Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 172 The "Uncle" who is not as well-known as meeting him

Emperor Zhezong was silent for a moment and said: "Ai Qing, it is better to be famous than to meet him. Previously, Wuxi Mansion reported that Ai Qing repelled the Xixia people who penetrated into the hinterland of the Song Dynasty. I thought Ai Qing had the heroic spirit of the old King Dongping. . But why am I so timid when I see you today?"

Song Zhezong was indeed a little disappointed with Zhao Mu in front of him.

Although Song Zhezong never left the palace, he still heard about some things outside.

The Wuxi magistrate did not hide the incident at Wuxi Apricot Forest, but reported all the causes and consequences of the matter to the court. And Zhezong was very happy to see the Song Dynasty clan that was so proud of him.

Although he has not yet taken charge, this young emperor has great ambitions.

When the Xixia delegation came to pay tribute, they brought four evil men and a master named Li Yanzong. But he really showed off his power in front of everyone in the Song Dynasty. Cong Longtian and Cong Longxuan, among the eight leaders of Longwei, fought against him and barely regained some face for the Song Dynasty.

Although the little emperor didn't say anything. But this matter has always been regarded as a great shame and humiliation. The majestic Song Dynasty had no one to use, allowing Xixia, a small country, to show off its power.

When he saw the memorial from the Wuxi magistrate, saying that Zhao Mu single-handedly rescued all the Beggar Gang members and made the Xixia Tatars return to Xixia honestly, Emperor Zhezong was very happy. Later, when people from Zhaozong Temple investigated, they found out that Zhao Mu was the son of Prince Dongping.

Although Emperor Zhezong did not know Zhao Mu, he did know Prince Dongping. Prince Dongping was promoted from duke to king due to his meritorious service. He was the only "military general" in the Song Dynasty clan who could become a great weapon since Taizu Zhao Da. It is also the only clan among the clan that has participated in the war against Xixia and has made meritorious deeds.

It's a pity that when Zhezong succeeded to the throne, Prince Dongping was already old and decrepit. Otherwise Emperor Zhezong would still reuse him.

But when he found out that Zhao Mu was the son of Prince Dongping, Zhezong called him "a tiger father has no dog son." Therefore, the little emperor had always wanted to find an opportunity to meet Zhao Mu and see with his own eyes the great Song Dynasty clan member who gave him a good face.

The last time Zhao Mu returned to Beijing to report on his work, when Emperor Zhezong saw the summary of his report, Zhao Mu had already left. This time, Zhao Mu returned to Beijing to purchase Yingguo's mansion, which attracted the attention of the young emperor again. He was about to summon him, but he heard from the post officer that Zhao Mu was ill and was acclimatized, so he gave up.

But this time the Dali envoy suddenly came and heard that Zhao Mu was in love with the princess of Dali, which made Emperor Zhezong want to meet Zhao Mu even more.

In the eyes of Emperor Zhezong, such clan members with low status and outstanding abilities are worthy of reuse. Just be careful about reusing it.

After learning that Zhao Mu had left the post house, Zhezong ordered someone to bring Zhao Mu into the palace.

However, the person sent from Longwei to "escort" Zhao Mu was not the young emperor Zhe Zong. But the Empress Dowager Gao, and the Empress Dowager Xiang.

Because Zhao Mu was very close to Jianghu people, not only the little emperor knew about it, but the two of them also knew about it. Although the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager did not object to the young emperor receiving foreign ministers, Zhao Mu, a descendant of Taizu who possessed absolute force and even flirted with foreigners, was a very dangerous character in their eyes.

Although both Taizu and Taizong later belonged to the Song Dynasty clan, Taizong's lineage who stole the throne was more careful to guard against the capable nobles of Taizu's lineage than to guard against the Liao people. Because in their eyes, the Liao people wanted money at most, but these orthodox clansmen of the Taizu line wanted lives. There's no telling when this group of orthodox clans will also engage in a story called "The Sound of Candle Shadow and Ax" and finally take back the throne. Therefore, they would rather trust relatives with foreign surnames than relatives of these bloodlines.

However, the first meeting with Zhao Mu made Emperor Zhezong both happy and a little disappointed. What is gratifying is that Zhao Mu is not as heroic as he imagined, at least he can't see it now. People who are not heroic generally do not have any rebellious intentions and have no great ambitions. What he was disappointed with was that Zhao Mu didn't have that kind of spirit.

After hearing the little emperor's words, Zhao Mu still stood up and replied humbly: "Your Majesty, I am from a humble background and hold a humble position. Now that I am in front of the emperor, I feel a little bit..."

Emperor Zhezong smiled and said, "What is there?"

Zhao Mu replied: "Some were shocked by His Majesty's majesty as emperor."

Hearing Zhao Mu's answer, the little emperor couldn't help but laugh. Zhao Mu secretly glanced at the little emperor's expression, and he was also snickering in his heart. It seems that no matter what era you are in, it is always right to flatter your leaders.

After Emperor Zhezong finished laughing, he said: "Ai Qing doesn't have to be like this. If it were based on my family tree of the Song Dynasty, I would still call Ai Qing 'uncle'."

Zhao Mu knew that the young emperor's words were just "kind words". If he really regarded himself as the emperor's uncle, it would undoubtedly be a recipe for disaster. Then he replied: "Although I am longer than your Majesty in the genealogy, I am also your Majesty's minister. The emperor and father are above, and the ministers are below. It is natural for ministers to respect the emperor and father."

After hearing Zhao Mu's answer, Emperor Zhezong was quite satisfied.

Then the little emperor said: "My dear, there is no need to be too polite. Today I summoned your dear just to see her and to know something from her."

Zhao Mu replied: "Your Majesty, if you have anything to say, just ask. I will tell you everything you know."

Zhezong was not the first to mention the Xixia mission. He took out a memorial and said: "The emperor's fiefdom is in Daizhou, which is the border between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom. I wonder what the customs are like there? Is there any harassment from the soldiers?”

Zhao Mu was also a little surprised by Zhe Zong's question, but he thought it was an opportunity. He knew that Zhezong was historically the only "iron-blooded emperor" in the Song Dynasty since Taizu Taizong.

So Zhao Mu followed suit and said: "Report to your majesty, although the Liao Kingdom has not fought any major wars with the Song Dynasty since the Chanyuan Alliance, the Liao soldiers often cross the border and plunder the people of the Song Dynasty. This makes the humble minister I hate him deeply. Therefore, after I arrived in the fiefdom, I left the fiefdom privately and traveled around the country to look for famous teachers. I finally learned martial arts to protect the people of the Song Dynasty."

Hearing this, Zhe Zong's interest immediately rose. He then said: "So, you met Princess Zhaohua of Dali Kingdom when you left the fiefdom to study art?"

Zhao Mu knelt on the ground and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, that's right. I left my fiefdom to go to another country privately without the permission of the court, and made friends with people from foreign countries. It is a crime worthy of death. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Seeing Zhao Mu's reaction, Zhezong quickly waved his hand and said: "Ai Qing, you are serious. In order to protect the people of the Song Dynasty, Ai Qing visited famous teachers to practice martial arts. After that, Ai Qing defeated the Xixia mission and protected the prestige of the Song Dynasty. I I'm very relieved. It's too late for me to commend you, so how can I blame you? My dear, you don't have to be like this. Today is just a chat between you and my uncle and nephew. Don't be so reserved. I'm really grateful to you, my dear. I have been very curious in the past, please tell me, dear, how you learned the art and how you got acquainted with the princess of Dali."

(End of this chapter)