big song poppi

Chapter 514 0511 [It’s a good seedling]

When he learned that His Majesty was coming to inspect the Fifth Northwest Road, Yao Gu took it very seriously and immediately began to organize his army.

However, before His Majesty arrived, the Xixia envoy arrived first.

"Envoy from Xixia?"

Listening to the guard's report, Yao Gu couldn't help but frown slightly.

Zhongshizhong sneered: "That kid Li Qianshun must have been frightened when he learned that His Majesty was coming, and sent envoys to test him."

Yao Gu asked: "Who is the Lord, and how is it now?"

The guard replied: "The envoy is Cao Jie, the Minister of the Xixia Kingdom, and he has now arrived at the border."

Yao Gu ordered: "Let him enter."

When an envoy comes to visit, he cannot make the decision and it is up to His Majesty to deal with it.

A few days later, the envoy led by Cao Jie arrived at Yan'an Mansion. When they learned that the Emperor of Qi had not arrived, they stayed at the Guanyi Station in the city.

half a month later.

Han Zhen led his army to successfully reach Yan'an Prefecture.

Taiyuan Prefecture is not far from Yan'an Prefecture. The reason why it took half a month was mainly to receive the prefectures, counties and towns along the way, and a lot of time was wasted to appease the local people.

Outside Yan'an Mansion.

Yao Gu and Zhong Shizhong led a group of generals to pick him up outside the city.

Not long after, a group of cavalry came first and lined up to protect them.

Immediately afterwards, Han Zhen, escorted by a group of Xuanjia Army guards, came on horseback.

Looking at the large banner fluttering in the wind, Master Zhong and others clasped their fists and saluted, and all shouted: "General, I will pay homage to Your Majesty!"

"My dear friends, there is no need to be polite. Please get up quickly."

Han Zhen turned over and dismounted, and helped the two of them up with a smile on his face.

Although Master Zhong is over fifty, his body is still strong and full of vitality. Yao Gu's complexion was a little worse. After all, he was hit by an arrow in the chest when he rushed to help Taiyuan last year. Although it was not life-threatening, he was old after all, and his body and bones could not be compared with that of a strong young man.

A group of generals behind the two men quietly looked at Han Zhen. Seeing his extraordinary prowess, they felt even more reverence in their hearts.

Looking around the generals, Han Zhen praised: "Good generals, brave soldiers, high morale, the Western Army deserves to be an elite division."

Yao Gu said humbly: "Your Majesty's praise is not comparable to that of the Qingzhou Army."

Han Zhen said seriously: "The soldiers of the Western Army are not bad, but they lack food and clothing. The pseudo-Song Dynasty is immoral and treats the soldiers like cattle and horses."

These words can be said to have spoken to the hearts of all the generals.

The soldiers were short of food and clothing, and had not received military pay for many years. That was all. But the most important thing was that the imperial court tried its best to suppress it. They labeled Qiu Ba and a thief as a soldier. Even generals and colonels were just higher-class cows and horses, groveling in front of civil servants and doing whatever they wanted. There is no dignity in scolding or killing.

Han Zhen continued: "But life will be easier in the future. I promise you here that the soldiers of the Western Army will be well fed and clothed, and their military pay will be equal to every penny. Those who have merit will be rewarded, and those who have committed mistakes will be punished. Civil and military officials will share the same dynasty." , the difference is clear!”

"Hail, Your Majesty!!!"

All the generals and commanders were filled with excitement and shouted in unison.

Mainly because in the past few months when Qi State took over the Fifth Northwest Route, the treatment of the Western Army has indeed improved a lot. Not only do they have new clothes and enough food, but even the long-lost salary has begun to be paid out on a monthly basis.

People's hearts are made of flesh, and they can distinguish between good and bad. Compared with what Zhao and Song did, the Western Army naturally wanted Qi from top to bottom.

Seeing the wind blowing, Yao Gu suggested: "Your Majesty, the wind and sand outside the city are strong, why not go into the city first."

"Go to the military camp first."

Han Zhen ordered.

"Wei Chen takes orders."

Yao Gu responded, and then he and Zhongshi acted as grooms, leading Han Zhen's horses to the left and right, all the way to the military camp.

In the military camp, tens of thousands of soldiers of the Western Army had already lined up neatly in the school field.

With the arrival of Han Zhen, the eyes of tens of thousands of soldiers turned to Han Zhen.

Straight to the high platform, Han Zhen said straight to the point without any nonsense: "The soldiers of the Western Army guard the border and have made great achievements with their hard work. I am here to reward you soldiers."

After saying that, he waved his hand.

The next moment, carts and oxen loaded with copper coins were transported to the school grounds.

Even if you say a thousand or ten thousand, they are not as real as the golden copper coins.

For a moment, the Western Army officers and soldiers stared directly at the copper coins on the ox cart.

"Give me money!"

Han Zhen had no ink and immediately ordered the money to be distributed.

Ordinary soldiers received five hundred coins each, which was not much, but it was enough to keep the soldiers of the Western Army happy for a while.

There are more generals, ranging from a few guan to thousands of guan according to their official rank.

Naturally, Han Zhen didn't bring so many copper coins, so he used green coins for gifts above five strings.

"Du Tou, can this piece of paper be used as money?"

Looking at the thin piece of green money in his hand, a primary school student looked confused.

This piece of paper is exquisite, and the ink can change color, but no matter what, it is just a piece of paper, how can it be realistic to carry the golden and heavy copper coins in your arms?
Li Yanxian said: "You know very well, this is called Qing Qian, which is more popular than copper coins. Last time I had a drink with the king from the east of the city, I heard him say that Qing Qian is now used in Kaifeng Mansion."

His real name was Li Xiaozhong. At the beginning of last year, when he learned that the Jin people were going south to serve his family and country, he recruited three thousand troops to go to Beijing to serve the king. After the court learned about it, he was awarded the title of Chengjie Lang.

As a result, when he was halfway there, he heard that Li Gang had been re-employed and was responsible for defending the city, so Li Xiaozhong wrote a letter to impeach him for not knowing how to fight and would harm the country.

Unexpectedly, the court wanted to imprison him. In desperation, Li Xiaozhong had to escape back to the northwest and changed his name to Li Yanxian.

But even so, he did not change his sincerity to protect his family and country, and took the initiative to join the army. With his outstanding ability, he was quickly promoted to the capital. The principal curled his lips and said, "It's a joke. Kaifeng is thousands of miles away from us. What's the point?"

Hearing this, Li Yanxian retorted: "Who says it's useless? Five guan of green money can be exchanged for five guan and one hundred copper coins in a pawn shop in the city."

The little schoolmaster looked delighted: "Can I get an extra hundred cents in exchange?"

Li Yanxian reminded him, "I advise you not to exchange it. How can a pawnshop be easy to deal with? The copper coins are of varying quality, and there are iron coins and lead coins mixed in. They say it's five strings of cash and one hundred coins, but in fact you will lose money. They think the pawnshop owner is being kind by cheating you out of dozens or hundreds of coins."

The copper coins at this moment are indeed hard to describe.

Copper coins of different dynasties, different sizes, and different weights are mixed together for circulation. In addition, there are also large and small iron coins, lead coins, scratch coins, etc.

The so-called scraping money is to scrape off the outer edge of the copper coin.

Each type of copper coin has completely different purchasing power in different regions. During the transaction, the seller has to check the quality of the copper coin and weigh it. In short, it is very troublesome.

People who don't know the ropes will be tricked every time, and even many businessmen have suffered greatly.

Because of this, green money quickly won the favor of merchants and hawkers.

"Then I won't change it."

As the principal spoke, he happily put the green money into his arms, and immediately sighed: "Today's official family is more generous than the Zhao family. In the past, we didn't even have enough to eat, but now we not only have enough food and clothing, but also a monthly salary." , and there’s a reward for it.”

Li Yanxian nodded and responded: "Today's officials are very ambitious people. They not only recaptured the Sixteenth State of Yanyun from the Jin people, but in a few years, they will completely destroy the Jin Kingdom and regain the Northland."

"How did you know that I want to completely destroy the Jin Kingdom and regain the Northland?"

At this moment, a slightly surprised voice sounded in their ears.

Li Yanxian and the principal were startled. They turned around and found that His Majesty had arrived beside them at some point.

"The general has met your Majesty."

They both bowed and saluted.

Li Yanxian glanced at Han Zhen quietly, and couldn't help but secretly marvel at the power of the official family.

"Tell me, how did you know that I wanted to destroy gold?"

Han Zhen looked at Li Yanxian with interest and asked with a smile on his face.

This man is tall and tall, with a heroic temperament. Judging from his appearance alone, he is a fierce general.

Li Yanxian was not frightened at all and said loudly: "Reporting to your Majesty, I believe that there is a feud between Jin and Liao to destroy the country, and your Majesty united with Yelu Dashi and appointed old ministers and generals of the Liao Kingdom on a large scale. Obviously, he wanted to use them to continuously consume the national power of the Jin Kingdom. , when the time is right, we will complete our efforts in one fell swoop and completely destroy the Jin Kingdom."

Han Zhen asked with a smile: "What's your name?"

"Last General Li Xiao... Yanxian!"

Although it has been a while since he changed his name, he is still a little uncomfortable with it and always subconsciously says his real name.

Li Yanxian?
Han Zhen naturally knew his name, but he didn't expect to meet a powerful general while walking around.

This person was not well-known in later generations, but in fact his talents were not even weaker than Yue Fei's. He was isolated and helpless, and there was no assistance from the Southern Song Dynasty. He single-handedly recruited people and defeated the army, and defended Shaanxi against the Jin Kingdom for several years. After a long time, he finally ran out of troops and food and died on the battlefield.

You know, the general of the Jin Kingdom who dominated Shaanxi at that time was Wanyan Loushi.

Li Yanxian relied on a group of stragglers, old, weak, sick and disabled to defeat the Jin army several times. Within a month, he captured more than 50 Jin army forts, killed more than a thousand enemies, captured more than 300 war horses, and finally regained Shaanzhou. .

He even ambushed Wanyan Loushi twice and almost succeeded, but unfortunately, Wanyan Loushi and his personal guards broke out of the siege in the end.

Whenever the Southern Song Dynasty rushed to support him with grain, grass, soldiers and horses, the outcome would be completely different.

After taking another look at him, Han Zhen chuckled, "He's a good prospect."

After that, he turned and left.

Yao Gu and Master Zhong on the side were slightly surprised when they heard Han Zhen's comments, and at the same time, they secretly wrote Li Yanxian down in their hearts.

After Han Zhen and others left, the principal looked excited and said: "Your Majesty has praised you for your success, and you will surely rise to great heights from now on!"

Li Yanxian, on the other hand, had a calm mind and said in a calm tone: "You still need to be strong to strike iron. If you can't make military exploits in the future, it won't be of much use."

……

After the reward was completed, Han Zhen entered Yan'an Mansion.

After entering the mansion, Yao Gu reported: "Your Majesty, Xixia sent envoys here a few days ago, and they are currently staying in Qingfengyi."

"Li Qianshun's movements are quite fast."

Han Zhen couldn't help shaking his head and laughing.

Yao Gu said: "If your majesty does not want to receive him, the general will send him back."

Han Zhen ordered: "Send an audience with him tomorrow to see what medicine Li Qianshun sells in his gourd."

In fact, he had roughly guessed it in his mind, but Li Qianshun was frightened and sent someone to test it out, mentioning the cession of the three states by the way.

"By the way, where is Yang Weizhong?"

Han Zhen thought of this old acquaintance and couldn't help but ask.

"General Yang has been living in the city to recover from his illness."

After Yao Gu finished speaking, he looked like he was hesitant to speak.

Seeing this, Han Zhen didn't know what he was thinking. He chuckled and said, "I am not a narrow-minded person, so I will not embarrass him."

"Your Majesty has a broad mind, which I will admire."

Yao Gu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and flattered him smoothly.

Although he couldn't stand Yang Weizhong's foolish loyalty, no matter what, the long-term friendship between Pao and Ze still existed.

Yang Weizhong had resisted Xixia for many years and had worked hard and achieved great results. He really did not want to see such a loyal and brave colleague be beheaded by His Majesty.

(End of this chapter)