years of good time, place and people. He is undefeated. It is really unreasonable. When we control this place, it will be another matter."

"The majestic Hengshan can stop the soldiers of the Song Dynasty, and the vast yellow sand can make the people of the Liao Kingdom daunting!" Zhang Yuan dipped his finger in the wine, and with a few strokes on the bluestone board, he drew the piece that Xiao Cheng said in his mouth territory.

"There is fertile land that can be used as a granary, and land where horses are herded can be used to raise war horses. In ten years, we will surely be able to stand on top of each other!" Zhang Yuan clenched his fists. "At that time, Zhang did not ask for anything else, but only wanted to be a friend for ten years."

Xiao Cheng laughed loudly, dipped his hand in the wine, drew a few more strokes in the northwest direction, and said, "Master, come and see these places."

"Qingtang, Western Region?" Zhang Yuan asked in surprise.

"Exactly. After we really have a firm foothold, is there any reason not to go to these places? Since the collapse of the Tubo Dynasty, the land of Qingtang has become a land without an owner. The land is almost like this, if we can take these two places, come and see how vast the territory we will control will be then?"

"The land is too big, there are no people, no wealth for development, what's the use?" Zhang Yuan spread his hands and said: "That will only be a burden."

"That depends on the talents of the people who govern?" Xiao Cheng smiled lightly: "In the eyes of some people, it is a burden, but in the eyes of others, it is an endless source of wealth."

Zhang Yuan looked at Xiao Cheng and said, "Okay, I'll wait and see when the time comes."

"Master, let's take office tomorrow!" Xiao Cheng said, "I've already found a teacher who will take over from you as a teacher. There are too many things to do next, but you can't waste even a moment."

(End of this chapter)