The legend of the king of crossing

Chapter 234

September [-]th in the Chinese lunar calendar is the traditional Double Ninth Festival. On the ninth day of the lunar month, the sun, the moon and the yang, and the two nines are the same, so it is called Chongyang. According to the textual research of later folklorists, the earliest record of the Double Ninth Festival in my country should be Cao Pi, Emperor Wen of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, and his work "Nine Days and Zhongyou Book" The Chongyang feast is clearly written in the book: "As the years go by, September [-] is suddenly repeated. Nine is a positive number, and the sun and the moon should be in harmony. The common name is that it is suitable for a long time, so it is a high-level gathering. ,"

During the Song Dynasty, the Double Ninth Festival was also an important festival. During the festival, both the royal family and the common people would place various chrysanthemums for appreciation, and if conditions permit, many "chrysanthemum lanterns" would be lit. Of course, it began in the Eastern Han Dynasty During the period, climbing high and looking far is indispensable. The mountains and rivers around Lin’an are beautiful, and the Double Ninth Festival has also become a holiday for the people to travel. On this day, major Buddhist temples will also hold fasting meetings and lion clubs. Many eminent monks will sit on lions and preach the scriptures. .

Generally speaking, on this day, the emperor would also give a banquet to the ministers to celebrate. This year's Chongyang Festival, because the first emperor died less than a year ago, the banquet was canceled, and it was only a day off in accordance with the etiquette system.

However, a small number of ministers were not able to take the holiday because they had to attend the military reform meeting.

The Palace of Yanhe.

In this supposedly happy festival, the people in the apse have their own thoughts, waiting for the military reform meeting to be held.

After everyone saluted, I said: "My dear friends, today is the day of our military reform meeting. First of all, I welcome the four envoys from the war zone to return to Lin'an. I thank the soldiers who have been fighting at the forefront. Messenger, when you go back, convey my greetings to the soldiers in front, "

"Yes, I will obey the order," the four said in unison.

"Okay, the meeting has officially started. Regarding the military reform, my purpose is very simple. It is to strengthen the military strength of our dynasty's army, create an army stronger than the Mongols, and prepare for the Northern Expedition. At present, our dynasty's army Combat strength can only be reflected in defense. If we want to go to the Northern Expedition, we must attack. You think that with the current military strength of our dynasty, if we want to attack Mongolia, we have a slight chance of winning. You are the core commanders of our army and are very familiar with our army. Combat strength, but I think none of you dare to say that there is a chance of winning. Therefore, in order to realize the Northern Expedition and fulfill the last wishes of the late emperors, I thought that military reform must be carried out. However, there are different opinions in the court, so this time I I have also recalled all the envoys from all theaters, just to hear your opinions."

I saw that everyone present was silent, and everyone looked very serious. Even Jia Sidao, who was expressionless on weekdays, had a hint of nervousness on his face.

"Since everyone is silent, let me take the roll call, Li Tingzhi and Li Aiqing from Yangzhou, let me tell you first."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Li Tingzhi stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I am a soldier, and a soldier takes obeying orders as his duty. Therefore, I will act according to your Majesty's will."

Li Tingzhi clearly stated in his words that if he obeys the order and the emperor says to change it, then he will support it. emperor.

The nervous look on Jia Sidao's face seemed to have faded a bit. Li Tingzhi did not say that he firmly supported the military reform, although he said he was loyal to the emperor.

I still had a calm expression on my face, and said with a smile: "Li Aiqing's intention is to remain neutral, neither supporting nor opposing,"

Li Tingzhi said: "Yes, Your Majesty,"

"Well, I see, Xia Guixia Aiqing from Luzhou, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, I think Master Li's words are reasonable. Soldiers should obey military orders. Therefore, regarding the need for military reform, I have the same opinion as Master Li, and I will follow His Majesty's will."

"Really, I know what Xia Aiqing means,"

Another seemingly neutral person, in fact, expressed his loyalty to the emperor.

Xia Gui's words made me completely relieved, but Jia Sidao was taken aback, and his slightly relaxed face became suspicious again. In Jia Sidao's view, Li Tingzhi was very likely to remain neutral, but Xia Gui His attitude made him extremely upset. Although Xia Gui was not as close as Lu Wende, he was the one who single-handedly promoted him. Moreover, Jia Sidao had sent a letter to Xia Gui beforehand, and Xia Gui and I were sent out to the military hut. Zhou was only acquainted with each other, so Jia Sidao thought that Xia Gui would take his side as a matter of course.

Although the change in Jia Sidao's face was fleeting, I had a panoramic view of it.

I laughed secretly in my heart, but on the surface I was very calm: "The next one, Lu Wende and Lu Aiqing, the envoy of Xiangfan Zhizhi, according to your opinion."

A very strange look appeared on Lu Wende's face. He looked at me and at Jia Sidao, and then said in a low voice hesitantly: "I also agree with Lord Li's wishes, and will follow His Majesty's will."

"What," Jia Sidao blurted out with a sudden change of expression.

"Master and minister, don't worry, Lu Aiqing's voice is a little softer, I repeat, Lu Aiqing's intention is to agree with Li Aiqing's point of view,"

Jia Sidao knew that he had lost his composure, so he gave Lu Wende a vicious look, and remained silent.

If Xia Gui's attitude made Jia Sidao unacceptable, then Lu Wende's attitude made him unbearable. We must know that the strength of the frontier army is far greater than that of the imperial army, and the number of soldiers and combat effectiveness are all based on the frontier army, not to mention , Lu Wende, like Xia Gui, expressed his loyalty to the emperor.

Jia Sidao suddenly felt empty in his heart. Without the support of the frontier army, he had much less right to speak in the army, and he was like a tiger without teeth.

I didn't care about him, and continued: "The governor of the Central Sichuan Theater, Gao Aiqing, it's your turn."

Gao Da's voice was loud: "Your Majesty, I firmly support the military reform,"

I nodded and said: "Okay, the four system envoys have all expressed their opinions, one of them voted in favor to show support, and three of them abstained to show neutrality, the result is already, I will announce,,,, ,,"

"Wait, Your Majesty, the old minister still has this play," Jia Sidao hurriedly played.

"Master, please speak,"

"Your Majesty, Mongolia in the north is looking down on us now. The opinion of the Privy Council is to suspend the military reform, so as not to give Kublai Khan an opportunity,"

"Well, the teacher reminded me of this," I said with a smile, "This military reform will first start with the forbidden army in Lin'an, and the four major war zones on the front line will generally remain unchanged for the time being to prevent Mongol attacks. "

Fan Wenhuan got Jia Sidao's signal, and also stood up and said: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War agrees with the Grand Master, and thinks that the time is not yet ripe."

"The time is not yet ripe," I burst out laughing, "Fan Aiqing, when you say the time is ripe, do you mean when the navy will be restructured? The reform of the army is just at the beginning of drafting the plan, and there is no conflict in time, Fan Aiqing, do you think so?"

Without waiting for Fan Wenhuan to answer, I went on to say: "If someone wants to delay the military reform with various reasons, then don't mention it again. The time Kublai Khan of Mongolia gave me is limited, and my patience is also limited. This is an official announcement that the military reform will officially begin today,"

"Minister Zhao Kui supports His Majesty's military reform," Zhao Kui, an old man in the army and the current minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, was the first to express his opinion.

"Senior Lu Xiufu seconded the proposal,"

"My minister Li Beiyang seconded the proposal,"

"Chen Dao seconded the proposal,"

"Minister Lu Wende seconded the proposal," said Lu Wende, the second official in the four war zones who officially expressed his support. I saw Lu Wende's face turned pale and looked helpless, and Jia Sidao, who was sitting in the front row on my right, even In the last few years of Song Lizong's reign, Jia Sidao could almost cover the sky with one hand, so the Xiangfan Army received the most support, and thus became the strongest fighting force among all the armies. This is also along the original historical process. , one of the reasons why Xiangyang was able to hold out for six years in the siege of the Mongols.

Now, Jia Sidao's cronies betrayed him at a critical moment, how could he not be chilled, of course Jia Sidao didn't know the reason, it was just a coincidence, I can't but say it was my luck.

However, luck is also one of the keys to determine fate.

Just like Liu Bei in the Three Kingdoms period, if there is no Ma Yuetanxi, he will not meet Sima Hui, and he may lose the source of information about the crouching dragon and phoenix chicks. Perhaps there will be no Sangu thatched cottage, and there will be no later Three Kingdoms .

Similarly, if Lu Wende's son hadn't gone to Tonglelou, the scene of last night would not have happened, and perhaps the military reform would not have gone so smoothly. Of course, military reform is imperative, and I have made up my mind on this, but Lu Wende is firmly on Jia Sidao's side, coupled with the power of the imperial army, even if I have Xia Gui's help, I can only maintain the balance between the two sides.

Sometimes life is really strange. When you come to a fork in the road, perhaps the Sunny Avenue is on the left, and the abyss is on the right. When Lu Wende stepped into the Tongle Building, his fate changed accordingly.

I think, maybe in the war of 1269, Lu Wende would not be killed.

Last night.

Lu Wende listened to my nagging while drinking the Longjing tea brewed by me.

"Lu Aiqing, now you know who the owner of the Tongle Building is, and the Tianzi No. [-] room you are in right now, only I or my friends can enter. Lu Aiqing, the young general just now is your young master, right? ,"

"Returning to Your Majesty, it is the only son of the minister, Lu Xin,"

"Well, yes, it looks quite brave. Regarding what happened just now, what do you think is the best way to deal with it?"

Lu Wende said cautiously: "It's all up to His Majesty."

I said unhurriedly: "If you talk about this matter in Dali, there is no difference between making troubles in the Tongle Building and making troubles in the palace. When it comes to novels, it can also be said that those who don't know don't blame. I will leave the choice to you, Aiqing." Bar,"

"Your Majesty, this,,,,,,"

I filled Lu Wende's teacup again and said, "Don't worry, Aiqing, think about it slowly."

Of course Lu Wende understands, what I mean is for him to choose whether to follow the imperial power or the prime minister. Choosing the imperial power means that this is just a trivial matter. Quan, the crime of Lu Xin and others can be said to be treason. Jia Sidao knew the background of Tonglelou and warned his party members in Lin'an, but he did not tell Lu Wende who was in the outer district.

I tapped the table lightly with my fingers, and suddenly said to Yuan Ji: "Sir, are those people below alright?"

"Your Majesty, they are all tied up, and they can be executed on the spot as soon as your Majesty orders,"

I said "En", looked at Lu Wende and said with a smile: "Aiqing, drink tea." I think my smile is natural and kind, but in Lu Wende's view, it is full of evil.

"By the way, I don't have any children yet, and I don't know what the relationship between father and son is like," I said to myself while drinking tea.

Time passed by, Yuan Ji and Lu Wende didn't speak, only I heard me muttering a few words from time to time.

When approaching midnight, Lu Wende drank a whole cup of tea suddenly, stood up and knelt down in the tunnel, "Your Majesty,"