In mid-June of the first year of Shaoxing, the imperial court appointed Xu Fu, the right-hand admonishment official, as the chief envoy, and Gao Shize, the privy minister, as the deputy envoy, went to Xiangyang to comfort him. The journey was not peaceful, and the two were cautious until late July.

We just arrived in Xiangyang.

Wang Xiao led the officials to welcome them out of the city and took them to Xiangyang City.

We sat down at the Yamen and served tea. Wang Xiaoxing said, "The journey has been bumpy, which has made it hard for you."

Xu Fu smiled bitterly: "It's really not peaceful now, there are so many bandits, so it's going to be particularly difficult on the road."

After saying that, he took a sip of tea and added: "Passing Ezhou on the way, Kong Yanzhou heard that we were coming to Xiangyang and stayed for many days. Why didn't we let him go? After asking again, he said that the imperial court had granted a reward to the town governor. He

Is there any. Oh——"

Wang Xiaolie smiled but did not answer.

Recently, Zhang Yong, Li Cheng, and Kong Yanzhou were causing trouble in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, even destroying prefectures and counties, and the court was unable to do anything for the time being. Kong Yanzhou recently occupied Ezhou, with a large territory, a large amount of money and food, and his disobedience was particularly obvious.

It is actually life-threatening to pass through these places. These people did not rebel in name, but in fact they had rebelled. If they did not obey the orders of the imperial court, and there was a profit to be made, they would invade the local prefectures and counties and plunder them. The imperial court

Zhang Jun was sent as the main general to quell the enemy, but there was no decisive victory yet.

From Liangzhe to Xiangyang, the territory in between was in chaos. Even if the imperial court wanted to send people here, it would not be easy without a large army to protect them.

After resting for a while, Xu Fu took out the imperial edict and ordered Wang Xiaolie to receive it.

Wang Xiaolie was the Shaobao Inspector of the school, the founder of Changshe County, the military governor of Zhen'an, with 500 households in the city, and 200 households in the real estate. He was promoted from the governor of Xiangyang Prefecture and Deng Ruzhou Town in Tang Dynasty to the southwestern road system of Beijing.

Set envoy.

The establishment of a festival was the highest honor for the generals of the Song Dynasty. The process was complicated and was not just a matter of an imperial edict. It took a long time to complete the procedures.

It is not important to be the Shaobao of the school, to be the founder of the country, and to be the official title that comes with the establishment of a festival. The most important thing for Wang Xiaolie is that in addition to the establishment of a festival, he is no longer the governor of Xiangyang and Dengzhou.

He became a Zhizhi envoy. It sounds like there was no promotion in his official position, but it actually means a lot.

To the imperial court, the Zhenfu envoy was a vassal, and was actually an outsider. Although he had great power in name, it was restricted everywhere. The Zhizhi envoy was different. He managed a larger territory than the Zhenfu envoy, and his name was justifiable. Of course, he was subject to

The imperial court also had great restrictions, which had both advantages and disadvantages.

Wang Xiaolie accepted the edict, and several people sat down to talk.

Xu Fu said: "I wonder when Jieshuai was born? I remember he was not very old."

Wang Xiao said: "I was born in the second year of Xuanhe, and I am twenty-two years old."

Xu Fu said: "Jie was established at the age of twenty-two, which is rare in history. When the world was in turmoil, Commander Ji led the rebel army, regained the important land of Xiangyang, and defeated the Jin army in succession. It can be said that he has made great contributions to the country. The Holy Spirit received the news about Commander Commander,

I always praise him every time I strike. I only hate the generals under my command, because few of them are as handsome as me."

Gao Shize said: "Commander Jie is now guarding the road. He has a high official position and a large number of soldiers. He is the pillar of the imperial court. Such a good general, the Holy Spirit often laments that he cannot see it with his own eyes. If there is peace on the road, Commander Jie can choose an opportunity to go to the palace and go to various states.

Mr. Mian.”

Wang Xiaolie said: "It's a pity that the road is not peaceful now. Moreover, I am busy with military affairs, so I'm afraid I won't be able to spare time for a while. July is in flames, and autumn is coming soon. Dengzhou is pretending to be Qi, and it is necessary to take measures to prevent autumn.

Can't leave."

After hearing this, Xu Fu and Gao Shize looked at each other and shook their heads slightly. They spent so much effort and took so many risks, and the most important task was to get Wang Xiaolie to go to the palace. As long as they left Xiangyang,

Wang Xiaolie's great ability can only be left to the disposal of the court. But depending on Wang Xiaolie's intention, this matter may not be easy.

Wang Xiaolie was not stupid, so how could he leave his roots and go to see Zhao Gou? He had never planned on what high-ranking officials and titles Zhao Gou could give him, so he had to fight for everything himself.

To be honest, Zhao Gou was not unkind to his subordinates. Although he had some bad deeds of killing Chen Dong and Ouyang Che, generally speaking, he would not kill his ministers. Except for the Miao and Liu mutiny, the generals who were killed were

There is only one Fan Qiong now. Fan Qiong was full of misdeeds and deserved his death. No one would feel it was a pity. But Wang Xiaolie knew that this was not because Zhao Gou was merciful, but because he had a clear mind and knew what not to do.

Without this ability, Zhao Gou could not stabilize the situation quickly, and finally secured half of the country. When the situation allowed, and Zhao Gou could be ruthless, he would never hesitate at all. For example, Yue Fei.

After drinking tea for a while, Xu Fu said: "Commander Jie, you have never met the Holy One since you took charge of the army. The general is leading the troops, how can this be okay? When Ezhou is settled and the roads are clear, it is better to go to the palace to thank the Holy One in person."

Wang Xiaoxing said: "What the advice says is that when the road is smoothed out and the military affairs here are not so busy, I will naturally go to the palace."

Xu Fu had no choice but to rest, and he and Gao Shize went to the place arranged later.

When the two went out, Chen Yuyi said: "The military commander is proud to establish the festival. The commander-in-chief established the festival at the age of more than 20 years old, which was unprecedented in the previous dynasty. The court gave this honor to commander-in-chief, and he should indeed go to the palace to express his gratitude. Commander-in-Chief

How unbecoming it is to be surrounded by a large number of troops and have never seen the emperor!"

Wang Xiaolie looked at Chen Yuyi and said calmly: "The reason why I can establish a festival is because I have a hundred thousand soldiers. Once I leave Xiangyang and the hundred thousand soldiers are not around, why should I establish a festival? At that time, even life and death mattered.

It’s in human hands.”

Chen Yuyi thought for a while and felt helpless. "What Commander Ji said is true, I think it's simple. But for us ministers, it doesn't make sense to not go to the palace to express gratitude after receiving such a heavy reward. However, once Xiangyang leaves,

Chishuai, things are really hard to say."

After saying that, his face looked ugly and he stood there in a daze.

Wang Xiaolie knew that Chen Yuyi was a traditional bureaucrat, and he couldn't change his mind. Intellectually, Chen Yuyi also knew that it was not a good thing for Zhao Gou to ask Wang Xiaolie to go to the palace. But emotionally, he still felt that it was not a good idea for the minister to go.

It's an honor, how can you refuse it?

Wang Ruohai said: "Many of the things that the Commander-in-Chief governs are different from what the imperial court is used to. When these things are reported to the imperial court, who knows what others will say? Going to the palace at this time is more dangerous than good! It is best to wait for the place to be calmed down and the imperial court to control the festival.

Shuai has no doubts, let’s talk about going to the palace.”

Wang Xiaolie said: "Whether the court has doubts or trusts, we don't care about it. Now everything is busy, the military is facing the fall, and many civil affairs have only begun. How can I go ahead? This is not a false statement, but a fact.

.”

Chen Qiudao said: "Others only look at how Jieshuai looks in the eyes of the court, but in the eyes of Jieshuai, the most important thing is how he looks in the eyes of the people. This truth is very simple, and there is nothing difficult to understand. No matter what

What does the imperial court think? It is not suitable to go to the palace in a short time."

Wang Xiaolie nodded and said to Chen Yuyi: "You and Xu Fu are old acquaintances. Please accompany him for walks these days, visit Xiangyang's mountains and rivers, and eat Xiangyang's delicacies. They have worked hard on the road, so don't suffer in Xiangyang."

If Xu Fu asks you anything, just say it directly. A man is born between heaven and earth. He should behave uprightly and sit firmly. There is nothing to hide from him."

Chen Yuyi cupped his hands and said, "I understand, I understand. But, there are some things that are not suitable to be discussed, right?"

Wang Xiaolie said: "That's your business. If you think it's suitable to talk about it, you can talk about it. If it's not suitable for you to talk about, don't talk about it. Isn't that how it is with friends?"
Chapter completed!