end song

Chapter 1247 Interlude
At the junction of Baozhou Shuaifu Hutong and Lianhua Street, there is actually a small teahouse still open.

There were no customers in the teahouse, only a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion and a sickly appearance was sitting in the private room on the second floor.

He sat on the window seat and silently watched the busy people on the long street, looking a bit bored.

Until someone walked into the teahouse, walked up the steps silently, entered the private room, and said: "I heard that Erlang has been recuperating for many days, but today he is in a good mood to come out to drink tea."

"Why is Secretary Lin here?" Zhang Hongji turned his head and greeted with a smile, and poured tea for Lin Zi himself.

Lin Zi was not polite, sat down, picked up the teacup and drank it in one gulp, then picked up the kettle on the side and poured it in.

The number of times they actually met was not much, but because Zhang Hongji helped the Military Intelligence Department's activities in Hebei more often, the relationship between the two was pretty good.

A few days ago, Zhang Hongji also asked Lin Zi for a personal matter...in fact, he asked about Yuan Yan's current situation.

At that time, Lin Zi explained Yuan Yan's schedule for going north.

I didn't want to, but it became an embarrassment today.

So the Tang army crossed Baigou and continued to approach Zhuozhou.

"Do you think you can hide it?!"

Zhang Hongji became more and more ashamed, and said: "Your Majesty has heavy national affairs, and when the great cause of expelling the barbarians is about to be accomplished, you still have to worry about your faults. I am sorry for your Majesty."

Zhang Hongji's face became more and more sluggish, and he asked, "Are you angry with me?"

Zhang Hongji's sallow complexion became more and more gloomy, and he said with a wry smile: "This is the reason why I can't recover from my illness. There are too many things for this family."

"Meet Your Majesty, I have committed a crime, and I am here to plead guilty to Your Majesty."

Brother Yixiang had just returned, but he failed to bring back the cannons and siege equipment that had been transported so hard to Baozhou to attack the city. The morale of the defeated army was low, and they retreated to Zhuozhou after only one round of fighting.

"To be honest, I should offer you a toast. If Erlang hadn't taken action in the past few years, the Military Intelligence Department would not have been able to gain a foothold in Hebei."

"I dare not think so."

Hearing these yells, Zhang Hongqing walked past the school grounds and walked all the way into his military tent. When he saw Zhang Hongji in it, he was slightly taken aback, but did not show a good face.

"Okay...it's just that my father is old, and if he finds out about this, he will inevitably be angry and hurt himself. Can you give me another three or four days, and let Eleven Lang surrender after my father leaves Baozhou with the army."

"Not long ago, a group of Meng Yuan remnants in the city were cleaned up, and the matter has already come to an end. However, some of them confessed that Lingdi Shishilang was involved in this matter."

This is the underlying reason behind this incident.

~~
The next day, Lianchi Palace.

"Chen..." Zhang Hong basically wanted to deny it, but after thinking about it, he replied: "Chen really thought about it."

"Your Majesty always treats law enforcement equally." Lin Zi quickly raised his hand, and after pondering for a while, he said: "For the sake of our friendship, let me remind you that if Shi Shilang surrenders, at least the Zhang family will not be implicated."

"If you have the ability, you can try to be this proton?!"

"Do you still know why you dared to make such a fool at that time?!"

In Baozhou City, the troops to attack Yanjing are still gathering.

~~
Three days later, the Tang army, with Zhang Rou and Zhang Hongdao as commanders, led [-] soldiers and horses ahead, and forced them to Wusui City.

As soon as Zhang Hongji entered the hall, he immediately knelt down, put his head on the ground, and remained motionless.

It has to be said that Zhang Hongqing's Chinese has improved rapidly, and although he still has a Mongolian accent, he is quite fluent.

"What does the second brother want?"

Li Xia was still asking about the progress of the troops going north, but a servant hurried forward to report in a low voice.

Zhang Hongqing was taken aback for a moment, then became suspicious, and said, "I don't understand what Second Brother is saying."

"Can I ask His Majesty for a favor? After all, the Zhang family is..."

After being yelled by Zhang Hongji, Zhang Hongqing was petrified.

He raised his eyes and took a sneak peek, only to see that the young emperor was also thinking about something, his expression was very flat, but there was a hint of displeasure.

So Li Xia raised his hand, suspended the discussion in the hall, moved to another hall, and invited Zhang Hongji and Lin Zi to meet.

The two people in the military tent could also feel their excitement.

Every time a team finishes queuing up, there will be a loud shout.

"No, I will die." Zhang Hongqing flatly refused, shaking his head, and said, "I tell you, many people are now staring at the Zhang family, wanting to make a mistake of the Zhang family, so that they can cut our power after using us." .This matter will be made a big fuss about.”

"Then Eleven Lang?"

"It's hard to say, if it is placed in the Song Dynasty, it is a serious crime to sneak into the enemy's country."

Not counting the time when Tong Guan bought Yanjing back then, this was the first time that soldiers and horses of the Han Dynasty crossed the Song-Liao border after the Song-Liao-Chanyuan Alliance.

"I am ashamed, please punish me severely!"

"Yes, it's good to get some air." Lin Zi nodded endlessly.

"Then all those who have made great contributions to the country rely on the iron certificates of the Dan Shu and ignore the laws and regulations. What kind of chaos will the world look like?"

Zhang Hongji glanced out of the window as if inadvertently, and said: "I made Lin Sishi laugh at me. Although I want to see my old friend, it's not all. I'm bored at home, so it's good to come out to get some air."

Zhang Hongji said: "What did you do? Don't remember?"

Lin Zi reminded again: "Erlang persuade him to surrender as soon as possible."

He took two steps back in a daze, not knowing what to do.

"How much have you paid? Why don't you ask why you can live in such troubled times?"

With his temperament, he would not have leaked the news to Zhang Hongji in advance, but directly took people.

"Then what should I do? Am I like you? You are all close to His Majesty, and you all understand the situation. What about me? How can I know? I am a proton! All I have heard all my life is that the Great Mongolian Kingdom is invincible, and I have not even You know exactly what kind of person Li Xia is, but you put a knife on his neck, how could I have a bottom? And what did I do? They found me, and I didn't do anything. I just... Back from the prairie, I’m too dazed, are you guilty?”

"Surrender gas."

Lin Zi also quickly knelt down and said, "I am also guilty."

Lin Zi didn't dare to stay for long, so he left the teahouse in a hurry.

"How should I put it, the evidence for this matter is solid, and there is no excuse. The sooner you surrender yourself, the better your life will be saved." Lin Zi pondered, and said: "I have found out by now, it is already a bit late .”

"Then do you know why I stopped you?"

For example, Zhang Hongqing was dissatisfied, and Dong Wenyong believed that it was in Li Xia's interest to use a small plan to deal with the Zhang family.

Zhang Hongji sighed, stood up, looked outside, and said: "The great cause of unification is right in front of you. Look at them, they are united and ambitious. Why bother the Zhang family because you have lost your head?"

Zhang Hongji raised his hand, and slapped Zhang Hongqing's face again...

"Sixth team!"

However, Zhang Rou's prestige is too high, the war has been going on, and there are various other reasons, which make the Zhang family seem to be far stronger than other princes.

Zhang Hongji raised his hand and slapped his younger brother, saying, "What did you say?"

The dust on the school grounds was flying high, but it couldn't cover the excitement of the soldiers making contributions.

"Are you taking advantage of your previous achievements and thinking that you can bear this crime, so you let him go?"

Li Xia sighed slightly and looked at Lin Zi.

"Yes." Zhang Hongqing said bluntly, "If my second elder brother didn't stop me from going out a few days later, I would have made a contribution with my father."

It's just that he also understands some of the secrets behind this matter, and thinks that this is the aftermath of Kublai Khan's use of Zhang Hongfan to stir up internal fighting between Zhang and Dong.

"Do you think that I deliberately suppressed the Zhang family for the sake of the Gao family, or for balance?"

However, Li Xia quickly calmed down his anger, waved his hand, and said, "Cover up your relatives and friends, and hand it over to Dali Temple."

"You are sick, I am disabled, you want to keep me with you."

"Your Majesty, yes."

Therefore, some people in the Zhang family felt uneasy about the loss of power.There are still many courtiers who believe that the Zhang family should continue to be weakened.

"I did not do anything……"

"..."

Lin Zi hesitated for a while, stood up and said: "Then I will press this matter for Erlang for a few more days, Erlang as soon as possible."

"Sishi Lin has a heart, so he came here to tell me." Zhang Hongji smiled very freely, and said, "Toast Sishi Lin with tea instead of wine."

"You don't dare to think so?" Li Xia slapped the chair suddenly, and scolded, "Why don't you consider whether other people will think this way when you commit a crime?!"

"Why is Second Brother here?"

Zhang Hongji hurriedly said: "The crime lies with the minister alone, please punish him severely by Your Majesty."

"Seventh leads the fifth team, all members are here!"

At this time, the shouts of the soldiers sounded again in the distance.

Zhang Hongji frowned upon hearing this, and after hearing the details, he couldn't help asking: "What will happen to him?"

Zhang Hongqing wanted to resist, but he couldn't resist with only one hand. He couldn't help red-eyed, and shouted: "How much I have paid for the Zhang family, but I have become a useless person in the end, why?"

"So you let Zhang Hongqing go?"

"There is no quiet time for state affairs and family affairs? It is precisely because the present is a critical time, and even a small matter must be handled carefully so as not to cause disaster." Li Xia said: "Are you convinced by my handling of you?"

Zhang Hongqing's expression changed completely, and he said in shock, "Second brother? You..."

Lin Zi said, leaned forward a little, and said: "However, I came here today. Apart from this matter, I have another matter to talk about."

Feeling the solemnity in his tone, Zhang Hongji was a little surprised, and said, "What's the matter?"

Since the Liu family, Dong family, and Shi family were all deprived of military power when they returned, Li Xia would of course have to deprive him of power when he arrived at the Zhang family.

After hesitating for a while, Lin Zi said: "I just came from the Lianchi Palace and saw Yuan Shangshu's car driving towards the academy. She probably won't come."

"Go and plead guilty to His Majesty."

"You are right. The reason for this incident is that Kublai Khan asked Zhang Hongfan to kill people to show his loyalty. But in fact, there is another reason because I want to cut the power of the Marquis."

"The emperor's relatives are improper, but you want to rebel?!"

After Zhang Hongji finished speaking, he waited for a long time, but Li Xia did not speak.

"Thank you."

"Your Majesty." Lin Zi stepped forward and said, "I failed to settle this matter."

Zhang Hongji was startled, kowtowed again quickly, and said, "I... didn't think carefully, and made a big mistake."

In fact, if someone wanted to deal with the case of the Zhang family strictly, the crime of collaborating with the enemy could be convicted, so Li Xia made a special statement to punish Zhang Hongji for the crime of covering up.

"Power needs to be cut, meritorious service needs to be rewarded, and internal strife needs to be eliminated. Hebei Xinfu must finally deal with these remaining troubles."

Li Xia was in a hurry to get Yanjing, so it was a bit annoying to encounter such a thing.

However, when I think about it again, the closer I am to success, the easier it is to make such a small mistake.

Also, the troubles that Kublai Khan and Jia Sidao have encountered all the time will only be more and more difficult. One has to consider the loyalty of Hanchen, and the other has to bear the 300-year corruption of the Song Dynasty...

(End of this chapter)