A group of people rode on horseback.

Luo Xin comes from a business background, has always been talkative, and has a rich family background. Even if he meets someone for the first time, he has the ability to make everyone feel like they have known each other for many years after just a few words.

But today, he really didn't know what to say.

Cui Jin, on the other hand, was very relaxed and walked side by side with Luo Xin. He looked calm and chatted and laughed happily. When he talked about his own affairs, he seemed to be talking about other people's affairs.

This is a very sad person.

He was tricked to death by his own father.

In his early years in Hebei, in order to frame a group of border generals such as Qin Kuan and Luo Yu, he dragged King Zhao Zhe into the trap. Cui Jin was tricked by his father, and the result was that Cui Jin was disfigured and disabled. As a result, even if Cui Jin had another

It is no longer possible for him to become an official because of his abilities. The officialdom of Zhao and Song Dynasty still paid great attention to appearance.

That's okay. During the second Western Expedition, Cui Ang was eager to advance, but was cut off by Xiao Ding. Cui Ang left tens of thousands of troops and fled, and Cui Jin was behind to clean up his mess.

, as a result, he was captured alive by Xiao Ding and became a prisoner.

Cui Ang did not escape in the end and was caught.

However, considering the overall situation, Xiao Ding released him and asked him to go back and explain to the court that the Western Army had no intention of becoming an enemy of the court, and reminded the court that the Liao Kingdom was about to launch a large-scale attack.

But Cui Ang, who had lost his master and humiliated his country, did not dare to go back. He ran to Huazhou to hide, and then defected to the Liao Kingdom. In the end, he became a Song traitor despised by everyone in the Song Dynasty.

Cui Ang became the king of Zhao.

Cui Jin has become a joke.

During that period, Cui Jin only felt that it would be better to die.

Fortunately, at this moment, Xiao Ding reached out to his childhood friend and gave him a hand.

"The manager ignored the past grudges and not only spared me, a defeated general, but also took me in as a person who had nowhere to go. Later, when he saw that I was really bored, he asked me to work in the protocol department." Cui Jin said with a smile. "That's not true.

, I’m here to welcome you, Anzhi!”

"With Ziyu's ability, I have been wronged by the protocol department!" Luo Xin sighed.

This is true. I think back then, when he was in Hebei, Cui Jin was in charge of the administrative affairs and writing, and at the same time he was also responsible for the logistics supply of food and fodder for all the frontier troops. In this regard, he did not make any mistakes. The second expedition to the west

, he was in charge of logistics, and after I fled, he also took on the responsibility of organizing the army's retreat. Without a few brushes, it would naturally not be possible.

"Hehe, all Cui Jin wants now is to walk on the road without anyone poking my spine. It's already a dream to have something to do in a situation like mine. There are other extravagant things to ask for!" Cui Jin said.

Jin shook his head.

"Cui Ang is Cui Ang, and you are you!" Luo Xin said: "As long as a true man stands in this world, he just wants to be clear in his heart."

"But that is my father after all, and the son will not blame the father for his faults." Cui Jin's eyes revealed a deep sadness: "There is nothing to say when the father pays his debts and the son pays them."

Luo Xin sighed and glanced at Cui Jin: "Why are you the concierge?"

Cui Jin said: "Anzhi, you are wondering, how can a lame guy like me with a scar on my face work in the concierge department? Zhao Song is the one who pays the most attention to appearance and manners. Back then, all the guys in the concierge department in Bianliang were...

So majestic!"

Luo Xin laughed, but Cui Jin didn't think he was dissatisfied, so he stopped being secretive, otherwise it would make him look petty.

"That's the question!"

"This is the northwest, this is the Western Army!" Cui Jin waved his hand and said with a smile: "Here, strength is the most important. Everyone will give a thumbs up when they see a brave warrior, and they will give a thumbs up when they see a warrior who was injured in the battle.

Soldiers can bow to say hello, but weak scholars are not very popular. Therefore, in our Western Army, even the civil servants are mostly able to mount a horse, lift a sword and bend a bow. They may be poor, but they cannot be bad. The Western Army

Most of those who were greeted and sent off by the concierge were the leaders and envoys of the numerous tribes under his rule, or barbarians from outside the region. They thought I was injured on the battlefield, seeing that I was so seriously injured.

His wounds are still alive and kicking, so he is naturally a good man, so when he saw me, he admired me first. In addition, I can be said to be eloquent, and I also have something in my stomach. I was praised for being both civil and military, but

I just suffered with shame."

Luo Xin suddenly realized that the Western Army here was indeed very different from the South.

"Zi Yu, this time I came to the Western Army on the order of the Chief Assistant. Although the Chief Assistant only asked me to come and take a look and send some things that they urgently need to the Western Army, I knew in my heart that there were still some things that needed to be done during this trip.

There are other meanings in it, but the first assistant didn't say it because he didn't want to put any pressure on me. But I still want to do something, so can Zi Yu teach me?"

Cui Jin smiled slightly and said: "Since Xiao Erlang didn't say anything, you naturally don't have to do anything."

"Is it possible that Ziyu is unwilling to help me?" Luo Xin was displeased.

"No." Cui Jin said: "Anzhi, although Xiao Erlang is thousands of miles away, he can clearly see the situation in front of the Western Army, so he doesn't say anything. Because he knows that whatever he asks for now will cause trouble.

Everyone in the Western Army was disgusted."

"Manager Xiao?"

"General Manager Xiao, don't mention it." Cui Jin said: "There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Western Army. How many of them have never fought against the Song Army? No one has a good impression of Zhao Song's situation. Zhao Song has blocked the northwest for more than ten years.

You probably don’t know how hard life has been. An Zhi, not everyone is as innocent-hearted as the manager. Most people remember the pain and hatred over the years!"

Luo Xin was speechless.

This is something that can't be helped.

The newly established Song Dynasty claimed to be orthodox, so he had to accept all the good and bad things from Bianliang, Zhao and Song.

It seems reasonable that the Western Army transferred its hatred of Zhao and Song in Bianliang to Xin Song in Jiangning.

"Ordinary people's thinking is very simple. If you are good to me, I will be good to you. If you are bad to me, I will naturally not give you a good look!" Cui Jin spread his hands and said: "And in the upper levels of the Western Army, they are divided into

Different factions have formed. The vast majority of people hope that the general manager will establish himself as the emperor. They will also take credit for supporting the founding of the country and be granted the title of Duke. Naturally, it is natural. While other minority factions,

I believe that the Liao Kingdom is now strong and the Western Army cannot really fight against it, so I feel that we should surrender to the Liao people in exchange for survival."

Luo Xin was surprised: "In other words, no one wants to form an alliance with us or even obey the Jiangning court!"

"Perhaps the manager has this intention?" Cui Jin said with a smile: "But no matter how high the manager's prestige is, there is nothing he can do about this matter."

Luo Xintian sighed: "The first assistant's guess is really accurate. No wonder he asked me to make this trip in a hurry. Obviously if I don't come again, I'm afraid that the Western Army will become even more alienated from us."

"It's already eccentric!" Cui Jin said calmly: "In the past ten years, apart from hatred, blockade, war, death, and poverty, what else has the Zhao and Song Yuxi armies had?"

"It's naturally different now!" Luo Xin said: "I brought trust and friendship."

Cui Jin laughed loudly: "The Western Army only believes in fists and knives, not empty words!"

Luo Xin turned back, pointed at the dozens of followers following the two men, and said: "They will let the Western Army know that our trust and friendship are by no means empty words!"

Cui Jin glanced at the people behind him in confusion. They were just ordinary people. Except for some guys who were obviously warriors, there was really nothing special about them.

"An Zhi, with all due respect, you came in time this time, but it's not easy to convince everyone in the Western Army!" Cui Jin said: "The general manager summoned the eight military divisions and local government officials under his command to gather at Xingqing Mansion.

I’ve given you a chance to show off, but everything has two sides. If you screw up, even the manager won’t be able to go your own way and go your own way."

"Understood!" Luo Xin nodded.

"The envoys from the Liao people are coming soon!" Cui Jin said: "I took you to Xingqing Mansion today, and then I will go to greet the envoys from the Liao people!"

Seeing Luo Xin's eyes flashing, Cui Jin laughed: "Zian, maybe you still want to follow Ban Zhongsheng's example and attack the Liao envoys' camp at night and kill them all, so as to force the Western Army to form an alliance with you?

?”

"Luo Xin, a scholar, cannot do such a thing!" Luo Xin shook his head.

"Even if you want to do it, you can't do it!" Cui Jin smiled: "Zhang Changshi does things without leakage."

In the manager's house, Luo Xin bowed slightly and saluted Xiao Ding.

This was the first time he met Xiao Ding.

All the images of Xiao Ding were heard from Xiao Cheng, as well as the legends about Xiao Ding outside.

In Hebei, this warrior was the hero who made the Liao people retreat.

When they reached the northwest, they defeated Tubo, conquered the Western Regions, and opened up thousands of miles of territory.

After the Tokyo Incident and the rebellion between Zhao and Song, the Western Army became independent. For more than ten years, the two major empires of the world, Liao and Song, were in a state of utter disarray.

Xiao Ding is known as the best tiger general in the world and the pinnacle of general combat effectiveness.

"General manager, this is a private message from our chief assistant to you!" He first took out a letter from a box and handed it to Xiao Ding, and then took out a thick stack of paper and presented it to him.

"What is this?" Xiao Ding smiled and opened the thick stack of paper first.

It is actually a complete painting.

The daily life of Xiao Cheng’s family of three.

There were three people sitting around eating together. Xiao Cheng was reading, Jiang Yingxue was knitting, and his son Xiao Kang was sitting upright, practicing calligraphy.

There were also three people outing together and flying kites together.

Anyway, it's just daily chores.

Zhang Yuan and Tuoba Yangwei also leaned over to look at these paintings.

The painting is very realistic, and the three people are painted vividly.

"Erlang is old!" Tuoba said with a smile, stroking his long beard.

"This is maturity, but where is oldness?" Zhang Yuan retorted with a smile: "In a blink of an eye, Erlang must be almost thirty, right?"

"There is still one year left, he is seven years younger than me!" Xiao Ding said with a smile: "I am thirty-six this year, and he is twenty-nine this year."

"When men come in and women come out, they are thirty! The thirty-year-old chief assistant is the first in the Song Dynasty for hundreds of years! When we were with him, he was only sixteen years old. In the blink of an eye,

In just over ten years, we have all grown old!" Zhang Yuan sighed. "I knew then that Erlang was not an ordinary person."

"You don't need to say this? Back in Hengshan, without Erlang, we couldn't get together at all. We are still using the rules Erlang set back then! Sometimes I am really surprised. Erlang, who is sixteen years old,

, how come there are so many fantastic ideas, no, no, no, not fantastic ideas, but forward-looking, because the things he said back then, the more we use them, the more useful they become, right?" Tuoba showed his strength.

road.

Listening to the two important ministers of the Western Army praising their first assistant in unison, Luo Xin smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed, but he took out two more letters: "Chang Shi, this is from our first assistant to you! Tuoba

General, this is yours."

"We have one too?" they both shouted in unison.

"The Chief Assistant also admires the two of you very much. He often tells us about their great achievements!" Luo Xin said with a smile.

The two of them couldn't wait to open the letter and read it, with smiles on their faces.

In fact, after receiving the letter, both of them still had a somewhat solemn look in their eyes.

But the more he looked at it, the more relaxed his face became.

Because in the letter, Xiao Cheng did not mention any official matters. It was all about reminiscing about the past, recalling the hardships and joys of the past days together.

Everyone is an adult.

They are also mature politicians.

After seeing the content of the letter, both of them naturally understood what Xiao Cheng meant.

Private relationships are private relationships, and public affairs are public affairs.

Don't abandon the public for private purposes, but you don't have to forget private interests for public purposes either.

Business is business.

Friendship is friendship.

Xiao Erlang is always so considerate.

In fact, the two of them were really afraid that Xiao Cheng would use their friendship from the past year to discuss current matters with them.

They all owe Xiao Erlang a favor.

In this way, the two of them can easily face the next negotiation with Luo Xin.

Otherwise, you will inevitably be timid and always feel like you owe the other party something.

Luo Xin's intention of coming here is very clear, but given the current situation of the Western Army, it is absolutely impossible to agree.

"Let's eat together, let's eat together!" Xiao Ding said with a smile: "Let's have a few drinks. During the dinner, Minister Luo will talk to us about the affairs of Erlang and his family."

"Okay, okay." Zhang Yuan nodded and said: "I have always admired Erlang's political skills. Luo Shilang is Erlang's confidant, and I have many things to ask for advice."

"Today is my treat. We will only talk about family matters, not official matters. If you want to ask Luo Shilang these things, you can invite him alone later!" Xiao Ding laughed and said, "Don't even think about beating me up in the autumn wind!"

"Chang Shi, this is the secret of governing the country. If you want to ask about these things from me, I dare not tell you." Luo Xin said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I won't embarrass you. Of course I can tell you what I asked. Xiao Erlang has always been generous. I will tell you later about the rules and policies that Erlang set with us back then. Let's see if

There are things that are consistent with yours! Besides, what you can use in the south, we may not be able to use here."

"It seems that I have to treat Luo Shilang to a meal. I still have some questions about my clan's writing and I want to ask for advice!" Tuoba Yangwei also said with a smile.
Chapter completed!