end song

Chapter 694 Loyalty
The cattail fan was still shaking gently, and the fire was burning quite vigorously.

Zhang Jue looked thoughtful, and raised his hand to take down the wine jug on the stove. It was a little hot, but he didn't care. He poured it into the cup, but it was already empty.

"Zhang Mao, go get me some wine..."

Only when he opened his mouth did Zhang Jue realize that he was having a secret discussion with Li Xia today, so he opened the door and took a look outside, only to see that the courtyard was empty, and soldiers were guarding the wall.

"Wait, Feiyu, I'll go get the altar wine."

He walked to the courtyard, breathed in the cold wind, and saw Li Xia's guards resting outside the courtyard, and then remembered whether Li Xia suspected that he had asked someone to surround him and kill him.

This kind of thing will inevitably make people upset, the last thing he wants is that even the brothers Paoze, who were born and died, will become suspicious of each other.

Fortunately, Li Xia didn't have any doubts today, which made people feel refreshed...

Arriving at the wine kiln in the post house, he took a jar of bad wine and returned to the hall. Zhang Jue sat down by the stove again, poured the wine into the jug, and spoke in a dull tone.

"When I joined the army in Diaoyu City, I first followed Ran Zhizhou and Ran Tongpan. The two gentlemen taught me to read and write, and taught me to be loyal to the king and serve the country. After Yu Shuai died, Ran Zhizhou resigned. I followed General Wang, and I was also loyal to the king and served the country. Never I thought about rebelling against the Song Dynasty, you know, Brother Paoze from Diaoyu City has never rebelled against a Mongolian army twenty times larger than himself."

"Well, Mr. Ran Jin and Ran Pu were invited by Yu Shuai to build Diaoyu City, and they have made great contributions to the country. How are they doing now?"

"After Yu Shuai passed away, the two gentlemen returned home. Mr. Da Ran died of illness that year, and Mr. Er Ran died after hearing the news of Meng Ge's death last year."

"Pity."

Li Xia took the cup, clinked it with Zhang Jue, and took a sip.

Zhang Jue took a drink and said, "I don't quite understand what you said, but I know you must be right. This country is not easy to save, as Yu Shuai said back then... But no matter how clear the truth is, I From the bottom of my heart, I feel that I am deeply favored by the country, and I feel guilty for going against the law like this."

"This person is both rational and reckless. He is a man of good temper and high-spirited, so it is inevitable that he will have entanglements." Li Xia said: "I didn't want to embarrass others. I'll let you make a decision. But recently, I found that it can't go any further."

"Let me think."

"it is good."

Li Xia can still say a lot.

For example, the recovery of Guanzhong and Dali; for example, it may not be necessary to raise the flag this time, but it is necessary to be prepared for an incident. The court may be frightened and compromise, allowing Sichuan and Shu to issue coins spontaneously...

For Zhang Jue, it doesn't matter.

Zhang Jue mainly felt that he couldn't pass the test.

Even if there are thousands of things wrong with this Great Song Sheji, he has a loyalty after all...

He has a different idea from Li Xia.

People's thoughts and thoughts are very different. In Sichuan and Shu these years, there was Zhang Shi who was divided by five horses and refused to surrender, and there was also Yang Dayuan who killed the envoy first and then offered the city to surrender.

A person may think differently after a period of time, how can there be a definite number?

The atmosphere in the room became dull.

Zhang Wenjing was a little tired, and squatted in Li Xia's arms.Li Xia gently stroked her hair, not knowing what she was thinking.

They don't feel the presence of outsiders, and such a move would be too intimate.

From the beginning to the end, he was not polite and paid attention to red tape. This was Li Xia expressing his trust in Zhang Jue...

suddenly,

"Let's fight!"

Zhang Jue put down his wine glass heavily, and looked up at Li Xia.

"Let's just have a fight. If I lose, I'll listen to you. If I win, don't ask me to choose. You can find a way to recommend someone to be the deputy commander. Where can I kill the prisoners?" it's the same."

"Come."

Zhang Wenjing sat up suddenly, and immediately regained her spirits.

She was quite looking forward to seeing Li Xia fight with others.

But after that, when Li Xia and Zhang Jue walked into the courtyard, they pulled out their swords with a "swish".

"If you want to fight, you have to do it for real, otherwise you won't get rid of the pimple in your heart, and the fight will be for nothing."

"it is good!"

Zhang Jue stretched his muscles and grinned, the previous dull look disappeared, and there was joy in his eyes.

"Zhang Mao! Bring me my axe!"

"Yes!"

The entourage named Zhang Mao was a member of Zhang Jue's tribe, but he was only sixteen or seventeen years old, and he was a little dumbfounded. Zhang Jue said what he said, and he actually carried a big ax into the courtyard.

Seeing this scene, the guards on both sides panicked.

"Deputy commander, this is too..."

"Master..."

Zhang Wenjing also lost the excitement of watching the excitement, her eyes were a little anxious, she took two steps on the spot, stomped her feet, turned around and went to recruit her guards, and gave instructions in a low voice.

Li Xia and Zhang Jue didn't care, one threw away the scabbard, the other raised the axe, and bumped into each other without saying a word.

"when!"

Fire splashes.

……

The big ax that Zhang Jue was holding looked scary, but he was at a disadvantage during the competition.

A single strike of the ax can cut people to pieces, and he didn't want to take Li Xia's life, so he couldn't help but hold back when he did it.

Li Xia stabbed Zhang Jue with every sword, making it difficult to parry.

Sure enough, after twenty rounds, Zhang Jue struck the air with his ax and was exhausted.

Li Xia suddenly stabbed out with a sword, piercing Zhang Jue's throat.

The angle of this sword is tricky and sophisticated, and the speed is also extremely fast.

The sword light flashed, and Zhang Jue's guards around were shocked.

"Deputy Commander!"

Zhang Jue was too late to react.

The sword came straight to the throat, and he didn't think Li Xia could hold back his strength.

——If you lose your life because of a contest, it would be ridiculous.

This thought flashed, and I felt a little chill in my throat.

The tip of the sword touched Zhang Jue's neck, unexpectedly, the sword stopped just right.

Zhang Jue looked up and couldn't help being a little surprised.

"Good swordsmanship!"

"I won." Li Xia said.

He looked very serious.

Zhang Jue smiled wryly, feeling disappointed and inexplicably relaxed.

In short, I tried my best, and I can feel at ease after making a choice.

Li Xia picked up the scabbard, but didn't say anything more about it, but invited Zhang Jue to enter the hall again.

……

"I have lost..."

"Listen to me first." Li Xia raised his hand and said, "I know you are loyal, so I won't force you. There is still some information for you in Japan today. My people came here in Lin'an. I wanted the court to send you General Wang Jian guarded Longxi, but he was recalled to Lin'an."

"Recall Lin'an?" Zhang Jue's sense of frustration dissipated immediately, and he had a bad premonition in his heart, so he asked in surprise, "Why?!"

"You see."

Li Xia took out the information and handed it over.

Zhang Jue took it quickly and looked at it for a while, his expression becoming more serious.

Anger burst out of his eyes.

"Why?! The court doesn't trust General Wang anymore?!"

"I've been worried about him for a long time." Li Xia said: "You don't have to worry. For the time being, General Wang is fine, but he is just trapped in Lin'an. What I want to say is that the court has already noticed the friendship between you and me. If you If not, it will be difficult to go into battle and kill the enemy..."

Zhang Wenjing sat in the back and glanced at Li Xia again.

She understood best why Li Xia didn't talk about Wang Jian first, but wanted to fight Zhang Jue.

This is exactly where Li Xia is magnanimous and powerful.

Take it out first, even if the thing is true, it will inevitably appear to be provocative, it is better to surrender with force first.

In addition, Li Xia's strategy of persuading Zhang Jue was like this, first dispelling his resistance, and then throwing out the most important thing.

……

Sure enough, the last incident touched Zhang Jue the most.

He recalled the time when he and Wang Jian were stationed in Diaoyu City, as if he could still vividly remember...

Wang Jian first followed Meng Gong to defeat the enemy in Jinghu, then moved to Sichuan and Shu, and followed Yu Jie to attack Hanzhong, defend Shu, and defend Diaoyu City.

In the Battle of Diaoyu City, he killed the Mongolian Khan and made the first contribution, and he has been hidden in the snow since then.

Beheading the Jin national treasure to sacrifice the flag, the words "swear to the death to resist the captives!" still ring in my ears...

Served in the army for 40 years.

40 years of fame, dust and dirt...

"Oh!"

"Boom!"

Zhang Jue stood up suddenly and kicked the flagon in front of him.

The jug shattered and the warm wine splashed all over the floor.

"Damn it! If it's reversed, it's reversed..."

"what!"

The screams suddenly sounded.

With a sound of "du", an arrow has been nailed to the window coffin.

"careful!"

"Enemy attack..."

Li Xia lifted the table case, pulled Zhang Wenjing behind him, and hid behind the table case.

Turning his head again, he saw that Zhang Jue had already hid behind the pillar, the look of grief and indignation on his face was still there, and there was a touch of surprise in his eyes.

Surprised without panic.

"Whose?"

Zhang Jue spoke quickly, and said, "Believe me, it was definitely not arranged by me..."

~~
At the same time, Lin'an.

"Ding Daquan is dead."

"died?"

Cheng Yuanfeng nodded and said, "He moved from the Nankang Army to Guizhou for resettlement, and was killed on the way."

Ye Mengding asked: "Who did it?"

Cheng Yuanfeng shook his head, not caring who killed Ding Daquan.

"It may be that someone in the local area hates him deeply, or it may be that someone in the court instigated him, or even you and my disciples. It is meaningless to investigate this matter. The important thing is that the State Road appeasement envoy and knowledge of the Chongqing government Ma Qian was once recommended by Ding Daquan, and when he heard the news, he was very flustered, so he took refuge in me, and I ordered him to get rid of Li Xia."

"Is it possible?"

"When Wu Xi rebelled, officials from Sichuan and Shu launched troops to attack. Yang Juyuan, An Bing, Zhao Yanna, Li Haoyi, Li Haogu, Li Gui, etc., a vigorous rebellion was put down in only 41 days. More than 70 people The ax broke through the door and entered Wu Xi's place. Li Gui beheaded Wu Xi and dismembered his body."

At this point, Cheng Yuanfeng said: "Ma Qian may not have the ability of these loyal ministers and righteous men, but Li Xia does not have the power of Wu Xi either."

Ye Mengding asked: "When will we do it?"

"It's already started." Cheng Yuanfeng got up, picked up a few letters from the cabinet and put them on the case, saying: "This is Li Xia's reply letter to me years ago. He really refused to enter the court."

He closed his eyes, still feeling disappointed in his heart, disappointed with the officials.

To protect the state of the Song Dynasty, one has to be on guard against all generals. The officials should have issued an edict as soon as they noticed Li Xia's dissent, exempting Li Xia from military power and calling him back to the court.

Unfortunately, officials dare not.Cheng Yuanfeng had no choice but to ask Li Xia if he wanted to.

Presumably both Li Xia and Jia Sidao think that he is rigid in his work and dare not let go.

But, who doesn't have a blindfold?
To this day, do you really think he can't give up?

"We were all deceived by Li Xia. I sent people to ask Ma Qian, and the defenders of Diaoyu City said that Li Xia and Zhang Jue had a deep friendship. The impeachment of each other was for the late emperor. Sure enough, Zhang Jue did not Agree to eradicate Li Xia."

"That's right, Zhang Jue's ancestral home is Fengxiang, so how can he be sincerely loyal to Song Sheji?"

"Ma Qian wants to get rid of Zhang Jue first and control the military power in Chengdu Fulu. I agree." Cheng Yuanfeng said: "Whether this matter is successful or not, I forced the officials to express their views, but Jia Sidao has already seized the handle. This secret order The Chongqing government has acted without authorization, and the crime is heinous...The snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman wins."

Ye Mengding said seriously: "I can share the burden with the right."

"No. Ye Gong is the emperor's teacher, so he should not leave the court just like that. In the future, Jia Sidao must not let Jia Sidao tamper with the coins, follow the law of the public land, and make calculations..."

"The Prime Minister on the right thinks that he is about to be dismissed from office?"

Cheng Yuanfeng nodded and said: "Today, the officials dare not see me again. There are rumors among the palace people that 'every time they threaten to sue the old man and return home, the real officials can only entrust state affairs to these old people'."

"Jia Sidao did it?!"

Anger burst out of Ye Mengding's eyes.

Afterwards, he suddenly felt at a loss, and he couldn't care less about the power struggle with Cheng Yuanfeng, so he tried his best to persuade him to stay: "But if even the right prime minister also resigns, the power of the country..."

"It can't be avoided. Over the past year, the Sacred Heart has gradually fallen on him. Sooner or later, there will be such a catastrophe." Cheng Yuanfeng sighed: "If I can eliminate a powerful vassal for the Song Dynasty before I resign, that will be enough."

(End of this chapter)