The Song Dynasty has been deliberate for 16 years, only to know that it is the Water Margin

Chilechuan, at the foot of Yinshan Mountain.

The sky is like a dome, covering the four fields.

The sky is blue, the wild is vast.

The wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep.

The army marched north and reached the grassland first. The sky and earth were vast and the scenery was desolate.

At this time, the grass in the north is withered and yellow, the autumn wind is blowing, the sky is high and the clouds are light, and the fallen leaves are flying in colorful colors.

Standing on the grassland, Zhao Tong said to Xiao Min: "The weather is getting colder now, so it is better to go hunting first before going to Shangjing. Otherwise, after going to Shangjing and Panhuan, the weather will get colder and hunting will be difficult."

Before Xiao Min could say anything, little Zhao Yue'er clapped her hands and said that she also wanted to try hunting.

Zhao Tong made her a small bow and cut a dozen small arrows. It was impossible to shoot animals. She could barely shoot some birds, but it also depended on her accuracy.

Little Zhao Yue had never learned archery, so Zhao Tong asked Zhao Zheng to teach her. She learned quickly, so she seemed to have good talent.

The army slowly came to a place suitable for encampment. There was a small river and green mountains on the side. The remaining sides were all flat and endless prairie.

Set up camp here and then organize the army. This location is a few hundred miles east of Shangjing.

The journey to the west is endless and vast.

We started hunting the next day and planned a route, heading west. Although heading east was closer to Shangjing, the wild animals were the most numerous heading west.

Most wild beasts seek good fortune and avoid evil. They stay away from human cities and live in the mountains, forests and grasslands of nature.

This is why there is talk of safari on the grasslands. People graze herds and live in pursuit of water and grass, and hunt in pursuit of wild beasts.

Hunters on the grassland are not stationary in hunting. Like herdsmen, they move around chasing wild beasts and prey.

So since Zhao Tong and the others wanted to hunt, it was best to go far away from the city and chase them all the way.

After leaving the camp and chasing west, Zhao Tong divided his 10,000 soldiers into three teams.

The first group of 3,000 people, led by his own family, went west for hunting.

The second team of 6,000 people fell about fifty miles behind the first team. They did not catch up or fall behind. They were just protecting their tail.

The third team, with 1,000 men, stayed behind to guard the main camp.

The first group of 3,000 men blew up ancient horns, blasted their horns, flew into the sky, and hunted to the west.

Every time he passed a mile of land, he would fly a dysprosium to calculate the mileage of the grassland.

This is the sound of the wind and clouds, the snap of the fingers and the thunder, and the beacon is transmitted from the end of the road.

The big eagle's wings were untied by Zhao Tong in advance, and he was puzzled. The eagle's legs were split when it walked, and it was impossible for it to survive to Beijing.

Most birds can only hop when they walk on the ground. Unless they are large poultry, they can walk continuously. Even eagles and hawks will hop after walking a few steps. They cannot run on the ground for a long time.

The big eagle was flying across the sky at this time. Little Zhao Yue wanted to go to the sky, but was frightened back by Zhao Tong's glare.

She and Xiao Min rode together, but Zhao Tong did not dare to ask her to ride the horse by herself.

Her calves are short, and the horse is not as smart as a big eagle, so it will not protect her. It is extremely dangerous to ride on it by yourself.

Five days later, the safari was hundreds of miles away, and the harvest was extremely rich.

In addition to what was grilled and eaten on the road, there was also a lot of game left over, which was all pickled and stored.

Along the way, we also met some people grazing on the grasslands. They were basically from all ethnic groups, but we didn't see any Tatars.

Zhao Tong had previously ordered General Lu to kill and exterminate them, and they had almost completely eliminated them. All the tribes were defeated, and few of the remaining troops fled to the barren land in the northwest. Not even one of the Atu tribe of the main tribe of Hebule was left behind.

After another two days, we started to return. At this moment, it was just right to see the scenery. Zhao Yu was moved by the scene and wrote a long poem, which he asked Xiao Zhao Yue to recite. Xiao Zhao Yue was so frightened when he saw the dense small characters that he could not even recognize half of it. Less than.

In the end, it was Xiao Min who taught her word for word, and she was able to memorize it silently.

Zhao Tong asked her to memorize everything before going to Beijing. She was unhappy and kept pouting and ignoring Zhao Tong.

The three armies and horses gradually gathered together, and the horses on the grassland were fast, and they arrived at Shangjing in less than ten days.

At this time, General Lu was in charge of the capital. General Lu was appointed as the Northeastern Xuanfu Controller and envoy, holding many positions.

After managing the Zhongjing Road and Shangjing Road, he was appointed as the Chief Protector of the Northeast Protectorate to manage the affairs of the Northeast Three Roads.

At present, Baishan and Heishui are in the midst of a major migration. Many lands in the Central Plains and even the south have been annexed and people who have lost their farmland are escorted by soldiers to move here if they are willing.

Although Baishan Heishui is severely cold in winter, it will become full of life as soon as spring begins. The real black land is suitable for growing various crops.

Moreover, ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum, mushrooms, fungus, and grass in the mountains can all be exchanged for money. There are also magical scenes of beating roe deer with sticks and ladles to scoop out fish, and pheasants flying into the rice pot.

Living and reproducing here, at least they have no worries about their livelihood. The people who moved here all applauded and praised them. They had lost their land and had no skills. When they arrived at Baishan Heishui, not only did the officials divide the land, but they also had many sundries that could be exchanged for money. Life seemed to be getting better. No one wants to go back to the southern part of the Central Plains.

These days, having enough food and clothing is a good life, and if you have some extra money, you will be as happy as a god.

General Lu went out of the city to greet him, and then went to the capital to settle down. He first asked about the military affairs, General Lu reported one by one, and then asked about the people's livelihood. Zhao Tong nodded with satisfaction.

Then General Lu said that His Majesty was here just in time, so he would take care of some official duties so that he could go to Baishan and Blackwater for a trip, and go north from Liaoyang to Huining to observe the improvement of public sentiment. It would take some time before he could return.

Zhao Tong angrily said, "I am here for vacation, how can you arrange errands for me?" General Lu just complained, then ran away, and took people to Liaoyang the next day.

Zhao Tong was helpless when he thought about it. He had very few internal affairs talents, and many officials from the old dynasty did not want to use them. As a result, one person often held multiple positions at the moment. Generals like General Lu who had finished the war had to devote themselves to various local affairs and were extremely busy.

After thinking about it for a day, he wrote an edict and sent it to the disciples of Zhongshu in Tokyo. He asked Zhang to publish the imperial list and ordered the bachelor's promotion departments in various places to open the Enke selection next spring, and to inform all the academies.

It is not enough to just rely on the imperial college to select officials, and the three-house system also has many disadvantages. Those with backgrounds and connections can enter through operations. How different is this from the recommendation system before the Sui Dynasty?
Then, he started to deal with things in Beijing and Beijing. He was overwhelmed. It wasn't that he couldn't do it. In fact, many things were trivial and he had to report them to his superiors. How could he bear this?

But at this time, the north had just been pacified, and there were many foreign races. It would take time to naturalize, and we couldn't have similar jurisdiction as in the Central Plains, so we had to endure it and thought about recruiting two more people from the direct line to share the burden.

When I arrived in Beijing, I naturally stayed at the Liaoxi County Prince's Mansion. The plaque on the mansion was still intact, and everything inside was as before. Xiao Min was filled with emotion and his eyes were wet, but Xiao Zhao Yue looked around curiously, asking questions. When the big eagle saw his former monastery, he could not help but flap his wings happily, jump and shake, and dived in.

Xiao Zhao Yue pestered Xiao Min to talk about what happened back then. Xiao Min kept saying that it was not good for children, so she would wait until they grow up.

I went to pay homage to Xiao Min's parents' graves again. The two remaining members of You Yan's Eighteen Cavalry built a thatched cottage next to the grave to guard them. They were both gray-haired and much older than when they first met Zhao Tong more than ten years ago.

Both of them had tears in their eyes when they saw Xiao Min. Xiao Min wanted to take them back to the capital, but they both shook their heads and refused, saying that they would guard the tomb until death. As long as the princess lived a good life, they would be happy enough.

Xiao Min was helpless and couldn't bear it, so Zhao Tong ordered a team of soldiers to be stationed inside and outside so that they could take care of him and notify the city in time if something happened.

The days passed like this, and finally it was the beginning of winter.

The weather was a bit cold, but it hadn't snowed yet. There was nothing going on today. Zhao Tong wanted to go out for a walk, so he asked Xiao Min where to go.

Xiao Min thought for a while and then said she wanted to go to the Great Buddhist Temple in the south of the city to offer incense. When she lived in Shangjing, she never went to the temple in the north of the city and only wanted to go to the south of the city.

Zhao Tong nodded. He had been to Beipo Temple before leaving Tokyo, but he had not gone to the Great Buddhist Temple in the south. He just took this opportunity to see how different this temple was.

The Great Buddha Temple also has a vast Zen forest and a magnificent pagoda, but it is not as glorious as the Beipo Temple. After all, the Beipo Temple had received incense from the nobles of Shangjing for hundreds of years, and most of them were short of money. Although the Jurchens looted everything after they captured Shangjing, this temple The construction was completed early.

The Great Buddha Temple is mostly supported by common people. It is relatively simple, but it is not barren. It has everything it should have. Although its appearance is quite different from that of Beipo Temple, the golden statue of the Buddha is not ambiguous at all.

Zhao Tong brought a pair of children, three apprentices, Ouyang Bei and the three brothers of the Bai family, Lu Han, Xu Jiang and four other sworn brothers. He also led dozens of soldiers dressed in plain clothes and arrived in front of the Great Buddha Temple.

At this time, the war is over, life is stable, laws are in place, people are recuperating and living and working in peace and contentment.

The area in front of the Big Buddha Temple is also very lively.

Although the weather has entered winter, it is not particularly cold because there is no snow. It is the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, and people are coming and going, noisily, and various stalls are spread out for several miles. Vice-city bustling scene.

Gao Chong opened the way in front. He was broad and powerful, and he dragged many of the incense-wandering people away, making them angry and angry. But when he looked back at the large group of people, he jumped out of the way, but he couldn't help but secretly curse in his heart.

Little Zhao Yuesui was short and Yuan Ying was holding him. The two of them had endless things to say, but Zhao Yue listened and listened and always felt that little Zhao Yue was trying to match Yuan Ying's words. He asked questions and seemed to want to Ask this silly apprentice to take her to play in Hexi.

Uneasy, Zhao Tong had a headache.

There are two doors to enter the Great Buddha Temple, one is the main door with three openings, and there is also a side door.

Although this side door is not as grand as the main door, there are four big characters written next to it, which is clearly "the most auspicious place".

It is not easy to enter the temple from this side. Because it is the most auspicious place, you cannot enter empty-handed. You have to make offerings. Even if you take incense, it does not count. You have to donate money. Of course, the donation is not in vain. You can leave your name.

Naturally, the name of the most auspicious place will not be left in the temple. Instead, the name of the person who donated the money will be written in the back of the book and given the title of layman.

Zhao Tong looked at Xiao Min and asked, "Where did you go to come here before?"

Xiao Min said: "Nature is the most auspicious place."

Zhao Tong smiled: "Then it's the most auspicious place to go. It should be efficacious, otherwise how could Thirteenth Mother meet me?"

Xiao Min blushed and couldn't say shy words in front of many subordinates, so she said: "Just listen to Erlang."

When we arrived at the gate, it was natural that so many people couldn't let them all in, so we asked the soldiers to guard outside while the rest made arrangements to go inside.

Most of the people who came here presented copper coins, and there was very little silver. Now the Liao coins have been exchanged for Song coins, and most of them are newly minted Jingkang Tongbao. The coins with this year's name do not have the thin gold body signed by Emperor Daojun, but they are There are nine seal characters, but they are not as beautiful and regular as Daguanzhenghe and other coins.

Zhao Tong ordered a hundred taels of silver to be sent, not counting the number of heads, which immediately alerted the deacon monk at the door.

Generally speaking, there are positions within the temple, and there are various leaders in each place, and they are further subdivided into certain monk heads. For example, before Ruda was in charge of the vegetable garden at Daxiangguo Temple in Tokyo, that was the head monk. Now the great monk in charge of this most auspicious place is the head monk. It's the door.

The doorman heard that a big benefactor had arrived and hurried over to sell it. However, he was not a young monk, but an old monk with white beard and hair, who looked like a Buddhist practitioner.

The old monk clasped his palms together, pronounced the Buddha's name, and looked at the crowd. He couldn't help but rub his eyes when he was about to speak: "Yes, is it Master Xiao?"

Xiao Min recognized the old monk. In the past, when she came to burn incense in Beijing, the old monk was in charge of this sect. She was generous and felt familiar with him. At this moment, she smiled and said, "Master Hongyuan, it's been a long time since we last met."

The old monk hurriedly said: "It's been a long time since I last saw Master Xiao. I'm afraid it's been five or seven years. How is Master Xiao doing?"

Xiao Min has been visiting and worshiping at the Great Buddha Temple for many years. The old monk knows his identity to some extent. It seems that few nobles like this come to Nancheng, and even fewer come to the Great Buddha Temple. How could he not pay attention to receiving him carefully?

However, before the Jurchens could fight, something big happened in the capital, which made everyone aware that it was the layman Xiao who ran away from his marriage to Shi Linya and eloped with an outsider.

At that time, no one knew the identity of the "outsider". After all, the Yelv Dashi Mansion was tight-lipped. The old monk also thought that layman Xiao had been bewitched and lost his mind. It was a pity not to leave despite Lin Ya's good marriage.

But later, the Jin soldiers attacked the city and went to Beijing to defeat it. This old incident was immediately revealed. There were rumors in the market that it was the Supreme Master from the south who took away the layman Xiao.

This thing was rumored to be evil, and all the Jurchens said so. In the temple, because this laywoman Xiao had been a great benefactor for many years, many monks, including the abbot and the abbot, knew about her, and the rumor was even more magical.

It's just that no one can be sure whether it was a rumor or not. Later, when the Jin soldiers were defeated and no one talked about it, they gradually stopped talking about it. But I didn't expect that this layman Xiao would come back to Beijing today and come to the temple to offer incense.

The old monk chanted the Buddha's name again and saw the man next to Layman Xiao. The man was also looking at him.

It can be said that the old monk has met countless people in his life, especially in the past few decades, when he has been a doorman, his eyes are very poisonous, and his identity can be seen through at a glance.

He saw that the group was dominated by men, and even Master Xiao was not in the middle. At this moment, his heart skipped a beat.

If the rumors are true, then the person in front of me is...

The old monk suppressed his nervousness and hurriedly bowed to the man: "This donor, I, I have a reason here..."

Zhao Tong touched his chin and glanced at Xiao Min. Xiao Min was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Master Hongyuan, you..."

"The noble man is here, I deserve this gift!" The old monk thought to himself, no matter whether it is true or not, even if the rumors are false, this is definitely an extraordinary person. If you are righteous and polite, many people will not blame you, but if you are polite, you will not Something went wrong.

Hearing this, Zhao Tong laughed and said, "You are quite interesting as a monk. In that case, why don't you lead the way?"

Upon hearing this, the old monk immediately turned sideways and said respectfully: "Donor, please, please..."

Zhao Tong nodded, said hello, and led everyone towards the temple.

(End of this chapter)