Compete for the Song Dynasty

Qin Minxue was a little dazed looking at the Prince's Mansion of Handong County not far away. He had seen many palaces, big and small, but most of them were in the capital.This Handong County Palace is not located in the capital, and it has such a scale, which is very rare in the current dynasty.Who is the king of Handong County?It can't be blamed that he didn't know that the Song Dynasty had been established for so many years, and there were countless people who were crowned kings. These people were paid by the court, and few of them were officials to do things for the court.This is what makes one person attain the Tao and ascend to heaven!But being made a county king is different. Although there are many kings in the Song Dynasty, the sons of the princes only inherit the princes, and only the elders are favored to be named county kings.

Qin Minxue was very curious about this palace, so he immediately sent someone to inquire, and his entourage came back and reported that the king of Handong County was Zhao Zongmian.Qin Minxue couldn't help but gasped, and now he was in Zhao Zongmian's territory.Zhao Zongmian, that is the younger brother of the current emperor Song Yingzong Zhao Shu.King Pu had three wives, Zhao Shu and Zhao Zongmian were both born to Yuan Concubine Wang.If Zhao Zhongzhen finds his uncle Zhao Zongmian here, he will be sent back to the capital soon.

However, when Qin Minxue calmed down and thought about it, he felt something was wrong.He suddenly remembered something.That day in the Chuigong Palace, Emperor Yingzong clearly said: "If Zhongzhen doesn't come back soon, Zhao Hao will be young. If the empress dowager urges him to ask about the establishment of the crown prince, how will Zhao Hao compare with Zhao Zongmian?!".Could it be?This Zhao Zongmian is also a candidate for the throne?Wouldn't it be more troublesome for me and Gao Gonghui to wish to establish Zhao Hao?No, I have to meet this Zhao Zongmian and see what kind of person he is.He made up his mind, changed into casual clothes and headed towards the Prince's Mansion of Handong County.

Several guards in front of the Prince's Mansion of Handong County saw a young man who wanted to see the Prince, and also saw the name card Qin Minxue handed over, Secretary Cheng?What kind of official position is this?Usually, there are many people who come to see the county king, especially in the recent period, there are many officials in the two prefectures of Guangnan and the county king.Only I have never heard of the official position of Secretary Cheng.Seeing that Qin Minxue is not very old, he probably wants to ask the county king for promotion.Therefore, the guards were not polite to Qin Minxue: "The king of the county is not at the mansion!"

Just dismiss Qin Minxue like this?Qin Minxue was a little bit reconciled, but he thought that after all, he came from the capital. After all, if the county king was in the mansion, the guards would not dare not report it.When he returned to his residence, his entourage reported to him that Wang Pang and King Ying had left the city?But the others were still there, and the king didn't bring much luggage with him.Qin Minxue guessed that they hadn't gone far, and asked his followers to watch carefully. [

Wang Pang and the others also just arrived in Shaozhou, and Wang Pang felt much more relaxed after entering Guangnan Road.After walking for more than ten days, Su Xiaomei and Zhao Zhongzhen were a little tired, so Wang Pang planned to stay in Shaozhou for a few days.They found a mid-range but clean mansion, and just after staying in Zhongzhen, they clamored to go to Nanhua Temple.Nanhua Temple is more than [-] miles away from Shaozhou. If you want to go to incense, it will take two days to go back and forth.Chen Kang and Mr. Hou grinned. They are going to go up the mountain tonight to spend the night at the Zen Temple, and come back tomorrow morning. These people are quite tired all the way, not to mention that Chen Kang is still lame.

Seeing that Zhongzhen insisted on going, Wang Pang arranged for Hou Shuxian and Chen Kang to rest in the mansion, and Wa Zhuang stayed to take care of the two; Zhe Kejun and other followers followed them and secretly protected them.Ask Su Xiao again, seeing Su Xiao's face turned pale, frowning, feeling unwell.Women are troublesome, of course Wang Pang understands, so he didn't specially invite Su Xiao to go out of the city with Zhong Zhen to Nanhua Temple.

The few of them had just arrived at the foot of the Nanhua Temple mountain when they suddenly saw a large group of people approaching from the opposite side.There seemed to be 200 people in this team. The people walking in the front were different from ordinary people. Most people would get off their horses at the foot of the mountain, and then go up the mountain on foot. Naturally, they would go down the mountain on foot. However, the leader of this group was riding a horse proudly. Standing on his horse, he was followed by two guards wearing the uniforms of soldiers and generals, and there were one or two hundred guards behind him.

Seeing this group of people, Zhong Zhen hurriedly dodges behind Wang Pang, nervously tugging at Wang Pang's lapel, keeping his head down, not daring to vent his anger.Fortunately, Zhe Kejun, Zhang Ping and Han Derong, who were secretly protecting them, came over, and three burly men blocked Zhao Zhongzhen.Seeing the pair walk by, Zhongzhen let out a long breath, stretched his chest and said, "I'm scared to death, I'm scared to death!"

Seeing Zhongzhen's nervous expression, Wang Pang thought carefully about the person's appearance just now, and described him as somewhat similar to Zhao Shu. Moreover, seeing this person's clothes and manners, he also looked like a prince when he went out: "Who is this person?" ? I don't know it!"

Zhao Zhongzhen said in shock: "He is the king of Handong County, my uncle, and he rarely visits the capital, so it's normal for you not to know him. Even I rarely see him." Wang Pang couldn't help asking: "Then why are you nervous? Are you afraid that he will recognize you?"

There were few people on the road, and the team had already gone far away. A few people beside Wang walked towards Nanhua Temple. Zhong Zhen said to Wang Pang as he walked, "Can I not be nervous? I met. What if he recognizes me and wants to send me back?"

Wang Pang smiled and said: "If someone takes you back, I'm relieved. It's just that he saw Chunfeng's proud horseshoe disease just now. I'm afraid he might not recognize you with just such a twist, let alone who would think of you. Will you be in Shaozhou?" After he finished speaking, Zhongzhen fell into deep thought and remained silent.Wang Pang thought that this kid had too many ideas, so he said that he was going south all the way, and Zhong Zhen didn't say a word about returning to Beijing.I really don't know what he is thinking?

Nanhua Temple is built on the mountain, with beautiful peaks and lush ancient trees.As soon as Wang Pang and Zhongzhen entered the mountain gate, a monk who knew them came forward to salute.Wang Pang now understands that modern people regard going to temples as a tourist attraction, while ancient people went to temples for sightseeing, but most of them had something to pray and sincerely pray for blessings, and there are also monks in temples who are responsible for arranging accommodation for pilgrims .Wang Pang explained the purpose of their visit, and the Zhike monk agreed to help them arrange a meditation room for them to rest.It was past noon at this time, there were few pilgrims and the monastery was very quiet. Wang Pang and Zhong Zhen left the monastery and took a walk in the monastery to admire the thousand-year-old temple.

Behind the Caoxi gate of the temple is the release pond.Pass through the Baolin Gate and come to the Hall of Heavenly Kings. The Maitreya Buddha statue is enshrined in the center of the hall, the statue of Wei Tuo is at the back, and the four statues of heavenly kings are on both sides; when you walk to the Daxiong Hall, there is a platform in front of the hall and corridors around it.There are three Buddha statues on the front of the hall, which are solemn in appearance.The left and right walls and the back wall are clay sculptures and colorful paintings of five hundred arhats with strange shapes.In the Hall of the Sixth Patriarch, the real body of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng enshrined is lifelike. The Sixth Patriarch Huineng is seen sitting in lotus lotus, with his legs and feet coiled in his cassock, and his hands folded in front of his abdomen in a fixed position.The eyes are closed, and the face is thin, showing a detached temperament of self-realization.

The two people worshiped the sixth patriarch Huineng and left the main hall. After walking to the temple, there was a Zhuoxi spring on the right. gown.Zhao Zhongzhen glanced at the king, and said with a smile: "I used to think that brother Wang would be the best at managing money. Today, when I walked with you, I realized that brother Wang also knows how to worship Buddha? Why don't you let me test you, how about it? If you get the answer right, then from today on I will listen to you in everything; if you don't get it right?~~~" He purposely kept quiet and waited for Wang Pang's answer.

What kind of tricks does this kid have?Make a bet with this kid, if one day he really becomes the emperor, if he doesn't want to listen to himself, why don't he die?But seeing that this kid seems to have something on his mind along the way, it's better to listen to what he wants to do.Wang Pang smiled and said, "If the answer is not correct, then I will listen to you?!"

"Okay!" Zhongzhen patted the folding fan in his hand: "I have to come to Nanhua Temple today. Firstly, I want to pray for my fortune in the Great Song Dynasty. Secondly, I want to pay homage to the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. The Sixth Patriarch has a verse, is it mentioned here?"

If there is anything in this world that is archaeological, there is nothing that can confuse the king, let alone that verse is very famous.Wang Pang thought for a while, since he was going to lose, he couldn't be right, so he deliberately said wrongly: "Is this right? The body is like a bodhi tree, and the heart is like a mirror stand. Always wipe it diligently, so as not to stir up dust."

Sure enough, Zhong Zhen didn't notice that Wang Pang did it on purpose, and he said proudly, "Brother Wang, you have misremembered, this is the gatha of his senior brother, what the Sixth Patriarch said was: Bodhi is a tree, and a bright mirror is not a stand. One thing, where is the dust. Do you admit defeat now?"

Wang Pang laughed twice, pretending to be embarrassed: "Yes! The bodhi tree is empty, the mirror stand is also empty, body and mind are both empty, how can it be possible to attract dust when everything is empty? Come on, King Ying is more thorough in meditation, I admit defeat, tell me what you want me to do?"

Zhongzhen stopped, looked at the king, and said his thoughts after making up his mind for a while: "If you really listen to me, I want you to go back to the capital with me and ask my father for an order to attack Xixia." The first time I came to look for Wang Pang, I had long wanted Wang Pang to go back to the capital with him.He always felt that Wang Pang resigned because he was dissatisfied with his father, and it would be fine if Wang Pang was willing to go back with him.For attacking Xixia, Zhao Zhongzhen felt that Wang Pang was an excellent candidate.

Wang Pang also knew that if the court appointed an official and refused to accept it, it would not be a fault in the Song Dynasty.But if he and Zhongzhen go back, they must continue to obey Yingzong.What's more, he doesn't want to fight Xixia at all. In his heart, whether Xixia people or Liao people are people, they are all Chinese.Of course, this is the thinking of modern people.But how can we persuade Zhao Zhongzhen without making him feel that he is putting blame?He thought for a while and said, "Zhongzhen, do you know why your father didn't send troops to confront Xixia head-on?"

Zhao Zhongzhen thought for a while: "I think my father is a little cowardly, and most of the court is civil servants, so even if there are wars, there are no generals to send."

Wang Pang shook his head: "Zhong Zhen, you killed your father..."

Zhao Zhongzhen's eyes widened. There was always some gap between Wang Pang and his father, why did he suddenly lean towards his father?